And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi [the LORD is my Banner]: For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. (Exodus 17:14-16)
~~~~~
Today is Flag Day, a day we set aside to remember, consider, and celebrate the Star Spangled Banner which flies over our national capitol, our state capitols, our places of business, our stadiums and coliseums, and even in many cases our homes. Our American Flag, is a banner which stands for the ideals put forth in our Declaration of Independence, and the ideals enshrined in our national Constitution.
And often, when we fly our nation's flag, their are other flags with it. On our various state capitols we fly our state flags, we fly them under the national flag, for we are all part of the same Nation. We fly the banners of other Nations on an equal level with our own, secure enough in our own sovereignty to recognize theirs. But there is a Banner that belongs above all others.
Today is Flag Day, but there is a greater Banner to which we all owe allegiance, whether we recognize and accept Him or not. Jehovah-Nissi, The LORD is my Banner, is a name which Moses was moved to give an altar to the LORD, after a battle. That battle was with the nation of Amalek; a symbol of sin, in the Hebrew Scriptures, which fights against the souls of God's People.
In the battle before Moses dedicates the altar, Joshua defeats the army of Amalek. And yet, as Moses prophesied, the remnants of Amalek remained for the LORD to war against for generation to generation. Joshua too is a picture, a picture of the coming Christ.
Our LORD Jesus Christ, fought the battle against the Amalek in our lives on the Cross at Calvary, and that Amalek, or sin, was defeated. But there remains, even in God's own children, the remnants of sin, which He has sworn to war against! Note, the battle belongs to the LORD! He has promised to remove Amalek, sin, even from remembrance under heaven, and that day (the Day of the Lord) is coming soon.
There is a difference between a banner which is a bit of cloth, a flag we hold above us and carry into battles we fight, and the one true and Living Banner which we follow into the battle and Who carries us and fights the battles for us. We as a Nation have decided to honor our National Banner every June 14th. But those among us who are Christian must honor the LORD our Banner every day, even above the Star Spangled Banner, as our National Flag is naught but a bit of cloth, but by the very Grace of God, Himself.
Immigrants are the Heart of America
We are a Nation of immigrants. Most of the immigrants to this country were even unwilling, forced to immigrate due to having no other option. Immigrants to America have fled starvation, crushing poverty, and religious persecution. A large portion of our population can trace their ancestry back to immigrants who were brought here in chains and forced to labor as slaves. Even the aboriginal peoples who resided on the land which comprises this Nation were forced to immigrate from good lands to worse lands to the outlying wastes.
This country was settled by immigrants, and despite what our ancestors did which was wrong, and that what they did which was right, they flourished and prospered here. They did well enough that they attracted wave after wave of immigration. It was these immigrants and sons of immigrants which built everything we see, and claim to be American. We are a people who are not a people. We are united citizens of this world, drawn together by a bright and shining common dream. And our true strength lies in that common dream of all the peoples of this world.
That dream, which when we are true to it, is held in awe, wonder, and desire by people all over the world. It is the right to live at peace with our neighbors, the ability to profit from our own hard labor with even least able to provide for his family, and the freedom to practice our religion without threat of persecution.
That dream is embodied, refreshed, and renewed by each immigrant who crosses our borders to find work. Even the illegal ones. The part we the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren (no more than 8 generations deep!) have to play in this renewal of the dream is assuring that our Governance doesn't crush it.
Our current Governance of this Great Nation and Great Dream of the World is crushing the life out of itself through reckless social welfare. Social welfare is the antithesis of every bit of the American Dream. Social welfare is premised on the class system, which undermines the right we have to live at peace with our neighbors! The premise of Social Welfare is if a man is rich, he must have made that on the backs of those who are poor, therefore the Government must take what is his and give it to those who do not have as much. The action of Social Welfare is to penalize those who work hard, by taking what they earned, and reward those who do not by granting them what they have not earned. The result of Social welfare is to force its humanistic philosophy down the throats of all peoples at the expense and to the exclusion of all other religions and philosophies.
We currently are dealing with another wave of immigrants. These immigrants are in large part illegal. Their crime? Crossing the border in order to claim their portion of the American Dream at a time when we the currently residing immigrants have forgotten our place, our time, and our Dream. We should welcome all people who are willing to work hard and earn an honest day's wages. We should, in accordance with the American Dream which brought our forefathers hence, be welcoming to all who would come here for such a noble American cause.
