Wednesday, August 21, 2019

This unAmerican allure benefits none

I hope more out there are listening to Mark Levin, in general of course, but particularly over these past few weeks of pinpointing the dangers in what's become of today's redefined and radicalized Democratic Party, as well as the internal challenges its Republican counterpart faces. From just a handful of recent programs, it's more apparent than ever that this allure of the progressive agenda is not in America's corner. This Democratic-socialist metamorphosis is of course nothing new to those with eyes wide open, yet it's still astonishing to see it unfold well within the 21st century's first quarter.

In a segment where Levin laid out how Democratic senators are threatening the Supreme Court if they aren't given what they want on gun control, an old move reminiscent of FDR's days that could have new detrimental ramifications, he touched on perhaps an even more profound litany of issues that are clearly defining...

'an unAmerican party'
"...now you have multiple senior Senate Democrats, in a brief filed in the Supreme Court for all the media to see, threatening the Supreme Court with restructuring if they don’t get in line on gun control. You have Brett Kavanaugh, a sitting associate justice of the Supreme Court, being threatened by the House Judiciary Committee, which wants his records from the time he was working at the White House Counsel’s office — that is a threat against a sitting justice — and constantly intimating about impeachment of that justice. You have presidential candidates, including Joe Biden, trashing the Declaration of Independence, trashing the Constitution. You have them all almost unanimously trashing free markets and capitalism, attacking the Electoral College, attacking the Second Amendment. This is an unAmerican party. It has become a radicalized, unAmerican party, rejecting the Constitution except when it thinks it can help them... Attacking one institution after another..."



"This is a party that’s very, very comfortable with tyranny. This is a party that’s very comfortable with a centralized, iron-fisted government, as long as they run it, as long as they control it."
And not to gleam over their rediscovered anti-Semitic sentiments and setups as well, but let's stay on topic towards what 'ism' the above describes descending towards as it seeks to decimate the remnants remaining of our foundational systems.

“One of the problems we have here is the absolute inability of elected Republicans, and even conservatives/Republicans on television and radio, to discuss free-market capitalism. In fact, some of them trash it now. ‘We’re all populists now.’ ‘We’re all nationalists now.’ No, I’m not, I’m a constitutional conservative. We seem to have difficulty explaining capitalism. Why is that? The Left doesn’t have any problem discussing socialism. They may not label it socialism, but they’re proud about redistribution of wealth. … They’re very, very articulate in their tyranny. Tell me, who’s articulate about liberty? ...



Listen to the Democrat debates: Attacking wealth. Attacking success. Attacking corporations. Well, if we didn’t allow the creation of wealth and success and corporations, we’d be a disastrous country! And nobody articulates it! We’re in an anti-industrial, de-industrial revolution now...

Collectivism, socialism, Marxism, call it whatever you want. This ‘ism’ — it’s deadly. We’ll starve to death. We’ll go without health care. They can paint all the pictures they want. Look at the people! The propagandists and the demagogues who are promoting it. They haven’t created a damn thing. They haven’t hired a damn person! And yet, this is what they keep pushing."
And try, try, try as they might to change us into something we're not, nor have ever been, nor have ever even conceived to be, facts and reason, not emotions, show us...

"[David Burton] says it's arithmetically impossible to fund the Progressive agenda just by taxing the rich. ...if you understand Marxism, Marxism has as its purpose the destruction of the existing society. Oh yes, it focuses on material determinism and so forth, but...it goes hand in hand police-state, fascistic, centralized government. Do you know a democracy, seriously, that is communist? A republic that is communist? Of course you don't. Do you know a free people who are communist? No. You see, you never get to that Marx nirvana. What's supposed to happen is everything comes together, and eventually when they've wiped out the existing society and replaced it with egalitarianism, there's no more need for government. 'Oh Mark, that's so stupid.' Yes, I agree, but that effectively what it's soft sister socialism is based on. And Burton points out that...
It is arithmetically impossible to pay for progressive promises by “taxing the rich.” Progressive promises are too expensive—and the amount of income earned by the rich is too small. Even using lower cost estimates, confiscating every dollar earned by every taxpayer with incomes of $200,000 or more would only pay for about half of the progressive agenda. And that figure is based on the false assumption that people would continue to work, save, and invest when subject to a 100 percent flat tax. The reality is that progressive promises can only be funded by increasing taxes on the middle class from three to 10 times their current level or, for a limited time, by dramatic and unsustainable increases in federal borrowing.
Now isn't it interesting that none of what I'm telling you will be used at the next Democratic debate by any so-called journalist, because it's written by the Heritage Foundation? But you're not going to get a serious, studious examination of the numbers by left-wing think tanks. You're certainly not going to get them by the media. Again, this is a very damaging thing the media do to this country.

