Pro-Constitution, Anti-Globalist, Anti-Socialist, Anti-Communist, and usually with an attempt at historical and economic context ************************13th Year ----- 2009-2021*****
Has America improved over the years in
light of its Founders' intentions and the founding documents? With
the founding of a nation unique in the world in its governing
philosophy, has the nation been faithful to its ideals? A compelling
explanation of what has happened over these years to the American
Founders' vision is discussed in Angelo Codevilla's three-part series
called “Progression – or Degeneracy?” These essays
discuss philosophical and practical topics, and their message commands attention.
The
above link is to the first part, where you will find links to the
second and third parts. It is worthwhile reading and valuable food
for thought. I had not been aware of this website until today, and I
have added it to my list of “Interesting Links.” Enjoy and think. – E.H.
Illustration: Declaration of Independence, by John Trumbull, 1819 (Wikipedia)
Michael Walsh of Yahoo News
reported on Bernie Sanders' remarks during a discussion at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., on
June 22.
Is Senator Bernie Sanders correct that President Donald
Trump's “authoritarianism” is a threat to American democracy? Hardly. American democracy, in terms of
people saying and doing what they like, voting as they like with
honest results, and worshiping as they like, indeed the whole Bill of
Rights appears to be in quite good shape. Of course the Tenth
Amendment hasn't been respected by government in the last century,
and more, with few exceptions. But Trump has had little influence on
that.
Sanders obviously prefers the policies
of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to those of Donald Trump.
Sanders says no president has told as
many “outrageous and blatant lies” as Trump. Really? It would
take quite a few misstatements of fact to equal Obama's blatant lie,
“If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like
your plan, you can keep your plan. Period.” He used that one to
sell a destructive health care power grab that a majority of
Americans never wanted. Plenty of other lies came from Obama, enough
to make Trump look like a faithful Boy Scout.
A few more of Obama's many lies, as
listed by Western Journalism in an article by
Derrick Hollenbeck, dated September 4, 2012, are the following:
Obama said there has never been a
better friend of Israel in the White House, and also “In May 2011,
Obama asked G8 member nations to fund
the Arab Spring counties who are clearly on their way to
planning an all-out attack on Israel.”
“Obama lied and said that there would not
be public funding of abortions under Obamacare.” Further,
Remember Obama telling us there would
be no earmarks in his 2009 stimulus package? He lied. The bill had
over 9,000
earmarks in it; and of course, it failed to deliver even a
small improvement for our economy.
And those are just in his first term.
Authoritarianism? When a president uses
his legitimate authority, which is considerable, that is not
authoritarianism. If you want examples of authoritarianism, consider
Democrat presidents. Woodrow Wilson made it illegal to
criticize the government or the World War I effort. Barack Obama
legislated immigration policies contrary to statute, after previously
stating, correctly, that he lacked the authority to do so. His pen
and phone were used to usurp congressional authority, but Congress
made no real attempt to stop him. They simply criticized him, and
filed a few lawsuits.
Trump's efforts with executive orders
are mostly aimed at undoing Obama's abuses and keeping his own
campaign promises, within existing law, in the fields of immigration,
regulations and others.
Largely by his own authoritarian
policies, Obama had America set up to suffer his “third term” in
the presidency of Hillary Clinton, had she been elected as expected.
Fortunately, the election of Trump has, in my opinion, saved America
from globalism and a calamitous collapse, at least temporarily.
Also, contrary to Mr. Sanders'
statement, President Trump's statement that the “mainstream media”
is “fake news,” not to be believed, is quite true in the realm of
political news, especially in “reporting” on Donald Trump. It is
blatantly obvious that much political “journalism” from the MSM
these days is actually anti-Trump propaganda. Also,
[Sanders] said Trump’s outbursts at
judges are not simply “temper tantrums” but a blatant disregard
for the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution —
attempts to delegitimize a coequal branch of government so it cannot
constrain his power.
But the courts brought criticism upon
themselves by playing politics and ignoring the president's
constitutional power to limit immigration. If the president wanted
to, he could legally stop any and all immigration, which has been
done for long periods in previous years. If the president believes
limiting immigration is necessary, he can do it, no matter what he
might have said during his election campaign.
