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Looking Back — And Forward
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Lies About Libya
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Bouncing Ball Politics
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Words That Replace Thought
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Is Thinking Obsolete?
May 1, 2013 | 36 comments
The Obama Watch
Waiving Freedom
Is this what the re-election of Barack Obama will mean?
Among the objections to Obamacare, one that has not gotten as much attention as it should is the president’s power to waive the law for any company, union, or other enterprise he chooses.
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution provides for “equal protection of the laws” for all Americans. To have a law that can cost an organization millions of dollars a year either apply or not apply, depending on the whim or political interest of the President of the United States, is to make a mockery of the rule of law.
How secure is any freedom when there is this kind of arbitrary power in the hands of one man?
What does your right of freedom of speech mean if saying something that irritates the Obama administration means that you or your business has to pay huge amounts of money and get hit with all sorts of red tape under ObamaCare that your competitor is exempted from, because your competitor either kept quiet or praised the Obama administration or donated to its reelection campaign?
Arbitrary Obamacare waivers are bad enough by themselves. They are truly ominous as part of a more general practice of this administration to create arbitrary powers that permit them to walk roughshod over the basic rights of the American people.
The checks and balances of the Constitution have been evaded time and time again by the Obama administration, undermining the fundamental right of the people to determine the laws that govern them, through their elected representatives.
You do not have a self-governing people when huge laws are passed too fast for the public to even know what is in them.
You do not have a self-governing people when “czars” are created by Executive Orders, so that individuals wielding vast powers equal to, or greater than, the powers of Cabinet members do not have to be vetted and confirmed by the people’s elected representatives in the Senate, as Cabinet members must be.
You do not have a self-governing people when decisions to take military action are referred to the United Nations and the Arab League, but not to the Congress of the United States, elected by the American people, whose blood and treasure are squandered.
You do not have a self-governing people when a so-called “consumer protection” agency is created to be financed by the unelected officials of the Federal Reserve System, which can create its own money out of thin air, instead of being financed by appropriations voted by elected members of Congress who have to justify their priorities and trade-offs to the taxpaying public.
You do not have a self-governing people when laws passed by the Congress, signed by previous Presidents, and approved by the federal courts, can have the current President waive whatever sections he does not like, and refuse to enforce those sections, despite his oath to see that the laws are faithfully executed.
Barack Obama, for example, has refused to carry out sections of the immigration laws that he does not like, unilaterally creating de facto amnesty for those illegal immigrants he has chosen to be exempt from the law. The issue is not — repeat, NOT — the wisdom or justice of this President’s immigration policy, but the seizing of arbitrary powers not granted to any President by the Constitution of the United States.
You do not have a self-governing people if President Obama succeeds in having international treaties under United Nations auspices govern the way Americans live their lives, whether with gun control laws or other laws.
Obama’s “citizen of the world” mindset was revealed back in 2008, when he said “We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times … and then just expect that every other country is going to say okay.”
The desire to circumvent the will of the American people was revealed even more ominously when Barack Obama said to Russian President Medvedev — when he thought the microphone was off — that, after he is reelected and need never face the voters again, he can be more “flexible” with the Russians about missile defense.
There are other signs of Obama’s contempt for American Constitutional democracy, but these should be more than enough. Dare we risk how far he will go when he never has to face the voters again, and can appoint Supreme Court justices who can rubber stamp his power grabs? Will this still be America in 2016?
COPYRIGHT 2012 CREATORS.COM
About the Author
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. His website is www.tsowell.com. To find out more about Thomas Sowell and read features by other Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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Appleby| 11.7.12 @ 6:46AM
America is doomed. Comes the Revolution, as my Dad always said it would ... because the only solution to continued failure is to stop shoving in our faces candidates that we do not trust and cannot support, and telling us they are OUR choice. I heard over and over, "Well, he's not my first choice..." at the end of the day, faced with the ballot, too many people just didn't want Romney at any price. This is not my America. And in the next 4 years it will become much less my country.
