Dave's Droppings

The story of Christ saying “Render unto Caesar” is a great example of people taking a comment out of context. Those wishing to push the State over the Individual in support of ever greater taxes tend to be those that pervert this story. I ask them a few questions when I point out that Christ is not advocating for taxes but is rather avoiding a rhetoric trap and delivering a back handed slap at Caesar at the same time.

1. Who is asking Christ the Question that he is answering
2. Why are they asking Christ this Question?
3. What was Christ’s full answer. Not just the three words they have taken out of context.
4. Why did Christ answer the way he did?

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This was the text of a “My Turn” column that I submitted to the AZ Republic back on May 5, 2002.  They did not publish it.

“What do the recent elections in France, our own Clean Elections regime in Arizona and the law of unintended consequences have in common? They show that our Founding Fathers were far wiser than we can ever begin to appreciate.

Reading the news reports out of Paris one can only laugh at the cheese eating surrender monkeys (as the National Review endearingly refer to the French) if it were not so close to the farce that we have forced on ourselves.  In France a candidate at least needs to get 500 elected officials to sign a petition to get his name on the ballot to run for President while now through the good graces of our legislature (that teetering tower of financial restraint) it only takes a similar number of citizens to part with a measly $5 to force open the Public Purse and make our elections process a literal free for all so that that every fringe candidate on the margin with the ability to draw a like-minded mob can clear this speed bump on his way to a public feasting of spending and self laudatory publicity. Continue reading →