The Coffee Shop

I understand modern conservative thought.  I understand libertarian thought. I even understand classical liberalism.

What I can’t begin to comprehend is modern liberalism. Maybe you can help me.

As near as I can tell, to be a liberal today:

• You have to believe the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of funding.
• IF there is a church that is valid it has been pre-approved by the government.
• You have to be against capital punishment but for abortion on demand … in short, you support protecting the guilty and killing the innocent.
• You have to believe that the same public school idiot who can’t teach 4th graders how to read is qualified to teach those same kids about sex.
• You have to believe that everyone on the internet is a pervert BUT the school officials who want to do vaginal exams on your daughter without telling you have your best interest at heart.
• You have to believe that trial lawyers are selfless heroes and doctors are greedy and overpaid.
• You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than nuclear weapons in the hands of the Red Chinese, North Koreans, and Iranians.
• You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical, documented changes in the brilliance of the Sun, and more affected by yuppies driving SUVs.
• You have to believe that gender roles are artificial but being gay is natural.
• You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.
• You have to believe that hunters don’t care about nature but pasty, fey activists who’ve never been outside Seattle do.
• You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.
• You have to believe there was no art before federal funding.
• You have to believe the military, not corrupt politicians, start wars.
• You have to believe the free market that gives us 500+ channels can’t deliver the quality that PBS does.
• You have to believe the NRA is bad, because they stand up for certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good, because they stand up for certain parts of the Constitution. You have to believe that taxes are too low but ATM fees are too high.
• You have to believe that Harriet Tubman, Cesar Chavez and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, George Washington Robert E. Lee or Thomas Edison.
• You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides aren’t.
• You have to believe second-hand smoke is more dangerous than HIV.
• You have to believe Hillary Clinton is really a lady and Rosie O’Donnell is not really a man who is jealous of Tom Selleck.
• You have to believe conservatives are racists but that black people couldn’t make it without your help.
• You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn’t worked anywhere it’s been tried is because the right people haven’t been in charge.

Looking back on my list, it seems shallow, muddled, contradictory, divorced of logic and a bit sadistic.

Well, then.

If that doesn’t describe the modern American liberal, I don’t know what does.

Author Unknown

To the young people around us those words are likely meaningless. To my generation they are terrifying! George Orwell’s classic novel “1984″ was first published in 1949 as his vision of a post WWII socialist/fascist world. Time Magazine recently listed it as among the best 100 English language novels published in the last 80 years.

In the book the governmental language “Newspeak” twists words to conceal their meanings. The “Ministry of Peace” conducts war, the “Ministry of Love” conducts torture. “Big Brother” is the symbol of government which constantly watches everyone to assure compliance with its ever changing manipulation of society. There are signs everywhere stating, “Big Brother is Watching You” to control people by reminding them of pervasive and invasive surveillance by the government. Even children are indoctrinated to spy on their parents to detect possible “thought crimes” which were the most onerous of crimes in the society. Hmmmmmm. Kids at school encouraged to rat on their parents? No wonder home schooling is becoming so popular these days.

The term “Orwellian” can refer to many devious things. It can refer to any totalitarian government action to control and pacify the population, but it frequently refers to the intentional twisting of words to make them indicate the opposite of what the words mean. It is simply propagandizing by misnaming.

In today’s world a congressional bill to deny workers rights to a free private vote on unionization is called the “Employee’s Free Choice Act”. The president states that illegal aliens are prohibited access in his government healthcare proposal while the bill he refers to prohibits checking for legal status.

He further refers to the provisions of “his bill” when he has never actually produced such a bill and he never indicates which of multiple bills he refers to. He is then free to claim or deny anything he likes. He calls accurate reports of the contents of such bills as “misrepresentation” and “lies” and makes a direct threat to opponents that if anyone disputes his claims he will “Call you out.” Caution: Big Brother is Watching You!!

It was amusing watching George Stephanopoulos’s recent attempt to interview “Big Brother” himself. When asking about government enforced charges to people declining health insurance under “Obamacare” Stephanopoulos attempted to remind the president of his promise not to increase taxes on the middle class. Obama insisted, that ” is absolutely not a tax increase!” George even read the dictionary definition of “tax” to him and asked, “How is that not a tax?” Poor George. After all those years as chief of Clinton’s spin machine don’t you know you can’t pull a dictionary on Big Brother? “Newspeak” is recognized by Merriam-Webster.

Yep, old George “O” had it right on the button, only his date was off a bit.

