Crony Capitalism Protects Wrongdoers, Harms Consumers, and Disrupts Markets
By Ken Connor
Thanks to a renewed interest in the works of Ayn Rand and high-profile figures like John Stossel, Glenn Beck, and Rand Paul, libertarianism is enjoying a moment in the political sun. And just like America’s two major parties, libertarians can often be blind to faulty logic and flaws within their own ideology. Timothy P. Carney recently wrote a piece for The Atlantic discussing this very problem:
“Voters despise government officials who get in bed with corporations. But what about corporations who cozy up to government? Are companies who use cronyism to grow their profit acting unethically?
The question makes some free-marketeers uneasy. After all, we not only tolerate the fierce pursuit of profit, but also we defend it against taxes and heavy-handed regulation. Milton Friedman famously said, ‘The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.’
But in the age of crony capitalism, libertarians must declare that some means of pursuing profit are immoral and call on executives to reject them. This would create a positive case for capitalism – arguing that the pursuit of profit, in the context of fair and open competition, helps the whole society. The new corporate social responsibility, redefined for libertarians, must stand athwart crony corporatism yelling ‘stop.’”
Lest his readers underestimate the influence and scope of crony capitalism, Carney provides a thumbnail sketch of the practice in action over the last decade. Seeing our government’s extensive network of corporate welfare laid out in black and white is sobering, to say the least:
“The 2005 and 2007 energy bills required drivers to buy ethanol, created a government loan-guarantee program for private sector green-energy projects, and effectively outlawed the traditional incandescent light bulb. . . . Then, 2008 saw an avalanche of corporate bailouts: Bear Stearns, AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Then the TARP bailed out all of Wall Street, and later General Motors and Chrysler.
Obama came to power in 2009 and signed an $800 billion stimulus bill supported by the Chamber of Commerce and loaded with goodies for the likes of Google and Solyndra. Obama pushed cap-and-trade with the support of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a corporate coalition led by GE, which had set up a business to create and trade greenhouse-gas credits.
In June 2009, Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, a regulatory measure that Philip Morris supported and reportedly helped write. . . . The drug lobby wrote significant parts of Obamacare, and the hospital lobby liked the bill enough to file an amicus curiae brief with the Court defending the law from its challenge by states and the small business lobby.
Boeing and the Chamber of Commerce launched a full-court lobbying push in 2011 to save and expand the Export-Import Bank, the government agency Obama loves using to subsidize U.S. Exports – including lots of Boeing jets. In a lesser-known case of regulatory profiteering, Obama hired H&R Block’s CEO to a top position at the IRS, where he crafted new regulations on tax preparers – rules which H&R Block supported and small tax preparers sued to overturn.”
Regardless of where your political sympathies lie, it’s undeniable that there is an unhealthy and unholy alliance between well-heeled special interests and politicians and policymakers. It’s all well and good to embrace Ms. Rand’s philosophy of self-seeking individualism in theory, but when this mentality insinuates itself into the markets unchecked by moral and ethical principles, the results are antithetical to freedom and fairness.