We have high unemployment right now, nearly 25% of those who are capable are unemployed. I'm even one of them! But the hidden, unexplained truth is, that unemployed people create their own jobs, if they are not both supported and crushed by a social welfare system. But the social welfare system is currently paying at least 10% of us not to work! And I rather suspect the majority of the remaining 15% who not working are likewise on the government welfare rolls through some system other than unemployment insurance. Further, the crushing regulation and tax burden required to support the Social welfare system makes it difficult or impossible for a man to earn a reasonable wage for a reasonable days work, and even more difficult for him to become successful enough to hire and pay workers to assist him at his business.
Do not get caught up in this "illegal alien" clap trap. It is far to easy to point the finger at the "other" the "outsider" and lay blame there, when in fact it is the voting citizens of this Nation who are solely at fault, and solely to blame for our current predicament. We, the voting citizens, the children of prior immigrants, are also the only solution.
This country was settled by immigrants, and despite what our ancestors did which was wrong, and that what they did which was right, they flourished and prospered here. They did well enough that they attracted wave after wave of immigration. It was these immigrants and sons of immigrants which built everything we see, and claim to be American. We are a people who are not a people. We are united citizens of this world, drawn together by a bright and shining common dream. And our true strength lies in that common dream of all the peoples of this world.
That dream, which when we are true to it, is held in awe, wonder, and desire by people all over the world. It is the right to live at peace with our neighbors, the ability to profit from our own hard labor with even least able to provide for his family, and the freedom to practice our religion without threat of persecution.
That dream is embodied, refreshed, and renewed by each immigrant who crosses our borders to find work. Even the illegal ones. The part we the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren (no more than 8 generations deep!) have to play in this renewal of the dream is assuring that our Governance doesn't crush it.
Our current Governance of this Great Nation and Great Dream of the World is crushing the life out of itself through reckless social welfare. Social welfare is the antithesis of every bit of the American Dream. Social welfare is premised on the class system, which undermines the right we have to live at peace with our neighbors! The premise of Social Welfare is if a man is rich, he must have made that on the backs of those who are poor, therefore the Government must take what is his and give it to those who do not have as much. The action of Social Welfare is to penalize those who work hard, by taking what they earned, and reward those who do not by granting them what they have not earned. The result of Social welfare is to force its humanistic philosophy down the throats of all peoples at the expense and to the exclusion of all other religions and philosophies.
We currently are dealing with another wave of immigrants. These immigrants are in large part illegal. Their crime? Crossing the border in order to claim their portion of the American Dream at a time when we the currently residing immigrants have forgotten our place, our time, and our Dream. We should welcome all people who are willing to work hard and earn an honest day's wages. We should, in accordance with the American Dream which brought our forefathers hence, be welcoming to all who would come here for such a noble American cause.
We have high unemployment right now, nearly 25% of those who are capable are unemployed. I'm even one of them! But the hidden, unexplained truth is, that unemployed people create their own jobs, if they are not both supported and crushed by a social welfare system. But the social welfare system is currently paying at least 10% of us not to work! And I rather suspect the majority of the remaining 15% who not working are likewise on the government welfare rolls through some system other than unemployment insurance. Further, the crushing regulation and tax burden required to support the Social welfare system makes it difficult or impossible for a man to earn a reasonable wage for a reasonable days work, and even more difficult for him to become successful enough to hire and pay workers to assist him at his business.
Do not get caught up in this "illegal alien" clap trap. It is far to easy to point the finger at the "other" the "outsider" and lay blame there, when in fact it is the voting citizens of this Nation who are solely at fault, and solely to blame for our current predicament. We, the voting citizens, the children of prior immigrants, are also the only solution.
Politics is Two Dimensional (as opposed to merely left verses right)
The incumbent political parties have long done their level best to ensure that political discourse in America is divided (more or less equally) between two supposedly polar opposite groups. The "Left", currently represented by the Democrat Party and the "Right" the province of the Republican Party.
The struggle between Left and Right is a valid contest. However, the failure of our current two party system is that there is another axis of political discourse that both the Left and Right parties are content to ignore. That axis is "Liberty" (personal freedoms supported by personal responsibilities) verses "Statism" (that is State-ism, or total control and responsibility belongs to the government alone, a.k.a. Tyranny).
