The thirst for power never rests

The history of mankind has been dominated by tyranny and despots. Coerced governments like communism, Marxism, authoritarianism, dictatorships, totalitarianism, and despotism have been the standards of government throughout the ages -- and have always failed.

This in large part is why the United States has been called "the Great Experiment." Our Founding Fathers sought a different kind of government - one that would represent all the people and make the government servants of the people instead of the people being servants to the ruling class.

"...A REPUBLIC, IF YOU CAN KEEP IT," was the answer Benjamin Franklin gave an inquiring citizen who had asked what kind of government had been structured by the Founding Fathers after the Constitutional Convention had adjourned.

Unfortunately, as wise Ben inherently knew, the thirst for power never ends. There will always be those that seek power, and there will be those who will always search for the ever elusive utopia.

There will always be people who won't pull their weight just as there will always be those elitists who think they know best and seek power - and control.

In order for the Great Experiment to live on, we must stay vigilant and constantly oppose the pull from the left and not fall for the continual call of "leveling the playing field." As you drift into socialism, you lose more and more of your freedoms and liberties. Making matters worse, most socialist governments end up being no more than dictatorships over the workers by a ruling elite.

Economist Thomas Sowell recently wrote:

"'Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.' We have heard that many times. What is also the price of freedom is the toleration of imperfections. If everything that is wrong with the world becomes a reason to turn more power over to some political savior, then freedom is going to erode away.... Ultimately, our choice is to give up Utopian quests or give up our freedom. This has been recognized for centuries by some, but many others have not yet faced that reality, even today. If you think government should 'do something' about anything that ticks you off, or anything you want and don't have, then you have made your choice between Utopia and freedom."

Well said.

OBAMACARE DOUBLESPEAK

Obama recently said, "I have not said that I was a single payer supporter because, frankly, we historically had a employer-based system in this country with private insurers, and for us a transition to a system like that I believe would be too disruptive."

But yet, on June 30, 2003, he said to the Illinois AFL-CIO: "I happen to be a proponent of a single payer health care program." You can see it here:


Was he lying then? Or is he lying now?

And in 2007 he said his goal was to have, by the end of his first term, universal health care that would, over time... 10 to 15 years .... end employer sponsored health insurance.

Yet, today he says the "public option" is not a Trojan horse to government health care, despite Barney Frank admitting that it is exactly that. Video can be seen here.

Was he lying then? Or, is he lying now?

Obama Brings Chicago-Style Intimidation

Phyllis Schlafly:
Obama's staff and retreads from the Clinton administration are using Chicago-style intimidation to rescue his extravagant health-care bill from its decline in public opinion polls.

Cal Thomas : What Lies Beneath

Are we now assigning worth to human life, or does it arrive with its own pre-determined value, irrespective of race, class, IQ, or disability?

The bottom line is not the bottom line. It is something far more profound. Our decisions regarding who will get help and who won't are about more than bean-counting bureaucrats deciding if your drugs or operation will cost more than you are contributing to the U.S. Treasury. Read more.

Chuck Norris : Dirty Secret No. 1 in Obamacare

While watching these political hot August nights, I decided to research the reasons so many are opposed to Obamacare to separate the facts from the fantasy. What I discovered is that there are indeed dirty little secrets buried deep within the 1,000-plus page health care bill.

Dirty secret No. 1 in Obamacare is about the government's coming into homes and usurping parental rights over child care and development.

It's outlined in sections 440 and 1904 of the House bill (Page 838), under the heading "home visitation programs for families with young children and families expecting children." The programs (provided via grants to states) would educate parents on child behavior and parenting skills. Read more.

'Conservatives, Shut Up and Step Aside'

David Limbaugh:

The hubris, arrogance and deceit of President Barack Obama and the Democratic leadership are breathtaking. In their maniacal frenzy to assume control over every aspect of our lives through socialized medicine, they are behaving like the thuggish autocrats they have proved themselves to be. Read more.

Random Thoughts by Thomas Sowell:

"What did we learn from the "beer summit" on the White House lawn, except that Vice President Joe Biden doesn't drink alcoholic beverages? Considering the many gaffes that the vice president has made while cold sober, the thought of an intoxicated Joe Biden boggles the mind."

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"Since no one seems overly concerned about putting a racist on the Supreme Court-- provided it is a politically correct racist-- the moral of the story seems to be that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, that doesn't matter if it coos like a dove at Senate confirmation hearings."

Read more random thoughts.

Obama's Tone-Deaf Health Campaign

By Dorothy Rabinowitz:
Opinion Journal

The president shouldn’t worry about the protestors disrupting town hall meetings. He should worry about the Americans who have been sitting at home listening to him.

The Next Fannie Mae

Opinion Journal

Ginnie Mae and FHA are becoming $1 trillion subprime guarantors.

