Real People - Real America

I was driving down the street the other day and this caught my eye. I do think that this is what mainstream America thinks, yet that those in Washington, including even the Republican delegation simply do not care to hear.

Hopefully, that will be at their own peril, and hopefully, after 2010, those newly ushered into power will not turn their own deaf ears to those that put them there.

THAT is what I mean by Hope and Change.

Regan Speaks on Socialism

It is refreshing to hear an intelligent person make a point. He would never make it in Obama's Washington. They need a Dumb Ass Vaccine there.

How it Happens

"I do think that if we try to defend capitalism and try to defend freedom just on the basis of the Judeo-Christian morality , we're in trouble. [Be]cause I think that philosophy is much more consistent with socialism than it is with capitalism. [Ed Note: He is correct on this point.] This country was founded on the principles of the enlightment: on John Locke; on individualism; on ideas that came out of the age of reason, not ideas that came out of the New Testament. [Ed Note: He is correct here too.] And that's important."
...
"That [the Jefferson Bible] is full of altruism, that is full of this idea that we need to be our brothers keeper, it is full of the idea of need as a moral claim against us, and that is what Obama, and that is what socialists use in order to get us to accept health care and to get America behind them."

"The key is that we understand that capitalism stands for individualism, self interest, a rational pursuit of our own happiness , that's in our Declaration of Independence, and we launched the Campaign for Liberty on a moral foundation of the right to pursue happiness - individual happiness - your own happiness.

We need to reject this notion that somebody's need, somebody that doesn't have health insurance, somebody that doesn't have a pension, or somebody that does not have money to buy food, [that their need] lays a claim - a moral claim and a political claim on my life, on my productivity, on my success. If we can reject that, then capitalism and freedom are easy after that."

~ Yaron Brook, Ayn Rand Institute Director, Responding live to a comment made by Glenn Beck .....

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"I do feel we have a collective responsibility to the least among us to some extent, but I'm not a socialist. [Ed  Note: Oh, really? Think Again.] I think that is terrifying."

~Pat Caddell, Former advisor to President Carter, speaking to Glenn Beck on 9/12/2009

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"Reason is not automatic, and those that deny it, cannot be reached by it."

~Ayn Rand

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"It is far easier to think the lie to be the truth, than it is to discover the truth itself."

~ A. Koenig, aka Seneca




So my friends, here in the first statement, we have the clearest presentation of the objectivist philosophy that I have ever heard ........  and here in the second statement, we hear the clearest presentation of the muddled thinking of those that Ms Rand is referring to in hers, the third statement.

More to be posted later but other commitmments require me to take leave for now so that I can be my own keeper ....and not yours.

The People Speak

It is about time that others are seeing and calling out the connection of what is happening now to what was happening in 1935-39

I have maintained since Bush 2 was in office with his Orwellian use of terms like "Patriot" Act and "Homeland" Security, that we were sliding toward the rule of the despot. When I mention this to republicans they treat me like I have a stink. I guess that when it is the other guy presenting as Nazi, then they are all mad, but, when you say that it is their side too that is pushing us toward such things, then you are a traitor.

I am an equal opportunity spade caller and ONLY when the republicans and the democrats both wake up and start calling these guys out on their socialist/communist/statist agenda will the country change.

I have a bumper sticker -- It's Not Left vs. Right, it's the STATE vs. YOU. That , I believe , is the truth ..... and the faster the people wake up and throw these traitors out the better.

Socialism/Collectivism For Dummies

Sent to me by a friend and it was too good to not post. It fits in exactly with my take on things ....

An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student before but had, once, failed an entire class.

That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said, "Okay, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism."

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so they studied little.. The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the third test rolled around the average was an F.The scores never increased as bickering, blame, name calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great; but when government takes all the reward away; no one will try or want to succeed.Could not be any simpler than that...

The Epitome of Failure

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/25/AR2009042501870.html

At the link above, you will find the epitome of the liberal/collectivist failure and a harbinger of the future.

I have news for this poor sister -- she cannot keep up, and neither can Obama. This is what awaits the entire country: complete exhaustion, the destruction of the goose that lays the golden eggs. Why? Because the government simply cannot, nor should it, take care of anyone or everyone, meet all their needs, ensure that the house is not foreclosed, the gas bill gets paid, the job saved, that everybody uses energy wasting environment-destroying fluorescent bulbs, etc..