Statism is like gravity. An apple is naturally drawn to the ground by gravity, and is incapable of resisting gravity without an outside influence. Likewise, incumbent Politicians and established political parties are unable to resist the draw of Statism. Power corrupts, is a truism that aptly describes this. The draw of Statism is the increase of personal power it offers the government official. The "outside influence", the only power that can resist Statism is Liberty.
As the parties of the Left and of the Right see-saw back and forth in their political tug of war, we all as a Nation slowly sink into the pit of Statism. We are all aware of this, we all feel the frustrations, even if we are unsure of the reasons. The Democrat and Republican parties are seemingly as irreconcilably different as they have ever been, yet the people on the Left feel they are not being represented by their party and the people on the Right feel the same about the their own. This is because, true Liberals and true Conservatives are not Statists!
While Liberals and Conservatives are not Statists, neither are they Anarchists (the extreme of Libertarianism), rather they both see the need for some level of Government control (just what that should be is the crux of their true and correct Political debate). But one thing that both true Conservatives and true Liberals should be able to agree on is that the current level of Statism is too much. We may argue about what order or priorities need to be cut, but we all should agree that our present course is untenable.
"When you find yourself in a hole, the first step is to stop digging." Not to keep digging with a smaller shovel, which is the proposal of both the left and right wing Statist parties in Washington. But as long as they can keep distracting the electorate by squabbling over the left or right-handed shovel, we will never climb out of this hole!
It is time for all Americans to work together to lift ourselves out of this hole, and present the leadership of the Two Parties the option to lead the way, or be buried when We the People begin backfilling this hole we have allowed ourselves to fall into.
To the parties' leadership; the first one of you two to grab, espouse, and follow sound Libertarian (small government, fiscal responsibility) principles will win the tug of war for the next decade or two. If both parties refuse, then one or both of you will be replaced by new Third Parties which are chomping at the bit and raring to go!
It is up to us, the American People to stand for the Libertarian ideals for which this Nation was founded, or submit to enforced slavery to our masters in Washington, as they in turn destroy our Nation in their fiscally irresponsible bid to keep power no matter the consequences.
I say, if you're a Liberal, join the Green Party, or whatever political Party best represents your beliefs. Resuscitate the Democrat party if you so choose and believe you can.
If you are a Conservative, join the Constitution Party, or form up with whatever Tea Party is forming in your State. The National Republican Party is dead to me.
If you are truly a Libertarian, then join that self-same party and help lead the way in a resurgence of the ideals and principles of your party and of this Country's Founders!
The struggle between Left and Right is a valid contest. However, the failure of our current two party system is that there is another axis of political discourse that both the Left and Right parties are content to ignore. That axis is "Liberty" (personal freedoms supported by personal responsibilities) verses "Statism" (that is State-ism, or total control and responsibility belongs to the government alone, a.k.a. Tyranny).
Statism is like gravity. An apple is naturally drawn to the ground by gravity, and is incapable of resisting gravity without an outside influence. Likewise, incumbent Politicians and established political parties are unable to resist the draw of Statism. Power corrupts, is a truism that aptly describes this. The draw of Statism is the increase of personal power it offers the government official. The "outside influence", the only power that can resist Statism is Liberty.
As the parties of the Left and of the Right see-saw back and forth in their political tug of war, we all as a Nation slowly sink into the pit of Statism. We are all aware of this, we all feel the frustrations, even if we are unsure of the reasons. The Democrat and Republican parties are seemingly as irreconcilably different as they have ever been, yet the people on the Left feel they are not being represented by their party and the people on the Right feel the same about the their own. This is because, true Liberals and true Conservatives are not Statists!
While Liberals and Conservatives are not Statists, neither are they Anarchists (the extreme of Libertarianism), rather they both see the need for some level of Government control (just what that should be is the crux of their true and correct Political debate). But one thing that both true Conservatives and true Liberals should be able to agree on is that the current level of Statism is too much. We may argue about what order or priorities need to be cut, but we all should agree that our present course is untenable.
"When you find yourself in a hole, the first step is to stop digging." Not to keep digging with a smaller shovel, which is the proposal of both the left and right wing Statist parties in Washington. But as long as they can keep distracting the electorate by squabbling over the left or right-handed shovel, we will never climb out of this hole!
It is time for all Americans to work together to lift ourselves out of this hole, and present the leadership of the Two Parties the option to lead the way, or be buried when We the People begin backfilling this hole we have allowed ourselves to fall into.
