McCotter Rocks

If anyone in our political system has the courage, guts, moxie, and intelligence to stand up to Obama like Daniel Hannan stood up to Prime Minister Brown, it is Republican Congressman Thaddeus McCotter from Michigan's 11th District. This great Congressman is a joy to listen to- and when you turn him on, be prepared, because he evokes the fire and brimstone of our greatest orators of the past.

To promote McCotter, a website was created called McCotter Rocks. I'm not sure if it worth bookmarking, but there are some great articles on there, and also it has some great clips and transcripts of McCotter speeches. I saw the one where McCotter was on Red Eye- great. And I just read McCotter Comments on GM CEO Rick Wagoner’s Resignation- also good ("Earlier this week, the President and the Treasury Secretary met with the Wall Street Chieftains who crashed our credit markets and dragged us to the precipice of a global depression. will the Wall Street CEO’s receiving TARP funds summon the honor to resign? Will this White House ever bother to raise the issue? I doubt it.”) Check out the site!

UPDATE III: Be sure to check out Daniel Hannan's new book at The New Road to Serfdom: A Letter of Warning to America.

Obama Forces Private Businessman Out of Job

The headlines today are shocking- our should be shocking to a country raised on freedom and liberty- a President, one person, acting as a tyrant, is forcing a major business- one of the biggest privately held companies in the world- to fire their CEO in order to gain more power and control over this company. What happened to America?

I'm too stunned, shocked, and saddened to write more, although read these editorials if you want to read some good analysis- the story Obama forces Wagoner out at GM which talks about the situation, this editorial Rick Wagoner's ousting had more to do with politics than his ability to revive GM which provides interesting perspective, and this one by Daniel Howes about Wagoner takes the fall for GM.

By the way, inspired by a comment in General Motors Situation Boils Over, I am going to try to call GM Federal Motors to convey the sense that our government is now the true master of this corporation.

UPDATE: Daniel Howes had a great column in today's Detroit News. Link to it here. Here are some of the better parts of it:

But what the president didn't say Monday, as he detailed his administration's prescription for Detroit's two sickest automakers, is what he actually did -- oust a sitting CEO, GM's Rick Wagoner, and begin the process of remaking a board of directors...

In one swift act, the president effectively overruled the oversight and fiduciary responsibilities of GM's directors, duly elected by the automaker's shareholders, because he could -- and the federal government, officially a lender of $13.4 billion to GM, doesn't own a single share of the automaker.

A chilling message?

"Firing a CEO is usually what a board does," says Peter Henning, a law professor at Wayne State University who worked in the enforcement division of the Securities and Exchange Commission. "We now have a CEO-in-chief ... overseeing large sectors of the economy. We are certainly in a brave new world."

And it looks like this: the federal government, in a bid to "save" companies determined crucial to the economy, is prepared to use whatever thin financial connections it has to them to broom management, void employment contracts, reload boards of directors and, if necessary, force bankruptcies.

The issue is principle and the lengthening arm of government into commerce. How can corporate governance and the fiduciary responsibility of directors to shareholders be so easily usurped to satisfy the political exigencies of the day? Stunning is too mild a word to describe the precedent set here.

Democrats Order Change for College Football- Must Be Fair to Everyone to Provide Hope to All

Everyone laughed at me when I predicted that electing Barack Obama would bring changes to college football- you all thought that I was just being silly- there was no way our federal government would order college football teams sponsored by private and public education to switch from the BCS system to a playoff system. You thought I was just joking when I said that Obama wants to rule every aspect of our country, and wants to use his power to make everything 'fair', provide 'hope', for all, and 'change' everything. Oh yes, read this post from last November "Overlord Obama Dictates that Change Must Come to College Football", and see what I predicted.

Then read this- today over at cbssports there is a story about Obama and some members of Congress favor a playoff-type system to determine the national champion, and are looking at introducing legislation that will force college football to adopt this system. They claim that the government can do so, using antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights powers.

Now, I know that the story highlights that there are two Republicans involved with this bill (both RINO's), but the Democrats control the Senate and House, and they control the agenda- they determine what is talked about when. Sure, an occasional Republican might jump on the cruise ship too- but this is the Democrat cruise ship, and any bill that their Congress passes and that Democrat Obama supports and signs is on them, not on the RINO's in the Republican party.

So yes, our overlords are going to change the college football system to one that is more 'fair'- and you heard it here first.

Daniel Hannan

Last week I heard a speech from this guy on Sean Hannity, and it was great. Daniel Hannan is a Troy Member of the European Parliament (MEP) who represents South East England, criticised British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to his face in a stirring speech, and now the clip of this speech is one of the top clips on youtube.

From Mail Online:

Mr Hannan's assault came after the Premier had given a keynote speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. As Mr Brown looked on through gritted teeth, shaking his head, the Tory lambasted him as a 'Brezhnev era apparatchik' who was ' pathologically incapable' of taking responsibility for his role in the financial crisis. The clip features Mr Brown looking on with a frozen smile, while Mr Hannan warned how Britain was entering the recession in a 'dilapidated condition' with an 'almost unbelievable' deficit. After accusing Mr Brown of losing his moral authority, he finished with the pay-off line: 'You are the devalued Prime Minister of a devalued government.'

The speech is not long- I encourage you to take 3 minutes out of your day to watch it here. It will encourage and excite you. Now one can only hope that a US Congressman will say the similar thoughts to our Brezhnev era apparatchik who is running up an unbelievable deficit in our nation.

UPDATE: Powerlineblog also posted on this today.

UPDATE II: If you haven't already, check out the interview of Daniel Hannan over at Vox Popoli- it is very interesting.

UPDATE III: Be sure to check out Daniel Hannan's new book at The New Road to Serfdom: A Letter of Warning to America.

Simon Jester

This week has been a slow week for posting. I could blame it on the fact that I have been really busy, but that's honestly not it- the real reason is that every day it seems to be getting worse and worse around here, and I'm starting to get annoyed.

For example, I read in the Detroit News two stories- one that says that the Democrats in Congress and the President is going to do everything it can do to help the domestic auto company, and than another that says that the Democrats in Congress and the President are going to slap the auto industry with new fuel efficiency standards that will cost $1.5 billion. What the f&%$ is that?

A lot of my students express similar frustrations- I was trying to teach them today about bills of attainder and ex post facto laws, and one of them raised a hand and asked what the point of it was if you could just ignore or re-interpret those clauses whenever you wanted to? I mean, come on- how am I supposed to do my job and teach these students the core beliefs of our country, how am I supposed to teach them to be proud of our rights and liberties, when the freaking government keeps undercutting me by violating them so openly?