Liberals want utopia secured by the government, but want what can never be, and in trying to achieve their utopia, they destroy the very thing that created the wealth of the world.



P.S.

About 1/3 down the article says:

Now she sometimes wonders aloud to her husband, Charles: "When does it stop?"

Councilwoman, let me break it down for you. It stops when you and your kind move your eyes to the right hand side of this blog, read the "About Me" section, and start to understand that it is exactly the views and morality espoused there that built the country, and that government policies having their basis in your views, are leading to its very destruction.

It stops when you wake up and realize that that lazy brother of yours will suck you dry, exactly BECAUSE you are giving him a handout.

It stops when you realize that there is ALWAYS going to be a "lazy-brother" and that your handouts of MY money, do nothing but increase his number.

It stops when you realize that you could take all the wealth of all those evil rich people, distribute it to all those you deem "in-need", and raise the standing of "the people" by perhaps as much as only .00001% . (aka shared misery)

It stops when you tell that "friend" of yours that they need to pay their own "... $168 .. water bill".

From all of us that grew up on the farm and know that if you put out free cream for one cat that the next day there will be 3 more freeloaders, none of which will catch mice anymore, we tell you that you are playing with matches in the closet.

Burn Baby Burn

For the Children - Yeah Right

My wife and I were listening to the Glen Beck show just a few minutes ago and I had to push the pause button on the Tivo and come write this. The bottom line of this entry is that even Glen Beck does not get it!

Here is how -
Beck started his show this evening making a big deal out of how the meaning of words really matters (duh!) , and taking Obama to task for Obama's Orwellian use of words and phrases that really mean the opposite of what they would mean to most people. For example Glen Beck says that he [Beck] "wants a responsible government", but that when Obama says the same thing, Obama really means the opposite. To make his point he played a clip of Obama saying "Lets build a government that's responsible to the people."

Building a government that's responsible to the people sounds good to the likes of you and me. Why?

• Because we know what a government responsible to the people is. A government responsible to the people is one that lives within the deliberate confines of the Constitution, a document which was deliberately crafted the way it was to impose shackling limitations on government power in light of the fact that men are corrupt, and in light of the fact that if all men were angels there would be no need for government.

• Because we know that a government responsible to the people would not introduce fascism into our society and would uphold the traditions of a person's ownership of that which he created.

• Because we know that a government responsible to the people is one that understood that "No, It does NOT take a village. It takes a Mommy and a Daddy working for themselves and instructing their children in morality and the ethic of work."

But, this is not what Obama means. What he means by "a government responsible to the people" is a government that will rob me and 92% of others like me to make sure that the deadbeat that took out a loan on a house that he never should have gotten a loan for in the first place can keep that home instead of getting removed, forcibly if necessary, to other accommodations. What Obama means is that it is not my job to do anything for myself, but that of my neighbor to pay to have someone else do it for me.

Beck was going apoplectic over this as he rightly should. So far so good then - up until the point where Beck, in talking about all the party faction and the statist craziness on both sides, says "I'm not here for anybody's party, I'm here for my children."

It is at this point where I come unglued, for that kind of thinking and dumb statement making is exactly an example of the muddled thinking that gets people into trouble and it exposes the fact that even Beck in unable to connect the dots.

Not to put too fine a point on things and just to make things clear (connect the dots) - I am not here for my children ... or your children, and every time I hear someone use this maudlin sop I want to vomit.The reason is that if your idea can't stand on its own two feet and has to be cloaked with the shroud of "the children", then it is an idea that is unworthy of being put into practice.

To make an example, the reason not to rob people is because it is just plain wrong, and the reason that it is just plain wrong is that without private property and ownership that is secure, the society breaks down into chaos. (Oh my, am I speaking here of 2009?) There need be no plea to "the children" or "my children", or "your children" to make or prove the point, and the kernel of truth is that if I take care of myself, and if you take care of YOURSELF instead of asking me to do it, then I won't have to worry about my children, you won't have to worry about yours, and I will not have to look over my shoulder to make sure that you not using the power of the state to "worry" about mine.