To the parties' leadership; the first one of you two to grab, espouse, and follow sound Libertarian (small government, fiscal responsibility) principles will win the tug of war for the next decade or two. If both parties refuse, then one or both of you will be replaced by new Third Parties which are chomping at the bit and raring to go!
It is up to us, the American People to stand for the Libertarian ideals for which this Nation was founded, or submit to enforced slavery to our masters in Washington, as they in turn destroy our Nation in their fiscally irresponsible bid to keep power no matter the consequences.
I say, if you're a Liberal, join the Green Party, or whatever political Party best represents your beliefs. Resuscitate the Democrat party if you so choose and believe you can.
If you are a Conservative, join the Constitution Party, or form up with whatever Tea Party is forming in your State. The National Republican Party is dead to me.
If you are truly a Libertarian, then join that self-same party and help lead the way in a resurgence of the ideals and principles of your party and of this Country's Founders!
The (most recent) Rise (and Fall?) of Left Wing Health Care
The aptly named "Slaughter Solution" may well be the final peal of the death knell to the Rule of Law that established our Nation as a Republic under the Constitution. First the Senate has found a way to pass this "Health Care" bill by fiat, instead of by Vote. And now the House has found a way to join them in supplanting Democracy with rule by fiat.
First off, when the House of Representatives passed H. R. 3590 known colloquially as the Senate Health Plan and officially short-titled "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act", it was actually titled "An Act to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the first-time homebuyers credit in the case of members of the Armed Forces and certain other Federal employees, and for other purposes." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid caused the House bill to be gutted and replaced entirely with text of his own. This was done in order to bypass the inherent difficulties and Constitutional protections provided if the Senate were to have passed their own, separate bill. The only thing H. R. 3590 as passed by the House and H. R. 3590 as passed by the Senate have in common is the designation H. R. 3590!
What happened to the bill that the House passed and sent to the Senate concerning health care, you may ask? The House did pass a version of health care reform after all, it was H.R. 3962, the "Affordable Health Care for America Act". It, H. R. 3962, is sitting "on the Senate Legislative calendar", forgotten, and quietly waiting to die a peaceful death at the end of the session.
Now, having written his new bill in an old bill's clothing, Senator Reid and President Obama convinced the Democrats in the Senate into standing in lockstep and passing this travesty through a rare (and fortunately short lived) party-line super majority vote. In order to accomplish this task (getting 60 Senators to agree on anything, no matter their party, is difficult) Senator Reid had to resort to the typical base tactic (used unabashedly by both parties) of brib... er, ah ear marks. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for Americans, the Constitution required that the House vote on any and all changes made. I say required because the latest machinations of the House leadership appears to be an attempt to bypass the very heart of the Constitution itself.
The Constitution of the United States of America, Article 1, Section 7 reads in part; "But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was stuck in a real quandary. It wasn't the fact that the bill was swapped out wholesale from the original, that's normal accepted procedure in Washington, but that the coalition of Democratic Representatives in Congress was able to read the proverbial "writing on the wall". Being politicians first, some had realized that their cushy two-year-at-a-time stints were on the line if they agreed to the current Senate bill, full of bri... er, kick-ba.., ah unpopular mono-state funding initiatives. All but a couple of the hardest headed liberals had finally surrendered on the so-called "public option" for the time being, but some of the more "moderate" members from conservative areas were concerned enough about public sentiment over abortion and those ear marks that they were unwilling to commit to vote "Yea" again. Despite another round of brib... ear marking, the numbers just didn't add up. What she needed was a rules fix, like the Senate had offered.
In the Senate, they recognized that their wholesale re-writing of the Health Care bill would be a hard pill for the House to swallow, so Senator Reid, with his fingers crossed behind his back, promised that the Senate would "fix" the bill, if only the House would pass it and the President sign it first. The President, likewise with his fingers crossed behind his back said, "Yeah, what he said!" Well, being politicians themselves, the House Democrats recognized a snow job when offered one and declined. Even Speaker Pelosi winced when trying to sell that whopper. But Senator Reid produced a surprise claiming that the special rules for "Budget Reconciliation" could be use to fix (most) of the "problems". The Republicans could whine about it, but they had neither the will nor enough of a cache of public trust to do anything substantive about it.
