Rob Monti,
Your Favorite MonT-SteR!
Blogs with
MonT-SteR Appeal
Alpha & Omega Min.
Atheism Presupposes Theism
Atheism Sucks!
Christians Behaving Badly
Come Reason Ministries
Facing the Challenge
His Hand is On the Door
Let's Try Freedom
ProLifeBlogs
The Thinklings
World Magazine Blog
Friday, May 25, 2007
Non sequiturs and broken toilets
Update (Sat., May 26, 2007, 3:37 p.m.):
I sent letters to Senators Warner and Web outlining (in principle) my opposition to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (CIRA, S. 2611). Here's the letter I sent to Sen. Warner:
Update (Sat., May 26, 2007, 3:37 p.m.):
I sent letters to Senators Warner and Web outlining (in principle) my opposition to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (CIRA, S. 2611). Here's the letter I sent to Sen. Warner:
The Honorable John Warner
United States Senate
225 Russell Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Warner:
I am gravely concerned about the impact that the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (CIRA, S. 2611) will have upon our nation if it passes.
As the grandson of an Italian immigrant who entered America through Ellis Island in the 1920s, I believe that controlled, legal immigration has enriched the United States and served, in part, to make it the great nation it is today. Unfortunately, CIRA does not meet the definition of controlled, legal immigration because of its amnesty provision.
The estimated 12 million illegal aliens are here for one simple reason: they have flouted our laws. American citizenship implies respect for and obedience to our laws and creeds. If the very foundation of an illegal alien's presence here is criminality, it is palpably unreasonable to expect that they will make good American citizens once granted amnesty. Thus, the act of decriminalizing their presence here is misguided at best, dangerous at worst.
Moreover, CIRA's amnesty provision is manifestly unjust and unfair to every immigrant who has respected the laws of our country and submitted to the legal process required to gain citizenship. Decriminalizing illegal aliens already in our country says to others waiting to become American citizens that circumventing our immigration laws is without consequence. This has the undesirable effect of encouraging further illegal immigration.
Some have cited the necessity of CIRA given the logistical and financial challenges associated with enforcing existing immigration law. I utterly reject this premise. The negative impact that illegal aliens have had on medical systems in border cities is well documented, as are the tens of billions of taxpayer dollars that go each year to illegals who have illicit access to the welfare system. For reasons stated above, CIRA will exacerbate such problems rather than mitigate them. On that basis, it seems apparent that our long-term economic and security interests are better served by bearing the expense and effort associated with enforcing current immigration law now.
As a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I am registering my fervent opposition to CIRA with your office. In addition, I respectfully request that you vote against this ill-conceived, pernicious bill that has the potential to harm our country deeply if not irreparably. If you support it, please know that you will forfeit both my vote and my support for your office in perpetuity.
Sincerely,
Robert R. Monti
It's after 4 a.m.
I am sitting at my computer at this ungodly hour for two reasons:
Now, understand friends, that I am not anti-immigration. Far from it. I am the grandson of an Italian immigrant. I cannot tell you how grateful I am that America welcomed my grandfather and his family here in the late 1920s. Controlled, legal immigration is a good thing, and it's part of what has made the United States a great nation.
Illegal immigration is another matter, for a number of reasons:
Given the gravity of the issue, I was utterly dismayed to hear Sen. John McCain (R, Arizona) defend his stance on immigration with one of the biggest, most INANE non sequiturs I have ever heard. There are 12 million illegal aliens in our country, he said, and that makes enforcing current illegal immigration law (i.e., DEPORTING them) untenable. The only alternative, according to McCain's logic, is this awful amnesty bill that he co-sponsored with the likes of Ted Kennedy.
My problems with Sen. McCain's rotgut reasoning are as follows:
Folks, I don't mean to be hard-nosed here, and I don't wish to overlook the human element in all this either. Those who know me well know me as a man of compassion. The Business Week article I cited above makes reference to a family of illegal immigrants that has started its own business and worked its way into the middle class. I applaud their hard work and ingenuity, and I don't relish the thought of uprooting them and sending them packing. But the incontrovertible facts remain. They broke the law in order to get where they are. They made the choice to do that. They knowingly risked the consequences. We are culpable only insofar as we failed to enforce our laws. And so we face the painful prospect of forcing many such families out of the country.
The guilt we may feel at that notion should not stem from the enforcement of the law. It should stem rather from the libertine foolishness and cowardice that brought us this mess. And now the likes of Sen. McCain and President Bush would have us codify it and call it progress.
Not on your life, gentlemen.
