Tag Archives: Politics

LIARS – Explicit and Implicit

Homespun philosophy, Politics, , , ,

THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO BE FOOLED. ONE IS TO BELIEVE WHAT IS NOT TRUE; THE OTHER IS TO REFUSE TO BELIEVE WHAT IS TRUE.
Soren Kirkegaard
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And so today we act as fools, because of a supposed “law”. The people of the United States can no longer close their eyes, minds and hearts to the explicit lies of our highest ranking leaders. We have also been treated to the explicit and implicit lies of all those who support those “leaders”: those who are true believers in the lies and those who just go along to get along.

What happens to a nation of liars and oath breakers? What happens to those who choose to believe and support and be enslaved by those lies and liars? If the truth will set us free then the opposite must also be true, when we believe a lie we become slaves to that lie.

If we believe what is not true, implicitly we are passive in our own downfall. If we refuse to believe what is true then we are explicitly partners in what our future holds.

Consider what it does to our own souls when we ACCEPT such lies and are either too lazy or too apathetic to confront the lies and demand the truth. Do we then also become implicit liars, no better than those in power who lie to perpetuate their power?

Lies at this point seem to be coin of the realm and are spent by many.

When our three older children were young (and we still had a TV), the kids liked to watch AMERICA’S MOST WANTED. They all had a highly developed sense of the necessity for bad guys to get caught and punished for their crimes and it pained them to see someone “getting away with it.” I tried to explain to them that no one “gets away” with anything, that we are what we are. One day I made it really simple and introduced the idea of a lie that they might have told and thought they “got away with” because no one else “caught” them. Then I asked, “Are you still a liar or not?” As young as they were they could see the point that until they confessed and determined not to ever lie again, they would remain liars. Then we could discuss whether a politician who lies, or a thief or a murderer can really “get away with it.”

Of course we have all told what we consider to be “white” lies, and we do have need of change. One can always find something positive to say without lying, or maybe the truth just needs to be out there. Until we accept our own culpability and make the necessary changes, we remain what we are. If we are liars we remain liars still. Our very souls remain calcified until we break the shells we build to hide from ourselves.

Our leaders seem to have highly calcified and impregnable shells, and they continue in their lies. We need to call their game so we are free from the lies placed upon us.

WHAT MAKES A LAW

Politics,

WHAT MAKES A LAW

One thing people seem to misunderstand is what a LAW really is. RIGHTS are natural and given to us by our Creator. Laws are made by men in order to accomplish various goals, such as protecting rights and property, maintaining order, restraining harmful behavior, defending against enemies, etc. Laws are necessary in order to ensure civilized behavior and to prevent anarchy.

From time to time bad laws are enacted and must be removed from the books. Perhaps the worst thing is when there is such a multitude of laws that no one can possibly know them all. Ignorance of the law then becomes a rational excuse for law breaking. “I didn’t know the gun was loaded. . .” may sound like a crazy defense, but “I didn’t know I’m not allowed to fish here. . .” may be very rational.

One aspect of law that is never discussed any more is “Equality before the law” as set forth in Article XVI of our Constitution. If one person (let alone thousands of government and union workers) is excused from a law how then can it remain a “law”? To be a law in truth it must apply to everyone equally. Obamacare should be thrown out on that basis alone. If one person is excused from the provisions of that law it is no longer a law, and anyone who chooses not to enter into the program (which is what it really is) should also be excused from its requirements.

Why is this principle of legal jurisprudence not addressed by anyone, not even judges and lawyers. Only “We The People” discuss this with friends and scratch our heads at the stupidity of things like hate crimes. Only whites can commit them? Really? There are Minority Set Asides of all kinds. How does that work? And what about the graft and corruption in the building trades when only certain minority groups have any chance of winning bids? And Affirmative Action in Education hurts ALL when the brightest are not even allowed to enroll in colleges and universities if they are Oriental or Caucasian and even the most capable and intelligent blacks become suspect under such programs.

