This comes via The heritage Foundation. Enjoy!
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Family/wm2389.cfm
April 8, 2009
The Dirty Dozen: 12 New Policies That Undermine Civil Society
by Jennifer A. Marshall and Katherine Bradley
WebMemo #2389
Within the first quarter of 2009, the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress have advanced a number of policies that will undermine family and religious freedom in America. Together they show a serious disregard for parental rights, human dignity, freedom of conscience, and civil society in American life.
In these difficult economic times, policymakers should recognize and empower the vast resources of family, religious institutions, and civil society. Instead, Congress and the Administration have systematically promoted policies that debilitate the protective and problem-solving capacity of these fundamental institutions.
Undermining Family, Faith, and Freedom
1. Discouraging Charitable Giving. Even as charities struggle to make ends meet during the economic recession, the President's budget would reduce the amount higher earners can deduct from their income taxes for their charitable giving.
Faith-based ministries and other non-profits serving the public good are dependent on the generosity of others through charitable giving. Individuals targeted by this proposed policy are some of the most significant supporters of these charitable causes. The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University estimates that households with the highest incomes will reduce their giving annually by 4.8 percent, or $3.87 billion, in response to this policy change.
2. Blocking Educational Opportunity for Low-Income D.C. Students. Due to a devastating policy included in the omnibus bill, the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program is in danger of ending after the 2009-2010 school year. Since 2004, this program has provided approximately 3,700 scholarships worth $7,500 each for low-income children to attend safe and effective private schools of their choice. Evaluations show that parents are very pleased and test scores are moving in the right direction, with students regaining lost ground.[1]
President Obama has made a smart choice in sending his daughters to private school rather than the D.C. public schools. Low-income parents should have the same opportunity to choose safe and effective schools for their children.
3. Reducing Abstinence Education. The omnibus bill reduces spending on the Community Based Abstinence Education program by $13 million while increasing family planning funding by $7.5 million.[2]
A Heritage Foundation report indicates that the government spends $12 to promote contraception and safe-sex education for every dollar spent to encourage abstinence.[3] Evidence shows that abstinent teens report better psychological well-being and higher academic achievement while avoiding risky behaviors.[4] Further, a 2004 Zogby poll revealed that 96 percent of parents want teens to be taught that abstinence is the best option.[5]
4. Rolling Back Conscience Protections for Health Care Professionals. The Obama Administration has announced plans to eliminate a regulation that protects the conscience rights of doctors and other health professionals who object to participating in controversial procedures such as abortion or sterilization. 87 percent of respondents to a March 2009 poll believe it is important to "make sure that health care professionals are not forced to participate in procedures and practices to which they have moral objections."[6]
5. Subsidizing Planned Parenthood. The omnibus bill includes a provision that increases the profits of Planned Parenthood and manufacturers of contraceptives.
Under Medicaid, drug companies are required to pay rebates to the Medicaid program. Certain sales offered at discounts can be excluded from the calculation of the "best price," reducing the rebate owed to Medicaid. The omnibus bill expands the exclusion to cover discounted sales of contraceptives through additional family planning clinics. The result is that drug companies can sell contraceptives at deeply discounted prices, and these lower prices increase profits for the clinics that resell them.
Ironically, while forfeiting higher rebates from the sale of these contraceptives, the President's budget proposes to increase other drug rebates.
6. Restricting Parental Notification and Expanding Family Planning. The President's budget seeks to expand family planning services through Medicaid.
Initially proposed as part of the stimulus bill, this provision was eliminated after attracting negative attention. Now back as a part of the budget, the proposal would likely allow states to disregard the income of an applicant or recipient for family planning under Medicaid. This would allow a child--no matter what his or her family's income level--to be eligible for free family planning services without parental notification.
In addition, the proposal would supersede current law and would likely not allow states to provide coverage without including family planning services.
7. Using Tax Dollars to Finance Abortion Abroad. On January 23, the President overturned a policy that prohibited the use of U.S. tax dollars for family planning organizations that provide abortions and abortion counseling overseas. 58 percent of Americans disapprove of this decision by the Obama Administration, according to a February 2009 USA Today/Gallup poll.[7]
U.S. taxpayers should not have to pay to export this controversial practice abroad, where it serves as poor public diplomacy for the nation's commitment to life and liberty.
8. Taxpayer Funding for Controversial, Unproven Embryonic Stem Cell Research. President Obama issued an executive order authorizing federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research. It also repeals a 2007 executive order that encouraged the National Institutes of Health to explore alternatives to embryonic stem cell research that do not involve destroying a human embryo.
While advocates of embryonic stem cell research discuss the potential cures, many medical advances have already been achieved by ethically sound, alternative stem cell research.[8]
9. Violating Religious Groups' Equal Access on College Campuses. The stimulus package offers funds for the renovation of colleges and universities. These funds are prohibited, however, from use in the renovation of facilities used for gatherings like religious worship or sectarian instruction. This provision can be interpreted broadly enough to keep groups such as the Catholic Students Association or the Fellowship of Christian Athletes from meeting in buildings renovated with these funds.
10. Rolling Back Successful Welfare Reform. The stimulus package undermines the fiscal incentive structure that drove national welfare reform.
The 1996 reform rewarded states for decreasing their caseloads and putting people into jobs. As a result, the number of welfare caseloads shrunk by more than 60 percent, and child poverty fell by 1.6 million. The stimulus bill moves in the opposite direction, creating a new $5 billion cash welfare program that pays states when their caseloads rise. This new program gives states an incentive to grow their rolls, decreasing their motivation to move people into jobs and self-sufficiency.
11. Expanding Dependence on Government. The stimulus package combined with the omnibus bill and the President's budget represents a massive expansion of overall welfare spending. The stimulus bill alone will add nearly $800 billion in new spending over the next 10 years on programs like food stamps, government housing, and Medicaid.[9] Significant changes to Medicaid and SCHIP--programs intended for low-income Americans--have extended eligibility to families well into the middle class, costing taxpayers an extra $25 billion over 10 years.
12. Leaving a Legacy of Debt to Future Generations. Since its start in January, the 111th Congress has already spent more than $2 trillion in response to the recession, and that figure could go much higher, incurring an enormous debt that will have to paid by future generations. The stimulus package alone represents an added debt burden of $9,400 per household in America.[10]
Weakening America
These 12 policies represent a troubling new direction in social policy. They will leave Americans less equipped to provide for themselves and their neighbors in the midst of trying times.
Policymakers can ensure America's social welfare, economic stability, and capacity to lead in the world by pursuing policies that encourage stable family formation; show respect for parental rights, conscience, and the role of religious institutions; and create positive incentives for work, thrift, and private initiative. In the first quarter of 2009, the Administration and Congress have pursued policies that move in the opposite direction.
Jennifer A. Marshall is Director of and Katherine Bradley is Research Fellow in the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation.
[1]U.S. Department of Education, "Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program: Impacts After Three Years," March 2009, at http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20094050/pdf/20094051.pdf (April 7, 2009).
[2]The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, Public Law 111-8, page 411, at http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/2009_Con_Statement_DivF.pdf (April 2, 2009).
[3]Melissa G. Pardue, Robert E. Rector, and Shannan Martin, "Government Spends $12 on Safe Sex and Contraceptives for Every $1 Spent on Abstinence," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 1718, January 14, 2004, at http://www.heritage.org/Research/Abstinence/bg1718.cfm.
[4]Christine C. Kim and Robert E. Rector, "Abstinence Education: Assessing the Evidence," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 2126, April 22, 2008, at www.heritage.org/Research/Abstinence/bg2126.cfm.
[5]Robert E. Rector, Melissa G. Pardue, and Shannan Martin, "What Do Parents Want Taught in Sex Education Programs," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 1722, January 28, 2004, at www.heritage.org/Research/Abstinence/bg1722.cfm.
[6]Kellyanne Conway, "Key Findings on Conscience Rights Polling," letter to interested parties regarding the polling company, inc./WomanTrend survey, April 8, 2009, at http://www.freedom2care.org/docLib/20090407_090408SurveyPressPacket.pdf (April 9, 2009).
[7]Jeffrey M. Jones, "Americans Approve of Most Obama Actions to Date," Gallup, February 2, 2009, at http://www.gallup.com/poll/114091/Americans-Approve-Obama-Actions-Date.aspx?version=print (April 2, 2009).
[8]David Prentice, William L. Saunders, Jan Ledochowski, and Lukas Lucenic, "Adult Stem Cell Success Stories--2008 Update: July-December," Family Research Council, January 12, 2009, at http://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF09A32.pdf (April 2, 2009).
[9]Robert Rector and Katherine Bradley, "Stimulus Bill Abolishes Welfare Reform and Adds New Welfare Spending," Heritage Foundation WebMemo No. 2287, February 11, 2009, at http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/wm2287.cfm.
[10]Brian M. Riedl, "Obama Budget Would Double the National Debt," Heritage Foundation Commentary, March 24, 2009, at http://www.heritage.org/press/commentary/ed032409e.cfm. This total was calculated by dividing the stimulus bill's cost ($787 billion, plus approximately $324 billion in net interest costs) by the estimated 118 million U.S. households.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Harvard student takes on Barney Franks over his role in the economic melt-down
http://youtube.com/v/XTK068aDcPQ
Good job kid. Tune up this lying lib who helped create the problem and now says he can fix it! Why are these guys elected over and over?
Harvard student takes on Barney Franks over his role in the economic melt-down
Good job kid. Tune up this lying lib who helped create the problem and now says he can fix it! Why are these guys elected over and over?
Keyes: Stop Obama or U.S. will cease to exist
http://youtube.com/v/lqkMfToY9Pk
Dr. Keyes is spot on about B. Hussein Obama.
Michael Savage - March 4, 2009 - New World Order Agenda Exposed!!! Listen Carefully......
http://youtube.com/v/uMfZ7czIIWY
This is hitting the NWO nail on the head. Listen to the words of B Hussein Obama. He wants one world citizen with no religion or borders. Scary stuff.
Michael Savage - March 4, 2009 - New World Order Agenda Exposed!!! Listen Carefully......
This is hitting the NWO nail on the head. Listen to the words of B Hussein Obama. He wants one world citizen with no religion or borders. Scary stuff.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Not My President
I thought I would never see the day when I would not be able to support or defend my president. I was a wee too young for Carter, and was of age for the second election of Reagan. No brainer there, Ronnie rocked! GW sr. crushed me when he lied and Billy? I was even willing to take a bullet for him just because of his good ol' boy, aw shucks personality. But what B. Hussein Obama did was unforgivable. He knocked his own country in Europe as if he was on the campaign trail in Iowa. He then rubbed the Euro's nose in the fact that we bailed them out twice and they should be thanking us. He mocked a fellow US citizen during an open question forum. And he kissed the hand of the Saudi God Father. And the death blow? He said that Islam has made major contributions to American society. Idiot. He is truly an enemy of our country. He seeks to be the community organizer of the world. He desires power, even at the expense of my country. I say my, because America is not his. Reverend Wright's teachings are truly in BHO's heart and soul. I imagine he laughs himself to sleep each night knowing that he fooled many in this great country. How will he be stopped? I pray by people seeing who and what he is; a pure anti American, world power seeking egomaniac. I also pray that he does not end up like Dr. King, JFK, or RFK. Though he is nowhere near the class of men they were, he does not deserve that fate. But with his anti American beliefs and the speed he is attempting to change our country into a neo Marxist state, I am sure a few crazy and misguided fools are thinking about it. Let us all pray that he will be outed the American way, by the vote of the people.
Not My President
I thought I would never see the day when I would not be able to support or defend my president. I was a wee too young for Carter, and was of age for the second election of Reagan. No brainer there, Ronnie rocked! GW sr. crushed me when he lied and Billy? I was even willing to take a bullet for him just because of his good ol' boy, aw shucks personality. But what B. Hussein Obama did was unforgivable. He knocked his own country in Europe as if he was on the campaign trail in Iowa. He then rubbed the Euro's nose in the fact that we bailed them out twice and they should be thanking us. He mocked a fellow US citizen during an open question forum. And he kissed the hand of the Saudi God Father. And the death blow? He said that Islam has made major contributions to American society. Idiot. He is truly an enemy of our country. He seeks to be the community organizer of the world. He desires power, even at the expense of my country. I say my, because America is not his. Reverend Wright's teachings are truly in BHO's heart and soul. I imagine he laughs himself to sleep each night knowing that he fooled many in this great country. How will he be stopped? I pray by people seeing who and what he is; a pure anti American, world power seeking egomaniac. I also pray that he does not end up like Dr. King, JFK, or RFK. Though he is nowhere near the class of men they were, he does not deserve that fate. But with his anti American beliefs and the speed he is attempting to change our country into a neo Marxist state, I am sure a few crazy and misguided fools are thinking about it. Let us all pray that he will be outed the American way, by the vote of the people.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Our Fault? Not!
I have been a bit busy lately but I had to take a second to share this well written piece.
http://thehive.modbee.com/node/13323
The Greatest Scam in History Part 1
Submitted by reasonmclucus on Mon, 2009-03-30 22:06.
Health and Science
Are you one of the victims of the "greatest scam in history"? I'm not referring to the scam conducted by Bernie Mad[e]off. I'm referring to what veteran meteorologist John Coleman callsthe "greatestscam in history".
The victims of Mad[e]off's scam are typical of scam victims. Theyallowed their greed to override their common sense. They failed to consider the advice of the police that if someopportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Victims of the global warming scam have done nothing to make themselvesvictims, particularly those who are unemployed through no actions theyhave taken.
Those who could have been employed constructing cleancoal powered electric plants are unemployed because the perpetrators of the global warming scam have stopped construction ofthose plants. The need to supply equipment for suchplants and goods and services to construction workers would havecreated more jobs.
According to the perpetrators of the global warming scam, thereissupposed to be atotal consensus that what they call "global warming" is a major threatto earth's future. Coleman is one of many meteorlogists whodisagree with some or all of their claims. S.Fred Singer isanother who questions such claims. The two of them together haveover 100 years of experience studying weather. Coleman founded theWeather Channel. Singer was the first head of the National Weather Satellite Service.
http://thehive.modbee.com/node/13323
The Greatest Scam in History Part 1
Submitted by reasonmclucus on Mon, 2009-03-30 22:06.
Health and Science
Are you one of the victims of the "greatest scam in history"? I'm not referring to the scam conducted by Bernie Mad[e]off. I'm referring to what veteran meteorologist John Coleman callsthe "greatestscam in history".
The victims of Mad[e]off's scam are typical of scam victims. Theyallowed their greed to override their common sense. They failed to consider the advice of the police that if someopportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Victims of the global warming scam have done nothing to make themselvesvictims, particularly those who are unemployed through no actions theyhave taken.
Those who could have been employed constructing cleancoal powered electric plants are unemployed because the perpetrators of the global warming scam have stopped construction ofthose plants. The need to supply equipment for suchplants and goods and services to construction workers would havecreated more jobs.
According to the perpetrators of the global warming scam, thereissupposed to be atotal consensus that what they call "global warming" is a major threatto earth's future. Coleman is one of many meteorlogists whodisagree with some or all of their claims. S.Fred Singer isanother who questions such claims. The two of them together haveover 100 years of experience studying weather. Coleman founded theWeather Channel. Singer was the first head of the National Weather Satellite Service.
Our Fault? Not!
I have been a bit busy lately but I had to take a second to share this well written piece.
http://thehive.modbee.com/node/13323
The Greatest Scam in History Part 1
Submitted by reasonmclucus on Mon, 2009-03-30 22:06.
Health and Science
Are you one of the victims of the "greatest scam in history"? I'm not referring to the scam conducted by Bernie Mad[e]off. I'm referring to what veteran meteorologist John Coleman callsthe "greatestscam in history".
The victims of Mad[e]off's scam are typical of scam victims. Theyallowed their greed to override their common sense. They failed to consider the advice of the police that if someopportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Victims of the global warming scam have done nothing to make themselvesvictims, particularly those who are unemployed through no actions theyhave taken.
Those who could have been employed constructing cleancoal powered electric plants are unemployed because the perpetrators of the global warming scam have stopped construction ofthose plants. The need to supply equipment for suchplants and goods and services to construction workers would havecreated more jobs.
According to the perpetrators of the global warming scam, thereissupposed to be atotal consensus that what they call "global warming" is a major threatto earth's future. Coleman is one of many meteorlogists whodisagree with some or all of their claims. S.Fred Singer isanother who questions such claims. The two of them together haveover 100 years of experience studying weather. Coleman founded theWeather Channel. Singer was the first head of the National Weather Satellite Service.
http://thehive.modbee.com/node/13323
The Greatest Scam in History Part 1
Submitted by reasonmclucus on Mon, 2009-03-30 22:06.
Health and Science
Are you one of the victims of the "greatest scam in history"? I'm not referring to the scam conducted by Bernie Mad[e]off. I'm referring to what veteran meteorologist John Coleman callsthe "greatestscam in history".
The victims of Mad[e]off's scam are typical of scam victims. Theyallowed their greed to override their common sense. They failed to consider the advice of the police that if someopportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Victims of the global warming scam have done nothing to make themselvesvictims, particularly those who are unemployed through no actions theyhave taken.
Those who could have been employed constructing cleancoal powered electric plants are unemployed because the perpetrators of the global warming scam have stopped construction ofthose plants. The need to supply equipment for suchplants and goods and services to construction workers would havecreated more jobs.
According to the perpetrators of the global warming scam, thereissupposed to be atotal consensus that what they call "global warming" is a major threatto earth's future. Coleman is one of many meteorlogists whodisagree with some or all of their claims. S.Fred Singer isanother who questions such claims. The two of them together haveover 100 years of experience studying weather. Coleman founded theWeather Channel. Singer was the first head of the National Weather Satellite Service.
