Islam is Not the way – for it is a death cult.

 Follow the word of God, and you shall see Heaven..

The price of Liberty is eternal vigilance.

Big Brotha' is Watching over You!

Dear, tragically misguided, Progressive,

Hellooo, Progressives?  Anyone there?  These are not ad hominem attacks (mostly)!

Hey, I’m hoping we could have some substantive discussions – how about if I narrow down the field of topics for you?

1. Obanomics – Obama is currently holding a “Jobs Summit” where he has invited every union boss under the sun, but no small businesses (or anyone who doesn’t lap up his socialist policies).  I would be rolling on the floor in laughter were this charade not so tragic.  Do you remember the Broken Window Fallacy we once went over?  If you could wave the Presidential scepter, what are the top five things you would do to “create” net jobs (which create real wealth and promise to eventually raise our standard of living)?
2. War Against ______ – Please fill in the blank.  Are we at WAR with anyone (except citizens who actually create wealth)?  What would be your five-pronged solution to resolving our military challenges, and ensuring the safety of American citizens?  Against whom?
3. Hope and Change – When, do you believe, that the great campaign promises of “Transparent”, “Above the Fray”, “Post-partisan”, “Post racial” kum-bay-yah Moderate politics from the Obama Administration going to begin to kick in?  Please give five real-life examples demonstrating your position.
4. Iran – Who exactly is going to stop them from developing The Bomb.  When Israel finally pulls the trigger next year, how exactly do you think Obama will react?  I predict he will vote “Present”, and summarily throw the Jews under the bus publically (while giving logistic military support to them behind the scenes).
5. Show Trial – How many foreign enemy combatants have ever been captured and then brought to the U.S. to be tried in our civilian courts?  Obama was quoted the other day, in reaction to public outrage, that Americans would be happy when KSM was found guilty in NY and subsequently exterminated!  Uh, if the chief law enforcement officer of this land can guarantee the outcome of this demonstration trial for the world, how could it ever be “fair” when denying KSM’s presumption of innocence from the outset?  What dream-team defense lawyer would not jump on this colossal blunder alone in his quest for acquittal – while denouncing our rigged judicial system on a world stage?
6. Civil Rights – When KSM is acquitted of his “crimes”, would you further support his right to walk from the courthouse to the nearest gun shop in order to exercise his new rights to load up on firearms and ammo?  By what authority, exactly, does Obama obtain the power to grant my Constitutional Rights to ANYONE by the wave of his hand?
7. Islam – Have you ever studied Islam and its Shariah Law utopia?  Do you actually believe it represents a “Religion of Peace” – or, is it perhaps something else, like, a death cult?  Do you actually believe the mainstream propaganda that the Ft. Hood Shooter was a secular “lone wolf” whack-job who suddenly “snapped”?  Or, was Hasan a most devout Islamist hell-bent on going out in a blaze of Jihadi glory by taking out as many Kafir’s as possible on his way to meet Allah, and receive his allotment of virgins?  Give me your multi-point backup of facts which support your position.  Do you actually believe there is no current threat from the advancement of a worldwide Islamic caliphate (i.e. permanent Jihad)?

Write a short essay of your research and thoughts on quintessential American Values (e.g. unique and/or foundational ideals, beliefs, rights of American civilization)

One way to indentify them, and to draw antithetical comparisons to PC perversions, is to consider some philosophical dichotomies, such as:

1) Individual vs. Group (tribes, races, classes, factions, orgs., etc.)

2) Peace vs. Coercion

3) Liberty vs. Government

4) Truth vs. Fantasy

5) Utopia vs. Reality

6) Freedom vs. Dependence

7) Self-defense vs. Submission

Sovereignty vs. Slavery

9) Rule of Law vs. Lawlessness (anarchy)

10) Private Property vs. Entitlement (grand larceny)

Some examples of American Values which come to mind:

i) Individual Sovereignty – No man is subject to a (earthly) King except himself.

ii) Government gains/maintains its legitimacy and authority by the Consent of the Governed.

iii) Government’s first priority is to ensure Security for its Citizens by vigorously protecting their Rights, and by providing them Protection from Harm.

iv) All men are created Equal (by their Creator).

v) Natural Law is recognized and codified into Law.

vi) Natural Rights which flow from natural law are inalienable by men.

vii) Republicanism is the best form of government (yet conceived) with the rule of law, democratic processes, and the separation of powers at its core.

viii) Human Life is sacred.

ix) No human life shall be enslaved/coerced to serve another.

x) Private Property rights shall be inviolable, since the fruits of one’s labor represent an extension of one’s Life, by the free exercise of one’s sovereign resources.

xi) Freedom of Speech, especially of criticizing one’s own government without recrimination, is essential and inviolable.

xii) All Sovereignty lies with, and is inherent in, the People. Governments may be formed, or reformed, by the People delegating certain enumerated and limited authority to act as their agent. E.g. The U.S. Constitution.

