America Transformed?

I explored several different ideas and themes for this post. I was going to share my experience of being immersed in media this week, and the struggle to regain clarity. I was going to talk about how diabolical the government/media enterprise are in their pursuit of power. I was going to rant a while about the Obama czars. I was going to go on about the utter ruthlessness of a congress and an administration who would exploit the death of one of their own for their political gain. But I think I'll start off this way.

I heard it said this week that America is being transformed before our very eyes. The speaker's point was that all the things taking place in the Obama administration and the democrat party are attempts to radically change America. He was only partially right. America is not yet being transformed by all the madness in the White House and the Capitol.

The federal government is not the country, and the country is not the federal government.

The federal government is being transformed.

The Obama administration is being transformed into something most Americans wouldn't recognize. They are driven by a foreign collectivist impulse to centralize as much power and authority as possible unto themselves. From banking and insurance to automotive manufacturing the federal government has unprecedented control over a large portion of the economy. The Obama attorney general has decided to make the Central intelligence agency his sandbox, and has used the authority of his office to launch an investigation of CIA practices, over the stated objections of his own president.

The congress has seen fit to impose themselves on another piece of the economy under the false guise of health care reform. At the same time they have mounted a frontal assault on private insurers by demanding compensation records and travel expenses and other information which is no business of theirs. They've already stomped on the CIA. And they're working on legislation which would empower the president of the United States to take control of private computer networks in the event of some unknown cybersecurity disaster.

If recent reports are accurate, Mr. Obama has stacked his administration with nearly forty czars, not subject to congressional approval and accountable only to himself. By and large, these are some of the most radical individuals to ever walk the halls of power, and they serve there at Mr. Obama's invitation and pleasure. The congress with its Democrat majority has allowed itself to be co-opted by a leftist/radical agenda. Egged on by a compliant, if not outright complicit media, they have come together in a government/media enterprise which threatens the very fabric of American society.

Many have said, myself included, that the 2010 mid-term election could be the turning point. After this week I find myself compelled to say that there needs to be a turning point right now. We can't wait until 2010. The government of the most powerful nation in the world is being transformed into an instrument of oppression and repression.

In a previous post I wrote that because of our poorly chosen elected representatives, "We the People" would have to look after American values and ideals ourselves. The gravity of the current situation underscores the urgency with which we need to be about that task. The same groundswell of opposition to health care reform must arise against every leftist/radical/collectivist idea, impulse or initiative that comes out of the government/media enterprise.

In conversations with family, friends and co-workers there are a couple of recurring themes. They say it's too late to do anything about this, or they're scared, worried and/or afraid. The first statement is totally inaccurate and comes mostly from people who have yet to reach what I call the tipping point, people who are more concerned about the ramifications of getting up and getting involved than of sitting back and watching. The issue of fear is a little different. Fear is a most excellent motivator. My tipping point cost me three nights sleep and three days of anxiety before I decided to join the fray. Fear that doesn't motivate is an indulgence. It wasn't self-indulgence that gave rise to the Revolutionary-era tea parties, but a willingness to sacrifice time life and livelihood to preserve, protect and defend the American ideal in its infancy. Nor was it self-indulgence that propelled the once-silent majority into the streets on April 15, 2009 once again in defense of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

When America faces existential threats from enemies foreign and domestic, when her own government seems dedicated to dismantling the ideals and principles which formed the foundation of our Republic, when many of our enduring institutions have been co-opted by a leftist/radical/collectivist machine, "We the People" have two choices in the face of this creeping tryanny - acquiescence or resistance. We lose or we win. There's not much room in the middle.

I remain optimistic about our chances. The tea party fervor hasn't faded. In fact it has been bolstered by the passion generated by the health care debate. A friend, whose insight I value, says that this rising tide of opposition appears to have held off the long-term changes the Obama administration has sought. I hope and pray that he's right.

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

Ramblings

OK, so it's been a while since my last post. Wow - I don't even know where to begin! I'll just ramble on for a while and see where I get to.

In an earlier post I added a new word to the American political lexicon - palinization. This time around I'm adding a new note to my personal stylebook. Previously, I've also referred to the Leftist/Democrat/State-run Media establishment or cabal. I've decided to abbreviate that to LDSrM. Also, in order to further reflect the monolithic nature of the LDSrM and its quasigovernmental-parapolitical-propagandistic relationship to the Obama administration and their allies in the Congress, LDSrm will be used interchangably with government/media enterprise. All independent media sources will be referred to by their names and given attribution when required.

Thomas Jefferson said, "A little rebellion now and then is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government". We the People have rediscovered the republican instincts of freedom that gave birth to this nation, and have taken President Jefferson's prescription for ourselves, and are now applying that strong medicine to our government. We've decided that a return to tyranny is a fate worse than death, and have also chosen to ignore the euthanasian impulses so prevalent among the LDSrM.

