Protect and Preserve v. Use and Abuse

A couple of ideas have finally come together for me. I can be explain what it is about Sen. Obama that really worries me. Before I go further, I should also admit that this same idea worries me with respect to many others, both liberal and conservative. The idea is simply the attitude one has about the Constitution. Do you really want to protect and preserve the Constitution, or do you want to use it and abuse it to reach your self-determined goals. The Constitution is the single greatest charter developed by man for establishing freedom and liberty for men ever developed. The Constitution provides a system whereby men can live as free as justly possible, while still providing enough governmental power and involvement to do those things that only a strong government can do that individuals cannot. That is the balance we are continually striving to preserve. Tipping the balance too far in one direction leads toward anarchy, while tipping the balance in the other direction leads toward tyranny.

Laura Hollis makes a great point with which I tend to agree. Sen. Obama is not worried about Constitutional restraints, and in fact sees them as obstacles to be overcome. However, I think he knows that he cannot simply bull through them; that would be too obvious. Bill Dyer provides another important piece to this puzzle by pointing out that after Sen. Obama realized the Supreme Court did not, and could not, go beyond the Constitution to achieve the goal Sen. Obama deemed important, "redistributive change," something else was needed to achieve this goal. That something else is a "coalition of power." This "coalition of power" is described as the Executive and Legislative branches working together to achieve this purpose, this extra-Constitutional purpose.

Now we see that Sen. Obama, with the help of Sen. Pelosi and Sen. Reid, may be only a week away from essentially achieving that "coalition of power" and being within sight of genuine "redistributive change." I am not so much worried about Sen. Obama shredding the Constitution as much as I am worried about him using it, because the Constitution is not really what prevents abuses of power. The voice of the people demanding and electing those people that will actually defend and protect the Constitution and govern accordingly, as opposed to those that would govern with an eye toward abusing the system in place, that is what really prevents an abuse of power by government.

Story Seeking Audience

I have really enjoy Beldar a/k/a Bill Dyer guest posting at Hugh Hewitt's website. He has an interesting post about Sen. Obama's campaign finance practices. From the sound of it, this is a huge story that should be on the front page of every major newspaper. However, it is more difficult to find than stories about Gov. Palin's wardrobe. Sen. Obama needs to be held accountable for his campaign finance practices, but no one is going to question the messiah. The extent to which the mainstream media covers for Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden is truly amazing.

Chicago Politics

I find this article by Eric Zorn in the Chicago Tribune very interesting. He gives 8 reasons why Sen. Obama will lose the election. There are a couple reasons there that I do not think will have much to do with the election, for example, "too much defense," "more dismissive than responsive," and not focusing on McCain's relationship with Renzi. I think these are marginal at best. Mr. Zorn mentions "Bittergate," but I think this misses the point, at least the current point. I do think Sen. Obama's comment about people in Pennsylvania being bitter does and will hurt him, but who does not know about Joe the Plumber and Sen. Obama's "share the wealth" comment? This is much more damaging, but somehow absent from Mr. Zorn's list. I will say that Mr. Zorn gets it right that Sen. Biden's comment(s) have not helped Sen. Obama. I am not sure there is a VP candidate that has done more damage to their own ticket than Sen. Biden. However, in my final comment, I have to take issue with Mr. Zorn's eighth reason why Sen. Obama will not win. Mr. Zorn claims race is a big factor, so big in fact that if Sen. Obama had all these same issues, but were white, the presidential race would not even be close because Sen. Obama would win easily. I am sorry, but I find this very hard to believe, and a bit offensive. For one thing, I think Sen. McCain and most people I know have focused on the issues and not on race at all. Second, I resent the implication that simply because someone does not vote for Sen. Obama they must be racist. To paraphrase my favorite comedian, Dennis Miller, with regard to race, "Why dislike someone based on the color of their skin when you can take some time, talk to them, get to know them better, and probably come up with a really good reason to dislike them?" I certainly have reasons why I would not like Sen. Obama (or for that matter Sen. McCain) to be the next President of the United States, and none of them have to do with the color of his skin.

