The deceit of Congress and the folly of the American public

The following was forwarded to me in an email from a friend of mine. Thought it worth sharing more widely.

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I was in my neighborhood restaurant and was seated behind a group  of jubilant individuals celebrating the successful passing of the recent health care bill. I could not finish my breakfast. This is what ensued:

They were a diverse group of several races and both sexes. I heard a young man exclaim, “Isn’t Obama like Jesus Christ? I mean, after all, he is healing the sick.” A young woman enthusiastically proclaimed, “Yeah, and he does it for free. I cannot believe anyone would think that a free market would work for health care. Another said, ‘The stupid Republicans want us all to starve to death so they can inherit all of the power. Obama should be made a Saint for what he did for those of us less fortunate.”

At this, I had more than enough.

I arose from my seat, mustering all the restraint I could find, and approached their table. “Please excuse me; may I impose upon you for one moment?” They smiled and welcomed me to the conversation. I stood at the end of their table, smiled as best I could and began an experiment.

“I would like to give one of you my house. It will cost you no money and I will pay all of the expenses and taxes for as long as you live there. Anyone interested?”

They looked at each other in astonishment. “Why would you do something like that?” asked a young man, “There isn’t anything for free in this world.” They began to laugh at me, as they did not realize this man had just made my point.

“I am serious, I will give you my house for free, no money what so ever. Anyone interested?” In unison, a resounding “H*** Yeah” fills the room.

“Since there are too many of you, I will have to make a choice as to who receives this money-free bargain.” I noticed an elderly couple was paying attention to the spectacle unfolding before their eyes, the old man shaking his head in apparent disgust. “I tell you what; I will give it to the one of you most willing to obey my rules.”

Again, they looked at one another, an expression of bewilderment on their faces. The perky young woman asked, “What are the rules?” I smiled and said, “I don’t know. I have not yet defined them. However, it is a free home that I offer you.”

They giggled amongst themselves, the youngest of which said, “What an old coot. He must be crazy to give away his home. Go take your meds, old man.”

I smiled and leaned into the table a bit further. “I am serious, this is a legitimate offer.”

They gaped at me for a moment.

“I’ll take it you old fool. Where are the keys?” boasted the youngest among them.

“Then I presume you accept ALL of my terms then?” I asked.

The elderly couple seemed amused and entertained as they watched from the privacy of their table.

“Oh h*** yeah! Where do I sign up?”

I took a napkin and wrote, “I give this man my home, without the burden of financial obligation, so long as he accepts and abides by the terms that I shall set forth upon consummation of this transaction.” I signed it and handed it to the young man who eagerly scratched out his signature.

“Where are the keys to my new house?” he asked in a mocking tone of voice.

All eyes were upon us as I stepped back from the table, pulling the keys from pocket and dangling them before the excited new homeowner.

“Now that we have entered into this binding contract, witnessed by all of your friends, I have decided upon the conditions you are obligated to adhere from this point forward. You may only live in the house for one hour a day. You will not use anything inside of the home. You will obey me without question or resistance. I expect complete loyalty and admiration for this gift I bestow upon you. You will accept my commands and wishes with enthusiasm, no matter the nature. Your morals and principles shall be as mine. You will vote as I do, think as I do and do it with blind faith. These are my terms. Here are your keys.”

I reached the keys forward and the young man looked at me dumbfounded.

“Are you out of your mind? Who would ever agree to those ridiculous terms?” the young man appeared irritated.

“You did when you signed this contract before reading it, understanding it and with the full knowledge that I would provide my conditions only after you committed to the agreement,” was all I said.

The elderly man chuckled as his wife tried to restrain him. I was looking at a now silenced and bewildered group of people.

“You can shove that stupid deal up you’re a** old man, I want no part of it” exclaimed the now infuriated young man.

