Schadenfreude on June 27, 2009 at 6:56 PM

Is that you, E.?

What can we do to fix this broken, dysfunctional government, before it does any more damage to the strength or honor of the country?

Further down in your post, you identify this as one of the things we can do;

Build the party that will run against the Democrats in 2010, and hopefully put Obama behind us in 2012.

I agree, and I’ve put a strategy for this on other threads:
1. Identify the core principals we all can agree on – for starters:
A. Fiscal Conservatism
B. Smaller Government
C. American Exceptionalism
D. A Defense Policy/Foreign Policy that recognizes our vital place in the world
E. A strong stand in defense of freedom and liberty
F. Support for free-market capitalism as the vital engine of our economy
G. Energy independence
Then, we can agree to disagree on some of the issues that won’t easily be resolved (for example, faith vs. unbelief.)
And we can rigorously enforce the 11th commandment.
We also need to avoid the propensity to do two damaging things;
1. We cannot afford to waste time labeling each other – no more paultards vs. paliniacs, or what have you. If you want to wear a label you’ve given yourself, fine; but no name-calling.
2. We can’t spend time tearing down someone else preferred candidate or spokesman. Keeping our powder dry is important.

You also challenge us to do this;

Finally, demand the alternatives.

I couldn’t possibly agree more. We must insist on choices, and options, and work to defeat any bill that is presented as the only way, or a bill that must be passed now!

I’d like to see a working group here (since this seems to be a place where thoughtful folks can both disagree and work together) come up with a framework for this.

ernesto on June 28, 2009 at 10:14 AM

Very revealing comments. The quality of the human is not based upon the color of his/her skin. I’m all for quality humans no matter the color, race; whether they are beautiful, plain, or ugly. If you’re a person of integrity, a person that holds similar values to those held close to the American spirit, then come here and make our country a better place.

If not, FU and the horse-ship-plane you rode in on…

Keemo on June 28, 2009 at 12:28 PM

Thank you Keemo, there are some things a lady shouldn’t have to say!

Have fun, ernesto!

Very revealing comments. The quality of the human is not based upon the color of his/her skin. I’m all for quality humans no matter the color, race; whether they are beautiful, plain, or ugly. If you’re a person of integrity, a person that holds similar values to those held close to the American spirit, then come here and make our country a better place.

If not, FU and the horse-ship-plane you rode in on…

FreedomLover on June 28, 2009 at 1:06 AM

As for life, liberty and happiness, America as a people have already come to the conclusion that the federal government should exert real influence over the quality of life and services here in America. A majority of Americans do not want to see a radically scaled down federal government…so i mean y’all can try and whip something up and sure the libertarian message is resonating with my generation (early 20’s internet people), but by and large America’s political culture is not one of self reliance outside of a strong central government. Times, and people, change.

As for the racial business, you made a big mistake assuming im mexican. Mexican’s dont name their kids Ernesto, Puerto Ricans and Europeans do. Im PR, and my entire family, even back on the island, are citizens. My grandparents came here late enough to never really grasp english, but my 12 aunts and uncles all speak it, as do all my cousins, as do any students that go through the US education system (even the illegal kids). i dont even speak spanish.

Also, theres way more legal hispanic immigration than there is illegal. Its not all about illegals leeching services, its about the character, the culture, of the nation. It will be English speaking, for sure, but we’ll make the transition from white european nation to latin american nation in my lifetime. Its a slow, inevitable “facts on the ground” situation. Sorry if that bothers you, but if you have any kids, they’ll probably be dating a spanish guy/girl anyways, so get used to it now

George, what a wonderful and though provoking intellect you have my friend. I think that your overall message to this blog and to anyone else who reads it is hard to refute….but having said that, I don’t want to believe that the freedoms and Liberty that we Americans say we hold so dear, can be so easily washed away by the left. I want to believe that the smoldering fires of our outrage at what is happening to our country can be fueled by the right people and turned into a raging fire that cannot be so easily put out. I want to believe that the outrage we feel is also being felt in the heartland of our country and that our countrymen are waiting for someone of power and persuasion to stand up and start a movement to take this country back from the Abyss.

The only one I know and respect for his knowledge, understanding of our forefathers intent and has the ability to garner the airwaves with his message is Newt.

Bono Mack (CA) (202) 225-5330
Castle (DE) (202) 225-4165
Kirk (IL) (202) 225-4385 (And he’s seriously considering running for Senate!)
Lance (NJ) (202) 225-5361
LoBiondo (NJ) (202) 225-6572
McHugh (NY) (202) 225-4611
Reichert (WA) (202) 225-7761
Smith (NJ) (202) 225-3765

Let your voice’s be heard…

George nails it, of course. The power to tax and to control the tax code, spelled the end of individual liberty. With each incremental measure, more monies were shifted to the government apparatus requiring more people work for the government. Rinse, repeat.