(In Beck's defense, it can be said that at least he referred to "his" children, and not children in general. But, even at that, use of any term having the word "children" in it is dangerous becasue that very word is the raw material that will be picked up by your opponent and used against you as it is used to whip the mob up into a feeding frenzy at your pocketbook's expense.)

So then, leave "the children", especially my children, the hell out of it. First, because they are not the basis for why we have a government founded on the principles of individual responsibility and consequence, and second because once YOU start politicizing "the children", using terms like "my children, "your children", or "the children", then ANYTHING can be justified by ANYBODY, using them , the children as pawns. (Why do you think that "the children" are constantly referred to in collectivist's attempts to shakle us with State run health care?)

Need to turn the country onto a gulag by implementing another unsustainable system (health care) that will go broke in 20 years from being robbed for other "social" programs like social security was? No problem, because, after all, its being done "for the children", those poor little urchins who do not have health care [because their parents either did not want it or because they were too lazy to get a job and pay for it, or because they spent the money on a bigger house]. If you do not have health care for your children so what? That should not be my problem? Care for YOUR children is YOUR responsibility, not mine, whether directly or through what you want to use as a proxy - the government.

A closing point - I am not my brother's keeper, and neither is he mine. I am my own keeper. Any other view of the proper state of things puts both feet firmly on the slippery slope leading directly toward the collectivist state.

Obamanomics 1

dis·in·gen·u·ous

–adjective - lacking in frankness, candor, or sincerity; falsely or hypocritically ingenuous; insincere: Example: His statements, amounting to nothing more than historical revisionism, were disingenuous.

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Our Savior, Obama, the most merciful, the anointed on high, takes the cake. As we learned from Bill Clinton, we must watch very carefully the words that are used by politicians and parse them accordingly. Remember, Obama is a lawyer (as was Clinton) and when viewed through this lens, we see here how he is very careful to be true - but at the same time is false. This is political rhetoric at its best.

Here is the real story - The policies he is pounding on the Republicans for can only be the policies of Republicans to be spineless (as was Congressman Lamar Smith and Senator Cornyn on the bailout) to allow Congress under Barney Frank committees to coerce the banks to lend money to people that should not have been taking such Ninja (no income, no job, no assets) loans in the first place. THAT (too much money floating around) is what fueled the "crisis".

Essentially, Congress thru Fannie and Freddie, told the banks that if they did not lend money to the appropriate politically correct "victims" groups, (a.k.a voter blocs), then their ability to merge with other firms and conduct their banking business activities would be impeded/interfered with.

This, my friends, is called using the government to force private enterprise to carry out government agendas - boxcars anyone? This is also called Fascism, which is when government combines with the industry and businesses to form an interlocking partnership. (Public/Private Partnerships anyone, NAFTA Super Highway anyone)

This consolidation of the private by the government has been underway for a long time, my fellow citizens, and it is not confined to Osama ( Oh, my bad, I meant Obama) although he is the most virulent representation of the tyranny of the state since FDR. Make no mistake- Bush engaged in expansion of the government and tightening of its yoke. Carter did too, as did Johnson, FDR, Wilson, etc.

Remember - It is not Left vs Right - it is the STATE vs. You!

The White House Contractor

Three contractors were bidding to fix a broken fence at the White House in D.C.; one from Illinois, one from Tennessee and a third from Kentucky. They all went with a White House official to examine the fence.

The Tennessee contractor took out a tape measure and did some measuring, then worked some figures with a pencil. 'Well', he said, 'I figure the job will run about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me.'

The Kentucky contractor also did some measuring and figuring, then said, 'I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100 profit for me.'

The Illinois contractor didn't measure or figure, but leaned over to the White House official and whispered, '$2,700.'

The official, incredulously, whispered back, 'You didn't even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?'

The Illinois contractor replied, '$1000 for me, $1000 for you, and we hire that guy from Kentucky to fix the fence.''

Done,' replied the government official.

And that, my friends, is how our government works!

From a web circulated email joke seen eslewhere

PS - And don't think that it is just the other guy's "party" that does this sort of thing.

