AMERICA IS IN RAPID DECLINE - CAN WE STOP IT?

Doing things exactly the wrong way

Growing rancor of political campaigning is one example of the power of inciting hatred to sway voters. The preponderance of personal attacks over substantive proposals shows how much easier it is to tear down a political opponent than to build one's own stature and make serious proposals. Negative campaigning is easy and especially effective in the age of the “sound bite.” Like war, it is easy. All you have to do in war is break things and kill people. Any idiot can do that with little training. In political campaigns it is pure emotion that drives voters. Serious proposals, even solutions for all-important problems, rarely get the media play and public attention that hate-filled rhetoric prompts.

For similar reasons, it takes far less skill or organization to demolish a home or even the World Trade Center than it does to conceive, design, and build the same thing. Conflict is easy. Cooperation and creative building are far more demanding, require careful consideration, dedication, creative effort and hard work. They are infinitely more rewarding. This is what we sorely need right now.

Often attributed to Lincoln in error are these words penned by William J. H. Boetcker, in 1916.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatreds.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

Yet are those not precisely the short lived, instant gratifications politicians and media personalities regularly wield against those they oppose for any reason?

A prediction of where we seem to be headed may have come from far back in history, when the 13 colonies were still part of England. This quote is often attributed to a Scottish Historian, Alexander Tytler or Tyler. The true origin of the quote is obscure and might have originated in the early 20th century from an unknown politician or writer. Nevertheless, this does not detract from its accuracy.

One version of the quote on why democracies always fail is:

A Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only last until the citizens discover they can vote themselves largesse out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that the Democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy, to be followed by a dictatorship, and then a monarchy.

A version of the second part of the misquote, often attributed to Arnold Toynbee is:

The release of initiative and enterprise made possible by self-government ultimately generates disintegrating forces from within. Again and again, after freedom brings opportunity and some degree of plenty, the competent become selfish, luxury-loving and complacent; the incompetent and unfortunate grow envious and covetous; and all three groups turn aside from the hard road of freedom to worship the golden calf of economic security. The historical cycle seems to be: from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to apathy; from apathy to dependency; and from dependency back to bondage once more.

But the person who appears to be the actual author of the second part is Henning Webb Prentis, Jr., President of the Armstrong Cork Company. In a speech entitled "Industrial Management in a Republic," delivered in the grand ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria at New York during the 250th meeting of the National Conference Board on March 18, 1943, and recorded on p. 22 of Industrial Management in a Republic, Prentis had this to say:

Paradoxically enough, the release of initiative and enterprise made possible by popular self-government ultimately generates disintegrating forces from within. Again and again after freedom has brought opportunity and some degree of plenty, the competent become selfish, luxury-loving and complacent, the incompetent and the unfortunate grow envious and covetous, and all three groups turn aside from the hard road of freedom to worship the Golden Calf of economic security. The historical cycle seems to be: From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to apathy; from apathy to dependency; and from dependency back to bondage once more.

At the stage between apathy and dependency, men always turn in fear to economic and political panaceas. New conditions, it is claimed, require new remedies. Under such circumstances, the competent citizen is certainly not a fool if he insists upon using the compass of history when forced to sail uncharted seas. Usually so-called new remedies are not new at all. Compulsory planned economy, for example, was tried by the Chinese some three millenniums ago, and by the Romans in the early centuries of the Christian era. It was applied in Germany, Italy and Russia long before the present war broke out. Yet it is being seriously advocated today as a solution of our economic problems in the United States. Its proponents confidently assert that government can successfully plan and control all major business activity in the nation, and still not interfere with our political freedom and our hard-won civil and religious liberties. The lessons of history all point in exactly the reverse direction.

These are the real malignancies we must overcome if we are to solve the rapidly growing problems facing not just the US, but the entire world.

It's about time members of groups that constantly denigrate and condemn others out of class or economic envy began to honor and respect the achievements and rewards of those others. I see it as important that we recognize the realities of our situation and the real reasons we are where we are. There has been enough of this huge and debilitating blame game and all of its political distortions and emotional hate-filled activities. We have been engaged in terrible inner political warfare while our enemies stand on the sidelines urging on the various sides and gleefully watching our self destruction.

Socialism has a terrible record of providing a decent living for its subjects. An examination of all socialist nations shows that in order to be successful they must have a huge source of income outside the government to survive. Those that do not, universally house a population in poverty like Haiti and many African nations. Most are actually dictatorships where one or a very few individuals wield all the power and control all the wealth. That source of income is usually a valuable natural resource which capitalists throughout the world require to feed their economy. Petroleum is probably the biggest source of income for socialist nations. Those that have it usually have wealthy despots running the country and wasting that income. Other natural raw materials include iron, wood, diamonds, agricultural produce and others. Even tourism is a source of supportive income for some socialist nations.