We’re screwed unless a passionate minority decides on violent revolution. But, of course, that’s not going to happen because “security” sucks the passion out of the citizenry.

You might blame air conditioning, too. Yeah, I’m not kidding. Before air conditioning,the POSs that infest the swamp called Washington D.C. didn’t want to spend a whole lot of time there.

We’re in trouble, folks. Say goonight, indeed.

You can say goodnight American all you like pal, this is a choice you will make on your own. Of coarse, that will be the choice this administration is counting on. Right thinking people will simply throw in the towel and accept the consequences of no action, which is exactly the action that these people must have in order to gain the type of power over the citizens they seek.

Many will join you George, many will use their spare time more wisely. I choose to fight. Millions of us felt the same way during the Carter years, broken down by Liberalism. We got rid of the moron and Reagan emerged. What followed was truly a beautiful example of American exceptionalism. Reagan is gone, but we remain. It’s the “we” that these Liberals fear so much. Don’t believe me, just look at how they fear Sarah Palin.

Our economic and political freedoms have been slipping through our hands for decades. More people work for government than in all of American manufacturing now. As of this year, the states themselves obtain the bulk of their revenues from the Washington. There is no going back.

Even in the heyday of conservatism, the Reagan years, the growth of government continued unabated. True, we cut tax rates and maybe we slowed the rate of growth of centralization of power somewhat, but the overall trendline for decades is and has been statism — more government, less freedom.

Several reasons: Its alot easier to get elected if you promise people more stuff – “We’ll take it from the rich who don’t deserve it anyway” How can the conservative compete against that message. Jefferson said that it would be the end of the republic if the people ever figured out they could vote themselves money. Well, this is the end, my friend.

What held the left back for sometime were our traditional moral and religious principals which kept individual responsibility and personal accountability at the forefront. This is why it has been so important for leftists to destroy our traditional values. They were for decades an important break on the fullfillment of their collectivist goals. Our tithes now go to the State; the State is the new God which will be worshipped. Obamas proposal to end charitable deductions to religious organizations so that the ultimate and final arbitor of charity should be no suprise to anyone.

Every failure of govenment intervention — healthcare, welfare, housing (FNMA, Freddie Mac), public schools — you name it — becomes an excuse to do more of what doesn’t work. The problems at the forefront of the public mind, our current recession brought on by the housing debacle and out of control health care costs, were not failures of the market. On the contrary, they were the direct result of the intrusion of government into the free market. But in both cases, the solutions that the public will support will result in more interventions and spiriling failure.

Government run schools can now indoctrinate children in the ways of the State. Our children now from an early age are indoctrinated in the State religion — from praise of the homosexual lifestyle, to global warming to disdain for all traditional values. Obama and the teachers unions will be moving quickly now to extinguish that one ray of educational hope that is homeschooling.

The Left by one means or another will gain control of the public airwaves. It may not be though the “Fairness Doctrine”, but talk radio is a threat that the Statists will soon seek to eliminate. True the internet will be harder, but watch out there too.

Hayek said that socialism was a much greater threat to individual liberty that communism because it was incremental. Each year, with each decade, under Democrat of Republican the trend toward centralization has continued. Like that old Joany Mitchell song..”You don’t know what you got ’till its gone” Well, it’s gone guys. It went away in the night when we were asleep. Say goodnight America.

Sounds a bit too optimistic.

misterpeasea on June 28, 2009 at 7:08 AM

You nailed that brother. That whole schpiel is “sound and fury signifying nothing”.

Does Dr. Z actually think anyone in the RNC gives a rat’s ass what he recommends? Name the greedy, two-faced bastard in the GOP that’s going to stand up and put Mrs. Conyers front & center? Name the Senator that’s going to call out his “colleagues” for the anti-liberty, statist radicals they are?

Now if Dr. Z wants to identify himself and start something as a candidate I’ll listen. We’re at a point where action is required not more useless blather from intellectual know-it-alls. Either make news, report news or keep it short. This isn’t the time for another “Think Piece”.

At The Examiner, David Freddoso adds a coda to the bizarre story of the cap-and-trade energy tax that passed the House yesterday. The bill that the House voted on doesn’t, strictly speaking, exist:

Texas Republican Reps. Joe Barton and Louie Gohmert have just asked the chair whether there exists a complete, updated copy of the Waxman-Markey carbon-cap bill.

“If a bill for which there is no copy were to actually pass this body,” Barton asked, “could the bill without a copy be sent to the Senate for its consideration?”