So my brother passed me this site to look at, called I Am Simon Jester. I like it. The reference of course is to The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, where in the book those who decide to break free of their earthly rulers would often scrawl anti-authoritarian graffiti on walls, signing it "Simon Jester". Some have have suggested that those who find the American government oppressive do the same, and I like it. From I Am Simon Jester:

We are not anarchists. We are not Far-Right or Far-Left. We are the seventy percent in the middle. We are not Capital “L” libertarians, although we do have sympathies with their platform. We are neither bitter clingers nor conspiracy nuts.

What we are is a group of folks that think we see liberty and freedom eroding in our beloved United States. We see the policies and agendas of the hirelings in Washington D.C. heading toward an abbreviation if not outright abrogation of the Bill of Rights.

We think the Federal government, not just this administration, is more interested in self-serving personal, political, and party power than it is in actually doing its best to do the least.

For almost a hundred years, our country has been heading towards becoming a Socialist, centrally planned, Nanny State where the Federal Government tells it citizens how to conduct business, what they could grow in their own gardens or on their own farms, and now even how much a private citizen is allowed to earn before punitive and illegal taxation takes it away.

Now is the time to make it stop.

There are many ways for you to be Simon Jester. Wear a t-shirts that says "Simon Jester," or "I Aim to Misbehave," or "Don't Tread on Me." Go to a Tea Party- there are some coming up on April 15. Write your government officials. And take action, however, whenever you can to show our government officials that we are not going to stand for it anymore, we will not take it anymore, and we will not go into the night quietly.

Fighting Depression- This Will Cheer You Up!

Many of you are reading my blog and thinking about how bad things are getting, and I can't argue with you- when you hear that we might go bankrupt as a nation and yet Democrats spend your taxpayer money to remove tattoos from gang members in California (200K) and spend 2 million hard-earned dollars to study pig odour and manure management in Iowa, it is hard to stay positive. Heck, even listening to Obama umm and ahh his way through a very important speech doesn't cheer me up anymore. That's why I am linking to this- you'll feel a lot better after spending 2 minutes watching this clip.

Obama Gives Big Speech on Economy and Banking

Sadly, I turned in a couple minutes late, and missed all the stuff on how he is going to help the economy, provide jobs, control the deficit, shore up the banking industry, and steady the stock market. I did hear a lot of stuff about global peace, stopping global warming, getting Muslims and Jews to love one another, making me a criminal for raising my air conditioning, dumping money into failing schools, and other such garbage. Did I have on the wrong channel?

"Greatness" Book Review

Greatness, Reagan, Churchill & The Making of Exraordinary Leaders, by Steven F. Hayward, is an excellent character study of two great men in recent history- Ronald Reagan and Winston Churchill. What the book does is lay out the similarities and differences between these two by looking at their upbringing, faith, private lives, domestic policy, and international policies. The book then ends with some speculation about what it takes to be a great leader. It is a good read, and an easy read, and I found it to be a good introduction to these two leaders- and it left me wanting to know more, a lot more, about Reagan. I might pick up Hayward's The Age of Reagan books to continue reading more about this great man. Check out my post "Let Them Go Their Way, while The Oakland County Republican Party Holds its Convention" from 11.19.08 for more inspiration by the great Ronald Reagan.

Bill Ayers Protest Today

Today, Tuesday, March 24, Bill Ayers will be at the Oakland Center, on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, in the Gold Room. If you would like to go to the event, click on the link for the the address for Oakland University which is 2200 N. Squirrel Road, Rochester, Michigan 48309-4401, and here is a link for a map of campus.

He will be speaking from 10:00 AM- 11:45 AM about Democracy and Education. There are no tickets for the event- everyone is welcome as seating permits. His books will be sold at the event, and there is the possibility for some book signing to take place. The event is being hosted by the Oakland University Communications and Journalism department, so contact that department for more details if needed.

From the dozen or so people that have contacted me, I assume there will be several people down there- bring a sign or just show up and look for the crowd. Not sure what kind of police presence Bill will bring with him, but I wouldn't worry too much. If you are a student, unemployed, or just can get away that morning, show up and show what you think of this unrepentant terrorist and friend of Barack Obama.

Obama's War Against Us

Apparently the Situation Room, a room in the White House used for national security, is now being used by the Obama administration to plan political attacks against conservatives and Republicans. According to wikipedia:

The White House Situation Room is a 5,000-square-foot conference room and intelligence management center in the basement of the West Wing of the White House. It is run by the National Security Council staff for the use of the President of the United States and his advisers (including Homeland Security and the White House Chief of Staff) to monitor and deal with crises at home and abroad and to conduct secure communications with outside (often overseas) persons. The Situation Room is equipped with secure, advanced communications equipment for the President to maintain command and control of U.S. forces around the world.

Someone needs to update wikipedia-

The Weekly Standard reported last week that Democratic congressional candidate Scott Murphy claimed to have met with White House political operatives “in the situation room.” The White House has been non-responsive to inquiries as to whether the Situation Room--previously reserved for national security-related meetings--is now being used for political get togethers. Now we learn in today’s Washington Post that Rahm Emanuel called a group of veterans' group leaders together to discuss a budget controversy "in the Situation Room," with "Emmanuel seated in the President's chair." The article notes that the vets made a political pitch to Rahm--"We said 'look, don't give Republicans an opportunity to slam you.'"

So it seems that the Obama White House is using the Situation Room for meetings in a way no previous administration did. Such a meeting would have been held either in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, or maybe in the Roosevelt Room in the West Wing (which is where the article says Obama himself met with the veterans 48 hours earlier)--but never in the Situation Room.

Obama is at war- war with conservatives and Republican allies.

Going After AIG Could Violate Constitution Clause Prohibiting Bills of Attainder

If your high school government teacher did his/her job, you learned that the Constitution prohibits bills of attainder. A bill of attainder is an act of legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a trial. Bills of attainder are forbidden by Article I, section 9, clause 3 of the United States Constitution.

The Democrats in Congress are now upset that the money that they gave AIG was used to provide bonus' for executives, and are going to be introducing legislation in Congress soon that will target these specific executives for punishment. As Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill wrote:

Legislation Will be introduced in the next 48 hours or so that will tax these companies and the bonus recipients. The tax will be aimed at executives at companies that have received significant taxpayer assistance through the TARP funds and will recover almost all of these funds for taxpayers. I feel better. We are taking action. It’s time we right this wrong on behalf of hard working Americans everywhere.

In other words, our government is targeting persons or groups of persons, declaring them guilty of a crime (giving out a retention bonus agreed on in contracts), and punishing them by taxing them to reacquire the money that Congress gave them. Doing this, which even though I'm no lawyer, appears to violate the Constitution, makes her 'feel better.'

Things are spiraling out of control very quickly now, and you can pick virtually any clause in the Constitution, no matter how obscure, and I bet the Democrats are at work right now trying their best to violate it. I'm not happy about executives getting a bonus during these tight times, especially when they may have played negative role in their business, but I still believe in a limited government. Democrats apparently don't, and if they don't believe in those ideas in the Declaration of Independence, you have to wonder what other ideas in the Declaration do they not believe in.