The list of misuse of the Law is lengthy and brings such divisiveness to society. Abraham Lincoln, one of the great Presidents ever, the man who led a war to free the slaves, in his time of trial often repeated the Biblical injunction that a house divided against itself cannot stand.

Will we stand as friends and citizens today, or will our house remain divided?
For so it is.

Government Shutdown

Economics, Politics, , , , ,

         WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BUDGET BATTLE AND THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN?

Do we really know which individuals, or groups, are responsible for the debt ceiling battle, the government shutdown and all the ugliness that has erupted? Who should the American people hold accountable?

Under the Constitution of the United States, the House of Representatives holds the purse strings and is charged with submitting a budget for each fiscal year, and there is a debt ceiling which is, supposedly, not to be exceeded. The budget proposed by the House is sent to the Senate where that body adds its demands for funding, then the budget goes before a joint conference committee for resolution. Both Houses vote on the finished product and once it is passed they forward it to the President for veto or signature. At least that’s how things are SUPPOSED to work.

In reality the budget forwarded by the House is loaded with pork barrel spending by the Senate and by both Houses during reconciliation. Thus the politicians can reward themselves and their cronies, and powerful voting blocs in each state get more funding. The longer members of Congress serve, the more powerful they become and the more pork they bring home, keeping their constituents happy and voting for them. So they keep playing the same old game, year after year.

Other methods of increased spending include supplemental spending resolutions and adding a desired unfunded program or project and cost as a rider on a completely unrelated bill. Everyone turns a blind eye to such shenanigans, and yet again the taxpayers are looted.

The President usually also presents a budget, making clear where his priorities lie. This President’s budgets have been rejected every year since he took office. NO ONE IN EITHER PARTY HAS EVER VOTED FOR HIS BUDGETS. Under this President the game has changed and there is a method to his madness. He prefers to have no limits on his power and with no budget he can unconstitutionally keep spending. That means that every time we reach the debt ceiling another battle erupts. And the cowards in the House of Representatives never have the courage to close the purse.

The passing of the fiscal budget is a CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT, so both Houses appear to have evaded their duties. However, the House has regularly forwarded budgets to the Senate where ONE MAN, the odious Senate President, Harry Reid, has pronounced them DOA. Does he then negotiate with the House or attempt to resolve the issue? Not Slimy Harry. He throws the proposed budget someplace (a drawer, a garbage can? Who knows?). He then “forgets” that budget, everyone happily keeps spending, and the government faces another shut down and a trillion dollar addition to the “debt ceiling” to allow even more spending. As the old children’s song says, “The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round. . .”

And so, with no budgetary restraints, the Senate President and the President of the United States have proceeded to rape the Treasury and the citizens of this country, and each year increase their power exponentially. They now think they are so powerful there’s nothing that can be done to stop them and they can take whatever they want. You can always tell who the bad guys are. . . They are the ones who don’t care what happens to ANYONE but themselves and THEY DON’T CARE IF YOU KNOW IT.

There are words, dishonorable, oath breakers, liars and sinners come to mind, for those who have no conscience. The word that truly fits, though, is PSYCHOPATH. Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear have now been shown President Barack Obama and Senator Harry Reid for who and what they truly are. 

THEY BOTH SHOULD BE IMPEACHED, NO MATTER WHAT THE PAIN MAY BE TO THE NATION. 

As for the cowards in the House and the abettors in the Senate, perhaps they need to be turned out to pasture as soon as possible.

We have let badness stand too long and now have but two choices, fight for freedom or allow evil to stand. Will the people be willing to bear that pain? Which choice will you and I make?

God will not hold us guiltless if we quit.

AFTER THE CAVE-IN BY HOUSE REPUBLICANS:

Now here we are, a trillion dollars more in debt and a few months to try and settle a new budget, which, by design, will never happen. And a new budget and debt ceiling loom. Add Obamacare to this mix and try to guess the debt ceiling next time. What’s a few trillion between thieves?

The always kind and thoughtful Harry Reid says that Ted Cruz is a laughing-stock. Methinks Harry forgot to look in the mirror this morning.