Animal Cruelty, Gain of Function Research, & the American Budget

Oh, Fauci, you're in trouble now!

Fauci has been, much to his own pleasure, ubiquitous over the last 18 months. One finds it difficult to turn on the TV or log into social media without seeing his likeness gracing the headlines, memes, etc., and the opinions regarding his character and effectiveness are rarely moderate--he's either a god or the devil incarnate. Personally, I'm confident he's just another member of America's ruling elite--what I like to call our unofficial aristocracy.

His latest scandal stems from research done in Tunisia that included, how can I summarize this neatly, sacrificing beagles to sandflies. Previously he faced stiff opposition when it was discovered that the origin of COVID-19 may be tied gain-of-function research in a Wuhan lab that the NIH funded under Fauci's leadership. Besides his general hypocrisy and vacillation, which should be enough to discredit him, these two scandals have convinced many that Fauci is more evil genius than benevolent savior.

I'd like to share three quick questions that occurred to me when I heard this story.

Firstly, is this their way of getting rid of Fauci without dealing with the Wuhan lab? In other words, is this a distraction? There's a thin, fine line between being an informed citizen and a conspiracy nut, and our government's endless corruption and misinformation has made it even more difficult to maintain this balance. The media normally runs point for them, so, whenever a scandal like this occurs, it's usually safe to assume that something even worse is being hidden (think Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky). Are they trying to make Fauci disappear so people will stop asking questions about Wuhan? I'm sure we'll never know.

Secondly, does anyone else find it equally amusing and depressing that animal cruelty is taken way more seriously than endangering the lives of billions of human beings? We've all heard it said that disaster relief drives bring in more money when showing images of distraught animals, and I think this story illustrates again our misplaced priorities in this nation. Fauci has proven to be a dangerous, incompetent political puppet, but it takes pictures of tortured dogs to evince a reaction from the average American. What a sad, backwards world it is.

Finally, why are we funding research in China and Tunisia? People are caught up in an uproar about the unethical uses of American tax dollars, but nobody seems to be asking the simplest question--why are we funding any research in other countries? As an American taxpayer I am as equally, or at least nearly as, upset about my money being used to fund any research as inhumane research. We have become so desensitized to imbalanced budgets and national deficits that we no longer even consider how absurd it is that our money funds foreign armies, foreign research, etc. Rand Paul, walking in his father's footsteps, is about the only politician who ever mentions fiscal responsibility anymore, and he does it simply to illustrate how ridiculous our spending has become. When we no longer question the elaborate spending practices of our Federal government, we've already lost the battle.

"Father, Forgive Them"

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Forgiveness is hard. Forgiveness is really, really hard. It’s difficult to forgive others who have genuinely harmed or offended us. It’s easy to say , “I forgive you,” but it’s extremely difficult to feel it–to make peace in our hearts with the injustices that others have perpetrated against us. It just doesn’t feel right. Sin should be punished! Wrongs should be righted! Right?! It’s difficult to forgive others when they ask for it. It’s even more difficult to forgive them when they haven’t asked for it–when they don’t even recognize what they’ve done to hurt us. As our Savior hung upon His Cross, He asked the Father to forgive those nearby–those who were unwittingly contributing to the greatest injustice in the history of the world. These thieves, soldiers, and standers-by had no idea what was happening. They had no idea that the jealousy of the Jews had placed Christ on that Cross...

The Real Presence & Paedocommunion: A Deeper Rift Between Reformed Churches

You're going back to Rome! Theological disagreements within the Reformed world, especially those of the last half century, often devolve into these sorts of accusations. As controversialists like Doug Wilson and Peter Leithart began to break away from the larger conservative Presbyterian and Reformed denominations, it became clear that the rift was deeper than semantics and systematic minutiae. Much like the Reformation four centuries before, the Table was a primary point of conflict. What does it mean? Who may partake? What do we call it? These questions, along with a few more, divided Reformed brethren as the physical elements of our religion reflected deeper conflicts. Good men began to understand that the problem wasn't just in our logos, but in our pathos and ethos, as well. Paedocommunion (hereafter PC) has been one of the hottest points of contention. PC has always been normal to me as I grew up with it. I underst...

"The More Things Change..." or "Joe Biden Doing Joe Biden Things"

1 Samuel 2 relates the story of Eli, the well-meaning high priest whose only flaw (apparently) was his refusal to discipline his sons. These sons, described as worthless men , utilized their position to abuse the people and indulge their lusts with impunity. Eli's dereliction of duty brought his otherwise noble career in service to God's house to an ignominious end. There are, of course, important differences between Eli and Joe Biden. Joe Biden is not a religious leader (though he is a practicing Roman Catholic ), nor would I consider his record to be otherwise spotless. However, similarly to Eli, Biden's pardoning of his own worthless son, Hunter, will prove to be his legacy. His long (and I mean loooong) career in politics will likely be overshadowed, even in the eyes of those who previously respected him, by this one shameless act. By pardoning his son despite promising not to, Biden has yet again demonstrate...

Always Reforming

Search This Blog