Jacob McCandles| 11.7.12 @ 10:04AM
Every American, at some point in the years to come, will have a "wake up" moment. This will happen when our very survival, as individuals, will be in question. We all enjoy our political exchanges, we get angry at those who don't agree with us, we talk a whole bunch about ideas, policies, and philosophies. But when all the talk is over, and we witness, in real life, threats to our physical safety, it all comes crashing down at that moment. Could be hunger, disease, or groups of armed and angry people choosing homes in our neiborhoods to target. We will all get there, just a matter of when. I hope I have my family ready when that time arrives.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 1:51PM
Really, Jacob?
The Blacks have been Obliterated as a People, under Democrat Policies. They used to be Strong, Proud, Hard Working, Good Students, with Strong Families led by Strong Fathers in the House.
All of that has been Destroyed.
They have been Fundamentally Transformed in to little more than Domesticated Animals, by the Left in this Country. Confined to their Ghettos for the last 60 Years, with no chance for a better life, and yet, they just gave ALL OF THEIR VOTES for a Continuation of the Status Quo. For, more of the same.
Think: Pavlov's Dog.
Tom near Boston| 11.7.12 @ 9:59PM
No, Pavlov's dog was just responding to a stimulus.
Here's a better one: think beaten-woman syndrome. The bullying husband first woos her, then hurts her, then offers her some hope for reconciliation. Instead of being angry or rejecting the bullying husband, the beaten woman cozies up to him, thinking that will win him over and things will be beautiful again.
Except it's not just one demographic group, TLP, it's fully half the electorate. I don't get on these boards often so I may be missing something, but does anyone see the irony in TLP's rantings in this particular comments section? Dr. Sowell is a giant -- I wish he were decades younger and on TV a lot more.
On the other hand, are there any billionaires out there who could buy airtime for a series of quick informational snippets on why socialism sucks? Imagine a couple of minutes on how wealth is really created, and what life under socialized medicine is relly like, a quick recounting of atheistic collectivist genocides of the last century, what the coming hyperinflation will be like, etc. I'm thinking the old "Bicentennial Minute" series that ran in 1975-76. I thought Gary Sinise or some younger actor would work, but maybe Dr. Sowell himself could deliver them. We've got to plant some itellectual seeds in a few open-minded young now, because we are all wandering into the wilderness -- not just our party, but the whole nation.
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:47AM
And whites are just a couple steps behind. We are really doomed.
Stan Redmond| 11.7.12 @ 7:57PM
Hello Greece.
If we are lucky, the mobs will stick to the cities and burn their own cesspools to the ground. L.A. San Fran, New York, Philly, all those cities will be reduced to ashes when the mobs get their obamaphones cut off.
BackToBasics| 11.7.12 @ 7:15AM
Where are all the votes?
Drudge's totals do not include Florida but here's what is posted without those 8 million votes:
O - 54,773,837
R - 53,716,689
Here are the Totals in 2008:
O - 69,498,215
Mc - 59,948,240
Add in about 4 million each in Florida and Obam is down by over 10 million and Romney has less votes than Mc Cain did.
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:18AM
Yep, if Romney had just gotten McCain's votes he would have won.
Hardcard| 11.7.12 @ 7:18AM
Thank you Dr. Sowell :more than half this country is too far gone, the media and the schools have taken over our lives and freedoms, this is the end.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 8:07AM
Every warning that was given to us has come to pass. John Adams' missive about Republics needing Good and Honest/God Fearing People if they are to Survive. Benjamin Franklin spoke from a knowledge of Historical References when he replied to that woman on the Street: "A Republic, Madame. If you can keep it." And, of course - Winston Churchill - who dead panned about Democracies: "They are the Worst Form of Government, except for all the others."
We saw Black Panthers back at the Polling Places, unmolested by a Blacks Only Justice Department. We saw the NAACP manning Polling Places. Posters of Obama INSIDE the Polling Places.
