Reagan On A Balanced Budget

Quoting President Ronald Reagan:

“It’s about time we constitutionally mandate the Federal Government to do what every American family must do, and that is balance its budget. That doesn’t mean taking more out of your pocket by raising taxes. … We the people, deserve to know that our jobs, paychecks, homes, and pensions are safe from the taxers and regulators of big government.”

 

Thanksgiving: An American History

From the research and writing of David Barton:

The Pilgrims set sail for America on September 6, 1620, and for two months braved the harsh elements of a storm-tossed sea. Upon disembarking at Plymouth Rock, they held a prayer service and then hastily began building shelters; however, unprepared for such a harsh New England winter, nearly half of them died before spring.  Emerging from that grueling winter, the Pilgrims were surprised when an Indian named Samoset approached them and greeted them in their own language, explaining to them that he had learned English from fishermen and traders. A week later, Samoset returned with a friend named Squanto, who lived with the Pilgrims and accepted their Christian faith. Squanto taught the Pilgrims much about how to live in the New World, and he and Samoset helped forge a long-lasting peace treaty between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians. Pilgrim Governor William Bradford described Squanto as “a special instrument sent of God for [our] good . . . and never left [us] till he died.”

That summer, the Pilgrims, still persevering in prayer and assisted by helpful Indians, reaped a bountiful harvest. As Pilgrim Edward Winslow (later to become the Governor) affirmed, “God be praised, we had a good increase of corn”; “by the goodness of God, we are far from want.” The grateful Pilgrims therefore declared a three-day feast in December 1621 to thank God and to celebrate with their Indian friends – America’s first Thanksgiving Festival. Ninety Wampanoag Indians joined the fifty Pilgrims for three days of feasting (which included shellfish, lobsters, turkey, corn bread, berries, deer, and other foods), of play (the young Pilgrim and Wampanoag men engaged in races, wrestling matches, and athletic events), and of prayer. This celebration and its accompanying activities were the origin of the holiday that Americans now celebrate each November. . . .

America’s first national Thanksgiving occurred in 1789 with the commencement of the federal government. According to the Congressional Record for September 25 of that year, the first act after the Framers completed the framing of the Bill of Rights was that:

Mr. [Elias] Boudinot said he could not think of letting the session pass without offering an opportunity to all the citizens of the United States of joining with one voice in returning to Almighty God their sincere thanks for the many blessings He had poured down upon them. With this view, therefore, he would move the following resolution:

Resolved, That a joint committee of both Houses be directed to wait upon the President of the United States to request that he would recommend to the people of the United States a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer. . . .

Mr. Roger Sherman justified the practice of thanksgiving on any single event not only as a laudable one in itself but also as warranted by a number of precedents in Holy Writ. . . . This example he thought worthy of a Christian imitation on the present occasion.

For more information click here. . . .

Congressional Contempt For The Constitution

Quoting economist Walter E. Williams:

“Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi’s constitutional contempt, perhaps ignorance, is representative of the majority of members of both the House and the Senate. Their comfort in that ignorance and constitutional contempt, and how readily they articulate it, should be worrisome for every single American. It’s not a matter of whether you are for or against Congress’ health care proposals. It’s not a matter of whether you’re liberal or conservative, black or white, male or female, Democrat or Republican or member of any other group. It’s a matter of whether we are going to remain a relatively free people or permit the insidious encroachment on our liberties to continue. … In each new session of Congress since 1995, John Shadegg, R-Ariz.,) has introduced the Enumerated Powers Act, a measure ‘To require Congress to specify the source of authority under the United States Constitution for the enactment of laws, and for other purposes.’ The highest number of co-sponsors it has ever had in the House of Representatives is 54 and it has never had co-sponsors in the Senate until this year, when 22 senators signed up. The fact that less than 15 percent of the Congress supports such a measure demonstrates the kind of contempt our elected representatives have for the rules of the game — our Constitution. If you asked the questions: Which way is our nation heading, tiny steps at a time? Are we headed toward more liberty, or are we headed toward greater government control over our lives? I think the answer is unambiguously the latter — more government control over our lives.”

