At the End of the Day

There are a lot of people out there pointing fingers and placing blame. Some of it is due to uncertainty. Some to downright fear. Some is just playing politics as usual. But a lot of it is coming from a society that no longer understands that manufacturing things and shipping them takes time. A society that is used to having everything done and done perfectly right now! A society that thinks that just because a lot of people need one, a cure will be discovered right now and made available tomorrow. A society, in other words, that no longer lives in reality. We just got served the check. It seems to this author like finger pointing and politics playing ought to take a step back and remember the basics. Basics like:If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all" and "You should walk a mile in that man's shoes before you judge the choices he has had to make." I wonder how many of those trying to place blame here and there have really thought about what they would have done as POTUS or a state governor upon being given such a challenge to face? Do they understand the legal limitations of those roles? If you can help in some way, then do so. If you can't help then stay out of the way of those who are doing what they can, with what they have, where they are. And kindly stop with the armchair quarterbacking. Think you could have done better? Then go and get on your local ballot and do better for your community in the future and be thankful that these were not your decisions to have to make. Because, at the end of the day, once again, this is not something a government can stop. Only large numbers of personally responsible people making good decisions can do that. And pointing fingers and placing blame doesn't help anyone, it just makes you look bad and drives those who may have already lost their homes and businesses because of this virus into a deeper depression. America needs all those people. We need everyone to make this work and we will need everyone we have left to recover when it has passed, so play nice.

"15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. 16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. 17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. 18 Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly." ~ Heb 13:15-18

Covid19 and America

This author has fielded so many queries and seen so much spin and misinformation out there regarding Covid19(COrona VIrus Disease 19), that it seems necessary to post something.

1. The sky is not falling and, even if it were, it wouldn't be Donald Trump's or the GOP's or the democrat's fault. This is a virus, it is not a political windfall and should not be treated like one by either side. This author hopes that any politician who acts as though it is should be soundly defeated in the next election.

2. This is a serious situation and yes, it is worse than the flu. But panicking helps no one and isn't really necessary.

3. Martial law is neither compatible with the founding philosophies or the Constitution of this nation and it isn't necessary - unless Americans turn out to be a good deal stupider and more selfish than has formerly been the case in our history.  (Yes, this author has been asked about this possibility more than once, so thought it worth addressing.)

Here is the good news/bad news of the situation.

The bad news:  There is a new corona type virus spreading across the globe. It is predicted to infect up to 70 % of the world's population in the next year. That means it is likely that 7 out of 10 people will get it because it is new and there is no "herd immunity".  There is also no vaccine and no amount of breast beating and/or innovation will create one that has been suitably tested for at least a year.

The good news: The virus does not seem to be severe in younger people or children.

The bad news: The virus is affecting older people and the mortality rate seems to be higher than the seasonal flus with which we are familiar. (Which are also caused, in large part by viruses in the corona virus family.) "Seems to be" because we do not and will not have reasonably correct numbers until this has run it's course in a nation where testing has been widespread and available from the start. So far, it appears that South Korea has the best numbers available.

The really good news: For most people the virus will be mild enough that they may not even know they have had it.

The really bad news: About 10-20% of those who get it will have a severe presentation. Severe enough to require hospitalization or other medical intervention.  And this is where the bad news is really bad news. This is where the threat posed by this virus arises. And this is the part that the talking heads on both sides of the political aisle seem to be ignoring in their reports.

The reason this is so bad is because of how quickly this is spreading and because it can be spread by asymptomatic people - like the seasonal flus that come through every year. This is where the math of it all comes in.

The Math of it all.
The USA has a population of about 320 million people.
If 70 % of those people get this over the next year that means about 224,000,000 will get it.  ( .70 x 320,000,000 = 224,000,000.  Please feel free to double and triple check the math because this author has made egregious mistakes with decimal points before.)
 If 224,000,000 get this over the next year that means that 10 - 20% or 22,400,000 - 44,800,000 will have severe presentations requiring hospitalization or other medical intervention.  (.2 x 224,000,000 = 44,800,000)

There are only about a million hospital beds total in the USA and most of those are already taken by other patients and/or are not designed to handle those who need to be quarantined.

This is the problem. If we get even the lower percentage of 22 million severe cases in one year, the hospitals will not be able to deal with that number and many, many more people will die than would otherwise be the case. Oh but China has stopped it, you may say. Yes they did. By taking draconian measures that would be shameful to implement against the personally responsible and self reliant population of a free nation.

So here is the deal. The GOAL of the quarantines, self isolating, closing of borders, travel restrictions and all the rest, is to slow this down so that the health care system isn't overwhelmed. 

What do we do? 
Pray. Pray for the health of your neighbors and your nation. Pray for the loss of those who are going to die from this and the loss of all the knowledge and experience they will take with them as they are likely to be our oldest people. Pray for their families and friends as they mourn those losses. Pray that we, as a nation, can find the common ground and sanity to be united by this challenge rather than divided.

Be responsible. Responsible people will isolate themselves as much as possible. What? It's going to kill you to avoid going to events for the next year? No, but it may very well save someone else if you choose to stay home. Be a real hero and stay away from people for a bit as you may. Work from home if you can. If you are an employer whose employees can work from home, see that they do.

 Homeschool or use an on-line schooling option. Use this time to re-connect with your children and get to know them better. You won't regret having had the time with them as life goes forward.

Be thoughtful of others. Be mindful of all those whose employment depends on people going out and about and do what you are able to help them get through this too. If your child takes lessons from a local musician, don't just cancel their lessons, Those people need to make a living too. Set up video lessons through the internet. Help your church set up a video sermon option. Brainstorm.

Shop responsibly. Responsible people don't hoard. They just buy a little extra each time they go to the store and set up a rotation system with the supplies that they have. It's a good idea for always, not just pandemics. And it leaves product on the shelves for those who are unable to have a store of those things for times like this.

Be kind and be generous. Kind and generous people, share what they have - like sharing all those n95 masks with the people who need them - specifically, health care workers. Doctors and nurses are our front line here, so leave those masks on the shelves for them when they need them- and they are very likely to need them. Or, if you have a store of them because you have prepped  or you're a construction worker or someone who uses them for non health care work - offer what you have to your local health care facilities as it becomes apparent that they have need of them. Don't risk the harmful things they are supposed to protect you from, but if you have extra - share them to where they will do the most good.

Check on your neighbors - especially the elderly ones. You don't have to go into their homes(and shouldn't risk spreading this to them by doing so) but you could wave or give them a call once a week or so. Also - not just for pandemics and most of us already do that, one hopes.

Work. If you have had it and recovered, go back to work after you are no longer shedding the virus. Keep the economy going and the supply chains as operational as possible.