Basically, the special interests invest in political campaigns as a cost of doing business, and they expect a handsome return on their investments. As Mr. Carney explains, that usually comes in the form of pet legislation, subsidies, tax breaks, limitations on liability, preferential treatment . . . the list goes on and on. Of course, politicians are only too happy to accommodate these special interests in exchange for political contributions that help cement and perpetuate their power. As a result, the free market is stymied; it can’t do what it’s designed by nature to do, which is to sift good companies from bad ones, reward efficiency and innovation, and empower consumers with authentic choice in the marketplace. In effect, crony capitalism is a form of central planning, something that libertarians and conservatives historically eschew. The lack of accountability of the cronies is particularly damaging. Defenders of free-market capitalism generally maintain that accountability and responsibility must run hand in hand in order for markets to operate effectively. If wrongdoers are not held accountable, their wrongdoing will multiply and the whole system will be corrupted. Unfortunately, many free-market apologists in the political arena are only too ready to offer a double standard to their corporate benefactors. Consequently, we wind up with the excesses that characterized firms like AIG, Fannie Mae, and Enron; we end up with lives lost due to malfeasance at the hands of mining companies and peanut companies, from drugs that cause injury and death and products that explode or fail and cause harm. We have an epidemic of malpractice and abuse and neglect in nursing homes because wrongdoers aren’t held fully accountable. All of this is a direct result of corporations taking shortcuts and playing Russian roulette with consumer safety because they know they will be shielded from accountability if something goes wrong. As Madison said, “If men were angels, government wouldn’t be necessary.” Well, they aren’t, and we do. The world “regulation” is an anathema to free-market apologists, but it shouldn’t be. Proper government regulation and consumer protections are essential to ensure an ethical marketplace. The fewer regulations we have, the more consumer protection mechanisms we need, and vice versa. This is precisely the purpose of America’s civil justice system. It is wrong for corporations to lobby for fewer regulations while simultaneously perverting policy so that they are insulated from accountability in the civil justice arena when they err. When this is allowed to happen, corporate America runs amok and consumers are harmed. Mr. Carney is correct when he says that the case for capitalism must rest on the willingness of free-marketeers to demand ethical conduct from corporations and politicians alike. Our current economic and political problems aren’t just the fault of President Obama, or Nancy Pelosi or any other big government bogey. The sooner libertarians and conservatives alike recognize this, the sooner we can get our economy and our government back on the right track, and given the enormity of the challenges facing us over the next several decades, this can’t happen soon enough.
CJS Forum: Jack Beavers explains the EPA’s ethanol-octane bait-and-switch: The Off-Track EPA.
CJS Blog: Zachary Gappa writes about Live Action’s abortion sting in New York, the renewed push for Safe Haven laws for newborn babies, America’s alarming suicide trend and more: Check out the CJS Blog.
Follow the Center for a Just Society on Facebook. Go to our Facebook page and become a fan.
The Center for a Just Society is on Twitter. Go to http://twitter.com/AJustSociety to follow our daily updates.Ken Connor is an attorney and co-author of “Sinful Silence: When Christians Neglect Their Civic Duty” He is also Chairman of the Center for a Just Society. For more articles and resources from Mr. Connor and the Center for a Just Society, go to www.centerforajustsociety.org
Obama’s Defrauding of America-The Pigford Case
A repost!
hattip: Kim
He called attention to this fraud and had been chided for it. But he wasn’t wrong!
On Obama and the Saudis and the Saudis and Al Qaeda from Walid Shoebat’s Educated Perspective
This is one scary interview.
Barack Obama & The 45 Communist Goals
You have a big decision to make tomorrow in who you believe the best Commander-In-Chief will be. One is a moderate who has friends and enemies in both parties, and the other is a socialist who is already backtracking on his campaign promises to his supporters.
Barack Obama’s senior advisers have drawn up plans to lower expectations for his presidency if he wins next week’s election, amid concerns that many of his euphoric supporters are harbouring unrealistic hopes of what he can achieve.
- U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.
- U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war. – Obama – Obama said he would not further develop nuclear weapons, and wants to eliminate them altogether. Even though modern technology might better harness control over collateral damage.
- Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength. – Obama — See above.
- Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
- Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
- Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination. – Obama — Obama stated that he would double foreign aid to poor countries to prevent terrorism. Many of these poor countries are communist or dictator lead...
Our Modern Day Education System
The training up of future brownshirts…
Hmmm…
Agenda 21 Documentary
Watch it while you can-its a limited time offering
Morals and Values ~ Dustin Guthrie
http://www.youtube.com/user/dkguthrie13?feature=watch
Romans 3:18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
God is What We Need
Your laws ignore our deepest needs, Your words are empty air. You’ve stripped away our heritage, You’ve outlawed simple prayer. Now gunshots fill our classrooms, And precious children die. You seek for answers everywhere, And ask the question “Why?” You regulate restrictive laws, Through legislative creed. And yet you fail to understand, That God is what we need!
“Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, soul, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation’s history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine’s tragedy occurs – politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. “Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts. Political posturing and restrictive legislation are not the answers. The young people of our nation hold the key. There is a spiritual awakening taking place that will not be squelched! We do not need more religion. We do not need more gaudy television evangelists spewing out verbal religious garbage. We do not need more million dollar church buildings built while people with basic needs are being ignored. We do need a change of heart and a humble acknowledgment that this nation was founded on the principle of simple trust in God!
Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado
A TEA Party Community Born of Necessity
Come and join the conservatives who are tired of the ballsy censorship antics of the aggressive regressive progressives and liberalism’s looney tuners…See you there, friends!
A Murderous Supreme Court Decision
Today is the 40th anniversary of Roe V. Wade’s SCOTUS decision to decriminalize abortion. We have murdered 55,772,015+. Source
Genesis 4:9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.
Whenever there is a murder of innocent life the Lord knows because its blood cries out to Him. We, as a nation, are about to be judged for the sin of murdering the most innocent of God’s created lives. We have enemies within our borders under the guise of multiculturalism and amnesty and open borders, tools ready for use at God’s discretion for our destruction. We have a death culture amid a godless society. Life is not at all precious to our POTUS. As the father, so goes the child. Unless we, as a nation, repent of this atrocity we shall not see God’s promise of judgement relented.
The wrath of God is measured in proportion to the sin that provokes it. The wrath of God is a demonstration of his holiness, his sinlessness, his intense hatred for all things evil. We, too, should hate sin as God hates sin. As it is a stench in his nostrils so should it be in ours. As it breaks his heart and stirs his anger so should it also break our hearts and stir our anger.
In this post-modern age it’s just not cool to speak of God’s wrath. It is the one attribute of God that we seem to be ashamed of. We cover our lips and whisper of his wrath as if it is a character flaw. We act like the children of a father with a gambling problem or a father who spends his weekends tipping the bottle and ignoring his family. The truth is that the wrath of God affirms his holiness. He would not be holy if he was incapable of love, nor would he be holy if he failed to demonstrate his hatred for all that is sinful and unholy.
Article Source: ezinearticles.com What-Might-Gods-Judgment-For-A-Sinful-Nation-Look-Like
Here’s the thing. Abortion was always legal in our country since its beginning in the case of rape, incest and the mother’s compromised health and well-being. The legalizing of abortion was due to making it a birth control option and that is all it was. There never were back alley abortions except for the cases of a shameful or unwanted pregnancy. But how could the SCOTUS and the American people be duped, er, convinced of the necessity for “legalized” abortions unless they were told of dirty back alley abortions that, at times, killed the mother? And then they brought in statistics that were magically produced out of someone’s inspiration! Consider this: abortion was illegal as a birth control method so those who practiced or helped aid a woman in her choice to abort would be a murderer including that woman. How many would readily help with creating such statistics knowing it could mean life in prison or the death penalty by their own admittance? America was duped in 1973 and nearly 56,000,000 unborn lives have paid the price for our hedonism.
Here are some Abortion Facts to consider today. It is a life being aborted (stopped). As a civilized nation its time we abort the atrocity of abortion. If we don’t, we will reap a horrible and overwhelming harvest from the shed blood we’ve sown into our nation’s ground. God will not be mocked. Payday is someday…
This Day in History (I am suspicious of this history because I have never heard this “history”before! My pre-1973 law book says otherwise as far as the legality of abortions before this day 40 years ago)
Where Have the Americans Gone?
A great Op-Ed by George Andrews
Today, those on the right have no clear values … that they will fight for. They have been brainwashed to believe that they must be nice and polite, and considerate of everyone else’s feelings. To confront issues directly is considered crass and politically incorrect. The lip service they pay to each new progressive insult is almost always approached from a political point of view. They somehow are incapable of understanding that it is our culture which is under attack, not our political establishments. They firmly believe that the next election will solve every problem, but only if we work and campaign a little harder and support candidate “y” instead of candidate “x.”