The French View

The French President, THE FRENCH, thinks Sen. Obama is "utterly immature" when it comes to his view of Iran. Moreover, Sen. Obama's formulations are "empty of all content." First of all, that is a very correct observation. Second, I think the French can certainly recognize surrender when they see it. Even the French think Sen. Obama has a bad foreign policy. The UN Security Council may have to rely on the French to be part of a reasoned approach. I certainly hope we do not get to a point where I have to write that the French have a stronger foreign policy than the US.

George Soros

This article by Mr. Rahn explains why George Soros should be considered an enemy of the U.S. This man should be no where near any U.S. economic interest, let alone discussing such matters with politicians.

messiah

I refuse to use a capital letter when referring to Sen. Obama as the messiah, however, I have to admit that the reference is very prevalent. It concerns me a great deal. Oliver North has a very interesting article about this phenomenon associated with Sen. Obama. I have seen a picture of a group of people gathered around Sen. Obama in an attitude of prayer with Sen. Obama in the middle of the group and each individual reaching out as if hoping just to be able to touch Sen. Obama. The kids in the matching blue shirts singing about the change Sen. Obama is going to bring and how he will save us concerns me. Why are people so anxious to believe that Sen. Obama will herald a new, different type of government and save all of us from ourselves? As Mr. North mentions in the article, unmet expectations are the greatest source of anger on this planet, and Sen. Obama can never live up to the expectations he has encouraged.

Also, I am reading The Making of America by W. Cleon Skousen. The title of the book is quite literal. When the book is discussing the things Gen. George Washington and the Continental Army had to endure while fighting for their "country" because Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, was so powerless and the States so disinterested, the resultant idea had by "Americans" surprised me. The Continental Army wanted to establish a king, specifically George I. Of course, George Washington turned them down and turned the tide of this idea. In the same position, which Presidential candidate do you think would do the same? Reading about the beginning of this country, both the political and financial absolute turmoil, is very interesting and very applicable today. It is clear how far we as a nation have fallen when we really look at the founding principles upon which this nation was built, and for which a precious few gave their "Lives," "Fortunes," and "sacred Honor."

Voting Reports

This is good advice from Beldar a/k/a Bill Dyer. Reports regarding early voting in key state are based only on speculation and cannot be trusted. Take heart and treat your vote as if it is important because it is. I am actually planning to vote early this year, just to avoid the lines. However, I know of at least one person who is not going to vote early because "that is what Obama wants." I can see how Sen. Obama would want that based on his own mis-statements and those from Sen. Biden that seem to occur regularly. Voting early will help make sure those people inclined to support Sen. Obama have already made their choice before Sen. Biden says something else that will convince more people not to vote for their ticket. I hope Sen. Biden has three speaking engagements a day scheduled from now until Nov. 3.

Harassing Mormons

The Article VI Blog with Lowell Brown and John Schroeder has a fantastic post with detailed accounts of the way those people opposing Prop. 8 in California are harassing Mormons. As you may know, Prop. 8 in California is the attempt to amend that state's Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. Earlier this year, the California State Supreme Court decided by a 4-3 vote that a previous mandate from the people of California violated the state's Constitution by defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The only recourse left to the people of California is to amend their Constitution, which it looks like they will be able to do by voting Yes on Prop. 8. Those voting No on Prop. 8 have now sunk to new lows to intimidate people into not supporting Prop. 8. The part that really disappoints me the most is that Mormons opposing Prop. 8 are helping to make sure Mormons supporting Prop. 8 can be intimidated and ridiculed more easily. So much for "being one."

Why I Love the Internet

Again, this is one of the reasons I love the internet. Guy Benson and Mary Katherine Ham, along with Ed Morrissey, team up and provide all the information about Sen. Obama you could possibly want to know. All the information is provided right there for you to review and evaluate, complete with links to source materials, which makes arguing the facts pointless. This is a great service provided in the article. Bottom line: do not vote for Sen. Obama.

