Hail Caligula and His Horse, Incitatus!

Dear Abby,

I had a friend who, when they were with me, made me believe that I was the most important thing to them. They told me that their most highest goal was to help me be the best I could be, that they would help me take care of my family, that they would make sure we had the best of everything. They said if I would help them move to another city, that they would be able to do more for me, to make my life even better than before. I believed them, got my friends to help them too, working day and night to make sure they had what they needed for the move.

Then they moved away....

Now they never call or write unless they need something, which, in their case, is all too often. They're guilting me and my friends into doing more for them, frightening us too, telling us if we don't help them someone might hurt them, even hurt us. What kind of person would promise to give us everything, then work as hard as they can to take it away?

They say they know what's best for me and my friends. Something just doesn't feel right. I can’t trust them anymore. Abby, what should I do?

Signed,

Failed by a Friend

This sentiment expressed in the fictional letter above has been given voice millions of time in the last year, but not about a faithless friend. It is an indictment of the political class in America.

People in elected office all over the country have broken faith with their constituents. Politicians turned starry-eyed crowds of admirers into believers in the unbelievable, in the hope that, if they were elected to office, things would change. If they got power they could improve our schools and roads, make our children safer, not raise or cut taxes, grow the economy, strengthen our nation at home and make us more respected abroad, make health care available to everyone, slow the rise of the oceans and fundamentally transform the United States of America.

What do the starry-eyed crowds have to show for the time, toil and treasure, all the promises? Graft and corruption - dissipation and venality - millions spent for liquor, junkets and junk - democrat degeneracy, progressive profligacy, and Republican reprobacy. It's not for nothing that most Americans believe the country is on the wrong track.

The central problem is not the country, but the government. Very few Americans approve of Congress. In fact, that anyone in America approves of their actions indicates that there is something wrong with that segment of the population.

The government/media enterprise is working overtime to convince people that their best hope for social, economic and ecological justice is a second-world remake of our enduring institutions. Know-nothing politicians cite the general welfare clause from Article 1 section 8 of the U.S. Constitution as the source of the penumbra from which emanates the "right" to health care, and then proceed to ram the legislation through the Congress and down our throats. They justify their actions by claiming a majority support this, when the truth is that 61% of Americans believe the current proposals need to be scrapped. President Obama says we will recognize the value of his plan once health reform is passed and the furor dies down. Yet, while hosting the Republicans at a heath care summit at Blair House, he has a proposal ready for passage via reconciliation in the Senate.

Long ago in the health care or health insurance "reform" debate, Obamacare was derided as a trojan horse for socialism. I would submit that, based on their imperious attitude toward the American people, the imperial House, Senate, and Obama administration are more like the dissolute Roman emperor, Caligula. Obamacare is more like Caligula's horse, Incitatus who, according to legend, was put forward by Caligula as a member of the Roman senate. Hail Caligula and the horse, Incitatus!

Like Caligula, Congress and the administration require homage and tribute from their subjects. They name bridges, parks, post offices and office buildings after themselves. They memorialize themselves in airports, universities, and even statues. Like Caligula, who worshipped Incitatus the horse as the embodiment of at least six Roman deities, and provided him a gold and ivory stable encrusted stable, President Obama (“sort of god… above the country….”, according to Newsweek Magazine editor Evan Thomas) and Congress have wrapped Obamacare in the gilded box of social and economic justice and deficit reduction. They demand obeisance and fidelity to Obamacare and command Republicans and C-SPAN to summits in its name.

Jeers to President Barack Obama and the progressive majority of the 110^th Congress for fiddling with health care while the economy burned! Their legacy will be written in the red ink of profligacy and crushing debt. Their squander of American treasure would make even Caligula blush. Incitatus, too....

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

Dotting the I's and Crossing the T's of Health Care "Reform"

While Nancy and Harry are rushing to get their health "reform" bills reconciled, we hope they're able, in view of their compressed time frame, to dot the "i's" and cross the "t's".

We'll do that here at Eternal Vigilance, as well.

These bills, from inception to final votes, are - ill-founded, ill-advised, ignoble, ignominious, illegitimate, illusory, ill-conceived, irrevocable (in some respects), irredeemable, irritating, infuriating (in all respects), and insensate.

The process by which these bills have been forced upon the American people has been - taxing, tiring, treacherous, tricky, tactless, trying, truculent, tyrannizing, (generally) truthless, (always) troubling, trumped-up, and a travesty.