Meantime, the progressives incrementally advance upon our social institutions. Our schools, churches, media, workplaces, charitable organizations, youth organizations and others are now little more than satellite groups of, and tools for, the liberal agenda. Take great care! To say that out loud will get you accused of being racist, homophobic or worse. You may very well be sued and/or arrested for a hate crime. Take heart, though, if we elect the right politician next time, he or she will take care of it, by golly.
Still the Same Ol’, Same Ol’
Last night I was reading this old novel based on the true life of Mary Todd Lincoln and her U.S. President-husband Abe called Love is Eterrnal, by Irving Stone written in 1954, and came upon an author inserted funny incident pulled by then lawyer Abe which struck me as something we could say is true even today. On page 47 we read that Mary Todd and her sister, Frances, while out shopping happened upon a crowd drawing political debate in the Springfield town square…
Up on the stand was Colonel Dick Taylor, a bombastic orator who was berating the Whigs for being aristocrats and reactionaries, interested only in the piling up of wealth and the conserving of their privileges while he and his fellow Democrats were poor and simple folk interested solely in the welfare of the people.
During the last sentence of the speech a man edged slowly onto the back of the platform, slipped to the side of Colonel Taylor and then, with the completion of the colonel’s peroration, caught the edge of the speaker’s vest and pulled it open, exposing to the audience an expensive silk ruffled shirt, a gold watch chain with seals and several other gaudy jewels…
…”Freinds, I am humble Abraham Lincoln. While Colonel Taylor was making these charges against the Whigs over the country, riding in fine carriages, wearing ruffled shirts, kid gloves, massive gold watch chains and flourishing a heavy gold-headed cane, I was a poor boy, hired on a flatboat at eight dollars a month, and had only one pair of breeches to my back and they were buckskin. Now, if you know the nature of buckskin when wet and dried by the sun, it will shrink; and my breeches kept shrinking until they left several inches of my legs bare between the tops of my socks and the lower part of my breeches; whilst I was growing taller they were becoming shorter, and so much tighter that they left a blue streak around my legs that can be seen to this day. If you call this aristocracy I plead guilty to the charge.”
Since before the Republican Party took root, the Democrats have been hypocritically foisting their own guilty pleasures upon the opposing party as if it would be a pre-emptive strike to blind the voting masses from knowing the truth of who really is after their own selfish interests. Same ol’, same ol’…
Mrs. Nordman’s List from 50 Years Ago Today
Communist Goals (1963)
Congressional Record–Appendix, pp. A34-A35
January 10, 1963
EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, January 10, 1963
Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Nordman of De Land, Fla., is an ardent and articulate opponent of communism, and until recently published the De Land Courier, which she dedicated to the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of communism in America.
At Mrs. Nordman’s request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, the following “Current Communist Goals,” which she identifies as an excerpt from “The Naked Communist,” by Cleon Skousen:
[From "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen]
Current Communist Goals
1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.
2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.
3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.
4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.
7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev’s promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.
9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.
10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)
12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.
13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.
14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.
15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers’ associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
18. Gain control of all student newspapers.
19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.
20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.
21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to “eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms.”
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a “religious crutch.”
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”
29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.
30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the “common man.”
31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the “big picture.” Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.
32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture–education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.
33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.
34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.
36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.
37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.
38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].
39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.
42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use ["]united force["] to solve economic, political or social problems.
43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.
45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction [over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction] over nations and individuals alike.
See also: Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto
The American people have truly been “buried in Communism” by their own
politicians of both the Republican and Democratic parties. One other thing to
remember, Karl Marx was stating in the Communist Manifesto that these planks
will test whether a country has become commmunist or not. If they are all in
effect and in force the country IS communist. Communism, but by any other
name…??
See also: Progressives and the Communist Agenda
Ideas in Action Newsletter: Free to Choose?