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Doc That Rocks
http://michaelsavage.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=4752
THE AGE OF THE TERRORISTIT APPEARS THE THAT THIS IS THE AGE OF THE TERRORIST. AFTER SERVING ONLY SEVEN YEARS IN JAIL, SARA JANE OLSON, WHO WAS A RADICAL MARXIST TERRORIST FROM THE 1970s, IS GOING TO BE RELEASED FROM JAIL. THIS IS IN SPITE OF THE PROTESTS OF THE POLICE IN LOS ANGELES THAT OLSON TRIED TO KILL. THIS IS IN SPITE OF THE PROTESTS OF THE POLICE IN MINNESOTA WHO TRACKED OLSON DOWN AFTER 25 YEARS ON THE RUN. THE GOVERNMENT HAS DECIDED TO GO SOFT ON TERRORISM. BUT THIS SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE. THE COUNTRY IS NOW RUN BY A COLLEGE PROFESSOR WHO IS FRIENDS WITH ANOTHER MARXIST TERRORIST, BILL AYERS. THE RADICAL MINDSET PERMEATES THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. AND WHETHER IT’S 60s AND 70s RADICALS OR RADICAL ISLAMOFASCISTS AND THE PEOPLE THAT DEFEND THEM, BARACK OBAMA SEEMS TO HAVE A SOFT SPOT. JUST IN THE LAST WEEK, TONY WEST, WHO WAS THE LAWYER FOR THE AMERICAN TALIBAN, JOHN WALKER LINDH, WAS APPOINTED TO A TOP POSITION IN THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. AND LET’S NOT FORGET THAT OBAMA IS IN THE PROCESS OF RELEASING HUNDREDS OF TERRORISTS AS A RESULT OF CLOSING THE PRISON AT GUANTANIMO BAY. THE PROBLEM IS THAT BARACK OBAMA IS PART OF THAT GENERATION THAT WAS RAISED BY RADICALS. OBAMA’S OWN MOTHER WAS A RADICAL. HE WAS PART OF A GENERATION THAT WAS EDUCATED IN ELITE LIBERAL SCHOOLS TO REVERE MARXISM. SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN THE 1960s AND 70s TAUGHT AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF SO-CALLED LEADERS TO BELIEVE IN PERMANENT REVOLUTION. OBAMA IS MERELY IMPLEMENTING THE LESSONS HE LEARNED IN THAT ENVIRONMENT.
ILLEGAL ALIEN LEECHES COMPLAIN ABOUT HEALTH CARE CUTSAPPARENTLY SOME AMERICANS HAVE WOKEN UP TO THE FACT THAT OUR COUNTRY STILL HAS BORDERS. IN SACRAMENTO, THE CAPITAL OF NEO-MARXIST CALIFORNIA, THE COUNTY HAS CUT OFF ALL NON-EMERGENCY HEALTH SERVICES FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS. OTHER COUNTIES NEAR SAN FRANCISCO ARE ABOUT TO DO THE SAME THING. BECAUSE OF THE ECONOMY AND STATE BUDGET CUTBACKS. COUNTY OFFICIALS HAD TO DECIDE WHETHER TO FIRE 40 EMPLOYEES OR ELIMINATE SERVICES TO THE 4000 ILLEGAL ALIENS IT TREATS ANNUALLY. BUT EVEN NOW THE LEFTISTS ARE MAKING THE CUTBACKS ONLY GRUDGINGLY. KEITH ANDREWS, THE HEAD OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES FOR SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA SAID THAT THE DECISION TO END GOLD PLATED HEALTHCARE FOR ILLEGALS, “WAS VERY DIFFICULT ETHICALLY FOR ME… PEOPLE I'VE BEEN CARING FOR FOR YEARS WILL BE HURT." THE AP ARTICLE HE WAS QUOTED IN DIDN’T SAY WHETHER HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE ACTUAL WORKING CITIZENS OF CALIFORNIA WHO HAVE BEEN HURT BY HAVING THEIR TAXES GO TO PAY FOR TOP LEVEL HEALTHCARE FOR THOSE IN THE COUNTRY ILLEGALLY. IT DIDN’T QUOTE KEITH ANDREWS ABOUT WHETHER IT WAS “DIFFICULT ETHICALLY” FOR HIM TO DEPRIVE WORKING AMERICAN CITIZENS OF THEIR HEALTHCARE SO HE COULD GIVE IT TO ILLEGALS. NATURALLY ILLEGAL ALIENS AN THEIR ALLIES ARE UP IN ARMS. AN ATTORNEY WITH THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA SAID THAT, “ASKING COUNTY WORKERS TO ACT AS IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS PUTS THEM IN A DIFFICULT POSITION.” SHE DIDN’T SAY WHETHER OR NOT PUTTING A DOCTOR OR NURSE OUT OF WORK PUTS THEM IN A DIFFUCULT POSITION. I GUESS IT’S OK AS LONG AS IT HELPS AN ILLEGAL. IT SEEMS THAT ONE GOOD THING ABOUT THE CRUMBLING ECONOMY IS THAT IT HAS WOKEN SOME PEOPLE UP TO THE FACT THAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CAN NO LONGER BE TOLERATED WITHIN THE BODY POLITICK IF THE BODY POLITICK IS TO SURVIVE.
THE AGE OF THE TERRORISTIT APPEARS THE THAT THIS IS THE AGE OF THE TERRORIST. AFTER SERVING ONLY SEVEN YEARS IN JAIL, SARA JANE OLSON, WHO WAS A RADICAL MARXIST TERRORIST FROM THE 1970s, IS GOING TO BE RELEASED FROM JAIL. THIS IS IN SPITE OF THE PROTESTS OF THE POLICE IN LOS ANGELES THAT OLSON TRIED TO KILL. THIS IS IN SPITE OF THE PROTESTS OF THE POLICE IN MINNESOTA WHO TRACKED OLSON DOWN AFTER 25 YEARS ON THE RUN. THE GOVERNMENT HAS DECIDED TO GO SOFT ON TERRORISM. BUT THIS SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE. THE COUNTRY IS NOW RUN BY A COLLEGE PROFESSOR WHO IS FRIENDS WITH ANOTHER MARXIST TERRORIST, BILL AYERS. THE RADICAL MINDSET PERMEATES THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. AND WHETHER IT’S 60s AND 70s RADICALS OR RADICAL ISLAMOFASCISTS AND THE PEOPLE THAT DEFEND THEM, BARACK OBAMA SEEMS TO HAVE A SOFT SPOT. JUST IN THE LAST WEEK, TONY WEST, WHO WAS THE LAWYER FOR THE AMERICAN TALIBAN, JOHN WALKER LINDH, WAS APPOINTED TO A TOP POSITION IN THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. AND LET’S NOT FORGET THAT OBAMA IS IN THE PROCESS OF RELEASING HUNDREDS OF TERRORISTS AS A RESULT OF CLOSING THE PRISON AT GUANTANIMO BAY. THE PROBLEM IS THAT BARACK OBAMA IS PART OF THAT GENERATION THAT WAS RAISED BY RADICALS. OBAMA’S OWN MOTHER WAS A RADICAL. HE WAS PART OF A GENERATION THAT WAS EDUCATED IN ELITE LIBERAL SCHOOLS TO REVERE MARXISM. SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN THE 1960s AND 70s TAUGHT AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF SO-CALLED LEADERS TO BELIEVE IN PERMANENT REVOLUTION. OBAMA IS MERELY IMPLEMENTING THE LESSONS HE LEARNED IN THAT ENVIRONMENT.
ILLEGAL ALIEN LEECHES COMPLAIN ABOUT HEALTH CARE CUTSAPPARENTLY SOME AMERICANS HAVE WOKEN UP TO THE FACT THAT OUR COUNTRY STILL HAS BORDERS. IN SACRAMENTO, THE CAPITAL OF NEO-MARXIST CALIFORNIA, THE COUNTY HAS CUT OFF ALL NON-EMERGENCY HEALTH SERVICES FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS. OTHER COUNTIES NEAR SAN FRANCISCO ARE ABOUT TO DO THE SAME THING. BECAUSE OF THE ECONOMY AND STATE BUDGET CUTBACKS. COUNTY OFFICIALS HAD TO DECIDE WHETHER TO FIRE 40 EMPLOYEES OR ELIMINATE SERVICES TO THE 4000 ILLEGAL ALIENS IT TREATS ANNUALLY. BUT EVEN NOW THE LEFTISTS ARE MAKING THE CUTBACKS ONLY GRUDGINGLY. KEITH ANDREWS, THE HEAD OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES FOR SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA SAID THAT THE DECISION TO END GOLD PLATED HEALTHCARE FOR ILLEGALS, “WAS VERY DIFFICULT ETHICALLY FOR ME… PEOPLE I'VE BEEN CARING FOR FOR YEARS WILL BE HURT." THE AP ARTICLE HE WAS QUOTED IN DIDN’T SAY WHETHER HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE ACTUAL WORKING CITIZENS OF CALIFORNIA WHO HAVE BEEN HURT BY HAVING THEIR TAXES GO TO PAY FOR TOP LEVEL HEALTHCARE FOR THOSE IN THE COUNTRY ILLEGALLY. IT DIDN’T QUOTE KEITH ANDREWS ABOUT WHETHER IT WAS “DIFFICULT ETHICALLY” FOR HIM TO DEPRIVE WORKING AMERICAN CITIZENS OF THEIR HEALTHCARE SO HE COULD GIVE IT TO ILLEGALS. NATURALLY ILLEGAL ALIENS AN THEIR ALLIES ARE UP IN ARMS. AN ATTORNEY WITH THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA SAID THAT, “ASKING COUNTY WORKERS TO ACT AS IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS PUTS THEM IN A DIFFICULT POSITION.” SHE DIDN’T SAY WHETHER OR NOT PUTTING A DOCTOR OR NURSE OUT OF WORK PUTS THEM IN A DIFFUCULT POSITION. I GUESS IT’S OK AS LONG AS IT HELPS AN ILLEGAL. IT SEEMS THAT ONE GOOD THING ABOUT THE CRUMBLING ECONOMY IS THAT IT HAS WOKEN SOME PEOPLE UP TO THE FACT THAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CAN NO LONGER BE TOLERATED WITHIN THE BODY POLITICK IF THE BODY POLITICK IS TO SURVIVE.
The Doc That Rocks
http://michaelsavage.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=4752
THE AGE OF THE TERRORISTIT APPEARS THE THAT THIS IS THE AGE OF THE TERRORIST. AFTER SERVING ONLY SEVEN YEARS IN JAIL, SARA JANE OLSON, WHO WAS A RADICAL MARXIST TERRORIST FROM THE 1970s, IS GOING TO BE RELEASED FROM JAIL. THIS IS IN SPITE OF THE PROTESTS OF THE POLICE IN LOS ANGELES THAT OLSON TRIED TO KILL. THIS IS IN SPITE OF THE PROTESTS OF THE POLICE IN MINNESOTA WHO TRACKED OLSON DOWN AFTER 25 YEARS ON THE RUN. THE GOVERNMENT HAS DECIDED TO GO SOFT ON TERRORISM. BUT THIS SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE. THE COUNTRY IS NOW RUN BY A COLLEGE PROFESSOR WHO IS FRIENDS WITH ANOTHER MARXIST TERRORIST, BILL AYERS. THE RADICAL MINDSET PERMEATES THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. AND WHETHER IT’S 60s AND 70s RADICALS OR RADICAL ISLAMOFASCISTS AND THE PEOPLE THAT DEFEND THEM, BARACK OBAMA SEEMS TO HAVE A SOFT SPOT. JUST IN THE LAST WEEK, TONY WEST, WHO WAS THE LAWYER FOR THE AMERICAN TALIBAN, JOHN WALKER LINDH, WAS APPOINTED TO A TOP POSITION IN THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. AND LET’S NOT FORGET THAT OBAMA IS IN THE PROCESS OF RELEASING HUNDREDS OF TERRORISTS AS A RESULT OF CLOSING THE PRISON AT GUANTANIMO BAY. THE PROBLEM IS THAT BARACK OBAMA IS PART OF THAT GENERATION THAT WAS RAISED BY RADICALS. OBAMA’S OWN MOTHER WAS A RADICAL. HE WAS PART OF A GENERATION THAT WAS EDUCATED IN ELITE LIBERAL SCHOOLS TO REVERE MARXISM. SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN THE 1960s AND 70s TAUGHT AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF SO-CALLED LEADERS TO BELIEVE IN PERMANENT REVOLUTION. OBAMA IS MERELY IMPLEMENTING THE LESSONS HE LEARNED IN THAT ENVIRONMENT.
ILLEGAL ALIEN LEECHES COMPLAIN ABOUT HEALTH CARE CUTSAPPARENTLY SOME AMERICANS HAVE WOKEN UP TO THE FACT THAT OUR COUNTRY STILL HAS BORDERS. IN SACRAMENTO, THE CAPITAL OF NEO-MARXIST CALIFORNIA, THE COUNTY HAS CUT OFF ALL NON-EMERGENCY HEALTH SERVICES FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS. OTHER COUNTIES NEAR SAN FRANCISCO ARE ABOUT TO DO THE SAME THING. BECAUSE OF THE ECONOMY AND STATE BUDGET CUTBACKS. COUNTY OFFICIALS HAD TO DECIDE WHETHER TO FIRE 40 EMPLOYEES OR ELIMINATE SERVICES TO THE 4000 ILLEGAL ALIENS IT TREATS ANNUALLY. BUT EVEN NOW THE LEFTISTS ARE MAKING THE CUTBACKS ONLY GRUDGINGLY. KEITH ANDREWS, THE HEAD OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES FOR SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA SAID THAT THE DECISION TO END GOLD PLATED HEALTHCARE FOR ILLEGALS, “WAS VERY DIFFICULT ETHICALLY FOR ME… PEOPLE I'VE BEEN CARING FOR FOR YEARS WILL BE HURT." THE AP ARTICLE HE WAS QUOTED IN DIDN’T SAY WHETHER HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE ACTUAL WORKING CITIZENS OF CALIFORNIA WHO HAVE BEEN HURT BY HAVING THEIR TAXES GO TO PAY FOR TOP LEVEL HEALTHCARE FOR THOSE IN THE COUNTRY ILLEGALLY. IT DIDN’T QUOTE KEITH ANDREWS ABOUT WHETHER IT WAS “DIFFICULT ETHICALLY” FOR HIM TO DEPRIVE WORKING AMERICAN CITIZENS OF THEIR HEALTHCARE SO HE COULD GIVE IT TO ILLEGALS. NATURALLY ILLEGAL ALIENS AN THEIR ALLIES ARE UP IN ARMS. AN ATTORNEY WITH THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA SAID THAT, “ASKING COUNTY WORKERS TO ACT AS IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS PUTS THEM IN A DIFFICULT POSITION.” SHE DIDN’T SAY WHETHER OR NOT PUTTING A DOCTOR OR NURSE OUT OF WORK PUTS THEM IN A DIFFUCULT POSITION. I GUESS IT’S OK AS LONG AS IT HELPS AN ILLEGAL. IT SEEMS THAT ONE GOOD THING ABOUT THE CRUMBLING ECONOMY IS THAT IT HAS WOKEN SOME PEOPLE UP TO THE FACT THAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CAN NO LONGER BE TOLERATED WITHIN THE BODY POLITICK IF THE BODY POLITICK IS TO SURVIVE.
THE AGE OF THE TERRORISTIT APPEARS THE THAT THIS IS THE AGE OF THE TERRORIST. AFTER SERVING ONLY SEVEN YEARS IN JAIL, SARA JANE OLSON, WHO WAS A RADICAL MARXIST TERRORIST FROM THE 1970s, IS GOING TO BE RELEASED FROM JAIL. THIS IS IN SPITE OF THE PROTESTS OF THE POLICE IN LOS ANGELES THAT OLSON TRIED TO KILL. THIS IS IN SPITE OF THE PROTESTS OF THE POLICE IN MINNESOTA WHO TRACKED OLSON DOWN AFTER 25 YEARS ON THE RUN. THE GOVERNMENT HAS DECIDED TO GO SOFT ON TERRORISM. BUT THIS SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE. THE COUNTRY IS NOW RUN BY A COLLEGE PROFESSOR WHO IS FRIENDS WITH ANOTHER MARXIST TERRORIST, BILL AYERS. THE RADICAL MINDSET PERMEATES THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. AND WHETHER IT’S 60s AND 70s RADICALS OR RADICAL ISLAMOFASCISTS AND THE PEOPLE THAT DEFEND THEM, BARACK OBAMA SEEMS TO HAVE A SOFT SPOT. JUST IN THE LAST WEEK, TONY WEST, WHO WAS THE LAWYER FOR THE AMERICAN TALIBAN, JOHN WALKER LINDH, WAS APPOINTED TO A TOP POSITION IN THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. AND LET’S NOT FORGET THAT OBAMA IS IN THE PROCESS OF RELEASING HUNDREDS OF TERRORISTS AS A RESULT OF CLOSING THE PRISON AT GUANTANIMO BAY. THE PROBLEM IS THAT BARACK OBAMA IS PART OF THAT GENERATION THAT WAS RAISED BY RADICALS. OBAMA’S OWN MOTHER WAS A RADICAL. HE WAS PART OF A GENERATION THAT WAS EDUCATED IN ELITE LIBERAL SCHOOLS TO REVERE MARXISM. SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN THE 1960s AND 70s TAUGHT AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF SO-CALLED LEADERS TO BELIEVE IN PERMANENT REVOLUTION. OBAMA IS MERELY IMPLEMENTING THE LESSONS HE LEARNED IN THAT ENVIRONMENT.
