Sunday, December 27, 2009
Let Us Revere Our Constitution
Are we growing away from the Constitution?
It would be rather difficult for me to contrast and compare the relative simplicity, degrees of freedom, and morality of America in 1800, 1900 and 2000, but the social, political, commercial and technological changes are most certainly there for all to see.
Perhaps one of the most telling shifts in the public mind in those 200 years is the attitude towards natural law as it is codified in our Constitution. The great respect formerly paid to the thrust of the Founders to create a God-fearing Republic of the Center between the tyranny of the Left and the anarchy of the Right has deteriorated considerably. Jefferson, Madison, and Franklin would be appalled at the state we have gotten ourselves into as of the end of 2009, I believe. As would Hamilton and Jay, to add a significant Federalist duo. As one person said, parties have become irrelevant, since both of them are forcing us down the wrong path---away from natural law and all that that implies. I think it was Judge Andy Nepolitano that voiced that thought, although several others have signed up to it. The thesis I have seen emerge recently is that our Constitution and the thinking behind it is just as relevant today as it was in 1800 or 1900: it is the diverse people and the less than knowledgeable governing bodies that have moved us away from the original ideas that have made us a great nation; thus, that is at the root of our problems. Yes, we now have a huge and diverse population, but, in itself, that should not change our commitment to the Constitution and the principles behind it, nor should it alter its relevancy in 2010.
What I see is the enormous difficulty in returning the populace to the ideas and directions of the Constitution and its natural law basis, and, as well, the total rejection I and many others have to performing some kind of "loose, legal, non-natural accommodation" to the steadfast natural law principles we originally had, in order to satisfy this or that growing modern constituency that couldn't care less about the Constitution. That is because these various constituencies have not been taught properly about the Constitution in our schools and homes, have been taught to reject it in large measure, or have been brought up in totally different nations and are not even close to understanding the under-girding principles of our nation. Nor do many truly sign up to our laws as being now superior in effect to their own prior laws or lack thereof.
There needs to be a book on this subject!
Labels: American Culture, Citizenship USA, Constitution, Government
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Decline of the Nation
Where I join the crowd that fears for the nation
I must agree with several pundits that the nation is not at all the same one that existed before, say, 1955. The idea of our original Constitutional government has been so watered down and abused that it is unrecognizable. The law has been so perverted now that the very principle of separation of powers is failing. Assaults on virtually every “settled practice” of law have made a mockery of real justice. Tenured clowns from the Left appear to man about 90% of the education jobs and professorships, and the curriculum of our schools is written by union members with dubious pedigrees, thus producing a few idiot savants along with a herd of noodnicks, much to the woe of our future. The congress has become bribery central and knows not of fiscal common sense. Our President has opted out of any rational foreign policy at all, and has managed to strengthen our foes in the process. We have decided to abandon the development of much of the military hardware that we will need in a decade or so from now. We have just about decided to give the UN more money and more inroads into our sovereignty. To make things even more dire, we have created debts that will be impossible to repay, and squandered the taxpayer’s money on leftist projects of little economic worth, while unemployment has topped 17% in real terms. The moral fiber of the nation has been corrupted and weakened to the point that things that were totally unacceptable in 1955 are quite accepted today: elective abortions, same sex marriage, hookups, teen sex, filthy language, and on and on…
This much is just for openers!
I agree also that the GOP would choke on this dinner, but then so would any party, witness who got us so very much further into this entire mess in this year of 2009. It is apparent to me that the medicine needed to correct these ills cannot and will not be forthcoming from any party, left or right, and that nihilism and hedonism will reign in our future.
Are we at the “tipping point” where our basic lives and our government’s structure have become impossible to change for the better? We are very close indeed now, and I fear for our beloved nation.
No one seems to address the problems and then the tough-love cures we must install, or, they bemoan the current situation yet offer no help whatsoever to dig us the hell out from our pauperism and nihilism, least of all the Left.
Labels: Comments on the day
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Guns, Guns, Guns
How can we silence the gun lobby-- permanently?
The answer is simple--we can't! The best we can do is to make their task--banning all personal weapons--far, far harder. The best way to do this is to elect pro-gun legislators, and hope that they are also conservative in the rest of their thinking as well.
