Since the politically correct and historically unintelligent textbooks recommended by the National Education Association for our public schools have rewritten our history to say the Pilgrims declared the first Thanksgiving Day to thank the Indians for their help, a review of what actually happened nearly four hundred years ago to set the record straight is in order.
In 1609 a group of religious dissenters led by John Robinson, left England for Holland looking for religious freedom. There in the town of Leyden they established what would become the first modern Baptist church. After a decade away from home, however, they saw their children speaking Dutch over English and beginning to follow some of the more promiscuous practices of their hosts. The congregation removed back to England with a plan to continue their search for religious freedom in the New World.
Their venture was financed by a group calling themselves the Merchant Adventurers. They agreed to provide supplies and passage in exchange for seven years of labor. On September 6, 1620, the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, England, with 110 people on board, 102 passengers and eight crew, which included 44 Pilgrims, who called themselves the "Saints," and 66 others whom the Pilgrims called the "Strangers." The voyage lasted 65 days across the cold and damp North Atlantic. One of the ships crew, a particularly vulgar man who taunted the Saints for their faith, was taken ill suddenly and died, the only casualty of the trip.
Originally bound for the Hudson River, they sighted Cape Cod on November 10, and it being late in the year they decided to take safe harbor in Massachusetts Bay at a location they called Plymouth. The following day they composed and signed the Mayflower Compact, the first governing document of the Plymouth Colony. Both the Saints and the Strangers agreed to the document and 41 men signed it. The Compact read in part:
Having undertaken, for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the First Colony in the Northern Parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid. . . .
Their first winter in the New World was very harsh and over half of their number died. Then, on March 16, 1621, an Abnaki Indian named Samoset walked into the settlement and greeted them in English, "Welcome." Samoset introduced them to another Indian named Squanto, who had been to England and Spain as a captive of earlier explorers and spoke clear English. Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to tap maple trees for sap, plant Indian corn and other crops, and which plants were poisonous or medicinal. Of Squanto, Governor William Bradford said that he was "a special instrument sent of God for good."
In the autumn of 1621 the Pilgrims had a successful harvest. They had forged their home in the wilderness, were prepared for the winter, and they were at peace with the Indians. A treaty had been signed with Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoag tribe, which was never broken. Edward Winslow, who would later become the governor, declared, "by the goodness of God, we are far from want." In December 1621, Governor Bradford proclaimed a three-day thanksgiving celebration to thank God, and invited Massasoit and his tribe to join in. Massasoit and 90 "relatives" came to the feast.
In 1623 a lengthy drought threatened the entire harvest. Bradford called for a day of prayer and fasting on June 29. They had hardly finished praying when, to the amazement of all, Indians included, clouds began to form and a gentle rain fell and revived the crops. The colony was saved, but it also brought "no small comfort and rejoicing" to the Indians according to Bradford. Another Thanksgiving feast was declared to which Bradford made an official proclamation:
Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November 29th, of the year of our Lord {1623] and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.
Godly people are gracious people and no doubt the Pilgrims were beholding to Squanto for all he taught them, but since their purpose in coming to the New World was to advance the Christian faith, it is not hard to figure out Who they meant to thank when they went to church on Thanksgiving Day. It is also easy to see that God had used the circumstances to introduce the Christian faith to the Indians.
After his election as the first president of the United States, George Washington, in response to a request by both Houses of Congress, declared November 26, 1789, to be a day of thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.
Other national Thanksgiving proclamations were made occasionally (Washington again in 1795, Adams in 1799, Madison in 1814 and 1815), but most observances were at the State level. It wasn't until 1863, that Abraham Lincoln, after the Battle of Gettysburg, issued a proclamation establishing a national Thanksgiving Day to be observed on the last Thursday of November.
The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.... No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, Who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.... I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.
Thanksgiving has been celebrated every year since as a day to thank God for His bountiful blessings upon our great land. At a time when we have a thankless president who only dwells on what he considers the faults of America, let us remember that no nation at any time in history has been so blessed, or done so much good for the world in general as the United States of America has done. And let us never forget that it is the Christian God of the Pilgrims and our Founding Fathers, and no other god, that has made us who we are. It seems particularly poignant this year as Thanksgiving approaches again, that we remember not only the God that made us a great nation, but the simple fact that America is the greatest nation on earth.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Semper Fi
Eight years ago when I was still at the young age of 48, the Marine detachment at the US Embassy here in Nairobi started a search for the oldest Marine living here in Kenya. They were going to have him speak at their annual birthday ball. I gave them my name and even went so far as to prepare a speech, but then they found a guy who was 54 living over here, and not only did I not get to give my speech, they didn't even invite me to the ball.
