911 and Revenge?

Henry Neufeld’s recent post has a common but fundamental misunderstanding of the reaction to 9/11 and the subsequent actions, which included Afghanistan and Iraq.  Revenge had little to do with it. As one who has support both actions, and continue to do so, revenge has never entered into my thinking, not in my writings at the time, which unfortunately were on a site which has since closed down, nor in a multi-part reappraisals written during one of the most difficult time on Should We have Gone? and Should We Leave?  While revenge probably has been a factor for some, I do not believe it has been a major factor, or even a significant factor for these policies.  

Frankly the main justification was found in a different answer to the question Henry asked about the safety of his family and the country.  I do believe those efforts as painful and difficult as they are did in fact make us safer.  I also believe that the current weakening of those efforts by the administration is rapidly undermining the small gains we have made and thereby putting us at much greater risk.

In short I do not believe these were acts of revenge but battles in a larger War on Terror.  I agree that as Christians we should not be acting on revenge, but I just do think that revenge as played a significant role in our actions.

An Open Reply…

Brian McLaren’s  Recent post at God’s Politics,  An Open Letter On Health Care to Conservative Christians in the U.S.  is the kind of post that frankly drives me nuts,  broad on charges and innuendo, but very thin when it comes to specifics.  As such, though I consider myself a conservative evangelical Christian, I have no idea whether or not I would be one of the Christians he is talking about.

To be sure I have no doubt that there are conservative Christians who are not always “radically committed to integrity and civility,” but this could be said for virtually any group.  So why is this letter not to all Christians?  Sure there are those who may follow “Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Fox News” more than spiritual leaders, but how is this different from those liberal Christians who follow Obama, Reed, Pelosi, CBS News, NBC News, ABC News, CNN News, PBS News, the New York Time, Washington Post, etc.?  Again these are problems faced by all groups. So why is this just a letter conservative Christians?

About the closest McLaren get to specifics is when he mentions “talk of ‘death panels’ or inappropriate comparisons to Hitler.”   As for the comparisons to Hitler, this sort of political hyperbole is common to some on both sides,  as has been the case in the current health care debate.   So again why the restriction to just conservatives?   As for that reference to “death panels” granted, that may be a bit of political hyperbole, but the underlying charge on which this is based is not.   If a government panel is setting standards for when medical care will or will not be given, as the bill calls for,  they will in effect be deciding at least in some cases who will be given treatment that will allow them to live, and who will not and thereby be allowed to die.  

McLaren complains that he has received many emails with “outlandish claims about what President Obama is planning to do regarding health care.”  I have no doubt that is true.  Lots of false claims are made on the internet. But he goes on to claim that “They’re based on rumors spread by certain dramatic radio and cable-tv personalities, but they are not based in truth.”  At least one specific would have been helpful here.  At least one claim made by one personality to give the reader some sort of context would have been nice. 

For example I would say that a lot of outlandish claims have been made by President Obama in support of his plan, such that you will be able to keep your current insurance if you like it, or that doctors amputate feet and remove tonsils just to make more money and thus that is a good place to save money.

At the core McLaren seems guilty of his own complaint of  “not being satisfied to compare “our” best with “their” worst, as unscrupulous politicians and media personalities so often like to do”  Again I would ask why this was not an open letter to all Christians. 

As for the current health care debate, for me it comes down to this.  We have serious problems that need to be addressed and we have three main options:

 1) Do nothing;
 2) seek a solution that involves more choice and competition (i.e. a market approach);
 3) seek a solution that involves more centralized planning and control (i.e. a government approach).   

I would prefer 2, but Obama and the Democrats control the Government and are pursuing 3 which, for the reasons I have detailed in my book, Preserving Democracy, I believe will only make things worse, much worse.  And that is why I oppose it.  

I must also add that one of the problems here is one of trust and honesty.  The simple fact is that I do not trust Obama or the democratic leadership.  They have been pushing for many years for a single payer system. Obama in the past has said he wanted single payer but that it could not be gotten all at once.  He claim that the current plan is not the first step toward single payer, but in his short time as president Obama has already built up a reputation  of being less that truthful to the point that some now say that all of his statements “come with an Expiration Date.”