By Ken Connor
Americans’ affirmation of the “right to choose” is a feature of our national identity. No matter where you go or what you’re doing, chances are you are confronted with a plethora of choices. Go to the supermarket and you are confronted with a dizzying array of options for each and every product you wish to buy. Seventeen brands of Greek style yogurt. Forty-five flavors of coffee creamer. Thirty-seven different kinds of peanut butter. The same may be said of cell phone carriers, automobiles, clothing brands… you name it.The freedom of “choice” also figures prominently in the political realm, and is generally associated with the liberal or Democratic side of the aisle. Republicans are often painted as cantankerous old curmudgeons who cling blindly to guns, religion, and “the way things used to be done.” Their rigidity, we are told, often comes at the expense of “choice.” When the rhetoric is peeled away and the issues scrutinized, however, it turns out that conservatives are actually the true champions of choice while liberals tend to oppose it, unless of course the choice in question is the choice to kill your unborn child.Last week America tuned in as swarms of Union workers stormed the Michigan state capitol to protest the passage of landmark “right to work” legislation. Reporters were punched and threats of “blood in the streets” were levied by union representatives outraged by the notion that free individuals should have the right to choose whether or not to join a union. You see, unions and their Democratic cohorts in the House and Senate (and the White House, for that matter) don’t support that kind of choice. They believe that when it comes to your work and your money, the government and their favored allies should call the shots. They think you should only have a right to work if you first pay your dues to Big Labor, which in turn lines the coffers of Big Government in the form of generous campaign contributions. Okay, so maybe Democrats aren’t in favor of “choice” when it comes to work, but what about education? Surely they should be in favor of a system that allows parents the right to choose the best education for their children. Unfortunately, no. Turns out that Democrats care more about currying favor with the NEA than they do about ensuring access to quality schools for those children most in need of educational opportunity. Take the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, for example. This program enables inner-city children to use vouchers to escape the District’s failing schools and attend quality institutions like Sidwell Friends, where – incidentally – the Obama daughters go to school. Sadly, however, what’s good for the presidential goose is not so good for the inner city gander: President Obama and his cohorts in Congress have worked to kill this program since he took office. When it comes to education, the President and Democrats prefer to make the decisions for the children of the hoi polloi than have parents to make the decisions for themselves. Uncle Sam and the teachers’ union have it all under control, thank you very much.What about religious liberty then? Do liberals support the freedom to choose how you practice your religion in the health care arena? Again, the answer is no. President Obama and his Secretary of Health and Human Services see nothing wrong with limiting religious and economic liberty in the name of mandated free birth control and abortifacients for all.Which brings us full circle to the one “choice” that is truly sacrosanct to the Left: abortion. Tread on this sacred freedom and you might as well break into the National Archives and light the Declaration of Independence on fire. Suggest that the government might have a legitimate role in safeguarding the God-given liberties of unborn children and you’ll be labeled a hateful misogynist who wants to “dictate to women what they do with their own bodies.” Nevermind the fact that Big Brother feels perfectly justified in telling us how big our drinks can be, what kind of light bulbs we can buy, where we can and can’t smoke a cigarette, etc… Heaven forbid we use the force of law to protect the lives of innocents who can’t make choices for themselves. That would be crossing the line.It’s true that choice is under attack in America, but not from whom the media and other mainstream formers-of-opinion would have you think. If you want to know who the real enemies of free choice and free thought are in America, look no further than the nearest liberal Democratic representative or Left-leaning think tank.
CJS Forum: Trevor Thomas challenges social conservatives to take the initiative in defending the moral principles they hold dear: Answering Liberals’ ‘Gotcha’ Questions.CJS Blog: Zachary Gappa discusses tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, the meaning of “right to work,” Arlington, VA’s war on food trucks and more: Check out the CJS Blog.
Follow the Center for a Just Society on Facebook. Go to our Facebook page and become a fan. The Center for a Just Society is on Twitter. Go to http://twitter.com/AJustSociety to follow our daily updates.Oops, Are You Offended?