Double Standard

As usual Charles Krauthammer writes a great piece about the double standard applied to Sen. McCain. My favorite point is how Sen. Obama's campaign has even managed to suggest that Pres. Clinton is a closet racist, and if they can succeed at that, they can do it to anyone. Sen. McCain has actually been quite kind during this campaign and all he gets for it is attacks from Sen. Obama and complaints from his own party that he is not taking the campaign serious enough. Hopefully, this will be one instance where a nice guy can finish first.

The Backlash

I usually do not like much of what Patrick J. Buchanan writes, but I have to admit that he has a point. Sen. Obama has certainly had to distance himself from a lot of people and policies that actaully got him where he is right now. If Sen. Obama becomes Pres. Obama, either voters will feel betrayed, or the people in his background will feel betrayed. The price of betrayal will be very expensive for all of us.

Taking Your Eye Off the Joe

I have seen numerous articles today about "Joe the Plumber." For examples, see here and here and here. By my count, there are approximately 2,500 stories out there about "Joe the Plumber." But I think all these stories miss the most relevant and important point in the exchange between Sen. Obama and "Joe." Sen. Obama stated, "I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." That is the point. That is the difference between Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain. If you want Sen. Obama to spread the "wealth" around, then vote for him. If not, then vote for Sen. McCain. See how easy this election stuff is? All you need are the real facts. David Strom does a great job of explaining why "spreading the wealth around" DOES NOT WORK.

Obama At Your Fingertips

This is one of the things I love about the internet, someone else does all this great work gathering a bunch of relevant information in one easy-to-find location, and we can all benefit from it. (HT: Beldar) Dan McLaughlin has gathered a lot of great information about Sen. Obama and made it available to anyone really interested. Enjoy a little or a lot, it is up to you.

Alarmist But Interesting

Laura Hollis has a very interesting article about classifying Sen. Obama correctly, not as a liberal or even a socialist, but a communist. It does have an alarmist tone, but as John Adams said, "Facts are stubborn things." The facts in this article are certainly hard to argue.

Obama and Economics

I have heard this idea repeated numberous times, but this article by Mona Charen is the latest. The idea is very simple to follow. After the Wall Street panic of 1929, there were two things that the Hoover administration did after the panic that are believed to have caused the Great Depression. One was that taxes were raised, and the other was the imposition of protectionist trade policies. Sen. Obama has said he wants to raise taxes and implement protectionist trade policies. I do hate to sound alarmist, but yes, I am very afraid that if Sen. Obama becomes Pres. Obama, this country will experience some of the most difficult financial times in history.

Chilling, Follow Up

Amanda Carpenter always does a great job of presenting the facts. She has certainly done it again in this article detailing Sen. Obama's position on abortion, and specifically, how infants that manage to survive an abortion are to be treated. On October 8, 2008, I posted a "Chilling" article about what practices Sen. Obama was defending and protecting. The proof that Sen. Obama did not tell the entire truth about his position is beyond dispute.

Panic or Trust

The decision is really that easy. Terry Paulson has an interesting article about the "confidence" behind economics.

Wall Street and the Election

Dick Morris and Eileen McGann have an interesting article about the effect of Wall Street on elections, a previous election and the upcoming election. I think the main idea is correct. It is difficult to determine where voters will place the most blame. Will it be on the Republicans having been in power for a good portion of the problem period and known stereotypically for being rich and selfish? Will it be on the Democrats having the current political power and known stereotypically for being tax and spend minded? It will certainly be an interesting election. May the least worst candidate win.

Cockeyed Optomist

Maybe I am not very bright, and I would certainly admit that I do not understand the financial systems that make up our economy, but I am an optomist. It will take time, but I do believe the market will recover, and hopefully, we will learn something from all of this. This article by Lawrence Kudlow is just one of the reasons I am optomistic that things will change. Also, we all know life is full of "cycles." Things progress in cycles and that is what we have here. It will be a tough few months, and maybe even a tough year, but we will come out of this mess and hopefully be stronger for it. Of course, I still think we need to make sure we clean house and get rid of the corruption and selfish greed that plagues our politics and our businesses. But that is just opinion.