Reconciliation looked to be the answer, it at least afforded a modicum of political cover for most of the concerned "moderates". The only stickler remaining was the anti-abortion democrats. Enough of these members figured out all by themselves (through the aid of copious amounts of mail from constituents) that reconciliation could not fix the non-budgetary rules problems created by the Senate bill concerning abortion.
It struck Speaker Pelosi, that if the arcane rules of the Senate could provide for part of the solution, then surely the arcane rules of the House could provide for the rest! So, she called upon House Rules Committee Chairman Louise Slaughter to save her political bacon. Representative Slaughter, after some time of virtual rules bending finally came up with an idea.
The "Slaughter Solution" as it has lovingly been called, is simplicity (or is that duplicity?) itself. Basically, the House Rules committee would produce a "rule" which would deem the bill, H.R. 3590 (Senate hi-jacked health care bill) as passed without without! it ever having been voted on by the members of the House of Representatives; Article 1 Section 7 be damned.
Sure, the members of the House of Representatives(!) would have to vote "yea or nay" for the rule. But they could flatly and truthfully claim that they never voted for this unpopular bill, even if they vote "yea" on this rule. Is this thin political fig leaf worth the damage to the Constitution; to the Rule of Law in the United States of America? It apparently is worth it to President Obama, Senator Reid, and Speaker Pelosi.
The $64 trillion question is, Why?
First off, when the House of Representatives passed H. R. 3590 known colloquially as the Senate Health Plan and officially short-titled "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act", it was actually titled "An Act to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the first-time homebuyers credit in the case of members of the Armed Forces and certain other Federal employees, and for other purposes." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid caused the House bill to be gutted and replaced entirely with text of his own. This was done in order to bypass the inherent difficulties and Constitutional protections provided if the Senate were to have passed their own, separate bill. The only thing H. R. 3590 as passed by the House and H. R. 3590 as passed by the Senate have in common is the designation H. R. 3590!
What happened to the bill that the House passed and sent to the Senate concerning health care, you may ask? The House did pass a version of health care reform after all, it was H.R. 3962, the "Affordable Health Care for America Act". It, H. R. 3962, is sitting "on the Senate Legislative calendar", forgotten, and quietly waiting to die a peaceful death at the end of the session.
Now, having written his new bill in an old bill's clothing, Senator Reid and President Obama convinced the Democrats in the Senate into standing in lockstep and passing this travesty through a rare (and fortunately short lived) party-line super majority vote. In order to accomplish this task (getting 60 Senators to agree on anything, no matter their party, is difficult) Senator Reid had to resort to the typical base tactic (used unabashedly by both parties) of brib... er, ah ear marks. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for Americans, the Constitution required that the House vote on any and all changes made. I say required because the latest machinations of the House leadership appears to be an attempt to bypass the very heart of the Constitution itself.
The Constitution of the United States of America, Article 1, Section 7 reads in part; "But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was stuck in a real quandary. It wasn't the fact that the bill was swapped out wholesale from the original, that's normal accepted procedure in Washington, but that the coalition of Democratic Representatives in Congress was able to read the proverbial "writing on the wall". Being politicians first, some had realized that their cushy two-year-at-a-time stints were on the line if they agreed to the current Senate bill, full of bri... er, kick-ba.., ah unpopular mono-state funding initiatives. All but a couple of the hardest headed liberals had finally surrendered on the so-called "public option" for the time being, but some of the more "moderate" members from conservative areas were concerned enough about public sentiment over abortion and those ear marks that they were unwilling to commit to vote "Yea" again. Despite another round of brib... ear marking, the numbers just didn't add up. What she needed was a rules fix, like the Senate had offered.
In the Senate, they recognized that their wholesale re-writing of the Health Care bill would be a hard pill for the House to swallow, so Senator Reid, with his fingers crossed behind his back, promised that the Senate would "fix" the bill, if only the House would pass it and the President sign it first. The President, likewise with his fingers crossed behind his back said, "Yeah, what he said!" Well, being politicians themselves, the House Democrats recognized a snow job when offered one and declined. Even Speaker Pelosi winced when trying to sell that whopper. But Senator Reid produced a surprise claiming that the special rules for "Budget Reconciliation" could be use to fix (most) of the "problems". The Republicans could whine about it, but they had neither the will nor enough of a cache of public trust to do anything substantive about it.