So confiscating every dollar earned by taxpayers with incomes over $200,000 would not come close to paying for the Left's agenda. Ok? Not even come close."



“In other words, you’re paying 100 percent of your income, plus you’re paying a payroll tax, various withholding taxes. So you’re paying over 100 percent on every dollar you earn, and it still doesn’t work.”
Yet, I still have to ask myself daily, knowing what we ALL know of the Democratic Party (past/present/future?!), even taking into account Republican clunkiness, why such a large number of citizens, Americans, would knowingly elect such destructive Democratic radicals to office with equally destructive agendas? Either they just don't know, or unfortunately more likely, all they can see is imperfection, real or perceived (more so the latter), irrespective of the benefits they've ALL acquire through America's majesty, which in turn points to self-defeating absurdity that will affect us ALL if we allow the allure to snare us. Don't let it.

Related links: Whitewashing the Democratic Party’s History
The Inconvenient Truth About the Democratic Party
Democrats vs. the Constitution
The Constitution Is an Obstacle to Realizing the Democratic Agenda
Trump isn’t the biggest threat to the Constitution. Democrats are.
Mark Levin: Greatest Threat To Constitution Isn't Foreign, It's The Democrats; "These Are Sick People"

ADDENDUM: By the way, as Levin writes, "America’s poorest citizens are wealthier than 60% of the rest of the developed world, yet the left continues to say that capitalism does not work. Again, this is the media lying to us about race, racism, hunger, poverty, and law enforcement."

Posted by an ebb and flow at 4:47 PM

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Where's their tone?! The media has crossed the line...

Week after week, for years honestly, we've bore witness to precisely why Levin wrote his latest book on the corrupt, biased, agenda-driven Media, as opposed to a much needed free press revival of which America is so desperately starving for. Yet, their open omissions have been on full-bore display this week, and as one writer puts it, the media has now crossed a line and there's no going back...
This has been one of the most hectic and disturbing news cycles I can remember.

It started off with three mass shootings within a 24 hour period, one in El Paso, one in Dayton, and one in Chicago. Because the latter two didn’t fit the narrative, they were essentially memory-holed right away. I don’t think the shooting in Chicago even made national news for the most part.

While acts of evil are distressing enough, it was the response to those shootings which has brought such a unique dread to the public sphere. Bad things have happened throughout our history, but the venom with which one side is attacking the other over things they had nothing to do with has reached a new level in the modern era. It really does feel like we are coming apart at the seams, with near majorities of the country being accused of “white supremacy” by some major figures simply for supporting a politician.

Driving the division, broad brushing, and hatred this week has been the liberal media. Whether it’s newspapers amplifying the disgusting rhetoric of people like Beto O’Rourke and Elizabeth Warren or the constant stream of divisive, racially tinged editorials that are being pushed out, there’s no question of their role. The cable news beat has been even worse, with one MSNBC host actually saying that Donald Trump wants there to be mass shootings while another threatened business owners as complicit in white supremacy who donate to the GOP.

I never thought I’d say this during the Trump era because things are always so crazy, but this week was different. A line was crossed by the media and there’s no going back.

Here’s a sampling of some of the insane and incredibly dangerous rhetoric that’s been bandied about.



Meanwhile, you had outlets like The Daily Beast making up quotes in order to further incite hatred toward Mitch McConnell. That hatred manifested in a protest outside his house where people actually screamed that they wanted to stab the Senate Majority Leader in the heart. Twitter decided to scrub the video from their platform for obvious reasons, but here’s another source.



Things escalated further when Joaquin Castro decided to publicly post a chart containing the names, addresses, and employers of Trump donors. This was obviously done to spurn harassment of those individuals, who included retirees and a homemaker among the list of non-public figures. There would be no other reason to do what Castro did, even though he’s attempting to claim otherwise now.

