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Cap-and-Taxed to Death
One terrible bill. Lott and Yeatman vs. Pelosi. Obama’s Persian adventure. Plus more.
(Page 6 of 6)
What they’ve said is that they have no plans to make weapons. That’s also debatable, but don’t stretch the truth to a ridiculous degree and lie. They also said their religion forbids nuclear weapons, as opposed to supporting them as your article suggests.
I read all the articles at realclearpolitics.com to get the perspective across the board, and was so disappointed to see them distribute an article built on lies.
Give me your perspective on facts, don’t make up the facts to
support your argument.
— Richard
Peter Ferrara has made a very good point, but has forgotten to mention another. He wisely reminded us that Reagan understood the Soviets did not want nuclear war any more than the West did. By taking a firm stand in Poland he called the Soviet bluff, which was a good strategy. And he used that strategy in the Gorbachev era that followed.
But to give Obama his due, Obama did take a crucial first step in fighting the the right battle, by getting elected as he did. This stopped the intensification of anti-American sentiment that was growing in leaps and bounds, even in the West, in its boots.
Obama then extended a friendly greeting to the most openly anti-American countries. This did not mean he was planning to ignore the threats these countries posed. He knew the ground had been softened by the shock and awe the world felt at Americans having voted in a black man — disproving the propaganda that Americans were all white supremacists — so he tested it further.
But Obama seems indeed to be stymied by what cards to deal next. His strategy is now an unsure one. Like presidents before him, he does not recognize how strong pro-American sentiment actually is in places like Iran, as it was in the former Soviet Russia.
Even Saddam Hussein liked to watch Amercian westerns, wearing his cowboy hat and shooting guns. Hollywood has made people everywhere want to be acknowledged somehow by Americans. Jong Il was hurt by Bush’s calling his country the evil empire. He too has wanted to be liked by the Americans despite the psychosis of his leadership.
The world is begging for direction. As the soft spots (as was
Glasnost in the 80’s) are everywhere now. And the threat’s even
bigger. Obama needs not to be dissed, but to be respected for the
good moves he has made. He needs his confidence in order to rule.
He will be shaking in his boots if there is only criticism. He
needs advice and respect. We need for him to be strong.
— Mare Britton
Canada
FATHERHOOD AND DEBT
Re: Ben Stein’s
Fathers and Money:
I was intrigued by Ben Stein’s article. My father was rarely home, and usually arrived drunk or high. He was self-employed and spent his earnings on alcohol and then later marijuana, heroin, and various pills. I was ten years old when I stole an LSD tablet of his. I was faced at the age of 10 with the moral dilemma of taking the tablet or burying it in the dirt. After going back and forth in my mind daring myself to take the LSD and being fearful of what might happen, I finally buried the pill in the dirt in my backyard.
Today, I am 50 going on 51 years of age in two months. I have had more than my share of moral crises during my lifespan. In the area of money, I am currently in the process of tithing my income after reading Edwene Gaines’ book, The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity. The spiritual law of tithing cannot fail. I don’t know about you, but in these uncertain economic times, I need a fail-safe something to guide my finances. Two years ago, I asked God to be my financial adviser and banker. Before that time, I could not keep a balanced bank account nor pay off credit card accounts. Today, I can give God 1/10th of my income, pay all my bills and have money left over. I have never been so at peace with my financial outlook. The commitment I have made to put God first in my money affairs was the best thing I have ever done. Things keep getting better and better. Unlearning the bad habits and misdirected thinking about finances has been a long road. The early examples set by my father were self-indulgent and irresponsible. But, at least, I have learned from his mistakes.
There was an article in the Houston Chronicle on November 1, 2008 titled, “Islamic banking gains attention amid turmoil.” I learned that Islamic banking bans interest and trading in debt. It seems clear to me that investing in debt is what has brought this country to its knees. The article goes on to say that “The theological underpinning of Islamic banking is scripture that declares that collection of interest is a form of usury.” I’m sure that somewhere in our Christian Bible there is mention of the demerits of usury. Perhaps I will go to BibleGateway.com and look it up.
Anyway, the article sure made a lot of sense, common sense to me. The writer’s name is Faiza Saleh Ambah. My belief is that if I keep and open mind, I will find help. Who knew that Islamic banking was based on sharia law for guidance that bans interest and trading in debt?
Tom Laughlin, the former actor, has a website and on it I read
that the United States is the only nation in the history of
mankind that was formed for a moral purpose — the rights of
man.
— Julia Walsh
Letter to the Editor View all comments (17) | Leave a comment
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Old Texican| 7.3.09 @ 1:23PM
James Noble
Thank you. That was the most succinct, and thoughtful post I have read today.