We saw Blacks in Illinois, Re-elect a Black Representative (Jesse Jackass Jr) even though he has been Out of Commission for over a Year because he's in a Mental Institution. We have seen Blacks Elect a Black Representative (Alcee Hastings) who previously had been a State Supreme Court Justice in the State of Florida, but was Impeached for TAKING BRIBES. We have seen Blacks in D.C. Re-elect a Black Mayor (Marion Barry) pretty much the next day after he got out of Prison for Smoking Crack with a Whore, is a No tell Motel, while the FBI Filmed the whole thing. And, of course, Blacks sent a Black Representative (Charlie Rangel) back to the House, even though he Refused to pay his Taxes, and was in Posession of 4 Rent Stabilized Apartments, in NYC, that were meant for The Poor, and The Elderly.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 8:49AM
What we saw last night was a microcosm of what some people mean, when they say: Democracy is not for everybody.
That's what they said about The Arabs. That's what they say about Sub Saharan Africa. That's what I am saying about the Blacks in this Country.
Who is the Group in this Country that is the Worst Off. It's the Blacks. They have an Out of Wedlock Birthrate that is over 80%. Although they are only 12% of the Population, they Committ 56% of all of the Violent Crimes in this Country. There is almost No Black, in this Country, who doesn't have a Family Member, somewhere in the Court System, be it In Prison, On Parole, On Trial, Awaiting Trial, Awaiting Sentencing, On Parole, or in a Halfway House, somewhere.
The #1 Cause of Death for young Black Males 15-26 is HOMICIDE.
Their situation was Bad before Their Great Black Hope put on the Crown. But, during the next 4 Years their problems have Worsened, almost Exponentially.
One of the first things the Black President did, was to Eliminate the Private School Vouchers for the Poor Black Kids in D.C. In exchange for MONEY from the Teachers Unions. His Tsunami of New Regulations on Businesses, along with Healthcare Mandates, and his Oppressive EPA and their Heavy Fines, have brought Hirings to a Dead Halt. What once was 8% Black Unemployment, has become 15%. Black Youth Unemploymentnis over 50%. More Black Males are in Prison than ever before, with no Hope for any kind of Change, when they get out.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 9:16AM
Nothing has improved for Blacks, and yet they gave ALL OF THEIR VOTES to him, and Martin Luther King Jr. died for Nothing.
They live in the Ghetto because that's where their Black Leaders want them to be. Right there in one place, on their knees, with no hope of a better life. They have been Conditioned to be satisfied with a Minimal Existance. Their Individuality and their Honour have been taken from them. Their Fathers have been replaced by Charlatan Black Politicians, leaving only Baby Daddies, in their wake. When was the last time that you saw a 2 or more Black Kids with the same Mom who both had the same last name?
Girls and women and Girlfriends and Sweethearts have been replaced by B*tches and Hoes. And they all co-mingle in Communities, like Farm Animals in a Fenced in Field.
Everything that could have gotten worse has, under the last 4 Years of Obama. Not a single thing in these people's lives has been improved upon. He got their Votes for one reason and one reason only. And it wasn't the Content of his Character.
Martin Luther King Jr. Was Shot and Killed in 1968. He gave his life, that his fellow Black Anericans could have a Shot at his Dream that we could all come together as Americans, and not as Blacks or Whites.
Last night was just another reminder that he gave up his life for Nothing.
He had the right idea.
Blacks are just not Capable of a Rational Thought Process in making decisions for their futures.
They've been proving that for the last 50 Years.
Eduardo| 11.7.12 @ 11:14AM
Nicely put, my man. I was thinking about you last night as the election news started to go from bad to worse.......I am forced to admit that I truly detest the majority of my fellow citizens who enabled this election result. And I am ashamed that I hate them. But I do.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 2:02PM
Don't let it get you down.
Live a Good Life, in Spite of them. Have Fun. Enjoy your Children's Smiles and Laughter.
"For everything there is a Season."
Keep that in mind when you go to bed, each night.
We will Prevail.
Good always does, in the end.
Gerald| 11.7.12 @ 3:48PM
While I respect and do agree with some of your assements on blacks why do you not hold the ignorant whites accountable? He could not have been elected without your people voting for him.
I hate white liberals probably as much as you hate ALL blacks.
