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POPSRugged individualism is always going to be a direct threat to sissy collectivism “sissy collectivism” The best description of modern liberalism I’ve heard. Bravo. Of course, you can always count on left-liberals to respond to criticism of any sort with vituperation. That’s required by their vision of themselves as intellectually and morally superior to benighted conservatives. But all things must pass, especially an inaccurate assessment of a peron's own intellect and character. YAY! liberalism YAY!!!!! Now, if only Bill Maher was here to counter this, life would be splendid. And please folks, leave your comments - they are welcome as always. No one is banned from commenting on what I post, unless you're spamming me with male enhancement products. I'm all set in that area.
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POPSPledge Of Allegiance Is Un-American Interesting and thoughtful article on the history of the pledge and why, perhaps, its use is not such a great idea. Also, though it never occured to me to ask before now, do schoolkids in other countries (England, Canada, Italy, Peru, Japan, etc...) have to say a pledge to their government/flag before starting their day? The essay is not very long and interesting to read.
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POPSResponding to modern Marxism Every single Democrat in the current majority, including Barack Obama, swore an oath to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution. Yet, they absolutely ignore the limitation of power set forth in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. None of the 17 powers enumerated there authorizes the current health-care bills or the cap-and-trade bill, or the bailout, or the stimulus package – all recently passed by the House of Representatives. When asked by a reporter to identify the constitutional authority for the current health-care bills, Sen. Patrick Leahy said: "We have plenty of authority, why would you say we don't have authority?" Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reply to the same question was: "Are you serious? Are you serious?" Obviously, neither one is "preserving, protecting or defending" the Constitution when they ignore its limitation of congressional power.
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POPSFact: Nearly All of Hitlers Beliefs Placed Him On the Far Right[
Many conservatives accuse Hitler of being a leftist, on the grounds that his party was named "National Socialist." But socialism requires worker ownership and control of the means of production. In Nazi Germany, private capitalist individuals owned the means of production, and they in turn were frequently controlled by the Nazi party and state. True socialism does not advocate such economic dictatorship -- it can only be democratic. Hitler's other political beliefs place him almost always on the far right. He advocated racism over racial tolerance, eugenics over freedom of reproduction, merit over equality, competition over cooperation, power politics and militarism over pacifism, dictatorship over democracy, capitalism over Marxism, realism over idealism, nationalism over internationalism, exclusiveness over inclusiveness, common sense over theory or science, pragmatism over principle, and even held friendly relations with the Church, even though he was an atheist.
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POPSIndividual Sovereignty Capt A, an expatriate who left the American shores 35 years ago quoted Henry L. Menchen in a comment he posted to a blog on Sotomayer, Freedom, and the law. I myself am similarly troubled by the yoke of our supposed democracy. Like any organism, the United States will do what it takes to survive. For an organism as large and as powerful as the United States "what it takes" is a frightening thought.
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POPSIs Opposing or Parodying Obama as a Socialist "Racist"?
The superficial seem to claim that is the case, and in fact that is how many promoted him to be President, as if the White House needed an Affirmative Action policy to be white-washed in political-correctness and the most superficial of "change"--one of race and color (while Big Government and Wars for "democracy" are continued). Opposition was frequently decried as "racism". Boaz makes a great defense here, with examples in the press, even pointing toward "classical liberalism" to dispel the myth of the charge. Then he closes his argument thus: And it is not good for democracy to try to counter every opposing argument with such a blood libel. The good news for advocates of limited government is that our opponents are displaying a striking lack of confidence in the actual arguments for their proposals. If they thought they could win a debate on nationalizing health care, or running trillion-dollar deficits, they wouldn’t need to reach for such smears.
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POPSNow tell me which sounds more like your Government. Totalitarianism Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible . Totalitarianism is generally characterized by the coincidence of authoritarianism (i.e., where ordinary citizens have no significant share in state decision-making) and ideology (i.e., a pervasive scheme of values promulgated by institutional means to direct the most significant aspects of public and private life) . Totalitarian regimes or movements maintain themselves in political power by means of an official all-embracing ideology and propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, a single party that controls the state, personality cults, control over the economy, regulation and restriction of free discussion and criticism, the use of mass surveillance, and widespread use of state terrorism.
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POPSDogging Lloyd Doggett: 'Just Say No' to Obamacare!
