Principled Policy Blog

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The Congress shall have Power To… exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings… Article I, § 8 of the US Constitution.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. The 10th Amendment to the US Constitution

Frankly, the reading of these two portions of the highest law of the land, the Constitution could not be clearer. The Federal government must have the legislative condent of a state to own property within that state’s borders.

This clear requirement has been completely ignored by the Federal government for over a century and a brewing problem in California is illustrative of the need for states to reassert their authorities as guaranteed in the  1oth Amendment.  You see, California is bankrupt. And as part of that bankruptcy they are discussing the closure of state parks. According to an AP story-

California officials said Wednesday they are trying to avert the federal government’s threat to seize six parks that could be closed to help reduce the state’s ballooning budget deficit

Seize the land by what authority, you might be asking? According to the story-

National Park Service Regional Director Jonathan Jarvis warned in a letter to that all six [stste parks] occupy former federal land that could revert to the U.S. government if the state fails to keep the parks open.

The article quotes Jarvis as writing…

…”Lands conveyed to the State under the Federal Lands to Parks Program must be open for public park and recreation use in perpetuity as a condition of the deed”

Did you catch that? Formerly Federal land, deeded to the state with a caveat? A caveat that the Federal government is prohibited from making? Well, how’s it forbidden from making the caveat, you might be asking?

Since the  state of California has the authority under the two sections of the Constitution stated to simply revoke the permission granted the Federal government to own the land, this caveat is legally meaningless. There is nothing legally from keeping the State of California from simply seizing any particular piece of, or in fact all of, the Federal property in California by a simple act of the California legislature.

In reality it would be foolish for California to seize, for instance, the San Diego Navy Yard. But the Constitution is clear that it is permitted to do so (they might have to give “just compensation” per the 5th Amendment, but of course the US Supreme Court has a terrible track record on arbitrary seizures and property values, so that could work in California’s favor) and that means if they wish they can simply brush Mr. Jarvis’ protestations to the contrary aside as one would a pesky blood-sucking mosquito.

How does this effect Ohio’s public policy? Ohio currently has a “Sovereignty Resolution” before the State Senate, Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 13. In it Ohio merely proclaims that it retains the rights and responsibilities of a sovereign state and intends to use them to make Ohio a place where its citizens can feel free from the over-reach of Federal authority. Like, for instance, forcing the state to keep parks open when it is bankrupt at its own expense.

Just another reason Ohio needs to remind the Federal government that it is a sovereign state.

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Policy Points from the Institute for Principled Policy
June 29, 2009

State policy actions
House Bill 176 (Steward {D} and McGregor {R})–Equal Housing and Employment Act—This legislation would create special protections under the state’s civil rights laws for “sexual orientations” to include homosexual, bisexual and “gender identity” classifications. The bill contains language to require the development of educational programming to teach of the origins and sources of “discrimination”, which is mandated to be taught to all public school children and “all Ohioans”. There are exemptions for religious organizations or orders in relation to hiring and housing, but not for individuals whose religious beliefs or conscience would be violated by having to comply with these provisions. The bill passed from the House State Government committee on a party line vote, but may come to the floor of the House this week where it may pick up some additional bipartisan support.

House Bill 1 (Sykes) State operating budget—This legislation, which is the funding mechanism for state government for the biennium beginning July 1, 2009, is currently before a committee of conference to work out difference between the House version and the Senate version of the bill. The House version would resurrect the old Outcomes-based Education catastrophe that was defeated in this state 16 years ago, create mandatory “community service” as a condition for graduation in Ohio, assess students on behavioral or belief positions as part of their ability to graduate, and turn over key decision making to the State superintendent rather than to elected education policymakers. The Senate has removed this from the bill.

The bill was sent from the House with a growth of spending of over $1 billion from the Governor’s proposal, which was itself a 6% spending increase over the biennium. Economic conditions and the reduction in revenue estimates have made this spending level unachievable without significant increases in taxes. The Senate has removed the additional spending growth, but is faced with having to replace nearly $1 billion in resources that were going to be used in this upcoming biennium from the state’s rainy day fund, as that money will now need to be used to bring the current budget into balance, as revenues have fallen below the projections upon which the current budget’s spending were based.