Venezuela is a good example of how quickly the income from raw materials can destroy the economy. With their fat little dictator squandering this valuable resource in many ways in a controlled economy, Venezuela is suddenly on the verge of economic collapse. The people of Venezuela, used to low prices on all kinds of goods subsidized by the government including 25 cents per gallon gasoline, have suddenly been awakened by run away inflation as government excesses quickly outran income when oil prices dropped. Many things now cost five or ten times what they did a year or two ago. This includes food and—you guessed it—gasoline. Shades of the old Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea—every socialist utopia whose outside income suddenly dropped or disappeared.

Socialists are quick to point out socialist nations that are doing quite well—whose citizens enjoy a high standard of living—free education, health care, and all manner of benefits. Take a look at those nations, where their income is coming from. Each has either a major source of income from natural resources (oil, minerals, etc.) or a capitalist manufacturing base of privately owned organizations. There are no exceptions! The growth of foreign trade income from all manner of private enterprises has fueled the explosive economic growth in China, Korea, Taiwan, and every other awakening Asian economy. Even India is getting into the act. Look at what happened to them when our economy took a nose dive. Now they are striving to grow their own domestic economies by—can you guess? Advertising and consumerism at home!

While these nations move toward the wealth distribution of a capitalist economy, we are sinking into dull gray socialist poverty. Our manufacturing base has long fled to other shores, our technology industries are now doing the same and what do we have left? Agriculture! We are about to become a nation of poor farmers and wealthy politicians running things for their own benefit. Don’t think our investors and entrepreneurs who haven’t already done so won’t soon head for more attractive shores with lower taxes and less government interference. We are being strangled by an out-of-control tax and spend monster whose only incentive is class hatred and money envy.

I have but a single question for you capitalist hating liberal idiots. Once capitalism is dead and its profits no longer can be taxed, where are you going to get the money to pay for all your social programs? Or do you plan to hand the entire nation over to the Chinese capitalists who will soon own everything in America anyway.

Some Comments on that utopian marvel, SOCIALISM

The most fundamental fact about the ideas of the political left is that they do not work. Therefore we should not be surprised to find the left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive.

—Thomas Sowell

The function of socialism is to raise suffering to a higher level.

—Norman Mailer

A government policy to rob Peter to pay Paul can be assured of the support of Paul.

—George Bernard Shaw

Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it.

—Thomas Sowell

A painful prediction followed by some observations

The United States will be a socialist dictatorship by 2030. At this time those leftist activists will happily extol the joys of socialism as they are being carted off to the salt mines.

—HJ, 2008

Why is it people seem to want to replace a very successful capitalist system with a socialist system that has proven to be a failure and should actually be called feudalism? The American capitalist system where a few are extremely wealthy, a great many more are wealthy, the vast majority live quite comfortably, a small minority are just getting by and a very small number are in poverty, is in the process of being deliberately destroyed so socialism can take over. Socialism which has been proven time and time again to provide power and extreme wealth for the very few in government while the vast majority are in or close to abject poverty. Just look at the nations of the world. There are hundreds of examples—obvious examples—of the failure of socialism. Socialism has inevitably lead to dictatorship where “the meanest SOB in the valley” takes over complete power, just like the “monkey king” of troops of our simian relatives. Just like our current crop of socialists in Congress (who still call themselves Democrats) all these would be totalitariqn tyrants promise anything to get in power, forget those promises when in power, and use that power doing anything to ensure they will always remain in power

Why is it people can’t see the multitudes of failures? I have one opinion that goes to basic human nature. It is easier for have nots to destroy the haves than to work to join them. Class envy whipped into a frenzy is the tool used by those seeking power and control to destroy any who oppose them. It’s the child on the beach who has not the skill or the patience to build a sand castle, but can gleefully destroy it. It’s the men who have neither the skill nor patience to design and build the WTC who destroyed it killing 3,000 human individuals. It’s the thousands of government bureaucrats who daily shuffle papers delaying and preventing benefits promised by the government to individuals who have become desperately dependent on them.

I’ll excuse all you leftists who hate America and think Americans should be punished for working hard and being successful. You are just too stupid, self pitying, and even pathetic to consider seriously. Bluntly put, you prefer destruction and personal injury to construction and cooperative behavior. Unfortunately it is far easier for a few of your depraved idiots to destroy what hard working Americans have built than for those Americans to defend what they have built from a few determined thugs. What’s worse, you are too ignorant and hate filled to realize how wrong it is for all but a very few individuals.

