Category Archives: Political philosophy

111 FAVORS CALLED WAIVERS

There is no justifiable reason for the 111 companies to be exempt from Obamacare law while thousands of others are not. The waivers are favors and nothing less.

The message conveyed is that you can avoid the law by making application to the government. Visions of an open door for corruption fly at you with the speed of a lightening bolt. It is also obvious that size matters. Big business has the knowledge and clout for obtaining favors from Washington that smaller companies do not.

The waivers are just another in a series of acts of subrogating the rule of law to executive and congressional dictate. We saw it when Chrysler bondholders were deprived of their rights under established bankruptcy law. We see it when cities and states publicly state their refusal to obey Federal immigration law and no consequences ensue, not even verbal condemnation from the Department of Justice. On the contrary, when a state steps in to carry out the law, federal law, the federal government sues the state!

Breakdown of rule of law is seen at the local level as well. Voter intimidation at the poling place and various police departments refusal to respond to reports of certain crimes are examples. When respect for the law breaks down the criminal element gains and everyone else loses. In order for respect for the law to be maintained, laws must be enforced, corrected or repealed.

MILTON FRIEDMAN ON GREED

Milton Friedman was not only a brilliant economist; he was a great debater as well. He had a knack of going straight to the core of an issue. He spoke in words anyone could understand, a rare talent among those in his profession.

Economics is an in-exact science, comprised less of facts and more of schools of thought. The belief in free markets, the sanctity of private property and the Rule of Law is known in the field of economics as “the Friedman school”. Friedman is a Nobel Prize winner but the highest honor an economist can earn is to have the world  add the word “school” to your name.

Here is Friedman’s response to Phil Donohue’s version of the age old question, isn’t capitalism a travesty on the poor?

CREATION OF WEALTH IS NOT A ZERO SUM GAME

An enduring myth in the liberal and progressive mind is the idea that wealth is a zero sum game, that for one person to gain another person must lose. Companion to that belief is the assumption that a rich man’s wealth is an appropriation from the poor. This then becomes the basis for the claim that “social justice” not only justifies but requires taking from the rich and giving to the poor, or “spreading the wealth around”.

Whittle’s use of simple illustrations reduces a difficult concept to something anyone can understand.

I VOTED TODAY

It was December of 1942 when the United States entered WWII. I was elated. I couldn’t wait to see the soldiers in the streets, the guns, the shooting and the tanks. I was but a child with no concept whatever of the realities of war.

But the war continued into my teenage years. I remember the cards with stars that mothers put proudly in their windows signifying sons who had gone to fight. I remember when the color of some of those cards changed from white to gold. I’m older now, and every Election Day I remember why they died.

The act of voting is always an emotional one for me. It has nothing to do with the candidates or issues; it’s about the right. To vote is to honor those who sacrificed sons and daughters, limbs and life to preserve that right, for me. It is the least I can do to have a lump in my throat when I vote.

VOTING FRAUD, TYRANNY AT THE GATE

When you don’t have the votes, what can you do?
Cheat.

Yesterday we ended a post with “Stay alert.” Today we see why. The Tea Party, though not a registered political entity, it is clearly a party of the people. The Democratic party, on the other hand, is the party of the government, the governments party. It wasn’t always so. It is now. That’s why tyranny is at the gate.

For what is tyranny but government of the government, by the government and for the government. That fairly well defines the Democratic party today.

The two most powerful unions in the country are the Teacher’s and the SEIU. Both are unions of government workers. Both are solid, solid Democrat. We have seen SEIU coercion at the polling place. From 1996-2008 their political contributions went 96% to Democrats. Donations from the teacher’s NEA from 1989 to 2010 ytd went 93% to Democrats. This is as you might expect for those whose careers are as employees of government. Republicans are for downsizing your employer. Democrats are for enlarging government, expanding your opportunities, your benefits and in recent years even your wages.