ILLEGAL ALIEN LEECHES COMPLAIN ABOUT HEALTH CARE CUTSAPPARENTLY SOME AMERICANS HAVE WOKEN UP TO THE FACT THAT OUR COUNTRY STILL HAS BORDERS. IN SACRAMENTO, THE CAPITAL OF NEO-MARXIST CALIFORNIA, THE COUNTY HAS CUT OFF ALL NON-EMERGENCY HEALTH SERVICES FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS. OTHER COUNTIES NEAR SAN FRANCISCO ARE ABOUT TO DO THE SAME THING. BECAUSE OF THE ECONOMY AND STATE BUDGET CUTBACKS. COUNTY OFFICIALS HAD TO DECIDE WHETHER TO FIRE 40 EMPLOYEES OR ELIMINATE SERVICES TO THE 4000 ILLEGAL ALIENS IT TREATS ANNUALLY. BUT EVEN NOW THE LEFTISTS ARE MAKING THE CUTBACKS ONLY GRUDGINGLY. KEITH ANDREWS, THE HEAD OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES FOR SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA SAID THAT THE DECISION TO END GOLD PLATED HEALTHCARE FOR ILLEGALS, “WAS VERY DIFFICULT ETHICALLY FOR ME… PEOPLE I'VE BEEN CARING FOR FOR YEARS WILL BE HURT." THE AP ARTICLE HE WAS QUOTED IN DIDN’T SAY WHETHER HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE ACTUAL WORKING CITIZENS OF CALIFORNIA WHO HAVE BEEN HURT BY HAVING THEIR TAXES GO TO PAY FOR TOP LEVEL HEALTHCARE FOR THOSE IN THE COUNTRY ILLEGALLY. IT DIDN’T QUOTE KEITH ANDREWS ABOUT WHETHER IT WAS “DIFFICULT ETHICALLY” FOR HIM TO DEPRIVE WORKING AMERICAN CITIZENS OF THEIR HEALTHCARE SO HE COULD GIVE IT TO ILLEGALS. NATURALLY ILLEGAL ALIENS AN THEIR ALLIES ARE UP IN ARMS. AN ATTORNEY WITH THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA SAID THAT, “ASKING COUNTY WORKERS TO ACT AS IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS PUTS THEM IN A DIFFICULT POSITION.” SHE DIDN’T SAY WHETHER OR NOT PUTTING A DOCTOR OR NURSE OUT OF WORK PUTS THEM IN A DIFFUCULT POSITION. I GUESS IT’S OK AS LONG AS IT HELPS AN ILLEGAL. IT SEEMS THAT ONE GOOD THING ABOUT THE CRUMBLING ECONOMY IS THAT IT HAS WOKEN SOME PEOPLE UP TO THE FACT THAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CAN NO LONGER BE TOLERATED WITHIN THE BODY POLITICK IF THE BODY POLITICK IS TO SURVIVE.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
From My Proud Catholic Sister
http://quietconsecration.blogspot.com/2009/03/here-is-how-satan-works-play-in-2-acts.html
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Here is how Satan Works - a play in 2 acts
Father Cash has instructed me to say, when I am feeling kind of down about myself, "I WILL NOT FELLOWSHIP WITH YOU!" as a way of reminding myself that Satan is just a creature, he is not omnipotent like my Heavenly Father and that my Momma wears combat boots (Our Lady is ready for spiritual battle at all times).So, I can remember to do that and I can do it successfully and then I see how he counter-attacks...seriously, the guy is relentless...what a doofus...anyway, you should see the posts on the Hive today. Attacks by the usual sorry sadsacks against religion - one of them brings religion up when reporting on a story about fraud committed against elderly people by a fake psychic.*sigh*So I relinquish my right to revenge and justice to My Heavenly Father and go about my business. But I did write about the Boredom of Terrorism because I think this kind of 'poke-you-in-the-eye-and-then-cry-foul!-when-you-tell-me-to-knock-it-off ' is the result of boredom. The people who engage in it the most are middle-aged, drinking men who see themselves as 'watchdogs of freedom'. They also think they are very witty. If you do not agree with them they call your religion a cult, your politics 'hatred' and the get mad if you say, "Hey, you don't get to do that and call it a discussion!".That's what so funny about the entire Hive group - there are people on it who think they are admired and loved because of their 'liberal' stand who are really the laughing stock of the valley....and it is awful to be in a position of having to defend these goofy guys to people who really suspect they are socially inept at best and spend their evenings 'sitting in their garage, wearing nothing but boxer shorts, hunched over their computers' at the worst. But defend them I do, because truth be told I feel sorry for them. To be that filled with bile, to be ready to pounce on all things Catholic, state stupid opinions about the Pope on the internet for all to see, and call a conwoman who takes a no-contest deal on a fraud conviction a person of integrity because she did not claim she represents a religion proves beyond any reasonable doubt that these guys are nuts.For once I can say, with pride, that the people at The Hive with whom I have cultivated a cyber friendship are not nuts (at least in this sense)...not even some of the time. It's always recognized when one of the more intelligent ones have an off day and occasionally one of the good guys can go off on a tangent but man, they are just not crazy like these two - but, as one friend of mine from Chicago said, "A nut is a nut, whether it is on the tree, the ground or salted in a can".I'm not sure what that means, but he is from Chicago and he plays blues guitar so it must be very wise.I ended up on the phone tonight with E for 45 minutes as she brought me up to date with all the goings-on she has had this past week. Considering how much better she had been, the past week was a bit of a disappointment as she began to rev herself up again..but, she pulled back from me, was actually quite nice (though a bit manic and chatty) so I don't feel like sticking a fork in my eye to escape (honest, Doc, I don't know how it happened...it must be a worker's comp claim).I am hoping to get to the Lenten Mission again tonight but we'll see, as I am really fighting this stupid cold. My chest hurts when I cough and my right ear just started throbbing and I really do not have time to get sick...but I may have no choice.Father has spoken about forgiveness and tonight he spoke about prayer. He shared with us the Carmelite practice of journalling through prayer and I realized that I have been doing that without knowing it....which means I am either really smart of I am a Carmelite in nature (I always saw myself as more of a Jesuit but), which makes sense because I do so love St Therese.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Here is how Satan Works - a play in 2 acts
Father Cash has instructed me to say, when I am feeling kind of down about myself, "I WILL NOT FELLOWSHIP WITH YOU!" as a way of reminding myself that Satan is just a creature, he is not omnipotent like my Heavenly Father and that my Momma wears combat boots (Our Lady is ready for spiritual battle at all times).So, I can remember to do that and I can do it successfully and then I see how he counter-attacks...seriously, the guy is relentless...what a doofus...anyway, you should see the posts on the Hive today. Attacks by the usual sorry sadsacks against religion - one of them brings religion up when reporting on a story about fraud committed against elderly people by a fake psychic.*sigh*So I relinquish my right to revenge and justice to My Heavenly Father and go about my business. But I did write about the Boredom of Terrorism because I think this kind of 'poke-you-in-the-eye-and-then-cry-foul!-when-you-tell-me-to-knock-it-off ' is the result of boredom. The people who engage in it the most are middle-aged, drinking men who see themselves as 'watchdogs of freedom'. They also think they are very witty. If you do not agree with them they call your religion a cult, your politics 'hatred' and the get mad if you say, "Hey, you don't get to do that and call it a discussion!".That's what so funny about the entire Hive group - there are people on it who think they are admired and loved because of their 'liberal' stand who are really the laughing stock of the valley....and it is awful to be in a position of having to defend these goofy guys to people who really suspect they are socially inept at best and spend their evenings 'sitting in their garage, wearing nothing but boxer shorts, hunched over their computers' at the worst. But defend them I do, because truth be told I feel sorry for them. To be that filled with bile, to be ready to pounce on all things Catholic, state stupid opinions about the Pope on the internet for all to see, and call a conwoman who takes a no-contest deal on a fraud conviction a person of integrity because she did not claim she represents a religion proves beyond any reasonable doubt that these guys are nuts.For once I can say, with pride, that the people at The Hive with whom I have cultivated a cyber friendship are not nuts (at least in this sense)...not even some of the time. It's always recognized when one of the more intelligent ones have an off day and occasionally one of the good guys can go off on a tangent but man, they are just not crazy like these two - but, as one friend of mine from Chicago said, "A nut is a nut, whether it is on the tree, the ground or salted in a can".I'm not sure what that means, but he is from Chicago and he plays blues guitar so it must be very wise.I ended up on the phone tonight with E for 45 minutes as she brought me up to date with all the goings-on she has had this past week. Considering how much better she had been, the past week was a bit of a disappointment as she began to rev herself up again..but, she pulled back from me, was actually quite nice (though a bit manic and chatty) so I don't feel like sticking a fork in my eye to escape (honest, Doc, I don't know how it happened...it must be a worker's comp claim).I am hoping to get to the Lenten Mission again tonight but we'll see, as I am really fighting this stupid cold. My chest hurts when I cough and my right ear just started throbbing and I really do not have time to get sick...but I may have no choice.Father has spoken about forgiveness and tonight he spoke about prayer. He shared with us the Carmelite practice of journalling through prayer and I realized that I have been doing that without knowing it....which means I am either really smart of I am a Carmelite in nature (I always saw myself as more of a Jesuit but), which makes sense because I do so love St Therese.
From My Proud Catholic Sister
http://quietconsecration.blogspot.com/2009/03/here-is-how-satan-works-play-in-2-acts.html
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Here is how Satan Works - a play in 2 acts
Father Cash has instructed me to say, when I am feeling kind of down about myself, "I WILL NOT FELLOWSHIP WITH YOU!" as a way of reminding myself that Satan is just a creature, he is not omnipotent like my Heavenly Father and that my Momma wears combat boots (Our Lady is ready for spiritual battle at all times).So, I can remember to do that and I can do it successfully and then I see how he counter-attacks...seriously, the guy is relentless...what a doofus...anyway, you should see the posts on the Hive today. Attacks by the usual sorry sadsacks against religion - one of them brings religion up when reporting on a story about fraud committed against elderly people by a fake psychic.*sigh*So I relinquish my right to revenge and justice to My Heavenly Father and go about my business. But I did write about the Boredom of Terrorism because I think this kind of 'poke-you-in-the-eye-and-then-cry-foul!-when-you-tell-me-to-knock-it-off ' is the result of boredom. The people who engage in it the most are middle-aged, drinking men who see themselves as 'watchdogs of freedom'. They also think they are very witty. If you do not agree with them they call your religion a cult, your politics 'hatred' and the get mad if you say, "Hey, you don't get to do that and call it a discussion!".That's what so funny about the entire Hive group - there are people on it who think they are admired and loved because of their 'liberal' stand who are really the laughing stock of the valley....and it is awful to be in a position of having to defend these goofy guys to people who really suspect they are socially inept at best and spend their evenings 'sitting in their garage, wearing nothing but boxer shorts, hunched over their computers' at the worst. But defend them I do, because truth be told I feel sorry for them. To be that filled with bile, to be ready to pounce on all things Catholic, state stupid opinions about the Pope on the internet for all to see, and call a conwoman who takes a no-contest deal on a fraud conviction a person of integrity because she did not claim she represents a religion proves beyond any reasonable doubt that these guys are nuts.For once I can say, with pride, that the people at The Hive with whom I have cultivated a cyber friendship are not nuts (at least in this sense)...not even some of the time. It's always recognized when one of the more intelligent ones have an off day and occasionally one of the good guys can go off on a tangent but man, they are just not crazy like these two - but, as one friend of mine from Chicago said, "A nut is a nut, whether it is on the tree, the ground or salted in a can".I'm not sure what that means, but he is from Chicago and he plays blues guitar so it must be very wise.I ended up on the phone tonight with E for 45 minutes as she brought me up to date with all the goings-on she has had this past week. Considering how much better she had been, the past week was a bit of a disappointment as she began to rev herself up again..but, she pulled back from me, was actually quite nice (though a bit manic and chatty) so I don't feel like sticking a fork in my eye to escape (honest, Doc, I don't know how it happened...it must be a worker's comp claim).I am hoping to get to the Lenten Mission again tonight but we'll see, as I am really fighting this stupid cold. My chest hurts when I cough and my right ear just started throbbing and I really do not have time to get sick...but I may have no choice.Father has spoken about forgiveness and tonight he spoke about prayer. He shared with us the Carmelite practice of journalling through prayer and I realized that I have been doing that without knowing it....which means I am either really smart of I am a Carmelite in nature (I always saw myself as more of a Jesuit but), which makes sense because I do so love St Therese.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Here is how Satan Works - a play in 2 acts
Father Cash has instructed me to say, when I am feeling kind of down about myself, "I WILL NOT FELLOWSHIP WITH YOU!" as a way of reminding myself that Satan is just a creature, he is not omnipotent like my Heavenly Father and that my Momma wears combat boots (Our Lady is ready for spiritual battle at all times).So, I can remember to do that and I can do it successfully and then I see how he counter-attacks...seriously, the guy is relentless...what a doofus...anyway, you should see the posts on the Hive today. Attacks by the usual sorry sadsacks against religion - one of them brings religion up when reporting on a story about fraud committed against elderly people by a fake psychic.*sigh*So I relinquish my right to revenge and justice to My Heavenly Father and go about my business. But I did write about the Boredom of Terrorism because I think this kind of 'poke-you-in-the-eye-and-then-cry-foul!-when-you-tell-me-to-knock-it-off ' is the result of boredom. The people who engage in it the most are middle-aged, drinking men who see themselves as 'watchdogs of freedom'. They also think they are very witty. If you do not agree with them they call your religion a cult, your politics 'hatred' and the get mad if you say, "Hey, you don't get to do that and call it a discussion!".That's what so funny about the entire Hive group - there are people on it who think they are admired and loved because of their 'liberal' stand who are really the laughing stock of the valley....and it is awful to be in a position of having to defend these goofy guys to people who really suspect they are socially inept at best and spend their evenings 'sitting in their garage, wearing nothing but boxer shorts, hunched over their computers' at the worst. But defend them I do, because truth be told I feel sorry for them. To be that filled with bile, to be ready to pounce on all things Catholic, state stupid opinions about the Pope on the internet for all to see, and call a conwoman who takes a no-contest deal on a fraud conviction a person of integrity because she did not claim she represents a religion proves beyond any reasonable doubt that these guys are nuts.For once I can say, with pride, that the people at The Hive with whom I have cultivated a cyber friendship are not nuts (at least in this sense)...not even some of the time. It's always recognized when one of the more intelligent ones have an off day and occasionally one of the good guys can go off on a tangent but man, they are just not crazy like these two - but, as one friend of mine from Chicago said, "A nut is a nut, whether it is on the tree, the ground or salted in a can".I'm not sure what that means, but he is from Chicago and he plays blues guitar so it must be very wise.I ended up on the phone tonight with E for 45 minutes as she brought me up to date with all the goings-on she has had this past week. Considering how much better she had been, the past week was a bit of a disappointment as she began to rev herself up again..but, she pulled back from me, was actually quite nice (though a bit manic and chatty) so I don't feel like sticking a fork in my eye to escape (honest, Doc, I don't know how it happened...it must be a worker's comp claim).I am hoping to get to the Lenten Mission again tonight but we'll see, as I am really fighting this stupid cold. My chest hurts when I cough and my right ear just started throbbing and I really do not have time to get sick...but I may have no choice.Father has spoken about forgiveness and tonight he spoke about prayer. He shared with us the Carmelite practice of journalling through prayer and I realized that I have been doing that without knowing it....which means I am either really smart of I am a Carmelite in nature (I always saw myself as more of a Jesuit but), which makes sense because I do so love St Therese.
Thanks Dr. Savage
Thanks to michaelsavage.com for this:
http://michaelsavage.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=4684
FROM BROWNSHIRTS TO GREENSHIRTS
VAN JONES HAS BEEN APPOINTED BY BARACK OBAMA TO BE HIS SPECIAL ADVISER ON GREEN JOBS. HE WILL BE OBAMA’S GREEN CZAR. WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW, HOWEVER, IS THAT VAN JONES HAS A BACKGROUND AS A STREET RADICAL. AFTER GROWING UP IN RURAL TENESSEE AND GETTING A LAW DEGREE FROM THE WHITE LIBERALS AT YALE, VAN JONES BEGAN HIS CAREER OF AGITATION IN SAN FRANCISCO. HE STARTED A GROUP CALLED POLICE WATCH, A GROUP WHICH HAS SYSTEMATICALLY HARASSED THE POLICE OF THE SAN FRANCISIO BAY AREA. USING VIDEO CAMERAS, PROTESTS, LAWSUITS, ETC., VAN JONES FOUGHT TO PREVENT THE POLICE FROM PROTECTING US AGAINST THE SCUM OF SOCIETY. HE HAD POLICEMEN FIRED, HE’S RUINED LIVES, AND HE’S MADE US ALL MORE VULNERABLE TO STREET GANGS.
BUT IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, IT SEEMS, VAN JONES HAS MOVED ON TO A DIFFERENT CON GAME – THE ENVIRONMENT. HE STARTED SOMETHING CALLED THE GREEN COLLAR JOBS CAMPAIGN, WHICH TRIES, AS HE CLAIMS, TO “CREATE GREEN PATHWAYS OUT OF POVERTY.” IN OTHER WORDS, CONNING PEOPLE ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING HAS BECOME MORE PROFITABLE THAN HARRASSING THE POLICE.
AND NOW BARACK OBAMA HAS BROUGHT HIM ON AS PART OF THE TEAM. HIS BACKGROUND DOVETAILS PERFECTLY WITH OBAMA’S PLANS. YOU’VE HEARD OBAMA BEFORE TALKING ABOUT STARTING A “CIVILIAN NATIONAL SECURITY FORCE” SEPARATE FROM THE MILITARY. LISTEN TO HIS WORDS AS HE SPOKE ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL LAST YEAR.
CHILLING. BUT I’VE TOLD YOU BEFORE THAT OBAMA IS GETTING READY TO ORGANIZE AN ARMY OF GREENSHIRTS. AND GIVEN VAN JONES’ BACKGROUND IN STREET AGITATION, HE SEEMS LIKE THE PERFECT PERSON TO DO IT.
THERE WAS ANOTHER MAN ONCE WHO ROSE TO POWER ON AN ARMY OF STREET THUGS. ADOLPH HITLER HAD A FRIEND NAMED ERNST ROHM WHO WAS THE HEAD OF AN ORGANIZATION CALLED THE S.A.. THE S.A. WAS A POLITICAL ARMY WHICH PROTECTED THE NAZI PARTY LEADERSHIP, BATTLED POLITICAL OPPONENTS, AND TERRORIZED THE JEWS. ERNST ROHM WAS AN AVOWED SOCIALIST. HE REJECTED CAPITALISM, PUSHED FOR THE NATIONALIZATION OF GERMAN INDUSTRY AND REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH. VAN JONES, IT SEEMS, IS WORKING ALONG THE SAME LINES.
THE ENVIRONMENT IS BEING USED BY OBAMA TO CONTROL THE U.S. POPULACE. THE BROWNSHIRTS HAVE BECOME THE GREENSHIRTS, LED BY VAN JONES AND HIS STREET AGITATORS. THEY SEEM TO BE ON THE VERGE OF DEPUTIZING AND ARMING AN ARMY OF GANGS WHO WILL THREATEN, INTIMIDATE, AND ARREST ANYONE WHO REFUSES TO GO ALONG WITH THE NEW GREEN AGRENDA.
THE OBAMA CORRUPTION CABAL
DURING THE PRESIDENCY OF GEORGE W. BUSH, LIBERALS USED TO SAY THAT IT WAS THE MOST CORRUPT ADMINISTRATION IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. BUT AS TIME GOES BY, IT’S LOOKING LIKE BARACK OBAMA MAY CLAIM THE TITLE FOR HIMSELF. JUST TODAY, THE OFFICE OF THE MAN B.O. APPOINTED AS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER WAS RAIDED BY THE FBI. TWO MEN WHO HAD WORKED FOR VIVEK KUNDRA WERE ARRESTED AS PART OF A FEDERAL BRIBERY STING. THEIR NAMES WERE YUSUF ACAR AND SUSHIL BANSAL. IT LOOKS LIKE MAYBE THERE’S AN ELIOT NESS OUT THERE AFTER ALL.