More on the legality of a legislative bill that would tax the AIG executives bonus' can be found at The Heritage Foundation's website.

UPDATE: If you were expecting the Congress to respect the Constitution or the Courts to step in and make sure we are still following the Constitution, prepare to be disappointed. Apparently, contemporary legal minds trained in our top law schools now feel that the national government does have the power to single out groups of people it doesn't like and tax them money they earned in the past because it doesn't like them. For more details evaluating the legal arguments here, I direct you to The Volokh Conspiracy and this post.

Bill Ayers Event Details

As initially reported by theblogprof and RightMichigan.com, Bill Ayers is going to be coming to Michigan next week, appearing in the Oakland County area. What these websites did not provide though were the details for this event, so I would like to pass those on you so that if you wanted to show up and hear what Bill Ayers talks about, or talk to Bill Ayers about what you think of his policies or past, you can do so.

Next Tuesday, March 24, Bill Ayers will be at the Oakland Center, on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, in the Gold Room. If you would like to go to the event, click on the link for the the address for Oakland University which is 2200 N. Squirrel Road, Rochester, Michigan 48309-4401, and here is a link for a map of campus.

He will be speaking from 10:00 AM- 11:45 AM about Democracy and Education. There are no tickets for the event- everyone is welcome as seating permits. His books will be sold at the event, and there is the possibility for some book signing to take place. The event is being hosted by the Oakland University Communications and Journalism department, so contact that department for more details if needed.

From what I gather, people will be showing up to protest the event, either in the Oakland Center or around it. It is during the day, but if you are a student, unemployed, or just can get away that morning, show up and show what you think of this unrepentant terrorist and friend of Barack Obama.

What does a Political Economy look like?

As government becomes more and more involved with controlling the economy, specifically economic development, one has to wonder what this leads to. For example, Democratic Governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm recently announced that her personally controlled economic council has decided to award $28 million dollars in tax payer credits for firms and businesses that her bureaucrats like and favor. This is all deemed 'economic development', and supposedly will 'bring in' $151M and create 1,254 jobs. How does this work in reality?

In reality, these politically connected companies were were successfully able to lobby government for special insider benefits will not bring in anywhere near that amount of money or jobs. In fact, I would question whether this $28M will bring in $28M in revenue for the state- I would be willing to give fair odds that the state will lose money on these investments, and the net result will be a transfer of wealth from honest tax-paying citizens to business interests, much as you see or saw in states as diverse as Syria (now), Germany (1930's), Italy (1930's), or Iran (now).

For example, Granholm was re-elected in 2006 on the strength of promises to rebuild Michigan's economy by supporting new and dynamic environmental companies. She said that under her direction, even though she had no experience in business or investing, she would direct state funds to build new environmental industries in our state by giving tax breaks to favored companies.

Take for example the solar energy company Energy Conversion Devices in Rochester Hills. This company makes solar fuel cells, and companies like this have had tax breaks and stimulus money thrown at it in spades. And yet, they are unsuccessful- which is why they weren't getting bank loans before the government stepped in. Today Energy Conversion Devices announced that it is laying off 70 employees and closing a plant. It's business plan, its means of being successful, it's only way to restore prosperity, is to get its hands on more government money and stimulus- not to be more efficient, not to produce goods that customers want, not to make our world better- but to get its hands on my money.

This is what the future looks like in a politically directed economy- it looks like Detroit. Look at these links for the sources for this post- here, here, here, and here.

UPDATE: This is what a political economy looks like- federal stimulus money is flowing into Illinois because the President of the United States is from that state. 12% of all federal stimulus money has been sent to the politically connected state of Illinois, which is probably the highest percentage (I would guess that California gets a lot too because Pelosi is from that state, and Nevada probably got a lot too since Reid is from that state). Political connections=money in today's political economy.

Granholm- Lies, Gas Taxes, and Graduated Taxes

Months after Granholm promised to never again raise taxes on Michigan residents, admitting that the policy of raising taxes and spending that money on government projects does not create a better economy (actually, she just admitted that government taxing/spending was now at the magical proper level), she has proven herself once again to be a liar (liar: someone who is untruthful or misleads). She, like most liberals, is only true to one agenda- more government power over your life.

Two separate stories prove what happens when you support Democrats in politics- Granholm Supports Raising Gas Tax and Granholm Backs Graduated Income Tax. Now, Republicans aren't perfect and support increasing spending sometimes and debate within the party about how big the government should get. But Democrats focus always on raising taxes and increasing government. In these two stories, we see a big-government liberal Democrat Governor Granholm pushing to raise taxes on your travel and to raise taxes on you if you are more successful.

Don't be fooled by either of these taxes- Michigan's roads are poor because the state has chosen not to support them in favor of other policies (like money for seasonal workers to find homes, money for programs for minority groups, money for mansions and helicopters for the Governor, etc) and because our state supports polices that make road maintenance and construction expensive and cumbersome (sweetheart deals, living wage, etc)- not because they are 'underfunded and need more tax dollars.' Don't be fooled by the government mismanagement and corruption into giving them more money.

And don't be fooled by the proposal for a graduated income tax- the tax is not going to 'be more fair' or 'help our state be more equal' the reason the change in tax structure is being pushed is because if the government can make you envy your neighbors wealth, if the government can fool you into believing in class warfare, if the government can make you believe that just because you make less money than your neighbor you have some right to his property, than they can raise taxes on the rich. It is politically unpopular to raise taxes- but it isn't politically unpopular to raise taxes on the rich, so change from a flat tax to a progressive tax, and than it is easier for the liberal Democrats in government to raise taxes and transfer more wealth to them.

Star Wars- The Jedi Order is the Bad Guy

Once upon a time, in an apartment far, far away, I read an article that totally changed my view on Star Wars (which has been on Spike the last couple days). It is Jonathon Vast's article "The Case for Empire." Here are some excerpts-

But the truth is that from the beginning, Lucas confused the good guys with the bad. The deep lesson of Star Wars is that the Empire is good. It's a difficult leap to make--embracing Darth Vader and the Emperor over the plucky and attractive Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia--but a careful examination of the facts, sorted apart from Lucas's off-the-shelf moral cues, makes a quite convincing case....

....Like the United Nations, the Republic has no armed forces of its own, but instead relies on a group of warriors, the Jedi knights, to "keep the peace." The Jedi, while autonomous, often work in tandem with the Senate, trying to smooth over quarrels and avoid conflicts. But the Jedi number only in the thousands--they cannot protect everyone.

What's more, it's not clear that they should be "protecting" anyone. The Jedi are Lucas's great heroes, full of Zen wisdom and righteous power. They encourage people to "use the Force"--the mystical energy which is the source of their power--but the truth, revealed in "The Phantom Menace," is that the Force isn't available to the rabble. The Force comes from midi-chlorians, tiny symbiotic organisms in people's blood, like mitochondria. The Force, it turns out, is an inherited, genetic trait. If you don't have the blood, you don't get the Force. Which makes the Jedi not a democratic militia, but a royalist Swiss guard.