"He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career."

-- George Bernard Shaw --

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies."

-- Groucho Marx --

"I think politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly and for the same reason."

-- Anonymous --

"I remain just one thing, and one thing only -- and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician."

-- Charlie Chaplin --

Quotes from John Adams:

"In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress."

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"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty."

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"A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever."

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"I agree with you that in politics the middle way is none at all."

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"Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for Liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People in a greater Measure than they have it now, They may change their Rulers and the forms of Government, but they will not obtain a lasting Liberty. They will only exchange Tyrants and Tyrannies."

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"The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing."

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Double-dip recession?

Washington Times

Dire prospects rise along with borrowing
By Richard W. Rahn

We are likely to have a double-dip recession, and this is why. Your Uncle Sam has been having a hard time because he spends more than he makes. He engages in much unproductive behavior and wastes a lot of money on things that he doesn't really need. He is easily influenced by his irresponsible children, Nancy and Harry, whose mantra is: "Spend, Sam, spend." Sam is also sloppy with his finances. His record keeping is poor, and he is frequently ripped off by people who claim to be his friends. Read more.

Ten Questions Politicians Won’t Answer

Evasive politicians, not concerned citizens, are dividing America over health-care reform.

By Tom Coburn
National Review Online

The past week’s debate about health care has shown that in Washington the only things more stubborn than facts are politicians who evade them. In spite of a torrent of independent analyses showing that the so-called health-care “reform” bills moving through Congress will dramatically increase the deficit and cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance, the politicians leading the effort have steadfastly refused to consider that their ideas and policies, rather than the character of their critics, may be flawed. At the same time, the politicians writing the bill still refuse to answer basic questions about how it will be paid for and how it will affect patients. Read more.

OBAMACARE

From the North Carolina GOP:

The deficit clock in Washington is spinning out of control – $1.8 Trillion for this year alone! And that does not even include most of Obama’s “$787 Billion Stimulus” spending program!

You remember that program. That’s the one that hasn’t created the jobs he promised. In fact, in just July alone, another 247,000 Americans lost their jobs.

Now President Obama and his allies in Congress are touring the nation to sell his $1 Trillion national health care plan.

It is a plan that begins the process of putting the federal bureaucracy between you and your doctor. And it puts much of the $1 TRILLION in new costs on the backs of Seniors – through cuts in their Medicare benefits.

Under the Obama plan, it is our Senior citizens, who will be paying the steepest price:

* Obama’s government takeover experiment will cut $500 Billion from Medicare to pay for their plan.
* Cuts money to hospitals.
* Cuts money for imaging and even wheel chairs..

The bottom line for ObamaCare is that it will increase health care costs, increase taxes, increase the deficit and reduce health care choice and quality for all Americans.

In fact, there are so many reasons to oppose ObamaCare that Americans all over the nation are showing up at Town Halls and other events to voice their opposition and make their opinions known.

For this, the Congressional Democrat leadership has called them “un-American”.

Well – there is nothing more American than voicing your opinion.

And it is important that Americans get all the facts about the Obama Health Care plan.

To help in this endeavor, they have released a Health Care ad and can be seen below:

ELDERLY SWING AGAINST OBAMA PLAN

By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN

The most ominous signal yet for the Obama health care plan emerged in the poll by Scott Rasmussen released today. While public support for the plan fell to a new low (42% support, 53% oppose -- down five points in two weeks), the elderly emerged as the strongest opposition group. Those over 65 rejected the plan by 39-56 while almost half -- 46% -- said they were "strongly opposed" to it. Read more.

Assaulted by sex-ed

REBECCA HAGELIN:
Washington Times

Culture Challenge of the Week: Immoral Sex Indoctrination

Much of what is being taught to our young girls and boys in sex-education classes is too graphic and vulgar to be quoted in the newspaper.

For that, you can blame Planned Parenthood, Advocates for Youth, and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). The content of sex-education programs is dominated by these groups, which instruct our children on how to perform sexual acts, including homosexuality and sadomasochism. Their materials promote a radical political agenda, are highly pornographic, encourage our children to be sexually active and are largely devoid of biological and medical information.
READ MORE.

Obama Says Immigration Reform Is a Priority, but Won't Happen Soon

washingtonpost.com

But Immigration Action Won't Come Until 2010

By Cheryl W. Thompson and William Booth

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, Aug. 10 -- President Obama, attending a North American summit with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, said Monday that his administration will pursue a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. immigration system this year but that no action on legislation will happen before 2010.

Doctor Knows Best
By Robert Ringer

In cases where a sincere progressive genuinely believes that he is doing the right thing by forcing people to do what he deems to be in the best interest of “the common good,” my hunch is that there is a mental disorder at play. It’s akin to a small child who throws a tantrum because he can’t have everything be exactly the way he wants it to be.