When this is combined with wild claims such that doctors amputate feet and remove tonsils just to make more money, plus  the huge rush to push this through, I really have trouble seeing why anyone would support this effort in this fashion.

If Obama really wants to reform health care, then why doesn’t he take the time to do what Presidents in the past have done with their major proposals:  formulate an actual plan as opposed to just making vague claims about it, write it up as an actual bill, and submit it to Congress. Then let Congress consider it, let people read and understand it as he works to built a consensus of support in the country to get it passed.   Why must we have such a major reform rushed through so fast that few if anyone have actually had time t read it, much less analysis it.

A Touch of Class

Whether planned or not, one of the results of Obama’s attempted transformation of the United States is to bring a touch of class to the country.  But not class in a good sense, but rather the growing division of the country into two increasingly distinct groups, the Elites, and the Public. Three sub-groups then divide each of these groups.

At the top of the elites are the rulers, headed of course by Obama, Reed and Pelosi.  They not only head the government, but are seeking increased control over every aspect of the country, taking over large companies, seeking regulatory control over all aspect of energy production/consumption, and now health care. If successful, there would hardly be any aspect of a person life they could not regulate.

Always near the rulers are a whole assortment of cronies and hangers on; Union Bosses, Civil Rights leaders, along with a whole assortment of leaders of special interest groups.  Like the court nobility of old, they are constantly seeking to curry the favor of the rulers in order to benefit themselves or their causes.  Finally, there is the staff, i.e., government workers. Since they work for the rulers, they receive special considerations such as higher wages and gold plated benefit packages.

The other major group is the Public at large.  At the top are the Independent Wealthy. These are not to be confused with the wealthy in general, as many of those are part of the elite. The independent wealthy are a dying breed. The elites and their cronies often portray them as the focus of all evil, even though their own wealth often equals or exceeds that of the Independent wealthy.

The problem is not really their wealth but their independence, as these independent wealthy have not paid the proper homage, normally in the form of campaign contributions, or contribution to groups supported by the elites, and thus are attacked.  Often their sin is merely one of indifference, such as Microsoft, which gave virtually nothing to either political party, until it found itself facing an anti-trust suit. Since then it has corrected such oversights.  With government taking over more and more of the economy, the independent wealthy will be increasingly pressured to conform, lest they be taxed out of existence.

Then there is the middle class. The middle class’ main function is to support the elites and the government they run.  Finally, there are the poor. Their main function is to provide the votes the elites need to keep them in power. In exchange, they get broad promises and meager benefits aimed more at ensuring their continued dependence, and thus continued support, than any actual advancement.  In fact, the more successful a program is at ending poverty, or actually improving education, etc., the more likely it will be opposed by the elites. For example, one of the actions of the Obama administration was to undercut and effectively eliminate the welfare reform of the late 1990s.

Now some would argue this has always been the case, there is nothing new here, and in some respects, they are correct. However, there is a marked change in degree with the Obama administration.  No president has attempted to take over such large portions of the economy and bring them under his personal control so quickly. Sure Obama claims he is not interested in the “day to day operations,” of the companies he takes over, but such claims ring hollow when he fired the CEO of GM because he was not running thing the way Obama wanted them run.

More importantly, there is a growing double standard in the lifestyles of elites, and their corresponding condemnation of others. While Obama condemns the use corporate jets and trips to resorts by his opponents, his supporters flew so many corporate jets to Washington for his inauguration, twice as many as any previous inauguration, that Dulles had to shut down a runway in order to have somewhere to park them. When others fly private jets that is terrible, but for the elites it just fine.  As it is when Obama flies to New York for a night out, or his wife files to Europe.  Meanwhile, the “House approved nearly $200 million for the Air Force to buy three elite Gulfstream jets for ferrying top government officials and Members of Congress.”   To be clear there is nothing wrong with this in and of itself.  Nevertheless, to do this while complaining about others flying in private jets has a more than a tinge of hypocrisy.