Sanders thinks Trump's criticism of
judges is a danger to constitutional separation of powers, but
Democrats have a poor record in that regard. Sanders thinks Trump is
trying to “delegitimize a coequal branch of government.” But he's
simply expressing reasonable opinions. And the courts
have constrained his power, though not, in my opinion,
legitimately. Meanwhile, Democrats and leftists are trying to
delegitimize the Trump presidency, i.e., that of the Chief Executive
of the coequal Executive Branch of government, which to Sanders is
apparently OK.
Further, it must be noted that, while
socialist Sanders complains of authoritarianism, socialism is the
very acme of authoritarianism, which it has to be, in order to make
its anti-freedom, paternalistic system work (for a while). Socialism
leads to things like we see in Venezuela, as a relatively mild
example. Lenin said, “The goal of socialism is communism.” Ludwig
von Mises, libertarian economist said, “The goal of socialism is
socialism.” It is not individual freedom or economic prosperity,
and even if it were, socialists know no way of producing either.
The “Mainstream” Media are no
longer mainstream, but are, in fact, the enemy of the American people
– along with their patrons the hysterical leftist politicians and
globalist elites. There is no restraint in their propaganda any more.
Anything goes, as long as it might contribute to the destruction of
President Trump and his administration.
The elites and their brainless
followers will allow no reasoned argument to get in the way of their
seditious, often treasonous activities: paid rioting mobs, senseless
attacks on defenseless people, violence against law enforcement,
shutting down freedom of speech. Why aren't more of these people
going to prison? Why aren't college campus crimes by students and
others punished?
With
the DC shootings, as Ann Coulter said, the
“resistance” has gone live-fire. When media figures are
excusing the shooting of Congressman Scalise, decency is going out
the window. When celebrities can cheer the “Julius Caesar” Trump
stabbing at a play, they probably would howl with delight if
something like that actually befell the president. For my money,
these folks are without moral standards, let alone journalistic
standards, and are worse than worthless until/unless they repent.
Speaking of Ann Coulter, this is her appearance on Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight after President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement, and Kathy Griffin released her infamous Trump beheaded video. Poor leftist victims!
Scott Pelley said the
shooting of Scalise was “somewhat self-inflicted.” Does he wonder
why his ratings are slipping? These media figures of the MSM are
slowly putting themselves and their employers out of work. It is only
to be expected that print media and broadcast news are losing readers
and viewers. People know they can't be trusted. In fact, they
suspect, with justification, that the MSM is actually not so much
interested in informing them, but, like the elites, are more
out to get them.
Trump can make a lot of sense with his
tweets. The progressives don't like the tweets because he tells the
truth about them. They obviously have only contempt for Mr.
Trump and his supporters. Further, the globalists have contempt for
all ordinary people, and wouldn't mind wiping many of them out
through war and other means. War is one way they make their fortunes,
ya know.
You can be sure that any liberals'
calls for unity after the DC shooting was just lip service, and they
know they will do nothing to promote unity and a lot to increase
division.
Mr, Trump is criticized for his
tendency to counter-punch when attacked, but that represents his best
way of getting his message across and possibly exacting compensation
for unjustified attacks.
To call Mr. Trump a racist,
bigot, homophobe, Islamophobe, or anything similar simply shows that
the left has no cogent arguments and knows nothing but name calling
and innuendo. I would like to see the president throw their
criticisms right back in their faces, fire Mueller, fire Rosenstein,
and scrap the phony FBI Russia investigation. Perhaps he should file
suit against some of his defamers and libelers. And most of all, fire all
the Obama holdovers and get his own people in place. Then fire and
prosecute all the leakers that can be identified. And get the DOJ to
investigate the real criminals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Whatever the president's
critics think he's doing that's bad for America, their own actions
are a hundred times worse because they are striking at the very
foundation of our country. Of course, if they don't care for America,
they find that OK. They may think it would be OK to be ruled by
Angela Merkel and her friends, and greatly increase our population of unvetted immigrants. If that's the case, it is treason.
The leftist/globalists are beside
themselves with anger over President Trump's decision to pull America
out of the Paris climate accord. If they just listened to his speech
objectively, they would see that he would have been foolish not to do
so. It was mainly a legalized extortion scheme to transfer American
wealth and jobs to other countries. That's why the leftist/globalists
are so upset.
