Sunday, July 28, 2019

About the unconscionable spending...

Preceding the Mueller nothingness of last week, and amidst any and all other media portrayals of both parties at odds, there was some displeasing cooperation occurring in the swamp that was troublesome to say the least...
Levin brought attention to it by that evening...
America has a spending problem. Mitch McConnell said we don’t lose votes by spending and this is unacceptable. We are sticking future generations with massive debt. The laws of economics are like the laws of physics — they don’t change. Despite the Tea Party’s 63 seat win in 2010 yet we still have an obsession with deficits and spending. President Obama’s 2012 re-election slowed the Tea Party’s momentum and spend-hearty Republicans returned to their old ways despite the spending cap bill. Today, just 15% of Republicans express any desire to spend less and we’ve seen this in the bloated budgets that they repeatedly send to President Trump. This is the most selfish generation in American history, and Thomas Jefferson warned us. This, combined with college for all, healthcare for all, and ever-increasing taxes on the highest income earners will only hurt America 50 years from now.
“It doesn’t matter who the president is; it doesn’t matter which party controls Congress. The fact is that when those in charge of spending and borrowing and taxing do what’s about to be done to the American people, it’s unconscionable. Spending is completely out of control, and we simply do not have any adults who want to do anything about it, because it's much easier politically to just keep spending. ... We used to at least have fiscal conservatives; there are no more fiscal conservatives, maybe a handful. But the Republican Party today does not stand for fiscal responsibility. Therefore nobody does. ... This is the most selfish act one generation can do to the next. To impose on generations yet born this massive debt, because we want...more this and more that...is unacceptable. ... And then we have a Democrat Party that wants to quadruple what's taking place, while the Republican Party is doubling what's taking place. ... Because they don’t want to shut down the government...we don’t want to default. ... One day there will be a default, but it’ll be a different kind of default. It’ll be one completely out of our control when the economy crumbles. There’ll be no health care, there’ll be no pensions, there’ll be no minimum wage, there’ll be no property rights. It’ll all go up in a puff of smoke.”
Related links: Here comes the McConnell budget ‘deal’ that will rule the rest of Trump’s presidency
Levin And Horowitz Discuss McConnell's Latest Budget Boondoggle
Levin blasts McConnell’s and Pelosi’s big-spending budget deal: ‘It’s unconscionable’
GOP repeals the entire legacy of the Tea Party in one fell swoop

So both parties on Capitol Hill finally agree on something: SPENDING MORE OF OUR MONEY! If something isn't done to get our nation's finances in check, our children and grandchildren will suffer the consequences. Some of these young people, like college student Shawn Fleetwood, are beginning to realize the future result of our generations' irresponsibility...
Every year, I watch these budget battles, and every year, I am thoroughly disappointed in the utter disregard and lack of fiscal responsibility by both parties. In today’s hyperpoliticized climate, Democrats and Republicans hardly agree on anything, but it seems the one thing they can agree on is spending our money.

Democrats favoring massive spending is predictable, considering that under President Barack Obama, the national debt grew roughly $9 trillion, more than every other previous president combined. Yet even when Republicans, the party swept into power by the tea party movement, recently controlled both chambers of Congress and the White House, they failed to limit and cut federal spending.

A few prominent Republicans, however, have voiced their dissatisfaction with the bill. According to a letter obtained by Politico, these Republicans’ message to Trump stated, “You should veto this bill because it is fiscally irresponsible,” and, “It blows well beyond what was intended with the 2011 [Budget Control Act] caps. Furthermore, it continues spending hundreds of billions more than what we take in a year and does not put our nation on a path towards a balanced budget.”

Rep. Chip Roy of Texas drafted the letter, which is circulating Capitol Hill to collect signatures from other conservative Republicans discouraged by the massive spending bill.

This growing national debt is like an ever-expanding balloon that in due course is going to pop, and when it does, the U.S. economy will crumble right beneath our feet. A country cannot sustain this massive amount of debt forever, yet as I watch these politicians in Washington champion this deal, I can’t help but think of what this beautiful country will look like 20 years from now when the bills cannot be postponed any more. Everyday American families must balance a budget in their lives to make sure they aren’t overspending, so why should the federal government be any different?
Yet in true Washington, D.C. fashion, as Nate Madden reminds us, both parties saw a spending problem and came together to solve it with more spending! The House passed it, then adjourned for six weeks, and now it’s all set to become law.
Indeed, as it heads to the Senate, it appears that the only things likely to stop it are some kind of last-ditch effort in the upper chamber or President Trump listening to the pushback from the Right on this and sending the negotiators back to the drawing board. After all, there’s still time to do it.
Perhaps they'll figure out some way to put the brakes on this burn and think it through (yeah, I know), but looking towards the future, it's still not too late to avert the fiscal cliff. However, it's up to us. How? A Convention of States has the power to propose constitutional amendments that force Congress and the President to be fiscally responsible. As Fleetwood continues, the new budget deal reminds us that it's time to make that call.
Right now, as part of a grassroots movement among conservative America, fittingly called Convention of States, citizens are pressuring their state legislatures to pass resolutions calling for a convention. Some of the proposed amendments include imposing term limits on members of Congress, limiting federal overreach, and, yes, balancing the federal budget. So far, 15 states have passed resolutions calling for a convention. To learn more about Convention of States, visit its website.