TR:  Presidential Leadership is Imminent – This is No Joke!

Breaking News – This Just In!

Obama “very close” to Afghan troop decision: TV report

At Your Service, my Lord!

BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday he is “very close” to a decision on boosting troop levels in Afghanistan and would make an announcement “in the next several weeks.”

In a transcript of the interview seen by Reuters, Obama said he did not want his successor as president to inherit the Afghan conflict, adding that a “multi-year occupation” would not serve the interests of the United States.

TR:  My good buddy Jefferson Paine weighs in with his ten-point plan to overhaul the “healthcare” system in a jiffy.  The reader will note that these solutions are free-market based and would be easy to implement assuming Congress-people had functioning brain cells, oh, and weren’t bought and sold by their special interests – leaving patients and doctors as the “odd men” out (pawns) here.  Note that the end result, if this plan were implemented, would result in higher quality service, for less cost, and truly cover more Citizens!  All of the things that Big Daddy is now saying you will receive through more coercion, more bureaucracy, all at higher costs!  Hellllooooo??

Jefferson Paine’s Easy HealthCare “Reform” Package

1. Deregulate Private Insurance companies allowing them to market innovative products to deal with portability, pre-existing conditions, young, uninsured, etc.
2. Ban Government from offering “insurance” which is actually Welfare.
3. Cap ridiculous “pain and suffering” awards and require the proof in major malpractice be proven scientifically beyond a higher standard than 50/50, and institute some form of “loser pays,” in civil suits.
4. Clean up all waste, fraud and abuse in MediCare / MedicAid, and plan to phase out these colossally corrupt Ponzi schemes over a few years.
5. Repeal corporate tax breaks for employer-provided medical insurance.
6. Ban all Illegal Aliens from receiving free healthcare services, and arrest and deport them when they reveal themselves at medical facilities.
7. Allow Private Insurance products to be bought and sold across State lines.
8. Ban Government issuing mandates, fines, etc. in Private Healthcare services or insurance, and ban all Government “coercion” forcing one Citizen to pay for another’s medical costs involuntarily.
9. Require Government officials and bureaucrats to buy from the exact same choices of private medical services and insurance products as available to the common peon.
10. Grant all active and retired military personnel at least the same quality of medical services as those enjoyed by Congress critters.

Any questions?

ThoughtRogue:  Considering America’s now rampant economic illiteracy and widespread ignorance of history and philosophy, I wonder whether we’re now past the tipping point and the American Dream is doomed?  You’ll notice that every policy decision that our beloved, alleged President makes is to further impoverish Americans – to make them wonderfully dependent, EQUALLY impoverished.

Two excellent books that lay a rock-solid foundation in economics is Henry Hazlitt’s famous Economics in One Lesson, and Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell.  Both explain economics to the layperson, without the use of formulas, with expert precision, allowing the reader to easily dissect for themselves the plethora of economic fallacies they are bombarded with daily.  These should be required reading of all students – not to mention of all politicians especially.

Turning the American economy around is really simple:

• Reduce the taxation monstrosity
• Reduce government spending even more
• Reduce onerous regulations and restrictions
• Reduce bloated, unconstitutional programs and bureaucracies
• Reduce the shackles on individual work and innovation

But, what has the Usurper-in-Chief accomplished and/or supported at every turn?

• Increased Taxes – net jobs killer and wealth destroyer.
• Gigantic Bailouts – net jobs killer and wealth destroyer.
• Increasing Federal Spending and Debt – net jobs killer and wealth destroyer.
• Repeal of Bush Tax Cuts – net jobs killer and wealth destroyer.
• More Money and Power to Unions, Lobbyists, and Government – net jobs killer and wealth destroyer.
• The ‘Cap and Trade’ Energy Bill Boondoggle – net jobs killer and wealth destroyer.
• Support for an Ever-Increasing Minimum Wage – net jobs killer and wealth destroyer.
• The Mass Amnesty of Tens of Millions of Illegal Aliens – net jobs killer and wealth destroyer.
• The Takeover of the Medical and Insurance Industries – net jobs killer and wealth destroyer.
• The National Socialization of Banking, GM, Mortgages, Education.. – net jobs killer and wealth destroyer.