My beliefs are that:
1) guns save lives every day, far, far more then lose lives.
2) every citizen should be able to own and use guns to defend themselves and their families.
3) an armed citizenry is an insurance policy against an unwanted takeover of the government.
4) gun owning states have far less crime than gun regulated states.
5) shooting is a grand hobby, whether for sport or game.
6) gun discipline in the home is easy to manage, and is a necessity for the young to learn.
7) in the event of war, having trained marksmen available is a huge asset, and saves money.
Labels: Citizenship, Guns
Backing into a Win
Let us admit to several unpalatable memes, because truth should out.
1) There is indeed a race component to the opposition to Obama, but it isn't a simple color issue at all. It is an issue born of a virulent black culture that hates America, and wishes to wreck its revenge on the white majority--think Reverend Wright--and Obama is its titular leader. To support this ideology is to support the downfall of white America.
2) The GOP has failed to grasp and hold its position over the past 9 years, and seems to be quite leaderless just now. The "Big Tent" has fractionated into its various subsets, such as moderates, social conservatives, fiscal conservatives, libertarians, evangelicals, and the far right, and there doesn't appear to be a charismatic personality that can glue them back together in time for the 2010 elections.
However,
3)The Obama Left is doing itself tremendous damage with its spendthrift legislation and government takeover policies, that may well create an effective opposition of necessity out of the fractionated GOP subsets and disaffected independents in spite of their many continuing internal squabbles.
Labels: 2010 Elections, Democrats, GOP, Obama
Thursday, December 17, 2009
We Need a Constitutional Convention
Congressional Reforms
From my vantage point there has been a continuing failure of our presidents and the congress to inform the people in any real detail about their plans and legislation far enough in advance for us to react on just about every piece of legislation in the past 9 years or more. It seems to me that the idea is to hold the contents of legislation close until there are enough votes for passage, and then to sign it and dump it onto the public, all the while crowing about their victories ad nauseam.
Partisans leak bits and pieces for us to chew upon and react for or against as a kind of vetting the ideas involved, but an honest debate on the whole thing, with publication of the details in advance, is assiduously avoided. What we really get are platitudes and generalities, along with trumped up warnings of dire consequences if the legislation is not enacted real soon now.
What is the cure? We have a fundamental problem with the structure of the congress and its partisan and changeable governing rules, the fact of multi-term incumbents whose main efforts appear to be election campaigning and sheparding earmarks to their states, of outside interests lavishly funding reelections in return for favorable regulatory treatment, and what appears to be a corrupting methodology that turns fresh newbie’s into compliant dogs in a matter of weeks or months in office, which nets them financial largess out of the budget for their states. The last thing wanted, it seems, is true transparency of the horse-trading processes whereby they plan for, legislate and spend trillions of taxpayer dollars, much of it behind closed doors. We need reforms, but these kinds of changes would be virtually impossible to enact, and would be fought against to the death by many of the current legislators.
So, sadly, I do not know what the cures would be or how they could be effected. How many honorable, patriotic, wise and prudent legislators do you know?
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Blogging in 2010
Subjects of My Concern for 2010
These subjects will be my main blogging interests for 2010, in no special order. There are a few changes from 2009, but the essential topics are largely intact. I removed Media Bias since others are addressing this topic with expertise, but it can pop up anywhere: on the list or off!
• Financial Crisis and Jobs
• Environmentalism and the Climate Change Hoaxes
• Conservatism---the way forward
• Elections 2010—getting our people elected
• Liberalism and its Follies Under Obama and the Terrible Duo
• Islamic Fascism, Subversion, and the Global War on Terror
• Constitutionalism, Government Reform,
• Military Affairs and the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; Iran
• Secular Humanism, Internationalism
• UN follies (and possible alternatives)
• Illegal immigration (“Illegals”) and the defeat of amnesty when it appears again
• Fair Taxation ---and its kin, the Flat Tax; the real danger is adding VAT to this mix!
• Energy Efforts---Oil drilling, solar power, wind power, clean coal.
• Globalization and its difficulties.
• Education, especially how to remove the Federal Government from it, and improve results.
• Gun Rights---defending the right for citizens to keep and use arms and ammunition.
• Crime and Corruption, both white and blue collar!
