Big government and the bankrupting of America

Cronyism and the re-shaping of America
The radical explosion of government at the expense of the people

Fact-based quote:

Since the beginning of the recession (roughly January 2008), some 7.9 million jobs were lost in the private sector while 590,000 jobs were gained in the public one. And since the passage of the stimulus bill (February 2009), over 2.6 million private jobs were lost, but the government workforce grew by 400,000.

I will leave it up to you to draw conclusions.

Think about it -- with real honesty, for a moment.

Alex Lightman:

After researching the issue carefully and interviewing people in a position to know, I can now reveal that the current primary purpose of the United State government is to bankrupt the United States. It comes as a relief to know this. So many things now make sense.

Occam's Razor and all that. If the current government had taken as its primary course the destruction of America, could it have done a better job? Hmmm... [Hat tip: Glenn Reynolds, here and here.]

To your prayers, friends. To your prayers.

Massive blood on the hands of self-righteous activists

Goo-goo genocidaires

Walter Russell Mead turns the spotlight on unreflective activists and moral relativists, showing a portion of the the overwhelming guilt they bear, tens of millions of innocents dead because of their so-called virtue.

Of all the mass murderers, genocidaires and enablers of the twentieth century, one group of collaborators does not get its fair share of condemnation and moral loathing. Unfortunately Americans have never really come to terms with the terrible things they did, we have never really named and shamed them, and we have never diagnosed and exposed the bad ideas that led to some of America’s most fateful and costly blunders. Until we do, our society is at risk of repeating these errors. The people I have in mind are the ‘goo-goo genocidaires,’ the willfully blind reformers, civil society activists, clergy, students and others whose foolishness and ignorance was a necessary condition for tens of millions of deaths in the last hundred years. Unreflective, self-righteous ‘activists’ thought that to espouse peace was the same thing as to create or safeguard it. As a result, tens of millions died.

Read it all here. Hat tip, Glenn Reynolds. Thanks, Glenn.

Read and consider. Be honest about what has gone on with a wide swath of peace proponents in this country -- exactly what they have enabled in history, and whom they are enabling as we speak. Be wise. Be convicted. Repent.

Save the future from repeated false destruction.

Selah.

A faithtful look at recovery

Recovery or renewal?

Brian McLaren raises a serious point: in all our discussions of 'economic recovery,' just what are we trying to recover? Are we merely trying to go back to an unconstrained, greedy mentality? If so, recovery is idolatry. And it will not succeed long term.

For many people, economic recovery means getting back to where we were a few months or years ago. That means recovering our consumptive, greedy, unrestrained, undisciplined, irresponsible, and ecologically and socially unsustainable way of life. I'd like to suggest another kind of recovery, drawing from the world of addiction. When an addict gets into recovery, he doesn't want to go back and recover the "high" he had before, or even to recover the conditions he had before he began using drugs and alcohol. Instead, he wants to move forward to a new way of life---a wiser way of life that takes into account his experience of addiction. He realizes that his addiction to drugs was a symptom of other deeper issues and diseases in his life---unresolved pain or anger, the need to anesthetize painful emotions, lack of creativity in finding ways to feel happy and alive, unaddressed relational and spiritual deficits, lack of self-awareness, and so on.

Similarly, I'd like to suggest whenever we hear the word "recovery," we as a nation see it not as a call to get back our old addictive high, but rather as a call to face our corporate and personal addictions...

Important words.

A believing person has an obligation to stand up and be counted whenever s/he sees agendas and actions that will destroy the nation -- whether economics or politics or metaphysics --; however, believers also have an obligation not to accept terms of 'recovery' that refuse to acknowledge the responsibility of life before God.

All of life is spiritual if God exists.

Therefore all our answers must be spiritual in nature, giving clear account before God, never allowing ourselves to say, 'Oh, this is just politics,' or 'this is just economics.'

Selah.

Attempted graft in the 700 B bailout plan

Jim Lindgren comments on the graft embedded in the proposed bailout plan:

Much of the blogosphere is up in arms because of the provision in Senator Dodd’s financial bailout bill that might funnel profits from the bailout plan to ACORN Housing (related to the disreputable activist group ACORN), and other more reputable service organizations.

I have read Dodd’s proposed statute and in some respects, it is far worse than has been reported. Senator Dodd has placed a loophole in the bill that is explicitly designed to siphon off tens or hundreds of billions of dollars to the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund even if there are no net profits in the $700 billion venture.