I am sitting at my computer at this ungodly hour for two reasons:
- Our bedroom bathroom toilet decided to break in the middle of the night. To keep our floor from being flooded, I had to enlist the assistance of my sleepy wife and dig the toolbox out of the closet. The only fix at 3:45 a.m. was to just close the valve that feeds the toilet until we can get maintenance in here. Unfortunately, the valve was stuck, so I had to crawl around on the floor with a wrench to get it to turn. Nothing like having your face in a toilet in the wee hours of the night.
- As a result of these activities, I can't get back to sleep at the moment. So I'm blogging.
Now, understand friends, that I am not anti-immigration. Far from it. I am the grandson of an Italian immigrant. I cannot tell you how grateful I am that America welcomed my grandfather and his family here in the late 1920s. Controlled, legal immigration is a good thing, and it's part of what has made the United States a great nation.
Illegal immigration is another matter, for a number of reasons:
- Illegal immigrants (NOT "undocumented" immigrants, which is one of the Left's favorite designer propagandist phrases), by definition, must flout our nation's laws to be here. The very foundation of their presence in our country is criminality. Some political elements are keen to dismiss this fact by casting illegal immigrants as innocents who have merely come to the U.S. for economic opportunity. That is not an excuse. Bank robbers are motivated by economic opportunity as well, but we don't hesitate to arrest and prosecute them. Law breaking is law breaking, plain and simple.
- Excusing and coddling illegal immigration represents an enormous security risk to our nation. It is a matter of public record now that potential Islamic terrorist elements could be slipping into our country the very same way many illegal aliens do -- via our porous southern border with Mexico.
- Our political unwillingness to follow immigration law has translated into law enforcement's inability to interdict violent or damaging crimes committed by illegal aliens. There was a firestorm here in Hampton Roads not too long ago because an illegal alien caused a drunk driving accident that killed two teenage girls. This particular illegal alien had been arrested for driving while intoxicated well before the fatal crash; he should have been deported with prejudice at that time. Instead, the court gave him a mild slap on the hand in the form of time served and a pittance of a fine. He was released and warned not to drive. We all see how well that worked. This is a clear, practical example of how our failure to enforce immigration law is actually a dangerous practice that threatens the safety of the citizenry in palpable ways.
- Others have dealt with the deleterious economic impact of illegal immigration, but I view this as a lesser (though not unimportant) issue, so I shan't belabor that here. Here are couple good articles I found on how illegal immigration strains our medical system to the breaking point and saps billions of taxpayer dollars. Here's a third article from Business Week outlining how capitalism stripped of morality has led big business to fatten its bottom line while selling out American citizens by catering to the illegal alien population.
Given the gravity of the issue, I was utterly dismayed to hear Sen. John McCain (R, Arizona) defend his stance on immigration with one of the biggest, most INANE non sequiturs I have ever heard. There are 12 million illegal aliens in our country, he said, and that makes enforcing current illegal immigration law (i.e., DEPORTING them) untenable. The only alternative, according to McCain's logic, is this awful amnesty bill that he co-sponsored with the likes of Ted Kennedy.
My problems with Sen. McCain's rotgut reasoning are as follows:
- The notion that the number of illegals makes law enforcement impossible is ridiculous. There are between 250 and 300 million people in the U.S. If we can't enforce the laws on the books with 12 million, we might as well shrug our shoulders and give up on enforcing laws vis-a-vis the rest of the populace. After all, if we can't enforce laws that effect 12 million people, what makes us think we can do so with over 20 times that number? Of course, no reasonable person would think along these lines -- which makes it inexcusable for a U.S. Senator to do so.
- The logistical challenge and expense of deporting 12 million illegal aliens are often cited to assert that, in essence, amnesty is the only alternative. Given that 1) our lax attitude toward illegal immigration has the real possibility of resulting in a mushroom cloud over one or more of our major cities, 2) illegal immigration already costs the federal government billions of dollars each year, and 3) that amount is likely to double the moment we give amnesty to illegal aliens and will increase each year thereafter, I don't see how the Senator can reasonably maintain this position.
Folks, I don't mean to be hard-nosed here, and I don't wish to overlook the human element in all this either. Those who know me well know me as a man of compassion. The Business Week article I cited above makes reference to a family of illegal immigrants that has started its own business and worked its way into the middle class. I applaud their hard work and ingenuity, and I don't relish the thought of uprooting them and sending them packing. But the incontrovertible facts remain. They broke the law in order to get where they are. They made the choice to do that. They knowingly risked the consequences. We are culpable only insofar as we failed to enforce our laws. And so we face the painful prospect of forcing many such families out of the country.