“You have committed to the contract, as witnessed by all of your friends; you cannot get out of the deal unless I agree to it. I do not intend to let you free now that I have you ensnared. I am the power you agreed to. I am the one you blindly and without thought chose to enslave yourself to. In short, I am your Master.”

At this, the table of celebrating individuals became a unified group against the unfairness of the deal.

After a few moments of unrepeatable comments and slurs, I revealed my true intent.

“What I did to you is what this administration and congress did to you with the health care legislation. I easily suckered you in and then revealed the real cost of the bargain. Your folly was in the belief that you can have something you did not earn; that you are entitled to that which you did not earn; that you willingly allowed someone else to think for you. Your failure to research, study and inform yourself permitted reason to escape you. You have entered into a trap from which you cannot flee. Your only chance of freedom is if your new Master gives it to you. A freedom that is given can also be taken away; therefore, it is not freedom.”

With that, I tore up the napkin and placed it before the astonished young man.

“This is the nature of your new health care legislation.”

I turned away to leave these few in thought and contemplation and was surprised by applause.

The elderly gentleman, who was clearly entertained, shook my hand enthusiastically and said, “Thank you Sir, these kids don’t understand Liberty these days.” He refused to allow me to pay my bill as he said, “You earned this one, it is an honor to pick up the tab.”

I shook his hand in thanks, leaving the restaurant somewhat humbled, and sensing a glimmer of hope for my beloved country.

Use reason,

~ Clifford A.

ALERT: CRC End-Around Now in the Senate!

The following is passed along from ParentalRights.org with the sincere hope that you will take immediate action.

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We have sounded the alarm about the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child, which would take away parental rights if it were ratified. With your support we have secured 37 cosponsors on SR99 to make sure that ratification never takes place.

But the current administration has introduced an end-around called the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). President Obama sent this treaty to the Senate for ratification on May 18, 2012. Like the CRC, the CRPD would seriously curtail the right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children, though under CRPD it is mostly the parents of special needs children who would be affected.

CRPD calls for numerous protections for people with disabilities. Many of these protections are included in U.S. law as part of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, CRPD also includes numerous provisions drafted by the United Nations which would concern many U.S. citizens. Like the CRC and CEDAW, if ratified, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities would become the supreme law of the land under the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause in Article VI, would trump state laws, and would be used as binding precedent by state and federal judges. Since it is a treaty, the U.S. Constitution requires that it must be ratified by two-thirds of the U.S. senators present at the time of the vote, or 67 senators if all 100 U.S. senators were present.

Ten Specific Problems with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

1. Any remaining state sovereignty on the issue of disability law will be entirely eliminated by the ratification of this treaty. The rule of international law is that the nation-state that ratifies the treaty has the obligation to ensure compliance. This gives Congress total authority to legislate on all matters regarding disability law—a power that is substantially limited today. Article 4(5) makes this explicit.
2. Article 4(1)(a) demands that all American law on this subject be conformed to the standards of the UN.
3. Article 4(1)(e) remands that “every person, organization, or private enterprise” must eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. On its face, this means that every home owner would have to make their own home fully accessible to those with disabilities. If the UN wants to make exceptions, perhaps they could. But, on its face this is the meaning of the treaty.
4. Article 4(1)(e) also means that the legal standard for the number of handicapped spaces required for parking at your church will be established by the UN—not your local government or your church.
5. Article 4(2) requires the United States to use its maximum resources for compliance with these standards. The UN has interpreted similar provisions in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to criticize nations who spend too much on military issues and not enough on social programs. There is every reason to believe that the UN would interpret these provisions in a similar fashion. The UN believes that it has the power to determine the legitimacy and lawfulness of the budget of the United States to assess compliance with such treaties.
6. Article 6(2) is a backdoor method of requiring the United States to comply with the general provisions of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. This treaty enshrines abortion rights, homosexual rights, and demands the complete disarmament of all people.
7. Article 7(2) advances the identical standard for the control of children with disabilities as is contained in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This means that the government—acting under UN directives—gets to determine for all children with disabilities what the government thinks is best.
        Additionally, under current American law, federal law requires public schools to offer special assistance to children with disabilities. However, no parent is required to accept such assistance. Under this section the government—and not the parent—would have the ultimate authority to determine if a child with special needs will be homeschooled, attend a private school, or be required to accept the program offered by the public school.
8. The United States, as a wealthy nation, would be obligated to fund disability programs in nations that could not afford their own programs under the dictates of Article 4(2). This is what “the framework of international cooperation” means.
9. Article 15’s call for a ban on “inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” is the exact same language used in the UN CRC which has been authoritatively interpreted to ban any spanking by parents. It should be noted that Article 15 is not limited to persons with disabilities. It says “no one shall be subjected to ….” This means that spanking will be banned entirely in the United States.
10. Article 25 on Education does not repeat the parental rights rules of earlier human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights or the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. This is an important omission. Coupling this omission with the direct declaration of “the best interest of the child” standard in Article 7(2), this convention is nothing less than the complete eradication of parental rights regarding the education of children with disabilities.