Glenn Reynolds comments:

You know, it would be easier for me to believe this was a crisis, if the people in charge were acting like it was a crisis, instead of just an opportunity for graft. Then again, to some of these people, everything is just an opportunity for graft.

Indeed. This is just so sad -- the country is in trouble, and congressional Democrats subtly place deceptive loopholes in the bailout bill... loopholes that will enrich key constituents, even without eventual net profits for the package; in other words, siphoning off money intended to help the country survive this recent crisis, and using these millions [billions] of dollars to ensure political clout [and stuffed ballot boxes via ACORN, etc.], at direct taxpayer expense. Unbelievable. Itemized here, and here.

It's unconscionable. Full credit should go to John McCain and John Boehner for stopping this blatant attempt at robbery. Thank God McCain suspended his campaign to put country first -- he just saved billions from being skimmed off by unscrupulous politicians. Note: Financial Services ranking member Spencer Bachus said that McCain "turned the negotians around" in 48 hours. And Boehner received a standing ovation in a GOP conference meeting, this morning. You won't hear about that on evening news or newswires!

Thanks to Jim Lindgren for the scoop, and hat tip to Glenn.

Note: Further reading:

• Wall Street Journal, Re-Seeding the Housing Mess.
• And, John Boehner, Dems Want to Reward Scandal-Tarnished "Community Organizing" Group in Economic Rescue Bill.

Paragraph Farmer: Standing strong on the ramparts

While I was jetting coast to coast and then driving everywhere in between [slight hyperbole, but truth in there somewhere, lol] Patrick O'Hannigan over at Paragraph Farmer was busy, penning a a gentle critique of Obama's operative hermeneutic.

If you are of an intellectual bent, and are so inclined, jump over to his blog and read the article. It won't waste your time! And definitely a patriotic thing to do today, in case you're short of ideas... :-)

Happy Fourth!

The ongoing legacy of socialism

Dostoevsky once remarked, "Socialism is atheism." A person must track with his intellect in order to understand the power behind that statement, of course... but without question the statement reflects sound logic and an incisive historical view. The current century sadly proves the prophetic value of that utterance, in the ongoing human devastation via the children of socialism. Molech isn't full, by half. Joe Huffman makes a marked point that Hitler's crimes pale in comparison by what has been and is now being wrought by socialism: a false belief system forever making common cause with the destruction of civilization and democracy -- an inveterate hatred of the life-saving ephemeral architectures of Judeo-Christian tradition.

Selah.

Global food prices rising: starvation looms, riots ensue

Austin Bay talks of the food crisis, and implies that the factors involved are more complex than a simplistic reliance upon ethanol. So I offer his thoughts [Food Crisis and Starvation: The Maze of Maize] to balance my previous post highlighting the green rape of poor people.

I agree that the factors are more complex than simple green doctrine alone. However, I stand by my statement that the consequences of such green doctrine are yet to be counted, to the detriment of the poor of the world, and potentially, the environment, too.

To quote John at Powerline:

One fundamental issue, maybe the most important one, is that most governments can't resist meddling in the farm economy. Ethanol is also a big part of the problem. Whatever you think of ethanol--and lots of people here in the Midwest think it's terrific, especially for the local economy--it's hard to avoid the conclusion that we picked a bad time to start burning a big chunk of our biggest crop.

Apt words.

An addendum from Dana H., commentator at Austin Bay blog:

I hope people realize that this is what happens when green chickens come home to roost. Biofuel subsidies are an obvious and immediate cause of higher food prices. But one reason oil is so expensive (which in turn makes food expensive) is environmental restrictions on exploration (e.g., ANWR) and extraction (e.g., the California coast). Nuclear power, which could substitute for oil-burning plants thereby driving down demand for oil, has been all but regulated out of existence (at least in the US). It’s probably a much more minor effect, but green regulations have also stymied any increase in hydroelectric power, and have even caused dams to be destroyed.

Thought provoking, and in line with my assertion that we have yet to pay the piper for the long-term results of green doctrine: a cure which might dramatically trump the disease, in terms of its detriment on human life.

Right now, the people paying the steepest price for green doctrine [and other catalysts] are the poorest people of our planet. Consider: How many additional African orphans will die this year because of comfortable, environmentally chic mantras in America?

Thanks for caring.

Selah.

