Vaughnshire Farm

Over the weekend, David Nicklaus wrote a revealing article on the economy in the St. Louis Times.

I wrote in this series about the symbiotic relationship between big government and big business.  While David does not mark greed as the cause of this crisis he does point out that greed is a fundamental requirement for our markets to operate.

My least favorite piece of mythology, heard on both sides of the political aisle, is the charge that this crisis was caused by greed.

This one is actually true, after a fashion. Without greedy bankers and house buyers and investors, we wouldn’t have had a housing bubble. We also wouldn’t have an economy, because the capitalist system is based on greed. The market will always need self-interested human beings.

Building on that honest statement concerning the foundation of our economic system, David is able to give a reasonable assessment of our current economic crisis.

If we can’t blame this crisis on deregulation or derivatives or speculators or greed, then what are the real bogeymen? I’ll offer two: excess liquidity and crony capitalism.

What we’re living through is the bursting of a bubble. In response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unusually low throughout 2002, 2003 and 2004. It was essentially injecting money into the banking system to keep the economy’s gears moving, even though the economy emerged from recession in November 2001.

Much of that excess liquidity, we now know, went into house mortgages. In part, the rapid increase in house prices was classic, myopic bubble behavior. House prices hadn’t fallen in more than a generation, so people began to believe that they could only go up.

The housing market also had some key players who weren’t subject to normal market discipline.

The hotbed of crony capitalism was in Washington, where Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hired legions of lobbyists to ensure that they could take on a lot of debt, expand like crazy and pass the real risk on to taxpayers. If these giant companies had been regulated like private banks, today’s mortgage mess would be much less severe.

The crony system operated on Wall Street, too. The masters of the universe who created the subprime mortgage market were compensated for volume, with no consideration for the risk they were creating. Boards of directors signed off on this pay, and then watched their companies be destroyed.

The boards need to be made more accountable, either by allowing shareholders to vote on pay packages or by making it easier for them to throw out directors.

In short, what we need isn’t less greed or more regulation but a purer form of capitalism. If we can root out cronyism wherever it exists, the free market may yet stand a chance.

$700,000,000,000.00 is child’s play for those serious about destroying our nation.

We use to call folks who betrayed our nation traitors and saw them hangin on the end of a rope.

Now we joke about their betrayal and we see them dangling in the funny papers.

No one believed Rome could fall,
but now her fall is a proverb among the nations.
What will America’s epitaph be?

“American Empire - so long, we hardly knew you. But good riddance! We liked the old Republic much better.”

That is a quote from Bill Bonner over at the DailyReckoning.  Bill also posted a link to the latest version of the corporate bailout plan.  This could also be known as the “taking money from me and my children by threat of imprisonment if I don’t pay my “fair share” of taxes and then using that money to cover problems caused by corporate greed and prop up a godless economy” bill.  But I digress…

Bill points out some great benefits of the bill like raising the limit on our national debt to $11,315,000,000,000, found in Section 122: Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31 of the US Code.  Yes that number starts with a T.

There are numerous other goodies for corporations and states around the nation.  Check them out if you have the time.  Of course, like most laws, the very size of the document defends it from ever being read completely, but that is another discussion for another day.

As an aside, the Daily Reckoning was also involved in the production of I.O.U.S.A. the movie which is produced by the same folks who put out Supersize Me.  It addresses the trouble in the American economy and is probably a great view, although I’ve not yet made the time to watch it.  I’ll post the trailer below.

 The trail that lead me to The Daily Reckoning article started with a few resources I wanted to share.

First, there is Everbank.  They have some interesting foreign currency money market accounts that are designed to help hedge against the falling dollar.  They also have what seems to be a nice precious metals account.  But the specific piece of information that I thought worthy of posting was found in The Daily Pfennig report from Chuck Butler, the Senior Vice President of EverBank World Markets. 

With all the uncertainty around the huge corporate welfare program on the table again, I could not figure out why the dollar was fairing so well in recent days.  Apparently there is some US Dollar and Euro swapping going on due to a requirement for European Banks to hold cash reserves in US dollar for US issued mortgage bonds.  You can get the whole scope along with the rest of Chuck’s currency report here.  I have subscribed for a few weeks now and have found it a great read.

Of course for all those who are concerned about the economy, let me offer this reassurance.  It will fail, the empire of these United States will fall.  It will not happen overnight, but it is in fact happening right now, and has been happening in earnest for at least a decade.  The question on the table it not if America will fall, but how America will fall.  That is the challenge before us as fathers, and as business men who must learn to provide for our family and future generations in this period of history.  I hope to speak to some of the questions this raises in a future post or two.  Until then remember God is in control and this will not be the first time in history that a great empire has fallen.

The use of the pen can be a powerful weapon.  

We place a high priority on learning the art and skill of the pen.  Writing is an absolute must do in this family.  While we do have structured how to lessons on writing here and there, the majority of our writing consists of letters they write to friends and family all over the country as well as “reports” they write for mom and dad on different topics…such as a summery about a book they just read.  They also enjoy writing plays and stories about knights, princesses and castles.  Another way we get writing practice is taking notes during church and if you are too little to write…you draw pictures of something pertaining to the message. 