Today the American people can no longer believe or trust their elected representatives. Political spin is king and governmental decisions are determined by focus groups to see what manner of twisting of the words will sell their schemes to a dumbed down public. Representatives respond to our inquiries with loads of double or concealed meaning statements that makes Clinton’s “It depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is” seem tame by comparison.

The IRS has become the veiled threat as the enforcement agency that is covertly or overtly held over the heads of opposition. Meanwhile, government officials and the administration’s friends are given a pass on even the most egregious of tax law violations. Look at the number of high level appointees that were forced to withdraw their nominations over public oppositions to their tax violations in just this year alone. In a nation of 300 million persons surely there are law abiding people talented enough for any job the government might need!

High level congressional leaders such as Charlie Rangel are allowed to hold their posts and chairmanships with records of tax evasion running into the millions of dollars. Meanwhile he (Tax Cheat Charlie) as head of the House Ways and Means Committee slips rules into the tax codes so the “little people” receive threats over the most minor of infractions and oversights in their tax records. A man that himself has a reputation of a tax cheat is appointed to head the treasury and the IRS . He is charged to run the system for the rest of us!

In the book the main character Winston Smith is symbolic of “everyman”. He works in the “Ministry of Truth” where his job is to rewrite historical records to match the current party line. Sounds much like the school textbooks of today where the average high school student graduates unable to recognize George Washington’s picture or what he did, knowing only that he owned slaves and had wooden teeth.

Winston’s job is secure since the ever changing party line requires a constant changing of records and the removing of “unpersons” who are not in vogue with the current party politic. Reality is ambiguous and has been changed so much no one really knows for sure what even the real date actually is anymore. Sounds an awful lot like today’s political spin machines at work doesn’t it?

The classes of “1984″ society are the small “inner party“, an oligarchy of high level party members, a somewhat larger “outer party” of government bureaucrats to which Winston belongs, and the “Proles” which is the non-party-members of the controlled society. You know, the average everyday folks like you and me and Joe the plumber.

In the book the main character Winston first describes the world of “1984″ as he perceives it and then becomes uneasy over what he finds. He enjoys his work but develops a curiosity for the true history that has been eradicated. He has an illicit love affair with another outer party member, Julia, and they long for a pre-1984 time where they could openly express their love. Its only a bit more far-fetched than the numerous people today that live together without marrying to avoid being penalized by losing government benefits or being moved into higher tax brackets that they can not afford.

Unfortunately in “1984″ everything is bugged and ultimately they are caught by the “Thought Police” for having individual thoughts not sanctioned by the party. Charged with a “thought crime” Winston and Julia are sent to the “Ministry of Love” where they are separately interrogated, imprisoned, tortured and reeducated. Is this really far from the legislation to establish “hate crimes” today? Crimes not based on acts committed, but the inferred thoughts that are supposedly deserving of higher punishment?

In the course of Winston’s interrogations and torture it is revealed that the true meaning of the controls are not to create a Utopian paradise at all, but simply a method for the inner party to retain power. Sort of like the perpetual office holders we see in government today. The more power they achieve, the more they desire and the more onerous the regulations they are willing to enforce on the society to achieve it. Regulations like a “Fairness Doctrine” that will preclude their opposition from access to the airwaves and will insure their perpetual reelection. Tarp payments that steal from the public treasury to reward buddies and political groups like Acorn and pay for their support while claiming it is to stimulate the economy. They are creating ever increasing taxes and declining value of the money supply to feed their insatiable appetite for power.

Do we really want to live a “1984″ society? As Americans we have inherited a proud history that our forefathers fought and died for, a history that values the privacy of individual thought and encourages individual freedom and achievement. Our capitalist system has created the greatest economic power the world has ever known by freeing individuals to excel.

But to do so individuals must also be allowed occasionally to fail. For that we historically have had charities, churches, family, and friends who lend a helping hand. Americans are the most charitable people in the world, but when the government takes from the people in taxes to turn that role over to bureaucrats it robs the people of the funds to help their neighbors that are in need. The overloaded bureaucrats are poorly equipped to discern the difference between true need and cheats who simply desire to feed off the system.

We are steadily and surely losing the charitable nature of our society in exchange for a government provided security net. Every year we are moving closer to the Orwellian hell described in “1984″. Wake up America. We are closer than you think!

Wednesday’s Presidential address to a joint session of congress was interrupted by an unusual shout by Rep Joe Wilson of SC. When Obama stated that illegal aliens would not be given coverage under Obamacare, Joe shouted, “You lie!!” The following day, under pressure from the party leadership he called the White House and apologized for his lack of civility. He may have had a slip in civility, but was he correct in his assessment?