The bill also “balances” the budget on one-time funds (stimulus money), grows government by over 6%, increases taxpayer burden through the imposition of increased and newly-created “fees” and “penalties”. The state auditor has projected the next biennium’s shortfall, because of the use of one-time funds to bring this budget in “balance”, as in the neighborhood of $8.2 billion. Without more one-time funding, such an irresponsible budget now will ensure tax increases in the next biennium.

The budget must, by the Ohio Constitution, be in balance and in place by July 1. The conference committee will meet to try to finalize their difference and issue a report that both chambers mayvote upon on Tuesday.

Video Lottery Terminal proposal—This move by Governor Ted Strickland would allow for up to 2500 “video lottery terminals” (ie slot machines) at each of Ohio’s seven horse-racing tracks, in an effort to prop up a dying racing industry. Ohio’s restaurant and bar lobbies, retail merchants, grocers, and others also want to be included in the plan. The Ohio Lottery Commission would oversee this radical expansion of gambling in Ohio, much as they have recently presided over the rollout of the wildly unsuccessful Keno game in bars and restaurants in the state. This has become a showdown with the state’s out of balance budget used as the vehicle to move this proposal forward. Numerous studies have shown the deep and traumatic effects of this form of gambling on the family and on communities in which this is allowed, where the costs outweigh benefits by a significant factor. Additionally, there are serious Constitutional questions as to whether this can legitimately be accomplished as an expansion of the lottery.

Casino ballot initiative–A group of casino operators (Penn National, Argosy, etc.) have circulated petitions to place on the November 2009 ballot a casino authorization measure, allowing full casino gambling in 4 Ohio cities. The proponents collected and submitted to the Ohio Secretary of State over 800,000 signatures of registered voters, needing just over 405,000 to qualify this initiative for the ballot. It is highly likely, barring any legal challenges, that voters will be deciding upon this on November 3.

House Concurrent Resolution 11 (Martin and Jordan) and Senate Concurrent Resolution 13 (Grendell and Faber)–State Sovereignty—These companion resolutions would put Ohio on record as reiterating their rights under Article 4 and the 9th and 10th Amendments to the US Constitution to protect the sovereignty of the state against federal mandates and actions. The House version has had one hearing in the Democratically-controlled chamber, and will not likely be brought back up for hearings. The Senate version has been scheduled for its second hearing in the Senate State Government committee, but that hearing has been postponed due to the pending budget action.

Institute for Principled Policy Director Barry Sheets will be on the road in the upcoming days speaking at churches.
He will give the message “A Christian’s duty in relation to government” at Bethel Baptist Temple in Columbus on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. Visit their website for more information and directions. On Monday, he will address the “God and Country” class of High Street Baptist Church in north Columbus at 7 p.m. to discuss current policy issues at the national and state levels that will impact our families, faith and freedom.

We hope to see you at one or both of these events.

I am blogging today from the vendor room of the Christian Home Educators of Ohio annual convention, in downtown Columbus at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Traffic is light but steady on this early Friday afternoon.

I am here not because I am a home educating parent (which I am), but because I am doing a favor for a friend. I will be broadcasting a live, 3 hour radio program from 3-6 p.m. on AM 880 WRFD radio, filling in for regular host Bob Burney on his drivetime program on this Salem Radio affiliate. Bob’s wife Joy is undergoing surgery today, so please keep them in prayer.

I will be interviewing a number of home education experts, speakers and analysts, as well as taking calls from listeners. It is always a great time to be among so many people taking personal responsibility for the education of their own children, without government assistance or funding, while still paying for “public” education through their taxes and dealing with governmental requirements, not to mention the well-meaning but generally uninformed critiques of their choices by family and friends.

Tune in and learn why home education is an exercise in liberty and freedom, for now and for our future.