This is the mentality that is on the verge of taking another giant step toward tyranny by destroying the best healthcare system in the world and herding us all into long waiting lines … subjecting us to life-or-death verdicts handed down by bureaucrats … and ending our one-on-one relationships with our doctors. Read more.

"Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition."

--Thomas Jefferson --

ObamaCare's Real Price Tag

The funding gap is a canyon by year 10.

Karl Rove:
Health Reform and the Tax Pledge

Polling and focus groups have led the president astray on his top priority.

Justice Sotomayor

She’s lucky she didn’t get the Miguel Estrada treatment.

STEPHEN MOORE
It's Time to Legislate a Spending Cap

Only legally binding limits can brings deficits under control.

Strassel:
Blue Dog Blues

Moderate Democrats may lose simply because voters don’t want Nancy Pelosi in power.

MAX SCHULZ
A Town Hall Protest in Maryland

The audience was loud but civil—and their anxiety over health reform was very real.

Ken Connor:
Seniors Left Behind?

One of the most controversial issues of the current health care reform debate is the concept of health care rationing—allocating medical care according to predetermined criteria that dictate how much and what kind of care a given patient will receive under a government-run system.

Salena Zito:
Corzine Seeing Red in New Jersey

Deep-Democrat-blue New Jersey is on a direct course to go Republican-red this fall, and it does not look like even Obama-esque hope and change can stop that.

JOHN S. BAKER AND ELLIOTT STONECIPHER
Our Unconstitutional Census

California could get nine House seats it doesn’t deserve because illegal aliens will be counted in 2010.

Mike Adams : Barry, Barry, Quite Contrary - Townhall.com

Hello Barry:

I want to express my deep disappointment with your continued refusal to address my questions about the new health care reform bill currently being pushed through Congress. A few days ago, I sent you several dozen questions about the bill. You did not answer a single one of them. Instead, you keep sending me form emails. Continue...

Polls undercut scripted protest claims

The White House's claim that large and boisterous protests against health care reform over the past week have been scripted performances, underwritten by industry lobbyists and the Republican Party, continues to run into a stubborn reality check: public polling on the matter.

For more than two weeks, polls have consistently shown growing resistance to President Obama's reform proposals, largely because of concerns about the nation's deficit and debt.  Read more.

Michigan crowd vents health care fury

Washington Times

Congressman struggles to cool tempers
ROMULUS, Mich. - There were no buses, no swastikas, not a piece of Astroturf in sight.

But there was name-calling, jeering, red faces and finger-pointing as Michigan residents shot back with fury at a congressional town-hall meeting geared to explaining President Obama's health care plan. Full story.

"The Great Depression, like most other periods of severe unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement rather than by any inherent instability of the private economy."

--economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006)

"The intellectual establishment [is] so busy demanding more power for government, more bureaucracy, regulation, spending and -- oh, yes -- more and more taxes, they forgot all about the secret of America's success -- opportunity for people, for all the people. ... Will we heed the pessimists' agenda of higher taxes, more bureaucracy, and a bigger welfare state leading us right back to runaway inflation and economic decay, or will we [take the] road toward a true opportunity society of economic growth, more jobs, lower tax rates, and rising take-home pay?"

--Ronald Reagan --

WHAT A JOKE!!

Obama Adviser Considers Stimulus Spending Successful
(CNSNews.com) – Even while conceding that job losses are “horrendous” – 9.4 percent unemployment nationwide – a top Obama administration economic adviser said the $787-billion stimulus plan is working. “Millions of unemployed workers have seen an extra $25 a week in their unemployment insurance checks [and] 95 percent of American households saw a tax cut in their paychecks starting April 1,” said Christina Romer, chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

CASH FOR CLUNKERS: TRADE IN AMERICAN; BUY FOREIGN

By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN

The only part of the stimulus program that is working, the cash-for-clunkers program is, in reality, a subsidy to foreign car companies, proving that Barack Obama is the best president Japan ever had.

The Department of Transportation reports that the ten leading trade-ins are all American branded cars while six of the top ten new cars purchased - and four of the top five - are foreign. So the United States Senate is about to pass additional funds to subsidize the trade-in of American cars and the purchase of foreign cars.

It is a violation of the World Trade Organization rules to enact a public subsidy program and skew it toward only domestically produced products, so the Congress has no choice but to extend the program to all comers. No choice, that is, but to not spend the money in the first place.

Cash for Clunkers will do wonders for the Japanese economy, but its impact on the US job situation is problematic. This unintended consequence is a great illustration of what happens when the blunt tool of government subsidy is applied to the fine tuning of a free market economy. Government planners keep getting it wrong. That's why socialism is such a bad idea.