Scumbag Billionaire

Faith Based Initiatives--A good idea?

Via Leo's blog, a very insightful post by congressman (and former presidential candidate) Ron Paul:

Freedom From Government

President Obama signed an executive order last week continuing the faith-based initiatives program created by former President Bush. When the program was created, I warned that giving taxpayer money to private religious organizations would eventually lead to political control and manipulation of them. This week has provided some evidence that this was a justified concern.

The logic behind funding faith-based initiatives seemed reasonable to some. Private organizations are much more effective in charitable endeavors than government programs and bureaucracies. Therefore, why not “outsource” some of the government’s welfare-state activities to these worthy organizations? This appealed to many conservatives, especially after the follow-up executive order exempting recipients from discriminatory hiring laws, which assured many that taking federal funds would not jeopardize their control over their own operations. But beware the government program started under an administration you like, for it may look a lot different under the one you don’t. Exemptions that Bush gave, Obama can take away.

But now, dependencies on federal money have been set, operations have been expanded accordingly, and many charities are waiting breathlessly for the administration to tell them what new conditions they will have to meet. With the stroke of a pen, religious charities might not be able to take into consideration a job applicant’s faith, sexual orientation or lifestyle if they wish to remain eligible for that taxpayer money that was so enticing a few years ago. Similarly, if FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act) is passed, will Catholic Church hospitals be forced to offer abortion services to retain their federal funding? Can they remain solvent without it?

This is the major problem with basing a private business model on the receipt of government funds. This money does not come without control, or the future possibility of control. We are seeing parallel control grabs in industries that have recently been the recipients of taxpayer largess. Government officials are now discussing executive compensation on Wall Street, banking, and in the auto industry. How much is too much to pay someone? When is a bonus deserved? But because politicians have bought their way into these industries, these are now political decisions. It is easy to utilize class envy to whip up public support for these interventions, but government always slides down the slippery slope. Politicians are also discussing other aspects of these businesses in which they are not expert, such as, what should lending standards be? What sort of cars should we direct the auto industry to make? Once government money infiltrates a balance sheet, “taxpayers” meaning “politicians” have a say in how you operate.

Money is the Trojan horse that government uses to infiltrate and infect organizations. Funding that, on the outset, is designed to strengthen and support, will bureaucratize and regulate in the end. It is sad to see charities now having reason to focus on lobbying, regulatory compliance and paper pushing to get and retain money taken by force, rather than beefing up private, voluntary fundraising activities. Those tempted to join Washington’s ongoing bailout bonanza should instead take the famed advice of former First Lady Nancy Reagan on the acceptance of harmful and addictive substances and “Just Say No” to government money. This is the best protection from government control.

Live Action Green Lantern Movie?

It seems so!

Warner Bros. is negotiating with Martin Campbell to direct "Green Lantern," the live-action film based on the DC Comics hero, reports the trades.

Campbell last directed "Casino Royale" and recently wrapped the Mel Gibson starrer "Edge of Darkness," based on the 1985 BBC miniseries that Campbell helmed.

The emergence of Campbell, who also helmed two "Zorro" films and the 007 film "GoldenEye," puts "Green Lantern" at the top of DC properties being set for movie treatment by WB. While the studio is hoping director Chris Nolan will follow its 2008 smash "The Dark Knight" with another Batfilm, DC projects such as Superman and "Justice League" were expected to happen quickly, but have stalled.

Instead, the hot DC titles are "Green Lantern" and "Jonah Hex," the latter of which has Josh Brolin set to play a disfigured gunslinger in a film that begins production in April, directed by Jimmy Heyward ("Horton Hears a Who").

Greg Berlanti wrote the script with Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green.

Donald DeLine will produce with Berlanti.

Berlanti had once been considered to direct. Instead, WB has attached him to direct "This Is Where I Leave You," the upcoming Jonathan Tropper novel which will be adapted by the author.

Where Sweatshops are a dream

Often western idealism is naive according to this op-ed from the New York Times:

Where Sweatshops Are a Dream
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: January 14, 2009

Before Barack Obama and his team act on their talk about “labor standards,” I’d like to offer them a tour of the vast garbage dump here in Phnom Penh.