Source of Inspiration

Brett Joshpe has really hit on something in this article. Why would Sen. Obama think we all need him to provide hope and change? Have we deteriorated so far that we look to government and politics as our main source of hope and inspiration, or worse yet, one individual? Politics is certainly the new religion, and it cannot fulfill those needs or measure up to those expectations. These are indeed scary times.

Context of Anger

Rich Galen does a great job of giving context to the anger felt by many Americans, including myself. I am angry that my government is buying and/or bailing out all kinds of financial institutions. I am angry at the incomprehensible amount of greed and corruption present in politics and business. I am simply stunned. Is getting Congress and the government involved in this type of business a bad idea? Yes. But this problem runs so much deeper that it amazes me. Until something is done to address the corruption and greed, nothing, no bail-out bill or not bailing out businesses and mortgages, is going to fix the root problem.

I think too many people are looking at this from the wrong perspective. The financial system is not broken. The political system, or Constitution, is not broken. The problem is that we have way too many corrupt, selfish, short-sighted individuals managing and running programs in both systems. Until that changes, other changes will only be bandages on a wound that will not heal.

Rebellion, The Original Sin

This article by Sandy Rios started off fine, and the subject is of some interest to me, but the ending was fantastic. The ending really made me think about a lot of issues from a very different perspective.

The Obama-Ayers Connection

I think too many people are missing the point with the Sen. Obama - Ayers connection. It is more than just Sen. Obama's judgment about with whom he associates. It is about Sen. Obama helping Ayers achieve his objectives. Now obviously, Sen. Obama never helped Ayers when Ayers was with the Weather Underground planning domestic terrorism. However, Sen. Obama clearly helped Ayers promote socialist, liberal policies in the education of children in Illinois. See, articles by Stanley Kurtz here and here. The point is that Sen. Obama knew exactly what he was doing with the Chicago Annenberg Challenge.

Live Blogging Hugh Hewitt

It will be no surprise to people (or the person) who read this blog, but I am a big fan of Hugh Hewitt. It is worth it to hear the beginning of his show on Thursdays if for no other reason than to hear Mark Stein be interviewed. What a great interview about politics and the economy. One point Mr. Stein made that I thought was very interesting was that the current drop in the market could be based on a number of things: maybe this is the market's reaction to Congress attempting to bail out the market; or maybe this is the reaction to Sen. Obama leading in the polls and the predictions that he will win the Presidency.

Prof. Hewitt is also talking a lot about how the focus is turning to Congress and Democrats about the source of the current financial mess, and the negative effect this is having on Sen. Obama's campaign. It is always worth the time to listen to Hugh Hewitt. He is always very informative and relevant.

We Can Only Hope

I know I have mentioned before that Congress is the governmental body everyone should be looking at right now, wondering what happened. An email from one of Hugh Hewitt's fans does a great job of detailing who should be held accountable and who should resign or be fired. I also love the part about how quickly members of Congress call for someone else's resignation without turning that analysis on themselves at all. I also hope Hugh Hewitt is correct about the focus and attitude of the country shifting with regard to Congress. I actually would not mind if Sen. Obama became President, as long as both Houses of Congress were over half full of responsible, intelligent individuals. Nothing scares me like Sen. Obama as President and the Democrats (Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Reid) leading both houses of Congress. No matter what the perception, Congress is still the strongest branch of government, as it should be. Unfortunately, I think its 9% approval rating is richly deserved, and I am talking about both Democrats and Republicans.

Chilling

This article from Terence Jeffrey is chilling. I am sorry, but anyone gone that far in arguing for abortion rights has lost all sense of decency, justice and humanity. The facts with this article would be very hard to argue since it would all be publicly available with the Illinois legislature.