I went to a Marine Corps birthday ball once in Pensacola, Florida. It was a formal dress blue occasion and there was going to be an orchestra and a dance. There were two Marines that had been coming to church with me, Mark Sites and Arlen Slagter, and we all had dates, but only Mark knew how to waltz. He tried to give us a crash course in ballroom dancing so we wouldn’t look silly on the dance floor. Then after the dinner and the traditional cutting of the cake with a sword a rock band started to play and those who went up on the dance floor in their blues and gowns started bouncing around like jumping beans and they looked so silly that we decided we weren't interested and left early.
To this day I still don’t know how to dance, and it’s probably just as well, but on this most auspicious occasion of the 235th birthday of the greatest fighting force the world has ever known, American Flyer is honoring the United States Marine Corps. I love the Marine Corps, and I love Marines.
I was an aviator. I was one of those bold enough and reckless enough to have taken a fast moving airplane, land it on a slow moving boat, come to a complete stop in a hundred yards, and then say, "That was fun, let's do it again." No one was any more proud than I was the day I pinned on those aviator wings of gold, but the achievement I am most proud of took place on 16 April 1982, when I completed Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia, pinned on the gold second lieutenant bars, and became a Marine.
The Marines are, as some have said, a breed apart. The élan, the can-do attitude, the "esprit de corps" of the U.S. Marine is unparalleled anywhere in the world. It is a brotherhood that one who has never put on the uniform can never fully know or understand.
There are three basic characteristics that I think make the Marine Corps what it is. The first is honor. From the first commandant, Major Burrows, to the "Old Man of the Corps," Archibald Henderson, to the genius of General John A. Lejeune, to such colorful figures as Howlin' Mad Smith and the Marine Corps' own legend, Chesty Puller, to General Robert Barrows, who was commandant when I became a Marine, to P.X. Kelly, whom I had the privilege on one occasion of meeting and shaking his hand, to the current commandant, the legacy of the Marine Corps is honor.
It has been our honor to be the "first to fight for right and freedom." It has been our honor through hail of bullets and artillery shells to plant the American flag on foreign soil. It has been our honor to drive out tyrants and put a stop to aggression. It has been our honor to account for our fallen comrades and bring their bodies home. It has been our honor never to have known defeat. It has been our honor never to have had a My Lai massacre or any other stain on our record. Our honor is clean.
The second is devotion to duty. No matter what he is called upon to do, a Marine always does his duty. From the early Marines in the rigging of the ships, to Presley O'Bannon and the five Marines that captured Tripoli, to those Marines who marched into the Halls of Montezuma and captured Mexico City, to John Mackey, the Marine Corps' first medal of honor winner, to Sergeant Major Dan Dailey who won the medal of honor twice and lived to tell about it, to the devil dogs of Belleau Wood, the leathernecks who fought in the jungles and on the coral beaches of Pacific islands, who landed at Inchon and fought their way out of the frozen Chosin, to those who stood at Khe Sahn and Hue City, who went to Grenada, Beirut, Kuwait, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, Marines have always done their duty.
They've done it no matter what the odds or circumstances. They've done it when they were alone as at Guadalcanal. They've done it when they were deserted by others as at the Chosin reservoir. Marines have always been there when called upon, and have always crossed the FEBA (Forward Edge of the Battle Area) on time. Americans rest easy when the Marines are on duty because they know that when the Marines have landed, all is secure.
The third characteristic is the camaraderie and brotherhood of the Marine Corps. A few years ago I read a book that I recommend to all of you entitled, "Flags of Our Fathers." It is the story of the six men who raised the flag on Mt. Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima, 23 February 1945. They were led by Sergeant Mike Strank, who on the eve of the invasion, turned down a promotion because he had promised his squad he would take them through the battle. When he was killed his men gathered around him and wept. One cradled his lifeless body in his arms and cried, "I wish it could have been me." Mike Strank received the greatest compliment a Marine could ever receive when it was said of him, "He was a Marine's Marine."
It is men like Mike Strank, men of honor, men of character, men with resolve, men with love of country and comrades, men with courage, men who have earned the right to be called one of "the few and the proud;" it is men like family and friends of mine that have served; men like Al Goosman, Bob Epperson, and John Mitchell; it is men like the Marines I have known who have made the ultimate sacrifice, men like Frank Young, Don Flatley, Jim Hoban, Robin Helton, Jamie Richards, Tom Kolb, Mike Watters, Mark Gelagan, and Bryce Gearhart; and it is the Marines who are serving today that have made the Marine Corps what it is, the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.
It is a history, camaraderie, and a brotherhood that I am proud to be able to say that I have been a part of. To all Marines everywhere, Thank you, Happy Birthday, and SEMPER FI.
I went to a Marine Corps birthday ball once in Pensacola, Florida. It was a formal dress blue occasion and there was going to be an orchestra and a dance. There were two Marines that had been coming to church with me, Mark Sites and Arlen Slagter, and we all had dates, but only Mark knew how to waltz. He tried to give us a crash course in ballroom dancing so we wouldn’t look silly on the dance floor. Then after the dinner and the traditional cutting of the cake with a sword a rock band started to play and those who went up on the dance floor in their blues and gowns started bouncing around like jumping beans and they looked so silly that we decided we weren't interested and left early.