In light of this threat to parental rights, we implore you to contact your U.S. senators and urge them to oppose this dangerous treaty. You can call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for them by name, or you can find their direct DC number by clicking on your state at ParentalRights.org/States.

Michael Farris, President
ParentalRights.org

P.S. - Between the imminent introduction of the Parental Rights Amendment in Congress and this immediate threat being raised in the Senate, our resources are being stretched. Please take a moment now to make a generous donation to support our continuing efforts as we protect your parental rights. We cannot win this struggle without you!

On the Constitution and those whom we elect

George Mason, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry worked on the U.S. Constitution. They also drafted the Constitution of Virginia and, in it, they said, "No free government, nor the blessings of liberty, can be preserved... but by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles."

The Founding Fathers understood that the preservation of our liberty requires us to revisit the first principles with regularity. Yet, in Congress, the concept of liberty—in the sense in which our Founders used it—has long been forgotten. Surely, our politicians are to blame for this to some extent. But, more importantly, it is "we, the people," who are to blame for not reminding them frequently of this and other first principles.

We, the people, have taken our liberty for granted while the politicians that have "settled themselves" far away "in that federal city" (Washington, DC) and forgotten the principle of liberty for the people.

For this important principle the politicians have substituted the near surety of their own re-election by buying votes using taxpayer money through numerous and growing entitlement programs for corporations, unions, special interest groups and even individuals.

As we, the people, have asked (or, at any rate, allowed) the government to do more and more for us, we have willingly surrendered—step by step—more and more of our liberty. As the people kept asking, the courts and the politicians were more than willing to accommodate in exchange for their re-election. (Note: Re-election rates hover around 85 percent now.)

Now we have an over-reaching federal government that—unless ObamaCare is overturned—has demonstrated virtually unlimited power over the lives of the citizens. Unlimited power to compel us to do whatever the government chooses is TOTALITARIANISM, even if we still live in a "democracy."

It was the federal republic that was intended by our Constitution to defend us from this, but we have long ago lost site of that precious fact.

It's time to wake up America! Stop the madness!

Capitalism’s role in the expansion of liberty and prosperity

Capitalism is continuing to play a major role in the global revival of liberty and prosperity around the world. Capitalism was the "camel's nose in the tent" under the "glasnost" policy in the former Soviet Union (USSR) that contributed greatly to the ultimate collapse of the Soviet regime.

Over the last couple of decades, it has been China's opening to limited capitalism that has led to increasing liberty, a rebirth of hope, and a rising standard of living among its billions of people.

Capitalism works because it nurtures the human spirit, inspires human creativity, and promotes a spirit of enterprise. By providing a powerful system of incentives that promote thrift, hard work, and efficiency, capitalism creates wealth—something that socialism has no mechanism to do.