Reconciliation looked to be the answer, it at least afforded a modicum of political cover for most of the concerned "moderates". The only stickler remaining was the anti-abortion democrats. Enough of these members figured out all by themselves (through the aid of copious amounts of mail from constituents) that reconciliation could not fix the non-budgetary rules problems created by the Senate bill concerning abortion.
It struck Speaker Pelosi, that if the arcane rules of the Senate could provide for part of the solution, then surely the arcane rules of the House could provide for the rest! So, she called upon House Rules Committee Chairman Louise Slaughter to save her political bacon. Representative Slaughter, after some time of virtual rules bending finally came up with an idea.
The "Slaughter Solution" as it has lovingly been called, is simplicity (or is that duplicity?) itself. Basically, the House Rules committee would produce a "rule" which would deem the bill, H.R. 3590 (Senate hi-jacked health care bill) as passed without without! it ever having been voted on by the members of the House of Representatives; Article 1 Section 7 be damned.
Sure, the members of the House of Representatives(!) would have to vote "yea or nay" for the rule. But they could flatly and truthfully claim that they never voted for this unpopular bill, even if they vote "yea" on this rule. Is this thin political fig leaf worth the damage to the Constitution; to the Rule of Law in the United States of America? It apparently is worth it to President Obama, Senator Reid, and Speaker Pelosi.
The $64 trillion question is, Why?
Competing Visions
In the current marketplace for ideas, there are three main "plans", "road maps", or "visions" for America's future.
First let's define where we are. "We the People" are broke. "We the People" are in large part (up to 22%, in real terms) without jobs. "We the People" are in debt up to our eyeballs in our private lives, as well as corporately with the expense of "two wars" (actually, one war on two fronts), massive payments on an unimaginably large public debt, and the unfunded mandates of Social Security and Medicare.
What is the President's response to this crisis? Create a brand new unfunded and unfundable entitlement program, while jacking energy prices (which are already to high, thanks to Federal Programs) through the roof by means of a "Cap and Trade" program. This "Cap and Trade" program is no more, no less, than a naked power grab by the Federal Government seeking to Nationalize our energy infrastructure, just as it has the Banking Sector, two out of the Big Three Automakers (Who came to congress looking for a hand out... What they got was a new ownership structure; a new master. "We the People" better take note!), and the Health Care sector which alone is fully 20% of our "private" economy. So, the President's Vision for America is Central economic, social, and political control, which is more reminiscent of Communist China, Cuba, or Venezuela than anything else.
Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) has published his "RoadMap Plan 2.0". In a brevity that can only do disservice to the ideas, he wants to return the "New Deal" back into something which is fiscally... reasonable. (Responsible is just too problematic a word to use for socialism.) Through a mixture of cuts, tax hikes, some privatization, and a little bit of voodoo (though nothing like the scale of Lovecraftian mathematics of the President's plan). He has convinced the Congressional Budget Office to declare that this plan would be solvent by 2058; while the "current plan" (the President's Budget) cannot be projected out that far due to the complete economic collapse of the predictive models well before reaching that point. Why 2058? Because most of the Baby Boomers will be dead by then, I reckon.
Finally, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) has ideas that nobody seems to like! (Which in my book is an excellent sign.) Briefly, Ron Paul is a Libertarian who is affiliated with the Republican Party as a marriage of convenience, as far as I can tell. His ideas are quite simply, get the Federal Government out of private business, private lives, and back into the box built for it by the framers of our Constitution. His plan for health care? Wean the public off of Medicaid, Medicare; support charities and private businesses enabling them to provide universal coverage. His plan for the economy? To bring the Federal Reserve Bank under control through tight auditing, with an eye to the future elimination of that institution. And eventually to wean the economy off of paper money and allow the States (and others?) to establish commodity backed (Gold and/or Silver) currencies. These are radical ideas; ideas that reek of common sense. Is there room in Washington for common sense? Only "We the People", the voters, can truly decide.
First let's define where we are. "We the People" are broke. "We the People" are in large part (up to 22%, in real terms) without jobs. "We the People" are in debt up to our eyeballs in our private lives, as well as corporately with the expense of "two wars" (actually, one war on two fronts), massive payments on an unimaginably large public debt, and the unfunded mandates of Social Security and Medicare.
