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so – cial – ism [soh-shuh-liz-uh m] -noun
1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.
There is a socialism rumbling in the media about President Obama. There are those who label him a socialist, and those who find this ridiculous. I will simply point to the facts, all of which you can check for yourself. Consider the following, and make up your own mind. Challenge my observations with your own or admit the facts do not matter.
First, what is a socialist? In laymen’s terms, a socialist finds preferable a system where the community as a whole should control the means of production and distribution of goods and services and the use of property and resources, as opposed to systems where individuals decide such things for their individual situation. A socialist thinks that the entity in control (government) decides best how things should be, and individual decisions waste resources. Continue reading President Obama is not our first socialist President
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Today I spoke with a friend on the phone while I waited to for a little Chinese restaurant to open and I could get lunch to take back to my desk. We talked about the idea of praying for a business miracle. We agreed that such powerful mojo should not be wasted to defy the laws of reason for such an individual serving end with limited mass market appeal. One has to consider unintended consequences and trickle down economics when pondering the effects, post-miracle. Please pray responsibly.
I just got a chill. I felt the collective eye roll as you read that. “Does this guy really think he is capable of ill effect from a poorly considered prayer”? I’m just saying, be careful what you wish for.
Continue reading Please pray responsibly (Be careful what you wish for)
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At breakfast this morning a friend lamented the state of things and how bad it would be before it would get better. I gave my standard, wore out, response that all democracies have dissolved when the populace voted themselves a larger share of the community grain than those left to harvest grain could provide. On the face, this looks like an economic principle and this is where our discussion wandered to. But it really is about individual rights. Specifically, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
When I was in high school, our history teacher, Rick Zeller, stated that the Civil War was a war for state’s rights, not a war for slavery. I remember him fondly. He was wrong, sort of, but right. Back to that in a minute. I have very strong opinions on the act of succession in terms of rights and the constitution, but generally keep them to myself. People cannot, and perhaps should not, separate the Civil War from the slavery debates of the day. This is especially pungent as that is the only succession in our nation’s history. But Chris Mathews equated succession with racism on his show on Tuesday and I could not keep this quiet any longer. If there were a predominantly Black state, and said state succeeded, would it still be racist? Certainly not. Because the right has nothing to do with the motivations. Speak freely without fear of persecution by those who don’t like your agenda. Continue reading We are under no moral obligation to be governed (You’re not the boss of me)
Posted from email list distribution August 2009 – President Obama told friendly pastors today that they are morally obligated as men of faith to let the government provide health care. If his logic is not flawed, then we are morally obligated to provide the best health care possible to all Americans, and all non-Americans. After all, morality does not end at the border. If his logic is not flawed, the generally agreed to moral standard of Man would be that everyone get “free” health care, everyone, not just those in the country of the moral person.
Continue reading If only the hens were less partisan.
While reading an article on a web site I stumbled onto called Ace of Spades HQ, posted by no less than ACE, I was reminded of a similar rant of mine where I complained about the Democrat whining about Republican hindrance. Ace’s article corrects people who think President Obama is the anti-Christ. The article is interesting and I encourage you to read it, but he summed it up by saying, “Satan would not be such a [screw] up.” http://ace.mu.nu/archives/297344.php
My original point was that is must be horrible to be a liberal/progressive/collectivist with things going so badly. Occasionally I comment about how they tend to eat each other when in charge. Part of the reason is that they each think that their own issue is the only important one but the principles they insist further their interests actually hinder the agenda of other liberal/progressive/collectivists. How is related to President Obama not qualifying as the antichrist? They are both explained by the idea behind the phrase, “We hold these truths to be self evident.”
Continue reading We hold these to be self evident – “[We] elected an unprecedented, historic guy made of pure awesome.”
If you have not heard, Harry Reid is catching heat from the right about a comment he made during the last Presidential election race. I know, I just heard the collective scrunching of noses and loss of interest. FOCUS! Stay with me!
Specifically, he said then candidate Obama stood a good chance of winning because he was, “light skinned” and spoke with, “no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.” I say, cut him some slack. Why? Mostly, because I am on the right but not a Republican. I can forgive him for letting his colors show, so to speak, but don’t feel the need to attack him because he is a Democrat. Continue reading Fire the Coach and rebuild the program!
Think for a minute about Kindergarten. Imagine the teacher asks her class of 30 students to bring in a stuffed animal to play with. If they would like, they can bring more than one. Imagine that the next day, 5 students showed up without a stuffed animal, 20 showed up with one, 3 showed up with two, and 2 students brought in three.
Would you expect one or more of the 5 to show up the next day with a stuffed animal, because they did not like doing without? Do you think that some of the kids would offer their extra stuffed animal to classmates with none? I would. I would expect one or two of the 5 who simply forgot, or didn’t take the request seriously or whatever would remember the next day. That leaves 3 who did not bring a stuffed animal because they could not, for whatever reason. I would expect some with stuffed animals to share with those who do not have a stuffed animal. I have a son who routinely shares his most prized treats with others around him. Some of those with one stuffed animal would bring in another the next day, and some would do so specifically to share with their classmates. Continue reading Taking my Tonka truck and go’in home
Between Christmas and New Years, I had lunch with one of my oldest friends, home from New Jersey for the holidays. I had not seen him in more years than I would like to admit I have been out of high school. He said something that I let go at the time but later couldn’t shake. It was quite profound and reminded me of the knack he had for saying things that the rest of us talked about when we were younger, long after he had said them. He kept his opinions to himself much of the time, but would not hesitate to give a thoughtful answer if pressed, and never pulled a punch to avoid controversy. His observations could seem clairvoyant, as if he could notice the Emperor removing his cloths before the rest of us. In this uncharacteristic moment, he was wrong. At least I will attempt to prove him so.
Continue reading Democracy has not failed us, we have failed democracy
This is an old rant, posted here in support of what I think Mr. Shaw articulated in his post on Empire Building. – Shannon
Today it will finally happen. I am about to make you think that I have gone off the deep end. Half of you are going to think I’m a loon for what I’m about to say, the other half for my reasons. But, here goes.
We should surrender in Afghanistan and bring our people home.
Continue reading Surrender, Mr. President, and bring our troups home
After reading about President Obama’s strategy for conducting the war in Afghanistan I began wondering why we were even there. After all, George Washington warned us in his Farewell Address to “avoid foreign entanglements”. We have ignored his words.
Through the years our government has found many reasons to send our troops overseas and we are now continuing with President Bush’s “preventative war strategy to contain rogue states”. Is this really a war on terrorism, or something else? We have built an empire and it continues to grow every year. Don’t you think it causes resentment overseas? Consider how you’d feel about a Chinese military base here. The Pentagon currently owns or rents 716 overseas bases in 38 countries and has another 4,863 bases in the United States and its territories. In just one country, Germany, we have 18 air and army bases. http://www.acq.osd.mil/ie/download/bsr/BSR2009Baseline.pdf
Also, consider the fact that we spend more on our military than does the entire rest of the world combined – over $600 billion per year. This is big business, as a matter of fact, too big to fail. As our war machine grows so does the need for new wars and the new reasons to justify them. Although it may take years for the public to be properly conditioned for the next war, there will always be another. We are now being conditioned for military action in Iran and Yemen. The obvious bungling of our intelligence in the near-catastrophic Detroit plane incident at Christmas makes you wonder. Are our intelligence agencies really that stupid or is there a method behind this madness?
“Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes … known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.… No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.” — James Madison, Political Observations, 1795
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