Our hope and prayer is that we would raise ready writers who are swift and skilled with the pen.  Writers who will write prolifically, from a Biblical perspective, about the very topics in our culture that need to be addressed. 

The other day, we took a trip to our favorite Amish market to pick up some bulk food supplies.  We haven’t been since the baby was born.  We drove through a portion of a small town that we haven’t seen in over 3 months.  As we were driving, we counted a handful of small local stores that have closed up shop.  We drove past one of the little grocery markets we frequented– lights out and abandoned —and next door…. a busy Walmart Supercenter.  I wasn’t shocked.  When the Walmart supercenter came to that small rural town, I knew it was only a matter of months before this little grocery store closed.  My children on the other hand were horrified that it actually happened.  After listening to their ranting and raving over how they felt about small local businesses closing due to being swallowed up by the big corporate giant, they began to propose solutions to the problem.  My answer was “No, we aren’t turning around and picketing today” and “No, we aren’t taping up posters all over town about what we think about Walmart!” 

Our oldest whipped out his pen and notebook and said he was “going to write about this”.  He spent rest of the trip writing.  He started off like this,

Hello, We’re here to tell you about how bad Walmart is.  First, let’s talk about food.  Let’s start with eggs.  Most hens that lay eggs lay in a battery cage.  A battery cage is a cage that is about 4 square feet and has about 5 hens and is electric and there is about one dead hen every cage.  Speaking of small spaces, let’s talk about chicken mutilation…..”

How he got from Walmart to chicken mutilation in 5 sentences and where he is heading on from there I don’t know yet!  Obviously, we still have much writing instruction we need to cover here at home still.  However, it makes me rejoice when I hear my children pick up the weapon of the pen and seek to use it for good. 

When I was a child growing up, I remember hearing the voices of Marlin Maddox and James Dobson on our kitchen radio while helping my mom cook in the kitchen or clean the house.  Now as a mother in my own home, I too often listen to radio and cd’s.  I love to listen to Kevin Swanson’s radio program while attending to the duties in my home.  We appreciate the Swanson family for their unwavering, uncompromising, bold, outloud faith in the truth of the Scriptures. 

Here are a few of the latest radio programs you can listen to as you go about your daily duties. 

Demographic Winter:  Why Women Won’t Have Babies.  (We like drywall way more than we like kids!)

A demographic winter sweeps across continents, and even evangelical Christian leaders won’t face the cause of it. Women don’t want to have babies, because they aren’t raised with a vision for it. Women are raised for careers.

Well, here’s a father who is not raising his daughter for a career. He’s actually embracing God’s vision for daughters. We know it’s weird. We know it’s unpopular. We know it’s politically incorrect. But we don’t care. Because this is what it will take to save a civilization, and glorify God in the process. We’re raising daughters to be what God wants them to be, not what Gloria Steinem or even Sarah Palin wants.

Daycare - Child Abuse:  Time for a Copernican Revolution in Education

A popular children’s author has enraged mothers everywhere after suggesting that day care constitutes child abuse. But what should we say about some of the K-12 schools out there?

Now after 200 years of increasingly cold, institutionalized education, Kevin Swanson suggests a Copernican Revolution in Education. He unveils a new Education Manifesto in which the definition, goals, method, and content of education are reworked from the perspective of a biblical world and life view

The classical Greek form of education separates knowledge from life, the fear of God from knowledge, character from education, and relationships from the paideia. This is because humanism refuses to treat man as a creature of God, created in the image of God, created for the glory of God, and created to love God as a Father. In this segment of the Generations broadcast, Kevin Swanson suggests that Christians should stop borrowing from the humanists to inform their methods of education, which in the end only cripples the faith.

Raisin’ a Palin:  How To Be A Feminist For Life (Classic Swanson Style!! Excellent!)

Kevin Swanson lays out a vision for raising the next Sarah Palins to rule the country in the year 2035. Then, he interviews Scott Brown on a biblical vision for womanhood and the vision for a feminist America. Contrasts form as worldviews clash on this segment of Generations. In a country where the family has unravelled, fatherhood is MIA, where 70% of men do not achieve manhood by 30 years of age, where the debt-to-GNI ratios are through the ceiling, and the character of the nation is in freefall, will 100,000 Sarah Palins be able to salvage our institutions in the next 30 years? More fundamental solutions are suggested on this broadcast.

There are many more good titles…check them out. 

This has become an all too familiar site around these parts…

I almost ran out of gas last week…and it was a scary feeling driving around not being able to find gas—finally at the 3rd gas station they had one grade left…so I filled up with as much as they would let me get.  Something I always took for granted — I have always been able to whip into any gas station and fill up whenever.  That changed for us last week…and is continuing this week. 

As such, a big topic of conversation in our home school has been about the economy, fuel and inventing.  Just how does one grow or produce their own fuel???  I have been surprised at all the little minds around here turning over real solutions for future fuel possibilities.  Some of the children say forget the fuel…let’s train our goat to be a pack goat or better yet…let’s get a horse– so simple in their minds! 

