Rising Fear

There’s an ominous new phenomenon in the United States and it is fear of our government. The world is being turned upside down by the progressive and ever more authoritarian Obama administration.  The double tragedy is that as we begin to fear the federal government here at home, our enemies have begun to laugh at us abroad.

We should be feared by oppressive regimes such as North Korea, Iran, Russia, and China, but instead they realize that they can effectively operate throughout the world without American opposition.  In a similar tragedy, there are many that are breaking the laws here in America that also no longer fear the United States.  Illegal aliens, who broke our immigration laws freely to come here, roam across the United States without fear that they will be held accountable for breaking those laws.  Not only are they no longer afraid, but they are even emboldened.  In rising numbers, they demand things from our government and the American people.  Despite promises to the contrary, illegal aliens are actively being sought by Covered California to sign up for Obama care, a program that legally they cannot participate in.  As an aside, I wonder how many of the enrollees that the Obama administration reports are actually illegals who should not be signing up at all?  We will probably never know.  Even if the government does, they certainly won’t tell us.  And that brings us back to fear.

Those of us who are American citizens have seen the erosion of our God given liberties and our protection under the Constitution.  We now have reason to fear the federal government! From IRS intimidation, proposals of new regulations that would institutionalize those intimidations and crush free speech, suggestions of FCC meddling in what stories the media is able to present, each day brings new examples of why we have reason to fear our government.  How long will this go on?  How many more liberties will we lose?  Is there a turning point where the American people will stand up with one united voice and say enough? We all need to pray that the path President Obama and the Democrat Party put us on is reversible.  We all need to pray that the Republican Party will stand against it and not surrender as they often do.

Since its inception the United States of America has been the single greatest defender of and hope for liberty here and around the world.  America’s form of government is the “exception” in the history of mankind.  I pray, as should you, that American “exceptionalism” doesn’t perish under this growing cloud of authoritarianism, intimidation and fear.

Conflicting Arguments, Obamacare vs Comprehensive Immigration Reform

I’ve written about the Progressive/Democrat tactic of making claims about the intent of their policies and avoiding any analysis of the second or third order affects of them.  I’ve also discussed the hypocritical nature of so many of their policies.  The President and his Democrat Obamacare supporters have now blended these two deceptive tactics in defending two different policies.  First, not even Mr. Fantastic could bend himself into the pretzels needed by Democrats defending Obamacare.

The latest effort involves the recent CBO report, that stated Obamacare would reduce 2.3 million full time job equivalents from the US economy.  That means that Obamacare will shrink our economy.  Our GDP, which Democrats and big spending Republicans need to support their massive spending will be smaller, weaker and provide fewer taxes.  Bad news for America!  Democrats responded with the ludicrous explanation that cutting American workers’ hours is a good thing.  Less work is a blessing, since work is too difficult, and Americans need less work and more free time.  Americans, they say, are too productive.  Tell that to somebody that’s trying to pay their mortgage, rent, heating or water bill.  Tell them that less money is a blessing!  Here’s where the Democrats take a completely opposite position on immigration reform.

Democrats claim that comprehensive immigration reform is needed so that the illegal community can come out of the shadows and work.  They will do the work that Americans won’t do, so Democrats say.  Reform is needed to let these people, who only want to get to work and provide for their families the opportunity to put in long hours in the fields to do so.  Work for them, is a blessing.  Hard work is what we are keeping them from doing with our “unfair” immigration laws.  Make them legal so that they can work.  Why is it fair to make illegal immigrants work long and hard hours, but it’s oppressive to allow American citizens to do the same?

In order to connect these dots I guess Democrats would need to tell these immigrants to stop working full time hours once they come out of the shadows, for then work would be as bad as they say it is for Americans?  Perhaps Democrats are just intent on oppressing immigrants?

All fantasy aside, both Democrat arguments are nothing but smoke screens to hide their real goals.  Obamacare is only an interim step to government controlled healthcare, with emphasis on CONTROL.  Immigration reform is nothing but an effort to get more Democrat voters.

Utopian Folley

America is the most “exceptional” nation in the history of mankind. Putin recently said that there is nothing exceptional about the U.S. I suspect that Bob Costas and most of the progressives in America would agree. They would be dead wrong. America is exceptional. It’s founding was a miracle. Prior to our founding history consisted of endless governments that existed to rule their people. Totalitarians, kings, pharaohs, dynasties one after another came and went. The people were there to serve the government. Our founders broke that mold, and created a government meant to serve its people. Our founding documents guaranteed these fundamental, God given rights. Why would anybody, as President Obama stated, want to “fundamentally” change something so unique?

