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Inheritance
August 1, 2012 | 59 comments
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Weak Dollar, Strong Dollar
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The Obama Watch
American Exceptionalism Under Assault
The Obama presidency has turned the American Social Contract on its head.
In this election cycle, one noticeable phenomenon is how the Republican presidential candidates are emphasizing our country’s founding principles — liberty and freedom — more than in any campaign in the modern political era. Each speaks often of the Declaration of Independence. Citing articles of the Constitution is commonplace.
The president’s record of evoking such themes stands in stark contrast. In his State of the Union address, for example, our president made only one perfunctory reference to the Constitution and then went on to misquote it.
In his campaign speeches, the president carefully co-opts key Republican themes like reducing debt and deficits, exploiting natural gas, making teachers accountable and reducing regulation. Yet, in these acts of political triangulation, he sees no value in pre-empting Republican rivals on basic American principles imbedded in our founding documents.
An Internet search for examples of Obama advocating for liberty and economic freedom is futile. They don’t exist. Odd for man who was once a professor of constitutional law.
So, why is the president so silent while his adversaries are so vocal?
The answer lies in the president’s own words. In the 2008 campaign he said he was seeking to “fundamentally transform” America. Indeed he is, and this transformation is directed squarely at American Exceptionalism.
The Declaration of Independence was the original American Social Contract. In it, the detail of King George’s “abuses and usurpations” laid the predicate for our Exceptionalism in a simple and provocative formula the world had never experienced:
Power would reside with commoners, not kings. The people’s representatives would be entrusted with it. Government would be limited and lent to representatives, not vested, with payment on the loan due periodically via elections. Limited government, principally for national protection, would free individuals to pursue their dreams as they wished, and the collective pursuit of these individual dreams would create a great and prosperous nation.
The Contract’s counterparties are the government and the governed; it has no legal authority; its validity is derived from the Creator; and the terms of the Contract are simple: power is lent in return for accountability back to the lender, the people.
Legal contracts have an outlet in the courts for dispute resolution. The only avenue for redress of violations of our Social Contract is protest and political upheaval. And this is precisely what the president has wrought.
For example, the stated focus of the Tea Party’s anger is fiscal mismanagement, debt, deficits, and entitlements. But the basis for the Tea Party’s venom is the president’s lack of accountability for such financial mismanagement. The simple yet profound wisdom of the Tea Party is that a nation is not exceptional if it cannot pay its bills or honor its promises.
Similarly, the stated target of the Occupy protestors is amorphous “corporate greed,” but the basis for their anger is the lack of accountability implied by the bailouts following the financial crisis. To them it is irrelevant whether the culprit for the crisis was Wall Street CEOs, Fannie Mae, rating agencies, or regulators. They just see a rigged game where the only price exacted was their own joblessness.
The joblessness of the Obama presidency endangers the Contract, but not because a great nation will avoid unemployment. Joblessness threatens exceptionalism when it is driven by political elites versus the politically agnostic marketplace. Workers making typewriters or dot matrix printers did not need a lesson in Creative Destruction to appreciate that their jobs were displaced by the personal computer and the laser printer.
But to lose a job to political payback (the Obama stimulus Recovery Act requiring union-only hiring), or to political calculation (refusing the Keystone Pipeline in favor of the Sierra Club), or to government edict (the Offshore Moratorium Act eliminating offshore drilling), or to regulatory overreach (Dodd-Frank and Obamacare), is to suffer a shift in accountability from the governed to the institutions of government entrenchment and expansion.
The president speaks often of fairness, and of everyone doing their “fair share.” But fairness, to this president, is determined not by the people but by the ruling class in the form of new regulations, new mandates, and new bureaucracies. As the walls of these government fortresses grow ever higher, they become permanent.
About the Author
Emil W. Henry, Jr. is CEO of Henry, Tiger, LLC, a private equity firm, and is a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (89) | Leave a comment
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aware| 2.27.12 @ 6:23AM
"American exceptionalism". Our version of the Master Race theory.
Pecos Pete| 2.27.12 @ 6:40AM
Awwww. BS!
Timothy L. Pennell| 2.27.12 @ 8:12AM
Please go to Jame's Bowman's Article. I've tried to "explain" why our little friend "aware" sees the world the way he/she does.
I wrote it before he scribbled his little nonsense. (At least, I started writing it before he scribbled) And then, lo and behold, he proves me right.
