The Demise of a Nation (part 5), by Murray Regan

The truth is that our constitutional, financial, and personal freedoms as Americans are being diminished by the day. The intervention in our every day lives is astounding and, ultimately, destructive to the ideals on which this country was founded; that as citizens we were endowed with the unalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.......and “to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” Sadly, I think a vast number of people in this country have forgotten what it is to be an “American” citizen. We are not “citizens of the world.”

Those of you who suggest that government is there to protect the weakest of us are misled into thinking that it was always thus or that it is a good thing. I refer, in this case, to welfare etal. At its inception, “relief” as it was once called began as a result of the depression of 1930’s and was supposed to be a temporary helping hand for folks on hard times. It was once considered an embarrassment to be on relief because the individual had a sense of pride and self worth. Out of this act of generosity by the government (the taxpayer) was borne the “New Deal” (social security etal) and “The Great Society,” (housing and urban development etal) both well-intentioned but ultimately failed policies. While charity would seem righteous by definition, it should be tempered with “tough love” and limits. Only then is the individual truly “helped” by offering them a way out and a different path to follow.

Today, welfare and other social programs have morphed into a gigantic, out of control, untenable social system that is bankrupting our country. The intent of these programs have gone from one of temporary help to a way of life for far too many of our citizens, which is encouraged by the power brokers in Washington, as well as at the state level. It has gotten so bad that we are now giving hard earned taxpayer money to illegal aliens, instead of closing the borders and deporting those who break our laws…yes we supposedly have laws on the books to stop illegal entry into the country, as we should, being a sovereign nation…so much for the rule of law. For those of you who say that our ancestors were illegal immigrants. Some were; however, they were not given taxpayer welfare as soon as they stepped off the boat or crawled over the wall. Many who came over as immigrants had relatives that agreed to take them in, house them, feed them, and find them work. They made their own way and thrived after a couple of generations even in the face of long odds – I refer to the Irish, as an example, who were ostracized for being Irish, shunned by the establishment and not allowed to work in many industries or take advantage of other opportunities. Nonetheless, they picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and moved forward. But, I digress.

I suggest that because of these well meaning but, ultimately, insidious notions, there are a vast number of citizens in this country that have been borne and indoctrinated into a way of life that is unhealthy for their minds, bodies, and souls and one they find nearly impossible to leave or from which to escape. They have been denied the hope and the opportunity at a better life, not because of the white man or the rich man, but because they are “taken care of” by the government. This leaves them with little, if any, incentive to work hard and reach for the promise that is America because they grow up in a world of despair created by those who claim to be their protectors, their champions. By coddling these citizens, the government is denying them the dignity and desire to become more than their circumstance will allow. In effect, the “politician” has built and maintained the lifestyle of the poorest among us. The “War on Poverty” has been waging for decades and we are no closer to, in fact are further from, the desired outcome, even after spending trillions of taxpayer dollars on the issue.

Boston Herald: 10/20/09: Bribe for seniors (Dotty Fahey)

Subject: 10/18/09 article : Fine line between needy and greedy: by Ann McFeatters

Good article, right on, I am fortunate as a senior that I do not need this $250.00, but my children could use it and other families. Many seniors do need this help and therefore it should be issued by  need.  Pres. Obama is trying to bribe the seniors, because he will cut their healthcare.

As far as inflation the increase in my monthly rent fee of $40.00 is not a mirage.  I do not know where the government is getting their figures but property taxes, utilities etc are going up.  Just wait until the cap & trade bill goes through & the additional taxes, fees for the healthcare bill will be enacted. 

Keep on spending congress and we will all be speaking Chinese because they will own us.