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The webmaster is in England. Currently I am staying at the North London Rifle Club facility at Camp Bisley, Surrey, England. It is one of the parapets in the UK yet to be stormed in the world-wide effort to remove the absolute last resort tools that private citizens have for protecting their liberties, i.e. guns, from the hands of private citizens.

But that’s another story. Every day as I take the train to London to see the incredible sights there, I have noticed that the ad campaigns are laying it on thick about “climate change.” Daily there is a story in the newspapers (I have yet to turn on a television) about the hundreds of thousands per year who die as a result of “extreme weather conditions” in third-world countries. The newspaper stories and screaming billboards always cite the same research and scientific data to bolster their claims- none. That’s because there isn’t any.

And after all, why should there be? The global warming/climate change campaign is one based on emotion, not logic. Real science is not only ignored, it is an unwelcome encumberance to the goal of convincing people that they should accept government restriction of their lives and learn to live like those third-worlders- for the good of the planet, mind you.

And so, you get pictures of starving third-world children (who have been with us since the beginning of recorded history and, according to Jesus Christ, we will always have with us) and polar bears on isolated ice floes and and completely refuted claims of their impending extinction and the shrinkage of polar ice caps (the polar ice caps have grown significantly during the last two colder than average winters and the polar bear population is on the rise, not declining).

If you pay any attention to the science pages at all you may get a clue that “climate change” has nothing to do with man’s activity but is completely in the hands of God who is in complete control of the Sun and solar system, not to mention the galaxy and the universe. Just this morning I came across a report issued by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) showing that the latest sunspot cycle activity is “…in a valley–the deepest of the past century.” Many climate change activists (nearly all non-scientists) claim that climate change studies are “settled science.” Or not. Listen to what one NASA researcher says about this sunspot cycle- “In our professional careers, we’ve never seen anything quite like it. Solar minimum has lasted far beyond the date we predicted in 2007.” Does this sound settled or like they really haven’t got a solid handle on the science yet?

Why all of the talk about sunspot activity in relation to global temperature (which, by the way, has plummeted by nearly 0.7 C during this period of low solar activity)? Because there is a strong co-ordination between sunspot activity and global temperature. Look at the chart below. Pay special attention to the current period. The Sun is simply not as active as it was during the 1930’s and 1990’s when temperatures rose after extended high sunspot activity.

Note the period between the first quarter of the 17th century through about the first ten of the 18th century. This period of extremely low, if not completely absent, sunspot activity is called the Maunder Minimum and it corresponds nearly exactly with the “Little Ice Age” which was a period of deep global cooling (climate change). Not man caused, God caused.

There are other charts available showing the co-ordination between very high sunspot activity and the Medieval Climate Optimum (climate change) a period of global warming of the 9th to 14th centuries that coincided with, for instance, the Norse exploration and colonization of Iceland and Greenland, which at the time was actually green.

Want a deeper understanding of these issues? Dr. Michael Coffman of Environmental Perspectives, Inc gave a great talk at Camp American last year on global warming and how it is being used by globalists to restrict or completely eliminate basics of liberty such as private property, true stewardship of the earth (as opposed to the pagan religion of environmentalism), private enterprise, etc. Dr. Coffman connects the dots on ownership of private property, economic prosperity, stewardship of the land, bad climate change science and the attempts to use bad science to re-mold the world’s economy. You can get a copy of Dr. Coffman’s lectures here.

Currently, the US (and the EU) is considering the adoption of so-called “cap and trade” legislation which will do nothing but tax US and European energy users into poverty, stifle technological advances for true stewardship of the land, socialize and therefore destroy the economy and keep third-worlders from developing and using the technology they need to make the land pay and continue to pay in the future through stewardship, fight ignorance, disease and death from poor sanitation, cooking and food storage and pulling themselves out of the socialist morass they are in. “Cap and trade” makes sure this cycle of poverty, suffering and dearh will continue in the third-world by setting a limit on technology and then paying third-world slavemasters to sell their nation’s “carbon credits” to the west in a bid to maintain and eventually degrade western standardsof living.