BUT IF YOU’VE BEEN PAYING ANY ATTENTION AT ALL OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS ONLY THE MOST RECENT IN A LONG LIST OF SCANDALS INVOLVING OBAMA APPOINTEES.
· BILL RICHARDSON REMOVES HIMSELF FROM THE RUNNING TO BE U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY, SUPPOSEDLY BECAUSE OF AN ON-GOING INVESTIGATION INTO A POSSIBLE “PAY-FOR-PLAY” DEAL IN RICHARDSON’S STATE.
· TIMOTHY GEITHNER, OBAMA’S PICK FOR TREASURY SECRETARY “FORGOT” TO PAY TAXES BUT WAS APPROVED ANYWAY.
· TOM DASCHLE – FORGOT TO PAY $100,000 DOLLARS IN TAXES AND HAD TO STEP DOWN.
· NANCY KILLEFER TOOK HERSELF OUT OF THE RUNNING FOR OBAMA’S NEWLY CREATED “CHIEF PERFORMANCE OFFICER” POSITION BECAUSE SHE FAILED FOR 18 MONTHS TO PAY EMPLOYMENT TAXES ON HOUSEHOLD HELP.
· THE HUSBAND OF OBAMA’S NOMINEE FOR U.S. LABOR SECRETARY, HILDA SOLIS, HAS MORE THAN $7,600 IN TAX LIENS ON HIS AUTO REPAIR BUSINESS, BUT SHE STILL GOT APPROVED.
· RON KIRK, NOMINATED AS U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE, THE LATEST OBAMA TAX CHEATER, OWES AN ESTIMATED $10,000 IN BACK TAXES.
· AND RABID ANTI-SEMITE CHARLES “CHAS” FREEMAN, OBAMA’S PICK FOR THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL TOOK HIMSELF OUT OF THE RUNNING AFTER HIS RACIST COMMENTS WERE PUBLICLY REVEALED.
YET NONE OF THESE SCANDALS SEEM TO HAVE ANY AFFECT ON OBAMA’S DETERMINATION TO CONTINUE APPOINTING CORRUPT OFFICIALS. THESE PEOPLE CONSIDER THEMSELVES ABOVE THE LAW. AS PART OF THE NEO-MARXIST CABAL, THEY CONSIDER THE LAW TO BE FOR WORKING PEOPLE OR FOR CHRISTIANS OR CONSERVATIVES, BUT NOT FOR THEM.
http://michaelsavage.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=4684
FROM BROWNSHIRTS TO GREENSHIRTS
VAN JONES HAS BEEN APPOINTED BY BARACK OBAMA TO BE HIS SPECIAL ADVISER ON GREEN JOBS. HE WILL BE OBAMA’S GREEN CZAR. WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW, HOWEVER, IS THAT VAN JONES HAS A BACKGROUND AS A STREET RADICAL. AFTER GROWING UP IN RURAL TENESSEE AND GETTING A LAW DEGREE FROM THE WHITE LIBERALS AT YALE, VAN JONES BEGAN HIS CAREER OF AGITATION IN SAN FRANCISCO. HE STARTED A GROUP CALLED POLICE WATCH, A GROUP WHICH HAS SYSTEMATICALLY HARASSED THE POLICE OF THE SAN FRANCISIO BAY AREA. USING VIDEO CAMERAS, PROTESTS, LAWSUITS, ETC., VAN JONES FOUGHT TO PREVENT THE POLICE FROM PROTECTING US AGAINST THE SCUM OF SOCIETY. HE HAD POLICEMEN FIRED, HE’S RUINED LIVES, AND HE’S MADE US ALL MORE VULNERABLE TO STREET GANGS.
BUT IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, IT SEEMS, VAN JONES HAS MOVED ON TO A DIFFERENT CON GAME – THE ENVIRONMENT. HE STARTED SOMETHING CALLED THE GREEN COLLAR JOBS CAMPAIGN, WHICH TRIES, AS HE CLAIMS, TO “CREATE GREEN PATHWAYS OUT OF POVERTY.” IN OTHER WORDS, CONNING PEOPLE ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING HAS BECOME MORE PROFITABLE THAN HARRASSING THE POLICE.
AND NOW BARACK OBAMA HAS BROUGHT HIM ON AS PART OF THE TEAM. HIS BACKGROUND DOVETAILS PERFECTLY WITH OBAMA’S PLANS. YOU’VE HEARD OBAMA BEFORE TALKING ABOUT STARTING A “CIVILIAN NATIONAL SECURITY FORCE” SEPARATE FROM THE MILITARY. LISTEN TO HIS WORDS AS HE SPOKE ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL LAST YEAR.
CHILLING. BUT I’VE TOLD YOU BEFORE THAT OBAMA IS GETTING READY TO ORGANIZE AN ARMY OF GREENSHIRTS. AND GIVEN VAN JONES’ BACKGROUND IN STREET AGITATION, HE SEEMS LIKE THE PERFECT PERSON TO DO IT.
THERE WAS ANOTHER MAN ONCE WHO ROSE TO POWER ON AN ARMY OF STREET THUGS. ADOLPH HITLER HAD A FRIEND NAMED ERNST ROHM WHO WAS THE HEAD OF AN ORGANIZATION CALLED THE S.A.. THE S.A. WAS A POLITICAL ARMY WHICH PROTECTED THE NAZI PARTY LEADERSHIP, BATTLED POLITICAL OPPONENTS, AND TERRORIZED THE JEWS. ERNST ROHM WAS AN AVOWED SOCIALIST. HE REJECTED CAPITALISM, PUSHED FOR THE NATIONALIZATION OF GERMAN INDUSTRY AND REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH. VAN JONES, IT SEEMS, IS WORKING ALONG THE SAME LINES.
THE ENVIRONMENT IS BEING USED BY OBAMA TO CONTROL THE U.S. POPULACE. THE BROWNSHIRTS HAVE BECOME THE GREENSHIRTS, LED BY VAN JONES AND HIS STREET AGITATORS. THEY SEEM TO BE ON THE VERGE OF DEPUTIZING AND ARMING AN ARMY OF GANGS WHO WILL THREATEN, INTIMIDATE, AND ARREST ANYONE WHO REFUSES TO GO ALONG WITH THE NEW GREEN AGRENDA.
THE OBAMA CORRUPTION CABAL
DURING THE PRESIDENCY OF GEORGE W. BUSH, LIBERALS USED TO SAY THAT IT WAS THE MOST CORRUPT ADMINISTRATION IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. BUT AS TIME GOES BY, IT’S LOOKING LIKE BARACK OBAMA MAY CLAIM THE TITLE FOR HIMSELF. JUST TODAY, THE OFFICE OF THE MAN B.O. APPOINTED AS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER WAS RAIDED BY THE FBI. TWO MEN WHO HAD WORKED FOR VIVEK KUNDRA WERE ARRESTED AS PART OF A FEDERAL BRIBERY STING. THEIR NAMES WERE YUSUF ACAR AND SUSHIL BANSAL. IT LOOKS LIKE MAYBE THERE’S AN ELIOT NESS OUT THERE AFTER ALL.
BUT IF YOU’VE BEEN PAYING ANY ATTENTION AT ALL OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS ONLY THE MOST RECENT IN A LONG LIST OF SCANDALS INVOLVING OBAMA APPOINTEES.
· BILL RICHARDSON REMOVES HIMSELF FROM THE RUNNING TO BE U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY, SUPPOSEDLY BECAUSE OF AN ON-GOING INVESTIGATION INTO A POSSIBLE “PAY-FOR-PLAY” DEAL IN RICHARDSON’S STATE.
· TIMOTHY GEITHNER, OBAMA’S PICK FOR TREASURY SECRETARY “FORGOT” TO PAY TAXES BUT WAS APPROVED ANYWAY.
· TOM DASCHLE – FORGOT TO PAY $100,000 DOLLARS IN TAXES AND HAD TO STEP DOWN.
· NANCY KILLEFER TOOK HERSELF OUT OF THE RUNNING FOR OBAMA’S NEWLY CREATED “CHIEF PERFORMANCE OFFICER” POSITION BECAUSE SHE FAILED FOR 18 MONTHS TO PAY EMPLOYMENT TAXES ON HOUSEHOLD HELP.
· THE HUSBAND OF OBAMA’S NOMINEE FOR U.S. LABOR SECRETARY, HILDA SOLIS, HAS MORE THAN $7,600 IN TAX LIENS ON HIS AUTO REPAIR BUSINESS, BUT SHE STILL GOT APPROVED.
· RON KIRK, NOMINATED AS U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE, THE LATEST OBAMA TAX CHEATER, OWES AN ESTIMATED $10,000 IN BACK TAXES.
· AND RABID ANTI-SEMITE CHARLES “CHAS” FREEMAN, OBAMA’S PICK FOR THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL TOOK HIMSELF OUT OF THE RUNNING AFTER HIS RACIST COMMENTS WERE PUBLICLY REVEALED.
YET NONE OF THESE SCANDALS SEEM TO HAVE ANY AFFECT ON OBAMA’S DETERMINATION TO CONTINUE APPOINTING CORRUPT OFFICIALS. THESE PEOPLE CONSIDER THEMSELVES ABOVE THE LAW. AS PART OF THE NEO-MARXIST CABAL, THEY CONSIDER THE LAW TO BE FOR WORKING PEOPLE OR FOR CHRISTIANS OR CONSERVATIVES, BUT NOT FOR THEM.
Thanks Dr. Savage
Thanks to michaelsavage.com for this:
http://michaelsavage.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=4684
FROM BROWNSHIRTS TO GREENSHIRTS
VAN JONES HAS BEEN APPOINTED BY BARACK OBAMA TO BE HIS SPECIAL ADVISER ON GREEN JOBS. HE WILL BE OBAMA’S GREEN CZAR. WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW, HOWEVER, IS THAT VAN JONES HAS A BACKGROUND AS A STREET RADICAL. AFTER GROWING UP IN RURAL TENESSEE AND GETTING A LAW DEGREE FROM THE WHITE LIBERALS AT YALE, VAN JONES BEGAN HIS CAREER OF AGITATION IN SAN FRANCISCO. HE STARTED A GROUP CALLED POLICE WATCH, A GROUP WHICH HAS SYSTEMATICALLY HARASSED THE POLICE OF THE SAN FRANCISIO BAY AREA. USING VIDEO CAMERAS, PROTESTS, LAWSUITS, ETC., VAN JONES FOUGHT TO PREVENT THE POLICE FROM PROTECTING US AGAINST THE SCUM OF SOCIETY. HE HAD POLICEMEN FIRED, HE’S RUINED LIVES, AND HE’S MADE US ALL MORE VULNERABLE TO STREET GANGS.
BUT IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, IT SEEMS, VAN JONES HAS MOVED ON TO A DIFFERENT CON GAME – THE ENVIRONMENT. HE STARTED SOMETHING CALLED THE GREEN COLLAR JOBS CAMPAIGN, WHICH TRIES, AS HE CLAIMS, TO “CREATE GREEN PATHWAYS OUT OF POVERTY.” IN OTHER WORDS, CONNING PEOPLE ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING HAS BECOME MORE PROFITABLE THAN HARRASSING THE POLICE.
AND NOW BARACK OBAMA HAS BROUGHT HIM ON AS PART OF THE TEAM. HIS BACKGROUND DOVETAILS PERFECTLY WITH OBAMA’S PLANS. YOU’VE HEARD OBAMA BEFORE TALKING ABOUT STARTING A “CIVILIAN NATIONAL SECURITY FORCE” SEPARATE FROM THE MILITARY. LISTEN TO HIS WORDS AS HE SPOKE ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL LAST YEAR.
CHILLING. BUT I’VE TOLD YOU BEFORE THAT OBAMA IS GETTING READY TO ORGANIZE AN ARMY OF GREENSHIRTS. AND GIVEN VAN JONES’ BACKGROUND IN STREET AGITATION, HE SEEMS LIKE THE PERFECT PERSON TO DO IT.
THERE WAS ANOTHER MAN ONCE WHO ROSE TO POWER ON AN ARMY OF STREET THUGS. ADOLPH HITLER HAD A FRIEND NAMED ERNST ROHM WHO WAS THE HEAD OF AN ORGANIZATION CALLED THE S.A.. THE S.A. WAS A POLITICAL ARMY WHICH PROTECTED THE NAZI PARTY LEADERSHIP, BATTLED POLITICAL OPPONENTS, AND TERRORIZED THE JEWS. ERNST ROHM WAS AN AVOWED SOCIALIST. HE REJECTED CAPITALISM, PUSHED FOR THE NATIONALIZATION OF GERMAN INDUSTRY AND REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH. VAN JONES, IT SEEMS, IS WORKING ALONG THE SAME LINES.
THE ENVIRONMENT IS BEING USED BY OBAMA TO CONTROL THE U.S. POPULACE. THE BROWNSHIRTS HAVE BECOME THE GREENSHIRTS, LED BY VAN JONES AND HIS STREET AGITATORS. THEY SEEM TO BE ON THE VERGE OF DEPUTIZING AND ARMING AN ARMY OF GANGS WHO WILL THREATEN, INTIMIDATE, AND ARREST ANYONE WHO REFUSES TO GO ALONG WITH THE NEW GREEN AGRENDA.
THE OBAMA CORRUPTION CABAL
DURING THE PRESIDENCY OF GEORGE W. BUSH, LIBERALS USED TO SAY THAT IT WAS THE MOST CORRUPT ADMINISTRATION IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. BUT AS TIME GOES BY, IT’S LOOKING LIKE BARACK OBAMA MAY CLAIM THE TITLE FOR HIMSELF. JUST TODAY, THE OFFICE OF THE MAN B.O. APPOINTED AS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER WAS RAIDED BY THE FBI. TWO MEN WHO HAD WORKED FOR VIVEK KUNDRA WERE ARRESTED AS PART OF A FEDERAL BRIBERY STING. THEIR NAMES WERE YUSUF ACAR AND SUSHIL BANSAL. IT LOOKS LIKE MAYBE THERE’S AN ELIOT NESS OUT THERE AFTER ALL.
BUT IF YOU’VE BEEN PAYING ANY ATTENTION AT ALL OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS ONLY THE MOST RECENT IN A LONG LIST OF SCANDALS INVOLVING OBAMA APPOINTEES.
· BILL RICHARDSON REMOVES HIMSELF FROM THE RUNNING TO BE U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY, SUPPOSEDLY BECAUSE OF AN ON-GOING INVESTIGATION INTO A POSSIBLE “PAY-FOR-PLAY” DEAL IN RICHARDSON’S STATE.
· TIMOTHY GEITHNER, OBAMA’S PICK FOR TREASURY SECRETARY “FORGOT” TO PAY TAXES BUT WAS APPROVED ANYWAY.
· TOM DASCHLE – FORGOT TO PAY $100,000 DOLLARS IN TAXES AND HAD TO STEP DOWN.
· NANCY KILLEFER TOOK HERSELF OUT OF THE RUNNING FOR OBAMA’S NEWLY CREATED “CHIEF PERFORMANCE OFFICER” POSITION BECAUSE SHE FAILED FOR 18 MONTHS TO PAY EMPLOYMENT TAXES ON HOUSEHOLD HELP.
· THE HUSBAND OF OBAMA’S NOMINEE FOR U.S. LABOR SECRETARY, HILDA SOLIS, HAS MORE THAN $7,600 IN TAX LIENS ON HIS AUTO REPAIR BUSINESS, BUT SHE STILL GOT APPROVED.
· RON KIRK, NOMINATED AS U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE, THE LATEST OBAMA TAX CHEATER, OWES AN ESTIMATED $10,000 IN BACK TAXES.
· AND RABID ANTI-SEMITE CHARLES “CHAS” FREEMAN, OBAMA’S PICK FOR THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL TOOK HIMSELF OUT OF THE RUNNING AFTER HIS RACIST COMMENTS WERE PUBLICLY REVEALED.
YET NONE OF THESE SCANDALS SEEM TO HAVE ANY AFFECT ON OBAMA’S DETERMINATION TO CONTINUE APPOINTING CORRUPT OFFICIALS. THESE PEOPLE CONSIDER THEMSELVES ABOVE THE LAW. AS PART OF THE NEO-MARXIST CABAL, THEY CONSIDER THE LAW TO BE FOR WORKING PEOPLE OR FOR CHRISTIANS OR CONSERVATIVES, BUT NOT FOR THEM.
http://michaelsavage.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=4684
FROM BROWNSHIRTS TO GREENSHIRTS
VAN JONES HAS BEEN APPOINTED BY BARACK OBAMA TO BE HIS SPECIAL ADVISER ON GREEN JOBS. HE WILL BE OBAMA’S GREEN CZAR. WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW, HOWEVER, IS THAT VAN JONES HAS A BACKGROUND AS A STREET RADICAL. AFTER GROWING UP IN RURAL TENESSEE AND GETTING A LAW DEGREE FROM THE WHITE LIBERALS AT YALE, VAN JONES BEGAN HIS CAREER OF AGITATION IN SAN FRANCISCO. HE STARTED A GROUP CALLED POLICE WATCH, A GROUP WHICH HAS SYSTEMATICALLY HARASSED THE POLICE OF THE SAN FRANCISIO BAY AREA. USING VIDEO CAMERAS, PROTESTS, LAWSUITS, ETC., VAN JONES FOUGHT TO PREVENT THE POLICE FROM PROTECTING US AGAINST THE SCUM OF SOCIETY. HE HAD POLICEMEN FIRED, HE’S RUINED LIVES, AND HE’S MADE US ALL MORE VULNERABLE TO STREET GANGS.
BUT IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, IT SEEMS, VAN JONES HAS MOVED ON TO A DIFFERENT CON GAME – THE ENVIRONMENT. HE STARTED SOMETHING CALLED THE GREEN COLLAR JOBS CAMPAIGN, WHICH TRIES, AS HE CLAIMS, TO “CREATE GREEN PATHWAYS OUT OF POVERTY.” IN OTHER WORDS, CONNING PEOPLE ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING HAS BECOME MORE PROFITABLE THAN HARRASSING THE POLICE.
AND NOW BARACK OBAMA HAS BROUGHT HIM ON AS PART OF THE TEAM. HIS BACKGROUND DOVETAILS PERFECTLY WITH OBAMA’S PLANS. YOU’VE HEARD OBAMA BEFORE TALKING ABOUT STARTING A “CIVILIAN NATIONAL SECURITY FORCE” SEPARATE FROM THE MILITARY. LISTEN TO HIS WORDS AS HE SPOKE ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL LAST YEAR.