What is the President's response to this crisis? Create a brand new unfunded and unfundable entitlement program, while jacking energy prices (which are already to high, thanks to Federal Programs) through the roof by means of a "Cap and Trade" program. This "Cap and Trade" program is no more, no less, than a naked power grab by the Federal Government seeking to Nationalize our energy infrastructure, just as it has the Banking Sector, two out of the Big Three Automakers (Who came to congress looking for a hand out... What they got was a new ownership structure; a new master. "We the People" better take note!), and the Health Care sector which alone is fully 20% of our "private" economy. So, the President's Vision for America is Central economic, social, and political control, which is more reminiscent of Communist China, Cuba, or Venezuela than anything else.
Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) has published his "RoadMap Plan 2.0". In a brevity that can only do disservice to the ideas, he wants to return the "New Deal" back into something which is fiscally... reasonable. (Responsible is just too problematic a word to use for socialism.) Through a mixture of cuts, tax hikes, some privatization, and a little bit of voodoo (though nothing like the scale of Lovecraftian mathematics of the President's plan). He has convinced the Congressional Budget Office to declare that this plan would be solvent by 2058; while the "current plan" (the President's Budget) cannot be projected out that far due to the complete economic collapse of the predictive models well before reaching that point. Why 2058? Because most of the Baby Boomers will be dead by then, I reckon.
Finally, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) has ideas that nobody seems to like! (Which in my book is an excellent sign.) Briefly, Ron Paul is a Libertarian who is affiliated with the Republican Party as a marriage of convenience, as far as I can tell. His ideas are quite simply, get the Federal Government out of private business, private lives, and back into the box built for it by the framers of our Constitution. His plan for health care? Wean the public off of Medicaid, Medicare; support charities and private businesses enabling them to provide universal coverage. His plan for the economy? To bring the Federal Reserve Bank under control through tight auditing, with an eye to the future elimination of that institution. And eventually to wean the economy off of paper money and allow the States (and others?) to establish commodity backed (Gold and/or Silver) currencies. These are radical ideas; ideas that reek of common sense. Is there room in Washington for common sense? Only "We the People", the voters, can truly decide.
Why the Republicrats in Washington must be voted out.
This is why most of the Republicans currently in Congress have to go. They do not have the ability to make a painful stand for what is right. Senator Bunning made a principled stand and the majority of his co-party-ests fled the scene.
Senator Bunning used parliamentary trick to hold up a bill that the Democrats created via their own rules trick. The ruling Democrat party couldn't find a way to pay for this relatively tiny $1 Billion dollar program, so they delayed it until it could be passed using "emergency" rules. Because in Washington, if you cannot pay for a government program, you merely have to wait until it is close to expiring, which constitutes an "emergency", and all requirements that you pay for the thing are magically lifted! Hmm, I think I would like to try this myself... Except I do not relish the idea of the Sheriff knocking on my door in order to evict me.
Both the Democrats and the Republicans are equally at fault. The Democrats are at fault for exceeding their expected tax and spend behavior, going to just plain old spend because they have nearly taxed the economy to death. The Republicans are at fault for hypocritically failing to stand against the Tax and Spend Democrats and even joining with them in their worse excesses.
The only real answer is for the American People to provide the appropriate feedback, and "throw the bums out" come election time. This means wholesale support of Third Party candidates, and support of those very few party politicians who's actions not merely words are representative of common sense fiscal responsibility. If you do not know if your representative is worthy of re-election or not, then the answer is not, simply because anyone who makes a principled stand in Washington DC will be pilloried in the press, just like Senator Bunning.
Senator Bunning used parliamentary trick to hold up a bill that the Democrats created via their own rules trick. The ruling Democrat party couldn't find a way to pay for this relatively tiny $1 Billion dollar program, so they delayed it until it could be passed using "emergency" rules. Because in Washington, if you cannot pay for a government program, you merely have to wait until it is close to expiring, which constitutes an "emergency", and all requirements that you pay for the thing are magically lifted! Hmm, I think I would like to try this myself... Except I do not relish the idea of the Sheriff knocking on my door in order to evict me.
Both the Democrats and the Republicans are equally at fault. The Democrats are at fault for exceeding their expected tax and spend behavior, going to just plain old spend because they have nearly taxed the economy to death. The Republicans are at fault for hypocritically failing to stand against the Tax and Spend Democrats and even joining with them in their worse excesses.
The only real answer is for the American People to provide the appropriate feedback, and "throw the bums out" come election time. This means wholesale support of Third Party candidates, and support of those very few party politicians who's actions not merely words are representative of common sense fiscal responsibility. If you do not know if your representative is worthy of re-election or not, then the answer is not, simply because anyone who makes a principled stand in Washington DC will be pilloried in the press, just like Senator Bunning.