On the building of a free society through the power of ideas

We must make the building of a free society once more an intellectual adventure, a deed of courage. What we lack is a liberal* Utopia, a programme which seems neither a mere defence of things as they are nor a diluted kind of socialism, but a truly liberal radicalism which does not spare the susceptibilities of the mighty (including the trade unions), which is not too severely practical and which does not confine itself to what appears today as politically possible. Those who have concerned themselves exclusively with what seemed practicable in the existing state of opinion have constantly found that even this has rapidly become politically impossible as the result of changes in a public opinion which they have done nothing to guide. Unless we can make the philosophic foundations of a free society once more a living intellectual issue, and its implementation a task which challenges the ingenuity and imagination of our liveliest minds, the prospects of freedom are indeed dark. But if we can regain that belief in power of ideas which was the mark of liberalism at its best, the battle is not lost.

Dell, Jim (2011-05-13). Memorable Quotations from Friedrich August Hayek (Kindle Locations 32-39). Jim Dell. Kindle Edition. [Emphasis added.]

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* Liberal, here, is used in its classical sense—as it is still used in Europe for the most part.

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The god of pragmatism has become the downfall of the Republican Party (GOP). It is no longer the party believing in the power of great ideas (like limited government, personal liberty and sound monetary policy), while the ideology of the Left is making constant, incremental progress towards its ends.

On grassroots solutions

The solutions to the problems we are facing here in the U.S. are going to arise from an energized citizenry at the grassroots as a response from people who love and value liberty.

A call to steadfastness in the fight for liberty

Men and women of America, my fellow patriots:

It is in your power, by building upon recent electoral victories and with a spirited improvement of the present circumstances, to turn our small victories into real and lasting advantage for the preservation and restoration of liberty.

Those who despise liberty are now more exposed and weaker than before. They find that they must increasingly hide their words and their evil intent to subdue the liberty of men under the guise of some "greater good"—though falsely so-called. We, on the other hand, must remain vigilant and willing to shed constant light upon their evil deeds.

Our all is at stake. Take heart and continue the endeavors of these recent years so that this fight might be continued and liberty might grow once again in these United States of America—for ourselves and our posterity.

God bless the USA!

Who is for liberty?

All we want to know in America is simply this: who is for liberty and who is not? Those who are for it, will support it; while those who oppose or seek to betray it for what they deem some higher or nobler cause (falsely so-called) must be exposed for what they really are—enemies of liberty.

This is my work and your work: to expose the enemies of liberty, even if they operate with the best of intentions.

On Standing Strong for Liberty

What might our forebears say to us, knowing what they knew, and having done what they did?

I have no doubt that they would tell us to channel our passions, speak the truth and do what is right—slowly, and with resolution; to work calmly, steadily and without animus or fear; to be like a rock in the tide, let the water tumble about us, and be firm and unashamed in our love of country. – Mike Pence (R-IN)

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Let's rise up and stand together, patriots! I'm proud to put my shoulder alongside yours.

On the TSA, bailouts and needless economic interventions

The TSA (Transportation Security Administration) was a G.W. Bush bailout for the airlines because, after 9/11, there was a genuine fear of flying amongst the American public. So, the U.S. government stepped in to give Americans confidence to fly again.

However, all this action did was create a moral hazard for the airlines. Every time there is a failure in TSA's security, the airlines are not be held responsible, the U.S. government is. As a result, there is an ongoing degradation of liberty and the humiliation of the U.S. traveler at the hands of government officials.

If the airlines were responsible for security, there would be competition in security. That competition would drive toward maximum security with minimum damage to the travelers' liberties accompanied by minimum cost and inconvenience, as well.

Some airlines would do better than others. Prices might even be affected by how well airlines do in the security department. All-in-all, there would be improved security at a lower cost—and the travelers would bear all of the cost. The American taxpayer would not be held hostage as the payer of last resort in the event of ongoing failures or the need for new technologies.