CHILLING. BUT I’VE TOLD YOU BEFORE THAT OBAMA IS GETTING READY TO ORGANIZE AN ARMY OF GREENSHIRTS. AND GIVEN VAN JONES’ BACKGROUND IN STREET AGITATION, HE SEEMS LIKE THE PERFECT PERSON TO DO IT.
THERE WAS ANOTHER MAN ONCE WHO ROSE TO POWER ON AN ARMY OF STREET THUGS. ADOLPH HITLER HAD A FRIEND NAMED ERNST ROHM WHO WAS THE HEAD OF AN ORGANIZATION CALLED THE S.A.. THE S.A. WAS A POLITICAL ARMY WHICH PROTECTED THE NAZI PARTY LEADERSHIP, BATTLED POLITICAL OPPONENTS, AND TERRORIZED THE JEWS. ERNST ROHM WAS AN AVOWED SOCIALIST. HE REJECTED CAPITALISM, PUSHED FOR THE NATIONALIZATION OF GERMAN INDUSTRY AND REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH. VAN JONES, IT SEEMS, IS WORKING ALONG THE SAME LINES.
THE ENVIRONMENT IS BEING USED BY OBAMA TO CONTROL THE U.S. POPULACE. THE BROWNSHIRTS HAVE BECOME THE GREENSHIRTS, LED BY VAN JONES AND HIS STREET AGITATORS. THEY SEEM TO BE ON THE VERGE OF DEPUTIZING AND ARMING AN ARMY OF GANGS WHO WILL THREATEN, INTIMIDATE, AND ARREST ANYONE WHO REFUSES TO GO ALONG WITH THE NEW GREEN AGRENDA.
THE OBAMA CORRUPTION CABAL
DURING THE PRESIDENCY OF GEORGE W. BUSH, LIBERALS USED TO SAY THAT IT WAS THE MOST CORRUPT ADMINISTRATION IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. BUT AS TIME GOES BY, IT’S LOOKING LIKE BARACK OBAMA MAY CLAIM THE TITLE FOR HIMSELF. JUST TODAY, THE OFFICE OF THE MAN B.O. APPOINTED AS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER WAS RAIDED BY THE FBI. TWO MEN WHO HAD WORKED FOR VIVEK KUNDRA WERE ARRESTED AS PART OF A FEDERAL BRIBERY STING. THEIR NAMES WERE YUSUF ACAR AND SUSHIL BANSAL. IT LOOKS LIKE MAYBE THERE’S AN ELIOT NESS OUT THERE AFTER ALL.
BUT IF YOU’VE BEEN PAYING ANY ATTENTION AT ALL OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS ONLY THE MOST RECENT IN A LONG LIST OF SCANDALS INVOLVING OBAMA APPOINTEES.
· BILL RICHARDSON REMOVES HIMSELF FROM THE RUNNING TO BE U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY, SUPPOSEDLY BECAUSE OF AN ON-GOING INVESTIGATION INTO A POSSIBLE “PAY-FOR-PLAY” DEAL IN RICHARDSON’S STATE.
· TIMOTHY GEITHNER, OBAMA’S PICK FOR TREASURY SECRETARY “FORGOT” TO PAY TAXES BUT WAS APPROVED ANYWAY.
· TOM DASCHLE – FORGOT TO PAY $100,000 DOLLARS IN TAXES AND HAD TO STEP DOWN.
· NANCY KILLEFER TOOK HERSELF OUT OF THE RUNNING FOR OBAMA’S NEWLY CREATED “CHIEF PERFORMANCE OFFICER” POSITION BECAUSE SHE FAILED FOR 18 MONTHS TO PAY EMPLOYMENT TAXES ON HOUSEHOLD HELP.
· THE HUSBAND OF OBAMA’S NOMINEE FOR U.S. LABOR SECRETARY, HILDA SOLIS, HAS MORE THAN $7,600 IN TAX LIENS ON HIS AUTO REPAIR BUSINESS, BUT SHE STILL GOT APPROVED.
· RON KIRK, NOMINATED AS U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE, THE LATEST OBAMA TAX CHEATER, OWES AN ESTIMATED $10,000 IN BACK TAXES.
· AND RABID ANTI-SEMITE CHARLES “CHAS” FREEMAN, OBAMA’S PICK FOR THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL TOOK HIMSELF OUT OF THE RUNNING AFTER HIS RACIST COMMENTS WERE PUBLICLY REVEALED.
YET NONE OF THESE SCANDALS SEEM TO HAVE ANY AFFECT ON OBAMA’S DETERMINATION TO CONTINUE APPOINTING CORRUPT OFFICIALS. THESE PEOPLE CONSIDER THEMSELVES ABOVE THE LAW. AS PART OF THE NEO-MARXIST CABAL, THEY CONSIDER THE LAW TO BE FOR WORKING PEOPLE OR FOR CHRISTIANS OR CONSERVATIVES, BUT NOT FOR THEM.
Monday, March 02, 2009
This Needs To Stop Now
WHY ARE WE BANKRUPT? Informative, and mind boggling! You think the war in Iraq is costing us too much? Read this: Boy, was I confused. I have been hammered with the propaganda that it is the Iraq war and the war on terror that is bankrupting us. I now find that to be RIDICULOUS. I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them. I also have included the URL's for verification of all the following facts. 1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments. Verify at: http://tinyurl.com/zob77 2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens. Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html 3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens. Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html 4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of English! Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html 5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html 6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html 7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html 8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.Verify at: http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html 9. $200 Billion dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html 10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html 11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border. Verify at: Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht 12. The National policy Institute, estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.' Verify at: http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf 13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances to their countries of origin. Verify at: http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm> 14. 'The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One million sex crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States .' Verify at: http: // www.drdsk.com/articleshtml The total cost is a whopping $ 338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR AND IF YOU'RE LIKE ME HAVING TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY; IT IS $338,300,000,000.00 WHICH WOU LD BE ENOUGH TO STIMULATE THE ECONOMY FOR THE CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY. Are we THAT stupid? YES, FOR LETTING THOSE IN THE U.S. CONGRESS GET AWAY WITH LETTING THIS HAPPEN YEAR AFTER YEAR!!!!!
This Needs To Stop Now
WHY ARE WE BANKRUPT? Informative, and mind boggling! You think the war in Iraq is costing us too much? Read this: Boy, was I confused. I have been hammered with the propaganda that it is the Iraq war and the war on terror that is bankrupting us. I now find that to be RIDICULOUS. I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them. I also have included the URL's for verification of all the following facts. 1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments. Verify at: http://tinyurl.com/zob77 2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens. Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html 3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens. Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html 4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of English! Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html 5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html 6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html 7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html 8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.Verify at: http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html 9. $200 Billion dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html 10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html 11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border. Verify at: Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The shocking Barack Obama debate you haven't seen!!
http://youtube.com/v/zlYMSTP1CxY
Liar and Chief? You bet he is.
Keyes-Obama debate 2 (Death Penalty and Abortion)
http://youtube.com/v/pyOL8TxtexM
President B. Hussein Obama is morally bankrupt, but his sheep are blind.
Keyes-Obama debate 2 (Death Penalty and Abortion)
President B. Hussein Obama is morally bankrupt, but his sheep are blind.
Mona Lisa Project Part 1 - Abortion Clinic Covers Up Rape of 13-year-old Girl
http://youtube.com/v/yr-cJZrBlzE
Planned Parenthood is the tool of evil and B. Hussein Obama fully supports it.
Mona Lisa Project Part 1 - Abortion Clinic Covers Up Rape of 13-year-old Girl
Planned Parenthood is the tool of evil and B. Hussein Obama fully supports it.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Voice Of Hate From The California Foothills
I could not pass up the chance to show what pure hatred and rage looks like. This is from The Hive. This poor woman has been so blinded by life's trials. I hope she seeks the help she truly needs.
http://thehive.modbee.com/?q=node/12803
One of the reasons I left the Catholic Church
Submitted by jerseygirl on Thu, 2009-02-19 19:36.
is, first, foremost and only- because of blatant hypocrisies.
They teach that God is a forgiving soul who wants you to sit in a box and confess your sins, so that you receive absolution for a shot into a city of clouds. And then they impose the most barbaric forms of punishment regardless of the penance received. For once you've been branded "anti-them," to the Catholic Cheerleaders, one has NO chance in Hell to enter Heaven (tee-hee-hee...).
Let's see... "Hell" isn't just a "conservative," religious zealot telling you that abortion of American fetuses is a moral sin, while supporting those who invade countries that aborts thousands of living children. No, no... if I remember correctly, "Hell," ala Catholicism, has several stages of punishment- limbo and purgatory. If you know the meaning of them then you can't help but question: Is this from the same dude who tells us to confide our sins in Him so that we will be forgiven?
Then there is that whole game of "Pass around the Pedophile Priest" to hide their sins and the shame. So instead of turning in those dressed in holy cloth, which lusts after what is under an altar boys robe, the holier dudes of hierarchy placed the lesser priest of power into churches far, far away hoping nobody ever found out. Uh... so how do you spell hypocrisy?
And if you're like me and love to sink teeth into history, the chapters of our past are inundated with thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people, whom over the decades, have been tortured and slaughtered all "in the name of God." K. Next I'm just gonna mention this 'cause I have to, but not because I want to get into this subject; "been there, done that"- but the hypocrisy of those who KILL another human being who help women with abortions, to SAVE a life... Well, nothing is more representative of religious hypocrisy than that today.
So anybody who is gonna play the moral high ground game and express such indignation over the almighty Pope who dare sit with a woman they deem "immoral," better sell the glass house they live in before the storm of stones rains of biblical proportions upon thee.
Oh- F.Y.I. jheaton? If you're going to call someone's intelligence into question, the least you could do is be intelligent enough to spell "intellegence" correctly.
Love ya! The Spewing Shrew... xoxoxox
"Sometimes a revolution is just what is needed to clean-up the system with one, giant enema."- Johnny Depp, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico."
http://thehive.modbee.com/?q=node/12803
One of the reasons I left the Catholic Church
Submitted by jerseygirl on Thu, 2009-02-19 19:36.
is, first, foremost and only- because of blatant hypocrisies.
They teach that God is a forgiving soul who wants you to sit in a box and confess your sins, so that you receive absolution for a shot into a city of clouds. And then they impose the most barbaric forms of punishment regardless of the penance received. For once you've been branded "anti-them," to the Catholic Cheerleaders, one has NO chance in Hell to enter Heaven (tee-hee-hee...).
Let's see... "Hell" isn't just a "conservative," religious zealot telling you that abortion of American fetuses is a moral sin, while supporting those who invade countries that aborts thousands of living children. No, no... if I remember correctly, "Hell," ala Catholicism, has several stages of punishment- limbo and purgatory. If you know the meaning of them then you can't help but question: Is this from the same dude who tells us to confide our sins in Him so that we will be forgiven?
Then there is that whole game of "Pass around the Pedophile Priest" to hide their sins and the shame. So instead of turning in those dressed in holy cloth, which lusts after what is under an altar boys robe, the holier dudes of hierarchy placed the lesser priest of power into churches far, far away hoping nobody ever found out. Uh... so how do you spell hypocrisy?
And if you're like me and love to sink teeth into history, the chapters of our past are inundated with thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people, whom over the decades, have been tortured and slaughtered all "in the name of God." K. Next I'm just gonna mention this 'cause I have to, but not because I want to get into this subject; "been there, done that"- but the hypocrisy of those who KILL another human being who help women with abortions, to SAVE a life... Well, nothing is more representative of religious hypocrisy than that today.
So anybody who is gonna play the moral high ground game and express such indignation over the almighty Pope who dare sit with a woman they deem "immoral," better sell the glass house they live in before the storm of stones rains of biblical proportions upon thee.
Oh- F.Y.I. jheaton? If you're going to call someone's intelligence into question, the least you could do is be intelligent enough to spell "intellegence" correctly.
Love ya! The Spewing Shrew... xoxoxox
"Sometimes a revolution is just what is needed to clean-up the system with one, giant enema."- Johnny Depp, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico."
The Voice Of Hate From The California Foothills
I could not pass up the chance to show what pure hatred and rage looks like. This is from The Hive. This poor woman has been so blinded by life's trials. I hope she seeks the help she truly needs.
http://thehive.modbee.com/?q=node/12803
One of the reasons I left the Catholic Church
Submitted by jerseygirl on Thu, 2009-02-19 19:36.
is, first, foremost and only- because of blatant hypocrisies.
They teach that God is a forgiving soul who wants you to sit in a box and confess your sins, so that you receive absolution for a shot into a city of clouds. And then they impose the most barbaric forms of punishment regardless of the penance received. For once you've been branded "anti-them," to the Catholic Cheerleaders, one has NO chance in Hell to enter Heaven (tee-hee-hee...).
Let's see... "Hell" isn't just a "conservative," religious zealot telling you that abortion of American fetuses is a moral sin, while supporting those who invade countries that aborts thousands of living children. No, no... if I remember correctly, "Hell," ala Catholicism, has several stages of punishment- limbo and purgatory. If you know the meaning of them then you can't help but question: Is this from the same dude who tells us to confide our sins in Him so that we will be forgiven?
Then there is that whole game of "Pass around the Pedophile Priest" to hide their sins and the shame. So instead of turning in those dressed in holy cloth, which lusts after what is under an altar boys robe, the holier dudes of hierarchy placed the lesser priest of power into churches far, far away hoping nobody ever found out. Uh... so how do you spell hypocrisy?
And if you're like me and love to sink teeth into history, the chapters of our past are inundated with thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people, whom over the decades, have been tortured and slaughtered all "in the name of God." K. Next I'm just gonna mention this 'cause I have to, but not because I want to get into this subject; "been there, done that"- but the hypocrisy of those who KILL another human being who help women with abortions, to SAVE a life... Well, nothing is more representative of religious hypocrisy than that today.
So anybody who is gonna play the moral high ground game and express such indignation over the almighty Pope who dare sit with a woman they deem "immoral," better sell the glass house they live in before the storm of stones rains of biblical proportions upon thee.
Oh- F.Y.I. jheaton? If you're going to call someone's intelligence into question, the least you could do is be intelligent enough to spell "intellegence" correctly.
Love ya! The Spewing Shrew... xoxoxox
"Sometimes a revolution is just what is needed to clean-up the system with one, giant enema."- Johnny Depp, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico."
http://thehive.modbee.com/?q=node/12803
One of the reasons I left the Catholic Church
Submitted by jerseygirl on Thu, 2009-02-19 19:36.
is, first, foremost and only- because of blatant hypocrisies.
They teach that God is a forgiving soul who wants you to sit in a box and confess your sins, so that you receive absolution for a shot into a city of clouds. And then they impose the most barbaric forms of punishment regardless of the penance received. For once you've been branded "anti-them," to the Catholic Cheerleaders, one has NO chance in Hell to enter Heaven (tee-hee-hee...).
Let's see... "Hell" isn't just a "conservative," religious zealot telling you that abortion of American fetuses is a moral sin, while supporting those who invade countries that aborts thousands of living children. No, no... if I remember correctly, "Hell," ala Catholicism, has several stages of punishment- limbo and purgatory. If you know the meaning of them then you can't help but question: Is this from the same dude who tells us to confide our sins in Him so that we will be forgiven?
Then there is that whole game of "Pass around the Pedophile Priest" to hide their sins and the shame. So instead of turning in those dressed in holy cloth, which lusts after what is under an altar boys robe, the holier dudes of hierarchy placed the lesser priest of power into churches far, far away hoping nobody ever found out. Uh... so how do you spell hypocrisy?
And if you're like me and love to sink teeth into history, the chapters of our past are inundated with thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people, whom over the decades, have been tortured and slaughtered all "in the name of God." K. Next I'm just gonna mention this 'cause I have to, but not because I want to get into this subject; "been there, done that"- but the hypocrisy of those who KILL another human being who help women with abortions, to SAVE a life... Well, nothing is more representative of religious hypocrisy than that today.
So anybody who is gonna play the moral high ground game and express such indignation over the almighty Pope who dare sit with a woman they deem "immoral," better sell the glass house they live in before the storm of stones rains of biblical proportions upon thee.
Oh- F.Y.I. jheaton? If you're going to call someone's intelligence into question, the least you could do is be intelligent enough to spell "intellegence" correctly.
Love ya! The Spewing Shrew... xoxoxox
"Sometimes a revolution is just what is needed to clean-up the system with one, giant enema."- Johnny Depp, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico."
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine
http://youtube.com/v/fRdLpem-AAs
Socialist/Liberal/ and now Neo Marxist.
A Glimpse Of Our Future?
This guy rocks! Thanks to American Conservative.
Copyright © 2009 The American Conservative
United States of Argentina PDF
How inflation turned a rising power into a pauper
By Philip Jenkins
Anyone not alarmed by the state of the U.S. economy is not paying attention. As our Dear Leader begins his term, the theory of very big government has the support of an alarmingly broad political consensus. Despite the obvious dangers—devastating inflation and the ruin of the dollar—the United States seems pledged to a debt-funded spending spree of gargantuan proportions.
In opposing this trend, critics face the problem that the perils to which they point sound very theoretical and abstract. Perhaps Zimbabwe prints its currency in multi-trillion units, but that’s a singularly backward African dictatorship: the situation has nothing to do with us. Yet an example closer to home might be more instructive. Unlike Zimbabwe, this story involves a flourishing Western country with a large middle class that nevertheless managed to spend its way into banana-republic status by means very similar to those now being proposed in Washington.
The country in question is Argentina, and even mentioning the name might initially make any comparison seem tenuous. The United States is a superpower with a huge economy. Argentina is a political and economic joke, a global weakling legendary for endemic economic crises. Between them and us, surely, a great gulf is fixed. Yet Argentina did not always have its present meager status, nor did its poverty result from some inherent Latin American affinity for crisis and corruption. A century ago, Argentina was one of the world’s emerging powers, seemingly destined to outpace all but the greatest imperial states. Today it is … Argentina. A national decline on that scale did not just happen: it was the result of decades of struggle and systematic endeavor, led by the nation’s elite. As the nation’s greatest writer, Jorge Luis Borges, once remarked, only generations of statesmanship could have prevented Argentina from becoming a world power.
For Americans, the Argentine experience offers multiple warnings, not just about how dreadfully things can go wrong but how a nation can reach a point of no return. Not only did Argentina squander its many blessings, it created a situation from which the society could never recover. Argentines still suffer from the blunders and hubris of their grandparents without any serious likelihood that even their most strenuous efforts will make a difference. A nation can get into such a situation easily enough, but getting out is a different matter. A corrupted economy can’t be cured without being wiped out and started over.