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The Saul Alinsky school for the destruction of Americanism/capitalism/individual freedom and the promotion and ascension of Utopianism/socialist dictatorship/slavery.

"Obama learned his lesson well. I am proud to see that my father's model for organizing is being applied successfully beyond local community organizing to affect the Democratic campaign in 2008. It is a fine tribute to Saul Alinsky as we approach his 100th birthday." --Letter from L. DAVID ALINSKY, son of Neo-Marxist Saul Alinsky

Hillary, Obama and the Cult of Alinsky: "True revolutionaries do not flaunt their radicalism, Alinsky taught. They cut their hair, put on suits and infiltrate the system from within. Alinsky viewed revolution as a slow, patient process. The trick was to penetrate existing institutions such as churches, unions and political parties.... Many leftists view Hillary as a sell-out because she claims to hold moderate views on some issues. However, Hillary is simply following Alinsky’s counsel to do and say whatever it takes to gain power.

"Barack Obama is also an Alinskyite.... Obama spent years teaching workshops on the Alinsky method. In 1985 he began a four-year stint as a community organizer in Chicago, working for an Alinskyite group called the Developing Communities Project.... Camouflage is key to Alinsky-style organizing. While trying to build coalitions of black churches in Chicago, Obama caught flak for not attending church himself. He became an instant churchgoer." (By Richard Poe, 11-27-07)

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These are the criminal conspirators that are now running our nation. Realizing that most Americans will catch on to what they are doing within a very short time they are moving as quickly as possible to consolidate their power and never face another election. With massive new taxes announced and unannounced, the powers in Washington are forcing major corporations, banks they do not control, and other economic entities toward economic disaster and destruction. Using this as an excuse “They’re just too big to fail” they took over two of our three major auto companies and gave them to the UAW to run. That figures! The UAW is their constituency and who they take care of, not the American public.

Their end purpose became obvious when they refused even to negotiate the sale of Pontiac, Saab, and/or Saturn divisions to private investors eager to purchase and run them. One famous automotive entrepreneur after making a generous offer for Saturn, withdrew his offer after the government refused to bargain in good faith. His comment, “They obviously prefer to trash the company and get nothing for it than let it become a private company and increase private enterprise and investment”. The pending multi million dollar deals for three of the GM divisions have all been scrapped because of government intransigence. As a result, all three potential buyers are making deals with foreign auto manufacturers to pick up the market being deserted by GM.

With Goldman-Sachs in bed with the administration—they have supplied how many members to the Obama administration? Here’s a report from Global Research:

"For a speech to Goldman Sachs executives, Summers walked away with $135,000. This is substantially more than double the earnings for an entire year of high-seniority auto workers, who have been pilloried by the Obama administration and the media for their supposedly exorbitant and “unsustainable” wages."

A series of articles published over the weekend, based on financial disclosure reports released by the Obama administration last Friday concerning top White House officials, documents the extent to which the administration, in both its personnel and policies, is a political instrument of Wall Street.

Policies that are extraordinarily favorable to the financial elite that were put in place over the past month by the Obama administration have fed a surge in share values on Wall Street. These include the scheme to use hundreds of billions of dollars in public funds to pay hedge funds to buy up the banks’ toxic assets at inflated prices, the Auto Task Force’s rejection of the recovery plans of Chrysler and General Motors and its demand for even more brutal layoffs, wage cuts and attacks on workers’ health benefits and pensions, and the decision by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to weaken “mark-to-market” accounting rules and permit banks to inflate the value of their toxic assets.

Read the entire report at:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13208

JUST KNOW THIS! These people are enemies of free men everywhere. They are on an orchestrated path to the total destruction of free America and the eradication of the economic/political system that created the most wealth for the most people more equally spread among the common folks than any other system in history. It was an excellent demonstration of the wealth that free people working in an open competitive environment with little interference from the dictates of politicians seeking self agrandizement. Their ultimate goal is an America under Soviet style socialist dictatorship where a very few control everything and the common man is a mere slave serving their leaders. They would replace a capitalist system where virtually thousands of organizations under diverse and creative management with a socialist system where there are a very few extremely wealthy and powerful members of the government who can virtually do as they please.