Read more. . . .

Can A Nation Expect God’s Blessing?

Quoting George Washington:

“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.”

 

Chief Justice John Jay And Christianity

John Jay

Quoting John Jay:

“I recommend a general and public return of praise and thanksgiving to Him from whose goodness these blessings descend. The most effectual means of securing the continuance of our civil and religious liberties is always to remember with reverence and gratitude the source from which they flow.”

“The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts.” (President of Congress, Original Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court)

The Loss Of Liberty

Judge Andrew Napolitano

Quoting Judge Andrew Napolitano:

“Last Saturday [Nov. 7], at 11 o’clock in the evening, the House of Representatives voted by a five vote margin to have the federal government manage the health care of every American at a cost of $1 trillion dollars over the next ten years. For the first time in American history, if this bill becomes law, the Feds will force you to buy insurance you might not want, or may not need, or cannot afford. If you don’t purchase what the government tells you to buy, if you don’t do so when they tell you to do it, and if you don’t buy just what they say is right for you, the government may fine you, prosecute you, and even put you in jail. Freedom of choice and control over your own body will be lost. The privacy of your communications and medical decision making with your physician will be gone. More of your hard earned dollars will be at the disposal of federal bureaucrats. It was not supposed to be this way. We elect the government. It works for us. How did it get so removed, so unbridled, so arrogant that it can tell us how to live our personal lives? Evil rarely comes upon us all at once, and liberty is rarely lost in one stroke. It happens gradually, over the years and decades and even centuries. A little stretch here, a cave in there, powers are slowly taken from the states and the people and before you know it, we have one big monster government that recognizes no restraint on its ability to tell us how to live.”

Read more. . . .

Man’s Basic Problem And The Constitution

Written by Gary DeMar:

[O]ur nation’s founding fathers understood man’s basic problem. There was the general acknowledgment of human sinfulness, even among those who had been “refined” by education and breeding: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick” (Jer. 17:9). Most of us don’t want to believe such negative things about people, since we don’t believe such things about ourselves. Today’s materialist climate does not account for sin. There are “environmental” or “systemic” reasons why people do what they do. But sin? God forbid. . . .

Most colonists grew up with the New England Primer (1690) which began the study of the alphabet with “In Adam’s fall, we sinned all.” Some might claim that the indictments leveled against the human race as a whole by these pre-moderns should be excused since they were formulated in a pre-scientific age prior to the development of psychiatric theories which tell us “I’m OK—You’re OK.” And even if you’re not, you can always blame your mother, your father, your teacher, or the Little League or cheerleading coach for your disturbed and sensitive condition. If you can’t find fault in any of these, there is always, “My genes made me do it.” There is a genetic cause for nearly every malady today. . . .

Our nation’s founders acknowledged the sinfulness of man and took it into account when they developed the system of government that has been the envy of the world. “As there is a degree of depravity in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust,” wrote James Madison in 1788, “so there are other qualities in human nature which justify a certain portion of esteem and confidence. Republican government presupposes the existence of these qualities in a higher degree than any other form.”

Alexander Hamilton “remarks upon the ‘folly and wickedness of mankind,’ and declares that he regards ‘human nature as it is, without flattering its virtue or exaggerating its vices.’ Consequently, he believes that ‘men are ambitious, vindictive, and rapacious.’” Hamilton’s “pessimistic view of man is shared by John Jay, the third author of the Federalist, who sees men as governed by ‘the dictates of personal interest’ and who will therefore ‘swerve from good faith and justice.’” Thomas Jefferson astutely observed that “In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the constitution. . . .”

Read more. . . .