Greatest line of the day

Imagine James Dobson in Birkenstock's & a ponytail

David Kopel looks at BHO and HRC trying to woo gun owners, and riffs on the irony:

Imagine an election race of Pat Robertson versus James Dobson, each of them appearing at organic grocery stores and Starbucks throughout Massachusetts, with each candidate insisting that he alone deserves the vote of gay-marriage advocates. An equally silly spectacle is taking place these days in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky, as Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama compete for the pro-gun vote.

Read it all, it's rich.

Don't miss the detailing of Obama's seamless anti-gun record compared to his current words -- and this is just one subject! The same disingenuous disconnect exists on so many levels and issues... it's pretty astonishing, the chasm between words and actions, even for a postmodern politician. One Hillary voter put it this way: "Hillary may tell lies but Obama is a living lie."

Interesting. Yo'Bama git yer gun! :-)

Enjoy!

The silent green rape of needy people

Thanks Lisa Benson, for a provocative and prophetic cartoon!

The pontiff and the pontificator

Ok, this one was just too rich to pass up! Michael Ramirez is off the top rope: professional body slam in art form, lol. Enjoy!

Hat tip for an awesome title goes to John at Powerline.

Smile!

Postmodern eloquence

The use of language to obscure meaning

Ron Coleman on defining eloquence:

It is rather ironic how the definition of eloquence has devolved. It once meant a talent for powerfully, persuasively and elegantly communicating ideas. Now it is used to describe the use of pretty language to obscure meaning.

There are other words for that.

True. But the discussion needs to go a step further: The reason why the definition of eloquence has changed is that the definition of truth has changed. Most postmoderns [specifically, leftists] no longer believe that words reflect ultimate reality; therefore there is no contradiction when words only serve self-interest; scilicet, a speech is primarily judged by its presentation and not its inner meaning or metaphysics.

If you want to discover the real beliefs of BHO, don't look at his fine-sounding words; look at his actions. Look at his votes and non-votes, his long-term commitments, the staff and associates that he has chosen [before the glare of public attention surfaced]. Flee the rhetoric and look at the man, if you want to know the truth. A man is as he does. And such a look at BHO is very revealing...

p.s. I'll be posting more on the metaphysics of BHO, hopefully. Until then, look at the hard cold numbers: look at the votes, look at the hand-picked staff and relational commitments, look at his spiritual and political definitions [admittedly, a tough task, but the core is there... and it's not centrist, or even conciliatory, despite the smooth words].

A picture worth a thousand words...

An exquisite, unplanned truth-telling, no?

A campaign touting Che and B. Hussein Obama, without contradiction... framed by the broken-cross peace symbol.

Picture via Powerline.

Note: If ever America needed to read C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man and "Men Without Chests," it is now, imo...

Selah.

The Presidential Race 2008

So it's between Elmer Gantry and Joseph Smith and Walter Matthau on the Republican side, and Cruella DeVille and a male Shirley MacLaine on the Democratic side...

So there you have it, good citizens!

The race in a nutshell, lol.

A good friend asked for my thoughts on the race so far, and I was in a succinct, humorous mode, lol. You can send me a donation later for summing it up so nicely and saving everyone weeks/months of frustration or angst! Enjoy!

:-)

Gerald Ford: A man who could embrace obscurity

A real man who didn't sell his true self for power

In December 2004, in his devasting critique of modern media, with its fatal, postmodern divinity, Robert D. Kaplan commented on the character of Gerald Ford:

It may take longer for the realization to seep in that Ford has been our greatest contemporary ex-president. For in an age of mass media - where divinity is dependent upon being noticed by the crowd and being forgotten is the equivalent of excommunication - high character is rightly defined by the willingness to embrace obscurity the moment one relinquishes lofty bureaucratic responsibility.

At the time, I was struck by the depth of the analysis -- and interested in its application to Ford, about whom I knew practically nothing. And yet now, as I compare Ford to say, Jimmy Carter, who keeps surfacing as a media addict, mainlining on the IV drug of annointed visual power, seemingly always with the point of hurting Israel, the wisdom of Kaplan's words is clear.

His words are prophetic, an insightful philosophy of history and human nature. And though he didn't mean it this way, perhaps Kaplan gave the best epitaph that could ever be given a man in a postmodern generation: He had the power to embrace obscurity.

For in an age of mass media - where divinity is dependent upon being noticed by the crowd and being forgotten is the equivalent of excommunication - high character is rightly defined by the willingness to embrace obscurity the moment one relinquishes lofty bureaucratic responsibility.

Gerald Ford was a real man.