There are some liberals who mistakenly think that conservatives are against all government. A recent La Follette Press op-ed put forward this misrepresentation of conservatism in a typical example of the straw man argument. This is where you set-up a false position of your opponent so that you can easily knock it down. It may fool the unobservant, but it’s not an honest approach for those seeking truth in practical politics.
Conservatives, very simply, believe as Jefferson believed: “That government governs best that governs least.” Conservatives, like our Founders, adhere to the principle that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Government should be limited, therefore, because it is a necessary evil utilizing corporate force. In other words, government makes a pretty good sledge hammer but you can’t really play the piano with it. Government has its appropriate functions but it also has a tendency to oppress the innocent.
Another liberal perspective I ran across lately attempted to champion the merits of government-run healthcare by saying that it would be accountable to the people through our democratically elected representatives. Yeah right, like they’re doing now with nearly two trillion dollars in annual deficits and a multitude of programs facing insolvency. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Post Office are all in the red!
Then, there are the terrific examples of: the delta smelt, Cash For Clunkers, the housing market, ACORN, Afghanistan, etc.
The delta smelt is a tiny minnow in California being protected by the EPA at the cost of thousands of jobs and millions of dollars worth of produce. It’s estimated that 25% of America’s table food comes from this area. Many farmers are going out of business and facing starvation, but the Feds are not listening. The fish is an endangered species and must be protected by withholding water from this once fertile San Joaquin valley. The irrigation has come to a stop creating a horrific dust bowl. Is that responsible government evoking immeasurable trust?
Cash For Clunkers is another example of misguided government. It has bankrupted many dealers by promising money for their trade-ins while delaying reimbursements. It has also decimated the used car market just like all government intervention does- remember the subprime mess? The housing bust was a government-induced market malfunction emanating from forced loans to unsecured risks. Feel-good programs from Washington, despite their warm and fuzzy intentions, generally pervert market forces of supply and demand. It’s simple logic: set prices too high and they’ll be surpluses, set prices too low and they’ll be shortages. You can’t trick the market.
ACORN should serve as another warning to everyone. If you’ve been paying any attention at all, you know this taxpayer-funded organization is corrupt beyond repair.
Afghanistan presents a foreign policy example of irresponsibility. Gen. McChrystal, appointed by President Obama himself, asked for more troops in August but has thus far been denied. McChrystal, and other military leaders on the ground, are warning that the war could be lost if they don’t authorize a troop surge quickly. Meanwhile, President Obama deliberates and delays action. However, he did act regarding the Rules of Engagement. This change of policy in Afghanistan has proved to be a mortal mistake. While waiting for air support in Ganjgal last week, four U.S. marines were left to die in an ambush because of President Obama’s new NATO protocols.
The U.S. Constitution declares the main responsibility of the president is to be commander-in-chief of the military. Where is that constitutional accountability in an administration that is: losing the war in Afghanistan; mirandizing captured terrorists; prosecuting our own CIA interrogators; surrendering our missile shield in Europe; defunding the F-22 Raptor; and befriending dictators like Manuel Zelaya of Honduras while alienating democratic allies like Poland and Israel? Hmm?
No, Conservatives are not anti-government, they are just wise enough to know that government must do a few, limited things in a framework of accountability. So far, Team Obama is not showing the kind of performance that would make a reasonable person confident about placing 1/6th of our economy under his control. So, instead of pounding your chest over empty-headed, straw men arguments, liberals should face the facts that this is a failing administration showing no signs of improvement. Maybe the problem stems from another straw man who famously sang, “if I only had a brain?” (send comments to WFC83197@aol.com, or mail to POB 114, Jacksboro, TN 37757).
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
In the Eye of the BeHolder
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil.” Isaiah 5:20
This week the duplicitous Obama administration reneged on its commitment to “look forward” and not prosecute the prior administration for alleged misconduct in the War on Terror. Nevertheless, Attorney General Eric Holder has just authorized an investigation into the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques used in the first months following the 9/11 attack.
This is stupid, if not treasonous. The investigation will completely destroy our ability to work with other nations in the sharing of covert intelligence. Who would want to reveal any worthwhile secrets knowing that some future political trial in America might expose everything?
There are about a dozen cases that John Durham, the appointed special prosecutor, will be investigating. There’s nothing new here. These cases have all been looked into before and would remain closed if not for this extraordinary political move.
This is a reckless decision that will prove disastrous for those heroes in the field who have put themselves at risk for our safety. Eventually, many CIA operatives and contractors will be exposed to the enemy, jeopardizing their lives and families. Is this what we want? Who does this really help?
President Obama seemingly gave assurances to the CIA last April that this would not happen: “There is nothing more important than protecting the identities of CIA officials. So, I need everybody to be clear. We will protect your identities and your security as you vigorously pursue your mission.”
Huh? Who is he kidding? I guess this is the equivalent of Obama’s assurance that the unemployment rate would not go above 8% if we enacted the $800 billion porkulus bill.
Fact: the CIA interrogators now under siege by their own government are forces for good, not evil. The Left is clueless, but more than that, they’re putting us all in mortal danger. This is a definite pattern for them. They have demonstrated over the years a pathological tendency to misinterpret the nature of good and evil. Remember how they cringed when Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union an “Evil Empire?” Case in point.