This country belongs to all Americans, not just the few sitting in Washington D.C. carelessly spending our tax dollars. Sitting on the sidelines and doing nothing will get us nowhere, and it won’t stop the nonsensical spending taking place year after year. If a 19-year-old college student can understand the country’s dire fiscal future and demand better from our elected representatives, you can too.
No truer words, but more have to come to this realization before it's too late.

 Related links: I’m 19. The Spendthrift Trump-Congress Budget Deal Cripples My Future
Why did Republican leaders sign on to a spending deal this bloated this early?
Trump can’t be both the president of growth and the president of debt
Posted by an ebb and flow at 10:00 PM

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Patriotism vs. the dishonesty of screaming "Racist!"

There's a notable intersection between the fraud squad as of late and the debate loons that performed before them. Political cartoonist Gary Varvel has brilliantly captured much of it along the way, while a favorite of my late granddad has intelligently pinpointed it verbally...
"...let's be clear. What you have on the Left is an increasingly anti- American, increasingly open borders, increasingly pro-illegal immigration movement. And the President just has to, I think, stick to his ground. He thinks these people are dangerous. He thinks that what they represent is harmful and he thinks as President of United States he has a job to defend America culturally, as well as militarily and diplomatically."
"These are totally manipulative, totally destructive people who are opposed to all core American values, people who routinely talk down in the United States, people who are in favor of illegal immigration over law enforcement. ...

So let's be very clear. These people have no obligation to be honest. They have no obligation to do anything, but be manipulative. And this is straight out of the textbook for radicals in the United States. ...Saul Alinsky would be proud of them. This is, in fact, what his ground rules for radicals was like. We just have to be honest and blunt about who they are. They are destructive, dangerous, dishonest people."
Going on to reflect on his fights with Tip O'Neil, then venturing on to Pelosi's latest violation of House rules, Gingrich laid out exactly what you're going to get if they're in charge:
There are no rules except what they want. There is no truth except what they want to say. And last week Biden was supposed to be a racist, because of his busing position. Apparently, Pelosi is supposed to be a racist, because she was opposing the "Gang of Four". Now Trump is a racist.

The Left reverts to racist when they can't defend anything. And I think the big campaign next year is going to be between patriotism as illustrated by President Trump's willingness to defend American values, the American border, the American rule of law and this routine automatic screaming racist by people who clearly are dishonestly using it, because it's the only club they've got.
When asked if he thought they really even cared about the Democrat Party as long as their profiles are elevated, Newt true to form didn't sugarcoat it...
...I think what they care about is power. I think they're fascists. I think they want to use the power of the state to change the rest of us. And I think they want the rest of us to shut up while they say anything they want to. And when we stand up to them, they, frankly, kind of go crazy. And I think that is exactly the historic pattern when you are dealing with a fascist movement.
Precisely. And even Democrats who aren't necessarily on the Marxist kick can see it, even if they don't want to admit it aloud.

Related links: The Nightmare Of An America Ruled By AOC And Her Socialist Pals
Donald Trump will win the Democratic Party civil war

 ADDENDUM: Likewise, but in fiery fashion, Mark Levin laid out the misguided racialization of both the squad and the media...
"President Trump was addressing the content of the character of these four women, not the color of their skin. But the media want it to be otherwise. The media are projecting, and the media are insisting on the opposite, because they want the narrative of racism. He didn't talk about race, he didn't talk about skin color, he didn't talk about religion, he talked about them, the content, or lack therof, of their character."
...before segueing into a deservedly scathing criticism of their venom...
That's why we call him the Great One!
Posted by an ebb and flow at 4:44 PM

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

What it will take to remain free...