Wash your hands, often and well. Keep your coughs covered and use common sense. Politicians aren't the solution - you and I are. Be kind, be generous, use common sense and most of all rise to the challenge this poses. People who possess the moral and ethical values along with the strength of character to be a free people do not need a government nanny to do the right thing.

"1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." ~ Mark 4

COVID-19 26 Feb Developments

There are a lot of people commenting negatively about the probable response of US citizens to such measures as quarantine.

The thing about self evident and unalienable rights is that they have self evident limits. You don't get to infringe on your neighbor's rights to exercise yours. The founding philosophy of the US is one of self reliance and personal responsibility. It should be interesting to see how much of that philosophy remains and how much will be revived by such a challenge.

I would and am planning for quarantine and can say the same for my extended family. My mother knows what quarantines were like from her youth when, after your family - who had been quarantined in their home with big signs posted to that effect on the door - had recovered, you had to burn everything in the house that couldn't be sterilized.  I think about that and look around at our homes today and the attitudes of many who think they are somehow special enough that reality won't/shouldn't affect them.
I say it is time for the USA to bring our game up. And that should start with telling the truth and not comparing this to the flu in an effort to "keep people from panicking". We are supposed to be adults. Adults do not need to be shielded from reality. We need to be prepared for it when it hits.

Facism or Corruption?

I saw this article posted with the comment:
 "THIS is the classic face and definition of FASCISM. BIG BUSINESS IN CONTROL OF AND IN CAHOOTS WITH, BIG GOVERNMENT!"
To which I say: "No it's not" Just to be thorough, here is the dictionary.com definition of "fascism":
"noun

1.

( sometimes initial capital letter ) a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

2.

( sometimes initial capital letter ) the philosophy, principles, or methods of fascism.

3.

( initial capital letter ) a political movement that employs the principles and methods of fascism, especially the one established by Mussolini in Italy 1922–43. "

 

While it may look like fascism, what it really is, is an indicator of just how deadly the two party system mindset is to our thinking. This is America. If a citizen wants to open their wallet and give a donation the size of the national debt to any given candidate, they can.

 

The problem with that is not the size of the donation or the intentions of the donor, but the character of the candidate who receives that donation. If the candidate has sound character and shares my values, I should know it and vote for that candidate regardless of how much money he/she has for advertising or other promotional efforts. It is MY duty, as a citizen, to research all the candidates for a given office and vote for the BEST one.

 

A candidate who had this kind of financial backing would certainly be seen as a candidate who can win by any political party, but that doesn't mean they SHOULD win.

 

The implication in the article referenced above, is that if this donor doesn't get his way, then the candidates of one political party will not get his money and that the acting POTUS acted because he wants HIS party's candidates to have that money.

 

This illustrates who the acting POTUS serves and, if true, shows that he is not fit to serve in that capacity. No, the problem illustrated by this article is not fascism, but the corruption of the character of our legislators through the promotion of an easy button, two party system that insists that character and values are irrelevant when compared to the ability to win: aka the ability to raise money for the party.

 

Our elected officials serve, or are supposed to serve America. They are supposed to do what is right for the nation, regardless of offers of money, threats, influence or reputation. They are to be paragons of virtue, protecting the nation from the baser motivations that trouble mankind as well as from the sacrificial gallantry that can at times afflict us.

 

If you love your nation, vote character and values this fall, not party. Money doesn't matter if we are doing our duty as citizens. We can discover every candidate through our local elections boards and do our due diligence with regard to finding out their character and values. That's not convenient, but it is a good deal more convenient than becoming conversant with the plethora of laws, rules and regulations our current legislators allow to remain in place to burden us. It's time we step away from convenience and get back to doing quality work when it comes to the maintenance of the republic.

 

"Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin." ~ Eze 18:30

 

A New Year

We have before us a new year. What will the new year bring? 

Not too surprisingly, Congress, not wanting to be seen as completely incompetent in a way that would have ordinary people being directly affected, has come to an agreement that will allow the price of milk to remain the same. You see, the farm bill expired in October and if it were not renewed, then the price of milk would have doubled this month.

So you see, if Congress thinks something might cause regular people, those who ignore politics(or at least those who drink milk, eat cheese, ice cream or yogurt and other milk dependent foods-mac and cheese anyone?)to become alarmed at their antics, they will act in their own best interests. Why they don't see the shredding of the Constitution in the same way, is because We the People have neglected our duty to make it so. 

There are many reasons that this could be so. Everything from our very comfortable levels of prosperity to the cultural Marxism that has been taught in our schools for the last 5 decades or so to the increasing reluctance of individuals to actually exercise those rights with which God has endowed us has led us to this place. I have become increasingly convinced that only individual efforts across the population can bring us out. 

I do not mean "grass roots" either. I mean concerted and sustained efforts by individuals to exercise their rights individually across the board. Your "grass roots" group won't be with you at that traffic stop or when you are open carrying in a public place. YOU must be able to exercise your rights when you are alone. That is the courage and resolve that is required of us as American citizens. That is the civic duty that used to be taught in our schools. That is the value of reading the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and knowing your rights and your duties as a citizen of this nation. 

The Constitution of the nation is  our bedrock place to stand, as individuals, against the powers of the federal government. Your states constitution is the same thing at the state level. You and I need that bedrock to oppose the dreck that is coming at us in this new year. If you haven't already, make it your new year's resolution to read them and know your rights. 

I hope we  can stand. Knowing that there are and will be many suits against the abomination that is obamacare, I suggest that citizens across the nation educate themselves regarding the process of jury nullification. 

Contact your legislators. Daily. Demand good behavior and respect for the limitations put on them by the US Constitution. Senator feinstein and any who join her in her call to infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms is in violation of her oath to support and uphold the Constitution. Ask your legislator to file charges against Ms. feinstein and any who join her in that effort. Your life and the lives of every person you know may very well depend upon it.

Then you may want to do yourselves and your neighbors a favor in this new year and research for yourself what the term "natural born citizen" means. There are plenty of resources out there. Don't be lazy and accept the much edited and milquetoast wikipedia - find out what those who debated and voted to accept the US Constitution had for a definition. You may also be surprised to find that current US law makes a distinction between "native born citizen" and "natural born citizen" although not many are willing to research far enough to find out. 

Before you toss this as the rantings of a "birther" know that I don't care a whit where Mr. obama was born. I do care a great deal, however, that he be a natural born citizen if he is to sit as Commander in Chief to the armed services of this nation. I do care a great deal if he is going to be handed the power to usurp the legislative process through the issuance executive orders. And mostly, I care because, if we are going to ignore one portion of the Constitution and allow someone who is Constitutionally ineligible to serve as POTUS, then what other part or parts of the Constitution may we hold as inviolable and on what grounds? 