And an arrogant royalist Swiss guard, at that. With one or two notable exceptions, the Jedi we meet in Star Wars are full of themselves. They ignore the counsel of others (often with terrible consequences), and seem honestly to believe that they are at the center of the universe. ...

...Lucas wants the Empire to stand for evil, so he tells us that the Emperor and Darth Vader have gone over to the Dark Side and dresses them in black.

But look closer. When Palpatine is still a senator, he says, "The Republic is not what it once was. The Senate is full of greedy, squabbling delegates. There is no interest in the common good." At one point he laments that "the bureaucrats are in charge now."

Palpatine believes that the political order must be manipulated to produce peace and stability. When he mutters, "There is no civility, there is only politics," we see that at heart, he's an esoteric Straussian. ...

...Make no mistake, as emperor, Palpatine is a dictator--but a relatively benign one, like Pinochet. It's a dictatorship people can do business with. They collect taxes and patrol the skies. They try to stop organized crime (in the form of the smuggling rings run by the Hutts). The Empire has virtually no effect on the daily life of the average, law-abiding citizen.

Also, unlike the divine-right Jedi, the Empire is a meritocracy. The Empire runs academies throughout the galaxy (Han Solo begins his career at an Imperial academy), and those who show promise are promoted, often rapidly. In "The Empire Strikes Back" Captain Piett is quickly promoted to admiral when his predecessor "falls down on the job."...

...So under Imperial rule, a large group of regional potentates, each with access to a sizable army and star destroyers, runs local affairs. These governors owe their fealty to the Emperor. And once the Emperor is dead, the galaxy will be plunged into chaos.

In all of the time we spend observing the Rebel Alliance, we never hear of their governing strategy or their plans for a post-Imperial universe. All we see are plots and fighting. Their victory over the Empire doesn't liberate the galaxy--it turns the galaxy into Somalia writ large: dominated by local warlords who are answerable to no one.

Which makes the rebels--Lucas's heroes--an unimpressive crew of anarchic royals who wreck the galaxy so that Princess Leia can have her tiara back. I'll take the Empire.

Read the whole thing- it's great and there is more great arguments that will forever change your view of Star Wars.

By the way, the reason why I was thinking about Star Wars and the Empire as being the good guy was because I was really bothered by quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers that the Jedi Order appears to hold before their fall. The Jedi Order appears to be a regulatory commission, with sweeping powers and few limits, and those violates certain principles about good government that we know are essential, mainly a lack of separation of powers, little responsiveness to the popular sovereignty of the people, and no limits on their powers.

Yes, the Jedi Order is like the FCC or EPA with magical powers- able to come up with rules on what is acceptable and what isn't, able to enforce those rules, and then able to judge whether their rules were followed to their liking. Imagine a government agency with those powers, able to step in and say 'I think what you're doing isn't fair (it isn't balanced, it takes advantage of people, it isn't environmentally friendly, it hurts Ewoks), and I'm going to correct the situation and make it fair (wielding lightsabers or fountain pens or executive orders), and afterwards, punish you (fines, death by force lightening, whatever).' Yes, the Jedi Order are the bad guys.

Match the Dictate to the Dictator

Let's play a game and see if you can match the correct person to the correct government dictate. The question is, for each headline, is the person who made the announcement the President of the United States, Sudan, El Salvador, or Zimbabwe? Fill in the blank!

• "_____ rejects gov bid to use stimulus funds to pay down debt"Click here to find out.
• "_____'s president: Pull out foreign aid workers" Click here to find out.
• "______ president promises moderation" Click here to find out.
• "_____ Scolds Private Business, vows to try to block bonuses" Click here to find out.
• "_______ seeks reconciliation with opposition party" Click here to find out.
• "_______ urges everyone to just work together" Click here to find out.

At what point did our nation cease to be a republic and start being a nation of slaves ordered around by our 'democratically' elected superiors?

11 Trillion in Debt

Just a quick note- did you notice that the debt clock on my site (on the right below the archive)just passed 11 trillion in debt? That's a lot of money.

What is the Purpose of Government?

My brother missed church last Sunday, and so went online to find a good sermon to watch later that week, and found this one. It is very good and about 15 minutes long, and is about what the Bible teaches us about government in our society. The sermon makes a great point about how public schools teach students that the Bible says nothing about government, but this is incorrect. I agree, and discussions on government and politics in my class sometimes stray dangerously (for my career) close to religion at times.

Please click on this link to watch the sermon on the Purpose of Government from Coral Ridge Ministries.

Corruption, Thy Name is Democrat

According to the AP, significant amounts of the $410 billion federal spending package that Democrats wrote and Democrat President Obama signed into law is going to help preserve the legacy of the Kennedy's.

This spending bill, passed to 'stimulate the economy' and paid for entirely by future generations, the bill includes $5.8 million for the planning and design of a building to house a new Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate. It is unclear exactly what public functions this building provides, or why it is named after the still living Senator. The funding may also help support an endowment for the institute, and it unclear what the endowment will be spent on.

The bill also includes further corruption and kickbacks to government officials with hard earned taxpayer money- there is $22 million to expand facilities at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum and $5 million more for a new gateway for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a park system in downtown Boston. It is unclear why the JFK Library & Museum needs more money, especially more so than other Presidential libraries and museums, and it is unclear why a new gateway must be built now, when times are hard and money is tight, for a park system.

This is what happens when you elect Democrats- Republicans might waste money and big big spenders, Republicans might disappoint you and run up debts too- but Democrats use your money to build temples to themselves and their families, and commit outright corruption.

President Barack Obama signed the bill, describing it as imperfect, and saying that this is going to be an "end to the old way of doing business." The old way of doing business was to use taxpayer money more wisely, or at least try to hide corruption- the new way, the change that everyone voted for, is to openly commit corruption and run up massive debts.

In two years, you personally can make a difference by voting out these corrupt Democrat legislators- two years after that, you will have a chance to get rid of the grand marshal of this corruption parade. Don't forget that.

Words of Wisdom from a Public Education Business Teacher: Corporations are Sick and Business Leaders are Sociopaths

Today as I was strolling down the hall during my prep hour, I happened to walk by the classroom where business was being taught and overhear some of the lecture from our business teacher. Apparently the students had just finished watching the movie Corporate, which is about how businesses are sick and twisted and try to take advantage of average people by selling them harmful products and making lots of money on them out of pure greed. This passes for an educational film in public schools.

The film was useful in that it sparked some discussion with the students, and I eagerly listened to the discussion that the students and teacher engaged in. When I pose critical thinking questions to students, or ask them for their impressions of movies and videos that we have seen, I try to find out what the students thought, and like Plato, ask question after question of them to refine their ideas, get them to think deeper, and become more learned students. But I'm different than most public education teachers, especially the liberal ones- when they engage in discussion with students, it is a chance for them to bully students into adopting their worldview and positions on issues.