This is a Dante-like vision of hell. It’s a mountain of festering refuse, a half-hour hike across, emitting clouds of smoke from subterranean fires.

The miasma of toxic stink leaves you gasping, breezes batter you with filth, and even the rats look forlorn. Then the smoke parts and you come across a child ambling barefoot, searching for old plastic cups that recyclers will buy for five cents a pound. Many families actually live in shacks on this smoking garbage.

Mr. Obama and the Democrats who favor labor standards in trade agreements mean well, for they intend to fight back at oppressive sweatshops abroad. But while it shocks Americans to hear it, the central challenge in the poorest countries is not that sweatshops exploit too many people, but that they don’t exploit enough.

Talk to these families in the dump, and a job in a sweatshop is a cherished dream, an escalator out of poverty, the kind of gauzy if probably unrealistic ambition that parents everywhere often have for their children.

“I’d love to get a job in a factory,” said Pim Srey Rath, a 19-year-old woman scavenging for plastic. “At least that work is in the shade. Here is where it’s hot.”

Another woman, Vath Sam Oeun, hopes her 10-year-old boy, scavenging beside her, grows up to get a factory job, partly because she has seen other children run over by garbage trucks. Her boy has never been to a doctor or a dentist, and last bathed when he was 2, so a sweatshop job by comparison would be far more pleasant and less dangerous.

I’m glad that many Americans are repulsed by the idea of importing products made by barely paid, barely legal workers in dangerous factories. Yet sweatshops are only a symptom of poverty, not a cause, and banning them closes off one route out of poverty. At a time of tremendous economic distress and protectionist pressures, there’s a special danger that tighter labor standards will be used as an excuse to curb trade.

When I defend sweatshops, people always ask me: But would you want to work in a sweatshop? No, of course not. But I would want even less to pull a rickshaw. In the hierarchy of jobs in poor countries, sweltering at a sewing machine isn’t the bottom.

My views on sweatshops are shaped by years living in East Asia, watching as living standards soared — including those in my wife’s ancestral village in southern China — because of sweatshop jobs.

Manufacturing is one sector that can provide millions of jobs. Yet sweatshops usually go not to the poorest nations but to better-off countries with more reliable electricity and ports.

I often hear the argument: Labor standards can improve wages and working conditions, without greatly affecting the eventual retail cost of goods. That’s true. But labor standards and “living wages” have a larger impact on production costs that companies are always trying to pare. The result is to push companies to operate more capital-intensive factories in better-off nations like Malaysia, rather than labor-intensive factories in poorer countries like Ghana or Cambodia.

Cambodia has, in fact, pursued an interesting experiment by working with factories to establish decent labor standards and wages. It’s a worthwhile idea, but one result of paying above-market wages is that those in charge of hiring often demand bribes — sometimes a month’s salary — in exchange for a job. In addition, these standards add to production costs, so some factories have closed because of the global economic crisis and the difficulty of competing internationally.

The best way to help people in the poorest countries isn’t to campaign against sweatshops but to promote manufacturing there. One of the best things America could do for Africa would be to strengthen our program to encourage African imports, called AGOA, and nudge Europe to match it.

Among people who work in development, many strongly believe (but few dare say very loudly) that one of the best hopes for the poorest countries would be to build their manufacturing industries. But global campaigns against sweatshops make that less likely.

Look, I know that Americans have a hard time accepting that sweatshops can help people. But take it from 13-year-old Neuo Chanthou, who earns a bit less than $1 a day scavenging in the dump. She’s wearing a “Playboy” shirt and hat that she found amid the filth, and she worries about her sister, who lost part of her hand when a garbage truck ran over her.

“It’s dirty, hot and smelly here,” she said wistfully. “A factory is better.”

Star Wars Summarized by Someone Who's Never Seen It

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

Happy New Year!

It's January 2, 2009 and I thought I'd bring in the new year with some random items.

• A heartwarming story of sportsmanship.



• "As an Athiest, I Truly Believe Africa Needs God"



• Penn Jillette, part of the magician comedy duo Penn & Teller, an unapologetic athiest, talks about the importance of "proselytization".