They never disappoint, do they?
aware| 2.27.12 @ 5:48PM
What made us "exceptional" no longer exists, a tiny, weak government at all but the most local level and a people who grabbed liberty with both hands and took their own chances with it. Even if, and it's a BIG if to me, we still have the latter, we sure don't have the former. Nothing short of collapse(extremely likely) or a civil war(not likely) is going to change this.
So the very concept of "American exceptionalism" no longer means what you are being programmed to think it means. The very concept itself has become a tool of the State to justify its expansion.
Try for a moment to understand I'm way to your right in my criticism. I know, neocons don't think it possible for anybody to be to their right, but it is. Think about my 1st post for a minute, I in no way meant it to be snarky.
Gary B| 2.27.12 @ 8:17AM
I work with a black guy and I like him. Oops, I must be a racist.
I know a black guy and I don't like him. Oops, I must be a racist.
There is a black teller at my bank. She is stunning. Oops, I must be a racist.
I see a guy in the car next to me. I notice he is black. Oops, I must be a racist.
Please tell me. How do I atone for my racist sins?
Timothy L. Pennell| 2.27.12 @ 8:45AM
You're not Racist. You're just a Liar.
Right, aware?
aware| 2.27.12 @ 5:51PM
I don't have telepathic powers and I don't know him, so who knows?
I couldn't make sense of his post anyway.
Gary B| 2.27.12 @ 6:40PM
Name calling. Nice going, Timothy.
Actually, I misunderstood aware. I jumped to the conclusion that he was a typical liberal who sees a racist under every rock and I was having fun with that. So, tell me, Dear Leader, where's the lie?
aware| 2.27.12 @ 7:19PM
I believe everyone has the right to hate anyone they please and even to associate or not with whomever they please. As long as the Law is blind to all but the facts.
Gary B| 2.27.12 @ 7:44PM
Me, too. I guess the blindfold has fallen off Lady Justice, now that political correctness defines our society.
aware| 2.28.12 @ 5:38AM
"As long as it is admitted that the law may be diverted from its true purpose--that it may violate property instead of protecting it--then everyone will want to participate in making the law, either to protect himself against plunder or to use it for plunder.”
― Frédéric Bastiat, The Law
Bobloblaw| 2.27.12 @ 8:37AM
Youre right. It is wrong to state that the history and values of the US are in anyway more exceptional than say Iceland, Luxembourg or North Korea.
Alan Brooks| 2.27.12 @ 9:44AM
Aware is correct, and now that China completely underwrites us, game over.
I know what you are doing, as Ayn Rand (though not as extreme) you promote an idealized, romantic vision; albeit when Rand was in her heyday-- the 50s-- America WAS the exceptional nation.
Today China is.
old progrmr| 2.27.12 @ 4:05PM
Move there!
Alan Brooks| 2.27.12 @ 6:37PM
"Move there!"
I wrote EXCEPTIONAL, not free.
You with your authoritarianism ought to move there.
jumpeight| 2.28.12 @ 4:06PM
you're correct until their one child only mandate blows up and there aren't enough workers to support the aging population. and then...
Hobbes| 2.27.12 @ 9:47AM
The notion of using the power of the U.S. government to do “regime change” and “nation building” around the world runs contrary to conservative values that highlight skepticism about the ability of government to promote political and social change — whether it is in Dubuque, Iowa, or in Baghdad, Iraq. Leon Hadar
Alan Brooks| 2.27.12 @ 9:48AM
Krushchev: we will bury you.
Deng Xiaopeng: we will OWN you.
Alan Brooks| 2.27.12 @ 10:59AM
"It is a must read to see how far America has fallen since the great days of Reagan"
So you admit the two Bushes were turkeys?
TrueBlue | 2.27.12 @ 12:54PM
Won't get an argument from me on that one, and I actually liked GW on a personal level. But being a nice/likeable person doesn't make you a good president. It's funny the number of people that say they like Obama, but can't name anything GOOD that he's done, yet still intend to vote for him again.
old progrmr| 2.27.12 @ 3:15PM
One of the most asinine comments I have ever seen on these sites. Being exceptional has nothing to do about being a "master" or being superior. You, my friend need an afternoon at the shrink.
aware| 2.27.12 @ 5:55PM
Programmed all right.
Alan Brooks| 2.27.12 @ 6:39PM
The Chinese underwrite us completely, old pogramer.