This discussion was like that. Many students felt that the film was too cynical and portrayed corporations in an unfair manner- many of these students worked for corporations or had parents who worked for corporations, and felt that the one-sided portrayal of a big corporation as sick wasn't right. But the business teacher disagreed.

The liberal business teacher in public education said that people in business, especially the successful ones, were sociopaths. Wikipedia defines a sociopath as someone who has antisocial personality disorder:

The essential feature for the diagnosis is a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood. Deceit and manipulation are considered essential features of the disorder.

According to our business teacher, every single person in business, especially the successful ones, have a pervasive disregard for the rights of others, and rely on deceit and manipulation of others to sell their products. These impressionable youths are sitting in this classroom listening to a person of authority tell them that without a doubt, every person in business, especially those who are good at getting a product to a consumer that they want at an efficient price, are bad people.

What will these students do someday when they vote? What will these students believe about the marketplace, about capitalism, about supply/demand, and about public policies that deal with these issues? What kind of a pervasive influence will this type of teaching have on the future of our nation?

Barack Obama - Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

Forgive me if you feel this post puts me in the company of the usual liberal fever swamp, and I really hope this doesn't come off as me passing on a crazy conspiracy, but one of my students emailed me the following material, and I read it over, thought about it, and ran it by some of my friends, including one who is a trained psychologist, and although we all agreed it is impossible to really diagnose someone without sitting down with them at length and knowing them personally, as an outside observer looking in, there is a suggestion or hint that our President, Barack Obama, might be suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Go down the checklist- the Diagnostic Criteria for 301.81 Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

1. a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
2. preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
3. believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
4. requires excessive admiration
5. has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
6. is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
7. lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
8. is often envious of others or the that others are envious of him or her
9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes

Now, I know what you are thinking- all politicians can be described in such a way. I don't think so- I think the difference is clinical. Dr. Sam Vaknin, Ph.D, author and doctor studying in narcissism, has made the following diagnosis:

Barack Obama appears to be a narcissist. Granted, only a qualified mental health diagnostician can determine whether someone suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) and this, following lengthy tests and personal interviews. But, in the absence of access to Barack Obama, one has to rely on his overt performance and on testimonies by his closest, nearest and dearest.Narcissistic leaders are nefarious and their effects pernicious. They are subtle, refined, socially-adept, manipulative, possessed of thespian skills, and convincing. Both types equally lack empathy and are ruthless and relentless or driven.

According to Dr. Vaknin, Obama's behavior, upbringing, and body language all point to NPD. For example, he points out that Obama:

• Feels that he is above the law, including and especially his own laws.
• Talks about himself in the 3rd person singular or uses the regal "we" and craves to be the exclusive center of attention, even adulation
• Has a messianic-cosmic vision of himself and his life and his "mission"
• Sets ever more complex rules in his convoluted world of grandiose fantasies with its own language (jargon)
• Displays false modesty and unctuous "folksiness" but is unable to sustain these behaviors (the persona, or mask) for long. It slips and the true Obama is revealed:
  haughty, aloof, distant, and disdainful of simple folk and their lives.
• Sublimates aggression and holds grudges.
• Behaves as an eternal adolescent (e.g., his choice of language, youthful image he projects, demands indulgence, and feels entitled to special treatment, even though his objective accomplishments do not justify it).

This is not to imply in any way that Obama is a bad person because he might have NPD, as Dr. Vaknin puts it:

Narcissism is a defense mechanism whose role is to deflect hurt and trauma from the victim's "True Self" into a "False Self" which is omnipotent, invulnerable, and omniscient. This False Self is then used by the narcissist to garner narcissistic supply from his human environment. Narcissistic supply is any form of attention, both positive and negative and it is instrumental in the regulation of the narcissist's labile sense of self-worth.

But the narcissists are not totally able to hide their nature- according to Dr. Vaknin, they emit subtle, almost subliminal, signals called "presenting symptoms" even in a first or casual encounter. Think about Obama and his body language during his public appearances- do you see these things?

• "Haughty" body language – The narcissist adopts a physical posture which implies and exudes an air of superiority, seniority, hidden powers, mysteriousness, amused indifference, etc. Though the narcissist usually maintains sustained and piercing eye contact, he often refrains from physical proximity (he is "territorial").The narcissist takes part in social interactions – even mere banter – condescendingly, from a position of supremacy and faux "magnanimity and largesse". But he rarely mingles socially and prefers to emain the "observer", or the "lone wolf".
• Entitlement markers – The narcissist immediately asks for "special treatment" of some kind. Not to wait his turn, to have a longer or a shorter therapeutic session, to talk directly to authority figures (and not to their assistants or secretaries), to be granted special payment terms, to enjoy custom tailored arrangements - or to get served first.
• Narcissists are polite only in the presence of a potential Supply Source. But they are unable to sustain even perfunctory civility and fast deteriorate to barbs and thinly-veiled hostility, to verbal or other violent displays of abuse, rage attacks, or cold detachment.
• The "membership" posture – The narcissist always tries to "belong". Yet, at the very same time, he maintains his stance as an outsider. The narcissist seeks to be admired for his ability to integrate and ingratiate himself without investing the efforts commensurate with such an undertaking.
• Bragging and false autobiography – The narcissist brags incessantly. His speech is peppered with "I", "my", "myself", and "mine". He describes himself is intelligent, or rich, or modest, or intuitive, or creative – but always excessively, implausibly, and extraordinarily so.The narcissist's biography sounds unusually rich and complex. His achievements – incommensurate with his age, education, or renown. Yet, his actual condition is evidently and demonstrably incompatible with his claims. Very often, the narcissist lies or his fantasies are easily discernible. He always name-drops and appropriates other people's experiences and accomplishments.
• Emotion-free language– The narcissist likes to talk about himself and only about himself. He is not interested in others or what they have to say, unless they constitute potential Sources of Supply and in order to obtain said supply. He acts bored, disdainful, even angry, if he feels that they are intruding on his precious time and, thus, abusing him.
• Seriousness and sense of intrusion and coercion – The narcissist is dead serious about himself. He may possess a subtle, wry, and riotous sense of humor, scathing and cynical, but rarely is he self-deprecating. The narcissist regards himself as being on a constant mission, whose importance is cosmic and whose consequences are global. If a scientist – he is always in the throes of revolutionizing science. If a journalist – he is in the middle of the greatest story ever. If a novelist - he is on his way to a Booker or Nobel prize.This self-misperception is not amenable to light-headedness or self-effacement. The narcissist is easily hurt and insulted (narcissistic injury). Even the most innocuous remarks or acts are interpreted by him as belittling, intruding, or coercive. His time is more valuable than others' – therefore, it cannot be wasted on unimportant matters such as mere banter or going out for a walk.
• The narcissistic leader is a monstrously inverted Jesus, sacrificing his life and denying himself so that his people - or humanity at large - should benefit. By surpassing and suppressing his humanity, the narcissistic leader became a distorted version of Nietzsche's "superman".
• Narcissistic leadership is about reproduced copies, not about originals. It is about the manipulation of symbols - not about veritable atavism or true conservatism.
• In short: narcissistic leadership is about theatre, not about life. To enjoy the spectacle (and be subsumed by it), the leader demands the suspension of judgment, depersonalization, and de-realization. Catharsis is tantamount, in this narcissistic dramaturgy, to self-annulment.Narcissism is nihilistic not only operationally, or ideologically. Its very language and narratives are nihilistic. Narcissism is conspicuous nihilism - and the cult's leader serves as a role model, annihilating the Man, only to re-appear as a pre-ordained and irresistible force of nature.
• The narcissistic leader prefers the sparkle and glamour of well-orchestrated illusions to the tedium and method of real accomplishments. His reign is all smoke and mirrors, devoid of substances, consisting of mere appearances and mass delusions.
• In the aftermath of his regime - the narcissistic leader having died, been deposed, or voted out of office - it all unravels. The tireless and constant prestidigitation ceases and the entire edifice crumbles. What looked like an economic miracle turns out to have been a fraud-laced bubble. Loosely-held empires disintegrate. Laboriously assembled business conglomerates go to pieces. "Earth shattering" and "revolutionary" scientific discoveries and theories are discredited. Social experiments end in mayhem.