Hope and Change
All things, naturally drift "left". It is an inescapable result of the fallen nature of mankind. In the history of the two-party system, (which isn't constitutional, but is an inevitable result) the only way what we call "conservative values" reappear is when the populace gets fed up enough with having a false choice between two "leftist" parties. Then, when they have enough following for the two major parties to feel threatened, one or both of the parties shifts their stance to attempt to co-opt the movement. Or the third party becomes larger until it replaces one of the two major parties and the old party fades out of existence.
Ross Perot's Party was co-opted by the major parties, which resulted in Washington almost becoming fiscally responsible for a few years. And now, with a Socialist on the the throne, as it were, pushing policies that inflame a very large segment of the country, it might finally be time for a third party to rise up and take the place of one of the two parties. The Democratic leadership has painted itself into a very far left corner, and the Republican Party leadership is hot on their heels! There is a wide band of conservative through moderate liberal voters who feel disenfranchised by both parties. Basically anyone who was (or would have been) a Reagan Democrat and to the right are at some level of discontent.
Reagan was successful because he promised to "stand for those common values that made us great" and "would make us great once again". In the aftermath of the failed Ford-Carter Socialist regimes, (which were a response to the disaster of Nixon demolishing the public trust) the American Spirit was at a deep low. The people were largely despondent with mistrust of government; both parties had mishandled the management of the Federal government. Out of that crisis arose a man who promised hope and change. Hope that was born of empowering the common American to lift himself up by his own hard work by removing the excessive tax burden. And change by promising to turn the economic model on its head by raising revenue by growing the economy, instead of taxing it into oblivion to pay for ever increasing social programs.
Obama was successful in his campaign because he said the words that many Americans wanted to hear; "There is Hope" "We need Change" without being specific about what that "Hope and Change" really meant. His "Hope" is the hope you have that you can go buy some food when the government gives you a check. His "Change" is to nationalize the largest part of the economy so that the political elites can protect us from the excesses of companies seeking to make a profit for their employees and stock holders.
What the successful Third Party candidate will do, which will separate him or her from the other minor party contenders, is make a stand on the basic "conservative values" that even most liberals believe in in their heart, even if they choose to vote for "progressive" social issues. To stand for the Reagan-style of "Hope and Change" and kick the Obama-esque "Hope and Change" back to the third world abyss from which it has arisen.
Ross Perot's Party was co-opted by the major parties, which resulted in Washington almost becoming fiscally responsible for a few years. And now, with a Socialist on the the throne, as it were, pushing policies that inflame a very large segment of the country, it might finally be time for a third party to rise up and take the place of one of the two parties. The Democratic leadership has painted itself into a very far left corner, and the Republican Party leadership is hot on their heels! There is a wide band of conservative through moderate liberal voters who feel disenfranchised by both parties. Basically anyone who was (or would have been) a Reagan Democrat and to the right are at some level of discontent.
Reagan was successful because he promised to "stand for those common values that made us great" and "would make us great once again". In the aftermath of the failed Ford-Carter Socialist regimes, (which were a response to the disaster of Nixon demolishing the public trust) the American Spirit was at a deep low. The people were largely despondent with mistrust of government; both parties had mishandled the management of the Federal government. Out of that crisis arose a man who promised hope and change. Hope that was born of empowering the common American to lift himself up by his own hard work by removing the excessive tax burden. And change by promising to turn the economic model on its head by raising revenue by growing the economy, instead of taxing it into oblivion to pay for ever increasing social programs.
Obama was successful in his campaign because he said the words that many Americans wanted to hear; "There is Hope" "We need Change" without being specific about what that "Hope and Change" really meant. His "Hope" is the hope you have that you can go buy some food when the government gives you a check. His "Change" is to nationalize the largest part of the economy so that the political elites can protect us from the excesses of companies seeking to make a profit for their employees and stock holders.
What the successful Third Party candidate will do, which will separate him or her from the other minor party contenders, is make a stand on the basic "conservative values" that even most liberals believe in in their heart, even if they choose to vote for "progressive" social issues. To stand for the Reagan-style of "Hope and Change" and kick the Obama-esque "Hope and Change" back to the third world abyss from which it has arisen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)