To this day I still don’t know how to dance, and it’s probably just as well, but on this most auspicious occasion of the 235th birthday of the greatest fighting force the world has ever known, American Flyer is honoring the United States Marine Corps. I love the Marine Corps, and I love Marines.
I was an aviator. I was one of those bold enough and reckless enough to have taken a fast moving airplane, land it on a slow moving boat, come to a complete stop in a hundred yards, and then say, "That was fun, let's do it again." No one was any more proud than I was the day I pinned on those aviator wings of gold, but the achievement I am most proud of took place on 16 April 1982, when I completed Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia, pinned on the gold second lieutenant bars, and became a Marine.
The Marines are, as some have said, a breed apart. The élan, the can-do attitude, the "esprit de corps" of the U.S. Marine is unparalleled anywhere in the world. It is a brotherhood that one who has never put on the uniform can never fully know or understand.
There are three basic characteristics that I think make the Marine Corps what it is. The first is honor. From the first commandant, Major Burrows, to the "Old Man of the Corps," Archibald Henderson, to the genius of General John A. Lejeune, to such colorful figures as Howlin' Mad Smith and the Marine Corps' own legend, Chesty Puller, to General Robert Barrows, who was commandant when I became a Marine, to P.X. Kelly, whom I had the privilege on one occasion of meeting and shaking his hand, to the current commandant, the legacy of the Marine Corps is honor.
It has been our honor to be the "first to fight for right and freedom." It has been our honor through hail of bullets and artillery shells to plant the American flag on foreign soil. It has been our honor to drive out tyrants and put a stop to aggression. It has been our honor to account for our fallen comrades and bring their bodies home. It has been our honor never to have known defeat. It has been our honor never to have had a My Lai massacre or any other stain on our record. Our honor is clean.
The second is devotion to duty. No matter what he is called upon to do, a Marine always does his duty. From the early Marines in the rigging of the ships, to Presley O'Bannon and the five Marines that captured Tripoli, to those Marines who marched into the Halls of Montezuma and captured Mexico City, to John Mackey, the Marine Corps' first medal of honor winner, to Sergeant Major Dan Dailey who won the medal of honor twice and lived to tell about it, to the devil dogs of Belleau Wood, the leathernecks who fought in the jungles and on the coral beaches of Pacific islands, who landed at Inchon and fought their way out of the frozen Chosin, to those who stood at Khe Sahn and Hue City, who went to Grenada, Beirut, Kuwait, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, Marines have always done their duty.
They've done it no matter what the odds or circumstances. They've done it when they were alone as at Guadalcanal. They've done it when they were deserted by others as at the Chosin reservoir. Marines have always been there when called upon, and have always crossed the FEBA (Forward Edge of the Battle Area) on time. Americans rest easy when the Marines are on duty because they know that when the Marines have landed, all is secure.
The third characteristic is the camaraderie and brotherhood of the Marine Corps. A few years ago I read a book that I recommend to all of you entitled, "Flags of Our Fathers." It is the story of the six men who raised the flag on Mt. Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima, 23 February 1945. They were led by Sergeant Mike Strank, who on the eve of the invasion, turned down a promotion because he had promised his squad he would take them through the battle. When he was killed his men gathered around him and wept. One cradled his lifeless body in his arms and cried, "I wish it could have been me." Mike Strank received the greatest compliment a Marine could ever receive when it was said of him, "He was a Marine's Marine."
It is men like Mike Strank, men of honor, men of character, men with resolve, men with love of country and comrades, men with courage, men who have earned the right to be called one of "the few and the proud;" it is men like family and friends of mine that have served; men like Al Goosman, Bob Epperson, and John Mitchell; it is men like the Marines I have known who have made the ultimate sacrifice, men like Frank Young, Don Flatley, Jim Hoban, Robin Helton, Jamie Richards, Tom Kolb, Mike Watters, Mark Gelagan, and Bryce Gearhart; and it is the Marines who are serving today that have made the Marine Corps what it is, the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.
It is a history, camaraderie, and a brotherhood that I am proud to be able to say that I have been a part of. To all Marines everywhere, Thank you, Happy Birthday, and SEMPER FI.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Deficit? What Deficit?
For nearly two years Candidate Obama, along with Hilary Clinton and all the other Democrat candidates, lambasted President Bush for his out of control spending. When his 2008 deficit reached 458 billion they complained that the country couldn't survive that kind of irresponsible spending. Right. The fact is, conservatives were saying the same thing! The difference was conservatives were serious about it.
Then Obama became president. In one year he not only surpassed Bush's highest deficit, he exceeded it fourfold, somewhere around 1.85 trillion dollars. This year an irresponsible Democrat led Congress failed to even pass a budget, but the continued spending is expected to reach 1.3 trillion, numbers that are so high nobody really has a clue as to exactly how much is being spent or where it's going. But not to worry. When the Democrats are in control the amount of the deficit doesn't matter. Or at least that's what they thought.