Thanks

Dotty Fahey
Milton, MA
617-333-6887

The Demise of a Nation (part 4), by Murray Regan

The expenditure of our treasury by Mr. Obama, in the name of "stimulus, bailout, et al" was a convenient scapegoat (excuse) for expanding the already bankrupt social programs that continue to exert a crushing burden on our country. The only way to pay for these unfunded "entitlements," created by an out of control government, is through crushing taxation, which, if nothing is done to stop it, will be a reality in a few short years. Thanks for the $400 tax break, Mr. President. When are the politicians going to realize that eventually you have to pay for your folly; and when are the American taxpayers going to wake up to the fact that they are the one's that will have to bear the cost of this folly in the end and the end is nearer than you think, especially when you consider that only 50% of the population will actually be paying any tax at all.

The disingenuousness with which this administration purports to be "responsible" and "transparent" is laughable, if it weren't so tragic. If it were as responsible as it claims to be, it would "live within its means" as most ordinary Americans do when times get tough. If it were as transparent as it claims to be, Mr. Obama would have stood up on the campaign trail and professed to the American people that he believes in and embraces the radical expansion of government and its power over the people, which he is in the process of accomplishing; superseding the rule of law when it suites him; wealth redistribution; racial quotas; socialism; legislating social change from the bench rather than interpretation and adjudication of existing law, etc. I dare say most Americans have been hood-winked into thinking that what is happening is good for the country, when the exact opposite is true. This fraud was also aided and abetted by the so-called mainstream media who took it upon itself to perpetrate this deceit in concert with the Obama camp. When Mr. Obama professes to be laying a foundation for a sustainable economy for the 21^st century and beyond, what he is really saying is he wants to take your money and give it to someone else who doesn't deserve it. In addition, he is now trying (and succeeding to some degree) to manipulate what cars we will drive regardless of cost, what executive compensation will be, what sources of energy to pursue regardless of cost, when we should be taking advantage of all available sources within our reach, including nuclear, gas, oil, coal, etc. The environmentalists in this country are essentially forcing us to go abroad for our resources, rather than exploit our own. This, in turn, has created a scenario whereby we are funding, in part, the jihad against our own people.

Obama, who professed that he does not want to be running the auto industry, is doing just that. He has given portions of two private automotive manufacturers to the UAW and dismissed, out of hand, the creditors and investors who either invested in or lent billions to these companies. In the case of Chrysler, the creditors were threatened by the administration if they didn't comply with its wishes to give up claims to their legal rights under contracts they entered into in good faith. Ask yourselves; what does this interference by government say to the capital markets, without which there is no investment in American businesses and, ipso facto, in the economy itself? An atmosphere in which contracts are broken at the whim of government officials is far too risky and breeds mistrust of those who seek to do so. This attitude by government will result in much higher interest rates demanded by the capital markets to fund investment in American enterprise because of the fear that the legal contracts (i.e. – bonds, etc.) entered into may be unjustly set aside by executive decree for any number of reasons. What the government should have done was to mind its own business and let the companies fail on their own without any bailout. As usual, politicians who think they know best are far too cavalier with our resources. As a result, their irresponsibility has served only to delay the inevitable and, as such, has cost the American taxpayers billions, which we will never see again and anyone who thinks the opposite is either a liar or naively ignorant.

The Demise of a Nation, (Part 3), by Murray Regan

This premise that the people should control their own resources and fate goes against everything the present administration stands for and embraces. It wants and is taking the people’s power and money from them at an alarming rate. It is being allowed to implement their socialist agenda with ease, seemingly without opposition. In fact, anyone who dares to disagree with this administration is viciously attacked by the media and the administration’s own henchmen. It is unabashed in its fervor to create a world where those of us who play by the rules, work hard to make a living (which now takes two incomes per household in many cases), pay our taxes, are law abiding, and are just trying to get ahead, are summarily dismissed as second class citizens and taken for patsies and fools. Mr. Obama has admitted in his own words that The Constitution of the United States is “a charter of negative liberties” and that the Supreme Court should have addressed “the redistribution of wealth” in the Warren Court. It is interesting to note, that while the rest of us are struggling through this recession, the “government” is enjoying a rebirth, an expansion, if you will, the likes of which we have never seen. Those who chastised the previous administration for saddling this country with the largest debt in history have conveniently ignored the fact that the current administration has quadrupled the debt and did it within the first two months of coming to power, unlike Mr. Bush who ran up the bill over an eight year period, mostly in defense of the nation against radical Islam extremists. Don’t get me wrong, I am no fan of Mr. Bush either, based on his spending habits. He and the established Republican Party have forgotten their core principles as conservative-minded, fiscally responsible, stewards of our resources. In fact, both parties have contributed to the bastardization of government over time. It is now a bloated entity of itself, by itself and for itself that has created its own constituency made up of nearly 50% of the population by means of income redistribution. It has effectively propagandized this constituency into “conditioned” dependents, rather than promote an independent, self sufficient citizenry.