That is why the Constitution must be held to as strictly as the Bible. It is the ground we, as Americans, stand on when we exercise our God given and Constitutionally affirmed rights. The right to freedom of speech, religion, the press, to remain silent under questioning, to have legal representation present during questioning to advise us how best to protect ourselves, to privacy in our persons, papers and effects, to keep and bear arms and swarms of rights un-enumerated but recognized as existing in that venerable document. If one bit may be ignored with impunity, so too will the rest. 

It is up to us, individually, to do what must be done to protect this nation and restore the Constitution. To remove all federal laws, rules, regulations and agencies that are in excess of the authority granted to the federal government by that document. We can do it slowly, as surely we did not come to these egregious excesses overnight, so it would be deleterious to dismantle them overnight, but they must be removed. 

If we find a need and will to recreate them on a state level, then we may do so in our individual states, but the states must retain sovereignty over the federal government. 

No other nation, in the history of the world has come to the brink of disaster with so many options for it's aversion as have we. But it will take dedicated, persistent individuals to make the changes. In other words, 'an irate, tireless minority keen on setting the brushfires of freedom in the hearts of men'. We each need to be one of those willing to take the legal route, the legislative route and the route of persistence and defiance of any action by those acting on behalf of the government to infringe upon our rights if this nation is to be restored.

Does this sound gloomy, even dire perhaps?  It should. We are on the precipice of the destruction of this nation. We the People are the only ones who may avert it. We have had those who immigrated from communist nations warning us for years of where we are headed if we do not restore our Constitution and remove from power those who would ignore, pervert or destroy it, and yet we have not done so. We continue to run headlong into destruction-or so it seems.

I say "or so it seems", because that is what the MSM seems to be pushing. Telling us that we are heroes for enlarging the entitlement mentality and system beyond sustainability. Telling us it is good, yes, ever so good, for the people to be dependent upon the government instead of the other way around. I tend to think that most people, when they really stop to think about it, know this is nonsense. I am even thinking, of late, that the majority of the people are not as the MSM portrays them-communists desperately waiting for a hitler, stalin or marx to lead them into an age of human evolution past the barbarities of history - but rather conservatives who do not know that they are conservative. 

That is the reason for the inundation of the progressive narrative across the MSM airwave spectrum and the indoctrination centers for cultural Marxism that our schools have become. Not to tell it like it is, but rather to imply that what is not, exists in the hearts and minds of Americans. To intimidate ordinary citizens(which no American citizen is) into accepting their progressive drivel by indicating that those who disagree will stand utterly alone in the hopes that Americans have forgotten that individual liberty requires an ability to stand alone. 

This new year will determine if we are truly Americans, exceptional in our choice to live as free men and women and responsible enough to hold ourselves to the high standards of personal responsibility necessary to do so - or merely Europeans  that had a brief hissy fit who will now become as banal as the citizens of all those nations to whom we gave the opportunity to grasp liberty for themselves, but who have failed to do so.

Why has America been able to grasp freedom where other nations have failed?  It comes from having a base of strong individuals for citizens. Citizens who are willing to claim our God given and Constitutionally affirmed rights. Citizens who  will work to ensure a governmental form that allows the greatest amount of personal liberty possible with the least amount of government interference. Citizens who accept that corruption is to be expected from government, but who reject out of hand the notion that such corruption cannot be countered by the citizenry. Citizens who decide that their own honor and reputation is worth more than any activity that could tarnish them ever could be. (An attitude that is espoused in Christianity-which is why even - did I say "even", I should have said "especially" non Christians should want those values promoted throughout this nation.) That is American Exceptionalism and it is what makes us successful as a nation. We discard it, as we discard its Christian underpinnings at our peril. 

So, are you an American, willing to take personal responsibility to hold Congress to their Constitutional limitations or a European, held hostage in a culture you do not understand? If you are not sure, now is the time to resolve to find out.

^"18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
¹⁹ Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
²⁰ That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." ~ Duet 16:18-20

When the SHTF

                                                                                                                                                              (The frog doesn't always stay in the pot. This frog, for instance is on a second story window)

There is a lot of speculation out there regarding what is going to happen when the Stuff Hits The Fan, or, if you are more negative TEOTWAWKI. Notice that the preceding sentence said "when" not "if". That's because there are very few who are still of the opinion that we can fix what is wrong in this nation by the diligent application of the rule of law. Or rather, very few who have any faith that the people who have been elected to restore this nation and it's Constitution will actually do so.

For a long time I held out hope that we could reclaim the offices that are currently being held by oath breakers and criminals, but I am fast losing that hope.

The thing that seems most out of place though, are the many disaster scenarios being promulgated. The idea that society will implode and civilized behavior will go by the wayside, playing right into the hands of those who have been working for it, is rampant. Why? We have enough resources and resourceful people in this nation to overcome any number of disasters.

Look at hurricane Katrina. Yes, hurricane Katrina. Not the thoroughly corrupt New Orleans, but the rest of the three state area that was simply devastated by that hurricane. Did we see rioting? Looting? No. What we saw was civilized people coming together to help each other and the community. Before the storm even hit there were groups organizing housing for those would have lost their own and contact lists for the survivors. We saw churches and private organizations stepping up and helping to rebuild. And many still are. Sure there will be a few stinkers and bad spots here and there, that's just human nature, but overall, we are better than that.

Look at New York after 9/11. Did we see looting and wholesale violence against muslims? No. When there was a power outage shortly after that in New York, did we see violence and looting? No again. We saw Americans stepping up and helping each other. Directing traffic, offering rides to each other. We saw, in other words, calm and civilized behavior.

Why should any other scenario, short of invading troops from another nation, be any different? When we step back and look at the big picture, do we really think that Americans need such a thing as martial law? We the People are the authority behind our government. There is no situation in which the Constitution needs to be suspended. Our rights are unalienable and self evident. That means not subject to the whims of legislators of any rank run amok and mad with power. Shame on us for not removing them sooner, but that's another post.

 (We are a loyal and helpful and generous and, hopefully, faithful people, as God has been to us.)
The truth is that Americans, thanks be to God, are a resourceful, generous and self-reliant people. Even were we to suffer an EMP attack, I have no doubt that anyone with even an ounce of electrical know how will be working furiously to restore basic power as quickly as possible. Far from the years long, bombed back to the 18th century scenario many have suggested, I submit to you, gentle readers, that it would be only a few weeks or months at most before we were up and running again and more thankful than ever for the nation that has been God's gift to us. No. The only people rioting in the streets will be those who have been put up to it by those who see such behavior as a way to transition this nation from a republic to an oligarchy, and we can ignore them or corral them for the local authorities as we choose.