Look at the example already set by the members of the Socialist party in power. Michelle Obama spends huge sums on lavish luncheons on taxpayer’s money. If you don’t think a $400/00+ lobster “snack” is extravagant you belong on another planet. In the Socialist monopoly, one doesn’t have to be personally “wealthy” to be truly wealthy. All that is necessary is access and control of “public” money. “Princess” Hillary spent millions of taxpayers dollars for lavish Senate offices she only used for a few years. She says it was so she could better “serve” her constituents. It was actually an ego trip so she could live “better than those business executives” and have “the most expensive and luxurious office of any Senator.” That huge government expense had little to do with serving constituents.

Another ”princess” in the new socialist royalty, Nancy Pelosi, insists on expensive luxury jet aircraft to whisk her wherever she wants at great and unnecessary expense to the taxpayers. Witness the recent jaunt be she and a number of her faithful to Copenhagen for no conceivable reason. Using a number of expensive military jets, they went on what could accurately be described as a pleasure excursion for themselves and some family members. They had no possible legitimate purpose in taking that trip which cost American taxpayers hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars we could ill afford to spend. Are we going to stand for those greedy, self serving ego maniacal politicians to live like kings and queens on our money (they want all kinds of new and punitive taxes) while we face economic disaster—a very personal disaster—that they have brought upon us?

Just in passing, did you realize that the mortgage meltdown, deliberately engineered by liberals in government, resulted in the largest transfer of wealth out of the hands of individuals in the history of the world? People with moderate homes with normal mortgages consistently lost between 60% to 100% of their home equity. The liberal executives in the government’s Fannie May and Freddie Mac walked away with hundreds of millions of dollars for engineering this debacle which ultimately resulted in the recession. Nothing will ever convince me this wasn’t a deliberate effort to destroy middle America and our capitalist system. Government ownership of virtually all of America’s businesses is the ultimate goal.

As early as 2003 my son-in-law who worked as a mortgage salesman for a bank in Dayton was telling me of extreme government pressure exerted on his bank to make shaky loans. When the bank refused they were cut off from all access to government loan guarantees or referrals. His words, “Howard, I can hardly believe it but our federal government is deliberately inflating the housing bubble which I think will burst with dire consequences in a few years.”

Liberals on eduation

Liberal mecca, Berkeley, California is a perfect example of how liberals tackle problems and demonstrates how they will always make things worse, sometimes catastrophically worse (the mortgage meltdown) when they try to do anything. It’s a small example of why they are doing such a fantastic job of running Amtrak, the Postal Service, Fannie May, Freddie Mac, Medicare, etc. etc. etc. Now they want to take charge of health care? That’s all we need, 60 bureaucrats (all of whom vote Democrat because they know who gave them their jobs) sitting around drinking coffee, playing cards and occasionally approving, or more likely disapproving our requests for critical medical services. But I digress.

The liberal masterminds that run Berkeley found there was a problem with their high school science program, in particular a science lab. It seems that Black (notice the capitalization) and Hispanic students were not doing nearly as well as their white counterparts in this science lab. Well, something had to be done about that. After all, everyone is equal, right? The liberal wizards running things had several options. 1) They could study the problem and take steps to bring the failing students up to the standards of the “white” students. That could take some extra effort, but it has been done successfully elsewhere and certainly could be done in Berkeley with the liberal intelligentsia (an oxymoron) in residence there. 2) They could have researched how other schools were dealing with the problem, learn from their experience and adopt the best of their methods. I’ll not list the several other options, but surely you get my drift!

So what did these geniuses do? Why of course, they aborted the science lab, condemned it to non existence, killed the whole project. Just think of the wonders that kind of progressive thinking could bring to our entire education system. Wait a minute, isn’t that what’s been happening all over the US? Isn’t that the very reason our education system has progressed to it’s present glorious, exemplary state? The logic? If a course, or class, or school has a problem with one or more ethnic/racial groups performing in a far superior manner to other ethnic/racial groups there is a universal solution. CLOSE DOWN THE COURSE, OR CLASS, OR SCHOOL. Problem solved!

Same logic—if there are 500 students of varying abilities, set the curricula to fit the slowest student. It’s the best way to level things out and make everybody equal. Besides, those loyal members of the teachers union who couldn’t teach a starving dog how to eat won’t have to work so hard and strain their gray matter. Of course, should anything fail, those at fault, pardon me, those dedicated educators with a problem not of their making, could fall back on that universal excuse all liberals rely on for everything, GEORGE BUSH. Yeah! Blame it on George. Or maybe Halliburton, or big corporations, or conservatives, or Republicans or . . .

Remember the first law of liberalism, liberals are never to blame for anything! OH, for the good old days!