If you're an easily offended person, you might want to stop reading now, because this may offend you. And frankly, I don't care. I have opinions, thoughts, and feelings about things, I like to express them, and if you don't agree with me, that's fine, we can agree to disagree. If, however, you're offended, that's your problem, not mine, and I'll still sleep well tonight.
What is Our Nation’s True Condition?
Blessings for Obedience to God:
Deuteronomy 28 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4 “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8 “The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
9 “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.14 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
*written Scripture verses from here
Note on the video: Although we should do our best to be prepared for an economic collapse and coming crisis’, for many, like myself, we cannot build up stock and store. Don’t lose heart, God will supply His children’s needs as He sees fit for His glory. We must be willing to endure hardship as He wills it for us. This is for His Kingdom and glory, not ours. Our rewards will be from His hand and are eternal. If martial law were to be declared by any U.S. president now that Obama has updated the NDAA the way he saw fit our stock and store may very well be taken out from under us. Trust in the Lord God Almighty to lead you and supply your every need.
A Truth-Socialism and the Son of Perdition - Oswald Chambers
Treason, High Crimes and Misdemeanors: An Indictment of Barack Hussein Obama
Mr. Obama is not a natural born citizen as required by Article 2, Section 1, Clause 5 of the United States Constitution. His father was a British subject residing in Kenya.
Mr. Obama has not provided a certified hard copy of his birth certificate despite repeated lawsuits, suggesting that he is not a United States citizen. A law enforcement investigation led by Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona has revealed that the birth certificate submitted online by Mr.
Closing Statements from the Last Debate
Please keep in mind that Unedited Politics (in my sidebar) has clips from the debate to view.
2012 Vice-Presidential Debate (Full): Joe Biden vs. Paul Ryan - 10/11/12
http://youtu.be/j3roG09O6T4
I Want a Divorce
Here’s something I received from a friend in an email:
DIVORCE AGREEMENT — – WRITTEN BY A YOUNG COLLEGE STUDENT — 5 STAR RATING :
>
> The person that wrote this is a college student. Perhaps there is hope for us after all.
>
> DIVORCE AGREEMENT
> THIS IS SO INCREDIBLY WELL PUT AND I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT’S BY A YOUNG PERSON, A STUDENT!!! WHATEVER HE RUNS FOR, I’LL VOTE FOR HIM.
>
> Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al: We have stuck together since the late 1950′s for the sake of the kids, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has clearly run its course.>
> Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right for us all, so let’s just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.>
> Here is a model separation agreement:
> –Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a similar portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.
>
> –We don’t like redistributive taxes so you can keep them.
> –You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU.–Since you hate guns and war, we’ll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military.
> –We’ll take the nasty, smelly oil industry and you can go with wind, solar and biodiesel.
>
–You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O’Donnell. You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them.
>
> –We’ll keep capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street.
> –You can have your beloved lifelong welfare dwellers, food stamps, homeless, homeboys, hippies, druggies and illegal aliens.
> –We’ll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO’s and rednecks.
> –We’ll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood
>
> –You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we’ll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us.
>
–You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we’ll help provide them security.
>
>
–We’ll keep our Judeo-Christian values.
> –You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism, political correctness and Shirley McClain. You can also
have the U.N. but we will no longer be paying the bill.
>
>
–We’ll keep the SUV’s, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Volt and Leaf you can find.
> –You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors.
> –We’ll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.
> –We’ll keep “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “The National Anthem.”
> –I’m sure you’ll be happy to substitute “Imagine”, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”, “Kum Ba Ya” or
“We Are the World”.
>
> –We’ll practice trickle-down economics and you can continue to give trickle up poverty your best shot.
>> –Since it often so offends you, we’ll keep our history, our name and our flag.
>
> Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like-minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I’ll bet you answer which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.
>
> Sincerely,> John J. Wall
> Law Student and an American
>
>
P.S. Also, please take Ted Turner, Sean Penn, Martin & Charlie Sheen, Barbara Streisand, & ( Hanoi ) Jane Fonda with you.
>
> P.S.S. And you won’t have to press 1 for English when you call our country.
>
hattip: Kim love your latest post!