Regarding the redistribution of wealth and intervention and manipulation of government into the private sector; a case in point is the mess we find ourselves in concerning the economic meltdown. The truth is that, during the Carter and Clinton administrations, politicians decided that more people should own homes, whether they could afford them or not under the guise of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). So, the justice department began pressuring banks, on the pretext of racial and socio-economic discrimination, to lower their lending standards. This, unfortunately, gave rise to tremendous unabashed abuse by, fraud in, and corruption of the banking system. Again, while this policy was well-intentioned, it went against free market principles and every day common sense. It was designed, through free market manipulation, to artificially improve the lives of the poorest among us without having to endure the sacrifices needed to truly achieve the American dream of home ownership and independence by building equity (savings). Contrary to popular belief, not everyone is suited for or responsible enough to own a home. Once again, the government has shown itself to be a faulty social engineer. When government intervenes in any free market system, it fails and fails with far reaching, unintended consequences as we are now realizing and experiencing. Sadly, government’s answer to the problems they create is more intervention after blaming everyone else for the crisis. Now we are faced with astronomical debt that cannot be paid off for generations to come unless taxes are increased to the point of crippling this nation and bringing it to its knees. The answer has always been and always will be to get out of the way and let free market principles work with sensible regulation not borne of ideological intent. When markets over reach there are consequences and it should be left to the market to correct itself. This means that no business should be “too big to fail.” For if “rescue” is the path we choose, it serves to encourage bad behavior, because the greedy among us will know that there are no consequences for their actions when government is all too willing to step in and “rescue” those that misbehave. Regrettably, the pull of personal wealth creation and self aggrandizement has created a culture of politicians “cozying up” to “big” business, which is not good for anyone except those at the top of the food chain, including those politicians who “cozy up” to big business and other special interests to the detriment of the American people. We must all recognize that this incestuous behavior happens far too often between politicians and any number of special interests. The problem is that we, as “stewards of our own destiny,” are far too myopic in our perceptions and attitudes toward government. We must keep in mind that government does not create jobs and it does not create wealth. In the end, government only complicates matters by trying to manipulate free enterprise. What it does do well is to take from its productive citizens and redistributes the wealth created by those citizens, but in the process it becomes a burden to society. When all is said and done, the government is a cost that the taxpayer must bear. The problem with trying to solve every ill for every citizen or special interest, no matter the cost, is eventually you run out of other people’s money.

Playing race card stacks deck against legitimate criticisms. by Dottie Fahey

October 3, 2009
Boston Globe - Letter to the Editor

RE “RACE and Obama’s critics’’ (Letters, Sept. 24): As of today, I think this is still the United States of America. I do have the right to criticize the Congress or the president and not be called a racist. Because I may not like how Congress is trying to shove the health care bill, cap and trade, and bank and car industry takeovers down my throat, the Constitution gives me the right to speak out and voice my concerns. The town-hall meetings and tea parties are my right, or is it only the left that can do this?

Democrats in Congress are resistant to putting the health care bill on the Internet so that it could be viewed by the public. Does this request make us racists according to Jimmy Carter? Representative John Conyers Jr. admits he doesn’t read bills he signs. Are we racist because we want congressmen to read the bills that will greatly affect our lives?

President Obama was elected in this white-majority country - does that mean that those who did not vote for him are racist? When people shout the complaint of “racist,’’ it means you cannot have an intelligent debate about issues that are of great concern to many Americans.