The guilt we may feel at that notion should not stem from the enforcement of the law. It should stem rather from the libertine foolishness and cowardice that brought us this mess. And now the likes of Sen. McCain and President Bush would have us codify it and call it progress.
Not on your life, gentlemen.
Labels: illegal immigration, John McCain, John Warner, politics, President Bush
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Preach it, brutha!
I've been conspicuously absent from my blog for awhile because of two events that recently transpired:
In case you're interested, you can hear my sermon at the NLVB's site. They have a nifty little Flash player that allows you to listen to recent sermons. Take a listen to more than just mine -- there's been some good preaching going on at our church!
Up next, MORE global warming ranting (I see you rolling your eyes...) and a review of Spider-Man 3.
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
I've been conspicuously absent from my blog for awhile because of two events that recently transpired:
- My son turned 3 on Saturday, and we had a birthday bash for him.
- I have been diligently preparing to preach on Ephesians 4 at my church, New Life of Virginia Beach (NLVB), this past Sunday.
In case you're interested, you can hear my sermon at the NLVB's site. They have a nifty little Flash player that allows you to listen to recent sermons. Take a listen to more than just mine -- there's been some good preaching going on at our church!
Up next, MORE global warming ranting (I see you rolling your eyes...) and a review of Spider-Man 3.
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
Friday, May 04, 2007
Men of whom the world was not worthy (Heb. 11:38)
Christians are often derided as narrow-minded prigs who are virulently intolerant of competing ideologies. Many fail to realize that atheistic paradigms have themselves been guilty of gross intolerance and conversion by force.
Tonight, I heard the story of Hin, a Christian who found himself on the wrong side of the Viet Cong when Vietnam fell to communism. He was imprisoned and force-fed a steady diet of Marx and Engels each day. Many are familiar with Marx's famous quote about religion being the opiate of the masses. Some may not know that Marxism actually views religion as an instrument of oppression used by the bourgeoisie to keep the proletariat under its heel. In Marx's dialectical synthesis, the victory of the proletariat results in a classless society that is free from the shackles of any faith perspective. This is why people of faith suffer cruelly in communist revolutions and governments; it was also the impetus behind the attempt to reprogram Hin. Stalin's purgings and the current persecution of the underground church in China are both examples of the practical outworkings of atheistic paradigms.
Atheists frequently take offense at this assertion, which I find both ironic and amusing, since they are wont to derive a certain amount of glee and pleasure from throwing the likes of the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition in Christianity's collective face. Well, atheism has its own inquisitions and crusades to answer for, and that, my friends, is incontestable. Either way, saying that people who called themselves Christians or atheists committed evil acts doesn't prove or disprove either worldview. It simply amounts to an ad hominem attack that only serves to tick people off.
In any case, on a day when Hin had finally given up and chosen to let go of his faith, he was ordered to clean the latrines in the prison camp. There, as he toiled in the midst of filth and stench, he saw a piece of paper on the ground. Although it was smeared with human excrement, Hin was able to discern that it had English words printed on it. He took it, washed it, put it in his pocket, and when he was alone that night he read the following words:
This one page of the Bible was so precious to Hin that he went the next day and asked to clean the latrines. For weeks thereafter, Hin willingly braved his foul daily chore in the hope of finding more of the Scriptures. Every page Hin found was soiled with waste; he cleaned and treasured them all. Eventually, he assembled the entire book of Romans and other parts of the Bible. And there, in that place of despair, a crushing, oppressive, atheistic government's best efforts to recreate a believer's heart in its own image were subverted and overthrown by the King of Kings.
I am moved by Hin's story. I have multiple copies of the Bible. Do I treasure them as much as Hin did? Would I, if I ever found myself in a similar situation, be willing to muck around in human waste just because it might afford me an opportunity to possess a page of the Bible? Is the Word of God that precious to me now?
Here is portion of a message given by one of my favorite Christian authors and speakers, Ravi Zacharias. At about halfway through the clip, he starts sharing Hin's story. It's worth a listen:
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
Christians are often derided as narrow-minded prigs who are virulently intolerant of competing ideologies. Many fail to realize that atheistic paradigms have themselves been guilty of gross intolerance and conversion by force.