While the press continues to blame Republicans for their “rhetoric,” there’s no question that the vitriol we’ve seen from the left this week dwarfs anything anyone on the mainstream right has ever said or done in a political setting. Period. Calling entire voting blocks white supremacists, doxxing donors, yelling for the death of a Senator, asserting Republicans want mass shootings to occur, threatening people for their political activities, asserting the President wants to exterminate a race – these are not the rantings of sane people looking for de-escalation of rhetoric. They are the drivers of escalation in our rhetoric and it’s reaching dangerous levels.

There’s no coming back from this for the media. There will never be a time when a majority of the country trusts them again. They will always now be looked on with scorn by far more people than those who approve of their actions. No amount of rehabilitation post-Trump is going to save this current generation of journalists and cable news pundits from the credibility death spiral they chose to enter.

These people have lost it. They are so caught up in their bubbles that they can’t even function with any sense of rationality. When the press as an institution finally burns to the ground, they have no one to blame but themselves and things are only going to get worse.
They hurriedly bypass the victims to cut directly to screaming "RACIST!" and worse. None of these examples are news, folks. This is pure propaganda used in much of the same fashion as past regimes (yes, the ones they're constantly comparing the majority of Americans and our duly elected representatives to). 

Gutfeld hit the nail on the head with that old saying: "A conservative thinks a liberal is wrong, but a liberal thinks a conservative is evil." And that's exactly where the Left, both politicos and punditry, have taken it. 

So, when they lecture us on tone, where the hell is theirs?! It's too busy inflaming beyond the pale, which when carelessly incessant as it continues to be day in and day out, can tie dangerous actions to the rhetoric that directs undiscerning viewers, and dare I even mention unstable minds (not the first, won't be the last to lay out that consideration).

Related links: A Batty Week at MSNBC
The Media’s Disgusting Bloodlust
Mass Shootings in Gun-Free Zones
Posted by an ebb and flow at 3:23 PM

Monday, August 5, 2019

America's moral crisis points to the real root cause of mass murder

...we already knew that following these horrific slaughters that the media would blame President Trump, the NRA, and the second amendment. However, the one word we’re not hearing is — virtue. Virtue has been pushed off of television, out of the movie theaters, and even out of the public square... As such, morality is up for grabs, this is the breakdown of our civil society. Virtue, morality, and faith cannot be legislated. We should celebrate morality and virtue for only faith and a commitment to law and order [stops] acts such as these, not more government. ...maybe we should get back to tried and true morals and values that reinforce our society as a whole. ~ Mark Levin, 8/5/19
In the wake of these horrific mass shootings, we receive the same, tiresome wash-rinse-repeat pattern of media and politician alike: the demagoguery of gun control calls that will further disarm the law-abiding while the law-breakers ignore, the constant racialization of the 'white' mass shooter while ignoring inner city and overall gun violence statistics that point to the contrary, and the further propagandizing of always blaming the Right when there are overwhelming linkages to the Left. But as tired and predictable as these reactions have become, Selwyn Duke expands much in the same way that Levin does above, "In truth, the main underlying cause of increased mass-murder events -- and so much evil in general -- is a severe philosophical/spiritual malaise besetting our nation."

Duke begins walking us down this deteriorating path with the soulless breakdown of psychology in its 19th century divorce from philosophy to deem it a science, thus decimating the very existence of morality and culminating into what's often referred to as moral relativism, which inevitably leads to moral nihilism...
For if man’s “values,” which really are just people’s preferences, are all there is, then morality doesn’t actually exist.

This idea has swept society, as evidenced by a Barna Group research company study I often cite. It found that, in 2002 already, a minority of Americans and only six percent of teens believed in Truth (absolute by definition), with a majority saying, quite oxymoronically, “Truth is relative.”

Forget Protagoras [“Man is the measure of all things.”], the problem with this is that it also boils down to occultist Aleister Crowley’s maxim, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.” Moral relativism/nihilism is the ultimate justification. Rape, kill, steal -- commit mass murder? Who’s to say it’s wrong? Don’t impose your values on me, dude.

This moral relativism/nihilism -- along, of course, with the godlessness of which it’s a corollary -- is our deep cultural malaise. It has been encouraged by modern psychology and so many other things; it is why, while we once viewed misbehavior and criminality as moral problems, we now consider them psychological problems. In other words, the organic robot is malfunctioning, a result of a defect in its hardware (genetics) or software (programming).