Election time rolled around November 2, and the people, tired of the self-serving idiocy of the Democrat controlled Congress, spoke loud and clear. We aren't going to take any more of it. Over sixty House seats and five or six Senate seats changed hands. Similar results happened locally all over the country as now 31 States have Republican governors as well.
So how is Obama reacting to the Democrat slaughter he just presided over? Is he penitent? No, he thinks the people still want him to carry out his agenda. In fact, he's not cutting back, he's throwing a party. He's celebrating with a trip to Mumbai, India, a ten day junket projected to cost around two billion dollars. At a time when the country is facing an economic crisis of Dust Bowl proportions, he's taking his family half way around the world to see the Festival of Lights. And guess who is footing the bill?
Remember Obama's first apology tour when he took 500 staff members along to insult the Queen of England and then tell the Middle East what bad people we are? That trip didn't even scratch the surface of the bloated, greedy waste of this safari. Three thousand people are going along! Yes, that's 3,000. They've reserved the entire Taj Mahal Hotel, all 500 and some rooms, plus another 300 rooms elsewhere. Along with his entire motorcade and military escort to include fighter jets off an aircraft carrier, Obama has ordered 34 US Navy warships into India's waters for the visit. If I was the Prime Minister of India I think I'd be worried that I was about to be invaded.
There isn't anything that shows more clearly than this how out of touch Obama is with the American people. His arrogance in spending our money is what this election was all about, but he goes around as if our money is his entitlement. Interestingly enough, while he has encouraged European nations to follow his lead, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, French Prime Minister, Sarkozi, and other European leaders, have declined.
More significantly, the Chinese were reported to be rejoicing at the results of this election. They also want Obama's spending spree to stop. They carry over a trillion dollars of our debt and they understand what Obama, Reid and Pelosi, as well as the majority of Democrats and liberal news media, haven't yet figured out. Uncontrolled tax and spend policies will lead to a depression, and an American depression will lead to a global depression. All of which goes to show that Obama, in spite of his undermining the greatness of America and bowing to world leaders, is out of touch with the rest of the world as well.
One thing the Republicans better remember when they take control of the House in January 2011 is that tackling the deficit is one of their most important priorities. Defunding Obama's agenda and holding him fiscally responsible is a must. A couple weeks ago Obama glibly asked the Republicans where they would cut spending. I have a few ideas for his and the Congress's consideration.
1. To show their sincerity, start with congressional salaries. Put a cap on them and take the power away from Congress to give themselves raises. My recommended salary cap: President - $250,000; Vice President - 225,000; Cabinet secretaries - $200,000; Senators - $175,000; Representatives - $150,000; Ambassadors - $125,000; all other government employees - entry level positions -$30,000 with time in grade pay raises to $100,000 maximum.
2. Limit per diem travel and other congressional expense accounts such as mailings to a bare minimum, like $10,000 per year, and make them pay for their own airline tickets every time they go home.
3. Fire all of Obama's unconstitutionally appointed "czars" and close their offices.
4. Defund and close the Department of Energy and the Department of Education.
5. Defund National Public Radio and the National Endowment for the Arts.
6. Privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
7. Reprivatize GM and Chrysler and get out of the auto business.
8. Reduce our support of the United Nations from the 25% of its budget that we currently pay to no more than 5% with the intent of ending it altogether if the organization continues to vote anti-US on nearly every issue.
9. End Social Security and medical services to illegal aliens.
10. Allow American oil companies to drill for oil in Alaska and close in offshore to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and ultimately lower the price of gasoline at the pumps and kick-start our economy.
11. Stop funding the International Monetary Fund.
12. End all foreign aid with the exception of Israel, and except for emergency relief to be used in such disasters as the 2006 Indian Ocean tsunami and the Haiti earthquake, etc.
13. Close down the Federal Reserve Bank and let the Free Enterprise System determine inflation on its own.
14. No more stimulus packages. That alone would cut the deficit in half.
15. Ban all earmarks from spending bills.
16. Adopt a Flat Tax or a Fair Tax system with no loopholes for anyone to make taxes fair to everyone across the board.
17. End NAFTA and the excessive taxes and regulations that force companies to outsource jobs overseas.
18. Pass a Balanced Budget Amendment.
There's where Congress can start, and if they need more help I'm sure with a little thought it wouldn't be hard to find many other areas that could be cut as well. All it takes is the will to do it, something none of the greedy, money-grubbing minds in Washington have had recently. The deficit isn't going to go away with the president out of town as often as he is so it's going to be up to Congress, and it's going to be up to us to hold their feet to the fire.
Then Obama became president. In one year he not only surpassed Bush's highest deficit, he exceeded it fourfold, somewhere around 1.85 trillion dollars. This year an irresponsible Democrat led Congress failed to even pass a budget, but the continued spending is expected to reach 1.3 trillion, numbers that are so high nobody really has a clue as to exactly how much is being spent or where it's going. But not to worry. When the Democrats are in control the amount of the deficit doesn't matter. Or at least that's what they thought.