Now, every President has his issues- Bush had a group think going, Clinton was kind of antisocial, etc- but I don't think we have ever had a President who may potentially have a narcissistic personality disorder. It could be bad for our nation.

Read the whole article by Dr. Vankin here.

Concerned about spinning scandals, grabbing perks and racial issues

The title of this post is from an article in the Detroit News today about former Mayor of Detroit, Democrat Kwame Kilpatrick. Here is some more from that article:

According to text messages released Monday... sent on city-owned pagers, provide a window into how Kilpatrick ran his administration, revealing that he and his appointees and relatives were concerned about spinning scandals, grabbing perks and racial issues.

"There was a culture of corruption that started at the top and permeated down throughout the administration, through every department," Brown said. "There was a sense of entitlement like nothing I've ever seen."

The article goes on to talk about Kwame's perks of the jobs, including new cars, and about how Kwame viewed government, strong executive-weak legislative, about how he used race often, and how he tried to spin every bad event to gain more power for himself. There is another good article in the Detroit News today commenting about these events by Laura Berman:

But these newly released text messages also are a course in American civics, a study of a political leader captured in all his human complexity and moral vapidity. In 682 pages, SkyTel's court-released window into the promise, and failure, of Kwame Kilpatrick's administration is a primer on the normally hidden workings of power. It might as well be titled, "By Any Means Necessary."

Take a jaunt through the detritus of a disgraced mayoral administration, and you see a charismatic, intelligent, passionate, funny, life-embracing leader who swallowed his mother's Kool-Aid by the gallon.

"Leadership is a B," Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick texts, in May 2003. "But the rewards make the challenge worth our commitment to our God and our people. YOU ARE CHOSEN."

Process isn't on the table: The question, sometimes spoken, is how can Kilpatrick and his top aide, Christine Beatty, fire the cop, transfer the aide, kill the newspaper story -- do what they want to do.

That sense of calling isn't weighted, in any visible way, by any real values. He's a pleaser -- a man who gives people what they want, gives them the Kilpatrick they want. If he soul-searches, questions his own morality, wonders about right and wrong, none of it shows up.

If he ever entertains moral doubts, or feels shame, or questions any of the political decisions he and his staff makes, there is little evidence of it on the SkyTel pager record. Is he all energy, charisma, and drive, an attention-deficit-disordered mayor on a mission from God?

These articles are about the liberal African-American Democrat Kwame Kilpatrick, but I have a feeling they could describe another politician we have out there, one who also is "concerned about spinning scandals, grabbing perks, and racial issues.' This is about how the person goes about their business, how they operate- and it is not just Kwame who 'gives people what they want' and operates using the motto 'By Any Means Necessary.' There is another major politician in our country who feels that he is on a mission from God, that he is the chosen one, that he is the change and hope that we need.

These articles about liberal Democrat Kwame Kilpatrick remind me of liberal Democrat Barack Obama. I wonder what sort of 'a study of a political leader' we would get if we took a look at Obama's Blackberry- would it be of a leader of deep moral convictions, concern that his own actions might be causing harm, discussing history, civics, and economics, or would it too capture a politician 'in all his human complexity and moral vapidity' operating under the motto “Never let a serious crisis go to waste …"

Don't Blame Us, We're Incompetent!

Powerline blog has a great post up today- Don't Blame Us, We're Incompetent!

We devoted almost all of our radio show today to the Obama administration's recent foreign policy stumbles--in particular, Hillary Clinton's European apology tour and President Obama's mysteriously insulting treatment of Prime Minister Gordon Brown. We speculated about whether Obama's treatment of Brown was calculated disrespect, or whether the administration simply doesn't know how to host the Prime Minister of our most important ally on a state visit to Washington.

The White House, evidently stung by negative reaction in Great Britain, is now telling the British that the insult to Brown was inadvertent, the problem being that President Obama is "overwhelmed" by his job: Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been "overwhelmed" by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest.

British officials, meanwhile, admit that the White House and US State Department staff were utterly bemused by complaints that the Prime Minister should have been granted full-blown press conference and a formal dinner, as has been customary. They concede that Obama aides seemed unfamiliar with the expectations that surround a major visit by a British prime minister.

But Washington figures with access to Mr Obama's inner circle explained the slight by saying that those high up in the administration have had little time to deal with international matters, let alone the diplomatic niceties of the special elationship.

Allies of Mr Obama say his weary appearance in the Oval Office with Mr Brown illustrates the strain he is now under, and the president's surprise at the sheer volume of business that crosses his desk. A well-connected Washington figure, who is close to members of Mr Obama's inner circle, expressed concern that Mr Obama had failed so far to "even fake an interest in foreign policy".

Where to begin? Obama, after two years of expressing smug contempt for the Bush administration, is "surprised at the sheer volume" of work the President has to do. And he's too tired to deal competently with one of the most important foreign officials he will meet during his term in office. So: maybe he should cut down on the late-night White House partying? And why in the world does the White House--let alone the State Department!--not have someone who is "[familiar] with the expectations that surround a major visit by a British prime minister?" If true, this is rank incompetence.

To some extent, the Brown fiasco might be attributed to Obama's failure to "even fake an interest in foreign policy." (Just think, by the way, how much work he will have to do when he realizes that as President, he has to deal with both domestic and foreign policy!) But I'm not sure that's the whole explanation.