It is hard, looking at the basket case Argentina has become, to imagine what an economic powerhouse the country was before World War II. From the 1880s, Argentina was, alongside the U.S. itself, a prime destination for European migrants. Buenos Aires was one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas, in a select club that included London, Paris, Berlin, and New York City. Argentina benefited mightily from foreign investment, which it used wisely to create a strong infrastructure and an excellent system of free mass education. It had the largest and most prosperous middle class in Latin America. When World War I began, Argentina was the world’s tenth wealthiest nation.
Right up to the 1940s, American and European economists struggled to explain the glaring contrast between booming Argentina and slothful Australia. As many studies pointed out, both countries had begun at a roughly similar point, as agricultural producers dependent on fickle world markets. Yet Australia remained stuck in colonial status while Argentina made the great leap forward to the status of an advanced nation with an expanding industrial base and sophisticated commerce.
So what happened? Certainly the country was hit hard by the depression of the 1930s, but so were other advanced nations that ultimately recovered, and Argentina profited from intense wartime demand for primary products.
The country was killed by political decisions, and the primary culprit was Juan Perón. He dominated political life through the 1940s and ruled officially as president from 1946 to 1955, returning briefly in the 1970s. Although he did not begin the process, he completed the transformation of Argentine government so that the state became both an object of plunder and an instrument for plunder.
Perón came from a fascist and corporatist mindset, which became more aggressively populist under the influence of his second wife Eva. They aimed their rhetoric against the nation’s rich, a designation that was swiftly expanded to cover most of the propertied middle classes, who became an enemy to be defeated and humiliated. To equalize the supposed struggle between the rich and the dispossessed, the Peróns exalted the liberating role of the state. The bureaucracy swelled alarmingly as nationalization brought key sectors of the economy under official control. Government bought loyalty through a massive program of social spending while fostering the growth of labor unions, which became intimate allies of the governing party. Argentina came to be the most unionized nation in Latin America. Perón also ended any pretense of the independence of the judiciary, purging and intimidating judges about whom he had any doubts and replacing them with minions.
The Peronist model—a New Deal on steroids—evolved into an effective clientelism, in which party overlords and labor bosses ruled through a mixture of corruption and violence. Clientelism, in effect, means the annexation of state resources for the benefit of political parties and private networks. Right now, both the word and the concept are not terribly familiar to Americans, but this is one Latin American export that they may soon need to get used to.
As high taxes and economic mismanagement took their toll, the Peróns blamed the disasters on class enemies at home and imperialism abroad, but the regime could not survive the loss of the venerated Eva. After attempting briefly to swing back to the center, Juan Perón was overthrown and driven into Spanish exile. Later governments tried varying strategies to reclaim Argentina’s lost splendors and some enjoyed success, but Perón’s curse endured. Even when his party was driven underground, its traditions remained: demagogic populism, a perception of the state as a device for enriching supporters and punishing foes, and a contempt for economic realities. Utopian mass movements inspired by Peronist ideas and charisma segued easily into the far-left upsurge of the 1960s, when Argentina gave birth to some of the world’s most dangerous terrorist and guerrilla movements. By 1976, the military intervened to stave off the imminent collapse of the state and launched the notorious Dirty War that killed thousands.
Since 1976, Argentine economic policies have lurched from catastrophe to catastrophe. The military junta borrowed enormously with no serious thought about consequences, and the structures of Argentine society made it impossible to tell how funds were being invested. Foreign debt exploded, the deficit boomed, and inflation approached 100 percent a year. Economic meltdown had disastrous political consequences. By 1982, like many other dictatorships through history, the Argentine junta tried to solve its domestic problems by turning to foreign military adventures. And like other regimes, they found that their control over military affairs was about as weak as their command of the economy. Military defeat in the Falkland Islands destroyed the junta. By 1983, a civilian president was in power once more. But nothing could stop the nosedive. Inflation reached 672 percent by 1985 and 3,080 percent by 1989. The disaster provoked capital flight and the collapse of investor confidence, not to mention the annihilation of middle-class savings. In the words on one observer, José Ignacio GarcÃa Hamilton, the nation became “an international beggar with the highest per capita debt in the world.”
Another civilian president, Carlos Menem, took office in 1989, and despite his Peronist loyalties he initially tried to restore sanity through a program of privatization and deregulation. But events soon proved that Menem was only following a familiar pattern whereby a new regime would speak the language of reform and moderation for a couple of years before facing a showdown with the underlying realities of Argentine society. Menem could not overcome the overwhelming inertia within the country, the juggernaut pressures toward the growth of the state, to bureaucratization and regulation, and the destruction of private initiative and free enterprise. Between 1991 and 1999, Argentine public debt burgeoned from 34 percent of GDP to 52 percent. During the same decade, government public debt more than doubled as a percentage of GDP. These burdens stifled private investment so that productive sectors of the economy languished.
Economic disaster led inevitably to a collapse of social confidence and the evaporation of loyalty to the state. The more heavily the country was taxed and regulated, the more Argentines took their transactions off the books, creating a black economy on par with that of the old Soviet Union. In terms of paying their taxes, Argentines are about as faithful as the Italians to whom most have blood ties. Tax evasion became a national sport, second only to soccer in the Argentine consciousness, and provided another stumbling block to fiscal integrity. The collapse of respect for authority also extended to the law: courts are presumed to operate according to bribes and political pressure.
Systematic corruption has had horrifying implications for national security. After all, once you establish the idea that the state is for sale, there is no reason not to offer its services to foreign buyers. One spectacular example of such outsourcing occurred in 1994, when Islamist terrorists blew up a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, killing 85. The investigation of the massacre was thoroughly bungled, reportedly because the Iranian government paid Menem $10 million. It is trivial to list the many other allegations of corruption and embezzlement surrounding Menem: what else is politics for, if not to enrich yourself and your clients?
In 2001-02, Argentine fortunes reached depths hitherto unplumbed. A debt-fueled crisis provoked a run on the currency, leading the government to freeze virtually all private bank accounts for 12 months. At the end of 2001, the country defaulted on its foreign debt of $142 billion, the largest such failure in history. With the economy in ruins, almost 60 percent of Argentines were living below the poverty line. Street violence became so intense that the president was forced to flee his palace by helicopter.
Since 2002, yet another new government has presided over an illusory economic boom before being manhandled by the ugly ghosts of Juan and Evita. Those specters were on hand to whisper their excellent advice to a new generation: if you face a crisis caused by excessive government spending, borrowing, and regulation, what else do you do except push even harder to spend, borrow, and regulate? Over the past two years, new taxes and price freezes have again crippled the economy, bringing power blackouts and forced cuts in production. Public debt stands at 56 percent of GDP, and inflation runs 20 percent. Last October, the government seized $29 billion in private pension funds, hammering the final nail in the coffin of the old middle classes. Judging by credit default swap spreads on government debt, the smart money is now betting heavily on another official default before mid-year. The Argentine economy may not actually be dead yet, but it has plenty of ill-wishers trying hard to finish it off.
We all know that deficits drive inflation, which can destroy a society. Less obvious is the political dimension of such a national suicide. Debts and deficits must be understood in the context of the populism that commonly entices governments to abandon economic restraint. No less political are the probable consequences of such a course: authoritarianism, public violence, and militarism.
The road to economic hell is paved with excellent intentions—a desire to save troubled industries, relieve poverty, and bolster communities that support the present government. But the higher the spending and the deeper the deficits, the worse the effects on productive enterprise and the heavier the penalty placed on thrift and enterprise. As matters deteriorate, governments have a natural tendency to divert blame onto some unpopular group, which comes to be labeled in terms of class, income, or race. With society so polarized, the party in power can dismiss any criticism as the selfish whining of the privileged and concentrate on the serious business of diverting state resources to its own followers.
Quite rapidly, “progressive” economic reforms subvert and then destroy savings and property, eliminating any effective opposition to the regime. Soon, too—if the Perón precedent is anything to go by—the regime organizes its long march through the organs of power, conquering the courts, the bureaucracy, the schools, and the media. Hyper-deficits bring hyperinflation, and only for the briefest moment can they coexist with any kind of democratic order.
Could it happen here? The U.S. certainly has very different political traditions from Argentina and more barriers to a populist-driven rape of the economy. On the other hand, events in some regions would make Juan Perón smile wistfully. California runs on particularly high taxes, uncontrollable deficits, and overregulation with a vastly swollen bureaucracy while the hegemonic power of organized labor prevents any reform. Thankfully, the state has no power to devalue its currency, still less to freeze bank accounts or seize pension funds, and businesses can still relocate elsewhere. But in its social values and progressive assumptions, California is close to the Democratic mainstream, which now intends to impose its ideas on the nation as a whole. And at over 60 percent of GDP, U.S. public debt is already higher than Argentina’s.
When honest money perishes, the society goes with it. We can’t say we weren’t warned. __________________________________________
Philip Jenkins is the author of The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—and How It Died.
Copyright © 2009 The American Conservative
United States of Argentina PDF
How inflation turned a rising power into a pauper
By Philip Jenkins
Anyone not alarmed by the state of the U.S. economy is not paying attention. As our Dear Leader begins his term, the theory of very big government has the support of an alarmingly broad political consensus. Despite the obvious dangers—devastating inflation and the ruin of the dollar—the United States seems pledged to a debt-funded spending spree of gargantuan proportions.
In opposing this trend, critics face the problem that the perils to which they point sound very theoretical and abstract. Perhaps Zimbabwe prints its currency in multi-trillion units, but that’s a singularly backward African dictatorship: the situation has nothing to do with us. Yet an example closer to home might be more instructive. Unlike Zimbabwe, this story involves a flourishing Western country with a large middle class that nevertheless managed to spend its way into banana-republic status by means very similar to those now being proposed in Washington.
The country in question is Argentina, and even mentioning the name might initially make any comparison seem tenuous. The United States is a superpower with a huge economy. Argentina is a political and economic joke, a global weakling legendary for endemic economic crises. Between them and us, surely, a great gulf is fixed. Yet Argentina did not always have its present meager status, nor did its poverty result from some inherent Latin American affinity for crisis and corruption. A century ago, Argentina was one of the world’s emerging powers, seemingly destined to outpace all but the greatest imperial states. Today it is … Argentina. A national decline on that scale did not just happen: it was the result of decades of struggle and systematic endeavor, led by the nation’s elite. As the nation’s greatest writer, Jorge Luis Borges, once remarked, only generations of statesmanship could have prevented Argentina from becoming a world power.
For Americans, the Argentine experience offers multiple warnings, not just about how dreadfully things can go wrong but how a nation can reach a point of no return. Not only did Argentina squander its many blessings, it created a situation from which the society could never recover. Argentines still suffer from the blunders and hubris of their grandparents without any serious likelihood that even their most strenuous efforts will make a difference. A nation can get into such a situation easily enough, but getting out is a different matter. A corrupted economy can’t be cured without being wiped out and started over.
It is hard, looking at the basket case Argentina has become, to imagine what an economic powerhouse the country was before World War II. From the 1880s, Argentina was, alongside the U.S. itself, a prime destination for European migrants. Buenos Aires was one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas, in a select club that included London, Paris, Berlin, and New York City. Argentina benefited mightily from foreign investment, which it used wisely to create a strong infrastructure and an excellent system of free mass education. It had the largest and most prosperous middle class in Latin America. When World War I began, Argentina was the world’s tenth wealthiest nation.
Right up to the 1940s, American and European economists struggled to explain the glaring contrast between booming Argentina and slothful Australia. As many studies pointed out, both countries had begun at a roughly similar point, as agricultural producers dependent on fickle world markets. Yet Australia remained stuck in colonial status while Argentina made the great leap forward to the status of an advanced nation with an expanding industrial base and sophisticated commerce.
So what happened? Certainly the country was hit hard by the depression of the 1930s, but so were other advanced nations that ultimately recovered, and Argentina profited from intense wartime demand for primary products.
The country was killed by political decisions, and the primary culprit was Juan Perón. He dominated political life through the 1940s and ruled officially as president from 1946 to 1955, returning briefly in the 1970s. Although he did not begin the process, he completed the transformation of Argentine government so that the state became both an object of plunder and an instrument for plunder.
Perón came from a fascist and corporatist mindset, which became more aggressively populist under the influence of his second wife Eva. They aimed their rhetoric against the nation’s rich, a designation that was swiftly expanded to cover most of the propertied middle classes, who became an enemy to be defeated and humiliated. To equalize the supposed struggle between the rich and the dispossessed, the Peróns exalted the liberating role of the state. The bureaucracy swelled alarmingly as nationalization brought key sectors of the economy under official control. Government bought loyalty through a massive program of social spending while fostering the growth of labor unions, which became intimate allies of the governing party. Argentina came to be the most unionized nation in Latin America. Perón also ended any pretense of the independence of the judiciary, purging and intimidating judges about whom he had any doubts and replacing them with minions.
The Peronist model—a New Deal on steroids—evolved into an effective clientelism, in which party overlords and labor bosses ruled through a mixture of corruption and violence. Clientelism, in effect, means the annexation of state resources for the benefit of political parties and private networks. Right now, both the word and the concept are not terribly familiar to Americans, but this is one Latin American export that they may soon need to get used to.
As high taxes and economic mismanagement took their toll, the Peróns blamed the disasters on class enemies at home and imperialism abroad, but the regime could not survive the loss of the venerated Eva. After attempting briefly to swing back to the center, Juan Perón was overthrown and driven into Spanish exile. Later governments tried varying strategies to reclaim Argentina’s lost splendors and some enjoyed success, but Perón’s curse endured. Even when his party was driven underground, its traditions remained: demagogic populism, a perception of the state as a device for enriching supporters and punishing foes, and a contempt for economic realities. Utopian mass movements inspired by Peronist ideas and charisma segued easily into the far-left upsurge of the 1960s, when Argentina gave birth to some of the world’s most dangerous terrorist and guerrilla movements. By 1976, the military intervened to stave off the imminent collapse of the state and launched the notorious Dirty War that killed thousands.
Since 1976, Argentine economic policies have lurched from catastrophe to catastrophe. The military junta borrowed enormously with no serious thought about consequences, and the structures of Argentine society made it impossible to tell how funds were being invested. Foreign debt exploded, the deficit boomed, and inflation approached 100 percent a year. Economic meltdown had disastrous political consequences. By 1982, like many other dictatorships through history, the Argentine junta tried to solve its domestic problems by turning to foreign military adventures. And like other regimes, they found that their control over military affairs was about as weak as their command of the economy. Military defeat in the Falkland Islands destroyed the junta. By 1983, a civilian president was in power once more. But nothing could stop the nosedive. Inflation reached 672 percent by 1985 and 3,080 percent by 1989. The disaster provoked capital flight and the collapse of investor confidence, not to mention the annihilation of middle-class savings. In the words on one observer, José Ignacio GarcÃa Hamilton, the nation became “an international beggar with the highest per capita debt in the world.”
Another civilian president, Carlos Menem, took office in 1989, and despite his Peronist loyalties he initially tried to restore sanity through a program of privatization and deregulation. But events soon proved that Menem was only following a familiar pattern whereby a new regime would speak the language of reform and moderation for a couple of years before facing a showdown with the underlying realities of Argentine society. Menem could not overcome the overwhelming inertia within the country, the juggernaut pressures toward the growth of the state, to bureaucratization and regulation, and the destruction of private initiative and free enterprise. Between 1991 and 1999, Argentine public debt burgeoned from 34 percent of GDP to 52 percent. During the same decade, government public debt more than doubled as a percentage of GDP. These burdens stifled private investment so that productive sectors of the economy languished.
Economic disaster led inevitably to a collapse of social confidence and the evaporation of loyalty to the state. The more heavily the country was taxed and regulated, the more Argentines took their transactions off the books, creating a black economy on par with that of the old Soviet Union. In terms of paying their taxes, Argentines are about as faithful as the Italians to whom most have blood ties. Tax evasion became a national sport, second only to soccer in the Argentine consciousness, and provided another stumbling block to fiscal integrity. The collapse of respect for authority also extended to the law: courts are presumed to operate according to bribes and political pressure.
Systematic corruption has had horrifying implications for national security. After all, once you establish the idea that the state is for sale, there is no reason not to offer its services to foreign buyers. One spectacular example of such outsourcing occurred in 1994, when Islamist terrorists blew up a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, killing 85. The investigation of the massacre was thoroughly bungled, reportedly because the Iranian government paid Menem $10 million. It is trivial to list the many other allegations of corruption and embezzlement surrounding Menem: what else is politics for, if not to enrich yourself and your clients?
In 2001-02, Argentine fortunes reached depths hitherto unplumbed. A debt-fueled crisis provoked a run on the currency, leading the government to freeze virtually all private bank accounts for 12 months. At the end of 2001, the country defaulted on its foreign debt of $142 billion, the largest such failure in history. With the economy in ruins, almost 60 percent of Argentines were living below the poverty line. Street violence became so intense that the president was forced to flee his palace by helicopter.
Since 2002, yet another new government has presided over an illusory economic boom before being manhandled by the ugly ghosts of Juan and Evita. Those specters were on hand to whisper their excellent advice to a new generation: if you face a crisis caused by excessive government spending, borrowing, and regulation, what else do you do except push even harder to spend, borrow, and regulate? Over the past two years, new taxes and price freezes have again crippled the economy, bringing power blackouts and forced cuts in production. Public debt stands at 56 percent of GDP, and inflation runs 20 percent. Last October, the government seized $29 billion in private pension funds, hammering the final nail in the coffin of the old middle classes. Judging by credit default swap spreads on government debt, the smart money is now betting heavily on another official default before mid-year. The Argentine economy may not actually be dead yet, but it has plenty of ill-wishers trying hard to finish it off.
We all know that deficits drive inflation, which can destroy a society. Less obvious is the political dimension of such a national suicide. Debts and deficits must be understood in the context of the populism that commonly entices governments to abandon economic restraint. No less political are the probable consequences of such a course: authoritarianism, public violence, and militarism.
The road to economic hell is paved with excellent intentions—a desire to save troubled industries, relieve poverty, and bolster communities that support the present government. But the higher the spending and the deeper the deficits, the worse the effects on productive enterprise and the heavier the penalty placed on thrift and enterprise. As matters deteriorate, governments have a natural tendency to divert blame onto some unpopular group, which comes to be labeled in terms of class, income, or race. With society so polarized, the party in power can dismiss any criticism as the selfish whining of the privileged and concentrate on the serious business of diverting state resources to its own followers.