A lot of the unhinged reactions to the
decision are based on just that, but some are happening because
people are simply ignorant of (1) the economic damage America would
endure, and (2) the serious misconceptions and weaknesses of the
accord. It's a political agreement designed to get American money,
made by people who should know that if everyone involved did
everything the accord required, it would have no positive effect on
the climate, and a very negative effect on America. Mr. Trump
explains –
The globalists and leftists, here and
abroad aren't concerned with the bad results the accord would bring
for the U. S., they just want America to sacrificially support the
globalist agenda. Germany is especially upset, because they would not
get to impose the accord on us, forcing a substantial surrender of
American sovereignty. Like France, we would be ruled to a
considerable extent by Angela Merkel. And they somehow can't
understand Trump's decision.
Trump is wise to fulfill his campaign
pledges about this and other matters pertaining to foreign
entanglements that put our country at a distinct disadvantage. Bravo,
Mr. President!
Further reading:
Melanie Arter, “Trump Pulling Out of
Paris Accord: Amounts to Redistribution of Wealth to Foreign
Countries,” 06/01/2017. CNS News
Ryan McMaken, “Studying the Climate
Doesn't Make You an Expert on Economics and Politics,” 06/01/2017,
Mises Wire
The leaders of America, as a whole, are
failing to improve the lot of our country. We are witnessing what
looks like national suicide in progress, abandonment of the rule of
law, collapsing “higher education” run by gutless fools and
populated by arrogant fascists. Also, we've seen open borders,
deliberate release of vicious criminals, deliberate importing of
jihadist murderers, and more by people who seem to demand our respect
for their superior wisdom and judgment.
Sen. Schumer, Official Portrait
The main exception to this miserable
state of affairs among our so-called betters is Donald J. Trump,
whose intention is to drain the swamp these lazy louts, crooks, and
influence peddlers have created. There is scarcely an area of
American life that has not been damaged or hampered or tainted by the
political left and their unhinged war on honesty, conservatism, and
freedom. The founding principles of America are left to languish in a
sea of death, debt, dishonesty, and cronyism. People with Ivy League
credentials who claim the leadership positions very often cannot
manage their own affairs but are too willing to micromanage other
peoples' business.
The ruling class has become nearly as
bad as the mafia, complete with criminal activity. The mafia at least
is not responsible for leading and protecting the nation or setting a
moral example. They are a bad thing, but they are trying to, in some
sense, give people what they want. The Left gives some people what
they want by means of stealing from others. They probably think
they're like Robin Hood, but Robin Hood, whatever else he was, was a
thief and essentially part of the corruption.
The main goal of the elite today is to
destroy Donald Trump. This now overrides all other considerations for
the mainstream media, the liberal universities, Hollywood, the
Democratic Party, and the left in general. The anti-Trumpers are
stirring up hostility against their enemy with wartime-like
propaganda, with such a slanted negativity against the president that
a study by Harvard (!) shows it's much more negative
than anything thrown at the previous three administrations.
The enthusiasm to investigate Trump is
high, with some clamoring for impeachment. But where
was the enthusiasm to investigate when it came to investigating
the numerous scandals of Obama and Hillary? Real, demonstrated crime
was left alone, while seemingly baseless concerns about Trump are
made into a constitutional crisis. Someone Trump once associated with
had some business dealings that involved a Russian bank. Where's the
crime? Where's the evidence? Apparently, it's so well hidden that no
one can find it, so we must employ a special counsel. The same Mr.
Trump who is presented in media as an inept oaf apparently is so
clever he can concoct elaborate plots to hide his actions.
The people who are not destroying the
country, as the elites are, would be the factory workers, skilled
tradesmen, professionals, business people, and others who refuse to be
part of the elites' political, social, and moral cancer on America.
They are the ones helping to keep our nation's head above water,
while the influential go about raising the skyrocketing debt, killing
babies, and regulating us to death. Where are the national leaders
who (1) genuinely want the best for Americans, and (2) recognize and
observe moral and legal boundaries? They are not plentiful in
education, government, journalism, or entertainment.