Appleby| 2.27.12 @ 7:04AM
Has anybody ever seen any proof that Obama taught anything anywhere, much less Constititutional law?
Lawrence Boccardi| 2.27.12 @ 7:22AM
What a racist remark that is, Appleby!
old progrmr| 2.27.12 @ 3:21PM
Just why is this a racist comment? The media keeps passing Obama off as a Professor of Constitutional Law, therefore, it is appropriate to question these credentials. How can this man be a Constitutional Scholar when there is no record of more than a single writing related to the Constitution; and in that writing he basically complained that the Constitution was flawed in that it only provided limitations to Government powers and did not empower Government over the people. This alone shows a basic mis-understanding of the founders intent.
Timothy L. Pennell| 2.27.12 @ 7:23AM
He was NOT a Professor, anywhere. He was a Guest Speaker, and even that was barely a Part Time Gig.
The only thing that the Muslim ever actually "Taught" was the Wit and Wisdom and Anarchy, of Saul Alinsky, from his Ode to Lucifer: Rules For Radicals, to his Best Buds, and Loyal Brown Shirts - ACORN.
cuban pete| 2.27.12 @ 8:11AM
Timothy:
You beat me to it. He was never a professor.
Thanks for your aphoristic offerings.
All the best,
cuban pete
Anthony| 2.27.12 @ 9:52AM
I just reread Peggy Noonan's book on President Reagan, "When Character was King". It is more poignant, precient, and frightening the second time around, especially with Obozo now in the White House.
It is a must read to see how far America has fallen since the great days of Reagan, when one juxtaposes what the Muslim Marxist and the leftists are doing to our culture and society compared to the great things Reagan did to bring America back from the brink of Jimmy Carter.
Reagan, Obozo and the current crop of leftist Ds in power could not have been more diametrically opposed in all aspects of their lives, personalities, egos, experiences and views of America.
Problem is, there is no Ronald Reagan to save America this time around; no R congress to speak of, to stand up to the leftists either.
We are indeed in deep trouble.
Al Adab| 2.27.12 @ 10:30AM
This nation is the only nation which is based on the presumption that government exists to defend the rights - not to grant privileges - of its citizens. The government is only legitimate if the citizens consent. When government loses that legitimacy, the consent of the governed, the citizens retain the right to act on their own behalf. That defines American exceptionalism. In that sense it is very, very real.
Alan Brooks| 2.27.12 @ 10:55AM
"This nation is the only nation which is based on the presumption that government exists to defend the rights - not to grant privileges - of its citizens."
What?? I thought it was about responsibility- not rights. You must be the most conflicted people around.
TrueBlue | 2.27.12 @ 1:00PM
The government has the responsibility to defend the rights of the citizens. If the government is not doing that job then the citizens have the responsibility to remove those in power to restore government to its proper place, either by voting or overthrowing.
What is so hard to understand?
old progrmr| 2.27.12 @ 3:25PM
Gee, all along I thought it was entitled the Bill of Rights. Talk about conflicts. Leftists continue to have very basic conflicts with reality, and history. Keep at it , just make it up as ya go along and expect the ignorant to believe.
Alan Brooks| 2.27.12 @ 6:43PM
"Gee, all along I thought it was entitled the Bill of Rights"
You are thinking of 1789.
We no longer possess our sovereignty- other countries now own America.. get used it, the game is already over.
Alan Brooks| 2.27.12 @ 6:45PM
... "get used to it, the game is already over"
You think it is half-time, when it is actually Game- Over time!
Mimi| 2.27.12 @ 1:33PM
Yes Al Adab....And the people have rose up! It didn't take long after "ONE" got here! The Tea Party was the first to respond to the anomily, then the election of 2010 that was IGNORED by the "ONE" & minions...they kept doing what they do and wrongfully think they got away with this! The day of RECKONING is almost here, things seem quiet...But the stew is still on simmer and will boil after labor day.
Thank God every day for the brilliance of the men who gave us this LIBERTY....The info is IN.... In to the American Psych...the current crew will be tossed by the wayside ...the system will rectify and correct itself....PRAISE GOD for the GIFT of those AMERICAN FOUNDERS ...and AMERICAN EXCEPTIONISM!
Indy| 2.27.12 @ 7:46AM
I do find it interesting, not one student who "attended" his class has ever come forward with any comments.
Gary B| 2.27.12 @ 8:12AM
Indy, Perhaps there aren't any.