Election time rolled around November 2, and the people, tired of the self-serving idiocy of the Democrat controlled Congress, spoke loud and clear. We aren't going to take any more of it. Over sixty House seats and five or six Senate seats changed hands. Similar results happened locally all over the country as now 31 States have Republican governors as well.
So how is Obama reacting to the Democrat slaughter he just presided over? Is he penitent? No, he thinks the people still want him to carry out his agenda. In fact, he's not cutting back, he's throwing a party. He's celebrating with a trip to Mumbai, India, a ten day junket projected to cost around two billion dollars. At a time when the country is facing an economic crisis of Dust Bowl proportions, he's taking his family half way around the world to see the Festival of Lights. And guess who is footing the bill?
Remember Obama's first apology tour when he took 500 staff members along to insult the Queen of England and then tell the Middle East what bad people we are? That trip didn't even scratch the surface of the bloated, greedy waste of this safari. Three thousand people are going along! Yes, that's 3,000. They've reserved the entire Taj Mahal Hotel, all 500 and some rooms, plus another 300 rooms elsewhere. Along with his entire motorcade and military escort to include fighter jets off an aircraft carrier, Obama has ordered 34 US Navy warships into India's waters for the visit. If I was the Prime Minister of India I think I'd be worried that I was about to be invaded.
There isn't anything that shows more clearly than this how out of touch Obama is with the American people. His arrogance in spending our money is what this election was all about, but he goes around as if our money is his entitlement. Interestingly enough, while he has encouraged European nations to follow his lead, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, French Prime Minister, Sarkozi, and other European leaders, have declined.
More significantly, the Chinese were reported to be rejoicing at the results of this election. They also want Obama's spending spree to stop. They carry over a trillion dollars of our debt and they understand what Obama, Reid and Pelosi, as well as the majority of Democrats and liberal news media, haven't yet figured out. Uncontrolled tax and spend policies will lead to a depression, and an American depression will lead to a global depression. All of which goes to show that Obama, in spite of his undermining the greatness of America and bowing to world leaders, is out of touch with the rest of the world as well.
One thing the Republicans better remember when they take control of the House in January 2011 is that tackling the deficit is one of their most important priorities. Defunding Obama's agenda and holding him fiscally responsible is a must. A couple weeks ago Obama glibly asked the Republicans where they would cut spending. I have a few ideas for his and the Congress's consideration.
1. To show their sincerity, start with congressional salaries. Put a cap on them and take the power away from Congress to give themselves raises. My recommended salary cap: President - $250,000; Vice President - 225,000; Cabinet secretaries - $200,000; Senators - $175,000; Representatives - $150,000; Ambassadors - $125,000; all other government employees - entry level positions -$30,000 with time in grade pay raises to $100,000 maximum.
2. Limit per diem travel and other congressional expense accounts such as mailings to a bare minimum, like $10,000 per year, and make them pay for their own airline tickets every time they go home.
3. Fire all of Obama's unconstitutionally appointed "czars" and close their offices.
4. Defund and close the Department of Energy and the Department of Education.
5. Defund National Public Radio and the National Endowment for the Arts.
6. Privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
7. Reprivatize GM and Chrysler and get out of the auto business.
8. Reduce our support of the United Nations from the 25% of its budget that we currently pay to no more than 5% with the intent of ending it altogether if the organization continues to vote anti-US on nearly every issue.
9. End Social Security and medical services to illegal aliens.
10. Allow American oil companies to drill for oil in Alaska and close in offshore to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and ultimately lower the price of gasoline at the pumps and kick-start our economy.
11. Stop funding the International Monetary Fund.
12. End all foreign aid with the exception of Israel, and except for emergency relief to be used in such disasters as the 2006 Indian Ocean tsunami and the Haiti earthquake, etc.
13. Close down the Federal Reserve Bank and let the Free Enterprise System determine inflation on its own.
14. No more stimulus packages. That alone would cut the deficit in half.
15. Ban all earmarks from spending bills.
16. Adopt a Flat Tax or a Fair Tax system with no loopholes for anyone to make taxes fair to everyone across the board.
17. End NAFTA and the excessive taxes and regulations that force companies to outsource jobs overseas.
18. Pass a Balanced Budget Amendment.
There's where Congress can start, and if they need more help I'm sure with a little thought it wouldn't be hard to find many other areas that could be cut as well. All it takes is the will to do it, something none of the greedy, money-grubbing minds in Washington have had recently. The deficit isn't going to go away with the president out of town as often as he is so it's going to be up to Congress, and it's going to be up to us to hold their feet to the fire.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
They Still Don't Get It
After the trouncing the Democrats took in 1994, Bill Clinton got up and said, "I hear you." He proceeded to give up his health care plan and high tax schemes and governed from the center. Then, by repackaging himself, he was able to win reelection in '96 by taking credit for the recovered economy the Republican Congress gave him.