While our gas supplies are limited out here in the country, thankfully we have been able to find gas so far and have avoided the madhouse in the city ;-) 

Congratulations to gnipgnat and lgreene who are the winners of the Apron Give Away sponsored by Amelia’s Aprons!   You will be contacted by private email to arrange shipping.

I believe it is an interesting and providential event that this give away was held while we were discussing so many aspects of feminism.  Not only are the aprons a beautiful reminder of feminine women, but the owner of Amelia’s Aprons happens to be a single mom with two children who is supporting her family by working at home. 

Not only does she work at home making these fine aprons.  But she also started a cleaning business where she is working in other people’s homes a few days a week with her mother and her daughter.  She did not start off where she is now, when she found herself to be a single mother.  It was a process and a journey that included counsel and help from her family and her church.  It has been a difficult path at times that required the courage to make changes.  But the point here is that it is possible for a single mother, to find income that does not require the separation from her children every day of the week.  It is possible for her to both earn a living and home educate her children as she walks along beside them as they grow in the Lord together.

Congratulations again to the winners of the contest and thank you for everyone who entered!  If you could use an apron, consider supporting the work of a single mom and her daughter, Amelia, by shopping at Amelia’s Aprons.

Please share as you see fit… as a recent comment said, “Voddie for President!”

I wish I could remember where I read this quote in regards to the upcoming election…. 

“Pray hard and plant a bigger garden….”

(this would not be a picture of our garden)

As someone who writes occasionally on the topics of feminism, I can tell you that few subjects lite the back end of the firecracker like feminism.  Whenever I write an article or publish something relating to feminism or the roles of women, I just brace myself for the firing squad.  The wonderful thing about this firing squad is they don’t have real bullets…

We take a hard line stand on feminism because we believe that is one of the top major battles in our day. 

Martin Luther said:

If I profess, with the loudest voice and clearest exposition, every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battle fields besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.

I have followed the rise of feminism over the years and have learned many interesting things.  One being is that it is infective, potent and extremely deceptive.  I have had much exposure to many flaming feminist extremist and could spot them a mile away.  My family was very active in pro-life work so I grew up seeing the liberal of the liberals.  I always tried to figure them out.  I remember the first time I saw a male feminist screaming at the top of his lungs and holding a hot pink Feminist Majority sign.  I remember looking at that man trying to figure out what in the world was wrong with him…he’s a man…screaming that he’s a feminist…waving a hot pink sign…out on a public street corner.  

At that point, I had always assumed those who embraced feminism were those exaggeratedly masculine looking females who ran abortion clinics.  That day, my view of the stereotypical feminist changed.  I have since learned that feminism parades around in all different shapes and sizes.  As the Church further falls in to apathy and slumber, the fruits of feminism become all the more apparent even in the church pew. 

Feminism has invaded and infected our culture like a rabid disease.  Feminism has hooked women on the lie…the same lie the serpent hit Eve with in the Garden.  The lie of humanism.  The lie of “Hath God really said?”  The lie that you can be as God, deciding what is good and evil in your own eyes.   Feminism has gripped a hold of manhood and squeezed the man right out of him.  Feminism had mocked strong male leadership and declared it as oppressive.  Feminism has declared my rights, my body and my choice.  Feminism enslaves the very ones it has promised to free.  Feminism has exchanged truth for a lie.

While feminism in the Church may not look like the stereotypical feminist image most see in the liberal extreme, the lies of feminism are still very much alive in the Church.  And just because feminism in Christian circles may be seen as less brutal, doesn’t mean that it isn’t still the same brutal, rabid disease with serious consequences.   In fact,  so called “christian feminism” is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and is a blasphemous misrepresentation of the true liberty Christ gives to His children.  Feminism can never be Christianized.  The two are entirely different roads.  

While Roe v. Wade is a horrid symptom of the major ills in our society, it is not the root cause.  Many early feminists, like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Alice Stokes Paul, were also pro-life.  Many early American feminist spoke out against abortion.  And get this…..They all wore long skirts and dresses!

Just because they dressed more modestly than the average Christian today or the fact that they deplored abortion or the fact that some had more than 1.2 children did not make the feminism they fought for good.  The early feminist were anti-God because they spewed forth a venomous egalitarian “theology” defying God’s design and order.  And that defiance has led to all sorts of evil that is still wrecking our homes, churches and nation. 

There is nothing like the first female vice president nomination to quickly stir up the waters in Christian circles.  She claims to be a Christian.  She claims to be pro-family…. and a feminist.  She is pro-life and of that I can certainly agree with her on Biblical convictions on life in the womb.  But this whole ordeal isn’t about picking on one person.  In fact, the Republican and Democratic presidential races are just a picture highlighting just how impotent American Christianity has become in the last 100 to 150 years.  The fact that Christians at large are swooning over a mother of 5 who happens to have some conservative politics and is quick to place her in as 2nd in command says something about where we are as a nation…and as a Church.  This is not a personal attack on Mrs. Palin–It is very much about addressing,  like Luther said,  the ”little point that the world and the devil are attacking.” 

And that little point is huge in the future of reforming this Nation.