Timothy L. Pennell| 2.27.12 @ 8:31AM
Nope. Just other MALES who were with him at the Harvard School Paper, who said he propositioned them for SEX.
Other than them, nobody seems to remember even seeing him in the Halls.
Interesting.
Dick Nome| 2.27.12 @ 8:31AM
Obozo was never a professor of COntitutional law. He never studuied it and has never practiced it either. He doesn't have a law license either.
old progrmr| 2.27.12 @ 3:29PM
Let's try to be accurate when we look into the cloudy history of Obama. In fact, he did have a law license and he officially requested that it be suspended after he assumed office. We need to be accurate when we make statements about this fraud's background so we do not become discredited when we DO discover embarrassing truthes.
Mike Hawk| 2.27.12 @ 6:52PM
It was due to be suspended for cause, but he beat them to the puch in a face saving request. He did not need to do so to hold office. SLick Willy didn't, but his was suspended for cause. Perjury.
Moochelle's license in suspended too.
Mimi| 2.27.12 @ 8:12AM
What contract can the country ever have with OBAMA....The most important thing, ....TRUST, was broken long ago. We literally have been ROBBED of our "Exceptionalism" downright deliberate ,outright theft!
The next election, will be about...TRUST...who we can believe to help us pay our bills, to be fair to ALL the people Black and....White! Who seeking the office can we TRUST !
As "O" goes around the nation co-opting Conservative ideas ...ie WE ARE DRILLING MORE...(Yes off Geo.Bush leases) and saying what HE thinks we want to hear, just to get elected, and he thinks he can pull it off...that people are stupid . With the contract with the people broken over and over again he can NEVER gain back the TRUST.
Just remember and keep that in mind...as he continues. He must be rejectedfor he is un believable!
As we pick our nominee in the coming PRIMARIES....decide on many things but Trust is most important...without that you have nothing.
Timothy L. Pennell| 2.27.12 @ 8:39AM
I disagree. I think that we can TRUST that he will look in to the Camera, and LIE his MFing *ss off, every time. We can TRUST him to reach his goals of European Gas Prices, South American Government Street Gangs, African Poverty, with a Mao Tse Dung Chinese Style of Cultural Revolution Fairness: We'll all have NOTHING.
Trust me.
Mimi| 2.27.12 @ 1:43PM
Tim...Cheer up the 1776 system will work...America knows what the heck is going on and will have none of it. With the "HOUSE of REP" we have him caged...in 2012 November this known NIGHTMARE will be over...
Don't stop your work here on American Spectator''' Your like an ANGEL carrying the Message forth...keep doing your telling of what you see!
Timothy L. Pennell| 2.27.12 @ 3:20PM
Go to James Bowmans' Article. It's my best work ever.
I'm really proud of this one.
cuban pete| 2.27.12 @ 8:26PM
You are correct sir, it is very well done.
None of the usual suspects have taken it on.
All the best,
cuban pete
Louis Jenkins| 2.27.12 @ 8:39AM
What is American exceptionalism? Being different, above and beyond the normal rule. American, at least at one time, was exactly that. And now we have Obama, the commander n thief, who wants to turn the USA into a common European nation, or African nation (oops, racist) take your pick. We have 230 years of history behind us, and yes American exceptionalism is an established rule. We aren't like others inspite of Obama. The Guest Lecturer and Chief may not believe in it, but I do. There are some of us who do not live by every word put out by CBS, NBC, ABC, or Fox for that matter. We don't buy the latest tennis shoe, nor do we go for the latest food. Wake up Obama. We're still here, and will be once you become a piece of graffitti on a restroom wall.
Von Mises Jr.| 2.27.12 @ 9:17AM
"American Exceptionalism" is classical liberalism:
- Personal Liberty
- Limited Government
- Free Market Capitalism
It is the maximum solution for individuals to choose for themselves based on local and personals needs and wants; and for innovators to deploy personal assets to invent new solutions in technology or techniques. It could be Henry Ford's Assembly line, or Steve Jobs many Apple products.
Government planning directs all toward a unified goal that is unproductive, lacks experimental success and failure, and provides all with pre-determined goods and services unattached to reality.
Obama does have a "Social Contract" in mind. it is Rousseau's "Social Contract" of 1762 that got him kicked out of two countries: Geneva, his place of residence and France, his homeland.
It goes like this: "If one fails to BEND to the GENERAL WILL; then they will need to be FORCED TO BE FREE."