The question going around the last few days was whether or not Obama would be able to learn the same lesson and repackage himself. No way. Not only has he not learned it, the uber-leftist, arrogant media hasn't learned it either.
This morning on CNN Overseas their self-absorbed know-it-all political commentator, whose name I will put in here when I remember it, boldly declared that this election was not a rejection of Obama, but frustration by the people that not enough has been done. According to him nearly ten percent unemployment was not a result of Obama's policies and the people still want his agenda carried out. What planet is he living on? Some polls show 70-80% of the people think the country is heading in the wrong direction, and at least 58% of the population want Obamacare repealed.
The president doesn't get it either. In his press conference, where he had to answer questions directly without a teleprompter, he wandered all over the verbal map saying a lot of nothing to many questions. He talked about how nobody complains about his leadership style when he's out on the road, but his problem is he's in the White House where people can't see him. He said the answer is for him to get out more often. It begs the question, "What does he consider getting out?" In 22 months he's taken more overseas trips than George Bush took in eight years, and he's played at least 52 rounds of golf. I'd say he's getting out a lot, and that is part of the problem. He's not spending enough time in the White House doing his job.
He also piously accepted the blame for not doing enough and fed the press corps what must have become the party line; people didn't reject his agenda, they're frustrated that not enough has been done. In other words, just like the main stream media, he missed the whole point of this election. Liberals were thrown out in droves because people are dead set against Obamacare, higher taxes, unelected unconstitutionally appointed czars, higher gas prices because we won't drill for our own oil, trillion dollar deficits, and bigger government.
Obama, as well as all the MSM press, said the Republicans now will need to compromise with him to work together to get his agenda accomplished. He said he is willing to entertain any ideas from Republicans on how they can do that to get the job done. That's what he said two years ago too, and in all this time he has not once listened to or considered a single Republican idea on any of his agenda. What makes anyone think he will listen now?
What is most disappointing about the elections is that the Republicans did not take more seats in the Senate, but they took enough that even with RINO Republicans voting with the Democrats, they have enough votes to filibuster and put a stop to Obama's agenda. But the sweeping turn-around in the House, the largest Democrat turnover in one election cycle in history, is an absolute repudiation of Obama and his whole agenda. The one who is going to have to compromise now to try to get anything done is going to be the president. Fat chance that's going to happen. Obama still doesn't get it.
A year and a half ago when Republicans complained about being ignored Obama said, "We won, you lost. Get over it." Well, this time we won, he lost. He can take his compromise and shove it.
The question going around the last few days was whether or not Obama would be able to learn the same lesson and repackage himself. No way. Not only has he not learned it, the uber-leftist, arrogant media hasn't learned it either.
This morning on CNN Overseas their self-absorbed know-it-all political commentator, whose name I will put in here when I remember it, boldly declared that this election was not a rejection of Obama, but frustration by the people that not enough has been done. According to him nearly ten percent unemployment was not a result of Obama's policies and the people still want his agenda carried out. What planet is he living on? Some polls show 70-80% of the people think the country is heading in the wrong direction, and at least 58% of the population want Obamacare repealed.
The president doesn't get it either. In his press conference, where he had to answer questions directly without a teleprompter, he wandered all over the verbal map saying a lot of nothing to many questions. He talked about how nobody complains about his leadership style when he's out on the road, but his problem is he's in the White House where people can't see him. He said the answer is for him to get out more often. It begs the question, "What does he consider getting out?" In 22 months he's taken more overseas trips than George Bush took in eight years, and he's played at least 52 rounds of golf. I'd say he's getting out a lot, and that is part of the problem. He's not spending enough time in the White House doing his job.
He also piously accepted the blame for not doing enough and fed the press corps what must have become the party line; people didn't reject his agenda, they're frustrated that not enough has been done. In other words, just like the main stream media, he missed the whole point of this election. Liberals were thrown out in droves because people are dead set against Obamacare, higher taxes, unelected unconstitutionally appointed czars, higher gas prices because we won't drill for our own oil, trillion dollar deficits, and bigger government.
Obama, as well as all the MSM press, said the Republicans now will need to compromise with him to work together to get his agenda accomplished. He said he is willing to entertain any ideas from Republicans on how they can do that to get the job done. That's what he said two years ago too, and in all this time he has not once listened to or considered a single Republican idea on any of his agenda. What makes anyone think he will listen now?
What is most disappointing about the elections is that the Republicans did not take more seats in the Senate, but they took enough that even with RINO Republicans voting with the Democrats, they have enough votes to filibuster and put a stop to Obama's agenda. But the sweeping turn-around in the House, the largest Democrat turnover in one election cycle in history, is an absolute repudiation of Obama and his whole agenda. The one who is going to have to compromise now to try to get anything done is going to be the president. Fat chance that's going to happen. Obama still doesn't get it.