Through a series of parliamentary inquiries, the Republicans learned that the 300-plus page managers’ amendment, added to the bill last night in the House Rules Committee, has not even been been integrated with the official copy of the 1,090-page bill at the House Clerk’s desk, let alone in any other location. The two documents are side-by-side at the desk as the clerk reads through the instructions in the 300 page document for altering the 1,090 page document.

But they cannot be simply combined, because the amendment contains 300 pages of items like this: “Page 15, beginning line 8, strike paragraph (11)…” How many members of Congress do you suppose have gone through it all to see how it changes the bill?

I can answer that question: none. There hasn’t been time to do so. The manner in which the Democrats have run the House since taking control in 2007 has been disgraceful.

This is hard to stomach! This would be akin to me handing in a bid on a multi-million dollar project without having read the blueprints. I would bankrupt my company the same way our politicians are bankrupting our country.

Two things.

Convince people that even though the Republicans are stupid and venal, the stupid and venal Democrats are not a viable alternative.

Convince the idiot Republicans to stop being so stupid and venal.

Good luck with that.

The government is about to hit critical mass. Once it’s in charge of our healthcare, there’s no turning back from socialism, and it won’t be creeping anymore.

Sorry ’bout the pessimism.

Years ago (Newt’s era) I think the tide might have been turned if the Republicans had consistently and aggressively confonted media bias, but they just shrugged their shoulders and pretended it didn’t matter so the cabal members were emboldened, and it just kept getting worse.

Now I’m not sure we can turn it around. The Dems are moving so fast on so many fronts right now and the populace is asleep at the wheel. After the crash most of them will be unwilling to let go of those cushy entitlements that were passed and with the cabal running most of the information outlets any politician who tries to “take _____ away from ____ to benefit the greedy _____” will be voted out of office for lack of empathy.

With the MSM/DNC Cabal playing both opponent and referee I don’t see how we can win in the near term. Your plan, while solid, relies on word of mouth and blogs, which isn’t even close to providing a counterweight to ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, New York Times, Hollywood and the rest of them.

The truth doesn’t really matter when nobody knows it.

The monster John McCain wrought has changed the communication landscape, making the MSM the gatekeepers of cable and radio

I miss the pre election ads by interest group

I cannot afford to run ads on cable. I can send donations to interest groups who will run ads in my behalf. These ads are no longer allowed before elections, but the press can run self serving interest ads 365 days a year. The MSM has come to understand they have the power and are relentlessly campaigning for their favored candidates and issues in the guise of news reporting

Campaign finance reform has redfined free speech to mean a free press and a muzzled populace. A facist dictator would be proud

One issue mentioned may have a different spin than assumed. The bribery charge against Monica Conyers, while deserved, was chump change, and must be compared to some of the folk Justice has recently protected, like certain black power characters who were given a pass for voter intimidation and told not to do it again.

A recent radio program about the case suggested the M.O. of the prosecutors in the Monica Conyers case was typical of feds fishing for a bigger player. I have been mulling why she was not protected by Washington. In March Her husband had called for hearings into the behaviour of Acorn. Was that because his wife was being squeezed by the Feds, or did his call for a hearing trigger the decision to hit her with a less than earth shaking set of charges

The charges were big enough shake her career but small enough give an easy plea bargain. Cat with mouse. What could happen if someone keeps yapping about Acorn?

Not as if those that be are shocked by her finances. She merely set herself up to be taken down, as needed

The use of the law when there is gain, and ignoring the law as needed the the real corruption that has afflicted both parties. Ignoring border law and immigration rules is not trivial. It is a sympton of selective application of the law, a disease that is sweeping the parties and disfiguring our nation. It is this slide away from equal application of the law that is sparking the corrupt scheming in both parties.

We need to get back to rule of law or we will not need a Congress.

As to your assertion that we are no longer a people of our founders time, I believe that the rights given to us by this precious document of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness make this nation the envy of the World. Although our country is over 200 years older, it is these very principles that has allowed our country, with the freedoms given to us by this document, to be the most powerful and advanced nation on Earth. You will never see Americans jumping onto rafts, trying to escape this country for the hope and freedom of another. There is no other country on Earth who would make the self sacrifices that our men and women of our military have made though our blood to help in securing the freedom of others.