I submit, to you gentle readers, the notion that, by the very American exceptionalism that God gave us to make this nation great, we are better than that. Leave for middle eastern countries and communist nations the riots that such disturbances bring. Let us bring our game up and show the world how a nation that God has blessed should behave. Prepare and store food and supplies by all means, that's just common sense, but don't fall for the notion that neighbors should start shooting each other because the power went off.

( I would advise against assuming that we cannot or will not rise to our own and each other's defense-we are a family.). 
As for those nations that may be preparing to take advantage of such disruptions in America, that's why we will be keeping our Bibles open, our firearms cleaned, our skills sharp and our powder dry.

" And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious." ~ Isaiah 11:10

The Assumption Behind the Question

As my readers know, I have been very supportive of Gov. Walker's attempts to balance WI's budget and reduce government spending. This has created a bit of tension between myself and some friends/family who oppose those measures. I'm sure I am not the only one to face this challenge in the past weeks.

One of my family members, who opposes Gov. Walker, asked me a question today on facebook. The question was a relatively straightforward one of " How will the republican agenda help our families?". The thing is, that the assumption behind the question is the real heart of the matter in the battle for America.(Beyond the assumption that I am a republican, that is. I am not a republican, I am a conservative.)

The assumption behind the question is that the government exists to help us. To say that the government is here to help us is like telling a small child that a police officer is there to help them and never refining that statement as they got older.

While the statement is broadly true, in that government exists to create and maintain a stable society, which is indubitably helpful to individuals as well as families, it is not true in a specific sense. The government is not here to take care of you. (Just as a police officer's job is to enforce the law, not "to help you". They don't help robbers and murderers to steal and kill do they?)

We are not supposed to be looking to the government to "help us". We are supposed to be taking care of ourselves. To be depending upon the principles of self reliance and personal responsibility. That is why our founders put specific limits on the power and authority of government. To rely upon the government for the basic necessities of life is degrading to the character of the nation as a whole.

What business does government have telling us what toilets or light bulbs to use? What business does the government have using the tax code to manipulate the populace? What business does the government have making life and death decisions over my and my family's health care? What business does the government have in declaring what foods we may or may not eat?

NONE.

We are not to go running and crying to the government, willing to sacrifice our freedom for security, every time we face a challenge. We are to use our own personal responsibility and self control to live our lives as we see fit within the natural limits of our self evident, God given and Constitutionally affirmed rights. This is the true spirit of America. Let us grasp it fully, restore the Constitutional limits upon our governments, national, state and local, restore fiscal sanity to the nation and move on with our lives.

Let us set the example of a self reliant, free people for the rest of the world. Let us be the ones to show the world that this is how freedom is done. Let us accept the risks and embrace the personal responsibility necessary to be a free people. And, while we're at it, may we never forget the Creator who made this possible.

Here are a few choice quotes from our founders for you to consider.

"No country upon earth ever had it more in its power to attain these blessings than United America. Wondrously strange, then, and much to be regretted indeed would it be, were we to neglect the means and to depart from the road which Providence has pointed us to so plainly." ~George Washington

"...reason and experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." ~George Washington

"Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day. But a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period, and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers, too plainly proves a deliberate systematic plan of reducing us to slavery." ~ Thomas Jefferson

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." ~John Adams

"The two enemies of the people are criminals and government,so let us tie the second down with the chains of the constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first."Thomas Jefferson

"And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts. "~ Psalm 119:45

An Interesting Encounter

I had planned to post today on the BP oil spill. On my thought that the spill was an accident and that we have liability laws in place already to deal with those affected by the spill, so why is it necessary for BP to agree to put 20 billion dollars into an "independently" managed account for that purpose? Would 20 billion be more or less that BP's liability under current law? And why is this administration actively hampering local efforts to minimize the impact of the spill? But I had to go to the post office.

As I approached the post office, I saw several very large signs saying "Impeach Obama". Many of the signs had a large photo of Mr. Obama with a little Hitler type mustache. I thought, this looks interesting, but as the post office was almost closed, I went inside to buy my stamps first.

When I came back out, I approached the booth to ask about what they were doing. I discovered this was a booth staffed by followers of Mr. Lyndon LaRouche. Now, Mr. LaRouche has been running for president since nearly before I was of voting age. He has been derided by both liberals and conservatives of my acquaintance, and upon reading some of his literature, I can see why, he has some rather unique views. But that's not the point of this post either.

While I was speaking to the gentleman at the booth, an older woman (by which I mean a woman in her 50's or early 60's , I would guess) came up to the woman at the booth and tried to remove some of the materials from the booth, while declaring that the photo of Mr. Obama was wrong and should be taken down. The woman at the booth reacted strongly and soon they were yelling at each other. When the yelling turned to swearing, I told the man to whom I was speaking -"that's it, I'm done here." At which the two women ended their confrontation, both threatening to call the police on each other.

I did stick around a bit to talk to the woman. She said she had been nearly run down by someone in a car while manning the booth in a similar situation less than a week ago and someone else had attempted to tear down her signs earlier that day. She was very passionate about her opposition to what this president and administration are doing to this nation with regard to debt and a few other things, as am I.

I have always viewed swearing as indicative of a lack of self control. It occurred to me that this woman, having had her life threatened less than a week ago for doing this same thing was very brave to continue, but also that she was not in any condition to man such a booth. Instead of asking the objector exactly what it was to which the older woman objected, she escalated into a shouting match, accusing the older woman of being a Nazi. Was this because she has now associated all dissent with her own position as a threat, or because she has always associated all dissent as a threat? She owned to having been a hippie on the 60's.

Perhaps the older woman was simply objecting to the photo on the grounds that it was disrespectful to the office of the president. In that I would agree. I would have also agreed that the folks at the booth had the right to display it, but would have asked them politely to respect the office by removing it. Perhaps not, since at one point the woman manning the booth yelled:"Yeah, well I was out here trying to impeach George Bush every week for the last 8 years, where were you then?" but the point is we'll never know. She wasn't given the chance to calm down and state her objections in a civil manner.

Here is the point of this post. There are good reasons to oppose the current administration, from their profligate spending to their openly socialistic agenda. We don't have to be conservatives or liberals to oppose either of those things because they are detrimental to either side, but we cannot become so used to seeing opposition that we cannot find those points of common interest around which to rally.

We, as Americans are better than that. We must be. If we are to regain our freedoms, and restore our Constitution, self control is an absolute requirement of the folks doing the ground work. Stern resolve and self control can accomplish what the most impassioned rhetoric cannot. We must, as a nation, reject the greed of the entitlement mentality along with the security offered by the "nanny state" mentality. We must embrace the philosophy of personal responsibility and stand for the individual freedom promised by the republic founded these 200+ years ago with all it's attendant risks.