“For everyone to whom much is given,
from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed,
of him they will ask the more.”* What we're getting from the
privileged is disdain for America and ordinary people, a massive
overdose of political lies and BS, destruction of our money and
economy, and an attachment to the idea of globalist socialist dictatorship. The
“much” they are giving is not in line with the spirit of that
quoted statement.
The warmongers are getting louder.
Russia, the leftists' formerly admired country, is now so bad that some
want to risk war. Any administration official who has spoken to any
Russians is now considered suspect. Everyone in government should
think about supporting President Trump against ISIS and dealing with
North Korea, without urging any kind of elective nation-building or
regime-change interventions.
What's most needed among the
establishment types, is the attitude of understanding and striving to
live up to real responsibilities, and recognizing that special
interests aren't so special that everyone has to love them. We don't
need to all be friends, but we need to respect our country and
appreciate its history.
What the left wants is to tear down our
history and adopt the globalists' view that the American Revolution
was a mistake, all traces of the Confederacy must be
obliterated, all religion removed from the military and all aspects
of government. Promotion and celebration of transgenderism and
homosexuality are required, but the Ten Commandments are evil itself,
and our children must be protected from them. In other words, the
elites are turning our society's system of values upside down.
For all their faults, previous
generations of American leaders have stood up for America and worked
for the betterment of American families and society, and maintained a
responsible place in the world for the United States. At great
hardship and sacrifice, which can hardly be comprehended by most of
the people living in the U.S. today, Americans have dealt with slavery,
the Depression, and two world wars and several additional conflicts and been willing to follow responsible leadership.
Those who find themselves in positions
of responsibility and authority, or want to do so some day, need to
consider the good of the nation and the American people when working
out their strategies. Is the gaining of power and wealth the main
thing? Or is genuine service to be preferred even though it may not
pay as well?
Today in America, we have the hard,
loud left, and a lunatic fringe considered far-right. But we
fortunately have the moderates, liberals, libertarians,and
conservatives of the great middle who prefer not to live in an
upside-down world. I say let's leave the upside-down to “Stranger
Things.”
What is the greatest threat to the
United States and the American people? That's a question that has
been considered quite often lately, and answers have ranged from
thoughtful and reasoned (North Korea, ISIS, other countries) to the
lockstep/kneejerk (Donald Trump), to the idiotic (climate change),
and some others. The ones I think are good answers in the longer term
are the Democratic Party and globalism.
People of the “progressive” left,
and I refer to a lot of politicians, “journalists,” academics,
and entertainers, are on board with the Saul Alinsky school of social
and political change. Destroy the system from the inside.
[Published on Mar 4, 2017
Info
Wars reporter Millie Weaver covering the moment ANTIFA fanatics arrive
during an African American Trump supporters speech at a "March4Trump"
rally in Austin, Texas and try to start a riot with Trump supporters. -- YouTube]
Use concerns about seemingly agreeable
issues (environment, e.g.) to press for far more radical change
(carbon tax, cap and trade). Like Alinsky, adopt power as the main
and self-justifying goal. Your side is right and the other
side is wrong. Period. Stress the belief that the end
justifies the means. Silence and destroy those who oppose you.
Repeatedly and loudly call them Hitler, Nazis, fascists, racists,
xenophobes, homophobes, bigots, and irredeemable deplorables. Try to
convince the people that everyone (other than Republicans, white
males, conservatives, etc.) has a right to never be criticized
strongly or insulted. Create as many rules as possible to punish, and
if possible criminalize the opposition. Be immediately ready to use
the courts and the press to demonize the opposition.
Further, demean and try to weaken
anything that smacks of traditional American values, America's
founding principles, or the desirability of America being a sovereign
country with First and Second Amendment freedoms. Criminalize as many
activities as possible to use against your opponents.
Get on board with the globalist elites
who are working toward a one-world government authority designed to
control everyone at every level, the very opposite of the purpose of
America's founding and traditions. Put government in place of God.
Teach that communism and socialism are good things that we need to
put in place, and the failures and deaths resulting from them
throughout modern history were simply mistaken ideas about how to
implement them. Don't bring up such things as Lenin's, Stalin's,
Mao's, or Pol Pot's mass murders, but blame the “right wing” for
the atrocities of Hitler and Mussolini, although these dictators were
not essentially different from communists. And don't emphasize the
present-day atrocities of ISIS too much. Maybe they just need jobs,
and something done about climate change.
