All posts by Wintery Knight

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News

Are public sector union employees paid too much?

4 Comments

From the Competitive Enterprise Institute. (H/T ECM)

Excerpt:

The most recent BLS release on employee compensation (issued December 9, 2009) states that, during September 2009, “[p]rivate industry employer compensation costs averaged $27.49 per hour worked,” while, “[s]tate and local government compensation costs averaged $39.83 per hour worked” — a difference of over $12.00 an hour.

Moreover, a greater proportion of public employees get benefits, and they get greater employer contributions.

[,,,]And still that’s not all. As Don Bellante of the University of South Florida, David Denholm of the Public Service Research Foundation, and I note in our Cato Institute study on the topic, another benefit unionized government workers get is job security unlike any found in the private sector.

[…]Even worse, the greatest costs associated with public sector unions often do not become apparent for many years, in the form of pensions.

There’s a lot more here. It’s a nightmare. I try not to sound too upset about it, but it really is bad. Speaking as a private sector employee, I cannot afford ME and adult day care for government-employees who aren’t even accountable to their customers.

News

The American Library Association’s gay agenda

3 Comments

Story from NewsBusters.

Excerpt:

“Authentic literature” is the term that has been adopted by the ALA to describe books with “literary merit.” It sounds harmless enough – just saying “authentic literature” evokes images of musty catalog cards and spinster librarians. In reality, however, it’s a manipulative term abused by the liberal ALA to promote books like “Skim,” written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by her cousin Jillian Tamaki.

“Skim” is a “graphic novel” (aka a comic book) about a depressed, gothic, homosexual, Wicca-worshipping high school girl and, according to the ALA, that’s good literature – it’s “authentic literature.”

The protagonist of the graphic novel, Kim Cameron – nicknamed “Skim” because she’s not slim – participates in séances, channels the spirits, swears judiciously, discusses porn and handjobs, and skips class to smoke. The major plot of the story revolves around Skim’s relationship with her flaky drama teacher, Ms. Archer. When Ms. Archer catches Skim skipping class and smoking a cigarette, she sits down for a drag herself, which eventually leads to a romantic relationship depicted in a double-page tableau of the two kissing in the woods.

Published in 2008, the ALA has already given “Skim” numerous awards, including a spot on the “2009 Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults” and the “2009 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens.”

The ALA claims that “authentic literature” like “Skim” more accurately portrays the gritty, real American life, and therefore, has more literary merit. It’s a manipulative tactic that has effectively stocked library shelves across the nation with pro-homosexual books that inevitably fall into children’s hands.

They don’t respect the innocence of children.

Mentoring

If a person wanted to become a Christian, what should they do?

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I just got an e-mail from one of our non-Christian readers who has decided to investigate how to become a Christian. He asked me for some advice on how to proceed, and I thought I would throw it out there for my Christian readers (Neil and Drew, please help!) to see if anyone has any good ideas.

In his e-mail, he wanted to know how I became a Christian, how to read the Bible, and how to become a Christian. The reason I am excited is because he seems to be coming at this the right way, starting with the intelligent design DVDs that I always recommend, then William Lane Craig debates, and so on. He’s been investigating for a year and a half! Now, this is the perfect way to become a Christian, in my opinion. Slow, and with an eye for the other side. I am actually very excited about his approach!

OK, so I was going to work on a reply, but the first things I thought of were the following:

Start with some Bible: (NIV translation is easier)

  • John
  • Luke
  • Acts

Then some C.S. Lewis:

Any ideas for a good basic theology book? Here’s a basic one from Wayne Grudem. I like him because even though he’s a Calvinist, he’s politically conservative, complementarian and old-earth. If you just read his books while thinking “grace is resistible, grace is resistible”, then you’ll be fine.

I know a lot of people like Dallas Willard’s “The Divine Conspiracy” and “Renovation of the Heart“, but isn’t he a bit mystical? I haven’t read it. I have it though, and I’ll probably read it then recommend it to him if it isn’t too goofy. I’m suspicious of Dallas Willard, because even though he’s a philosopher at USC and speaks on university campuses, I’ve met lots of goofy Christians who liked Dallas Willard, but who did not like apologetics.

I was thinking that this would give him the idea that the Christian life basically consists of investigating whether God exists, whether Jesus is God stepping into history to talk to us, and then reading about Jesus life and words to find out what Jesus says. And he can read the Bible, and pray about various things (praying is like debating, you reason with God about things he’s done that you like, or why you think he should act in a particular way). He could also listen to sermons in church, and talk to other Christians who like apologetics and theology.

As a new Christian learns more, they think of things that they’d like to try, like changing behaviors and priorities, and making clever plans to give God things he might like. It’s a relationship, but instead of hearing God’s voice out loud, new Christians should be collecting information about God like a detective, then acting accordingly. It’s demanding, and there is sometimes kickback. But I think that the point of Christianity is that you are building a lasting relationship with God by choosing how you spend your time.