A year and a half ago when Republicans complained about being ignored Obama said, "We won, you lost. Get over it." Well, this time we won, he lost. He can take his compromise and shove it.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Righteousness Exalts a Nation
As I sat thinking about this election tomorrow and praying about the outcome Proverbs 14:34 came to my mind. "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." America is certainly not an innocent nation when it comes to the sin problem. There have always been deviant characters in our history, even in the early days of our Christian Founding Fathers.
Alexander Hamilton, aide to Washington in the Revolution and first Secretary of the Treasury, had an adulterous affair in 1791 that nearly ended his public career and made an enemy of one Aaron Burr. Burr was a rather despicable person himself, who finally ended Hamilton's life in a duel in 1804, and became so unpopular he ended his life in obscurity. The presidency has had adulterers as well including the longest serving president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Camelot President had multiple meetings in the White House with the most famous movie sex goddess of his day. His latter day follower from Arkansas was so lacking in discretion that when he was found out he had to be vindicated by forty-five Democrat Senators to whom party loyalty was more important than character or the law.
Of course, immorality is not the only sin to have ever rocked the government. Ulysses S. Grant's administration was plagued by scandal proving he had been a much better general than president. Woodrow Wilson led the country into a war he promised to stay out of and then tried to tie the United States to his socialist view of a one world in the League of Nations. Jimmy Carter was a master at speaking out of both sides of his mouth depending on where in the country he was speaking. But for sheer Machiavellian gall, the current administration and the party in power takes the cake. No lie is too big to tell, no promise too small to break, no law too important to ignore. The Constitution be damned. The will of the people means nothing because they are too dumb to make their own decisions. The bankrupting and destruction of the country is George Bush's fault.
In order to continue in this vein vote rigging and fraudulent registrations, so far all in Democrat favor, are springing up in several states across the country. In the tank liberal news media are trashing conservative candidates, even, in the case of Joe Miller in Alaska, conspiring to unload last minute fabricated stories to destroy his character and his chances of winning. These are people so lacking in integrity and so full of anti-Christian and anti-decency vitriol that they have no shame about trying to steal the election.
On August 28, Glen Beck, fed up with the two-faced deceitfulness of the current government, held a rally at the Lincoln Memorial on the mall in Washington, D.C. The rally called on Americans to restore honor in our Christian nation. It reminded us of the unbending character of George Washington and others of our Founders. As such, it was almost a religious meeting as it called on people to restore character to our government. Several hundred thousand people showed up on the mall and when the day was done, they left it as clean as when they came.
For that peaceful demonstration of decency in America and the call for all Americans to join, Democrats, liberals, and the mainstream press excoriated Beck. They called for marches of their own and on October 2, they held the One Nation March at the same site. In contrast to the hundreds of thousands at the Beck rally, tens of thousands showed up that day, pushed and threatened reporters who were not sympathetic to their cause and left the mall littered with trash. It was a spectacular flop, so comedian Jon Stewart decided to host his own rally and called it the Restoring Sanity rally.
In other words, in order to be sane you can't have character, honor, or religion. There's only one word to describe that kind of thinking: insane.
On the campaign trail in 2008 when Rick Warren held a question and answer session at his Saddleback Church with the candidates, he asked the question, "When does life begin?" Obama, thinking he was being clever, dodged the question by saying, "That's above my pay grade." Except that, it was only above his pay grade when it was expedient for it to be above.
Out campaigning for Democrat candidates, Obama declared in favor of the homosexual community when he said that some people are born gay and will always be gay. Apparently his pay grade has risen, but while his comment might please the gay community, it has absolutely no basis in fact or even reality. After a long publicized lesbian affair with Ellen Degeneres, Anne Heche, without any counseling or religious experience, left Degeneres to get married ... to a man. The gay lifestyle is obviously not genetic. It is sinful.
Obama promised that abortion would not be in his health plan, yet several cases have already come up where his plan is funding abortion. He promised there would be no tax hikes, but when the healthcare plan kicks in this coming January there will be massive tax hikes to go along with it. Obama laughed at the accusation that his ideas were socialist, yet everything he has done as president is designed to bypass our Constitution and socialize our country. And with a socialist country where the few hard working give everything to the poor to even the balance, no one needs to be left out so the Mexican border has to stay open. Obama keeps talking about tackling the debt, yet when Republicans are critical of his 1.3 trillion dollar deficit predicted for this year he asks them, "Where would you cut it?" The real question is whether or not he's going to.
If this man is allowed to continue his agenda he will eventually destroy the United States of America. That's why this election is so vitally important. America is on the brink of disaster, a disaster brought about by wicked people to whom sin is preferable to purity. Much to liberal consternation, character does matter. Righteousness does matter. It was the righteous lives of our Christian founders, men like George Washington, who taught us that "honesty is the best policy," that made America great. It is men with that belief of righteous living that will make America great again.