As to your assertion that America is soon to be hispanic democratic nation. I take offensive that you would have the audacity to classify yourself as that. When people were allowed to immigrate to America at the turn of the century, they came here to become Americans and speak our language which is English. They didn’t want to be Italian Americans, Greek Americans, French Americans, German Americans…THEY WANTED TO BE AMERICANS AND SPEAK OUR LANGUAGE AND ASSIMILATE INTO OUR CULTURE, NOT OPEN UP STORES IN PHOENIX OR L.A. WITH SIGNS THAT SAID “APERTO’ OR BUENO COMIDA AQUI’. A great majority of hispanics entering this country Illegally don’t want to assimilate, don’t want to learn English, move into hispanic communities so that they don’t have to assimilate and drive the labor costs in this country into the toilet. We need to deport people who have entered this country Illegally and who have fake Social Security Numbers and ID’s and send them back across the border. Then when all of you are on the other side where you belong, you will have to apply for a Green Card or a Work Visa. Hispanics as you refer to your people should not be able to swim, hop or cross the border Illegally to gain access to our Emergency Rooms to have your children and then have them become automatic citizens of this United States of America. We should be allowing people from Mexico to come to this country to work, but after that work is done, you should go back to your own country. Why don’t you demand that Mexico provide for your families education and allow you the freedom to create your own businesses in Mexico? Why is it that America should provide you with employment and medical benefits, education for your children, along with enrolling you into our Social Security System when your people are here Illegally to begin with?

There will be blood – if this continues unchecked. Let us pray that it does not, and then take Dr. Zero’s advice to heart.

atheling on June 28, 2009 at 12:12 AM

When speaking of following the founders’ intentions, and not their finished product, one cannot simply ignore their culture or history, or the makeup of the nation they were forming. Similarly, one cannot issue a blanket definition as to the founders’ intentions.

My point was merely to illustrate that we are not the country we were in 1776. We are not landowning whites and slaves, we do not argue about politics based on British common law and the customs of hundreds of years ago.

We have become something altogether different than the country of our founders. This has already occurred. To insist now that we have crossed some revolutionary threshold in our deviation from the founders’ intent is to be ignorant of that.

And please, try not to take the hispanic thing personally…it wont be as bad as some people make it seem

So now that you’ve gotten that off of your chest, would you care to elaborate in how you disagree with what I’ve said?

You’ve said nothing.

We are no longer the people of our founders time. A soon to be hispanic democratic nation thats 3x larger than the country of our founders need not govern itself “as the founders intended”, but rather using the founders framework and adapting it to current needs.

Your first two sentences seem to indicate that you base “the people” on race, rather than on culture.

Interesting, that.

I think it may take another Revolution to turn this country around; something like we saw in Poland and Russia.

When our government no longer serves the people as our founders intended and instead represses and enslaves us…..it’s time to end this government and return it to the people.

FreedomLover on June 27, 2009 at 7:54 PM

As the founders intended? We are no longer the people of our founders time. A soon to be hispanic democratic nation thats 3x larger than the country of our founders need not govern itself “as the founders intended”, but rather using the founders framework and adapting it to current needs. Now, we may disagree on how best to adapt the prerogative of the federal government to best fit our needs…but to insist that – because the political party you don’t like is in control – we must dismantle the union is lunacy.

One can identify as many strict constitutional “missteps” during republican stewardship of government as democratic. Lest we forget our nation has seen real high crimes perpetrated by its government and not “revolted” on the level of Poland.

If you consider economic mismanagement a high crime, then I insist you are weak willed and unprincipled, as surely you would have been revolting already.

I think it may take another Revolution to turn this country around; something like we saw in Poland and Russia.

When our government no longer serves the people as our founders intended and instead represses and enslaves us…..it’s time to end this government and return it to the people.

FreedomLover on June 27, 2009 at 7:54 PM

1000 times Amen

When in the course of Human Events…

Ever so often the tree of libert needs to be watered with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

The time for talking and demonstrating has come…and gone

Plans are being made

buy more ammo

I know not what course other may take but as for me give me liberty or give me death.

I want my freedom back

Sendme is a liberal troll.
atheling on June 27, 2009 at 10:39 PM

So now that you’ve gotten that off of your chest, would you care to elaborate in how you disagree with what I’ve said? Oh, I remember now. You blame me for Obama getting elected since I voted third party. Well, don’t let the facts get in the way of your views of me: Obama clobbered McCain by around 8.5 million votes. All of the other candidates besides Obama/McCain brought in a whopping 1,643,758 votes. There seems to be a remainder here.

Also, I would recommend that our elected representatives to Congress be limited to two terms as with the President. If it’s good enough for our President, it should be good enough for Congress too. Service to our country should be an honor to serve and not a profit motive as it is today. There should be no pensions allowed with any public office. After someone serves they should go back to their community and go back to a real job that helps produce something rather than to take from hard working Americans who toil daily to get ahead.

Instead of putting successful people down, we should all praise those who are coming up with new inventions and companies that will raise all of our standards of living. We as a nation should shun those who only want a handout. Let’s put this country back to work on the right footing this time and limit Government to providing for our defense, providing infrastructure, protecting our borders and providing education in a competitive environment which rewards success, allowing people to take their children to the schools of their choosing and not the governments. Let’s bring back accountability by bringing forth competition. These are some of the thoughts that I have this evening.