We have been listening to claims and counter claims repeatedly over the summer about what is and what is not part of the healthcare proposals before congress. There have been a lot of “bait and switch” tactics about the various bills, but the only bill currently presented and released by committee is the one crafted in the house. This 1000+ page monstrosity has been accused of containing most every onerous proposal possible by its opponents while the supporters claim none of these things exist in the bill. For example, some say there is no “death panel” in the bill although that has been claimed by numerous opponents. Can both claims be right?

First the illegal aliens claim. Obama is right in that the bill does have a small provision that states that persons not legally in the US are not authorized care under its provisions. Unfortunately Joe Wilson is more correct that under that bill millions of illegal aliens would receive healthcare under its provisions. How could this be? Well, although the bill specifically excludes the illegals it also specifically denies the right of healthcare providers to check for illegal status or eligibility under the plan.

Two provisions were proposed by Republicans in the house to require proof of legal residency for care under the bill and both were defeated by the Democrats in pure party line votes. Why, if illegals were not to be eligible for care, would anyone specifically want to deny the right of providers to determine if persons were legally here in this country in order to receive such care?

Well, the simple answer is that the claims that illegals would not be authorized care is disingenuous at best, and an outright lie at worst. It is obvious that the crafters of this bill intended, 1) to allow illegals to receive care under its provisions and 2) to be able to deny that they did so.

What? Does this mean our Democratic leadership is actually lied to us? Yes Dorthy, politicians do lie from time to time and this tome is full of such distortions that are designed specifically to mislead the American public. Why do you suppose there was such a push to approve it without even reading it back in late July? It is plain and simple. The writers did not want this thing exposed to the “light of day”.

How about death panels? If illegals will indeed be treated under the bill, do they also exist? Well, yes and no. There is mandatory “end of life counseling” required under the bill, but nothing says anything about denial of treatment for elderly or terminal patients. However, the “footprints in the sands” indicate just such panels will exist.

Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s chief of staff, has stated as much on occasions. Even more revealing are statements of his brother Dr Ezekiel Emanuel who has been appointed to two key positions: health-policy adviser at the Office of Management and Budget and a member of Federal Council on Comparative Effectiveness Research. According to him in an article in last years “Health Affairs, Feb 27, 2008, “Vague promises of savings from cutting waste, enhancing prevention and wellness, installing electronic medical records and improving quality are merely ‘lipstick’ cost control, more for show and public relations than for true change.” In other articles he outlined how to control costs by denying treatment to the elderly infirm and the very young, both of whom are not of the same value to society as youthful basically healthy adults. Since Obama has promised to control the cost, and these are the persons he has employed to show him how to do so, what do you think? Yes Dorothy, right again.

Then Obama wants you to believe that he will not cut care to the elderly, and he will find enough savings from eliminating abuse in current Medicare and Medicaid to pay for it. And are we to believe the tooth fairy and the easter bunny are going to pop up and give you a check for a zillion dollars too?

If the federal government can find the aproximately 20% of waste and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid why haven’t they already done so? If he is not planning to cut care to the elderly why is he citing to remove 500 Billion from those two programs to fund Obamacare?

The federal government came up with Social Security back in the 30s and promised it would never be the monster that it has become. It is currently bankrupt and has had to be rescued by additional taxes repeatedly. Same for Medicare and Medicaid, and the good old U.S. Post Office as well. The truth is that government has no profit motive and is thus inept at doing anything in a fiscally effective manner. After all, when they overspend they can simply raise taxes or borrow money that they have no intent on ever repaying.

Government has no money to do anything for anyone that they do not first steal from someone else through taxation or deficit spending. Why would an alert American public want to turn over one seventh of our economy to them? Answer. We wouldn’t, that’s why they hid it in a 1000+ page monster bill and pressed the congress to pass it without reading it. John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, even ridiculed anyone advocating they “Read the bill!” saying it would take “two days and two lawyers” to do so.

Keep firmly in mind what the people that push this bill are doing. They are playing the American public for fools and trying to push what they know is an abomination (or perhaps Obamination?) on us. Why do you think Obama is pushing for immediate action on something that will not take place until 2013, conveniently right after his reelection campaign?

There is no emergency requiring fast action to buy a product produced by proven snake oil salesmen America. The fact that they are trying to push this off on us is reason enough to remove them from office at the first opportunity. Thank you Joe Wilson for having the guts to recognize a shell game for what it is and call, “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!“

August 12, 2009
Mr. Barack Hussein Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. Obama,

The news of late regarding your push to have citizens report directly to the White House anything they see as “fishy” regarding what is being said about you and your healthcare bill is extremely disturbing. However, this is only the latest of the outrages we have seen coming out of your administration in the short time you have been in office.