Why Big Government Doesn’t Work

by DOCTOR ZERO, HotAir.com

A person living entirely on their own produces very little, beyond the bare minimum necessities of survival. He has no real “wealth” – no surplus production, to spend on discretionary endeavors. He has few real options in life, beyond daily survival. His moments of real choice come when he gets lucky. An exceptionally fortunate hunt might feed him for a few days, and give him some precious leisure time. Otherwise, he does what he must do, and rarely has time to think about what he could do. Some people enjoy living this way, but most do not.

The situation improves somewhat in a small, voluntary collective: a partnership with a trusted friend, or a small family living on its own. Their combined efforts produce more surplus food, and they can address the necessities of life with less individual effort. They may develop skills and talents that prove valuable to each other. Some people are content to live this way, with a small and isolated family that maintains very little contact with the rest of humanity – but, again, most are not.

When families begin cooperating with each other, production and wealth explode. Communities generate tremendous amounts of surplus production, and commerce allows people access to goods and services they could never produce themselves. The amount of time required to deal with personal survival dwindles away to virtually nothing. Doubtless the reader works hard at his or her job, but your job probably has very little to do with feeding or clothing yourself, or defending yourself from predators. Instead, you produce goods and services that would be unimaginable to a more primitive society – could you explain your job to someone from the tenth century A.D.? In exchange, you earn money, which you spend to purchase what you need – and, more importantly, what you want. Even the poorest member of an advanced society has options.

An advanced society requires a method for allocating its huge amount of surplus production, and meeting the basic needs of its members. There are two general mechanisms for doing this: commerce and government. Every society uses a mixture of these methods. Even the most totalitarian government has a black market, and even the most free-wheeling capitalist society will have a government. Attempts to artificially engineer a society without either commerce or government are doomed to failure, because they will form spontaneously, no matter how strictly they are forbidden.

Government and commerce don’t just co-exist in an uneasy truce. They need each other. Commerce, the free exchange of money for goods and services, produces wealth through choice. Remember the example of the man living alone: the poverty of his existence comes from his lack of choices. The value of money flows from the way it allows consumers to express their choices. For a simple illustration of this principle, compare a ten-dollar restaurant gift certificate to a ten-dollar bill. The ten dollar bill is more valuable than the gift certificate, because you have more choice in how to spend it. A government increases the wealth of its citizens by providing security – stable currency, secure borders, protection from criminals, respect for property rights, and legally enforceable contracts, to name a few of government’s duties. This has the effect of increasing the citizens’ wealth, by increasing the choices available to them. A ten-dollar bill has more value in a large, lawful city than on a tiny island where few goods are available, or a den of thieves where nothing can be bought with confidence.

Consider the example of the impoverished loner versus the citizen of a prosperous society again. The citizens’ money represents wealth, thanks to his many choices, but it represents something else of enormous value: extra time. The loner spends most of his waking hours staying alive, and seeing to his minimal needs. The wealthy citizen spends almost no time on these things – he uses it for economically productive work, self-improvement, and leisure. A ten-dollar bill will purchase you a shirt that you probably don’t know how to make yourself… and even if you had the knowledge, it would most likely take you longer to make the shirt than it takes you to earn ten dollars.

Government allocates wealth through top-down commands, imposed by force. There would be no need for massive tax and spending bills if everyone was freely choosing to spend their money the way the government wants them to. Capitalism has priorities, while government has imperatives. Capitalists fulfill their ambitions through competition, which increases the choices available to consumers. The ambitions of the working class lead them to work harder, and engage in increasingly valuable and productive labor, to earn a better living for themselves and their families. This system is not perfect – there will always be people who try hard but don’t get ahead, and people who don’t make a very productive contribution to society – but over the long run, and measured against a population of millions, free market commerce will tend to produce increased choices, improved technology, and greater value through competition.