Meanwhile government continues to grow, as does the burden that the public must bear to support it. In my state of Wisconsin, the governor said he made the largest cuts in state history.  Still after such deep cuts, spending will still be $3.6 billion more than the previous budget, which amount to a 6.27% increase.   I wonder how many of the public who must bear the burden would see a 6% increase in the money they have to spend as a deep cut.  Yet while struggling in tough economic times, many of the public will see the money they are required to pay for government increase.  In short, they will have to make do with even less, so government can have even more.

This cannot go on forever.  As I detail in my book Preserving Democracy, the total tax burden increased 459% over the last century.  If it continues to rise like this, it will reach 100% around 2200. But that would be impossible and the system will collapse long before that.  Yet rather than slowing down the growth of government is accelerating, especially with the massive spending increases of Obama.

Bottom line: we are seeing the beginning to two distinct classes. There are the ruling elites and their minions who live a lifestyle increasingly distant from the public who are forced to bear ever increasing burdens to support them.

The Bill of Rights – The Liberal Version Updated

We The People: Tea Party Speech

I finally got around to posting the full text of my July 4^th Tea Party speech in here in Wausau.

I want to thank Pat for that wonderful introduction,  and Meg Ellefson and the Wausau Tea Party for inviting me to speak.  Most of all I want to thank all of you for coming out. Thank you for celebrating the founding of our Great country. Thank you for taking such an interest in its future. 

On this day 233 years ago the Continental Congress adoption of the Declaration of Independence. It concluded by saying,  “for the support of this Declaration,  with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”   With a great deal of effort and sacrifice, and Divine Providence,  they won the Independence we are celebrating today.

Eight-five years later the country was facing its most sever crisis when Lincoln said, “Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history… We – even we here – hold the power and bear the responsibility…  We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”

Today we face a new and different kinds of crisis, yet those words still ring true.  As much as we might like, we cannot escape history.  We cannot abdicate our responsibilities to others.  Major questions before us today are

Will America remain the America created by the founding fathers?

Will it be the America that people for 233 years have fought and died?

Will America be based on Liberty, In God We Trust, and E Pluribus Unum?

Or will it be replaced with a new and so called improved America, based on Equality, Secularism and Multiculturalism?

These are not words of trivial or unimportant differences.  The goals of Liberty and Equality are mutually exclusive. At one time this was well understood, but for many today, it is unknown and a foreign concept. 

So will America be transformed? Will it be transformed into a country with ever-increasing government? A government with an insatiable thirst for taxes? A government that demands more and more of the fruits of your labor to feed it? Where government is so large that is controls most aspects of your life, and where your freedom is increasingly limited; where people are ruled by an elite few, career politicians and judges who think only they have the wisdom, that only they have the knowledge to understand how you should live.

Take, the speaker of the California Assembly, Karen Bass, who said about those who would dare tell a legislator,  “if you increase taxes, we will vote you out.”  Are you ready?  She called them “terrorists”. She went on to say “I don’t know why we allow that kind of terrorism to exist.”   Think about the arrogance and sense of privilege that statement implies.   Think about the danger in her words. She is effectively saying, “I don’t know why we allow citizens to demand a say in how government is run.”  

While some money is needed by Government to operate, Madison said, “there is perhaps, no legislative act in which greater opportunity and temptation are given to a predominate party to trample on the rules of justice.”

Our founding fathers knew that taxes while necessary are an infringement on liberty. For every dollar taxed by Government is a dollar you are no longer free to spend.  Government, not you will determine how the money is spend.  It is one of the reasons they wanted limited government, It was the reason for the Boston Tea Party.

For almost 150 years the checks and balances worked. The US was a low tax country.  At the start of the twentieth century, Americans had to work about 20 days to pay all their Federal, state, and local taxes for the year.

But then things began to change.   The checks and balances were undermined.  Government began to grow and demand more. People had to work longer to pay for Government leaving less for themselves. By the beginning of the 21^st century people had to work, not 20 days as they did in 1900, or 30, or 50, even 100 days. We passed that in 1966.   By the beginning of the 21^st century government had grown such that we have to work 123 days just to pay for it.    