Unfortunately, these are times when words alone just aren't enough. If you identify with these sentiments, please continue to contact your elected representatives - make your voices heard up and down the halls of government. Remind the members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate of their sworn constitutional obligation, that they serve at your pleasure, and that, absent this getting stopped, you intend to make them keenly aware of your displeasure in November.

Urge them, with Thomas Paine's immortal words, to "lead, follow, or get out of the way".

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

Harry Reid's "health reform" debacle

So Harry had to buy Senator Mary Landrieux, democrat Lousiana, to get her vote. He had to toss the so-called "public option" overboard to buy the vote of Senator Joseph Lieberman, Independent from Connecticut. Now there are supposed changes to the abortion language to mollify Senator Ben Nelson, democrat Nebraska, to get his vote. Oh yeah, almost forgot - and some unspecified amount of federal health care dollars, covered under a portion of the legislation written specifically for the state of Nebraska, to be paid beginning January 1, 2017(!).

According to Cox Radio correspondent Jamie Dupree, the abortion provision changes that satisfied Nelson have angered Representative Bart Stupak Democrat of Michigan, who calls the language "unacceptable". Politico.com reports that Stupak says he has to the votes to stop the bill.

While Stupak was making his objections known, the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), also came out against the modified abortion language in the bill. Planned Parenthood and the National Organization of Women (NOW) have raised their own objections to the Reid-Nelson abortion compromise, as well.

Does this mean that Reid's cloture-ready democrat majority is blown up again? What will it take to buy off Stupak and the House anti-abortion Democrats? Are all democrat politicians for sale? Will the pro-abortion caucus in the Senate bow to pressure from abortion interest groups and reject cloture on the bill as it now stands?

Stay tuned.

Eternal vigilance, indeed....

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.

Health Care Reform?

I just got an email from some Republican committee asking me to contribute to their “responsible” approach to health care reform, because “we need health care reform”. I have to ask “Why?”

This whole thing has been ginned up by the Leftist/Democrat establishment in Washington DC and their fellow-travelers among the Republicans. As long as Republicans and conservatives stay on the current “reform” band-wagon they give the Democrat party absolute control over the agenda.

There are any number of things the US Congress and the current administration should be focused on – Iranian and North Korean nuclear ambitions, the resurgent Russian hegemony in the former Soviet states in the Urals and the Caucasus regions, a strong national defense, security in Iraq and Afghanistan, following the law. Instead, the president and congress are pushing a radical progressive agenda the intent of which is government seizure of banking and insurance interests, a large portion of the domestic auto industry, energy and environmental policy in the guise of cap and trade – and now they’re ready to move on to health care “reform”.

Nobody has read the 1,018 page bill introduced in the US House of Representatives. Nobody has read the various pieces of the Senate bill, all of which just passed out of committee. Speaker Pelosi has said there won’t be time to allow the public time to analyze the House bill before it’s put to a final vote.

President Obama has denied that health care reform is a Trojan horse for single payer. It doesn’t matter what he calls it. To call this blatant government grab at another 20% of the US economy a Trojan horse is to insult the horse. They’re not trying to sneak this in! The House and Senate bills are a mishmash of employer mandates and penalties, regressive taxes and surtaxes, mandated coverage for individuals, privacy and health data management regulations, which will apply to everyone in America except for the President, Congress and labor unions. President Obama nor most members of Congress are empowered by their Constitutional office or equipped with the knowledge to make quality of life and health care decisions.Yet their plan is to impose a giant bureaucracy between the American people and their physicians.

We need a “reset” on domestic priorities. Republicans need to stop playing at all these reform proposals and start legislating on behalf of the people who sent them to Washington in the first place. No conservative Republican voter expects his or her legislator to kowtow to President Obama’s phony prestige and flowery rhetoric. If the Republican leadership were more concerned about their obligation to the country than they were currying favor with the Leftist/Democrat and state-run media establishment, there would be real resistance to the progressive agenda and a spirited defense of the values and principles embodied in the Constitution of the United States of America.

Elections have consequences. This administration and congress and their radical progressive allies are working around the clock to transform this country into a second-world, cradle-to-grave welfare state. Short of Divine intervention, the only other thing to stop them is a groundswell of informed and vocal opposition by you and me.

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Especially when our government so inexorably bound to special interests dedicated to rolling back two and a half centuries of American progress.