Politicians in power decide the voting laws that will keep them in power. It’s left to employees of government to monitor the voting laws. It’s SEIU members who are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the voting machinery. It is government workers who monitor eligibility of voters to vote. It is government workers who mail out the absentee ballots and it’s government workers who process the ballots when they return. The vast majority of government workers are honest, but they do have a conflict of interest and there are many opportunities for fraud. Some have and will continue to fail their duty. See the examples below.

Community organizing is about controlling the vote. Some tyrants are already inside the gate. Stay alert!

Nevada
1. “Voter Joyce Ferrara said when they went to vote for Republican Sharron Angle, her Democratic opponent, Sen. Harry Reid’s name was already checked.

Ferrara said she wasn’t alone in her voting experience. She said her husband and several others voting at the same time all had the same thing happen.” Read the full article here.

2. “Nevada voting machines automatically checking Harry Reid’s name; voting machine technicians are SEIU members.” Read the full article here

3. “Two days ago, the Democratic Secretary of State announced that voters can be provided “free food” at “voter turnout events.” Harry Reid has been offering free food and, according to other reports, some Democratic allies such as teachers’ unions are offering gift cards in return for a vote for Reid.

Before we were even able to document the reported infractions to report to the authorities, the Democrat Secretary of State slammed the door shut on preventing this behavior and issued a public statement permitting these ACORN-style tactics. THESE are the kinds of shenanigans that can turn this race.” Read the full article here.

South Carolina
Sam Laughinghouse of New Bern said he pushed the button to vote Republican in all races, but the voting machine screen displayed a ballot with all Democrats checked. He cleared the screen and tried again with the same result, he said. Then he asked for and received help from election staff.

“They pushed it twice and the same thing happened,” Laughinghouse said. “That was four times in a row.” Read the full article here.

Illinois
October 26, 2010 (CHICAGO) (WLS) — This year marks the first Illinois election that any registered voter can cast their ballot by mail, no excuses necessary. Even as the deadline for those ballots to be postmarked nears, problems are brewing.

Arizona
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned Arizona’s requirement that people show proof of citizenship to register to vote. Read the full article here.

OBAMA SAYS REPUBLICANS “GOTTA SIT IN BACK”

Getting Even

“We don’t mind the Republicans joining us. They can come for the ride, but they gotta sit in back.”  …Barack Obama from a Rhode Island speech as reported by the Associated Press, Oct 25, 2010

Obama has always had a knack for communicating with his inner constituency in subtle and sometimes not so subtle ways. It wasn’t necessary for him to add, in the back – of the bus – for a certain faction of his followers to smile and say, Right on brother! Right on! Stirring up grievances, old and new is a community organizers job.

“When those prominent in the status quo turn and label you an “agitator” they are completely correct, for that is, in one word, your function – to agitate to the point of conflict.”… Rules for Radicals, In the Beginning, The Process of Power * by Saul Alinsky

Barack Obama has not come to bring peace; he has come to bring change, total change, to transform America. He is sincere. He harbors resentment. He is determined. He is smart. He knows Americans love their country and the complete transformation he envisions cannot be achieved without some pain. The people need to be aroused, to denounce the status quo and to bring change by force because most of the population will not knowingly accept Obama’s transformation voluntarily.

“The organizer dedicated to changing the life of the people of a community must first rub raw the resentments of the community; fan the latent hostilities of many of the people to the point of overt expression (sic). He must search out controversy and issues, rather than avoid them, for unless there is controversy people are not concerned enough to act.” and “An organizer must stir up dissatisfaction and discontent”…Rules for Radicals, In the Beginning, The Process of Power * by Saul Alinsky.

Obama’s current frustration is because the Tea Party stole the first act. And the only community organizing required was Rick Santelli and his 30 second rant. After that it was grass roots from the heart all the way. Barack Obama is down but not out. Stay alert.

*Alinsky did not number the chapters of his book; so we had to identify the location of quotations by chapter name and sub-heading.