Quite rapidly, “progressive” economic reforms subvert and then destroy savings and property, eliminating any effective opposition to the regime. Soon, too—if the Perón precedent is anything to go by—the regime organizes its long march through the organs of power, conquering the courts, the bureaucracy, the schools, and the media. Hyper-deficits bring hyperinflation, and only for the briefest moment can they coexist with any kind of democratic order.
Could it happen here? The U.S. certainly has very different political traditions from Argentina and more barriers to a populist-driven rape of the economy. On the other hand, events in some regions would make Juan Perón smile wistfully. California runs on particularly high taxes, uncontrollable deficits, and overregulation with a vastly swollen bureaucracy while the hegemonic power of organized labor prevents any reform. Thankfully, the state has no power to devalue its currency, still less to freeze bank accounts or seize pension funds, and businesses can still relocate elsewhere. But in its social values and progressive assumptions, California is close to the Democratic mainstream, which now intends to impose its ideas on the nation as a whole. And at over 60 percent of GDP, U.S. public debt is already higher than Argentina’s.
When honest money perishes, the society goes with it. We can’t say we weren’t warned. __________________________________________
Philip Jenkins is the author of The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—and How It Died.
A Glimpse Of Our Future?
This guy rocks! Thanks to American Conservative.
Copyright © 2009 The American Conservative
United States of Argentina PDF
How inflation turned a rising power into a pauper
By Philip Jenkins
Anyone not alarmed by the state of the U.S. economy is not paying attention. As our Dear Leader begins his term, the theory of very big government has the support of an alarmingly broad political consensus. Despite the obvious dangers—devastating inflation and the ruin of the dollar—the United States seems pledged to a debt-funded spending spree of gargantuan proportions.
In opposing this trend, critics face the problem that the perils to which they point sound very theoretical and abstract. Perhaps Zimbabwe prints its currency in multi-trillion units, but that’s a singularly backward African dictatorship: the situation has nothing to do with us. Yet an example closer to home might be more instructive. Unlike Zimbabwe, this story involves a flourishing Western country with a large middle class that nevertheless managed to spend its way into banana-republic status by means very similar to those now being proposed in Washington.
The country in question is Argentina, and even mentioning the name might initially make any comparison seem tenuous. The United States is a superpower with a huge economy. Argentina is a political and economic joke, a global weakling legendary for endemic economic crises. Between them and us, surely, a great gulf is fixed. Yet Argentina did not always have its present meager status, nor did its poverty result from some inherent Latin American affinity for crisis and corruption. A century ago, Argentina was one of the world’s emerging powers, seemingly destined to outpace all but the greatest imperial states. Today it is … Argentina. A national decline on that scale did not just happen: it was the result of decades of struggle and systematic endeavor, led by the nation’s elite. As the nation’s greatest writer, Jorge Luis Borges, once remarked, only generations of statesmanship could have prevented Argentina from becoming a world power.
For Americans, the Argentine experience offers multiple warnings, not just about how dreadfully things can go wrong but how a nation can reach a point of no return. Not only did Argentina squander its many blessings, it created a situation from which the society could never recover. Argentines still suffer from the blunders and hubris of their grandparents without any serious likelihood that even their most strenuous efforts will make a difference. A nation can get into such a situation easily enough, but getting out is a different matter. A corrupted economy can’t be cured without being wiped out and started over.
It is hard, looking at the basket case Argentina has become, to imagine what an economic powerhouse the country was before World War II. From the 1880s, Argentina was, alongside the U.S. itself, a prime destination for European migrants. Buenos Aires was one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas, in a select club that included London, Paris, Berlin, and New York City. Argentina benefited mightily from foreign investment, which it used wisely to create a strong infrastructure and an excellent system of free mass education. It had the largest and most prosperous middle class in Latin America. When World War I began, Argentina was the world’s tenth wealthiest nation.
Right up to the 1940s, American and European economists struggled to explain the glaring contrast between booming Argentina and slothful Australia. As many studies pointed out, both countries had begun at a roughly similar point, as agricultural producers dependent on fickle world markets. Yet Australia remained stuck in colonial status while Argentina made the great leap forward to the status of an advanced nation with an expanding industrial base and sophisticated commerce.
So what happened? Certainly the country was hit hard by the depression of the 1930s, but so were other advanced nations that ultimately recovered, and Argentina profited from intense wartime demand for primary products.
The country was killed by political decisions, and the primary culprit was Juan Perón. He dominated political life through the 1940s and ruled officially as president from 1946 to 1955, returning briefly in the 1970s. Although he did not begin the process, he completed the transformation of Argentine government so that the state became both an object of plunder and an instrument for plunder.
Perón came from a fascist and corporatist mindset, which became more aggressively populist under the influence of his second wife Eva. They aimed their rhetoric against the nation’s rich, a designation that was swiftly expanded to cover most of the propertied middle classes, who became an enemy to be defeated and humiliated. To equalize the supposed struggle between the rich and the dispossessed, the Peróns exalted the liberating role of the state. The bureaucracy swelled alarmingly as nationalization brought key sectors of the economy under official control. Government bought loyalty through a massive program of social spending while fostering the growth of labor unions, which became intimate allies of the governing party. Argentina came to be the most unionized nation in Latin America. Perón also ended any pretense of the independence of the judiciary, purging and intimidating judges about whom he had any doubts and replacing them with minions.
The Peronist model—a New Deal on steroids—evolved into an effective clientelism, in which party overlords and labor bosses ruled through a mixture of corruption and violence. Clientelism, in effect, means the annexation of state resources for the benefit of political parties and private networks. Right now, both the word and the concept are not terribly familiar to Americans, but this is one Latin American export that they may soon need to get used to.
As high taxes and economic mismanagement took their toll, the Peróns blamed the disasters on class enemies at home and imperialism abroad, but the regime could not survive the loss of the venerated Eva. After attempting briefly to swing back to the center, Juan Perón was overthrown and driven into Spanish exile. Later governments tried varying strategies to reclaim Argentina’s lost splendors and some enjoyed success, but Perón’s curse endured. Even when his party was driven underground, its traditions remained: demagogic populism, a perception of the state as a device for enriching supporters and punishing foes, and a contempt for economic realities. Utopian mass movements inspired by Peronist ideas and charisma segued easily into the far-left upsurge of the 1960s, when Argentina gave birth to some of the world’s most dangerous terrorist and guerrilla movements. By 1976, the military intervened to stave off the imminent collapse of the state and launched the notorious Dirty War that killed thousands.
Since 1976, Argentine economic policies have lurched from catastrophe to catastrophe. The military junta borrowed enormously with no serious thought about consequences, and the structures of Argentine society made it impossible to tell how funds were being invested. Foreign debt exploded, the deficit boomed, and inflation approached 100 percent a year. Economic meltdown had disastrous political consequences. By 1982, like many other dictatorships through history, the Argentine junta tried to solve its domestic problems by turning to foreign military adventures. And like other regimes, they found that their control over military affairs was about as weak as their command of the economy. Military defeat in the Falkland Islands destroyed the junta. By 1983, a civilian president was in power once more. But nothing could stop the nosedive. Inflation reached 672 percent by 1985 and 3,080 percent by 1989. The disaster provoked capital flight and the collapse of investor confidence, not to mention the annihilation of middle-class savings. In the words on one observer, José Ignacio GarcÃa Hamilton, the nation became “an international beggar with the highest per capita debt in the world.”
Another civilian president, Carlos Menem, took office in 1989, and despite his Peronist loyalties he initially tried to restore sanity through a program of privatization and deregulation. But events soon proved that Menem was only following a familiar pattern whereby a new regime would speak the language of reform and moderation for a couple of years before facing a showdown with the underlying realities of Argentine society. Menem could not overcome the overwhelming inertia within the country, the juggernaut pressures toward the growth of the state, to bureaucratization and regulation, and the destruction of private initiative and free enterprise. Between 1991 and 1999, Argentine public debt burgeoned from 34 percent of GDP to 52 percent. During the same decade, government public debt more than doubled as a percentage of GDP. These burdens stifled private investment so that productive sectors of the economy languished.
Economic disaster led inevitably to a collapse of social confidence and the evaporation of loyalty to the state. The more heavily the country was taxed and regulated, the more Argentines took their transactions off the books, creating a black economy on par with that of the old Soviet Union. In terms of paying their taxes, Argentines are about as faithful as the Italians to whom most have blood ties. Tax evasion became a national sport, second only to soccer in the Argentine consciousness, and provided another stumbling block to fiscal integrity. The collapse of respect for authority also extended to the law: courts are presumed to operate according to bribes and political pressure.
Systematic corruption has had horrifying implications for national security. After all, once you establish the idea that the state is for sale, there is no reason not to offer its services to foreign buyers. One spectacular example of such outsourcing occurred in 1994, when Islamist terrorists blew up a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, killing 85. The investigation of the massacre was thoroughly bungled, reportedly because the Iranian government paid Menem $10 million. It is trivial to list the many other allegations of corruption and embezzlement surrounding Menem: what else is politics for, if not to enrich yourself and your clients?
In 2001-02, Argentine fortunes reached depths hitherto unplumbed. A debt-fueled crisis provoked a run on the currency, leading the government to freeze virtually all private bank accounts for 12 months. At the end of 2001, the country defaulted on its foreign debt of $142 billion, the largest such failure in history. With the economy in ruins, almost 60 percent of Argentines were living below the poverty line. Street violence became so intense that the president was forced to flee his palace by helicopter.
Since 2002, yet another new government has presided over an illusory economic boom before being manhandled by the ugly ghosts of Juan and Evita. Those specters were on hand to whisper their excellent advice to a new generation: if you face a crisis caused by excessive government spending, borrowing, and regulation, what else do you do except push even harder to spend, borrow, and regulate? Over the past two years, new taxes and price freezes have again crippled the economy, bringing power blackouts and forced cuts in production. Public debt stands at 56 percent of GDP, and inflation runs 20 percent. Last October, the government seized $29 billion in private pension funds, hammering the final nail in the coffin of the old middle classes. Judging by credit default swap spreads on government debt, the smart money is now betting heavily on another official default before mid-year. The Argentine economy may not actually be dead yet, but it has plenty of ill-wishers trying hard to finish it off.
We all know that deficits drive inflation, which can destroy a society. Less obvious is the political dimension of such a national suicide. Debts and deficits must be understood in the context of the populism that commonly entices governments to abandon economic restraint. No less political are the probable consequences of such a course: authoritarianism, public violence, and militarism.
The road to economic hell is paved with excellent intentions—a desire to save troubled industries, relieve poverty, and bolster communities that support the present government. But the higher the spending and the deeper the deficits, the worse the effects on productive enterprise and the heavier the penalty placed on thrift and enterprise. As matters deteriorate, governments have a natural tendency to divert blame onto some unpopular group, which comes to be labeled in terms of class, income, or race. With society so polarized, the party in power can dismiss any criticism as the selfish whining of the privileged and concentrate on the serious business of diverting state resources to its own followers.
Quite rapidly, “progressive” economic reforms subvert and then destroy savings and property, eliminating any effective opposition to the regime. Soon, too—if the Perón precedent is anything to go by—the regime organizes its long march through the organs of power, conquering the courts, the bureaucracy, the schools, and the media. Hyper-deficits bring hyperinflation, and only for the briefest moment can they coexist with any kind of democratic order.
Could it happen here? The U.S. certainly has very different political traditions from Argentina and more barriers to a populist-driven rape of the economy. On the other hand, events in some regions would make Juan Perón smile wistfully. California runs on particularly high taxes, uncontrollable deficits, and overregulation with a vastly swollen bureaucracy while the hegemonic power of organized labor prevents any reform. Thankfully, the state has no power to devalue its currency, still less to freeze bank accounts or seize pension funds, and businesses can still relocate elsewhere. But in its social values and progressive assumptions, California is close to the Democratic mainstream, which now intends to impose its ideas on the nation as a whole. And at over 60 percent of GDP, U.S. public debt is already higher than Argentina’s.
When honest money perishes, the society goes with it. We can’t say we weren’t warned. __________________________________________
Philip Jenkins is the author of The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—and How It Died.
Copyright © 2009 The American Conservative
United States of Argentina PDF
How inflation turned a rising power into a pauper
By Philip Jenkins
Anyone not alarmed by the state of the U.S. economy is not paying attention. As our Dear Leader begins his term, the theory of very big government has the support of an alarmingly broad political consensus. Despite the obvious dangers—devastating inflation and the ruin of the dollar—the United States seems pledged to a debt-funded spending spree of gargantuan proportions.
In opposing this trend, critics face the problem that the perils to which they point sound very theoretical and abstract. Perhaps Zimbabwe prints its currency in multi-trillion units, but that’s a singularly backward African dictatorship: the situation has nothing to do with us. Yet an example closer to home might be more instructive. Unlike Zimbabwe, this story involves a flourishing Western country with a large middle class that nevertheless managed to spend its way into banana-republic status by means very similar to those now being proposed in Washington.
The country in question is Argentina, and even mentioning the name might initially make any comparison seem tenuous. The United States is a superpower with a huge economy. Argentina is a political and economic joke, a global weakling legendary for endemic economic crises. Between them and us, surely, a great gulf is fixed. Yet Argentina did not always have its present meager status, nor did its poverty result from some inherent Latin American affinity for crisis and corruption. A century ago, Argentina was one of the world’s emerging powers, seemingly destined to outpace all but the greatest imperial states. Today it is … Argentina. A national decline on that scale did not just happen: it was the result of decades of struggle and systematic endeavor, led by the nation’s elite. As the nation’s greatest writer, Jorge Luis Borges, once remarked, only generations of statesmanship could have prevented Argentina from becoming a world power.
For Americans, the Argentine experience offers multiple warnings, not just about how dreadfully things can go wrong but how a nation can reach a point of no return. Not only did Argentina squander its many blessings, it created a situation from which the society could never recover. Argentines still suffer from the blunders and hubris of their grandparents without any serious likelihood that even their most strenuous efforts will make a difference. A nation can get into such a situation easily enough, but getting out is a different matter. A corrupted economy can’t be cured without being wiped out and started over.
It is hard, looking at the basket case Argentina has become, to imagine what an economic powerhouse the country was before World War II. From the 1880s, Argentina was, alongside the U.S. itself, a prime destination for European migrants. Buenos Aires was one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas, in a select club that included London, Paris, Berlin, and New York City. Argentina benefited mightily from foreign investment, which it used wisely to create a strong infrastructure and an excellent system of free mass education. It had the largest and most prosperous middle class in Latin America. When World War I began, Argentina was the world’s tenth wealthiest nation.
Right up to the 1940s, American and European economists struggled to explain the glaring contrast between booming Argentina and slothful Australia. As many studies pointed out, both countries had begun at a roughly similar point, as agricultural producers dependent on fickle world markets. Yet Australia remained stuck in colonial status while Argentina made the great leap forward to the status of an advanced nation with an expanding industrial base and sophisticated commerce.
So what happened? Certainly the country was hit hard by the depression of the 1930s, but so were other advanced nations that ultimately recovered, and Argentina profited from intense wartime demand for primary products.
The country was killed by political decisions, and the primary culprit was Juan Perón. He dominated political life through the 1940s and ruled officially as president from 1946 to 1955, returning briefly in the 1970s. Although he did not begin the process, he completed the transformation of Argentine government so that the state became both an object of plunder and an instrument for plunder.
Perón came from a fascist and corporatist mindset, which became more aggressively populist under the influence of his second wife Eva. They aimed their rhetoric against the nation’s rich, a designation that was swiftly expanded to cover most of the propertied middle classes, who became an enemy to be defeated and humiliated. To equalize the supposed struggle between the rich and the dispossessed, the Peróns exalted the liberating role of the state. The bureaucracy swelled alarmingly as nationalization brought key sectors of the economy under official control. Government bought loyalty through a massive program of social spending while fostering the growth of labor unions, which became intimate allies of the governing party. Argentina came to be the most unionized nation in Latin America. Perón also ended any pretense of the independence of the judiciary, purging and intimidating judges about whom he had any doubts and replacing them with minions.
The Peronist model—a New Deal on steroids—evolved into an effective clientelism, in which party overlords and labor bosses ruled through a mixture of corruption and violence. Clientelism, in effect, means the annexation of state resources for the benefit of political parties and private networks. Right now, both the word and the concept are not terribly familiar to Americans, but this is one Latin American export that they may soon need to get used to.
As high taxes and economic mismanagement took their toll, the Peróns blamed the disasters on class enemies at home and imperialism abroad, but the regime could not survive the loss of the venerated Eva. After attempting briefly to swing back to the center, Juan Perón was overthrown and driven into Spanish exile. Later governments tried varying strategies to reclaim Argentina’s lost splendors and some enjoyed success, but Perón’s curse endured. Even when his party was driven underground, its traditions remained: demagogic populism, a perception of the state as a device for enriching supporters and punishing foes, and a contempt for economic realities. Utopian mass movements inspired by Peronist ideas and charisma segued easily into the far-left upsurge of the 1960s, when Argentina gave birth to some of the world’s most dangerous terrorist and guerrilla movements. By 1976, the military intervened to stave off the imminent collapse of the state and launched the notorious Dirty War that killed thousands.
Since 1976, Argentine economic policies have lurched from catastrophe to catastrophe. The military junta borrowed enormously with no serious thought about consequences, and the structures of Argentine society made it impossible to tell how funds were being invested. Foreign debt exploded, the deficit boomed, and inflation approached 100 percent a year. Economic meltdown had disastrous political consequences. By 1982, like many other dictatorships through history, the Argentine junta tried to solve its domestic problems by turning to foreign military adventures. And like other regimes, they found that their control over military affairs was about as weak as their command of the economy. Military defeat in the Falkland Islands destroyed the junta. By 1983, a civilian president was in power once more. But nothing could stop the nosedive. Inflation reached 672 percent by 1985 and 3,080 percent by 1989. The disaster provoked capital flight and the collapse of investor confidence, not to mention the annihilation of middle-class savings. In the words on one observer, José Ignacio GarcÃa Hamilton, the nation became “an international beggar with the highest per capita debt in the world.”
Another civilian president, Carlos Menem, took office in 1989, and despite his Peronist loyalties he initially tried to restore sanity through a program of privatization and deregulation. But events soon proved that Menem was only following a familiar pattern whereby a new regime would speak the language of reform and moderation for a couple of years before facing a showdown with the underlying realities of Argentine society. Menem could not overcome the overwhelming inertia within the country, the juggernaut pressures toward the growth of the state, to bureaucratization and regulation, and the destruction of private initiative and free enterprise. Between 1991 and 1999, Argentine public debt burgeoned from 34 percent of GDP to 52 percent. During the same decade, government public debt more than doubled as a percentage of GDP. These burdens stifled private investment so that productive sectors of the economy languished.