But I notice you only focus on my culture's flaws. It took me years to become conservative and now I'm trying to figure white people out and how in the hell they could put this racist man back in office. That to me is more astounding than the typical group thinking by blacks.
If you can't figure out how blacks think how do you think I feel? They are my own damn family and I still can't wrap my mind around what makes them tick.
Now give me your break down on the reprobate white liberals.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 4:52PM
They're Idiots.
Liberals, Gays, Lesbians, Transgenders, and Generational Democrats.
They don't tend to LIVE IN GHETTOS, have 85% of their Kids OUT OF WEDLCOCK, Committ 56% of all of the Violent Crimes in this Country, and have No Hope of a Better Life. They think it's Cool to Vote for the Black Guy. They're in their 40's and they're still Rebelling against their Parents.
I do not Hate all Blacks. Just the ones that are Fcking Up This Country for all of us.
I mention MLK, because I admire him for what he did for all of us, at the cost of his own Life.
I think it's a Damn Shame that he had to Die for this bunch of BUMS, SLOBS, and REPROBATES.
He showed them The Way, and they Shit On It.
And, they're bringing ALL OF DOWN, as a Result.
Surely, you must see this.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 5:00PM
And, they didn't give Obama 98% of their Votes.
If "My People" had given Romney 98% of their Votes, that would be called RACIST. And everybody knows it.
Including, you.
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:40AM
Okay. White liberals: 1) adolescents in adult bodies voting themselves money from their parent's wallets (government sugar daddy). This also applies to the hippies who are now actually the establishment themselves but are still trying to rebel. 2) Pure patronage. The poverty industry and the rest of government requires millions of workers who make a nice middle class living. They vote their own interest. Patronage 3) The same pathologies in the black community are working their way through the white community, just a bit slower. These "victims" of their own bad decisions are government dependents and vote for their benefits. Patronage 4) A small, but hardcore group of "true believers" at the top. They are communists but call themselves progressives and they have been working their plan for decades. Some aren't really communists but just the usual power-hungry and this plan consolidates power in one place, the federal government, so they like it. 5) A small, but vastly wealthy liberal elite also at the top who believe they can buy off the mob through "bread and circuses" like the old Romans. As long as the country holds together till they die they are happy.
Joellen| 11.7.12 @ 6:02PM
Tim, your response to Eduardo is why the group here loves you so.
Eduardo Tim is spot on, only one more thing - dont ever hate - actually feel sorry for them and more importantly pray that one day the scales fall from their eyes. JESUS never hated and even forgave those who nailed him to the cross. As Tim would say, "just saying".
steponbugs| 11.7.12 @ 7:34AM
Amen, Dr. Sowell...this will be a very different America in 2016. We awaken this morning to suddenly find ourselves waaay down the road to serfdom...
Purp| 11.7.12 @ 7:47AM
America Won! The Middle Class Won! The Constitution Won! Gay Rights Won! BIG MONEY lost! You can't buy an election, and that's good news for America.
For all those who are sad, I have to say Romney gave a classy concession speech. As the last political thing he does, it's a good way to end after a loss to President Barack Obama.
Albertus Magnus| 11.7.12 @ 8:39AM
Big money lost? Really? Big money is Obama's stock ad trade. Big TAXPAYER money, used to buy votes. The proles have been bought and paid for with taxpayer money, and they voted.
gene| 11.7.12 @ 9:14AM
Big Money won. The Constitution lost.
You cannot just SAY you are going to create jobs, cut taxes on the Middle Class, reduce the deficit, etc. You actually have to get up in the morning, go to work, and DO SOMETHING. You're Mr. "I'm going to..." has never actually done anything. The Middle Class is going to be CRUSHED by this man. You sound like those millions of people who cheered Chamberlain when he crawled back from Adolf spouting about "Peace in Our Time". He had good intentions? Yes. But he was completely wrong.
Sadly, so are you.
witsend| 11.7.12 @ 1:18PM
You say "America Won! The Middle Class Won! The Constitution Won! Gay Rights Won! BIG MONEY lost! You can't buy an election, and that's good news for America."