 

THE FOUNDATIONS OF CONSERVATIVE BELIEF

If one picture is worth a thousand words then a picture than moves and talks must be worth infinitely more. Realizing this, some conservative film makers have come to the fore. Andrew Klavan is one. His style is music and humor. Bill Whittle is another, but with a scholarly approach. He has produced a series that crystallizes the essentials of conservative belief.

Whittle puts an occassional plug in for the Tea Party. We would prefer he hadn’t. We support the Tea Party but the principles he explains are not part of a movement; they did not come from the Tea Party nor are they embraced only by the Tea Party. That is very minor criticism of a very fine work. Here is the first in the series.

WHAT IS SOCIALISM?

Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism, Trotskyism or Communism, most rational people would agree the distinctions are not significant. All are characterized by vast government confiscation of private property, severely curtailed personal freedom, low levels of general prosperity and by totalitarian governments. How does Socialism differ from this other set of “isms”?

The hardbound edition of Webster’s Unabridged Encylopedic Dictionary helps us out.

Communism
1. a theory or system of social organization based on the theory of holding all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state
2 a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party

Socialism
1. a theory or system of social organization which advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production, capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory
3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles

Random Thots’ simplification of Webster’s definitions:

Communism
a system of total government ownership of all private property (except personal property such as clothing and furniture) and controls all social activity

Socialism
a system that advocates and may be the transition to Communism

RADICAL IN CHIEF II

Stanley Kurtz has done his homework. The copious notes attest to that. The Left will hate this book. They will do best to ignore it because it is beyond refute.

The message is two fold. The first is Obama is a Socialist, capital S. The second message is cause for even greater concern. It’s the message of stealth, gradualism and determination; first and foremost is stealth.

“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened.”
– Norman Thomas, the once perennial presidential candidate of the American Socialist Party

The hope is the nation will not awake to the reality until it is too late. Obama’s strength is his stealth. Without it, the highest office he could have attained is State Senator within the Illinois government.

Kurtz concludes the book,

“From his teenage years under the mentorship of Frank Marshall Davis, to his socialist days at Occidental College, to his life-transforming encounters at New York’s Socialist Scholars Conferences, to his immersion in the stealthily socialist community organizing networks of Chicago, Barack Obama has lived in a thoroughly socialist world.”

and

“In sum, the fears of Obama’s harshest critics are justified. The president of the United States is a socialist.”

SOCIALISM SLATED TO GAIN RESPECT

Ideology is stronger than truth.

When a true believer loses an argument to the truth, the argument changes in order that the belief can remain the same. We have seen it with global warming. As truth toppled the claim that “scientists agree” that global warming is man-made and the only direction is up, the argument changed from global warming to “climate change”. Now warming or cooling, not to mention floods and hurricanes can qualify to justify the ideology that lies beneath the argument.

Barack Obama is an icon of the left. When observers first raised the question of whether Obama might be a socialist his defenders quickly responded with denials. Socialism is held with disregard in America. Assertions of socialism were labeled “absurd” or “racism” or “over the top”. Attempts to label the champion of Hope and Change as a socialist were not to be tolerated.

But the argument that Obama is not a socialist is being lost to the truth. As the truth becomes more and more apparent, look for the argument to change. It will no longer be the President is not a socialist. It will be socialism is a good thing. In the course of a televised committee hearing, Maxine Waters told oil company executives “Socialism is the goal.” At the time it was considered to be a gaffe. But in due course such a comment will be seen as one coming from someone who holds a commonly expressed viewpoint but not a gaffe.

Nevertheless, America is still America. The Tea Party has proven that. For decades the Republican and Democratic parties have been marching leftward. Republicans, not the party but the people, have had enough and are bringing the party back toward home. The Democrats, on the other hand, have accelerated their pace and are marching off a cliff. Let us hope some liberal version of a tea party will emerge to bring them back home to the Democratic party of Truman and JFK. Then we can get back to debating and arguing with each other with mutual respect.