Ayn Rand’s Contribution To Literature And Freedom

Prior to becoming a Christian, I was an atheist and avid reader of Ayn Rand’s many articles and books. Although there are profound points of disagreement I now have with Ms. Rand’s philosophy of “Objectivism,” she should be honored for her intellectual contributions to the cause of liberty and opposition to government intrusion in the free-market system. She was a true patriot who supported individual rights in opposition to government control of our daily lives. Her works of fiction and non-fiction are well worth reading.

Freedom’s Imperfections

Thomas Sowell

Quoting economist Thomas Sowell:

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

The Chief Cornerstone Of Government

James Otis

James Otis was the leader of The Sons of Liberty as well as the mentor of John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Here, he expresses his view of the foundation of government:

“Has [government] any solid foundation? Any chief cornerstone?… I think it has an everlasting foundation in the unchangeable will of God… The sum of my argument is that civil government is of God.”

The Conservative Agenda

Quoting President Ronald Reagan:

“Ludwig Von Mises, that great economist, once noted: ‘People must fight for something they want to achieve, not simply reject an evil.’ Well, the conservative movement remains in the ascendancy because we have a bold, forward-looking agenda. No longer can it be said that conservatives are just anti-Communist. We are, and proudly so, but we are also the keepers of the flame of liberty. And as such, we believe that America should be a source of support, both moral and material, for all those on God’s Earth who struggle for freedom. Our cause is their cause, whether it be in Nicaragua, Afghanistan, or Angola. When I came back from Iceland I said — and I meant it — American foreign policy is not simply focused on the prevention of war but the expansion of freedom. Modern conservatism is an active, not a reactive philosophy. It’s not just in opposition to those vices that debase character and community, but affirms values that are at the heart of civilization.”

Mark Steyn On The Freedom To Choose

Mark Steyn

Quoting columnist Mark Steyn:

“How did the health-care debate decay to the point where we think it entirely natural for the central government to fix a collective figure for what 300 million freeborn citizens ought to be spending on something as basic to individual liberty as their own bodies? That’s the argument that needs to be won. And, if you think I’m being frivolous in positing bureaucratic regulation of doughnuts and vacations, consider that under the all-purpose umbrellas of ‘health’ and ‘the environment,’ governments of supposedly free nations are increasingly comfortable straying into areas of diet and leisure. … Freedom is messy. In free societies, people will fall through the cracks — drink too much, eat too much, buy unaffordable homes, fail to make prudent provision for health care and much else. But the price of being relieved of all those tiresome choices by a benign paternal government is far too high. Government health care would be wrong even if it ‘controlled costs.’ It’s a liberty issue. I’d rather be free to choose, even if I make the wrong choices.”

Read more. . . .

Christianity Is The Pillar Of Freedom

Jedidiah Morse

Jedidiah Morse was the historian of the American Revolution. He was an educator and is considered the “Father” of American Geography. Concerning the American civil institutions, he wrote:

“To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys. All efforts made to destroy the foundations of our Holy Religion ultimately tend to the subversion also of our political freedom and happiness. In proportion as the genuine effects of Christianity are diminished in any nation… in the same proportion will the people of that nation recede from the blessings of genuine freedom… Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government – and all the blessings which flow from them – must fall with them.”

The Rights Of Men

Quoting Mark Alexander:

On July 4th of 1776, our Founders, assembled as representatives to the Second Continental Congress, issued a declaration stating most notably: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. … 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…”

In other words, our Founders affirmed that our rights, which are inherent by Natural Law as provided by our Creator, can’t be arbitrarily alienated by men like England’s King George III, who believed that the rights of men are the gifts of government.

Reagan On Our Gallant Veterans

Quoting President Ronald Reagan:

We’re gathered today, just as we have gathered before, to remember those who served, those who fought, and those who — those still missing, and those who gave their last full measure of devotion for our country. We’re gathered at a monument on which the names of our fallen friends and loved ones are engraved, and with crosses instead of diamonds beside them, the names of those whose fate we do not yet know. One of those who fell wrote, shortly before his death, these words: “Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own. And take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind.”