In the words of "America the Beautiful: "Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law."

"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.
He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved."~ Psalm 15

The USA is a REPUBLIC

I keep hearing people refer to "our democracy". I think I have posted on this before, but as it continues to be a bee in my bonnet, I wanted to give it another shot.

The United States of America is a REPUBLIC. (Technically, a Constitutional republic with a strong democratic tradition, but I digress.) It was formed as a republic because, in the words of our founders:
"Democracies have been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and in general have been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their death." ~ James Madison

The reason for the short and violent lives of democracies? In a word - greed. "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." ~Thomas Jefferson

When someone claims that we have or want to have a democracy, they are declaring either:

1. that they are uninformed as to what a democracy really is; or
2. that they want our government overthrown quickly; or
3. that they are too lazy to be precise in their terminology.

Some may find this to be mere quibbling, but it is not. When one or two people are sloppy about terminology in a casual setting, that is forgivable. Most of us are not walking around with dictionaries to hand. (Although, there are those of you with i-net access through your cell phones.) But when our electorate is content to hear our elected officials push this or that legislation in support of our "democracy", or because it's the "democratic" thing to do, we have a problem. When we do not call them to task about their use of the word democracy to describe our form of government, we have a problem. When our elected officials claim they have voted a particular way because that's what a majority of their constituents wanted and they think that's okay because that's how a democracy works, and no one objects to that reasoning, something is monumentally wrong with our country. ( I won't even address the folly of spreading democracy across the globe. Spread freedom and independence based on man's God given rights? Yes but leave democracy to those who lack the ability to exercise personal responsibility.)


Now I realize that I may appear to be on thin ice here. I am reading scathing commentaries about certain elected officials who plan to ignore the expressed will of their constituents and return to Congress to vote for the egregiously proposed HR 3200 or one of the other freedom restricting, money wasting, unconstitutional health care plans currently on the table in DC. I am not saying that I approve of those monstrosities. But we do have a republic. And that means our elected legislators are supposed to be voting for what is best for the country, not what the majority wants.

Our legislators are supposed to be voting in a way that preserves our republic and our freedoms, not their power or popularity. (HR 3200 infringes egregiously on both our republic and our freedoms.) Voting in a way that encourages Americans to exercise their freedoms while maintaining their personal responsibility and independence. Not voting for bloated government programs that take away our ability and incentives to pay our own way. Not voting for entitlements and charity. Charity is not the business of a republican form of government except when that government wants to buy power from the people in order to impose some form of tyranny upon them.

Dr.D, one of my readers, recently sent me a commentary entitled: "What Samuel said about Solomon" in which Mr. Frank Chodorov remarks on the change in governmental form that occurred when the Israelites demanded to have a king, like other countries.

The Israelites were a self-governed people, answerable to God and their communities for their behavior and actions. "It was a conservative society; adherence to proven principles was the only way by which the pursuit of happiness could be furthered. That which was "right" in the tribesman's eyes was "right" by custom, tradition and the laws of Yahweh, to the enumeration of which the Old Testament, before the Book of Joshua, devoted much space. Freedom is not license."

In this commentary, the author notes that the people grew weary of taking responsibility for their own decisions. That, instead of thinking and planning and behaving in the way that allowed the most individual freedom for each person, they wanted to give up their freedom in order to relieve themselves of the concurrent risks and responsibilities. He also notes the consequences for giving up that freedom and personal responsibility.

"The immediate occasion for the revolutionary demand was what we would today call an emergency. In fact, there were two emergencies. In foreign affairs things were going badly for Israel; the Philistines had not only beaten them roundly in battle, but also made off with the sacred ark of the covenant.

On the domestic front, they had lost faith in their leadership. The two sons of Samuel, whom he had appointed as assistants, did not live up to the high standards of their office; they had "turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment."

Samuel seems to have been a political scientist of the first water, all the more remarkable in that he had no books to go by, but only his wisdom and his observation of kingship in operation. So that, when the elders said "make us a king to judge us like all the nations," he was displeased. The story says that he took the matter up with Yahweh, who assured him that nothing could be done about saving the Israelites from themselves, since they had given up on first principles.

It was because they had forsaken the rigorous tradition of their forefathers, with its insistence on self-reliance and personal integrity, that they had lost the victorious touch that carried them from Egypt to the outskirts of the Promised Land. The breakdown of the judge system could be traced to the same lack of self-discipline. Therefore, said Yahweh, give them what they ask for, but as a parting shot you might "shew them the manner of the king that shall rule over them"; and tell them also that when they realize their mistake, it will be too late to regain freedom: "The Lord will not hear you in that day.

"Ye Shall Be Servants

So Samuel outlined the order of things under a king. First, there will be conscription, replacing the system of voluntarism that had served the tribesmen well throughout their peregrinations, and the conscription will not be confined to military service but will include service in the king's household. What's more, women too will be subject to involuntary servitude. Then, "he will appoint his captains over thousands and captains over fifties."The term "captain" is ambiguous, referring sometimes to men of war, sometimes to what we would call nobles, sometimes (by the kind of work assigned to them) to bureaucrats; it was in the reigns of David and Solomon that "captain" took on many meanings.

And, continued Samuel, the king will take from you the best of your lands "and give them to his servants," thus establishing a landed aristocracy, which the laws of Moses clearly forbade. What's more, for the upkeep of his establishment "he will take a tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards"; apparently, compulsory taxation was new among the Israelites. To top it all off, "ye shall be his servants."

I find myself wondering if this insistence on calling the American form of government a democracy is a way of distancing ourselves from our responsibility to monitor our legislators. I wonder, in the face of the stimulus spending(under Bush as well) , cap and trade and HR3200 if our legislators, who continually refer to this country as a democracy, are aware of what they are doing by perpetuating the idea that we have a democracy.

The way this nation was set up insured a good government only if "We the People" remain vigilant. I believe we may be seeing a return to the vigilance necessary to maintain our freedoms, but I wonder if it has not come too late. We have been deceived into becoming a culture which believes that it is better to pay taxes to have somebody else take care of our ill and elderly than to be forced to care for them ourselves in our homes and communities. The inevitable consequence is that our culture places decreasing value on individual lives. Instead of welcoming the opportunity to care for the woman who bore you and raised you and sacrificed to put food in your mouth, grandma is now regarded as a burden.