Che-cago, Che-cago! One Helluva Town…!
(hattip to a commentor who spelled out Chicago in the way its spelled in my title-a reference to Che Guevera)
Green Energy is Most Important to Obama and His Administration (nevermind the dead white Boers…)
From The Center of Western Journalism:
Politics Of Racial Division: Hillary And Obama Ignoring Genocide Against Whites
Hillary Clinton, the liberal darling of the left — lately touted as the replacement for our “gaffe-prone” vice president, Joe Biden — has certainly proven herself to be a team player on Obama’s and the Democrats’ policy of division and opportunism in all things racial. She has just completed a trip to South Africa, where she discussed numerous issues with Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South African minister of international relations and cooperation. The two politicians issued a joint statement for strategic dialog.
Here is a partial list of the strategic initiatives they agreed to:
- the signing of a US$2 billion declaration of intent between the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. and South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation to provide credit guarantees to stimulate development of South Africa’s renewable energy sector;
- the launch of the US$500,000 Opportunity grants program, which will help disadvantaged South African students cover testing and application expenses, and international travel for study in the United States;
- A collaboration between USAID, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Competition Commission of South Africa, to provide capacity building assistance to competition agencies in the Southern Africa region;USAID grants to assist with water resource management in the Limpopo and Orange-Senqu trans-boundary river
You get the idea about what this statement and trip were all about: building ties in a troubled world by reaching out to our global neighbors. What was conspicuously absent was any statement from Hillary or Obama on the atrocities being committed against the Afrikaners in the region. Genocide Watch, an international alliance to end genocide, chronicles the crimes against the Boers by a member organization of the ANC (South Africa’s ruling party in power), and officials of the South African government are prompting Genocide Watch to place South Africa alternately between stage 5 (“polarization”) and stage 6 (“preparation”) of their genocide scale.
And the following video shows Nelson Mandela singing for the extermination of whites. This has been going on for some time and yet, our POTUS does and says nothing.
More from The Center of Western Journalism:
Since 1994, the Boers have been subject to random killings, rapes, and property crimes by members of the Youth League of the ANC and others. Here is an excerpt from their statement by Genocide Watch:
Over 3000 white farmers have been murdered since 1994. The South African police have not made investigation and prosecution of these farm murders a priority, dismissing them as crimes by common criminals. The government has disbanded the commando units of white farmers that once protected their farms, and has passed laws to confiscate the farmers’ weapons. Disarmament of a targeted group is one of the surest early warning signs of future genocidal killings.
A recent outbreak of violent farm invasions has led to casualties among white South Africans. The farm invasions are direct results of calls by Julius Malema and his Deputy, Ronald Lamola for whites to give up their land without compensation, or face violence by angry black youths “flooding their farms.”
My personal favorite discussion point between Hillary and South Africa is the two-billion-dollar credit guarantees for renewable energy. Good to know her priorities are straight in elevating a decidedly leftist green international agenda above egregious human rights violations.
Read more here
(…and I won’t ask where the UN is on this…I hear crickets…)
The Truth About Thomas Jefferson’s Quran
Obama rewrites history. And we have another rewriter of history, Rep. Ellison, in Congress. If they can’t get this right…hmmm…
Here you go if you want to hear American History according to Islam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=0-sAyuzkMLU&NR=1
“GET OUT” by Ryan Scott Bomberger
Irked by Obamacare and dozens of other examples of our liberty being stripped away, I had enough. “GET OUT” is all I could think of. So I wrote a jingle, created some kinetic typography and let loose. THIS IS ONLY A SNIPPET…THE FULL VERSION WILL BE RELEASED ON MONDAY, JULY 9th. ENJOY! Or better yet…VOTE HIM OUT!
(I will post the full version in the comment line so come on back to see it!)
The Ruling on Obamacare is…?
The Ruling~
Supreme Court upholds Obamacare individual mandate as a tax
Thanks Findalis, for the cartoon headsup~
Cartoon headsup-Dan Miller in Panama
More updates in the comment line…
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