Well, today, Veterans Day, as we do every year, we take that moment to embrace the gentle heroes of Vietnam and of all our wars. We remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of duty, though it never was. Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry with which all of them ennobled their nation as they became champions of a noble cause.

The Constitution And The Economy

Walter Williams

Quoting economist Walter E. Williams:

“Thinking about today’s massive deficits, we might ask: Where in the U.S. Constitution is Congress given the authority to do anything about the economy? Between 1787 and 1930, we have had both mild and severe economic downturns that have ranged from one to seven years. During that time there was no thought that Congress should enact New Deal legislation or stimulus packages along with massive corporate handouts. It took the Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt administrations to massively intervene in the economy. As a result, they turned what might have been a two or three-year sharp downturn into a 16-year depression that ended in 1946. … Here’s my question: Were the presidents in office and congresses assembled from 1787 to 1930 ignorant of their constitutional authority to manage and save the economy?”

Read more. . . .

Life And Freedom

Patrick Henry

Quoting Patrick Henry:

“Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

Oregon Refuses To Give Chemotherapy, But Offers Assisted Suicide Instead

It doesn’t take much for assisted suicide to go from a supposedly humane option to a cost-saving device, especially when the state is paying for the medical care. One patient in Oregon got a letter that made this all too clear. The same letter that rejected her request for life-extending chemotherapy, offered her “physician-aid-in-dying” instead. In other words, Oregon would rather see her die than try to give her a longer life.

Read more and see video. . . .

 

Politics

Quoting British publisher and writer Ernest Benn (1875-1954):

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.”

 

The Consequences Of Government-Controlled Medical Care

Thomas Sowell

From the Pen of Hoover Institution economist Thomas Sowell:

“Any serious discussion of government-run medical care would have to look at other countries where there is government-run medical care. As someone who has done some research on this for my book ‘Applied Economics,’ I can tell you that the actual consequences of government-controlled medical care is not a pretty picture, however inspiring the rhetoric that accompanies it. Thirty thousand Canadians are passing up free medical care at home to go to some other country where they have to pay for it. People don’t do that without a reason. But Canadians are better off than people in some other countries with government-controlled medical care, because they have the United States right next door, in case their medical problems get too serious to rely on their own system. But where are Americans to turn if we become like Canada? Where are we to go when we need better medical treatment than Washington bureaucrats will let us have? Mexico? The Caribbean?”

Obama’s “Science Fiction” Advisor

Written by Gary Bauer:

Many people are totally perplexed by the Obama Administration’s push to impose a massive “cap and trade” tax on energy production in the middle of a severe recession. By President Obama’s own admission, “under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates will necessarily skyrocket.” Cap and trade will kill jobs in energy-intensive industries like manufacturing, hike consumer prices on virtually every product, and may well push America over the brink from recession to depression. Why are we doing this? It could well be that President Obama is acting in part on the recommendations of his science advisor, Dr. John Holdren.

CNSNews reports that during the 1970s Holdren was an advocate of “de-development”. What is “de-development”? It’s exactly what it sounds like – a radical idea to destroy America’s economy, especially its industrial base, via environmental regulation. These “progressives” literally wanted to take us backwards in time economically. Don’t believe me? Consider this passage from his book:

“The need for de-development presents our economists with a major challenge. They must design a stable, low-consumption economy in which there is a much more equitable distribution of wealth than in the present one. Redistribution of wealth both within and among nations is absolutely essential, if a decent life is to be provided to every human being.”

He goes on to label certain technological advances as undesirable, things like “fission power, giant automobiles, plastic wrappings, genetic engineering, disposable packages and containers, synthetic pesticides…”, and adds that “the halcyon days of unquestioning public acceptance of technological ‘progress’ must disappear forever.”