Tonight, I heard the story of Hin, a Christian who found himself on the wrong side of the Viet Cong when Vietnam fell to communism. He was imprisoned and force-fed a steady diet of Marx and Engels each day. Many are familiar with Marx's famous quote about religion being the opiate of the masses. Some may not know that Marxism actually views religion as an instrument of oppression used by the bourgeoisie to keep the proletariat under its heel. In Marx's dialectical synthesis, the victory of the proletariat results in a classless society that is free from the shackles of any faith perspective. This is why people of faith suffer cruelly in communist revolutions and governments; it was also the impetus behind the attempt to reprogram Hin. Stalin's purgings and the current persecution of the underground church in China are both examples of the practical outworkings of atheistic paradigms.
Atheists frequently take offense at this assertion, which I find both ironic and amusing, since they are wont to derive a certain amount of glee and pleasure from throwing the likes of the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition in Christianity's collective face. Well, atheism has its own inquisitions and crusades to answer for, and that, my friends, is incontestable. Either way, saying that people who called themselves Christians or atheists committed evil acts doesn't prove or disprove either worldview. It simply amounts to an ad hominem attack that only serves to tick people off.
In any case, on a day when Hin had finally given up and chosen to let go of his faith, he was ordered to clean the latrines in the prison camp. There, as he toiled in the midst of filth and stench, he saw a piece of paper on the ground. Although it was smeared with human excrement, Hin was able to discern that it had English words printed on it. He took it, washed it, put it in his pocket, and when he was alone that night he read the following words:
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)One of the officers in the prison camp was using the pages of the Bible as toilet paper.
This one page of the Bible was so precious to Hin that he went the next day and asked to clean the latrines. For weeks thereafter, Hin willingly braved his foul daily chore in the hope of finding more of the Scriptures. Every page Hin found was soiled with waste; he cleaned and treasured them all. Eventually, he assembled the entire book of Romans and other parts of the Bible. And there, in that place of despair, a crushing, oppressive, atheistic government's best efforts to recreate a believer's heart in its own image were subverted and overthrown by the King of Kings.
I am moved by Hin's story. I have multiple copies of the Bible. Do I treasure them as much as Hin did? Would I, if I ever found myself in a similar situation, be willing to muck around in human waste just because it might afford me an opportunity to possess a page of the Bible? Is the Word of God that precious to me now?
Here is portion of a message given by one of my favorite Christian authors and speakers, Ravi Zacharias. At about halfway through the clip, he starts sharing Hin's story. It's worth a listen:
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
Labels: atheism, faithfulness, persecution
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
The almighty DIV tag
I've further tweaked my blog template, and although I've encountered lots of little nitpicky issues that I had to overcome (The MonT-SteR is a self-taught Web guy, which means I know just enough about HTML and CSS to get myself into trouble), I have to say that I'm really pleased.
Projects at work made it clear that the dependable old HTML table that I'm familiar with is, like, SOOOO last millennium. So I started working to learn how to use the DIV command so I could wrest myself away from my HTML table addiction. Some aspects of how DIVs behave are still a bit of a mystery to me, but I'm tickled with the flexibility they afford. They really are very powerful.
More on stuff that's actually substantive soon...
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
I've further tweaked my blog template, and although I've encountered lots of little nitpicky issues that I had to overcome (The MonT-SteR is a self-taught Web guy, which means I know just enough about HTML and CSS to get myself into trouble), I have to say that I'm really pleased.
Projects at work made it clear that the dependable old HTML table that I'm familiar with is, like, SOOOO last millennium. So I started working to learn how to use the DIV command so I could wrest myself away from my HTML table addiction. Some aspects of how DIVs behave are still a bit of a mystery to me, but I'm tickled with the flexibility they afford. They really are very powerful.
More on stuff that's actually substantive soon...
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
The MonT-SteR's new face
Well, I promised changes in appearance awhile ago, and here is the first wave.
This is unfinished, of course. I have plans for nifty rollovers for the buttons, and I want to apply this template to the other pages that are part of tMR.
Gone, however, are the days of www.mont-sterreport.com/blog. The root directory of my domain now houses my blog, which I think is a more logical and comfortable arrangement.
It's very late, so I'm off to bed. But drop me a line to let me know what you think of the new look.
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
Well, I promised changes in appearance awhile ago, and here is the first wave.
This is unfinished, of course. I have plans for nifty rollovers for the buttons, and I want to apply this template to the other pages that are part of tMR.
Gone, however, are the days of www.mont-sterreport.com/blog. The root directory of my domain now houses my blog, which I think is a more logical and comfortable arrangement.
It's very late, so I'm off to bed. But drop me a line to let me know what you think of the new look.
Blessings,
Rob
aka The MonT-SteR