If anything shows that government is broken, it is this.  It is like a car with the gas pedal stuck.  If government continues to grow as it has over the last 100 years, by 2200 all of an American’s time will be spend working to pay for government.  But this is impossible, the system will collapse long before this.

Yet politicians continue to promise more and more programs, that require even higher taxes. And when they can’t get the money they need from taxes, they borrow it, burdening future generations. 

Times are tough and likely to get worse.  How many of you are having to do with less?  Our Governor says that the state budget just passed. Has the largest cuts in state history. Maybe that is true, but in the end, the state is increasing spending and the taxes to pay for it.

This budget will be spending $3.6 billion more than the last budget.  That is more than a 6% increase.  I don’t know about you, but I call a 6% increase a raise.

In these tough times, you are asked to do with even less. And why?  So that government can have even more.  This is not a partisan attack on the current administration.  It is an sober analysis of the last century.

And taxes are just one small piece of the problem we face.  Government is broken almost everywhere you look.   And yet they want to do even more. 

The house just passed a sweeping Cap and Trade bill.  Do you know what is in it?   If you do you are one of the extreme few.

Despite the president’s promise of open government, to post all legislation online in time for people to read before a vote, the bill was not even available for lawmakers to read. They voted on a legislative blank check. 

How many of you are in the habit of handing out blank checks?  When a representative votes to pass a bill like this when they don’t know what is in it, they are voting for a blank check payable in your liberties.  Any representative so cavalier with your liberty should be voted out at the next election. 

About the only thing everyone can agree on, including the supporters of the bill, is that Cap and Trade will result in higher cost for energy.  How many of you currently think energy costs are too low? How many of you think you should be paying more?  The government estimates that it will only cost you an additional $175 a year. But they are not being completely honest,  for that is only in the initial phase before the all the provisions of the bill kicks in. 

In addition, Government estimates are also notoriously unreliable.  The Heritage foundation estimate that it would be $1800 a year to start and $6800 a year  when fully in force; Oh, but not to worry, it is not really a tax increase. You will just have to pay more money.

Cap and Trade could devastate our economy, which is already in trouble. Because of this an amendment was offer to suspend the bill if gas hit $5.00 a gallon. It was defeated. When an amendment was offer to suspend the bill if electricity cost rose 10% this year, it too was defeated. When an amendment was offer to suspend the bill if unemployment reached 15%, again, it was defeated.  This is not putting people first.

But if this were not enough, Obama now wants to rush through a bill on health care.  Why all the rush on these bills?   Why are they in a hurry? Simple, if you don’t know what is in there, how can you oppose it?  

I could go on and on with example after example.  

Some see this as hopeless, a lost cause.  We have already gone too far. Too much damage has already been done. It is a good thing the founding father did not have such an attitude. America would not have made it through 1776. When the new government was having problems, because the Articles of Confederation proved inadequate, they created the Constitution.  Its first words resounded with the core of what makes this country so great:  We the people.

Notice those words. They are not we the politicians.  We the ruling class.  We the privileged few. We the intellectual elite, or even We the Judges. Despite what some judges may believe, the Constitution does not belong to the Supreme Court, where we must wait for them to divine penumbras, or examine foreign law so they can tell us what it means. It belongs to us.  It is “We the People.” 

In Lincolns words: We – even we here – hold the power and bear the responsibility…

So just what can “We the people” do.   First, you have to become informed.

Read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  It takes just a few minutes to read each. Is your country worth that? 
Learn about what the Founding Fathers did to create this country.
Learn about how our country is supposed to work.
Educate yourselves of the what is happening.

Second you have to become involved.

That you are here demonstrates that you already are.
Learn  to communicate your concerns effectively to others.
This is why the Tea Party movement is so important, but don’t wait to be asked,  ask what you can do.

Finally you have to vote and vote wisely.

Don’t wait till election day and then decide you don’t like any of the candidates.
Get involved much earlier in the process.
Encourage and support candidates early on, so you can enthusiastically vote for them on election day.  

If “We the People” do this then in the words of Lincoln at Gettysburg, “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

 Thank you and God Bless America!

(Note: this is the speech as written,  it was edited during delivery because of a change time limits)

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