Already the Obama administration has handed out favorable contracts for the production of the new x-ray machines and other TSA equipment to manufacturing firms strongly connected to unions. It is just one more way of intervening in the economy where the government need not be present at all.

National Geographic magazine’s agenda

National Geographic reports that "unflagging demand" for oil is what drove companies to deep water drilling and led to the 2010 disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.  This, of course, is a lie that conveniently fits the magazine's agenda.

What drove oil companies to deep water drilling was government interventions that prevented these companies for working well-known, more accessible oil reserves that could have produced sufficient supplies of oil at lower cost and far less risk to men, capital and the environment.

What makes "Big Oil" bad and "Big Government" good in some non-thinkers' eyes?

History proves that it is "Big Government" that has killed millions of people and taken health, wealth and liberty from millions more over the last century – not "big oil" or "big business."

Be aroused to jealousy and vigilance for liberty

“Politicians are alarmed at nothing so much as attempts to awaken the people to jealousy [for liberty] and watchfulness; and it has been an old game played over and over again, to hold up the men who rouse their fellow citizens and countrymen to a sense of their real danger, and spirit them to the most zealous activity in the use of all proper means for the preservation of the public liberty, as 'pretended patriots,' intemperate politicians', rash, hot-headed men, Incendiaries, wretched desperadoes, who, as was said of the best of men, would turn the world upside down, or have done it already.”

-- Samuel Adams 
Essay in the Boston Gazette 
1771

This is my goal, dear patriots: to awaken “we, the people,” to jealousy for liberty and vigilance for the same. This is, indeed, a time of grave danger and we must give heed to every proper means for the preservation of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.

Tactics and intentions of international banksters

When designs are formed to raze the very foundations of a free government, those few who are to erect their grandeur and fortunes upon the ruin, will employ every art to sooth the devoted people into a state of indolence, inattention and security....

-- Samuel Adams
Essay in the Boston Gazette
1771

A warning from Samuel Adams regarding the intentions and tactics of the international bankers and their ilk.

Saving the liberties of Americans

If the liberties of Americans are ever compleatly [sic] ruined, of which in my opinion there is now the utmost danger, it will in all probability be the consequence of a mistaken notion of prudence, which leads men to acquiesce in measures of the most destructive tendency for the sake of present ease.

-- Samuel Adams
Essay in the BOSTON GAZETTE
1771

On the Constitution and remembering first principles

George Mason, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry worked on the U.S. Constitution. They also drafted the Constitution of Virginia and, in it, they said, "No free government, nor the blessings of liberty, can be preserved... but by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles."

The Founding Fathers understood that the preservation of our liberty requires us to revisit the first principles with regularity. Yet, in Congress, the concept of liberty—in the sense in which our Founders used it—has long been forgotten. Surely, our politicians are to blame for this to some extent. But, more importantly, it is "we, the people," who are to blame for not reminding them frequently of these first principles.

We, the people, have taken our liberty for granted while the politicians who have "settled themselves" far away "in that federal city" (Washington, DC) and forgotten the first principles of liberty for the people. For these important principles the politicians have substituted the near surety of their own re-election by buying votes using taxpayer money through numerous and growing entitlement programs for corporations, unions, special interest groups and individuals.

As we, the people, have asked (or, at any rate, allowed) the government to do more and more for us, we have willingly surrendered—step by step—more and more of our liberty. As the people keep asking, the courts and the politicians are more than willing to accommodate in exchange for their re-election. (Note: Re-election rates hover around 85 percent now.)

Now we have an over-reaching federal government that—unless ObamaCare is overturned—has demonstrated virtually unlimited power over the lives of “we, the people.” Unlimited power to compel us to do whatever the government chooses is totalitarianism, even if we still live in a "democracy." It was the federal republic that was intended by our Constitution to defend us from this, but we have long ago lost site of that precious fact.

It's time to wake up America! Stop the madness!

On totalitarianism properly understood

“If a president joins the powers of his office to his own willful interpretation of the Constitution, he steps away from a government of laws and toward a government of men.”