Government fulfills its ambitions through compulsion, which reduces choice. Sometimes compulsion is necessary – you can’t fund national defense by passing around a collection plate. When government exceeds the minimal functions necessary to provide stability and security, and begins interfering in the economy for the benefit of certain constituencies, by definition it reduces the overall choices available to its citizens. It doesn’t matter if the government’s intentions are noble – every law it passes to redistribute wealth inevitably reduces wealth, because it reduces choice.

In an economy dominated by the government, the ruling class fulfills its ambitions by serving faithful constituencies at the expense of others. It tries to address its failures by increasing control, which reduces wealth even further, in a downward spiral. It’s not in the nature of government to abandon failed programs, because if government was intelligent and morally superior enough to assert control over a situation in the first place, it will not see the logic in surrendering that control to inferior free-willed citizens. Instead, it will redouble its efforts.

In this environment, the citizens can best fulfill their ambitions by joining favored constituencies if possible, and becoming adept at petitioning the government for greater benefits. This tends to be more successful than working hard, as there is little competition in a state-run economy for the most skilled and productive workers. There are always exceptions – people who give 100% effort out of compassion, personal drive, or a religious calling. There will be politicians who are truly selfless, and sincerely wish to act as wise stewards for the resources of society. Exceptional people cannot be relied upon to power a society of millions. In the long run, and projected over a vast population, the incentives of a government-dominated economy produce stagnation, and strife between warring groups of citizens, who can only gain more benefits at each others’ expense.

That is why Big Government never works. It can’t address conflicting priorities efficiently. The ambitions of its masters are best served by catering to the demands of small, energetic groups, or big corporations who wish to compromise its rightful duty to ensure free trade. Its citizens are not rewarded for exceptional effort, or taking great risks. Worst of all, every single action it takes destroys the very wealth needed to improve the lives of its citizens. Big Government pounds on every problem with a hammer that crumbles in its hands.

TR:  It depends on what the meaning of the word “Tax” is…

A Helpful Obama Glossary

By Bob Maistros, The North Star National

It won't cost you One Dime...

Many Americans are no doubt confused by some of the terminology used by the president in recent weeks as he has given speeches before a joint session of Congress and the United Nations, conducted a variety of television interviews and introduced new policy proposals. As a public service, we are providing a glossary of these terms with their real meanings:

ACORN – who? Never heard of them. (For related definition of Defunding – “holding a show vote on an amendment to eliminate funding, then bottling up the bill” – see the Congressional Glossary.)

Action (as in “now is the time for action”) – big government.

Balanced and sustained (as in “chart a course for growth that is balanced and sustained”) – involving more big government.

Choice – the opportunity to select big government.

Competition – we choose who wins.

Compromise – accepting my position after I give a big speech.

Cost savings – $900 billion in new spending.

Create or save (as in “create or save 4 million jobs”) – destroy or lose, as in 2 million jobs.

Engagement – a combination of unilateral concessions and America-bashing abroad.

Fact (as in, “these are the facts” or “to state a fact”) – my opinion.

Honest debate – agreeing with me.

Incorporate (as in “incorporate ideas from Republicans”) – include in the early stages of a proposal and then have Pelosi and Reid drop like a hot potato behind closed doors in the final version.

Irresponsible (as in “irresponsible behavior”) – constitutionally protected.

Misinformation – facts, when presented by our opponents.

Neutrality (as in “net neutrality”) – favoring one side in a dispute, especially when that side has supported your campaign and provided a senior White House staff member.

Necessary (as in “necessary war”) – not really that necessary, at least when it comes to backing up your words with required manpower and funding and standing up to your liberal base.

Negotiations without preconditions – the position I took vis-à-vis our enemies during the campaign, then denied taking, but am now trying to force on the Israelis.

Nobody (as in “nobody disputes [these facts]”) – no liberals or members of the mainstream media.

Non-profit (as in proposals to establish tax-favored, non-profit status for failing newspapers) – making official a condition that has existed unofficially for years.

Nothing (as in “nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have”) – everything.

Plan (as in, “the [health-care] plan I am announcing tonight”) – a really good speech.

Respect (as in, “respects the rights of the Israelis and Palestinians” or “the Iranians and North Koreans”) – overrun (Israelis) or elevate beyond reason with no expectation of reciprocity (everyone else).

Responsibility (as in the “responsibility” to buy health insurance or America’s “responsibility” to confront global warming) – big government telling people or nations things they have to do. (See “Action” above.)

Scare tactics – see “Misinformation” above.