For a presidential candidate who promised a better life for all Americans, to bring the races and all Americans together, to do what is “fair”, and to have a transparent administration, you thus far appear to have gone entirely in the opposite direction on all these promises. You can’t promise a better life for all Americans by raising taxes, spending us into bankruptcy, silencing dissenters, over-taxing, over-regulating, and penalizing the very businesses that create jobs, or nationalizing our banks, corporations, and healthcare – this is socialism, sir. You cannot bring people together by pitting citizens and groups of citizens against one another and encouraging neighbors to inform on each other. This smacks of Nazism and Communism. You can’t promote fairness by muzzling those who disagree with you, or giving one class of citizens priority over another as in your healthcare bill. You cannot have a transparent administration by stifling opposing views on the healthcare bill, trying to rush it through before all viewpoints are heard and discussed in an open forum, or labeling those who dare question its provisions as organized right wing mobs and refusing to clearly address their legitimate concerns. This shows me the truly sinister nature of your approach to “governing”. It is ill-suited for a constitutional democracy such as ours, sir. I dread the day you find a way to marginalize or suspend our Constitution in its entirety, as it seems to be a constant impediment to you and your ilk quickly implementing your socialist agenda before we even know what has hit us.

In case you are wondering where I am coming from, I will tell you that I generally vote for Republican candidates but have voted democratic in the past. However, I see the current crop of Republicans as being less and less supportive of my views, including former President George W. Bush. However, and more ominous, I see the current crop of Democratic “leaders”, including yourself, as far less responsible, and substantially less supportive of historic American values than they were as recently as 50 years ago. Most Democrats have been totally hijacked by the extreme radical left within our society and can be considered for all intents and purposes as socialists. I am, by contrast, a principled conservative in the mold of Ronald Reagan. What I believe is as follows and you can judge any “threat” I may pose to this country accordingly.

As a conservative, I firmly and, without apology, proudly believe the following:

1) That, in general, the best government is one that governs the least, i.e., that big government means less freedom for everyone. Excessive governmental control is bad for America and Americans.

2) That individual freedoms are God given, not man given

3) That most Americans are inherently competent and should therefore be responsible, and held accountable, for their own actions and choices in life.

4) That government and political corruption and crime, like all other crime, must be exposed and punished regardless of who the perpetrator is.

5) That the rule of law is supreme and that no one, not even the President, is above the law. We have seen far too much of lawlessness and corruption in our political leaders and a reluctance by them to accept the blame for their own failings and misdeeds. Their first instinct, like that of a child, is to blame someone else. This bad example being set for future generations is appalling.

6) That the Constitution of the United States should be the basis of all law and not subject to being rewritten by judicial decree. Conservatives believe in a strict interpretation of the Constitution and zealously support and protect it and all its amendments. For example, I will not own a gun, but I support the 2nd Amendment which grants that right to those who choose to do so. I believe the Constitution does NOT grant the right to abortion on demand, although at one time I was pro-choice. I now realize this was a prime example of judges changing the intent and scope of the U.S. Constitution by judicial decree to suit their own agenda, and this is a very dangerous precedent. Also, the issue of abortion, along with many others, should be handled on the state level in accordance with the U.S. Constitution.

7) That our system of government and democracy itself were established under Judeo-Christian religious principles that acknowledge the existence of God and that are crucial to our continuing success as a free nation. Liberals and socialists have tried countless times to disavow such a heritage and to implement a secular society.

That God and religion should be allowed into our lives, not systematically and totally removed from our society based on the extremist views of the anti-God or anti-Christian minority.

9) That parents should make the decisions regarding the raising and educating of their children, NOT the government. Liberal or socialist views, such as yours, as a goal for America’s school children and the way we should all lead our lives would be a disaster in a free society. The programming of children to believe in a government sponsored political ideology brings back the specter of the Nazi youth and their irrational, blind allegiance to a brutal, murderous, and Godless tyrant. This approach has no business being used in any American school system with impressionable school children. People need to be free to make up their own minds on the issues and not to be unduly influenced, coerced, or bullied by those with politically motivated agendas. We must keep the ACLU out of our schools and out of our lives.

10) That traditional moral and family values are important to the success of a free society and need to be protected and preserved, not mocked and suppressed.

11) In free market principles with minimal government interference, control, and regulation. Wealth is created in the private sector, not by government. Far too often government interference and over-control limits job creation and prosperity. Only in a socialist or communist state is individual achievement, success, and prosperity to be condemned and penalized. Spreading the wealth, as you propose, is a socialist concept which inhibits economic growth and promotes individual dependency on others.