Freedom, the Government, and YOU

They say there is a "crisis". They say that the economy needs "stimulation". Well, just as a crackhead's crash after the party is trying to tell him that something is wrong and to stop doing what he has been doing, so too is the crash (a.k.a. reality check) we are seeing in the stock market and in certain business lines (finance, autos, homes, retail) nothing but the economy trying to tell us that it has been overstimulated by the government drugs of intervention and easy credit, and that Congress should stop thinking that it is its job (or its right) to "run the economy".

As to the "crisis", the only crisis is that the economic body, after years of government meddling via easy credit and central planning, is showing the normal signs of trying to cure itself by revolting and creatively destroying all the ponzi schemes that have been foisted on it by the "bright sparks upstairs" in Washington under the guise of government "help". My friends, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that continued application of the stimulant (be it crack, or easy credit, or government meddling in economic management) will lead to death, and, to deliberately beat a dead horse, unlike a crackhead who rarely goes off the pipe, this economy is screaming to be left alone so it can correct itself by excising those that bet against the house (reality) and now must lose. Did you make bad choices as a businessman and take on too much debt? Do the cards lay against you as a homeowner who took on too much house? Too bad. Life is rough - get a helmet. Your brother is NOT your keeper.

Continuing the drug imagery, an addict was once asked if he had a drug problem. His reply was '"Only when I can't get any". This seems to also be the attitude of our government which, in concert with the national media, is water-boarding the citizens with an incessant drumbeat of Crisis, Doom, and Pestilence so as to get them to buy into the feel-good, crack-pipe dream of the "good" of: full employment, easy credit, healthcare for all, free education where nobody gets ahead, a chicken in every pot, hugging the whales, saving the trees, being kind to fire engines, feeding the lazy, helping people drill water wells in countries that, in 5000 years, have not figured out how to create a societal structure that would result in them drilling it for themselves, and all that other, good-on-the-surface for the non-thinking man, communist/socialist/collectivist drivel that, lubricated by easy credit and free spending monetary policy, has been swallowed by the masses for centuries, and in every case, has led to their subjugation and eventual extinction, either as a people or as a society.

Make no mistake, any "crisis" that we now are being trained to believe in, and that is being held up as but today's excuse for more government intervention, is nothing more than the proper and normal manifestation of our capitalist economy trying to correct itself after years of government expansion and spending - all surrounding the creation and expansion of the Nanny State. For all you Republicans out there, yes, I am talking about the Corporatist Nanny State you helped create. For all you Democrats out there, yes, I am talking about the Lazy Man's Nanny State that you helped create. Make no mistake, though, regardless of what brand of Nannyisim is keeping house, nannies have CONTROL of children, and make no further mistake apprehending that if you follow the money, you will find that there are those that are making money and consolidating their control and power as a result of the presently styled "crisis". For those who care to look further, you will also find that shackles are being placed that are going to lead directly to a more collectivist and fascist government that is intent on control over every aspect of your lives. As fascism always comes to the party as a prince "looking out for the collective societal and economic good", beware BOTH Republicans and by Democrats as they try and sell you on their version of "the good" . Again, the end game for both the Repubs and the Dems is control of you and your pocketbook, and, not to put too fine a point on things, the truth of the matter, and the motivation for all the strident calls by those in government, and those in talking head positions (even those such as Bill O'RileMeUp) to "save the economy", "save the jobs", & "save the financial institutions" boils down to this .......

• Political Power derives from government's ability to spend money
• Money comes from taxes
• Taxes come from people that are exchanging money
• Exchanging money comes from the "economy"
• Better economy (better for whom?) equals more taxes
• More taxes means more tax money
• More tax money means more ability for government to spend
• More spending means more Political Power

And you thought that the government wanted to stimulate things because everybody should be happy and because no lazy person should be left behind! Well, at least now you know why the politicians want to "stimulate" the economy. The dirty little secret is that the government knows that responsible monetary behavior would lead to less tax revenue, and that lower tax revenue would lead to their inability to control thru the string attached to the purse of the government handout. That is why even though we always tell our children not to spend beyond their means, the government is wanting us to spend beyond our children's means.

Summing up, the present "crisis" is government-made, and the True Good is to leave things alone so that a free market can correct things by providing a needed spanking and wake up call to unsustainable social, feel-good, policies. Yes, there will be hard times, but the damage will be far worse if the government continues its meddling. But then I guess that I, too, along with Albert J. Nock, am nothing but a Superfluous Man.