This is profound since it accurately describes socialism. It is compulsion. It is force. It is slavery to an elite or majority, period!
Maddox| 2.27.12 @ 10:22AM
"American exceptionalism" is the results achieved by the people who live under the circumstances you describe. We have witnessed the proof of that over the decades here. Now we are witnessing decline as a result of the erosion of those ideals and destruction of America's exceptionalism through tyranny.
Harvey Mallory| 2.27.12 @ 5:34PM
Like.
tadcf| 2.27.12 @ 9:36AM
American exceptionalism is simply nationalistic propaganda.
JKS| 2.27.12 @ 9:49AM
Then leave. You hate this country, so why do you live here. Oops, feeding the trolls. My bad...
tadcf| 2.28.12 @ 8:04PM
I don't hate this country. I can just distinguish between propaganda and the truth---something the ultra-conservatives have a problem with.
tsd| 2.27.12 @ 2:23PM
When a country pays people more not to work than a private company can pay an employee to earn a living, then you have a big problem. Why do we pay people 99 weeks to not work, enough money to own a home, drive a car, take a vacation, smoke and drink to no end when they do not earn a cent??? That is American Exceptional-ism! How long can it last....not much longer. We are bleeding private jobs into the ground through social engineering that will kill over 200 years of possibilities. If we have not hit the point of no return... we are very, very close! All the wonderful stories from the liberals will very soon turn to protests in the streets ..."IT IS NOT FAIR" will be the song as they burn and loot.
Harvey Mallory| 2.27.12 @ 5:37PM
Profound insight that, more please more.
Nancy in NC| 2.27.12 @ 9:49AM
America WAS exceptional because it was ordained to be a country boundless with liberty and freedom. It was the goal, and once it was achieved, there have been many trying to destroy that. Not because they despise freedom for themselves, but because they abhor other people having it.
Is America perfect? Heck no, and even less so since Mr. Marx came into power. He is much more comfortable with telling the rest of us what to eat, drive, or think. And he's willing to spend someone's money to those ends.
He doesn't believe that freedom has ever worked, and has said so on more than once occasion. He is one of the ruling elite, even though not to the manor born. Which makes him twice as dangerous. He has grabbed the golden ring, and we will have to pry it from his cold, dead hands. And he has all those have nots and haves that are afraid of having to share their power or being found out as frauds, helping him.
As Ronald Reagan said, freedom is not passed on through the DNA; it has to be taught from one generation to the next. Too many are complacent and can't imagine that it can be lost. They have no idea is freedom is hanging on by its fingertips.
david| 2.27.12 @ 10:38AM
Careful Nancy, the brown shirts may pick you up on your "cold dead hands" comment.
Kevin W Compton| 2.27.12 @ 10:19AM
Its interesting to me how some of the people commenting previous to my comment can't even understand the simplest of words. Exceptionalism. The US was and still is, to a large degree the exception when it comes to liberty and freedom. It may or may not be nationistic to say so, but regardless it is still true. China is not an exception, nor is North Korea, Iceland, Sweden, etc.Those countries all follow some previous path or even all the same path. Only the US did and has tried to continue to follow a path of independence and personal liberty.
tadcf| 2.28.12 @ 8:11PM
Perhaps you should ask the Chinese, the North Koreans, the Icelanders, the Swedes, etc., before you continue speaking for them.
Nemo| 2.27.12 @ 11:13AM
The great exceptionalism was the product of the English-speaking democracies - Britain, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Now the US. Britain and Australia are controlled by unpatriotic leftists with no concern for the heritage entrusted to them save perhaps to destroy it.
Occam's Tool| 2.27.12 @ 1:06PM
So's New Zealand.
tadcf| 2.28.12 @ 8:12PM
Oh, they're controlled by the Left, even though they presently have a conservative government?
Richard| 2.27.12 @ 12:48PM
One would only want to "transform" something if he hated it--One does not "transform" the things he loves.
ncatty| 2.27.12 @ 1:13PM
Excellent point.
christopher manion | 2.27.12 @ 1:04PM
The author believes that "The Declaration of Independence was the original American Social Contract." In this he profoundly errs, and from this flow his other errors.
Yes, it's an appealing phrase, but it is ahistorical. It smacks more of Hobbes and Rousseau, and magically invents the "exceptionalism" that confers on the U.S. the right to export its superior notions to the rest of the world, by force, if necessary.