12) In the sanctity and value of innocent human life. All human beings should be considered of equal value and deserving of life regardless of their sex, age, race, religious beliefs, national origin, state of health or mental capacity, or political beliefs. We are all God’s children.

13) In peace based on strength, not appeasement, i.e., we must have a strong national defense based on a strong, well equipped, and well trained military coupled with a defensive ABM shield, if technically feasible. War is never desirable but reality and common sense should tell any reasonable person that sometimes it is necessary to preserve our freedom and way of life. We should never give in to tyrants and terrorists. This approach has kept us free for over 230 years, so why change it?

14) That problems and societal ills are best resolved by the people in the private community and not by government. Government involvement is overly expensive, grossly inefficient, and far too often subject to corrupting political influences. This is undeniable reality.

15) That our economy is best served when money and resources are invested, controlled, and spent by individuals and businesses in the private sector, and not by the government through bailouts, excessive taxation, burdensome regulations, or other controls.

16) That we must maintain our national sovereignty and suppress all efforts by those entities, such as the UN, which would impose international regulations, standards, laws, taxes, etc., on the American people in contravention of our Constitution and representative system of government.

17) We believe in patriotism and love of our country with an appreciation of the sacrifices of our founding fathers and our fighting military and other heroes to ensure our freedoms. We honor such people – not degrade them or label them as radicals or potential terrorists. Conservatives consider it an honor to be an American and will defend our country and way of life at all costs, and without apology or deference to anyone.

18) Conservatives are against discrimination of any kind, whether it be based on race, sex, religion. national origin, age, condition of ones health or mental capacity, or political beliefs. Every citizen of this great country has the Constitutional God-given right to free speech and to practice their religion anytime and anywhere they choose regardless of who it may “offend”. No one shall be silenced, persecuted, threatened, or inhibited in any way solely because of their beliefs. The so-called “hate crimes” law is an attempt at thought control and would result in some crimes that could be charged only against one class of people and not another. This is a clear violation of equal protection under the law. It is a typical over-reaction to previous inequities, but rather than resolve any inequities, it creates others.

Mr. Obama, you may not agree with most of my beliefs. However, sir, you have no right – in this country – to inhibit in any way my exercising my freedom to speak out and to disagree with you. It is free political discourse that is specifically protected by the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Such is the beauty of our country and political system. But as a Constitutional scholar yourself, you sir should know this. There is nothing sinister, radical, dangerous, or extremist about our beliefs. On the contrary, sir, you and those that support your agenda for “change”, as we have seen it so far, constitute a far greater threat to America and to the freedoms all Americans cherish. It is unbelievable that you are so completely out of touch with the vast majority of the American people that you have deceived yourself into thinking that they really want or need all this socialist nonsense forcefully crammed down their throats. However, it does seem that you and your socialist supporters are trying very hard to hide the truth by suppressing any and all discussion, particularly on the healthcare fiasco. I must therefore resist you and your agenda in every legal way possible.

While you may think the above beliefs and my comments make me a “right wing extremist” or a “potential terrorist” that bears watching, in my mind, such beliefs indicate a patriot and one who respects the concept of freedom as a unique and rare blessing to be preserved at all costs. I promise you that I will never commit violence in order to support my beliefs, however, that does not mean that I will not strongly resist others attempting to use violence or other illegal means to suppress my freedoms. Unlike you, sir, I respect the viewpoints of others, even if they oppose mine. I also promise, sir, to do everything legal that is within my power to see that you and your fellow socialists are voted out of office. This is the American way. Unlike you, sir, we will not resort to misinformation, threats, suppression, intimidation, bullying, or surveillance in responding to those with whom we disagree. The truth is the best weapon available to freedom loving people and it will ultimately prevail.

I question your motives Mr. Obama on wanting to be the “leader” of this wonderful country, a country that has withstood the test of time as a democracy. I say this because it seems to me that your primary goal so far has been attempting to destroy everything that has made America the destination of choice for the oppressed and the envy of the free world. Fortunately, two hundred million other Americans, the so-called silent majority, largely agree with me and are now starting to speak up. Although you may try, you cannot silence all of us, or put us all under surveillance or in jail. Free people are not going to give up their freedoms and rights so easily.