The answer is that progressives strive for an unreachable utopia. They are quick to criticize America, always comparing it to an unreachable, perfection. They never compare other countries to their utopia. How would the Soviet Union stack up? How about Cube, China, or North Korea? They all embodythe left’s core principle of an all controlling government. The problem is, the world is full of powerful, authoritarian governments,and utopias don’t exist.

Nothing men creates will ever be perfect, but as far as real world governments go, the one created by our Constitution is as close as it gets. Its a shame that the politicians keep ignoring their role. They exist to serve, not to rule!

Why strive to kill the one “exception”? If you don’t like it here, move to Venezuela. Pack up and go to Cambodia. Defect to China, and don’t forget to write.

 

 

Obama Care and the Sochi Winter Olympics

What do Obama care and the Sochi Olympics have in common?  On the surface you would think nothing at all, however you’d be mistaken.  In fact there are many commonalities between Obama care and the Sochi Olympics, and their foundation is government control.

It was at roll out when Americans learned that Obama care’s website was a complete disaster.  Despite the taxpayer cost of over $500 million to develop the website, it’s fraught with problems, not the least of which is a complete lack of security.  Experts warn that anyone who puts their private information into the site is risking the loss of all of their personal information.  In addition the site has no back end able to transmit data to confirm payments were made, nor can it give anyone who signs up assurance that they will in fact be insured when they show up at a doctor’s office.  New failures pop up each day, but President Obama and Democrats call them glitches, and “all is well”.  Reality check – big government doesn’t work.

Canadian Olympian, Sebastien Toutant, tweeted this picture of Sochi toilet rules.

Canadian Olympian, Sebastien Toutant, tweeted this picture of Sochi toilet rules.

At the start of the Olympics we are all just now learning of the problems in Sochi. Despite assurances from Putin that “all is well”, people are getting surprised when checking into rooms.  Some when told that they are still under construction. Some rooms have no water.  Some visitors are told not to allow the water to touch their faces because of its dangerous contents. Many rooms were missing combinations of furniture, curtains, light bulbs, TVs and shower curtains.  Locals were told to surrender their pillows to athletes whose rooms didn’t have one.  Hotel lobbies are missing as are floors.

It’s been interesting so far to see the fawning coverage given to Putin, and Sochi by Bob Costas and NBC.  I guess the mainstream media has so much practice spinning for big government progressives in America that it’s a natural transition to praise a full-blown totalitarian.

Another link is traffic.  Very few tourists are showing up to actually see the Olympics so far.  Many are likely scared away by the threat of terrorism, just like very few previously uninsured Americans are signing up for Obama care.  Many of them are likely afraid of the threat of personal data theft.

Sadly, both the ACA (not just the website) and Sochi are well over budget.  The Sochi Games cost Russia an estimated $51B, the most expensive games in history.  Obama care will cost U.S. taxpayers over double its original estimate of $900B over ten years, and that doesn’t account for the increased cost to Americans of insurance plans, co-pays and deductibles.

The lack of preparation of the Obama care website, it’s roll-out and the entire so called “Affordable Care Act”, for that matter, and the Sochi Olympics have another common feature:  they were the by products of massive, intrusive government.  In the case of Sochi, it’s Putin, an ex-KGB officer who wants to return Russia to its former glory.  He’s is an authoritarian, a communist “once KGB-always KGB”, and it’s clear to see that despite the fall of the Iron Curtain, the failures of the old communist system are still in effect.  In the case of Obama care it’s an unprecedented level of massive, intrusive government led by Barack Obama and the Democrats intent on expanding the role and power of our government.  Don’t forget that Obama care gave the federal government control of over 20% of the US economy.  Government’s gain is liberty’s loss.

Hopefully, the athletes at the winter Olympics won’t be distracted from achieving their dreams, despite the situation in Sochi.  Sadly for America, the reality of Obama care is quite different for it’s doomed to fail.  The Law was fundamentally flawed, rushed through in the dead of night without a single Republican vote.  It’s real objective is to fail SLOWLY and move the USA into a government controlled and dictatorial health care system.  One major difference between the Olympics and the “Unaffordable Care Act” does bear highlighting though:  the Olympics will end in a few weeks, but to stop Obama care, we must repeal it!