Too many have distorted or forgotten the words of the Declaration of Independence. In our defense of liberty, we cannot abandon the text's core principles.
An exceptionally beautiful piece from a Hillsdale grad student (God Willing, a future statesman), and a crucial reminder to ALL Americans of what it will take to remain free...
On May 10, 1776, the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia to determine the future of the American colonies. It was one of the greatest gatherings of statesmen, brilliant thinkers, and talented orators ever assembled. On July 2, the Continental Congress passed a resolution from Virginian delegate Richard Henry Lee proclaiming a new country, separate from the British Empire. Two days later, this momentous decision was announced through the Declaration of Independence.

With its effect on the course of history and the future liberty of millions, Congress’s ultimate ratification of the Declaration was the most consequential vote ever taken. The Declaration of Independence didn’t just herald the coming of a new nation. It asserted timeless principles discovered through thousands of years of reason and revelation.

Yet the axioms of freedom must be taught and renewed with each generation. If we fail to preserve these truths, we risk squandering the fruits of the American founding. In order to secure our future liberty, we must know our history, and we must relearn the lessons taught by our Founding Fathers. There is no better place to begin than with the Declaration of Independence.

Our Natural Rights Come From God

The very first sentence of the Declaration begins with an affirmative statement that our rights come from “Nature” and “Nature’s God.”
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. [emphasis added]
The subsequent sentence of the Declaration spells out that men are “endowed by their Creator” with inherent, unalienable rights. The Founders did not claim the divine sanction of any one specific religious denomination. They did, however, understand that our rights are natural rights revealed and observed in nature by the virtue of man’s reason and bestowed to us by a Supreme Being.

The capitalization used throughout the document is no accident. Every word and every phrase were deliberately chosen and meticulously reviewed by Jefferson and the Committee of Five (which included John Adams and Benjamin Franklin) who gave advice and helped edit Jefferson’s drafts. The capitalization of “Laws,” “Nature,” “God,” and “Creator” indicated the reverence the Founders held for the Supreme Being as the source of our rights.

As Winston Churchill would say 165 years later, “There’s something going on in time and space, and beyond time and space.” The Founders knew that as well, and they knew the source of our rights were not mortal men, but an unseen Higher Power.

The Importance of ‘Created Equal’
Equality, rightly understood, as our Founding Fathers understood it, leads to liberty and to the emancipation of creative differences. Wrongly understood, as it has been so tragically in our time, it leads first to conformity and then to despotism. —Barry Goldwater
Much of the strife and acrimony in our political discourse has come from a twisted manipulation of “equality.” Today, the concept of “equality” is used as a club to bludgeon political opponents or in the service of radical schemes of income redistribution or other socialist follies. Equality, as understood by the Founders and elucidated by the Declaration, had a much different meaning than the equality of outcome promoted by leftists over the last 80 years.

When the Declaration speaks that all men are “created equal” it does not mean that we are all gifted with Marilyn Monroe’s looks, Albert Einstein’s intellect, or Michael Jordan’s athleticism. It does mean that we are all created in God’s image. It means we all have the same God-given rights. As humans, we are equal in our moral worth, which means no man may treat another man as he would an animal and no man may rule another without his consent.

Ultimately, the full meaning of the words “created equal” would not be realized until after the Civil War. It fell to Abraham Lincoln to preserve the best hope for man on earth and provide America with a new birth of freedom. More than 600,000 men gave the last full measure of devotion and perished on the battlefields of Bull Run, Antietam, and Gettysburg to wholly make right on the Declaration’s promise for all Americans.

Our Rights Pre-Exist Government

Related to the revelation that our natural rights come from God, is that by that same virtue they pre-exist government—whether a republic, democracy, monarchy, or tyranny. This is an important distinction. By listing our rights before mentioning the existence of any sort of state, the Declaration makes it clear that government is not the source of those rights.

Any rights granted by the state, no matter how holy, benevolent or well-intentioned the officeholders, can be taken away in an instant. Rights that come from Nature and Nature’s God, however, are permanent, intransigent, and emphatically unalienable. Contrary to the opinions of many modern politicians, the Declaration makes it clear that the American experiment is fundamentally grounded on the principle that free and independent people get to tell the government what to do—not the other way around.

As Randy E. Barnett has put it, the founding documents of the United States paint a picture of tiny islands of government power awash in a vast sea of liberty. Today, we’ve inverted that ideal to our grave detriment. Too often our present political landscape resembles a parched, vast expanse of government power marked by disappearing oases of liberty. We must do all that we can to reverse this course. It begins with the recognition that our rights come first—government comes second.