• Health Care—if Obamacare wins, what then? What is the impact on this senior citizen?
• Morality Issues: Abortion (RvW), Same Sex Marriage, Drugs
• Foreign Affairs
• Free Markets and Regulation
• Catastrophes around the world
• Philosophy---refinement and publication of my screed.
Labels: 2010 Elections, Blogging
Saturday, December 05, 2009
An "R"-View of Conservatism
This is an exercise in using words beginning with the letter R to express conservative values
1. Religion (spiritual awakening, moral teachings, love of God and fellow men…)
2. Reverence and Regard (as in reverence of our Founding Fathers and their works, or reverence and regard for the religious beliefs or way of life of others)
3. Relief (as in charity and welfare for those in dire straights)
4. Reason (applying reason to solve problems and reduce conflicts in a rational manner)
5. Rectitude (being morally upright, incorruptible, trustworthy)
6. Republic (as in support for the guiding principles and provisions of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the United States of America; Patriotism…)
7. Rules and Regulations (as in obedience to constitutional law, civil law, custom …)
8. Roles and Responsibilities (learning, then living the proper role of the individual as citizen, father or mother, teacher, husband or wife, breadwinner, official…)
9. Research (as in promoting scientific and technological programs to increase our knowledge and better our lives)
10. Relationships (comity and love between the individual and others, groups, society…)
11. Reliance (standing for self-reliance, as opposed to dependency on the government or others )
12. Renaissance and Renewal (as in promoting growth in culture, arts, sciences, in proper governance, and in the pleasures of daily life)
13. Ready to Repel (as in military readiness to defend the nation against all threats; even preemptively, if needed)
14. Respect (and support for the traditions, customs, and institutions of the nation)
15. Retrenchment (as in cutting expenses, frugality, budgetary wisdom...)
16. Reality Checks (as in operating in the real world, not a fantasy world)
17. Resolve (as in steadfastness, perseverance, determination)
18. Reserve (as in prudence, caution...)
19. Responsive (to the will of the people, not greed)
20. Reliable (as in predictable behavior of the government, stability, and a sound basis for business)
21. Reform, Restore, Revamp, and Recover (government functions and organization from the spendthrift era of liberalism, to the replacement programs of the fiscally responsible right)
22. Right (as in right of center government policies and programs)
Labels: Conservatism
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Comments on the Day
Some quick comments on the issues of the day:
Afghanistan: At least there is something to this Obama plan--30,000 men! I question the reasons for this surge, since it seems to be neither a thrust to win nor a signal of our leaving. It is more like a delaying action, but with few concrete objectives to look for downstream.
Economy: The unemployment keeps rising along with the debt, and the dollar keeps falling. Yet, this Administration is hell-bent on passing further expensive legislation. We are in Wonderland!
Obamacare: This 2,000 page monstrosity is being debated now. It should be scrapped. The government should bow out of a sixth of the economy and a certain trillion dollar or more addition to the debt.
Cap and Trade: Just to make things a bit more hairy, Obama and cronies are trying to pass this onerous bill that will increase the national debt while not curing the AGW fable one whit. It will, of course, make billionaires out of a few.
I shudder to think of what is next up in this wild world of liberal fantasies becoming true.
Labels: Comments on the day, Global Warming, Health Debate, Spending, The Leftwing
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Overly Simplistic Litmus Tests for Republicans
The target of this effort appears to be the several RINOs currently serving in the legislatures.
There is a movement in the Republican Party to insist that members sign up to at least 8 of the following 10 propositions:
(1) We support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus” bill; I support "right-sizing' for the various functions of the government.
(2) We support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run health care; agree
(3) We support market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation; there is more to market-based energy reforms than merely Cap and Trade
(4) We support workers’ right to secret ballot by opposing card check; agree
(5) We support legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants; there is more to immigration reform than opposition to amnesty.
(6) We support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges; again, there is more to this than simply a surge in troops.
(7) We support containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat; agree, but what is the limit to "effective action?"
(8) We support retention of the Defense of Marriage Act; agree
(9) We support protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion; This is an overly simplistic view.
and
(10) We support the right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership. agree
I cannot agree with the required 8 of 10 propositions without some modifications and clarifications.
Labels: Conservatism, Republican