We're not going to take O come all ye faithful

Pure awesomeness:



Merry Christmas!

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

So there’s this movie critic whose blog I read on occasion. This guy is so tough, he rarely raves about movies. In fact the highest rating that I've seen in the 3 or 4 months I've been reading is an "A-".

Last week, he mentioned that "one of the best movies of the year" was scheduled to be on MSNBC. So I DVR'd it.

I watched “Dear Zachary” last night.

Wow. Just wow. Absolutely incredible. I’m still thinking about it.

So, in the interest of public service, I’m letting you know. If you get a chance go see this movie, watch it. It’s not out yet on DVD, but it’s supposed to be on Amazon in February. Watch your TV listings for it, it might come on again.

But whatever you do, do not read anything more about this other than this posting and the review below. (see below especially the parts I bolded).



Eric D. Snider’s Review of “Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father”

In November 2001, a man named Andrew Bagby died in Pennsylvania. His lifelong best friend, Kurt Kuenne, a filmmaker, set out to honor Andrew's memory by interviewing everyone who loved him and compiling it into a little movie. The result, "Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father," is one of the most heart-wrenching, emotionally exhausting films I've ever seen -- and not for the reasons you'd expect.

Andrew, who was 28 when he died, was apparently adored by all who knew him. He was easy-going, charming, self-effacing, and eminently good-hearted. He had just become a doctor and was doing his residency in the small community of Latrobe, Penn. Kuenne, demonstrating an admirable knack for film editing and compilation, rapidly shows us one testimonial after another from Andrew's friends, relatives, and co-workers. Before you know it, you're a little misty-eyed over the memory of a decent man who tried to make the world a better place. And you didn't even know the guy!

But in addition to being a memorial for a lost friend, "Dear Zachary" is also an account of Kuenne's own moviemaking process. It took months to travel the world and interview all these people, and during that time an extraordinary series of events took place that changed the whole project. Kuenne expertly weaves these facts with Andrew's life story, revealing crucial bits of information piece by piece.

What kind of events are we talking about? Well, for one thing, Andrew was murdered. We learn that right away. The killer was a mentally unstable ex-girlfriend, the sort of woman who is frequently the object of restraining orders. What's more (and hence the film's title), that ex-girlfriend was pregnant with Andrew's child when she killed him.

I'm not going to tell you anything else about the film's story, and you should avoid people who want to. See it unspoiled and let the full weight of it hit you in the gut like it did me. Rare is the film that can reduce a room full of movie critics into a sobbing mess, but this one does it.
In addition to being a tribute to Andrew, the film also becomes a true-crime documentary, following the mishandled case of Andrew's killer through one frustrating turn after another. Having fled to her native Canada, she is let out on bail pending extradition, even though she's been accused of first-degree murder. In the logic of the judge, she's not a danger to the general public because her alleged crime was specific -- in other words, she's already killed the one person she wanted to kill, so there's no need to fear her now.

But the movie is also a portrait of Andrew's parents, David and Kate, one of the most saintly, perfectly matched pairs you'll ever see. They move to Newfoundland to oversee the legal proceedings. They want the best life for their unborn grandchild, even if it means interacting with the child's mother, who killed their son. The trials and tribulations these two experience would break most people, yet they persist. As one friend of the family says, "I think God put some people down on Earth just to be examples for the rest of us."

Kuenne has no interest in making a fair, objective documentary of the murder case, nor in presenting an unbiased view of the Bagby family. Nor should he -- this started as a personal project, and it remains one even though it's now of interest to outsiders, too. His method of storytelling is clear and concise, and he's unafraid to use music and editing to maximize the story's emotional impact.

We cry at movies for a variety of reasons. We cry when they feature tragic events, or when they depict good people triumphing over adversity, or when they remind us of our own treasured friends and family. "Dear Zachary" hits all those buttons and more. It is almost indescribably painful, yet just as powerfully inspiring, a mix of good and evil and victories and setbacks that are sure to move even jaded viewers.
Grade: A

Not rated, probably R for a lot of harsh profanity, intense themes

What if Starbucks was marketed like a church?

Also courtesy Matthew Paul Turner