I hope you all have a chance to not just read, but listen to Mitt Romney's speech on faith in America last week. It would seem that even though he has poured millions of dollars into Iowa, and was clearly ahead, that the Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee, has eclipsed him largely due to concerns over Mormonism. For any one out there unfamiliar with our particular faiths, Titus and Jambo are practicing Catholics where as I was raised Mormon. It was an inspiring speech which referred often and correctly to the founding fathers, quoting John Adams et al. It was as close to a Reagan speech as I have heard. Good stuff and exactly what has been missing from American politics for some time.
The political purpose was of course to belay fears that Mormonism is some "cult", or anything other than a mainstream sect of Christianity. In that vein he invoked JFK because it was a perfect parallel. He too as you well know faced concerns and flat out opposition about his Catholicism - "the White House will be run from Rome." Little did they know Jack wasn't the most, shall we say "devout" of Catholics. Well, with his personal charisma (and a little mob muscle) Kennedy overcame these concerns. So, from my dear CCD friends out there I expect some simpatico with Mitt on this issue - he'll need it, his father doesn't have one leg in organized crime.
On other fronts, busy as hell this weekend ... and get this: the operators of Caesars have decided that being in the top three (with Wynn and Bellagio) in terms of high end action isn't good enough, they want to reclaim number one. So effective 12/10 our limits in dice (and this parallels around the entire joint and all games) are going from 5,000 dollar maximums to 50,000! Can you believe that? The max on odds will also be 50k, no 250,000 odds on 6 & 8. Still, very strong.
Later,
FR
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It has always been my contention that the Founding Fathers intended the Separation of Church and State to keep the State out of matters of faith and morals… not to keep faith and morals out of State affairs. The same research that led me to change my opinion on the 2nd Amendment (reading the Federalist Papers and correspondence from the Founder’s themselves) can only bring me to believe that while the Framers may not have been Catholic or Mormon (most were Episcopalian/Anglican, with a few Deists and Voltairians thrown in), all held some kind of faith dear to their heart as a “yard-stick” for the morals and ethics they so often used. Were this not the case, there would be no “In God we Trust” and no reference to God in the Oaths they authored, no Opening Prayer for Congress (let alone a Chaplain).
Be that as it may, I am rapidly getting tired of hearing analogies between Jack and Mitt… they don’t work. Jack’s speech was given AFTER his nomination, and refuted the ignorant assumptions of a bigoted population (that all Catholics forgo their free will by their allegiance to the Roman Pontiff). Romney has faced no such accusations (nor do I think he will), and only wanted to reassure people that he wasn’t some brain-washed cult member promoting a foreign theology so that these assumptions wouldn’t hurt his nomination chances.
I have no doubt that much of Romney’s moral code fits hand in glove with mine… and the rest of Christian America. I couldn’t care a bit less what his theology is as a Mormon, any more than I care about Bush’s “born again” theology or Clinton’s Baptist theology. His moral and ethical standards are parallel to any mainstream Judeo-Christian faith. Hell, I might even vote for him…
But I am NOT going to call him a Christian. Not now and not later.
The only time he mentioned “Mormonism” in his speech was to say he was one. If he is a practicing Mormon, then he believe the “current” tenants of that faith, and to believe those you simply CAN NOT be Christian. It is as simple as that.
He is a good, faithful and probably honest man who holds the same universal truths that I do… “Do onto others…”, “Judge not…”, “Thou shall not commit Murder…” etc. As I know he isn’t running on the platform of his theology, I have no issues voting for him (if he turns out to be the best choice I have)… but I won’t label him something he isn’t.
As for Caesar’s new limits… if you were even a little older, you’d recall the good ole days of “100x Odds” at the Grand. Those were some high-play days, my boy… want to drum some business? Take the limits to $20K and let ‘em go 100x behind. Then watch ‘em sweat!
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