For Attorney General Holder, trying to decide, “who’s the good guy” has always been a challenge. As Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno he participated in Clinton’s infamous Pardongate where Marc Rich and 16 members of the terrorist group Boricua Popular Army, (formerly FALN), were given clemency on Clinton’s last day in office.
The Rich pardon was so bad that it was even denounced by many on the Left. The New York Times called it “an inexcusable abuse [of power].” Democrat leaders such as Jimmy Carter, Terry McAuliffe, Chuck Schumer and Robert Byrd all condemned the act as a disgrace. I suppose it is conceivable that Holder didn’t realize the full extent of Rich’s guilt, but then again, Rich wasn’t exactly hiding- he was on the FBI’s top ten most wanted list! Rich was associated with BCCI, aka “the Bank of Crooks and Criminals,” and made illegal oil deals with Iran at the time of the Iranian hostage crisis. Rich appears to have purchased his pardon with a $450,000 gift to the Clinton Library and a $70,000 contribution to Hillary’s senate campaign. Sweet.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks. His interrogation by the CIA, including waterboarding, led to the extraction of critically valuable information that helped thwart several attacks. One of the plots involved flying a jetliner into the “Library Tower” in Los Angeles. Names and addresses of several al Qaeda terrorists working in the U.S. and Europe were successfully collected.
It’s hard to imagine the moral confusion of someone like Holder who thinks it’s more important to prosecute the saviors of America’s security than those who mean us harm. But then again, there are those on the Left who think America itself is the focus of all evil in the world.
In 2003, Eric Holder worked for the Covington and Burling law firm that gave free representation to 16 detainees at Guantanamo. The documents from that case will necessarily reveal “witnesses” who are clandestine CIA agents working for our protection. It’s time to ask President Obama which side he is on! (send comments to WFC83197@aol.com, or mail to POB 114, Jacksboro, TN 37757.)
This week the duplicitous Obama administration reneged on its commitment to “look forward” and not prosecute the prior administration for alleged misconduct in the War on Terror. Nevertheless, Attorney General Eric Holder has just authorized an investigation into the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques used in the first months following the 9/11 attack.
This is stupid, if not treasonous. The investigation will completely destroy our ability to work with other nations in the sharing of covert intelligence. Who would want to reveal any worthwhile secrets knowing that some future political trial in America might expose everything?
There are about a dozen cases that John Durham, the appointed special prosecutor, will be investigating. There’s nothing new here. These cases have all been looked into before and would remain closed if not for this extraordinary political move.
This is a reckless decision that will prove disastrous for those heroes in the field who have put themselves at risk for our safety. Eventually, many CIA operatives and contractors will be exposed to the enemy, jeopardizing their lives and families. Is this what we want? Who does this really help?
President Obama seemingly gave assurances to the CIA last April that this would not happen: “There is nothing more important than protecting the identities of CIA officials. So, I need everybody to be clear. We will protect your identities and your security as you vigorously pursue your mission.”
Huh? Who is he kidding? I guess this is the equivalent of Obama’s assurance that the unemployment rate would not go above 8% if we enacted the $800 billion porkulus bill.
Fact: the CIA interrogators now under siege by their own government are forces for good, not evil. The Left is clueless, but more than that, they’re putting us all in mortal danger. This is a definite pattern for them. They have demonstrated over the years a pathological tendency to misinterpret the nature of good and evil. Remember how they cringed when Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union an “Evil Empire?” Case in point.
For Attorney General Holder, trying to decide, “who’s the good guy” has always been a challenge. As Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno he participated in Clinton’s infamous Pardongate where Marc Rich and 16 members of the terrorist group Boricua Popular Army, (formerly FALN), were given clemency on Clinton’s last day in office.
The Rich pardon was so bad that it was even denounced by many on the Left. The New York Times called it “an inexcusable abuse [of power].” Democrat leaders such as Jimmy Carter, Terry McAuliffe, Chuck Schumer and Robert Byrd all condemned the act as a disgrace. I suppose it is conceivable that Holder didn’t realize the full extent of Rich’s guilt, but then again, Rich wasn’t exactly hiding- he was on the FBI’s top ten most wanted list! Rich was associated with BCCI, aka “the Bank of Crooks and Criminals,” and made illegal oil deals with Iran at the time of the Iranian hostage crisis. Rich appears to have purchased his pardon with a $450,000 gift to the Clinton Library and a $70,000 contribution to Hillary’s senate campaign. Sweet.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks. His interrogation by the CIA, including waterboarding, led to the extraction of critically valuable information that helped thwart several attacks. One of the plots involved flying a jetliner into the “Library Tower” in Los Angeles. Names and addresses of several al Qaeda terrorists working in the U.S. and Europe were successfully collected.
It’s hard to imagine the moral confusion of someone like Holder who thinks it’s more important to prosecute the saviors of America’s security than those who mean us harm. But then again, there are those on the Left who think America itself is the focus of all evil in the world.
In 2003, Eric Holder worked for the Covington and Burling law firm that gave free representation to 16 detainees at Guantanamo. The documents from that case will necessarily reveal “witnesses” who are clandestine CIA agents working for our protection. It’s time to ask President Obama which side he is on! (send comments to WFC83197@aol.com, or mail to POB 114, Jacksboro, TN 37757.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