Obviously parts, if not all, of your statement is untrue. Even Biden admits the middle class lost under Obama - he used that as a campaign issue; as if it is a good thing that the middle class is shrinking in the downward direction.
The Constitution won??? Obama has overridden the Constitution with impunity!
Big Money lost???? Obama was the big money in the election and it appears that he won - albeit by a small margin.
You can't buy an election??? Obama just bought it!
Yes, we are sad. We'd hoped that the USA wasn't so far lost to common sense; but we were wrong.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 2:08PM
I can see that you're at your Wit's End.
Remember, in its entirety, what JESUS said concerning Rendering unto Ceasar. And remember what Braveheart said to his men about the King taking their Freedom.
This only serves to Strengthen my Resolve, to Teach my kids the Proper Way to live their lives.
We will Endure.
Trust me.
Al Adab| 11.7.12 @ 4:21PM
"...not with a bang but a whimper."
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 4:54PM
I don't get it.
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:34AM
Sound nice, but nations rise and fall all the time. We are falling.
Stan Redmond| 11.7.12 @ 7:59PM
HAHAHAHAA BIG MONEY LOST!!! Big money seems to be going one way in this administration. Solyndra, GM bailout, "green scam" TRILLIONS of deficit spending to buy votes from welfare recipients.
COME ON MAN. You gotta be smarter than that.
Russel| 11.7.12 @ 7:58AM
'Self-governing ' is the catch . To poorly paraphrase one of our Founders " Here's your freedom , if you can hold on to it " ( Please you educated folk , print the quote correctly ) . Point is that some idiot living in Delaware has no clue as to what this country MEANS , why it was founded and how easily all of its wonders and treasures can be taken away . Every single part of America he or she takes for granted vanishes . Mr. Reagan said it takes a thousand years to re-educate a brainwashed society oblivious to the the obvious . Mr. Sowell , The People are still in charge , it's just that they are pitiful citizens .
Bob K| 11.7.12 @ 8:49AM
I got my Nov. A. C. It table of contents says you have an article at page 18. It's not there. What happened?
Meanwhile, great comment!
It also hasn't helped to have political leaders who sat back and encouraged the invasion of peoples from south of our border who are now voting in our elections and who have no historical or cultural attachment to the USA and no experience with self government. Mr. Reagan recognized too late that amnesty was a mistake.
But John Lukacs wrote about all this and more in his 2005 essay "DEMOCRACY AND POPULISM -- Fear and Hatred." Before we ever heard of Obama.
Archie| 11.7.12 @ 9:12AM
I think the quote you're looking for is in TLP's 8:07 post above, first paragraph.
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:45AM
They are pitiful citizens, but we (or at least our "greatest generation") let it happen. The "greatest generation" birthed the hippies who took over our public schools and universities. The greatest generation voted for almost every big government boondoggle currently holding down this country. The greatest generation voted for Ted Kennedy's "immigration reform" that gave us millions of poor uneducated people from Third World countries. They fought WWII successfully then spoiled their children and have voted themselves rewards ever since. Unfortunately, that will be their real legacy.
Al Adab| 11.7.12 @ 8:29AM
We have seen the voters accomodate themselves to this new economy as the new reality. High unemployment, high taxes, social programs and massive debt are what we now accept as normal. Whether liberty can survive under these conditions remains to be seen but is unlikely. A very sectional map, a map of urban against rural areas and increasingly discordant debate are the results. Whether our process survives is the big question ahead.
Albertus Magnus| 11.7.12 @ 8:42AM
Liberty can not survive under such circumstances.
Why am I being forced to live through a government-manufactured depression? All I want is a job and my freedom. I don't want a government-centered existence. I don't want some self-important dolt telling me how to live my life. I don't want government to control my doctor. But I am getting these things. I voted for freedom, but America voted for tyranny. Like the Proles of ancient Rome, the American People sold their votes to the guy who promises and delivers only enough taxpayer money to get along at the poverty level, while the rich and powerful Patrician-politicians enjoy the fruits of other people's labors.