Most of the the Declaration's text is devoted to a patient recitation of the breaches by the king of the long-standing rights of Englishmen. Those were developed through centuries of real history, not from the invocation of an abstraction. The study of history might not be faring too well these days, but that's no excuse to be flouting it so gaily.
Buck Ofama| 2.27.12 @ 1:05PM
this goddamned closet muslim c0cksucker must GO, asap by any means.
Occam's Tool| 2.27.12 @ 1:05PM
Boblobaw: you are a worthless idiot. One need merely go to the letter sent by George washingtonto the Touro synagogue to see the error in your words.
Foolish, foolish man. America is the most exceptional and finest country that ever existed. The Japanese saw it after their defeat---on the deck of the Missouri, one of them noted that his country had been defeated by a superior ideal.
tradcon| 2.27.12 @ 1:31PM
America and American exceptionalism is also based on our Judeo-Christian values. It's takes a moral and virtuous people..........
Juan Jose Morales-Castillo | 2.27.12 @ 1:40PM
The 64.000.000.000.000 (trillion) question:
how does the Dem Party manage to nominate and elect Prest candidates such as the Nonentity from Plains, the Slicker from Hope and the Blowhard from Chicago, whose resumes are so undistinguished they can easily be dismissed as nonexistent?
Mimi| 2.27.12 @ 1:51PM
Maybe they will do themselves in with their latest PICK!
Goldwaterite| 2.29.12 @ 9:39PM
That one is easy:
1) A slobbering, lapdog left-wing media (aka ObamaPravda) to run the "Ministry of Truth";
2) A dumbed-down electorate overly dependent on government largess...and not understanding that all debts must eventually be paid.
Tragic.
Purp| 2.27.12 @ 2:04PM
"Power would reside with commoners, not kings. The people's representatives would be entrusted with it. Government would be limited and lent to representatives, not vested, with payment on the loan due periodically via elections. Limited government, principally for national protection, would free individuals to pursue their dreams as they wished, and the collective pursuit of these individual dreams would create a great and prosperous nation."
You're kidding, right? You think the Republicant side of the equation does this? They talk a lot about talking the talk, but don't walk the walk.
NJ Gov Christie wants the people, not the representatives of NJ to decide on Gay Marriage in NJ, where it has already passed and Gov RudeBoy vetoed it. That's letting representatives decide?
And, commoners (better known as the 99%) vs. kings (better known as corporate big wigs - the 1%) are supported by the Republicants? Not a chance. They are funded and fouled by the Koch Bros, Sheldon Adelson and Foster Fries all the way. What does 100 million dollars buy in political power? Certainly nothing the commoners can match.
This whole article is a bunch of hooey and wishful thinking. It just ain't so.
And, the Tea Party - OMG they are such hypocrites. "The simple yet profound wisdom of the Tea Party is that a nation is not exceptional if it cannot pay its bills or honor its promises." - sure, as long as someone else pays the bills. They sure don't believe in raising taxes to cover the debts we owe. How is that fiscally responsible? You've eliminated one half of the way to balance a budget by not allowing for tax increases. The much ballyhooed budgets that Newt Gingrinch spouts about happened at least in part because of taxes being raised in 1993 - by the Democrats ... but he won't tell you that, will he?
Jack London| 2.27.12 @ 3:12PM
This whole site is for turkeys voting for Thanksgiving Purp - but they wouldn't have it any other way.
From the Desk of Media Matters| 2.27.12 @ 10:15PM
Petey "Purp" Pelosi,
Reggie "Jack London" Dwight Junior,
Due to current legal difficulties we will be culling our herd. You two who even we acknowledge are incapable of self-sufficiency are easy pickings to those nipping at our heels.
We will be withholding your 'earnings' henceforth.
Please stop embarrassing us.
- MM staff
Purp| 2.28.12 @ 1:27PM
As if ..
ella8| 2.27.12 @ 3:11PM
When looked at from a distance creative destruction and crony mafia thug destruction look identical. If gas prices were rising naturally due to a real decrease in supply, there would certainly be nothing wrong with new technologies emerging and cultural shifts. However, in the real world we know that " global warming" and "peak oil" are lies and the resulting theft, redistribution of wealth, and population control is criminal.
Dustoff| 2.27.12 @ 3:57PM
tadcf| 2.27.12 @ 9:36AM
American exceptionalism is simply nationalistic propaganda
*********************************
LOL... what's the matter. You come to AS to post your BS because the folks at HE have handed your tail to you so many times.