But as Phillip Klein indicates: The liberal effort to discredit American citizens who are expressing their views on an issue of vital importance is completely without merit, but it is instructive. It tells us that liberals know that despite their tremendous advantages in terms of resources and power in Washington, they are losing the health care messaging war. It’s becoming clear that Americans are not ready for a government takeover of the health care system, and they aren’t going to sit by idly while Democrats ram it down their throats. Congressman Doggett Urges Return to Fiscal Responsibility Official Government website On the House floor, I urged my colleagues to support the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act. This bill is an important step to restore the kind of fiscal discipline abandoned in 2002. If we have any hope to invest in the vital priorities that are critical to our economic future, including health care, education, and clean energy policies,
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POPSThe New Socialism: Global Collectivist Society Is Coming Online From the article: "We underestimate the power of our tools to reshape our minds. Did we really believe we could collaboratively build and inhabit virtual worlds all day, every day, and not have it affect our perspective? The force of online socialism is growing. Its dynamic is spreading beyond electrons—perhaps into elections." Interesting thought.
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POPS The Clever Manipulation of Projection and Paranoia OBAMA AND THE NEO-MARXIST LEFT In order to achieve his collectivist agenda, Obama and the left need a scapegoat. Watch and see who is being scapegoated and you will understand what is now happening in this country. To maintain popular support, the dedicated socialist "needs voters to stay angry at designated class enemies. When all else fails, they will crank up the hate and the projection ; and "turn feral with frightening speed." Obama will attempt to preserve the illusion of private enterprise, even as he demonizes entrepreneurs and scapegoats them to avoid having the federal government accept its own role in the current economic crisis. Through the clever use of projection and paranoia; by scapegoating the productive and the wealthy, Obama's government will grow bigger and more powerful and never have to take responsibility for the worsening state of the economy. The necessary scapegoats are in place...let the show trials commence! via Dr.Zero's astute observation
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POPSThe Illustrated Road to Serfdom ~ Friedrich Hayek (Short Cartoon Describing Planned Economies) Mises.org ^ | 1944 | Friedrich Hayek What You Must Read About the Great Depression In the present recession, advocates of government intervention often evoke the specter of the Great Depression. Unless the government intervenes massively, we are told, we risk an economic collapse comparable to that of the 1930s. To see the fallacy of this claim, it is imperative to understand that government intervention both led to the Depression and prevented recovery from it. The following books, I hope, will assist those interested in grasping what happened in this vital historical era. When it appears, Robert Murphy's forthcoming The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal will no doubt be a notable addition to the list below.
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POPSObama's "Civilian National Security Force"--Scary Sounds like KGB Russia where citizen spies watch everyone else. This is crazy! Talk about fascism and Bush's Homeland Security...this is even worse! Do Democrats want this, while they have been against Bush's draconian and surveillance state policies since 9/11? This is NOT a "change" for the better, but worse, and Obama is beginning to show his own Dictatorial dark side. Frankly, this proves he is absolutely unworthy of the Presidency, for the Constitution grants no such powers. This is Homeland Tyranny part II. Obama's vision is to radically change America and take away our freedoms toward a FORCED national collectivism.
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POPS Joe The Plumber Can "Spread The Wealth Around" Just Fine Kennedy understood all this, either consciously or intuitively. But he was the last Democrat to so understand. Lyndon Johnson, who moved into the Oval Office after Dallas, never did get it. Instead, he instituted a guns-and-butter policy (escalating the Vietnam War at the same time he announced the Great Society, a welfare-based attack on America at a cost of billions), and the results were devastating. His only lasting contribution to the public good was the successful passage of historic Civil Rights legislation. That wouldn't have been possible without the support of Republicans in Congress. Ronald Reagan did, and lowered taxes because of his understanding. And so did George W. Bush, leading to the boom which ended only because liberals in Congress - Barney Frank and Chris Dodd most significantly - colluded with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to push for subprime mortgages, and we all know what happened when the recipients of such largesse couldn't afford the payments.
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POPSWhy The Left Can't Get It Right Now: "Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what your country can do for you." There is well established pathology which explains why Democrats fuel campaigns with feelings, and if there is one uniformly defining liberal characteristic of Democrat leaders, it would be hypocrisy. Liberals protest economic recession, all the while suppressing economic growth with evermore taxes and regulations. Most of them are card-carrying members of the ignoble ranks of "useful idiots," those Western apologists for Marxist-Leninist-Maoist collectivism. Of course, that card reads: "Member, Democrat National Committee." Liberals advocate diversity, unless your views don't comport with their own doctrines of moral relativism. They want to preserve nature and the natural order but advocate homosexual "marriage." They oppose the death penalty for the most heinous of criminal sociopaths, but they support the execution of unborn children in their mothers' wombs.