You may have noticed that I have not addressed you with the title that customarily accompanies the person who is the primary occupant of the White House. Unlike me and the huge majority of other Americans that are proud to be born in America, I do not believe you are a natural born American citizen according to the Constitution, and therefore are not qualified for the office you are holding. It appears that you have perpetrated, and have so far gotten away with, the biggest hoax ever carried out in the history of our country. I believe this because of your blatant refusal to provide proper proof of your birth, assuming it is available. Why would you not provide it and end the controversy and doubt? Either you have no such proof or you are so arrogant and filled with the idea of your own self importance that you think you are above the law and do not need to comply with it. Either way sir, in my opinion, you are not entitled to the office you hold and therefore not entitled to the respect that normally goes with it.

In accordance with your directive and request, I have reported myself directly to you as, according to your description, a “right wing extremist”. I have fully elaborated on my “fishy” viewpoints and have hidden nothing. This letter is necessarily long and detailed so as to avoid any misunderstanding by you. I am proud to have the conservative viewpoints I have described above and to be whatever you think that makes me. I will apologize to no one for my conservative views and beliefs – and I will never disavow them.

Sincerely,

Gerald R. Vanderbilt, American
Home: 512-502-8667
E-mail: GRVAustin@cs.com

CC: U.S. Senator John Cornyn
U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
U.S. Representative Lamar Smith

A little over a week ago Honduran soldiers arrested President Manuel Zelaya during the night, took him in his pajamas and placed him on a plane for Costa Rica. They apparently did this under orders from the Honduran Supreme Court and with the approval of the Honduran Congress. Now the great world bastions of democracy, the UN, the OAS, as well as Hugo Chavez, the Castro brothers and Barack Obama are clamoring for his reinstatement! Since when has any of this bunch shown any great love for the democratic process or the rights of a free people to protect their constitutional rights?

What right has the UN, the OAS (Organization of American States), or any other nation have to attempt to dictate what is done under the laws of another sovereign nation? This was no coup. This was an arrest and expulsion of a dictatorial leader that had violated numerous Honduran laws. The only problem was they chose to execute it quietly by exiling him rather than incarcerating him with all the fanfare and potential riots from the leftist “Acorns” of Honduras. They chose to quietly remove him, replacing him with the person the law indicated was the second in order, just as our government would do if our president were deceased, incapacitated, or imprisoned for any reason.

Zelaya had been charged with some 18 criminal acts including treason. He had defied the Honduran Supreme court and refused to recognize the law making authority of the Honduras’ Congress. He had refused to implement more than 80 laws approved by Congress since taking office in 2006. Zelaya also refused to comply with a Supreme Court ruling against his planned referendum on whether to hold an assembly to consider changing a constitutional provision that was specifically not allowed under the constitution itself. In other words this guy had placed himself above the law and established himself as a dictator in the same style of the Castros and Hugo Chavez.

To date no countries have recognized the new government and they have been ousted from the OAS. This probably has a lot to do with the objection of the US. Obama has jumped in and deplored the action of Honduras demanding that Zelaya be reinstated. Why would an American president have the gall to say on one hand that the US does not want to meddle in the private affairs of other nations and then on the other hand demand that Honduras restore a leftist dictator that has been ousted for violation of their Constitution and his oath of office? Well, perhaps the key is in the word “leftist” in which Obama found a kindred spirit. After all, if one country could oust a president for violating the constitution he was sworn to protect, perhaps another could do the same?

Apparently Zelaya was elected by campaigning as a center-right candidate. He then moved into the dictatorial pattern of Chavez ignoring the laws and defying the Congress and Supreme Court. The final straw was when he attempted to strong arm his way into an illegal additional term by changing the constitution through an illegal election. In Honduras a provision was written into the constitution to prevent dictatorial “presidents for life” as had happened a number of times in the past in Latin America. This provision was one of several that are considered “inviolate” and are not subject to amendments. According to their constitution these provisions can only be changed by a rewrite of the entire document. According to Pat Buchanan, Chavez even provided the ballots for Zelaya to use to accomplish the illegal election.

We should congratulate the people of Honduras for protecting their constitutional form of government, even though done perhaps with a bit less aplomb than we would have preferred. The people of Honduras have not accomplished a coup, but have enforced their laws, without bloodshed and have removed crooked leader before he could destroy their form of government. For that they should be congratulated, not ostracized.

Obama and Hillary Clinton have no business meddling in the private affairs of a friend and neighbor who are implementing their laws in the best way they can to protect their liberties without creating dangerous riots and violence in their streets.

On June 17th Glenn Beck read an open letter written by Janet Contreras.  This letter expresses her frustration and anger over the attempt by our national leadership to void the constitution and convert this country into a socialist dictatorship against the will of the American people.