The Telegraph's story contains this suggestion that Obama's slight of the British Prime Minister may have been intentional, at least in part: The real views of many in Obama administration were laid bare by a State Department official involved in planning the Brown visit, who reacted with fury when questioned by The Sunday Telegraph about why the event was so low-key. The official dismissed any notion of the special relationship, saying: "There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment."

So: was the Brown fiasco intentional, or was it the result of Obama administration incompetence? Or a combination of the two? Most likely, I think, the latter.

There are a lot of things going on in my household right now, and we've been up late at night too- my wife suggests that because of her lack of sleep, she should be forgiven for any major policy blunders or international incidents she causes. I told her that excuse won't fly in this house, even if it flies in the White House.

A word of advice to President Obama- take some more vacations, exercise a bit more, and delegate authority better- you might make less mistakes then. To be fair though- you'll be called lazy and incompetent by liberal Democrats like you if you do that.

The First Commandment

In Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments are listed- how well do you know them? To be honest, I had a vague understanding of them, but had never really read them and thought about them before. One that really got me thinking was the First Commandment:

And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

In my view, this commandment is fairly easy to understand- believe in God, believe in his power, and worship him and no other gods. Not only that, one should also refuse to 'worship' other things- money, sex, success, beauty, status, etc. Also, this commandment further prohibits one from holding false beliefs about God- in other words, don't believe in a false or incorrect God.

As a conservative teacher, I am surprised at how far our schools and our society has strayed from this simple commandment. Most public schools teach students to worship reason and logic, and they teach students to not worship God. Schools are increasingly becoming anti-God, and are finding new ways to prevent students and staff from worshipping him in order to follow some perverted interpretation of the 1st Amendment.

Schools and society increasingly promotes worship of a new God- Mother Earth. The increasingly worship of this God, increasingly at odds with the God of the Bible and Christians, is a shocking breach of the 1st Commandment. Ask yourself- would you rather work on the Sabbath or envy your neighbors goods, or recycle and buy a hybrid? Which commandments do you follow more closely- which God do you believe in more- the God of the Bible or Mother Earth? What God to you believe in more, which God's rules do you stick the most closely too, which God to you sacrifice the most to, which God do you look to for the future, and which God's learning's do you learn about- Mother Earth or the God of the Bible?

Schools and the larger society are increasingly breaking this commandment, and that bothers me, because if you don't believe in God, and if you don't worship him and follow his rules, what is next? Worshipping false gods (politicians, athletes, celebrities)? Murder (abortion)? Adultery (skyrocketing divorce rates)? Theft (raising tax rates)? False witness (perjury, lying, half-truths)? Coveting neighbors property (redistribution of property)? The failure to follow the first commandment is a sign that our society is not going to follow the other commandments.

A moral society is a just one, and we are losing our morality- we are attacking our morality, and it all begins with worshipping of other gods.

Geithner on Indonesia 1997-1998

Via Belmont Club comes this post about Obama's Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner. Before he took over destroying our economy, one of his former jobs in the Department of Treasury was to help write the International Monetary Fund program for Indonesia back in 1997-98. As he is one of Obama's 'intellectuals,' he wrote this program by applying modern day thinking to the capital account crisis that Indonesia found itself under.

How well did that work out for Indonesia? The end result was the biggest the utter destruction of Indonesia's economy- using Geithner's ideas and leadership, Indonesia set the record for the biggest fall in GDP in the 20th century.

The article in the Sydney Morning Herald goes on to further say that the failures of the IMF with Indonesia led China to build up vast reserves of money so that they'd never have to rely on the IMF, which has led to our current crisis in capital markets.

So the policies that Obama supports, the policies that our Treasury Secretary supports, have in a lot of ways done more harm than good in the world.

Barack Obama's Wagyu Steaks

Is it me, or has anyone else noticed the large number of stories in the media about Obama and his family living it up on the taxpayer time? Obama bought new limo's, wanted new helicoptors, redecorated the White House, etc. His wife was on TV yesterday talking about her new dresses and new arms (gym membership and personal trainer). And it seems like every week he is throwing another party or benifit, dancing in a new tuxedo at some fancy event. And then I came across this story.

The President hosted a cocktail party last month, to celebrate Obama's victory, and served steak to the assembled liberal Democrats in attendence. Pretty innoncent stuff. The man deserves a good steak- he is President after all, and nothing satisfies a man like an American-corn fed cow from the Midwest, cooked up perfectly. Sadly, this man doesn't eat that- he eats Wagyu steak, from Japan, that costs $100 a pound and is flown in (using jet fuel) from overseas:

Obama celebrates the House passage of the economic stimulus bill by holding an outrageously expensive dinner party. When you are re-distributing the most wealth in history why not celebrate in style. And so they do. Obama is serving Wagyu steak to House and Senate leaders.

What is Wagyu steak you might ask? The reason you might ask is that likely you have never seen it. It can cost $100 a serving. That is likely to be beyond the average person's budget. But Obama and our top legislators, showing they really don't have a clue about how the average person lives, feast on Wagyu steak after passing the largest spending bill in history. Apparently when they are spending tax payer money, budget is not on their minds.

Wagyu steak comes from Wagyu cattle and is from Japan. It is expensive because these cattle live a pampered life until they are butchered. They are fed well and given beer and daily massages to help keep them happy and hungry even in the heat of summer. They also receive rub downs with Saki, Japanese rice wine, to keep their hides soft. The meat is well marbled with soft flavorful fat.

In a time of economic crises one would think Obama and the legislators would have more sense. Are these legislators that are feasting on outrageously priced steaks the same that berated the auto company executives for their excesses in flying corporate jets to testify before Congress? Why are they not held to a similar accounting.

What's wrong with them eating good old fashioned Angus beef? I've had great steaks for $15. Of course, I had to pay for it myself.

UPDATE: While I was writing this post, I saw that today Obama surprised his daughters with a new swing set- isn't that nice? He is living it up and personally getting a lot of benifits from being President.

Obama Sacrifices Funding for Yucca Mountain to Green Gods

Via Steve Sailer's blog comes this interesting piece of information- in spite of the fact that Obama's budget spends billions of dollars on all sorts of frivolous projects and unimportant items, it does manage to make some important cuts- to the future of nuclear power in our nation.

Yes, the record-setting budget that raised levels of government spending in every category by mind-boggling amounts actually cut funding for Yucca Mountain. Now, I'm not a big fan of the government providing subsidies of this sort to energy companies, but since it is virtually impossible to dispose of nuclear waste just anywhere because of government regulations, it is only reasonable that government help out by creating a safe (environmentally and from theft or attack) storage facility. And that's just what the government has been up to, spending billions developing a nuclear waste storage facility in Yucca Mountain, Nevada. This facility would have enabled nuclear power to grow and provide more safe, clean, reliable, US produced power.