Why shouldn't our younger voters see communism or collectivism as desirable? We have not instilled in them the reverence for life and individual value that is the mainstay of our freedoms. The value system that best promotes freedom, independence and personal responsibility, that of Christianity, has been thoroughly mocked and derided in order to accommodate those who wish to live in ways that are costly to society as a whole. Men are no longer encouraged to marry the mothers of their children. Women are encouraged to kill their children if they become pregnant at an inconvenient time. Marriage itself is mocked and made fun of even as those who wish to live in the self destructive lifestyle that is homosexuality attempt to co-opt the term to give themselves an appearance of moral respectability.

There is a real danger in using vocabulary incorrectly. Words must mean what we, as a society think they mean or we cannot have a functioning society. We can no longer be sloppy about the difference between a republic and a democracy or we will lose our republic.

"Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day. But a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period, and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers, too plainly proves a deliberate systematic plan of reducing us to slavery." – Thomas Jefferson

"And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD.
And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city." ~ 1 Samuel 8:18-22

Character Counts

Why do we have such problems finding good people to serve in positions of leadership in this country?

I've heard it said that "Character is what you do when no one is looking." The implication being that if your behavior in public is consistent with your behavior in private, then you have strength of character. In my opinion, character is only one half of the equation when we are considering to whom we should give our votes. Character may be what you do when nobody is looking, but leadership is what you do when they are. Character in private does nothing for those who would otherwise be strengthened by your actions. Leadership is crippled when it is not accompanied by good character.

That said, I ask again, why do we have such problems finding good people to serve in positions of leadership in this country?

I submit to you that it is because We the People have become lazy and lacking in discernment. We have before us, in these last months three wonderful examples of what happens when lack of character meets lack of discernment.
I shall start with Mr. Franken.

Mr. Franken gained the endorsement of his party(political parties are despicable things which tend to distract people from the real job of choosing a candidate by providing an "easy button", but I digress.), ran a campaign, and, when the result of the vote was close, asked for a recount. These are all reasonable actions for someone seeking political office.
The recount, however, has been fraught with bias and irregularities. This is where one expects a person of character to show their true colors. One would expect Mr. Franken to issue a statement saying that until he, himself along with the people of Minnesota are satisfied that the election results and recounts are true and without bias or irregularities, he would refuse to accept the seat. Has he done so?

Next up is Mr. Burris.

Mr. Burris was appointed to a senate seat by a man under investigation for corruption, specifically corruption regarding the sale of that particular seat. What man of character would accept any position of authority under such a cloud? Doing so can only serve to cast suspicion on one's entire life and career and bring shame to one's family. And yet, Mr. Burris has not only accepted the seat, but has engaged in legal wrangling to frustrate the well intentioned attempts of Congress to deny him the seat under these conditions.

One challenges the good people of IL (I know there are some good people in IL) to recall Mr. Burris as soon as can possibly be arranged and likewise a challenge to the good people of Minnesota in regard to Mr. Franken. If We the People want people of good character to be our representatives, then we must start doing what is necessary to make such a change. That starts with refusing to allow those of demonstrated poor character to continue serving past such demonstrations. It continues with making an active effort to find people of demonstrably good character to fill those seats.

I refer you to http://www.primarychallenge.org/ for a starting place. This is a site asking for folks to help them identify RINOs and find the names of good people to challenge them in your state's primary elections. (RINO = Republican In Name Only- I am not a republican, I am a conservative but I support the notion of replacing those who are not representing their constituency's wishes in this manner as a good start - you liberals will have to find your own site)

You are probably asking yourself who the third example is. I would ask you to examine the actions and words of Mr. Obama. He promised transparency and yet has spent significant amounts of money to avoid verifying that he is Constitutionally qualified to sit as president when a minimal fee would have sufficed to remove the challenges to his election. With this refusal, he plunges our country into a Constitutional crisis and jeopardizes the careers of every serviceman and woman in our military. This has been made to seem a small matter, something of no consequence, ridiculous even. But how arrogant and disrespectful of the American people is it to take the office of POTUS with such an easily addressed question unresolved?
I challenge the American people to really look at this man's actions and words over his lifetime. You tell me if this is a man of good character. Be prepared to defend your position.

For the next election cycle, I challenge the people of America to disregard the admittedly biased mouthings of the MSM and research the candidates yourselves. Vote, not by party, but by principle. Be guided not by the mouthings of talking heads and celebrities but by the dictates of your own conscience and common sense. Do not sympathize with those who have failed morally, or allow the lecherous, drunken or fiscally unsound private behaviors of someone requesting to serve as our leader to be glossed over but rather demand good character and adherence to high moral standards from those we put into positions of leadership. We are better than that. We need leaders who exemplify the standards we want our nation to adhere to who can demonstrate them to the world. We have the God given freedom to do so, but with freedom comes responsibility. This is not someone else's job-it is ours, individually.

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee." ~Numbers 11:16

Immigration and Fairness

I was recently reading a post on Vanishing American's blog. One of the commenters said: "Also, the people on VA's site are against ALL immigration. We don't want refugees, legal immigrants, or illegal immigrants. Maybe some O-Visa people here and there, but that's it."

I had to stop and think about that. Am I someone who is against all immigration? Am I a racist or a xenophobic, spoiled, rich, American who wants not to have to share the blessings and advantages of living in this country, as was the implication in my reading of that comment?

I find that I must disagree. I do appreciate VA's intelligent observations on immigration and assimilation, but for myself, I am not against all immigration. I think and believe that every individual is inherently worthy of my consideration because we are all made in the image of God. I do not want to speak for VA or her commenters, which is why I am posting this on my own blog rather than as a reply on hers.

I think those who value and wish to preserve the history, heritage and ideals of America should be welcome. But why should I welcome someone, who is not willing to live those ideals in order to change their own country, into mine?

There is also the culture barrier. Someone who is used to having to pay bribes (for example) to get government assistance in a matter, will bring the assumption that bribes are necessary here. It will not even occur to them that it is not the case, or that it is a citizen's responsibility to expose anyone who would take bribes. This places a temptation before our law enforcement community, who, after all, are just people.

What about those for whom violence is a daily and familiar occurrence? Those who find it acceptable to kill a family member for honor are not likely to go out on a limb to uphold a legal system that does not allow such behavior.

Those who come here illegally plunge themselves and their children into a never-ending cycle of victimization and criminal activity. There is no way for them to participate as fully functioning members of a self-governed society.

That is why those individuals who suffer from political persecution have been welcomed in the past. Because they have made the attempt to change their system and suffered for it. We then have a reason to believe that they understand, or at least have the ability to understand the burdens of citizenship in a self governed country. Refugees and illegals have not shown this drive towards freedom, nor can we expect them to.