Security (as in “stability and security” in health care or “true security for all Israelis”) – you’re toast.

Stand by our friends – desert our friends in order to “engage” with our enemies. (See “Engagement” above.)

Tax – certainly not the fine that goes along with the individual mandate. No matter what that little #&%@! Stephanopoulos or Webster’s say.

TR:   “Equal work for equal pay”?  Barack Hussein Obama II’s “great accomplishments..”??  Aaarrrrggghhhhh!!!!…   Note during the second piece the stiff-arm salutes made hip and cool by displaying various numbers of fingers.  At the end, notice the closed fist pump of “Social Justice”.  Just CReeeepy.   Tell us what You noticed..

Yet Another Washington Flop in the Making

Obamacare will be one of many federal failures.

By Deroy Murdock, National Review Online

Don't Tread on US!

As the health-care reform debate roars on, Uncle Sam resembles a restless college senior who is flunking economics, finance, and management. Despite a report card full of Fs, he suddenly announces: “I want to go to medical school!”

Similarly, Pres. Barack Obama stood before a joint session of Congress Wednesday night and re-embraced a government option for health insurance. As he explained, “Sometimes government has to step in to help deliver” on the promise that “hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play.”

Alas, too often when Washington steps in, failing grades follow.

• Medicare, the Great Society’s shining jewel, is a battered gem. Its hospitals program already bleeds ruby-red ink. “Medicare Part A again will spend more in benefits than it receives in revenues” this fiscal year, observes Heritage Foundation analyst Bob Moffitt. Its Trust Fund is an accounting fiction, but even that fantasy disappears in eight years, with depletion in 2017. Even worse, Heritage’s Brian Riedl calculates that between 2009 and 2083 Medicare’s budget will zoom from 3.1 percent to 14.8 percent of Gross Domestic Product. Its unfunded liabilities (promises backed by campaign balloons instead of cash) equal $36.3 trillion.
• Social Security, the New Deal’s cornerstone, is as cutting edge as a 78 RPM record. In 2016, barely six years away, it will begin paying more in pension checks than it collects in payroll taxes. Congress then will be unable to use Social Security’s surplus like a ShamWow to absorb red ink. Social Security’s unfunded obligations equal $17.5 trillion — again not financed by anything but congressional speeches.
• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: These two government options in the home-mortgage arena are widely considered the twin jet engines that flew the economy into a hillside. These were supposed to be money-making, quasi-private companies, with no federal involvement beyond an implicit guarantee that government would cover their losses. Emboldened by this cozy federal safety net, these enterprises embarked upon financial acrobatics they otherwise might have avoided. Rather than generate profits between 2009 and 2019, the Congressional Budget Office estimates, Fannie and Freddie will cost taxpayers $389 billion.
• The Hope for Homeowners program began last October 1. Congress gave it a hefty $300 billion to help some 400,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure. According to an August 10 Newsday editorial, “It has produced exactly one refinanced loan.” One down, 399,999 to go.
• “UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right?” Obama asked in August. “It’s the Post Office that’s always having problems.” Yes, indeed. Its two-year fiscal deficit approaches $8 billion. It has pried some 60,000 mailboxes off of America’s streets, the Lexington Institute reports. It also is weighing the cancellation of Saturday services. Even as e-mail, digitally attached documents, and online banking decrease demand for first-class snail mail, the Post Office keeps hiking the cost of stamps. What sort of business actually raises prices while customers walk away?
• The Internal Revenue Code is like John Donne’s poetry: It means something different to everyone. Perhaps flummoxed by its 67,000 pages, even IRS advisers offer conflicting answers to identical questions. But today’s U.S. Tax Code will be a triumph of window-like clarity compared with the U.S. Health Code that Obamacare would trigger. Just wait until every medical lobby — from the American Stethoscope Council to the National Tongue Depressor League — hikes up Capitol Hill to demand exemptions, loopholes, and subsidies.
• Although Washington already owns 54 percent of the square mileage west of the Rockies, it obsessively purchases new acreage. More than on private property, land-use restrictions on federal soil often prevent thinning of foliage. Flames frequently follow.

“Most western wildfires burn federal land,” William Welch wrote in September 9’s USA Today. To date this year, 123,554 private acres burned in California, versus 271,000 federal acres.

Rather than inaugurate a frivolous, bottomless government option for health care, Washington should launch a “private option” for nearly every federal activity outside the Pentagon.