The scientific numbskullery demonstrated by representatives like Henry Waxman of California during hearings on “cap and trade” has been simply stunning. No one expects them to understand all of the tiny details of the science. They are expected however to grasp the fact that there are opposing views based on scientific analysis of existing data that are actually doing a better job of fitting numbers to models than the science they are taking as gospel.

Contact your representatives and ask them to oppose “cap and trade.”

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Institute For Principled Policy Chairman Dr. Mark Hamilton will appear on this weeks “The State of Ohio” program.  The program appears on PBS stations throughout Ohio.

The topic of the program is on the role of clergy in speaking on public policy. Taking an opposite position from Mark’s is Pastor Tim Ahrens of First Church in Columbus Ohio. Mark is the Teaching Elder at Providence Church in Mifflin Twp. (near Ashland). He is also a Professor of Philosophy at Ashland University.

Here is the air and station schedule of “The State of Ohio:”

Fridays

5:30 PM Columbus WOSU-TV34 and Portsmouth WPBO-TV42

7:30 PM Cleveland WVIZ-TV25

10:00 PM Cambridge WOUC-TV44 and

Athens WOUB-TV20

10:30 PM Toledo WGTE-TV30

Saturdays

5:30 AM Akron WEAO-TV49 and Alliance WNEO-TV45

Sundays

6:30AM Cincinnati WCET-TV48

7:00 AM Dayton WPTD-TV16

10:30 AM Oxford WPTO-TV14

12:00 Noon Bowling Green WBGU-TV27

12:00 Noon Cleveland WVIZ-TV25

12:30 PM Cambridge WOUC-TV44 and

Athens WOUB-TV20

CABLECAST on The Ohio Channel

Mondays 10AM, 6PM & 2AM

The Ohio Channel, available on:

Akron – Time Warner Channel 538

Athens – Time Warner Channel 0

Cincinnati – Anderson Union Channel 08, Cable Channel 22 Channel 23,

Media Bridges Channel 15, Norwood Community TV Channel 15,

Waycross Community Media Channel 4, Time Warner Channel 22

Clermont – Time Warner Channel 22

Cleveland – Cox Channel 201, Time Warner Channel 181

Columbus – Time Warner Channel 96 and Digital 34.2, Insight Channel 190,

WOW Channel 150

Dayton – Time Warner Channels 715 & 720

Toledo – Buckeye Cable System Channels 199

Ohio Public Television broadcast channels are also available on local cable channels.

Please let us know what you thought of what Dr. Hamilton had to say.

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“The library decades from now will look different, no question.  But it will still be that cornerstone of the community.”

So says Pat Losinski, director of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, in the Columbus Dispatch (5/17/09).  The article was about the brave new world of central Ohio libraries as they desire to become urban trendsetters as they “get their groove on” by embracing the latest electronic toys, rather than being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.  Specifically, these toys are electronic readers, such as Amazon’s Kindle and Playaways (several hundred of which were recently purchased by the Westerville Library).  These electronic readers appeal to a younger demographic who would much prefer to be passively read to, rather than being forced to expend mentally energy on reading comprehension.  State librarian Jo Budler rallies behind the exponential dumbing down of our society by proclaiming that taxpayers are “getting more for our money, not less”.  Why, this is no less than a “digital arms race” in which we must plow ahead full steam ahead, according to the Delaware County Library director!  In fact, Delaware County voters just passed a ten-year property tax on themselves to build another library branch, and of course beef up their arsenal of Playaways – without which civilization evidently cannot advance.

And pray tell, what shining example is used for these technological wonders that will lead our “cow towns and cornfields” out of drudgery of obsolete paper books?  What bastion of truth is hoisted up as the beacon of the new enlightenment emanating from the cornerstone of our community?   What literary classic will herald the new Information Age – James Fenimore Cooper or the Federalist Papers or perhaps the Annals of the World?   Sorry, not trendy enough.  Instead the Dispatch article features a picture of Linda Uhler of the Westerville Library, with a big Gidget smile and a proud sparkle in her eye, holding up the latest addition to the Westerville Public Radio Shack – yes, it’s Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code!