Domestically, stir up as much hatred as
possible for law enforcement and great empathy for criminal thugs.
Claim to be genuinely concerned about the poor and less fortunate,
while doing all you can to keep them government-dependent and poor,
living in decaying, high-crime neighborhoods with gangs instead of
jobs. Focus more on establishing socialism instead of a strong
economy. Be for “world peace,” but go ahead and support
regime-changing wars and military adventures. Just don't try to
“win.”
Remember lying, cheating, murder, and
theft are normal and justifiable in the cause of progressivism and
globalism. After all, you have to break a few eggs in order to make
an omelet.
The above describes the basic
beliefs and attitudes of the hate-filled progressive left in America
today, and it's safe to say they hate the America we have known. The Founders are, in their minds just no-good
slave owners and extremists not worthy of our respect, let alone
veneration. And for them, Christianity exists only to cause trouble
for LGBT people and Muslims. Muslims are an oppressed group, as are
illegal immigrants, and the laws they broke don't matter. For
progressives, it's worthwhile to have sanctuary cities to protect
illegals even if it means that murderers, robbers, and rapists go
free.
To the leftists of the present day,
it's patriotic to beat up Trump supporters, pay people to riot, force
scheduled speakers from college campuses, and run the schools like a
fascist dictatorship. They would like to dumb down education even
more and cause people to forget the whole concepts of academic
freedom, individualism, personal liberty, and basic good manners. For
them, ethnic and gender “studies” must overshadow all others, and
re-segregation may be necessary in order to deal with “white
privilege.”
George Soros
The progressives who say they don't
“condone” violence don't seem to mind it much, and they know it's
supported and often paid for by elite progressive donors such as
George Soros. Black Lives Matter gets progressive support though they
commit and advocate for violence. Well-known talking heads call for
the assassination of President Trump. But hey, power is the object
here, and Machiavellian means can be stretched as far as needed to
produce the desired ends. It is essentially because of the fact that
there is still some law and justice in America, plus the fact that
ordinary Americans who are paying attention despise the phony
liberalism of today (and therefore elected Donald Trump president),
that the violence hasn't increased even more.
Progressive leaders think that
conservatives and traditionalists are to be disrespected, demonized
and destroyed where possible, while female-abusing Muslims with their
oppressive Sharia law are to be admired and promoted. After all,
doesn't Obama love the terrorist group known as the Muslim
Brotherhood? Aren't they well-represented in our Federal government
thanks to progressive political appointments? But the progressives
believe that profound principles and new rights (abortion, gay
marriage, etc.) come into being simply because some progressive big
shot or trend setter says so.
May God save America from our
friends(?) the progressives and globalists as well as the enemies we
all recognize.
The leftist/globalist/establishment
deep state, aka “The Swamp,” which is showing itself to be hardly
better than the Mafia, is running a vicious and entirely unjustified
campaign of lies, delay tactics, and protests, to try to destroy the
Donald Trump presidency.
I don't know how Trump found out his
Trump Tower offices were bugged; maybe just by reading the
newspapers, as Mark Levin details in the video below. Published
articles in widely-read newspapers have reported that multiple
intelligence agencies were involved (with FISA court approval) in
spying on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and his people
regarding ties to Russia. Spying by an incumbent administration on a
presidential campaign of the other party is something not heard of
since Watergate. Mark Levin presents the case against the Obama
Administration based simply on published reports, compiled by an
experienced Justice Department official and constitutional lawyer
(Levin). This appears to be a situation which deserves congressional
investigation, and it seems unlikely to go away soon. The Levin video
from his appearance on “Fox and Friends” follows:
Maria Bartiromo interviewed Newt
Gingrich concerning the wiretap, soon after Levin's appearance on
“Fox and Friends.” Gingrich also referred her to former federal
prosecutor Andrew McCarthy's NationalReviewcolumn
concerning this.
If no evidence of collusion with Russia
was found, and so far nothing has been presented, the spying was a
egregious misuse of federal spy resources for political purposes.
Like Watergate, only worse, since more agencies were involved. How
could Obama not know about it and be OK with it, even is he didn't
“order” it? He should be held to account.