Economic disaster led inevitably to a collapse of social confidence and the evaporation of loyalty to the state. The more heavily the country was taxed and regulated, the more Argentines took their transactions off the books, creating a black economy on par with that of the old Soviet Union. In terms of paying their taxes, Argentines are about as faithful as the Italians to whom most have blood ties. Tax evasion became a national sport, second only to soccer in the Argentine consciousness, and provided another stumbling block to fiscal integrity. The collapse of respect for authority also extended to the law: courts are presumed to operate according to bribes and political pressure.
Systematic corruption has had horrifying implications for national security. After all, once you establish the idea that the state is for sale, there is no reason not to offer its services to foreign buyers. One spectacular example of such outsourcing occurred in 1994, when Islamist terrorists blew up a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, killing 85. The investigation of the massacre was thoroughly bungled, reportedly because the Iranian government paid Menem $10 million. It is trivial to list the many other allegations of corruption and embezzlement surrounding Menem: what else is politics for, if not to enrich yourself and your clients?
In 2001-02, Argentine fortunes reached depths hitherto unplumbed. A debt-fueled crisis provoked a run on the currency, leading the government to freeze virtually all private bank accounts for 12 months. At the end of 2001, the country defaulted on its foreign debt of $142 billion, the largest such failure in history. With the economy in ruins, almost 60 percent of Argentines were living below the poverty line. Street violence became so intense that the president was forced to flee his palace by helicopter.
Since 2002, yet another new government has presided over an illusory economic boom before being manhandled by the ugly ghosts of Juan and Evita. Those specters were on hand to whisper their excellent advice to a new generation: if you face a crisis caused by excessive government spending, borrowing, and regulation, what else do you do except push even harder to spend, borrow, and regulate? Over the past two years, new taxes and price freezes have again crippled the economy, bringing power blackouts and forced cuts in production. Public debt stands at 56 percent of GDP, and inflation runs 20 percent. Last October, the government seized $29 billion in private pension funds, hammering the final nail in the coffin of the old middle classes. Judging by credit default swap spreads on government debt, the smart money is now betting heavily on another official default before mid-year. The Argentine economy may not actually be dead yet, but it has plenty of ill-wishers trying hard to finish it off.
We all know that deficits drive inflation, which can destroy a society. Less obvious is the political dimension of such a national suicide. Debts and deficits must be understood in the context of the populism that commonly entices governments to abandon economic restraint. No less political are the probable consequences of such a course: authoritarianism, public violence, and militarism.
The road to economic hell is paved with excellent intentions—a desire to save troubled industries, relieve poverty, and bolster communities that support the present government. But the higher the spending and the deeper the deficits, the worse the effects on productive enterprise and the heavier the penalty placed on thrift and enterprise. As matters deteriorate, governments have a natural tendency to divert blame onto some unpopular group, which comes to be labeled in terms of class, income, or race. With society so polarized, the party in power can dismiss any criticism as the selfish whining of the privileged and concentrate on the serious business of diverting state resources to its own followers.
Quite rapidly, “progressive” economic reforms subvert and then destroy savings and property, eliminating any effective opposition to the regime. Soon, too—if the Perón precedent is anything to go by—the regime organizes its long march through the organs of power, conquering the courts, the bureaucracy, the schools, and the media. Hyper-deficits bring hyperinflation, and only for the briefest moment can they coexist with any kind of democratic order.
Could it happen here? The U.S. certainly has very different political traditions from Argentina and more barriers to a populist-driven rape of the economy. On the other hand, events in some regions would make Juan Perón smile wistfully. California runs on particularly high taxes, uncontrollable deficits, and overregulation with a vastly swollen bureaucracy while the hegemonic power of organized labor prevents any reform. Thankfully, the state has no power to devalue its currency, still less to freeze bank accounts or seize pension funds, and businesses can still relocate elsewhere. But in its social values and progressive assumptions, California is close to the Democratic mainstream, which now intends to impose its ideas on the nation as a whole. And at over 60 percent of GDP, U.S. public debt is already higher than Argentina’s.
When honest money perishes, the society goes with it. We can’t say we weren’t warned. __________________________________________
Philip Jenkins is the author of The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—and How It Died.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The Barry Principle
By way of The American Thinker
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/02/murphys_law_the_peter_principl.html
What happens when everything that can go wrong in a person's character formation does go wrong, and that person continues to be promoted to his level of incompetence?
President Barack Obama happens.
I'm well into my sixth decade of life and have yet to see a more perfect collision of Murphy's Law with the Peter Principle in a single individual.
Proper character development is the overriding aim of good parents in raising their children. Mature parents, especially those Judeo/Christian parents with faith, believe it sinful to raise a child without strong self-constraint, a well-formed conscience, ingrained humility and an ironclad respect for the rights of others. Children raised thusly become self-supporting adults, honest in their dealings with others and prone to be contributing members of the society at large.
The world is purely chock full of bad parents, however. Plum chock full.
Barack Obama was conceived out of wedlock to an eighteen year-old girl, who was herself the product of non-religious, rebellious parents, intent on unraveling the fabric of WASP America. Stanley Ann Dunham met Barack Obama Sr., an already-married African Muslim man, in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii in her very first year there. According to President Obama's memoir, his biological father married his mother about three months into the pregnancy, even though he already had a wife and children on his home continent. Hence, very shortly, the father abandoned the new mother and her child to seek his own fortune and yet another wife-to-be at Harvard.
Bigamists are not known for fidelity, are they?
The end result of this convoluted beginning of the man who would become President was that his maternal grandparents became his primary caregivers. With the very best of intentions, I'm sure, these white grandparents doted, scraped and groveled to make the little abandoned child's life as picture-perfect as it could possibly be under the awful circumstances of parental abandonment. This is a recipe for disaster in the area of character development.
Believing that the child, Barry, needed lots of attention and as few hard knocks as possible, these grandparents proceeded to spoil the ever-living daylights out of the precocious, charismatic, bi-racial child of their only daughter. Through his grandmother's connections, Barry got a scholarship to the elite Panahou Academy and became one of only five black children in the posh school, where teachers, too, bent over backwards not to offend, not to discipline. For added umph to this already-disastrous formula, Barry's grandfather made sure the child got lots of father-figure mentoring from a self-proclaimed pedophile and avowed communist, Frank Marshall Davis.
As a young teenager, surrounded by opportunities for drug abuse and tomfoolery, Barry bragged that he had a deal with his doting grandparents which entailed his being able to do whatever he wanted while they looked the other way and pretended not to notice.
After all, they surely reasoned, this pitiful little boy had enough pain in his life.
Paying consequences for delinquent behavior would have been entirely too much. Too much. Oh, just too much to bear.
As President Obama's school transcripts (all of them, from start to finish!) remain among his stack of unreleased documents, we have no way of knowing how our current President did in school. However, we do know that he was doing drugs, that he was not involved in any demanding athletic program and that he was not otherwise making a big name for himself on campus. We know also that Obama's first gig on the mainland was at Occidental College, which is a fine school I am sure, but far from Ivy League. I'm fairly certain that those grades at Panahou were nothing to brag about, and there is no evidence whatsoever that there was anything else to brag about either.
At Occidental, however, young Barry Obama discovered the one gift that would eventually make up for all other deficiencies: his oratorical talent. Coupled with natural charisma and an Eddie-Haskell styled ability to guile, Barry Obama had arrived.
This was the story hailed by Axelrod as bedrock, middle-class, Kansan upbringing.
And 52% of the American electorate bought it faster than you can say prime-Florida-swampland-with-a-view-sold-to-dumber-than-dumb-Yankees.
Barry Obama made his entrance into mainland politics by frequenting all the Occidental socialist clubs, rallies and protests, and the first time he took to a podium, his rhetorical talent unveiled itself. Then, it was off to Columbia and a shadow existence, which eventually culminated in President Barack Obama, the first African-American President and the first man to ever assume the highest office in the land without one whit of experience other than running for office and beguiling a public begging to be beguiled.
Along the always-sunny yellow brick road to the White House, Barry was hailed as brilliant-beyond-brilliant, the veritable savior of his people and in the words of his now Vice President, a "clean, articulate and bright" black man. Nowhere, at any time during Barack Obama's near-miraculous rise to power, did he come into contact with anyone that would have demanded a character test.
The characters in this President's closet are too strange for fiction -- Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, the New Party, Billy Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, Louis Farrakhan, Mayor Daly, Rod Blagojevich, George Soros, assorted tax cheats and pay-to-play schemers of every variety. When any sentient person adds it up, he gets a man without principle, someone so enabled in his avoidance of reality about himself that one can only call it Murphy's Law applied to character development.
Every single thing that could go wrong has indeed gone wrong.
Enter a mainstream media so swept off its feet with tingles and its own utter lack of religiosity -- a group purely primed for false-savior seeking -- and what one could call the Murphy's Law of picking a President is perfectly, positively, poignantly complete.
From Stage right and Stage left, and from below and above, we see the Peter Principle in all its inglorious dimensions set to wreak havoc upon this entire Country.
In only three weeks' time, this President has signaled to every terrorist on the planet that we are a sorry, groveling, ashamed Nation ready to come to the diplomatic confessional. He is closing Gitmo within one year, has suspended trials there, and dismissed the charges against the U.S.S. Cole plotter. American penance is coming and it's coming fast and feebly on its knees.
President Obama has just put our money where his mouth is and is using $20.3 million to bring in Palestinian refugees from Gaza, the Hamas-controlled region where folks prefer bomb-making to bread-baking. Instead of helping Israel defeat them, this President brings them here.
As if we did not have enough home-grown terrorists.
The new politics of "hope & change" is looking like a Hollywood remake of "Larger-than-life Dopes and Same-ole-same-ole Corruptocrats" with tax cheats flanking the new Cabinet, an Attorney General who never saw a pardon he didn't like or a terrorist he couldn't love, a porn-protection guru as his Deputy, and a man without an ounce of intelligence knowledge or experience now the wartime head of the CIA. Add to this mess a Secretary of State whose husband owes far more than any other American alive to foreigners. The new Secretary of Education was in charge of Chicago schools, where more than 500 verified acts of child battering by teachers went unpunished and teacher unions trumped student rights. This Cabinet is shaping up to be worse than Bill Clinton's and Jimmy Carter's combined, while President Obama throws cocktail parties with $100/pound steak.
President Obama's definition of bipartisanship: "I won."
President Obama's definition of leadership: "Nancy can handle the details."
Our new President had the gall to pronounce the so-called economic stimulus bill absolutely free of "earmarks" and "make-do work," while spinning his prosaic campaign rhetoric before an international audience in a prime-time "press conference." This bill has close to a trillion-dollar price tag, but according to the Congressional Budget Office will do worse to our overall economy than no government action whatsoever. So, if this bill has no pork or earmarks in it, then it is pure socialist folderol run amok before it even gets implemented - in the face of the "worst economic crisis since the Great Depression."
The Peter Principle has reached its pinnacle in President Barack Obama.
If one wants a hawks-eye view into the minds of Obama voters, all one need do is read this piece published by the New York Times last week, detailing the fantasies, dreams and drooling-envy delusions of his followers. Their celebrity is now their President.
The perfect collision of Murphy's Law with the Peter Principle has arrived to explode in our faces.
In the words of Britain's most eloquent commentator, "America, what have you done?"
Kyle-Anne Shiver is a frequent contributor to American Thinker. She welcomes your comments at kyleanneshiver@gmail.com.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/02/murphys_law_the_peter_principl.html
What happens when everything that can go wrong in a person's character formation does go wrong, and that person continues to be promoted to his level of incompetence?
President Barack Obama happens.
I'm well into my sixth decade of life and have yet to see a more perfect collision of Murphy's Law with the Peter Principle in a single individual.
Proper character development is the overriding aim of good parents in raising their children. Mature parents, especially those Judeo/Christian parents with faith, believe it sinful to raise a child without strong self-constraint, a well-formed conscience, ingrained humility and an ironclad respect for the rights of others. Children raised thusly become self-supporting adults, honest in their dealings with others and prone to be contributing members of the society at large.
The world is purely chock full of bad parents, however. Plum chock full.
Barack Obama was conceived out of wedlock to an eighteen year-old girl, who was herself the product of non-religious, rebellious parents, intent on unraveling the fabric of WASP America. Stanley Ann Dunham met Barack Obama Sr., an already-married African Muslim man, in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii in her very first year there. According to President Obama's memoir, his biological father married his mother about three months into the pregnancy, even though he already had a wife and children on his home continent. Hence, very shortly, the father abandoned the new mother and her child to seek his own fortune and yet another wife-to-be at Harvard.
Bigamists are not known for fidelity, are they?
The end result of this convoluted beginning of the man who would become President was that his maternal grandparents became his primary caregivers. With the very best of intentions, I'm sure, these white grandparents doted, scraped and groveled to make the little abandoned child's life as picture-perfect as it could possibly be under the awful circumstances of parental abandonment. This is a recipe for disaster in the area of character development.
Believing that the child, Barry, needed lots of attention and as few hard knocks as possible, these grandparents proceeded to spoil the ever-living daylights out of the precocious, charismatic, bi-racial child of their only daughter. Through his grandmother's connections, Barry got a scholarship to the elite Panahou Academy and became one of only five black children in the posh school, where teachers, too, bent over backwards not to offend, not to discipline. For added umph to this already-disastrous formula, Barry's grandfather made sure the child got lots of father-figure mentoring from a self-proclaimed pedophile and avowed communist, Frank Marshall Davis.
As a young teenager, surrounded by opportunities for drug abuse and tomfoolery, Barry bragged that he had a deal with his doting grandparents which entailed his being able to do whatever he wanted while they looked the other way and pretended not to notice.
After all, they surely reasoned, this pitiful little boy had enough pain in his life.
Paying consequences for delinquent behavior would have been entirely too much. Too much. Oh, just too much to bear.
As President Obama's school transcripts (all of them, from start to finish!) remain among his stack of unreleased documents, we have no way of knowing how our current President did in school. However, we do know that he was doing drugs, that he was not involved in any demanding athletic program and that he was not otherwise making a big name for himself on campus. We know also that Obama's first gig on the mainland was at Occidental College, which is a fine school I am sure, but far from Ivy League. I'm fairly certain that those grades at Panahou were nothing to brag about, and there is no evidence whatsoever that there was anything else to brag about either.
At Occidental, however, young Barry Obama discovered the one gift that would eventually make up for all other deficiencies: his oratorical talent. Coupled with natural charisma and an Eddie-Haskell styled ability to guile, Barry Obama had arrived.
This was the story hailed by Axelrod as bedrock, middle-class, Kansan upbringing.
And 52% of the American electorate bought it faster than you can say prime-Florida-swampland-with-a-view-sold-to-dumber-than-dumb-Yankees.
Barry Obama made his entrance into mainland politics by frequenting all the Occidental socialist clubs, rallies and protests, and the first time he took to a podium, his rhetorical talent unveiled itself. Then, it was off to Columbia and a shadow existence, which eventually culminated in President Barack Obama, the first African-American President and the first man to ever assume the highest office in the land without one whit of experience other than running for office and beguiling a public begging to be beguiled.
Along the always-sunny yellow brick road to the White House, Barry was hailed as brilliant-beyond-brilliant, the veritable savior of his people and in the words of his now Vice President, a "clean, articulate and bright" black man. Nowhere, at any time during Barack Obama's near-miraculous rise to power, did he come into contact with anyone that would have demanded a character test.
The characters in this President's closet are too strange for fiction -- Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, the New Party, Billy Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, Louis Farrakhan, Mayor Daly, Rod Blagojevich, George Soros, assorted tax cheats and pay-to-play schemers of every variety. When any sentient person adds it up, he gets a man without principle, someone so enabled in his avoidance of reality about himself that one can only call it Murphy's Law applied to character development.
Every single thing that could go wrong has indeed gone wrong.
Enter a mainstream media so swept off its feet with tingles and its own utter lack of religiosity -- a group purely primed for false-savior seeking -- and what one could call the Murphy's Law of picking a President is perfectly, positively, poignantly complete.
From Stage right and Stage left, and from below and above, we see the Peter Principle in all its inglorious dimensions set to wreak havoc upon this entire Country.
In only three weeks' time, this President has signaled to every terrorist on the planet that we are a sorry, groveling, ashamed Nation ready to come to the diplomatic confessional. He is closing Gitmo within one year, has suspended trials there, and dismissed the charges against the U.S.S. Cole plotter. American penance is coming and it's coming fast and feebly on its knees.
President Obama has just put our money where his mouth is and is using $20.3 million to bring in Palestinian refugees from Gaza, the Hamas-controlled region where folks prefer bomb-making to bread-baking. Instead of helping Israel defeat them, this President brings them here.
As if we did not have enough home-grown terrorists.
The new politics of "hope & change" is looking like a Hollywood remake of "Larger-than-life Dopes and Same-ole-same-ole Corruptocrats" with tax cheats flanking the new Cabinet, an Attorney General who never saw a pardon he didn't like or a terrorist he couldn't love, a porn-protection guru as his Deputy, and a man without an ounce of intelligence knowledge or experience now the wartime head of the CIA. Add to this mess a Secretary of State whose husband owes far more than any other American alive to foreigners. The new Secretary of Education was in charge of Chicago schools, where more than 500 verified acts of child battering by teachers went unpunished and teacher unions trumped student rights. This Cabinet is shaping up to be worse than Bill Clinton's and Jimmy Carter's combined, while President Obama throws cocktail parties with $100/pound steak.
President Obama's definition of bipartisanship: "I won."
President Obama's definition of leadership: "Nancy can handle the details."
Our new President had the gall to pronounce the so-called economic stimulus bill absolutely free of "earmarks" and "make-do work," while spinning his prosaic campaign rhetoric before an international audience in a prime-time "press conference." This bill has close to a trillion-dollar price tag, but according to the Congressional Budget Office will do worse to our overall economy than no government action whatsoever. So, if this bill has no pork or earmarks in it, then it is pure socialist folderol run amok before it even gets implemented - in the face of the "worst economic crisis since the Great Depression."
The Peter Principle has reached its pinnacle in President Barack Obama.
If one wants a hawks-eye view into the minds of Obama voters, all one need do is read this piece published by the New York Times last week, detailing the fantasies, dreams and drooling-envy delusions of his followers. Their celebrity is now their President.
The perfect collision of Murphy's Law with the Peter Principle has arrived to explode in our faces.
In the words of Britain's most eloquent commentator, "America, what have you done?"
Kyle-Anne Shiver is a frequent contributor to American Thinker. She welcomes your comments at kyleanneshiver@gmail.com.
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