Translation: Forget that mythical thing called morality; we need to find out what kind of chemical intervention or programming alteration (or future gene therapy) can correct the machine’s operation.

This cultural malaise is devastating. Stop believing in something (i.e., morality) and you’ll cease learning about it; this is why most today can’t explain what virtues (“good moral habits”) are, let alone enumerate any great number of them (charity, diligence, chastity, honesty, prudence, etc.).

Moreover, if you neither believe in nor understand something, it follows that you’ll have neither the inclination nor capacity to teach it. Is it any surprise, then, that moderns are doing such a poor job imparting morality to children?

Returning for a moment to the El Paso shooter, do you want to bet that he and his father aren’t part of the morally relativistic/nihilistic majority? How likely is it that dad provided old-fashioned discipline and inculcated his son with virtue?

Interestingly, I’ve long pointed out that when people can no longer reference Truth when making moral decisions, the only yardstick they have left is emotion. Ergo, the modern credo, “If it feels good, do it.” Barna’s study vindicated this, mind you, finding that most Americans now “base their moral choices on feelings.”
And I think most of us are all too familiar with where feelings-over-facts have gotten us in the 21st century: confused, angry and divided. So it stands to reason that if emotions hold sway, then perhaps it's worth looking into what shapes these feelings. And despite kickback across the spectrum of political thought, Duke poses considerations of contributing factors to our moral decay...
Just consider, for instance, the mindless, gratuitous violence; prurient sexuality; and morally nihilistic messages in modern movies and television programs.

Note something else also, and this is where I get pushback even from conservatives and (especially) libertarians, as it slaughters many people’s sacred entertainment cows and, they fear, may imply censorship’s necessity. Studies have shown that 15 years after television’s introduction -- and this is true the world over -- crime increased precipitously. (I explored this in-depth here.) Now consider that the Internet is TV10.

Video games are a factor as well (and this is where I really get pushback). Lt. Col. David Grossman, one of the world’s foremost experts on what he calls “killology,” contends that simulated video-game participatory violence (and the extreme violence on TV) amount to the kind of conditioning/desensitization used to inure soldiers to killing.

Then, of course, with mass shootings there’s also the psychotropic-medication factor and the copycat phenomenon. As to the latter, in a morally relativistic/nihilistic world where all is vanity, mass murder can be an alluring ticket to fame for those wallowing in meaninglessness.
While those are certainly considerations, again, the bottom line comes down to morality, or a lack thereof...or, even more precisely, to a lack of belief in it.
Note here that the six percent of 2002 teens who believed in Truth simply reflect a pattern, as each succeeding generation is more relativistic/nihilistic than the last. This also corresponds to the generational increase in wickedness. It’s as strong a correlation as you’ll find anywhere.

Say what you will about TV, the Internet, video games, violence, or mass murder, it can’t be right or wrong if there is no right or wrong. It’s the ultimate self-evident reality: How can you build a moral society when its shades-of-gray people don’t even believe in morality?
In other words, as Chris Banescu puts it, "America faces a moral crisis, not a gun control problem."
As God and morality are purged from all our institutions, darkness, chaos, evil, and violence grow to fill in the gap. There is no political solution or regulation that will stop these evildoers. Only more armed law-abiding citizens and a true spiritual and moral revival will help reduce these atrocities and protect innocent lives. ...

We are now reaping the results of rejecting God and His moral laws, truth, and wisdom.
God help us to recover the virtue so desperately needed again.
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...
...Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions. Take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatsoever else may hinder us from godly, union and concord: that as there is but one Body and one Spirit, and one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Related links: Mass shootings: What is and is not capable of political solutions
Mass shootings: The unicorn gun control policy as the magic solution



"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indespensible supports. It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government." ~ George Washington

"We may look up to armies for our defense, but virtue is our best security. It is not possible that any state should long remain free where virtue is not supremely honored." ~ Samuel Adams

"Virtue must underlay all institutional arrangements if they are to be healthy and strong. The principles of democracy are easily destroyed as human nature is corrupted." ~ John Adams

Related links: Levin: America doesn’t need ‘more laws, more government.’ It needs more virtue
Levin, Limbaugh, the Left & Media, and Mass Shootings
Posted by an ebb and flow at 11:59 PM

Friday, August 2, 2019

Of bread and hen...

