Putting Your Faith in God...

...or failing that, Smith and Wesson.

Via The Religion News Service, I see that the Arkansas State House has passed a bill specifically allowing for guns to be carried in churches:

'...The state House on Wednesday narrowly passed a bill to allow concealed weapons permit holders to bring their guns to church. Its fate will now rest with the Senate...

...House Bill 1237, the church-guns bill, won approval on a 57-42 vote.

The bill by Rep. Beverly Pyle, R-Cedarville, would amend state law to remove churches and other places of worship from the list of places where people with permits are not allowed to carry guns.

“Due to many shootings that have happened in our churches across our nation, it is time we changed our concealed handgun law to allow law-abiding citizens of the state of Arkansas the right to defend themselves and others should a situation happen in one of our churches,” Pyle told House members...'

This really doesn't speak well of the faith the Arkansas State Government has in Arkansas religious institutions to be a force for peace in this world. If the State House feels that churches offering messages of peace are ineffective without some serious packed heat to back up the message, then what are they doing funneling money to 'Faith Based Initiatives?'

Stimulus!

Stimulus we can believe in, courtesy of the U.S. Senate:

'...Buried in the Senate version of the economic recovery plan — despite the "heroic" efforts of Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), and other centrists to "fry the bacon" — is an allocation of $1 Billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for “weapons activities.”...'

Appropriation here. I can think of few things more stimulating than nuclear bombs. If you're a Cylon. If you instead are trying to stimulate an economy, then building schools will most certainly lead to more job creation, to say nothing of block grants to states in financial straitjackets.

Of course, World War II is, by popular myth and story, the reason we got out of the Great Depression, so what do I know? Think of all those rebuilding opportunities on Caprica. Maybe we could nuke each other; or maybe the Moon.

Buh-Bye, Dubai

Boom Times go Boom. From the London Times:

'...For many expatriate workers in Dubai it was the ultimate symbol of their tax-free wealth: a luxurious car that few could have afforded on the money they earned at home...

...Police have found more than 3,000 cars outside Dubai’s international airport in recent months. Most of the cars – four-wheel drives, saloons and “a few” Mercedes – had keys left in the ignition. Some had used-to-the-limit credit cards in the glove box. Others had notes of apology attached to the windscreen.

“Every day we find more and more cars,” said one senior airport security official, who did not want to be named. “Christmas was the worst – we found more than two dozen on a single day.”...'

What on Earth? Why, those sound like perfectly good automobiles. What's going on?

'...Now, faced with crippling debts as a result of their high living and Dubai’s fading fortunes, many expatriates are abandoning their cars at the airport and fleeing home rather than risk jail for defaulting on loans.

...Under Sharia, which prevails in Dubai, the punishment for defaulting on a debt is severe. Bouncing a check, for example, is punishable with jail. Those who flee the emirate are known as skips...

...Police have issued warrants against owners of the deserted cars. Those who return risk arrest at the airport...'

Oh, I see. Good luck with those airport arrests. They're not coming back. Here are the economic projections for that crazy boom town Dubai in the coming year:

80% of the entire population (about 4.5 million) is expatriate.

8% total population decline predicted this year, as expatriates leave

1,500 visas canceled every day in Dubai

62% of homes occupied by expatriates; 60% fall in property values predicted

50% slump in the price of luxury apartments on Palm Jumeirah

25% reduction in luxury spending among UAE expatriates