I'll let you in on somethng. The nice folks at AS will do the same .
What a dummy!
shipley130| 2.27.12 @ 6:21PM
I think Obama simply hates whites and hates America. He is trying to make it as painful as possible during his time in office.
jan| 2.27.12 @ 7:24PM
the infanticide liar in chief was NEVER a professor, just a lecturer who seems to have forgotten what he preached, except what the rev. "wrong" thought him
J Robert Giles | 2.27.12 @ 9:31PM
Here's a speech Obama could (but won't) deliver that would lower gas prices by twenty cents before the last syllable could roll off his forked tongue. Please read and share the article.
http://tinyurl.com/7zk4vyh
Jake Peachey| 2.27.12 @ 10:31PM
Karl Marx: "history repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as farce." Indeed! First attempt of radical socialism resulted horrific death and destruction in the attempt of producing the new communal man controlled by a ruling elite.
The second iteration in Western democracies is causing economic and political gridlock when the socialist run out of other people's money and public sector rent seekers have sufficient political power to make any change difficult.
The gridlock in Washington is due to failure to adhere to the traditional vision of federalism. The fault also lies with conservatives failing to divert the impetus of progressive politics with federalism. Any proposals of expanding the social welfare state should always be greeted with cheerful equanimity by conservatives, "sure, certainly, we support it ---- only in your state; and if these new social programs prove to work we can adopt it in our state” --- knowing all the while that the bottomless demands of big government rent seekers (core progressive constituency) will run state’s finances into the ground.
The searing and humbling experience of bankruptcy in a few liberal states would end the farce in America.
I am getting the uneasy feeling that the 2012 elections may not go as well as we think. If Obama is reelected, much of conservative punditry will say: it's over for America, as we know it. Wrong!
Wrong because conservatives made the national race the focal point instead of federalism. I am getting the sense that a good part of the reason may be conservative punditry, in seeking a national audience; naturally and intuitively comment on the politics of social welfare as national issues----- studiously avoiding federalism.
POST American| 2.27.12 @ 11:24PM
---RELAX!
'BAR-Rockefeller' Obama's just following
the capstone CFR age-enda for the American
takedown phase intiated by Bush Sr.
-----------------RELAX!
"American better watch it
or in a couple of decades
we're going to be a minstrel show
----for RED China."
-Gore Vidal
1985
------------------------------------RELAX!
tadcf| 2.28.12 @ 8:06PM
Sorry, but I had previously posted this comment.
tadcf| 2.28.12 @ 8:00PM
American exceptionalism is just nationalistic propaganda.
Floyd Looney | 2.28.12 @ 11:35PM
He was only an honorary professor on Constitutional Law, he obviously never read it
Rich Birkett | 2.29.12 @ 6:43PM
I find the use of the word "exceptionalism" curious. It's intentionally ambiguous. The more benign synonyms of the word are "unique" and "extraordinary". The more controversial synonyms are "superiority", "immunity" and "impunity". It's intended for domestic consumption because noone outside the United States believes America is anymore exceptional than any other nation. And its like a secret handshake among neocons, if someone doesn't doubt it, then he or she is among the faithful.
Goldwaterite| 2.29.12 @ 9:27PM
Our Leader is ignoring the Constitution? Why are we surprised?
I recall Obama's pre-congressional days interview on public radio when he lambasted the Constitution as a "flawed document" and "a charter of negative liberties." He then went on to criticize the Warren Court for not having gone far enough in considering "retributive ideas". He, like his Marxist father, despises the Constitution and its authors, the Founding Fathers (aka "dead white men").
derfel cadarn| 3.3.12 @ 5:27PM
When will America finally realize that we are NOT exceptional. We have somehow convinced ourselves that we hava a special quality that allows usb to mimppose our will on other countries and that they should be thankful for it. This is the very cause of the worlds dislike of America,sure everyone wishes for better things but not at the cost of bowing and scraping to American hegemon. Would weas americans suffer ourselves to be told and controlled by another country? Would we suffer occupation forces on our soil? So tell why should others? Do you not believe that the Nazi's and the CCCP thought themselves exceptional? And our exceptionalism will collapse as easily as theirs did. What will we do then? Ask for forgiveness. We need to learn to mind our own business. They are called sovereign nations for a reason. You should all look up the word sovereign.Let us hope the next world power treats us with more respect than we have earned.