In today's hyperbolic attitude of entitlement and identity politics demanded by the few elites, referencing a couple of Reagan's little treatises on basic economics and the individual's struggle against the tyranny of the state are certainly in order for sufficient ammunition against the detrimental forces at work...

The Incredible Bread Machine...



The Little Red Hen...



History truly does repeat itself, and the leftist marriage of media and polity gives pause to reflect on these basic tenets of capitalism vs socialism, self-reliance vs dependency, ingenuity vs ignorance, liberty vs tyranny.
Posted by an ebb and flow at 6:10 PM

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

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

It's cause and effect that cannot be ignored

Great piece on CR regarding that awful pic that everyone's seen by now of the drowned father and daughter washed up on the shores of the Rio Grande, and before I go any further with this, let us offer a prayer for the deceased...
O GOD, whose mercies cannot be numbered; Accept our prayers on behalf of the souls of thy servants departed, and grant them an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of thy saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Now, the Left immediately seized on this tragedy, and I'm certain every Democratic nominee in the first freakshow debate, as well as their Democratic 'moderators', have politicized it to the hilt (I dunno, didn't watch it, know they all sounded off beforehand with the usual 'blame Trump' lines). But first things first: neither the President nor his administration are making people risk life and limb to come to our shores. That's free will to make right or wrong choices, and when some of those choices involve illegal activity, the results can unfortunately be tragic. It certainly doesn't help one bit when a political party incentivizes lawbreaking in the first place!

I agree with Nate Madden that we cannot, nor shouldn't, ignore the real border crisis that's going on, BUT we also shouldn't ignore its very real causes either...
...the administration has been dealing with month after month after month of record numbers of border apprehensions and changing demographics driven by a combination of what National Review editor Rich Lowry describes as “bizarre asylum rules” and inadequate security at the U.S.-Mexico border. These have left enforcement agencies grossly overburdened.

Meanwhile, it has been almost two months since the administration requested emergency border funding to address the ongoing crisis, and a supplemental measure addressing it only passed the House Tuesday evening (where funding bills have to begin, per the Constitution.) That spending package, however, contains no funding for additional border security measures.

It’s also important to keep in mind, congressional Republicans and the Trump administration started trying to address the asylum policies that created the current crisis over a year ago.

And, in case anyone forgot, this isn’t America’s first crisis of this nature. The journey north was still dangerous and the asylum incentives were similar five years ago, the swell of minors from Central America claiming refugee status as Unaccompanied Alien Children got so bad that then-President Barack Obama had to warn Central American parents to stop sending their kids here.

 “Do not send your children to the borders,” Obama warned. “If they do make it, they’ll get sent back; more importantly, they might not make it.”

Look, it’s right to feel pangs of horror and sadness upon seeing a picture of a drowned father and daughter. It’s right to say it’s bad when kids don’t have soap and toothbrushes at detention facilities. These are objectively bad things, but we cannot pretend away the factors that actually created these conditions.

The humanitarian crisis at our southern border is indeed horrific. It was horrific before this picture was taken. It was horrific before the detention centers became as crowded as they currently are. That’s why it’s so important to fix this crisis the right way and prevent others of its kind from happening again.

 You can’t fix a problem when you won’t admit what’s causing it, and as long as our current asylum and security problems persist, this crisis simply won’t go away.
And as long as one political party refuses to do anything towards control of our borders, towards preserving our national sovereignty, towards law and order in our nation that benefits our civil society, this chaos continues...
The situation at the border is so terrible in part because those in power, and those cheering them on in the media, have steadfastly resisted commonsense measures to reduce the flow of illegal migrants — the large majority of whom do not have a valid claim of asylum — across the border. The resulting paralysis in border policy encourages more migrants to come, making the situation worse by the day.

Perhaps some...only want to deny the president a victory, no matter how sensible. Perhaps others are simply looking for a partisan advantage. Perhaps some sincerely believe in open, or virtually open, borders. It does not matter what their motives are. The crisis — yes, crisis — at the border worsens every day they do not act.
Related link: Being for Sovereignty and Security is the Ultimate Pro-Life Position

ADDENDUM: And the party's media mouthpieces can no longer deny the crisis either...


Related links: Must-Watch Video Of Media Claiming Border Security Is A 'Manufactured Crisis'
After Months of Denying, Cable Journalists Admit ‘Crisis’ at Border
Posted by an ebb and flow at 11:59 PM
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