— Mike Pence (R-IN)

Of course, the same is true of every officeholder, every judge and every appointed bureaucrat. When Congress as a whole ignores the role of our Constitution—as it has—and forgets limited government, sound monetary policy, and the role of liberty and personal responsibility in American civil society, then we are on the road to totalitarianism.

We must remember that totalitarianism refers only to the state’s involvement “in all facets of society, including the daily life of its citizens.” The term “totalitarianism” has nothing whatsoever to do with the form of government—on the extent of government. A democracy or a republic may become as totalitarian as a dictatorship.

Citizens, be forewarned.

On democracy versus a republic

“[The] illusion, that the democratic process is the same as liberty, is an ideal weapon for those few who may desire to destroy liberty and to replace it with some form of authoritarian society; innocent but ignorant persons are thereby made their dupes. Under the spell of this illusion, liberty is most likely lost and its loss not discovered until too late. Liberty can easily be taken from the individual citizen, piece by piece and always more and more, as more and more persons under the spell of the same illusion join the Pied Piper proceedings. Finally, all liberty is gone and can be recovered only by a bloody revolution.”

-- F.A. Harper
Harper, Dr. Floyd A. Liberty - A Path to Its Recovery. Irving-on-Hudson, NY: Foundation for Economic Education, The, 1949.

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Additional reading:

• Democracy: The God That Failed
• Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy
• Literature and the Economics of Liberty 

Leftists, Liberals and the War on Liberty and the Economy

Edward H. Crane, president of Cato Institute, writing in “Cato Policy Report” (Nov/Dec 2011), properly characterizes the Left here in the U.S.:

Of course, the Left has pretty much given up any claim to being champions of liberty these days. Speech codes on campus and restrictions of political speech show their disdain for the First Amendment. Double-down on troops in Afghanistan? Okay if the president’s a liberal. Then there’s the Left’s profound ignorance on how wealth is created. They love to focus on how to alleviate poverty when the [real] answer is wealth creation. Poverty is the natural state of man. Prosperity requires free markets, respect for contracts, and protection of private property. No big secret, but it seems to escape the Left.

So you have the Obama administration trample centuries of business law [Common Law] by denying Chrysler bondholders their contractual right to be first in line for assets sales under bankruptcy, and instead giving those rights to the UAW [United Auto Workers union], which had no such claim [under the law]. Property rights abused; the difficulty in selling corporate debt increased. The earned income of the rich? We’ll just take it and give it to those who didn’t earn it. Property rights abused; the incentive to create wealth undermined.

Socialists have been effectively destroying human freedom…

“In the past 150 years (at least since Marx), the socialists have been very effectively destroying human freedom under humane and compassionate slogans, such as caring for man, ensuring social equality, and fostering social welfare. The environmentalists are doing the same under equally noble-minded slogans, expressing concern about nature more than people (recall their motto “Earth First!”). In both cases, the slogans have been (and still are) just a smokescreen. In both cases, the movements were (and are) completely about power, about the hegemony of the “chosen ones” (as they see themselves) over the rest of us [read: “the masses”], about the imposition of the only correct worldview (their own), about the remodeling of the world.” [p.6]

Blue Planet in Green Shackles by Vaclav Klaus

It is in your power (a call to keep up the good fight)

Men and women of America, it is in your power, by building upon the victory of November last (2010) with a spirited improvement of the present circumstances, to turn this small victory to real and lasting advantage for the preservation and restoration of liberty and the American republic.

Those who despise and oppose genuine liberty are now more exposed and weaker than before. They find that they must increasingly hide their words and conceal their evil intent to subdue the liberty of men under the guise of some "greater good"—though falsely so-called.

Our all is at stake.

Take heart and continue the endeavors of these recent years so that this fight might be continued and the liberty envisioned by our Founding Fathers might once more flourish in these United States of America.

God bless the USA!