There Is a Defined Role for the State

Government is a necessary evil insofar as we cannot protect our natural rights entirely independent from one another. The Declaration is explicit in mentioning why the new American government was formed:
…to secure these rights [Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness], Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…
The state is given a monopoly on the legal use of force so that the strong and the malevolent cannot easily violate the rights of the weak and the righteous. Without government to secure “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” these rights are fragile and liable to be infringed upon by indecent or capricious men.

The Founders were not in favor of throwing off the yoke of tyranny in favor of anarchy. The Declaration recognizes that some level of government is required. As it states, governments are formed out of consenting individuals so that our “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” can be preserved.

The government protects our natural rights in several ways. First, in providing order, courts of law, and mediating disputes. Second, in the necessary protection of men against fraud, assault, or violence from their fellows. Lastly, in defending its citizens from foreign invasion. All these government powers derive from—and ensure the security of—the essence of our inalienable rights under the Laws of Nature.

Nothing Is ‘Owed’ to Us in this Life

The Declaration is silent on any other obligations of government beyond securing “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It does not proclaim cradle-to-grave social welfare. It also doesn’t say it’s the government’s role to provide “free” health care and college, a stable job, or a nice home. A bliss-filled existence is not pledged to us by the Declaration. America’s founding document does not guarantee happiness.

The operative word at the end of the relevant line is “pursuit.” In the United States, we are offered a chance to follow our dreams and to actualize all our potential. We are afforded the prospect of a grand adventure.

The pursuit of happiness is ours to seize and venture forth in all our strength. America was built by faithful, intrepid men and women who took this challenge head-on, knowing full well that nothing was assured, but the possibilities were limitless.

The Founders Knew the Cost of Freedom

What the Founders did on July of 1776 was righteous, justified, and necessary to restore the natural rights that had been stripped from them. But, make no mistake, it was treason in the eyes of the British monarch George III. The signatories of the Declaration knew that failure in the struggle to come would mean certain death. How they handled this high-stakes moment is revealed in the closing line:
…for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. [emphasis added]
The Declaration closes as it opens—with an appeal to heaven. The American colonists had several different faith backgrounds. Some would best be described as “deists.” But ultimately, they understood that without faith, without constant prayer for wisdom, prudence, and guidance in the trying times ahead, their cause would be doomed from the start.

Eight months before the signing of the Declaration, the phrase “an appeal to heaven” was appropriated from the influential writings of John Locke into one of America’s most exceptional revolutionary flags. The “Pine Tree” flag was flown on General George Washington’s first six warships beginning in October 1775. The colonists recognized they needed strength and perseverance beyond normal human capacity, and they knew where to find it.

Beginning with a rediscovery of the timeless truths of the Declaration of Independence, we need only to follow the Founders example to restore our republic to its noble roots. If we’re wise, we’ll also glance upward, and appeal to heaven once more.
God Help Us to heed the reminding words of this young scholar, to remember our Founders' and Framers' Declaration, and to appeal for guidance once more from the Almighty above.
ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favour and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honourable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogancy, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Related links: Thomas Jefferson 50 years after the Declaration: Never forget what independence really means
Betsy Ross was a great American
From the redcoats to the black robes
Posted by an ebb and flow at 12:00 PM

Monday, July 1, 2019

Cruz drops TRUTH BOMB on Dems about border crisis

This one's gonna essentially be a copy/paste job from TRS, because it's the damn truth of it ALL...
Ted Cruz gave a great speech down at the border today where he nailed Democrats on the border with some cold hard truth:
Here’s the full quote:
"This is a political environment where a lot of politicians like to talk about their enormous compassion, their enormous virtue.

Let me tell you, nobody who is compassionate, nobody who is virtuous, nobody who gives a damn about human beings, would want even a single day to perpetuate these loopholes and put more children in harm’s way."
He’s absolutely right. If Democrats really cared about the lives of people that have been lost or mangled by the horrors that go on at the border, they’d have vanquished these ridiculous asylum policies a long time ago. They would have also quickly funded the building of the wall with no questions asked.

But we all know what Democrats are really about:
The entire video is less than 20 minutes, and the Senator's initial address before taking questions is just over 5 minutes in length. Well worth the listen:



Related links: AOC claims border patrol are forcing women to drink out of the TOILET, but another Congresswoman reveals it’s just heresay
 ‘So she lied’? Looks like AOC just got royally busted for lying about her ‘horrifying’ experience at a CBP detention center; UPDATED
Do people living In Ocasio-Cortez’s district actually like Socialism? Benny Johnson finds out!
8 Times The Media Said There Was No Crisis At The Southern Border
Ted Cruz calls out Portland Mayor LIKE A BOSS
Posted by an ebb and flow at 5:50 PM
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)