Click on this link to read the full text of  Janet’s letter.  You will likely agree with her that our representatives are not doing their jobs of being representatives, but are attempting to take the country by coup.

Read the letter and if you agree, go to the petition site and add your name to the cosigners of the petition.  Let our nation’s leadership know what we the people of this great nation think of their attempt to do away with the laws, traditions, and way of life of our great nation.

Chuck

Before anyone comes to the wrong conclusion, I did not write this article.  I certainly wish I had because it expresses my thoughts better than I could do myself.  It was from an e-mail that has been widely quoted and that I have seen first posted in late Nov ‘08.  I suspect that a lot of others feel the same way so I have reprinted it here.

My thanks for it go to the author: Larry Sparks of Hoover Alabama.
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I have repeatedly been told by many elected officials, both Democrats and Republicans, to unite behind Obama.  Well, I want to make it clear to all who will listen that I AM NOT uniting behind Obama!

I will respect the Office which he holds, and I will acknowledge his abilities as an orator and wordsmith and pray for him, BUT that is it.  I have begun today to see what I can do to make sure that he is a one-term President!

Why am I doing this?

* It is because I do not share Obama’s vision for America;
* I do not share his Abortion beliefs;
* I do not share his radical Marxist’s concept of re-distributing wealth;
* I do not share his stated views on raising taxes on those who make $150,000+ (the ceiling has been changed three times since August);
* I do not share his view that the military should be reduced by 25%;
* I do not share his views on homosexuality and his definition of marriage;
* I do not share his spiritual beliefs (at least the ones he has made public);
* I do not share his beliefs on how to re-work the healthcare system in America;
* I do not share his Strategic views of the Middle East, and certainly do not share his plan to sit down with terrorist regimes such as Iran.

Bottom line, my America is vastly different from Obama’s, and I have a higher obligation to my Country and my God to do what is Right!

For eight (8) years, the Liberals in our Society, led by numerous entertainers who would have no platform and no real credibility but for their celebrity status, have attacked President Bush , his family, and his spiritual beliefs!

They have not moved toward the center in their beliefs and their philosophies, they never came together nor compromised their personal beliefs for the betterment of our Country, but they always expect us to leave our beliefs behind or we are called intolerant, or racist!

They have portrayed my America as a land where everything is tolerated except being Christian or Conservative.

They have been a vocal and irreverent minority for years; they have mocked and attacked the very core values so important to the founding and growth  of our Country!

They have made every effort to remove the name of God or Jesus Christ from our Society!

They have challenged capital punishment, the right to bear firearms, and the most basic principles of our criminal code; they have attacked one of the most fundamental of all Freedoms, the right of free speech!

They are willing to give away our beautiful free country to illegals; people who enter this country illegally and then expect the overburdened taxpayers to support them or better yet, give them our Social Security benefits without complaining.   Now, news has leaked that the illegals will be counted in the 2010 census.  Another way for Obama and the Democrats to steal elections.
Enough!   Unite behind Obama?  Never!

I am sure many of you who read this think that I am going overboard, but I refuse to retreat one more inch in favor of those whom I believe are the embodiment of Evil!

PRESIDENT BUSH made many mistakes during his Presidency, and I am not sure how history will judge him.   However, I believe that he weighed his decisions in light of the long established Judeo-Christian principles of our Founding Fathers!!!

Majority rules in America , and I will honor the concept; however, I will fight with all of my power to be a voice in opposition to Obama and “his goals for America .”

I am going to be a thorn in the side of those who, if left unchecked, will destroy our Country!!  Any more compromise is more defeat!

I pray that the results of this election will wake up many who have sat on the sidelines and allowed the Socialist-Marxist anti-God crowd to slowly change so much of what has been good in America!

“Error of Opinion may be tolerated where Reason is left free to combat it.” (Thomas Jefferson)

God bless you and God bless our Country!!!

Larry Sparks
Hoover, Alabama

by Pam Geller See her other postings on her blog, “Atlas Shrugs”

I am a student of history. Professionally, I have written 15 books in six languages, and have studied history all my life. I think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is just a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes, these exist but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus.

Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it. Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about 10 – 15 years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.

We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy. Why?

We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, school boards continue to back mediocrity. Why?

We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (now violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it wants marriage to remain between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago?). We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?

Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, Social Security is nearly bankrupt, as is Medicare and our entire government. Our education system is worse than a joke (I teach college and know precisely what I am talking about.) The list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth. It is potentially 1929 x 10. And we are at war with an enemy we cannot name for fear of offending people of the same religion who cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.

