Who can deny that Obama is a communist? You might play semantics about the definition of communist, or socialist, etc, but these all come from the same root philosophers and thinkers. Karl Marx did not make such distinctions. To him, communism was just one type of socialism.
Obama's own life and words point to his communist beliefs. His near idolization of his Marxist, anti-colonialist father...His childhood mentoring by communist Frank Marshall Davis...his Grandfather's move to Washington state to enroll his mother in an openly communist school. In Obama's own words, he sought out Marxist professors in college...he surrounded himself in adulthood with Marxists.
And now, in the audio clip below, he admits that he believes in redistribution of wealth. Taken along with his background and another interview where he complained that the Warren Supreme Court "never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society." I think it pretty obvious that, no matter what you call it, Obama is a communist/socialist/central planner.
Two cornerstones of communism/socialism are central planning and redistribution of wealth. The central planners are the ones who can make all the decisions about how to redistribute your wealth...who to steal from and who to reward with that stolen wealth. Obama believes that he is the one who is smart enough to make these decisions...though I would remind him that "there are a lot of smart people out there." So why are he and his cohorts any more qualified to decide where our money gets spent than we are?
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Do Words Matter?
Obama says "Don't tell me words don't matter." I agree...they do. This video takes a look at Obama's own words...and the truth.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Side Effects
Symptoms may include drowsiness, dizziness, thoughts of suicide...headaches... diarrhea... nausea...may cause heart damage...liver damage...may result in decreased sex drive. Call your doctor if you have trouble breathing... sleeping...going to the bathroom..or if it lasts more than four hours. Don't take this product if you are pregnant...may ever become pregnant...are around anyone who is pregnant. Rare...but not so rare that we can't mention it...side effects can include hair loss...blindness...stroke...heart attack...or DEATH.Seriously? I think, in most cases, I'd rather put up with the original symptoms than risk the kind of side effects I hear on these commercials. Now, don't get me wrong, I know modern drugs have helped to improve and prolong the lives of millions upon millions of people Too many times, though, people risk these serious complications for symptoms that are not life threatening, or which could be treated through a lifestyle change...stop smoking...get some exercise...stop eating donuts five times a day...you know, stuff like that.
But, I realize that this is the kind of society we live in now. Most people want a quick fix. Just give them a pill that they can pop and let them go on their way. Many times, they have to take other pills to counteract the side effects of the first pills and before you know it, nobody is sure what is causing which symptom. I have seen this happen with my own family members, being on so many drugs from different doctors that it causes unforeseen reactions. But, on the whole,we as a society continue to blindly trust our health to the pills and potions dispensed by our doctors...regardless of the possible side effects. But really, wouldn't most of us be better taking less drugs and understanding all of the possible side effects and interactions of what we do take?
I have also come to realize that this same societal propensity for the quick-fix pill has given us our current state of all-invasive government. When we see something we don't like, some perceived injustice, immorality, or even just an inconvenience, we too often turn to government for a quick fix. Over the years, too many have come to trust elected officials as they do doctors...without questioning, trusting that that their council and prescriptions must be what's best. Unlike doctors though, government's prescriptions -- laws, taxes, regulations, fines, programs and pork -- don't just affect those seeking symptom relief, but spills over onto all of society.
The United States of America was founded by people who rebelled against an overreaching, tyrannical government. They saw that, as George Washington said, "Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." These founders sought to decentralize and limit government to it's bare minimum required to allow people to live in a civil society. The big debate during the Constitutional Convention was between those who wanted a very limited central government (the Federalists) and those who wanted an even more limited government (the Anti-federalists). They realized that there was a place for government, but that it should be used as a last resort and as little as possible for the over-all health of society.
Today, though, many see government, like pills, as the first recourse for nearly any perceived ill in society...seemingly with absolutely no regard for possible side effects. The side effects and interactions of government are not rare and are very detrimental to the health of society and liberty. Let's look at just a couple of examples of side effects of government:
As laws are the main prescription dispensed from the government apothecary, many citizens believe that the main job of their representatives is to churn out new laws. There are thousands and thousands of laws on the books with new ones being passed every year. Most of these laws have penalties for those who break them. Penalties typically consist of fines or incarceration. Every new law creates potential for people to break them...and therefore new enforcement. A side effect of so many laws is the high rate of incarceration we have in this country, higher than all of the other developed countries in the world...combined. With only 4.5% of the world's population, we imprison 23% of the world's prisoners. Ask yourself, is this because America is such an evil den of criminals? Are we worse than China...than Russia? Are we on the verge of some dystopian collapse or is it that the thousands and thousands of laws we have on the books provides huge opportunity for the use of government force? John Stossel has a great program on the subject called Illegal Everything.
What about the laws that are made to help people? Surely these are okay, right? Well, let's look at one of government's attempts to help people. Back in the 1990s, during the Clinton administration, the government said it was just unfair that everyone wasn't able to own their own home. President Clinton launched The National Homeownership Strategy which spawned the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) in 1994 to encourage more lending in poor and minority neighborhood (article on details). To make a long story short, government meddling, through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac caused the banks to offer loans to families that they wouldn't have normally been able to afford. This meant demand for housing went up, and with increased demand there is increased pricing. Raising prices caused real estate speculation to raise. Government then strong-armed the banks to increase level of lending and create more favorable terms to allow families to cope with the rising costs. This all caused the housing bubble that eventually burst and was a major cause of our current economic woes. The end result is that the very people the law was intended to help were hurt the worst...along with the rest of the country.
Loop holes are a side effect of the interactions of laws. It seems that no sooner than a law is passed, there are people lobbying congress for relief from aspects of the law that caused new, undesirable symptoms. Politicians, of course, are more than happy to offer new laws or adjustments for the proper...ah, remunerations to their reelection funds. The latest example of this is the hundreds (about 1200 to be exact) of companies who lined up and received exemptions from Obamacare.
If we accept the truism that "power corrupts," it should also be noted that power emboldens. As we have ceded more of our power to the politicians and trusted them to always make the right decisions for us, they have become like physicians with a god complex. At least doctors are well trained and tested to perform their roles. Politicians need only convince people to vote for them to get their jobs. Being elected does not make them an expert in anything, but they increasingly act as if they know what's best for us and will inflict their will on us whether we agree or not. The passage of Obamacare is a good recent example of this side effect also. We were told that we just didn't understand the issues...that we had to pass the law before we could know what was in it. Over the stringent protests of a majority of the American people, in an act of supreme arrogance, the Democratically controlled Congress, lead by Reid and Pelosi, passed the largest tax hike in the history of the country in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.
These are just a few examples of the side effects of an overreaching government. Multiply this by the thousands and thousands of laws, regulations and policies that are inflicted on us by government. Don't get me wrong, though I lean very heavily libertarian, I do believe there is a place for government. I just believe, as the founders did, that it should be dispensed sparingly with great care and with close attention to possible side effects:
Government: CAUTION, possible side effects include incarceration, high taxation, over regulation, bankruptcy, market bubbles, loop holes, corruption, huge debt, deficits and a general loss of liberty.
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