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POPSSpoiled by what we value
"And yet we hate it. Leaving out religion, no idea has given more to humanity. The working-class person today is richer.. than the average prince or potentate of 300 years ago. His food is better, his life longer, his health better, his entertainments vastly more diverse. And yet we constantly hear how cruel capitalism is while this collectivism or that is more loving because, unlike capitalism, collectivism is about the group, not the individual. These complaints grow loudest at times like this: when the loom of capitalism momentarily stutters. Suddenly, the people ask: What have you done for me lately? Politicians croon about how we need to give in to Causes Larger than Ourselves and peck about like hungry chickens for a New Way to replace capitalism. This is the patient leaping to embrace the disease and reject the cure. Recessions are fewer and weaker thanks in part to trade, yet whenever recessions appear on the horizon, politicians dive into their protectionist bunkers."
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POPSA Few Things Moore Forgot in Sicko Michael Moore forgot to mention what the United States does have that other countries do not: A Declaration of Independence. A Constitution. A Bill of Rights. The concepts of individual rights, personal choice, free markets, private investment that develops most of the world's new medications, and the benefit of a private relationship between physicians and their patients without third-party interference. In his hymn to every other nation's superiority to America—in proportion to their commitment to collectivism—Michael Moore forgot to mention any American values at all.
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POPSThe Psychological Causes of Political Madness it does not celebrate the ethics of consent or the blessings of voluntary cooperation. It does not advocate moral rectitude or understand the critical role of morality in human relating. The liberal agenda does not comprehend an identity of competence, appreciate its importance, or analyze the developmental conditions and social institutions that promote its achievement. The liberal agenda does not understand or recognize personal sovereignty or impose strict limits on coercion by the state. It does not celebrate the genuine altruism of private charity. It does not learn history’s lessons on the evils of collectivism. What the liberal mind is passionate about is a world filled with pity, sorrow, neediness, misfortune, poverty, suspicion, mistrust, anger, exploitation, discrimination, victimization, alienation and injustice.
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POPSEarly 21st Century Revisits the Early 20th Century "Collectivism has been like a chronic disease in the body politic ever since the birth of Liberal Individualism in the 18th Century. For Locke, there was Rousseau. The American Revolution contrasted with the French Revolution and its guillotine. America had George Washington and Europe had Napoleon. Lincoln saved the Union as Marx was promoting Communism in Europe. . For the last 300 years we in the Western world have been living in the midst of a struggle between the forces of Liberal individualism and the forces of collectivism." "Communism and fascism dominated much of 20th Century history as the alternative to Liberal individualism and free markets. Democratic socialism is still eating away at European societies, which grow poorer and more sclerotic every year as they continue to declare the superiority of their model to American individualism." We are doomed to repeat history.
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POPSYesterday’s Baggage By “investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations.” The path for blacks, Obama insists, requires “binding our particular grievances — for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs — to the larger aspirations of all Americans — the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man who’s been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family.” There’s not much that is actually new here. This was largely a restatement of Jeremiah Wright’s indictment of America, delivered in University of Chicago parlance instead of South Side Chicago diatribe. The old baggage has been replaced with shinier suitcases, but the contents are the same as ever. Black America’s problems can be solved by spending more money on the same old Great Society programs
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POPSClassical Liberalism During the early to mid 20th century, there was an entire group of writers, business owners, and academics who argued for laissez faire capitalism that affected the philosophies and actions of economists like Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan. I think it is good to know the historical roots of various movements and how they are used for good or ill. It reminds me of what happened to an author on the other side of the political road. As a result of the writings of Thomas Payne, when he tried to help the French, unscrupulous people , namely Robespierre, took advantage of the situation, and Thomas Paine was imprisoned, barely escaping the guillotine. While Classical Liberalism is attractive, I believe what we see today is often a perversion used by those who don't really believe in its basic precepts.
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POPSWHAT IS SOCIALISM? (Collectivism)-1 --<<Bernard Baruch, Wall Street financier and key advisor in Frankliln Delano Roosevelt's New Deal and chairman of the War Industries Board during the First World War, stated the following in an August 1918 speech: "Every man's life is at the call of the nation and so must be every man's property. We are living today in a highly organized state of socialism. The state is all; the individual is of importance only as he contributes to the welfare of the state". ( The New American magazine,"The One Party State", Oct. 4, 2004)
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