Finally!  We can all breathe a sigh of relief, as society cannot move forward without numerous copies this electronic book widely available for public listening.  The Da Vinci Code of course has been a worldwide phenomenon, as this fast-paced thriller expertly dices apart thousands of years of accepted Christian theology by calling Jesus Christ a liar and venerating Mary Magdeline to goddess worship.  We can all rest easy as our communities are wisely using our tax dollars to spread critical knowledge, advance the arts, and benefit society.

Meanwhile, dozens of Ohio libraries -  those precious community cornerstones – routinely ban the use of public facilities for “religious activity”.  This would include any meeting where prayer, singing, or other religious elements are practiced.

Of course, we can’t mix “state and religion” together.  Unless of course you’re using taxpayer dollars to order electronic readers which trash the religion on which our nation was founded.     Before the accusations fly about those wacky fundamentalist Christians screaming for censorship – time out, not the point.   But let’s stop the nonsense that public libraries that propagate relativistic truth while denying religious meetings are the “cornerstones of our community”.  After all, the word “cornerstone” in this context would be defined as the essential and in fact the indispensable foundation upon which to build a community.  Such hyperbole may stroke the egos of those in the library profession or help pass tax levies, but communities could certainly function without taxpayer-financed libraries and their hip electronic toys.

Maybe it’s time to at least question the wisdom of attaching Da Vinci Code electronic readers to our property taxes.  At most, maybe we should conjure up debate about whether or not running libraries is a legitimate function of civil government in the first place.   Could these institutions not be nonprofit entities, financed by donations from the community and grants from businesses?     That way the community could decide with its dollars whether or not to have the Satanic Bible on audio.

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It will come as no shock that the Institute For Principled Policy is involved in biblical worldview education for young men and women. You only need to look at our Divisions and About Us pages to see that education in biblical worldview is one of our main functions.

In keeping with our commitment to solid biblical worldview education the Institute partners with groups whose specialty is biblical worldview training on issues like government, economics, critical thinking skills, history, etc.

Every year the Institute partners with Camp American, a non-partisan, non-denominational Christian worldview and recreation summer camp which specializes in the Institute’s target areas. Several of Camp American’s teachers over the last few years have been members of the  Institute For Principled Policy’s board.

And we’re doing it again this year. From June 14-20, 2009 Camp American is being held at Pokagon State Park in Angola IN. Among the teachers from the Institute For Principled Policy will be Executive Director Barry Sheets and Vice-chairman Chuck Michaelis, who is also Executive Director of Camp American. Other teachers include Tom DeWeese of the American Policy Center, Pastor David Whitney head instructor of the Institute On The Constitution, Mark Harrington of the midwest office of the Center For Bio-ethical Reform,  Dr. Charles Rice Professor Emeritus of Notre Dame Law School and Charlie Smith, a political consultant from Pennsylvania.

You might be asking what Camp American’s classes are like. Here are some short excerpts ofclasses taught last year at Camp American

First, a class on the religuious and philosophical foundations of the Founders taught by Institute Executive Director Barry Sheets

Next is a class taught by Institute Vice-chairman Chuck Michaelis on the Electoral College

Third is a class taught by Pastor David Whitney of the Institute On The Constitution on the rights and responsibilities of a fully informed jury

Last (but definitely not least) is a class on property rights, globalism and globa warming taught by Dr. Michael Coffman CEO of Environmental Perspectives, Inc.

If you want to attend there’s a special offer for our blog readers. You can sign up for Camp American on their online store and you can use a special coupon designed for our readers that you can use to get a $50 discount at checkout. The coupon is IPP. Don’t wait. Spaces will fill up.

Do you pray? Have you thought about prayer?  Christians pray.  Muslims pray.  Hindus pray.  Buddhists pray.  Just about everyone prays.

And this, says Mark Siljander in his book, A Deadly Misunderstanding– is something that can unite people from different faiths.

Especially, he says if they can unite around the person of Jesus.  The Qur’an speaks highly of Jesus, in many ways similarly to the Gospels.  All the great religions have a place for Jesus — or Isa, as He is known in the Qur’an.