In other words, capitalism is out; communism is in. Government bureaucrats and central planners will provide you a “decent life,” presumably with plenty of candles to light your hut. At least Holdren had enough common sense to understand that his workers’ paradise might present a major challenge to economists. That’s because centralized government planning doesn’t work. That’s why the Soviet Union no longer exists. I don’t want to try to recreate that failed experiment in socialism here.

The Obama Administration, with the support of most Democrats in Congress, is pushing a cap and trade scheme that will redistribute wealth through higher energy taxes on businesses and successful families and greatly facilitate the “de-development” of the United States.

Believe it or not, it gets worse. [Several] weeks ago I told you about Holdren’s support for “compulsory population control laws,” including “compulsory abortion.” Here’s more about his view of human life: “The fetus, given the opportunity to develop properly before birth, and given the essential early socializing experiences and sufficient nourishing food during the crucial early years after birth, will ultimately develop into a human being.”

Did you catch that little nuance? In Holdren’s mind, a living baby “during the crucial early years after birth” is not yet fully human, but “will ultimately develop into a human being.” That kind of dehumanizing rationalization naturally leads one to support “compulsory abortion” and euthanasia. To the central planners, each life is not an asset, but rather a liability to Big Government’s bottom line. The passages in the ObamaCare bill about “end of life” counseling for our senior citizens could have been plagiarized from one Dr. Holdren’s books.

It’s shocking that this man survived the vetting process. Administration officials, including President Obama, should be forced to explain his appointment. Members of Congress should take every opportunity to put this man on the record about his beliefs. If Holdren does not repudiate his own writings, he should be forced to resign.

The Act Of Achievement

Quoting novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand:

“Men have been taught that the highest virtue is not to achieve, but to give. Yet one cannot give that which has not been created. Creation comes before distribution — or there will be nothing to distribute. The need of the creator comes before the need of any possible beneficiary. Yet we are taught to admire the second-hander who dispenses gifts he has not produced above the man who made the gifts possible. We praise an act of charity. We shrug at an act of achievement.”

Religion And The Government

Gouverneur Morris was a Revolutionary Officer, signer of the Constitution, Diplomat, and US Senator.

There must be religion. When that ligament is torn, society is disjointed and its members perish… [T]he most important of all lessons is the denunciation of ruin to every state that rejects the precepts of religion.

Your good morals in the army give me sincere pleasure as it hath long been my fixed opinion that virtue and religion are the great sources of human happiness. More especially is it necessary in your profession firmly to rely upon the God of Battles for His guardianship and protection in the dreadful hour of trial. But of all these things you will and I hope in the merciful Lord.

The Alternative To Tyranny

Quoting President Ronald Reagan:

“The Founding Fathers established a system which meant a radical break from that which preceded it. A written constitution would provide a permanent form of government, limited in scope, but effective in providing both liberty and order. Government was not to be a matter of self-appointed rulers, governing by whim or harsh ideology. It was not to be government by the strongest or for the few. Our principles were revolutionary. We began as a small, weak republic. But we survived. Our example inspired others, imperfectly at times, but it inspired them nevertheless. This constitutional republic, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, prospered and grew strong. To this day, America is still the abiding alternative to tyranny. That is our purpose in the world — nothing more and nothing less.”

Cap And Trade Socialism

A study recently published by a group of scientists in the Journal of Geophysical Research has documented that any climate change that has occurred in the past several decades is a result of Mother Nature, not your neighbor’s carbon footprint. “The surge in global temperatures since 1977,” says the study’s co-author Chris de Freitas, “can be attributed to a 1976 climate shift in the Pacific Ocean that made warming El Nino conditions more likely than they were over the previous 30 years and cooling La Nina conditions less likely.”

Yet Al Gore and his cronies continue to vilify all of us “deniers” as they try to push their cap-and-trade programs and the rest of their socialist agenda. It brings to mind another quote, one from the late writer H.L. Mencken: “The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it.” Whether it applies to global warming, health care or a host of other issues on today’s political table, it appears Mencken is right on the money.