That is the danger brought by immigrants. That is how they destabilize our system. This is particularly relevant in light of the arrest of the governor of Illinois yesterday. As Americans, we know that law enforcement does not work in a vacuum. It works, only when citizens participate. It also requires that citizens risk persecution to assure that law enforcement is functioning as it should. Someone in Chicago is paying a price for turning that man in to law enforcement to protect the rest of us. The higher up the corruption goes, the higher the price that must be paid to restore the system. That's the sacrifice required of American citizens.

I think, that, in large part, is also why we hear so many people basing their arguments these days on the "fairness" of an action. It is because we, as Americans, have been conditioned from an early age to question authority and to want to make things "fair" for everyone. I think that the citizenship issues behind that urge to require "fairness" from the world in general have been lost over time.
I think, that for myself, I am going to start being very careful about using the word "fair" in reference to political issues. I think I am going to concentrate instead on the idea of doing what's right. Right and fair are not equivalent. I think there is a connotation of sacrifice in the phrase"doing what's right" that is completely missing from fair. In fact, it is not fair that an individual often has to suffer for doing the right thing.

Those who are simply being persecuted because that's how their system works or who just want a job that pays enough to support their family are not fit citizens for a country that relies upon it's citizenry for regulation. If folks want to come here, they need to take up the duties of an American citizen, not just the benefits.

Perhaps, if we, as a nation, cannot quell our suicidal tendencies to embrace destruction in this manner, refugees should be offered a place of safety for a limited time during which they are required to learn and exercise the responsibilities of citizenship here. Then send them back home to fix their own countries. I have no doubt that their countries of origin will cry "foul" and say it's not "fair" of us to interfere in their sovereignty in that way. Our response should be, no, it's not fair, but it is the right thing to do. If you cannot make your country a safe enough place for your people to want to stay there, then we will help your people to accomplish that goal. Even if the adults don't get it, I'll bet their children would and in 10-20 years, we would see fewer refugees.
"Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt."~Exodus 20:21

The Price Is Right

When does the price become too high to do the right thing?

I have had a number of personal challenges in recent months, including the death of my father. Now before y'all send your condolences, he wasn't a particularly good father. He chose to move out-of-state to avoid paying child support. As I grew and developed and became a parent myself, I came to realize the tremendous negative impact of his actions on my life. Quite literally, everyone around me told me to "just let it go - forgive and move on" and other similar sentiments. The Bible, however, clearly instructs us to confront others when we have a grievance against them and work it out. So I did. We exchanged some angry words and, while I felt better for having done the right thing, I realized that he would probably never speak to me again.

I was wrong.

About a year later, he called me and apologized and asked for my forgiveness. I cannot adequately express how much this means to me now that he is dead. The price of doing the right thing in that instance seemed high, but I would do it again 100 times over to have the peace of mind provided by knowing that we had an honest relationship at the end because of it. My siblings do not.

Recently, I have paid a rather high price to do the right thing in another situation. Again, the advice I received (and am still receiving) from well meaning folks is to "let it go and move on", "It's not worth it", and other similar sentiments.

To repeat the question - When does the price become too high to do the right thing?

In my view, if it's my call, never. The right thing to do is the right thing to do, regardless of cost or sacrifice. Indeed, if we will not choose to sacrifice a little when the cause is relatively easy, then why should we be trusted to do the right thing when something more difficult arises?
People are very quick to judge those who have been granted a say in the larger issues of the day, but how many of us are standing up to do the right thing in the small issues in our lives?

If you realize that the waitress or store clerk just gave you too much change, the right thing to do is to return it, either in person or by mail no matter what the amount. If you mistakenly let out your neighbor's livestock, you round them up. If you take something that belongs to someone else by mistake, you return it. If you blame someone for something they didn't do, you apologize. If your friend does any of these things, you do all you can to encourage him/her to do the right thing for themselves. These are simple things, basic things.
The price is never too high to do the right thing.

"When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul." ~Ezekiel 33:8-9

I.O.U.S.A.

I attended the screening on Thursday of I.O.U.S.A. While it is not my intent to use this forum for movie reviews, this is something worth a post. I attended on the 21st because I particularly wanted to see the panel discussion afterwards.

The movie was a fairly straightforward look at the financial health of our nation with a historical context which I found helpful. (Oh, and catchy music too, of course, can't have a movie without catchy music.)They looked at where we are currently, where we have been and where they believe we are going if "something" isn't done now. They briefly presented the concept of financial war on an international level which I found interesting. They showed the home and talked about the expectations in life of an average Chinese (city dwelling, factory working)couple.

They pointed out our current challenges and the necessity for doing something quickly to avoid leaving a huge financial burden to our children and grandchildren.

They did not , however, present any real options for what people should do. By real options, I refer to things the average American can do today to address the situation.

The movie shows Americans buying bonds to support our efforts in WWII but does not explain how this was helpful to the country. They addressed this a little bit(it means our nation's debt is to the nation's people)in the panel discussion. The panel also briefly addressed the benefit of regular savings accounts to the economy(making funds available for lending) but noted that savings accounts are penalized by being taxed twice. (It's taxed when you make it and taxed again for any interest it makes.)

Then the panel discussion went on to exhort the American people to put pressure on our elected officials to vote for fiscally sound policies at all levels. Unfortunately they did not provide any way for the average American to discern, in these days of media spin, what such policies would look like.

This is an area that needs to be addressed. I have noted in other forums the disservice done to a people by media bias and it is no less crucial here. If one has no way to gather accurate and relatively unbiased information, it becomes nearly impossible to know what one should approve of as far as the upcoming votes of one's legislators. Where can I find reasonably unbiased information on current spending proposals before my legislators? How can I verify that such a source is reasonably unbiased?
Almost anything would be better than nothing, but where do I start?

Another solution raised by the panel, but not in the movie was raising the retirement age. The entire panel and most of the audience seemed supportive. Most people understand that Social Security was never intended to be a way of life. There was also a brief mention of forced savings. A mandatory savings account for every worker was mentioned as an option. (One assumes that this is because the government has no faith in the willingness of the next generation to take care of our elderly citizens. Is it a good idea to force people to save - whether you want to contribute or not? And if the government was untrustworthy with Social Security and are untrustworthy on fiscal issues now - another point of the panel discussion - why should we trust them to administer any of our money?) This kind of leads into my next area of concern about the movie's message...character issues.