Sadly, the green gods demanded its sacrifice, and Obama bowed to their demands:

The program, Obama's new budget states, "will be scaled back to those costs necessary to answer inquiries from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission while the administration devises a new strategy toward nuclear waste disposal." That's bureaucratese for "Yucca Mountain is dead." ... In shuttering Yucca Mountain, Obama makes it extremely likely that nuclear power in the United States will continue its long, slow, and extremely unwelcome death.

This article was a source for this information.

A Closer Look at Obama's Budget

Over at The Corner at National Review, some perceptive observations are made about Obama's budget-

1) Remember the President stating his budget "identified $2 trillion in savings over the next decade?" It actually increases spending by $1 trillion. But he classifies as "savings" $1.4 trillion in tax increases (apparently savings for the government, not for you) and $1.5 trillion "saved" in Iraq relative to a fantasy baseline that otherwise assumes current spending levels forever. The Iraq gimmick is the equivalent of a family deciding to "save" $10,000 by first assuming an expensive vacation and then not taking it.

2) Real federal spending per household — $24,000 before the recession — would reach $33,000 per household by 2019. Between 2008 and 2013, the $5.7 trillion in new debt will come to $48,000 per household.

3) It is easy to "cut the deficit in half" after you've quadrupled it. Furthermore, three upcoming developments — the end of the recession, troop pullout in Iraq, and phase-out of the supposedly-temporary "stimulus" spending — would, by themselves, cut the 2013 budget deficit in half. President Bush was slammed for averaging $300 billion budget deficits while funding a war. President Obama will be praised for running $500 billion deficits in 2013 at a time of (assumed) peace and prosperity.

4) The President's budget proposes a new PAYGO law — and then violates it by $3.4 trillion.

5) The tax increases are staggering. The President would raise taxes by $1 trillion on the top 2.5 million tax filers. That comes to $400,000 per tax filer over ten years. And despite these harsh tax hikes (and a $646 billion cap-and-trade tax hike), the President's rosy budget assumes a much faster economic recovery than CBO or the Blue Chip Consensus.

This research was put together by Brian Riedl, Grover M. Hermann Fellow in Federal Budgetary Affairs in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation.

Exodus 16

Although I have no training in Bible interpretation, please permit me to take a stab at it and express my thoughts after reading reading Exodus 16. In Exodus 16, God has led the people of Israel to freedom, and provided them with the prosperity (mana, meat, bread, water, etc) that they need. He has led protected them from enemies abroad (Egypt), and protected the lives of his people (plagues, death of firstborn, etc). And in spite of everything that God has done, a good number of the people still want more, still refuse to believe, still cry out for change, still hope for something better, and still worship false idols.

After reading this passage, I couldn't help but reflect on what is happening in our nation today. My earlier post highlighted a comic named Louis C.K. who's routine is to point out that America has it so great, and keeps complaining and voting for people who promise change. My other post from Thomas Sowell: A Fatal Trajectory pointed out that no one could have ever expected so great a nation as this to rise, but it did, and it is indeed incredible how free, prosperous, and happy the Lord has made his chosen people. But in spite of how good it is today in America- when people have multiple TV's, several nice cars, houses, cable, cell phones, air conditioning and heat, and every possible appliance that they could want- people still demand more.

Even though the Lord has given us a system that makes us all rich beyond our wildest dreams, happy and wealthy beyond the dreams of billions of others who live in poverty and tyranny, we still want more- we still refuse to believe in the Lord, we ban him from our schools, we trash him and his beliefs in the media and politics, we worship Earth goddesses and men (Obama), and we bitterly complain about how bad it is in America and how we need to kill Moses (America) and his God (Constitution) and go back to Egypt (Europe).

Truly, I feel that ours is a nation of chosen people, a shining city on a hill, a beacon for other nations to follow, and I am thankful for that, and hope that others are as well. Please re-read Exodus 16 right now, and ask yourself- are you one of those who followed Moses and believed, or are you one of the doubters among the chosen people of God?

Thomas Sowell: A Fatal Trajectory

The great Thomas Sowell recently penned this article- here are the best parts-

First of all, the day-to-day life of most Americans in these times is nowhere near as dire as that of the band of cold, ragged and hungry men who gathered around George Washington in the winter at Valley Forge, to which they had been driven by defeat after defeat. Only the most reckless gambler would have bet on them to win. Only an optimist would have expected them to survive.

In another sense, however, looming ahead of us-- and our children and their children-- are dangers that can utterly destroy American society. Worse yet, there are moral corrosion's within ourselves that weaken our ability to face the challenges ahead.

It took only two nuclear bombs to get Japan to surrender-- and the Japanese of that era were far tougher than most Americans today. Just one bomb-- dropped on New York, Chicago or Los Angeles-- might be enough to get us to surrender. If we are still made of sterner stuff than it looks like, then it might take two or maybe even three or four nuclear bombs, but we will surrender.

It doesn't matter if we retaliate and kill millions of innocent Iranian civilians-- at least it will not matter to the fanatics in charge of Iran or the fanatics in charge of the international terrorist organizations that Iran supplies. Ultimately, it all comes down to who is willing to die and who is not.

How did we get to this point? It was no single thing. The dumbing down of our education, the undermining of moral values with the fad of "non-judgmental" affectations, the denigration of our nation through poisonous propaganda from the movies to the universities. The list goes on and on.

The trajectory of our course leads to a fate that would fully justify despair. The only saving grace is that even the trajectory of a bullet can be changed by the wind. Over the years, we have had our share of miraculous deliverance's. But that our fate today depends on yet another miracle is what can turn pessimism to despair.

In a more practical sense, I would say that our fate today depends on more than just hope and change- we've tried that charlatan's approach, and it is making our country worse. Rather, our fate today depends on rediscovering the past- the political values, the moral values, and the religious values that our founding fathers built our nation on and that helped it rise to its glory and prosperity today.

Our fate today depends on us electing conservatives and libertarians, who are found almost exclusively within the Republican Party, and so our fate today depends on us voting for the right Republicans in the primary elections and supporting the broader party in the general elections.

And our fate comes on changing our educational system- the KGB or Communists long ago decided the best way to destroy America was through "cultural warfare" and have been quite successful in their aims (although I'm not sure if it is purposeful today- do socialists really want to destroy America or are they just on a robotic Terminator auto-pilot and are the too dumb to see the effects?). You need to put pressure on your school boards, put pressure on your elected representatives, and put pressure on your school administration and teachers to teach your children the correct material. Read the history books of your children, read their child's environmental textbooks, and talk to and listen to your children when they tell you about their teachers and education. We need to change the educational establishment, or else all else fails.

Louis C.K.

Louis C.K is a pretty funny comic, and this clip is funny- the guy mocks how the fact that we have it so good and all we want to do is change- this really isn't a political comedy routine, but it is pretty funny. Copy and paste the link to enjoy-
http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2009/02/so_amazing_but.php