Prosperity Theology

This article by R. Albert Mohler, Jr. provides a much-needed perspective. I have been meaning to post on something like this idea for quite a while, so this article gives me a great reason to do so. Also, I am going to make my comments from an "LDS perspective." The idea of "prosperity" is very common in the LDS church, based on certain references in the Book of Mormon linking prosperity to obedience. The problem with this idea has many facets. First, the Lord does not consider "prosperity" to be having a lot of worldly possessions and status. Second, LDS people "know" they are members of the only true and living church, which only feeds into this idea that obedience to the Lord's commandments will bring material prosperity. There are way too many stories and suggestions that paying your tithing will mean you are blessed with material prosperity. It is simply not completely true. Sometimes it may be true depending on the individual and what the Lord determines is best for that individual, but generally speaking, material prosperity is not promised by Scripture and any indication otherwise should be considered the exception and not the rule. Also, I think most people tend to associate being "blessed" in any way with attaining some material benefit. I think this only shows our tendency toward material matters as opposed to spiritual. Clearly, our focus should be on spiritual matters.

Patience and Confidence

As anyone who is paying attention will tell you, the financial markets are still in a free-fall. From what I have read so far today, including this article, this should not be a surprise. Congress did not exactly act quickly to try and dispell fears with the market, and even after passing the bill, everyone, including the market, knows it will take some time to implement the programs. The market will not bounce back immediately upon passage of the bill. Another thing that bothers me about the market, and economics in general, is that it seems to be a confidence game as much as anything. The article I have linked has another link directed toward today's drop in the market stating "Stock Drop 'Strictly a Matter of Confidence.'" Apparently, all the "market" needs is a little confidence and it will rebound. Of course, I have read another opinion that one more factor the market may be considering is the real possibility that Sen. Obama, and Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, is elected and we end up with the most liberal government in history. The market may be reacting to that possibility by getting out of the market. Would the damage to the market, and the savings and 401(k) losses, have been better or worse without the passage of the bill. We may never know. I for one am glad Congress did pass the bill. Again, is it a good bill? NO IT IS NOT. It is a terrible bill, but it is the bill for having a Congress (Democrat and Republican) determined to enforce political correctness in the financial markets, and moreover the bill we pay for having a representative government (puns intended). Also, I would have to say that I am a bit worried about what would happen if the Democrats have a firm control of the White House and both houses of Congress. Generally, I believe the country and the Constitution to be pretty strong, but that much liberal ideology may be very tough to survive. Sort of like getting chemo for cancer when you really need diet and exercise. If you do not like the way the government is being run, get new people in there. I know that is easier said than done, but it is what needs to happen. We need people that are going to reward honesty and hard work, and punish fraud and deceit. Not to mention politicians that might actually put the good of the people they represent ahead of their own careers. Frankly, I am not going to hold my breath.

Ethics Makes a Comeback

At least I hope that would be the headline in a few months. Ken Connor provides a great article that gets to the root of the problem, and it is not surprising to find dishonesty and greed at the root. We can all talk a lot about the problem a market may have, or the problems with the "system" or "politics," but the real problem comes from dishonesty and greed, individually and collectively. It does make perfect sense. Until the root problem is fixed, no action (or inaction) will fix the problem. We can bailout the market, or not bailout the market, but until we demand honesty and transparency in the financial market, and actively prosecute fraud, we will end up right back where we are right now. And again, we need to address is collectively and individually.

Worth the Read

The article by A. Scott Loveless should be read by everyone (HT: Prof. Hugh Hewitt, so it probably has been read by just about everyone). I will warn you that it is a long article, but well worth the time and effort to read. I say "effort" because there are some relatively deep principles discussed in the article, but the understanding received by reading it is worth the effort. The explanation of the principles described in the Declaration of Independence is very important for anyone who really wants to understand the problem with same-sex marriage. The article is a great example of the importance of fighting and winning the "culture war." The bottom line is that we have lost our perspective on the true source of our individual rights and liberties, our responsibilities to each other, and ultimately our ability to experience and enjoy true freedom.

Weak Government and Small Men

That is a good summary of this article by Michael Gerson. One of the things I like about this article is that it does a good job of explaining the real problem. Politicians putting their political career and self-interests ahead of the reality of the problem. Yes indeed, Republicans and Democrats are to blame for the incredible lack of any progress, or much of anything, from an aptly titled "do nothing" Congress. I know the market was up yesterday, and only slightly down to begin with today, but I dare say it is going to crater again if a bill does not get passed by the end of this week.