There was an underlying assumption, throughout both the movie and the panel discussion, that the character of the people of this country is such that we need not question current and future generation's dedication and willingness to do the right thing even if it is difficult. I'm not so sure this is a valid assumption anymore and here's why:

• The baby boomers came from a generation that went to church regularly and understood many of the qualities of good character without having them explained. It wasn't necessary, those qualities were demonstrated by their parents and neighbors. There was a well defined set of moral and behavioral standards that were generally accepted. That is no longer the case.
• GenXer's, such as myself, were raised by those who were breaking out of those values sets because they found them to be too restrictive. We did not have the benefit of regular church attendance in many cases and were told that "if it feels good, do it" was the way things should be. That having standards was prudish and not relevant to our modern world.
• For Generation Y, moral relativity is now the rule of the day. Nobody has the last word on what is right or wrong and so nothing really is. It's all about what works for you.
• Today's youth are showing some signs of recovery from this plague of moral relativism, but by and large they believe that there will be no Social Security system for them when they reach retirement age. In their view, their parents and grandparents lived high on the hog and now want them to pay the bill. This is jarringly out of step with the character values the film is asking them to display. The attitude that we may reap as a nation may very well be one of "Those older people keep telling us how much better they were and are than us and look at what they've done to our generation. Why should we bail them out? "What's in it for me?" has become the question of the day for the Millenials.
• Once again, we come to the remarks of the panel that the current leadership of our nation cannot be trusted to do the right thing,fiscally, because their focus has become getting re-elected rather than doing the job. How can we change that? It must be changed because otherwise our young people are correct in questioning the character of those who made the fiscal situation what it is.

I personally believe that our people young and old will come through, but I don't think it will be without consequences. I hope and believe that personal character will become an absolutely overriding factor in elections once again. I'm just not sure how we will get there from here and this movie doesn't provide more than a very tentative starting place.

There would probably have been more than 28 people in the theatre with me if they had advertised it as "doing for Congress what "Supersize Me" did for McDonald's" rather than comparing it to "An Inconvenient Truth".

"The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. "

~Prov. 22:7

Lack of Leadership or Lack of Practice?

I read a post a while back (Feb. 23rd - titled "Loyalty and leadership") at Vanishing American on leadership and the lack of it in our country. I'm thinking through something here, so please bear with me.

It seems to me that entitlement programs remove the necessity for individual displays of leadership. As a volunteer who teaches leadership I know that leadership is a skill. It can be developed, through training and practice. One of the biggest hurdles is finding an occasion that makes an individual motivated enough to step up to the plate and "do something". That's what almost all of the training is about - providing small opportunities to practice leadership so that when large ones come along, an individual is able to do something with them.

When a government or other entity, takes over those situations in which such a decision would ordinarily take place, then the individual is denied the opportunity to practice leadership. (Along with compassion, planning and the logical thought towards what sort of help would truly engender the best possible outcome that goes along with it.) Not only is the individual denied the opportunity to practice leadership but all those around that individual lose the opportunity to witness it and learn from the demonstration.

It is one thing to be motivated to help out those less fortunate than oneself. It is another to have a government that does it so that you don't have to. The first one is empowering. It lets you know that you make a difference. It allows you to practice those skills that make a leader. The second one is passive and tears down that sense of personal responsibility and spirit of self government that desperately needs building up in our society today.

What is this teaching our children? The opportunities to practice real leadership in the classroom are few and far between. Children used to wander around and make up their own games. How many do that now? How many children actually get an opportunity to be leaders in organized sports? Do they plan the trips? Do they set the lineup of who will play and know the reasoning behind that lineup? Organized team sports are wonderful for encouraging fitness and teaching sportsmanship, but they don't teach leadership except to a few. If we want good leaders, we must provide opportunity and training for our children to become those leaders. We must seek out organzations that are actively teaching it. (See "Where Have All the Adults Gone?" below)

"For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
"~Gen 18:19

Who is doing the wrong thing here?

I had the opportunity the other day to attend a lunch meeting with a representative of AmeriCorps. They are looking for ways to help (legal) immigrants assimilate into the culture here in Northeastern Wisconsin. This meeting was focusing on the Hispanic population and I learned a good deal. Much of it was very positive and dealt with helping people learn to plan for their futures and encouraging their children to aim for college and beyond.

Some of the knowledge was not so welcome. One of the other attendees was a high school teacher for a rural school. She was clearly fully integrated into the "these poor illegals are all victims of our cruel and oppressive system" mode, so I won't go into most of what she said. The part that struck me was relating to the future of the children of illegals. She was incensed that there were no programs for them to get social security numbers. She said these children often don't see any point in graduating from high school or going on to college because without social security numbers they can't get jobs and they can't attend college. (At least not most colleges) Now in my mind, the mind of the presenter and her mind this was linked to the growing gang problems we have been seeing. (Legally unemployable youth who are already criminals by their mere presence here turning to lives of crime? Say it isn't so.)

In her mind, and I suspect the minds of most liberals, this is a great reason to extend amnesty to these children, if not their parents. To my mind, it's a great reason to send them back to their country of origin. Like it or not, actions have consequences. One of the consequences of entering this country illegally is that your children will have no future other than a life of crime. I am not the bad guy for making these children into criminals. Their parents chose to put them in this situation, not me. They are criminals by living here with their parents, and they have nothing to look forward to here but becoming more deeply involved with criminal elements by staying here. By not sending illegals back to their own countries,(and I believe those countries of origin should pay us for their transport, lodging and food on the way), we are forcing these children into a life of crime.

Many of these children are bright and intelligent and deserve better. Think of the impact they could have on their own countries. Having lived here and experienced the values that lead to success, what couldn't they be inspired to do to make their own countries better? We don't have the right to keep them here and force them into a life of crime and neither do their parents. They should be taken back to their own countries. Maybe some of you think that makes me cruel and heartless. I don't. I think adversity builds character and these children will have what it takes to rise above their humble beginnings and make a difference for their own countries, if they get what they need from us. Namely a ticket home.

To those who believe they should be allowed to stay and get a social security number, put your money where your mouth is and sponsor them for legal citizenship. But don't ask me to approve of any plan that strings them along with promises of amnesty at some nebulous time in the future while they are dragged deeper into criminal activity, held hostage by their illegal status. Don't ask me to approve carte blanche citizenship for people who are providing fertile ground (their children) for gang related and other criminal activities by their willingness to put personal profit above personal responsibility. And please, don't tell me I should be helping people who would put their children into such a situation either. This is not making a better life for your family, it is plunging your family into a pit from which they may never climb out.

I believe that if you want to come here and work your tail off to send money home, then your first priority should be to make enough money to get yourself here legally, as a citizen. This is the country that is giving you the opportunity to help your relatives back in the old country. This is the country that is providing you with such freedom. If you are unwilling to work to make your own country into a place that gives you such opportunities, then don't expect me to welcome you with open arms unless you want to become a responsible, contributing, citizen here.

"It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones." ~ Luke 17:2