And now we have elected a man no one knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla ,  Alaska.  All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not d ownright scary (Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders? No? Oh, of course.  The media would never play that for you over and over and then demand he answer it. Sarah Palin’s pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe is more important.)

I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now. This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.

I thought I would never be able to experience what the ordinary, moral German felt in the mid-1930s. In those times, the savior was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing. What they did know was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed; he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory and promises. Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and waved a lot. And people, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his “brown shirts” would bully them into submission.

And then he was duly elected to office, with a full-throttled economic crisis at hand [the Great Depression]. Slowly but surely he seized the controls of government power, department by department, person by person, bureaucracy by bureaucracy. The kids joined a Youth Movement in his name, where they were taught what to think. How did he get the people on his side? He did it promising jobs to the jobless, money to the moneyless, and goodies for the military-industrial complex. He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe , and across the world.

He did it with a compliant media – Did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and .. . .. change. And the people surely got what they voted for. (Look it up if you think I am exaggerating.) Read your history books. Many people objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and made fun of. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930s while seated in the House of Lords in England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though ..

Don’t forget that Germany was the most educated, cultured country in Europe . It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And in less than six years – a shorter time span than just two terms of the U. S. presidency – it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors. All with the best of intentions, of course.  The road to Hell is paved with them.

About the author via Google…

Pamela “Atlas” Geller began her publishing career at The New York Daily News and subsequently took over operation of The New York Observer as Associate Publisher. She left The Observer after the birth of her fourth child but remained involved in various projects including American Associates, Ben Gurion University and being Senior Vice-President Strategic Planning and Performance Evaluation at The Brandeis School

Continue reading Something is Happening

Reprinted Article By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits? Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget The president does. You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of representatives does. You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does. You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does. You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.

The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes. Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

• If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.
• If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red ..
• If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it’s because they want them in IRAQ
• If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses. Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
What you do with this article now that you have read it………. is up to you

Our Sunday newspaper had an insert for Parade Magazine.  Parade is one of the most Liberal ‘magazine-ettes’ in America (Cleveland Amory is a contributing editor, for gosh sakes), but I always read it.  To never read a word written by the ‘other side’ is to be ignorant and misinformed.  It might even be stupid!

The lead article in yesterday’s Parade was about criminals in America.  The main thesis was that we in America incarcerate a very high percentage of our citizens, and their inescapable binary conclusion was that we (Americans) are either the most evil people on earth, or that something is sadly amiss and we shouldn’t be incarcerating all those poor folks because many didn’t need to be there.

Those were the only two conclusions provided.  In fact, that conclusion was
stated as “clearly, one or the other has to be true”.

Sirs, I’d suggest a third alternative, one that your Liberal brains apparently
are incapable of conceiving.

I suggest that America incarcerates more criminals than any other civilized
country on earth simply because we have more Freedom than any other civilized country on earth.  Freedom means many things; it is expensive; it is precious; it is a word bandied about by many countries but rarely practiced. Even here it is not practiced perfectly, not even close.  But if the degree of freedom of all the world’s civilizations were ranked from the beginning of time, America would be first by a huge margin. No civilization in history has ever had the freedom we have now.

While some of our freedoms have undoubtedly evolved since the Founding Fathers dreamed all this up in Philly 231 years ago, I’d still challenge anyone to find a civilization where each citizen was more free than this one.

Freedom means many things here, but one thing it means is the freedom to screw up! If you spit on the sidewalk in Hong Kong you get a few years in a really bad prison.  If you steal in Saudi Arabia more than once you get your hand cut off.  Freedoms there are restrictive.  America allows you more freedom to do anything you want …… including evil … than anywhere on earth.

And because we have that degree of freedom many of us are too lazy to make our own way, or too selfish to avoid instant illegal gratification, or too ignorant to know there is a better way, or just plain too evil to care.   And, duh, these just happen to be the guys that get sent to prison in batches large enough to make liberals squirm.

I assume the alternative to incarcerating them, according to the liberal, is to just simply ignore their actions and let them reign free in society, boding
whatever ill they can conceive.  I don’t honestly know what they would suggest as an alternative.

I for one am convinced our prisons are UNDER-crowded.  I come to this conclusion because criminals are roaming the streets this very morning!

I wish all prisons were run like the one in Maricopa County, AZ.  The sheriff
there has the right idea about ne’er-do-wells.  Look it up.

As an important sidebar, it continues to amaze me the degree of difference in how we Americans have come to view our world.  The chasm is deep and probably already uncrossable.

But I refuse to buy into the Guilt Trip that Liberals continue to try and force
on me……