So Mr Siljander has been wandering around the world as an ambassador for world peace trying to find ways to bring warring people together.  And this is his solution.

Now, if prayer and Jesus are to be linked together, a proposition I think highly worthy, then I wonder if Mr. Siljander has in mind this prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven Hallowed by they name. Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done On earth, as it is in heaven.

I can’t help but wonder if this is the kind of prayer these men of different faiths had when they came together.  The very idea of a God who exists — in heaven — is a problem for many religions, and, of course, the idea of doing His will on earth, as it is in heaven raises another range of issues many people would rather not talk about.

First and foremost, what is God’s will?  How do we know what it is?  Is it subjective or objective?  Is it merely a matter of the inward leading of the . . . . I was about to say Holy Spirit, but that seems disallowed in the dialogue. Are the characteristics of the Three Persons of the Trinity merely attributes of a one-Person God?  How can an “attribute” speak to an individual inwardly?  This is a question I would like to see Mr. Siljander answer.

Or, on the other hand, is God’s will a matter of written authority?  But now we’re back to the perplexing question of last week.  Should it be Torah, New Testament or Qur’an that takes the top spot?

Keep thinking.  We’re not done, yet.

Have a great week.

Ian Hodge, Ph.D.

P.S.  If you like what you read here, forward this essay to your friends.  For a FREE subscription, go to www.biblicallandmarks.com and select the Subscribe button.

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This perplexing question is answered in a new book by former Michigan Congressman, Mark Siljander.  It’s an interesting proposition.

I had the fortune to meet Mr. Siljander in 1991, when he attempted a new run at Congress from the state of Virginia.  He was not successful. But he has been successful in the diplomatic front in some interesting ways.

Now, in a book entitled  A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman’s Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide, Siljander tells us of his own theological journey.  He started with the idea that Islam was the antithesis to Christianity, but has ended with the idea that the Muslim’s Allah is the same as the Christian’s Jehovah, and it is merely that our understanding of God is different, but we’re all referring to the same Person.

For example, Siljander argues that the Muslims attribute to Allah the things that Christians attribute to the Trinity.  He raises the Eastern Orthodox rejection of the Trinity, attempting to argue that in the end it may not really matter whether or not we call the Persons of the Trinity simply “attributes”. It is apparently merely a matter of semantics.  He says,

All three holy books (Torah, New Testament, and Qur’an) describe these three same entities or attributes as Deity — God, Holy Spirit, and Messiah.  I have asked distinguished clerics, both Muslim and Christian, if they could explain to me the interaction of these three deified attributes, and after much bantering back and forth, in the end they have all given me the exact same answer: “Mark, it’s a mystery.”  So what are we arguing about?

This is an interesting proposition.  One that entertains the mind in a  number of ways.  All three books are holy?

You can see in this statement the very question that started me on these series of e-mails 59 weeks ago.  What is your rock-bottom, starting place in theology in terms of the written Word?  This is what determines what the holy books really should be.  Now, Siljander raises the Qur’an to the same level as the Torah and New Testament.

Here’s the challenge:  Where’s the starting point in God’s revelation?  Torah, New Testament, or Qur’an.  Your answer will reveal your basic presupposition about God’s revelation and how we should be seeking that revelation today.

So it seems that the question Siljander has come to is this:  Why can’t the Qur’an have at least equal value with the Torah and the New Testament?

On the other hand, I’ve simply been asking how did the New Testament get equal authority to the Torah.  Now I’ll have to expand this: How does the Qur’an get equal authority with the Torah?  Or, in the case of the Muslims, how did the Qur’an get raised above the Torah?

That ought to get your mind working overtime. Next week, I’ll add some other questions Mr. Siljander does not appear to ask.  Maybe there’s a reason.

Until then, God bless you in your efforts for His Kingdom.

Ian Hodge, Ph.D.

P.S.  If you like what you read here, forward this essay to your friends.  For a FREE subscription, go to www.biblicallandmarks.com and select the Subscribe button