The only hope for that is to get the wicked gay-loving, abortion-loving, sin-loving, unrighteous liberals and Rino Republicans out of Congress. In order to do that we must do one thing.
VOTE!!! Don't sit idly by tomorrow. Go out and VOTE!!! Need I say it again? VOTE!!!
Alexander Hamilton, aide to Washington in the Revolution and first Secretary of the Treasury, had an adulterous affair in 1791 that nearly ended his public career and made an enemy of one Aaron Burr. Burr was a rather despicable person himself, who finally ended Hamilton's life in a duel in 1804, and became so unpopular he ended his life in obscurity. The presidency has had adulterers as well including the longest serving president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Camelot President had multiple meetings in the White House with the most famous movie sex goddess of his day. His latter day follower from Arkansas was so lacking in discretion that when he was found out he had to be vindicated by forty-five Democrat Senators to whom party loyalty was more important than character or the law.
Of course, immorality is not the only sin to have ever rocked the government. Ulysses S. Grant's administration was plagued by scandal proving he had been a much better general than president. Woodrow Wilson led the country into a war he promised to stay out of and then tried to tie the United States to his socialist view of a one world in the League of Nations. Jimmy Carter was a master at speaking out of both sides of his mouth depending on where in the country he was speaking. But for sheer Machiavellian gall, the current administration and the party in power takes the cake. No lie is too big to tell, no promise too small to break, no law too important to ignore. The Constitution be damned. The will of the people means nothing because they are too dumb to make their own decisions. The bankrupting and destruction of the country is George Bush's fault.
In order to continue in this vein vote rigging and fraudulent registrations, so far all in Democrat favor, are springing up in several states across the country. In the tank liberal news media are trashing conservative candidates, even, in the case of Joe Miller in Alaska, conspiring to unload last minute fabricated stories to destroy his character and his chances of winning. These are people so lacking in integrity and so full of anti-Christian and anti-decency vitriol that they have no shame about trying to steal the election.
On August 28, Glen Beck, fed up with the two-faced deceitfulness of the current government, held a rally at the Lincoln Memorial on the mall in Washington, D.C. The rally called on Americans to restore honor in our Christian nation. It reminded us of the unbending character of George Washington and others of our Founders. As such, it was almost a religious meeting as it called on people to restore character to our government. Several hundred thousand people showed up on the mall and when the day was done, they left it as clean as when they came.
For that peaceful demonstration of decency in America and the call for all Americans to join, Democrats, liberals, and the mainstream press excoriated Beck. They called for marches of their own and on October 2, they held the One Nation March at the same site. In contrast to the hundreds of thousands at the Beck rally, tens of thousands showed up that day, pushed and threatened reporters who were not sympathetic to their cause and left the mall littered with trash. It was a spectacular flop, so comedian Jon Stewart decided to host his own rally and called it the Restoring Sanity rally.
In other words, in order to be sane you can't have character, honor, or religion. There's only one word to describe that kind of thinking: insane.
On the campaign trail in 2008 when Rick Warren held a question and answer session at his Saddleback Church with the candidates, he asked the question, "When does life begin?" Obama, thinking he was being clever, dodged the question by saying, "That's above my pay grade." Except that, it was only above his pay grade when it was expedient for it to be above.
Out campaigning for Democrat candidates, Obama declared in favor of the homosexual community when he said that some people are born gay and will always be gay. Apparently his pay grade has risen, but while his comment might please the gay community, it has absolutely no basis in fact or even reality. After a long publicized lesbian affair with Ellen Degeneres, Anne Heche, without any counseling or religious experience, left Degeneres to get married ... to a man. The gay lifestyle is obviously not genetic. It is sinful.
Obama promised that abortion would not be in his health plan, yet several cases have already come up where his plan is funding abortion. He promised there would be no tax hikes, but when the healthcare plan kicks in this coming January there will be massive tax hikes to go along with it. Obama laughed at the accusation that his ideas were socialist, yet everything he has done as president is designed to bypass our Constitution and socialize our country. And with a socialist country where the few hard working give everything to the poor to even the balance, no one needs to be left out so the Mexican border has to stay open. Obama keeps talking about tackling the debt, yet when Republicans are critical of his 1.3 trillion dollar deficit predicted for this year he asks them, "Where would you cut it?" The real question is whether or not he's going to.
If this man is allowed to continue his agenda he will eventually destroy the United States of America. That's why this election is so vitally important. America is on the brink of disaster, a disaster brought about by wicked people to whom sin is preferable to purity. Much to liberal consternation, character does matter. Righteousness does matter. It was the righteous lives of our Christian founders, men like George Washington, who taught us that "honesty is the best policy," that made America great. It is men with that belief of righteous living that will make America great again.
The only hope for that is to get the wicked gay-loving, abortion-loving, sin-loving, unrighteous liberals and Rino Republicans out of Congress. In order to do that we must do one thing.
VOTE!!! Don't sit idly by tomorrow. Go out and VOTE!!! Need I say it again? VOTE!!!
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