You stepped back from the pointless grumbling and took it to the conclusion.
brrrrr...chill bumps!
billy| 7.4.09 @ 5:34AM
I say again.
Our elected officials need a history lesson.
Why did we tell the king of England (one of the most powerful men in the world) to take a hike 233 years ago today?
DoS_Conservative| 7.4.09 @ 10:32AM
"I don't usually read The American Spectator any more, though I do return occasionally to gloat. "
--Paul Dorell
I think Mr. Dorell needs to go back on hiatus because his letter is absolutely nonsense. He makes some hysterical claims how totalitarianism is great. It takes a liberal to praise totalitarianism. He has a great role model in the White House.
First, his claim that government controlled healthcare systems are more economical and effective than our current system of private insurance. Economical? Not to the tax payers who fund it. Perhaps to the government since they constantly deny treatment; therefore, they are not paying for it. As a Foreign Service Officer in the Department of State, I have lived overseas many years and have experienced government run healthcare first hand. I would not trade our current system for it. It is not great. Besides my problems dealing with that system, I have had two friends diagnosed with cancer while in Europe. The government run health care in Europe told them they had to wait 6 weeks just to talk about possible treatment options for their cancer. Then would have to wait just to get on the treatment program afterwards. They came back to the US and were immediately on treatment within days of returning to the US. If they waited in the European system, they would probably not be cured today. Also, those with money all pay for higher medical care at special hospitals for the well to do. They all know if you want quality healthcare, you pay for it out of pocket.
Second, his claim that the Chinese are on the right track in trying to control fertility rates when over population is a global crisis is just insane. If they are on the right track since they instituted their one child policy, then why is it that their population continues to increase? As someone who has lived in China for a couple of years, I can tell you. Because when the Chinese have girls, they continue to either kill them (infanticide), or abandon them in an orphanage so they can continue to try for a boy. Also, those Chinese with money can just pay the government to be an exception to the one child policy. Or perhaps I misread Mr. Dorell's point. Perhaps he was praising the Chinese population control mechanism of executing criminals for petty crimes as pickpocketing. Or massacring minority populations that don't agree with the Politburo. I guess the Chinese are on the right track. As a liberal, Mr. Dorell probably thinks this is a wonderful way to quell dissent.
Finally, Mr. Dorell blames the current financial crisis on too little regulation. He acts as if no regulation existed and caused this crisis. The truth is that if Congress (the overseers of the regulators) actually did their job and enforced the regulation already on the books, instead of catering to their special interest groups, we probably wouldn't be in the mess we are in today.
I think Mr. Dorell needs to continue to not read the Spectator and go back to his Huffington Post and Daily KOS blogs with the other brain washed sheeple who believe this nonsense.
Paul Dorell| 7.6.09 @ 11:44AM
DoS_Conservative,
You can rest assured that I don't intend to become a regular on this site. It was always fun stir the pot during Bush's second term, but that's old hat now. However, I will respond to some of your comments.
Studies have shown that the total per capita cost to the citizens of France for health care is about half of that of Americans, and that on balance the results in terms of infant mortality and other measures are better. I'm not saying that this applies to the poorer countries of Europe. I realize that there are waiting periods in some countries, and that treatment isn't always immediately available. As an individual, that would be undesirable, but for the country as a whole, it would be beneficial. One of the reasons why our health care system is the most expensive in the world per capita is that people are over-treated. In my opinion, it is appropriate in many instances to allow people to die rather than spend hundreds of thousand of taxpayer dollars to extend their lives by a few months. That is the norm here, and the current system has no internal mechanism to correct it. If immediate treatment is what particularly irks you, with any system that we're likely to legislate, you will still be able to get it - at the right price out of your own pocket. I do not commend Congress for their conduct over the last few years, but at least they're trying to move in the right direction now.
Regarding China, I was not applauding their human rights violations. Nor was I applauding the effectiveness of their attempt to control their population growth. I was applauding the fact that the government is attempting to prevent a disaster to their country that would also spill over and affect every corner of the globe. What I'm saying is that in principle, there is nothing wrong with the government regulation of the number of offspring that a couple my bear.
Regarding the financial crisis, if you had read my letter carefully, you would have noticed that I mentioned lack of enforcement as one of the causes.
Regarding my choices of reading, I do not read the Huffington Post or Daily Kos, though I usually agree with Paul Krugman, who has perhaps got a bit of a big head from his Nobel prize in economics.
As far as Obama is concerned, I'm happy with the job he's done so far and shudder to think what would have happened to this country with McCain-Palin in office. Obama is on track to become one of the greatest presidents in American history. The readers of The American Spectator now make up one of the wackiest fringes in American politics, but I don't imagine it will die any time soon, as it's still well funded.