We have rediscovered the principle that America and her government are not always the same things. Case in point - any government that has officials who advocate for forced sterilization as a method of population control and assert that babies don't attain to humanity until years after birth (www.zombietime.com/john_holdren, www.lifenews.com/nat5296.html) does not reflect the views or the values of the America I know. These are just a couple of positions attributed to President Obama's new science advisor, John Holdren.

There is also a stark difference between our America and what passes for academia. Holdren's analogue in the academic world can be found at the University of Oregon. William McGurn writes in the Wall Street Journal Online about a study published by Murtaugh and Schlax entitled, "Reproduction and the Carbon Legacies of Individuals". Their basic premise, quoted in its entirety, is that, "...a person is responsible for the emissions of his descendants, and their relatedeness to him." According to them, they don't make any policy recommendations. But they seem to believe that lowering the rate of population growth reduces the strain on the planet - I think - not really sure. Even the west coast organ of record for the government/media enterprise was moved to ask, "Tie Your Tubes and Save the Planet?"

McGurn also writes that two British doctors published a similar "study" in the British Medical Journal stating that, "'Having one less child is the simplest and biggest gift' anyone could give to a more habitable planet". They further suggest that Britian promote "environmental ethics", as in fewer children is analogous to "avoiding patio heaters and high-carbon cars".

These guys are statisticians and medical doctors. It looks like they're trying to establish their green credentials with junk math and science. And an avowed eugenicist has, not only the approval of the United States Senate, but the ear of the President as well. They've apparently missed that whole replacement birth-rate thing....

Finally, there is a great chasm between America and the majority of her elected representatives. Mr. Obama has activated his Organizing for (against) America campaign calling for volunteers to go quell dissent against health care reform, or is it health insurance reform? Apparently the major labor unions are on board as well, with John Sweeney's AFL-CIO marshalling a 1,000,000 member "health care task force". I would expect Andy Stern and SEIU to be involved in a similar effort at Mr. Obama's behest. Nancy Pelosi has called us Nazis. Others have described us as "rabid right-wing extremists", "mobs", and the now familiar "astroturf". I don't care what they call me as long as they lose in the end!

They are absolutely hell-bent on cramming their deficits and taxes and socialism and radical leftist government/media enterprise down our throats. Yet congressional trust and popularity is in the teens percentage-wise, and Mr. Obama has slipped to less than 50% in some polls, having lost the support of his electoral majority. His White House is hosting a snitch email box for tips on those of us spreading "disinformation" and "fishy" stuff about whatever health-related reform he's doing - is it care or insurance this week? I can't ever think of a time when the government, media and organized labor have set themselves in open and direct opposition to America.

Several weeks ago I wrote that, short of Divine intervention, the only thing that would stop them was a groundswell of opposition to their schemes. I'm gratified and encouraged to see just such a groundswell taking place. The America I know and love has finally awakened to the fact that all these forces arrayed against her must be taken seriously. If the government/media enterprise are successful in remaking our America into the second-world cradle-to-grave welfare state they seem to desire, our America will cease to exist.

God save America - please!

Eternal vigilance is the price of not sitting idly by while the LDSrM government/media enterprise works 24/7 to run this country into the ground.

Civics

I'm part of a local meetup dedicated to the 9 Principles and 12 Values as put forth by Fox Television's Glenn Beck earlier this year. We had a very lively discussion at the close of our most recent meeting about the state of our country and how we got here.

One of the presenters, who gave a talk on enumerated powers of the Federal government, put forward the idea that the pervasive corruption in Washington DC is our fault - the voters who send the legislators back there over and over again. Then someone else suggested that the genesis of the problem lay with education in the United States, which raised the ire of a teacher who was present. This teacher then made an impassioned plea for parental and civic involvement in the educational process.

In the course of listening to the discussion, I had an epiphany of sorts. I was making notes and wrote down CIVICS EDUCATION in capital letters and underlined and circled it. Twenty-seven years out of high school, I wasn't sure how to define it. Needless to say I spent a little time looking around the Internet after I got home.

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute uses the term civic literacy and defines it as, "knowledge of America's founding principles and texts, core history and enduring institutions". Their organization has done extensive surveys to measure the extent of civic literacy (or illiteracy) in America. Their website, www.americancivicliteracy.org, has the dismal results of their survey over the last few years. The website includes a civics quiz and a host of resources for parents, students and educators. I would definitely recommend this website to anyone interested in furthering their own awareness of civic literacy and education.

John Adams wrote in 1765 that "Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right and a desire to know". The only way to reverse what has become of the enduring institution of our Federal government is by increasing that "general knowledge" through civic literacy.

We the people have no right to expect our elected officials to comport themselves within the bounds of their oaths of office, if we have no idea why we elected them in the first place. If we are to have any hope of reversing the freedom-killing, authoritarian and socialist policies of this current administration and congress, we must begin at the beginning to understand why America is here and what kind of nation and people we're supposed to be. Reversing the fog of ignorance that has settled over America in the last hundred years is one of the most urgent tasks we face today.

Eternal vigilance is the price of understanding and defending liberty.