Mars the Avenger| 11.7.12 @ 12:55PM
Albertus,
We have proven the following:
“Iam pridem, ex quo suffragia nulli vendimus, effudit curas; nam qui dabat olim imperium, fasces, legiones, omnia, nunc se continet atque duas tantum res anxius optat, panem et circenses.”
(“Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, We the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.”) Roman Satirist Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis (Juvenal), Satire 10.77–81
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 2:10PM
Press 2 for Latin.
Louis Jenkins| 11.7.12 @ 9:00AM
A great article Mr. Sowell. May you have many more. Unfortunately, the Obamatron public doesn't care about their rights, as long as Obama provides all is right by them.
It will collapse. We cannot continue down the path of borrowing.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 2:13PM
Dr. Sowell NEVER has a bad column.
You might wanna try reading some of his 50+ Books.
You won't be disappointed.
RCV| 11.7.12 @ 6:20PM
Dr. Sowell has been recycling the same column for some time now.
Bill8472| 11.7.12 @ 9:08AM
It's indeed frightening to think of what will happen to the American political system during a second four years of side-stepping the Constitutional process in order for the President to make what he alone wants into law. By 2016 we'll live in a system in which the President is the king.
gene| 11.7.12 @ 9:18AM
My parents grew up without Medicare or Medicaid or Obamacare. The children of immigrants, they all worked hard, bought homes, put down roots, raised their children.
They lived through the Great Depression. Fought in WWII and saved Western Civilization. The gift they gave us? My generation threw it all away. History repeating itself.
Archie| 11.7.12 @ 9:46AM
Four more years of:
- No budget
- Adding $1.5T to the debt annually
- Ever rising debt ceiling, next one coming up very soon
- Down grading of USA credit ratings
- Anemic job growth (except in government)
- Growing food stamp rolls
- Senate stopping all activity on the Hill and blaming the House
- Graduates not being able to find jobs
- Rising commodity prices, impacting everything from gas to food
- Obamacare really starting to kick in (this should be interesting)
- Savings interest rates of 0%
- Growing distrust from our allies abroad, and more licking chops by our enemies
- A corrupt Justice and State department
- EXECUTIVE ORDERS (to hell with that pesky crew on the Hill)
Then add in the fiscal cliff:
- Sequestration
- Expiring tax rates, aka rising tax rates
I’m sure Putin and Chavez have tingles up their legs this morning.
Bill8472| 11.7.12 @ 10:05AM
Additionally, if our enemies are smart, the next four years (optimally, the next two years) is the right period to ensnare the United States in a war.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 2:14PM
One Bullet could have prevented WWII.
I'm just sayin.
norma| 11.7.12 @ 9:50AM
Mr. Sowell: where are the constitutional challenges to these obscenities? It seems that the will to resist has weakened. It seems to me the Republican turnout this election was pitiful compared to what it could have been, and is that a symptom, too? This is a frightening time for so many of us --- half the country, because we see the American we were raised to honor and love slipping through our fingers to a rabble that wants nothing more than handouts. Romney was right about that.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 2:15PM
Ask John Roberts.
fwb| 11.7.12 @ 9:53AM
I respect Dr, Sowell BUT I am sorry to say that the 14th Amendment Dr. Sowell references ONLY applies to the States. Equal Protection as such is not a written requirement for the federal government. Equal protection IS an unwritten standard that applies to all governments but government seldom if ever follow unwritten rules. Hell our government doesn't follow the written rules of the Constitution. The 14th Amendment, illegally forced on the States, sped up the downward spiral. The US of A began with a great notion. That notion began to die with the first Congress which was filled with Federalists.
Those of you who think these problems have recently arisen, the we were fine through the 60s, 70s, or 80s are ignorant of the history of the Union.
The life story of Gen Stonewall Jackson written in 1866 relates the problems with immigrants on pages 159-160. Every word spoken about immigrants today was printed then. Believing things were better 40 or 50 or 60 years ago is wishful thinking, a blind eye turned on the truth.
The Union was murdered and buried yesterday and it is OUR fault.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 2:17PM
What are you talking about?
The 14th Amendment is a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
It is in no way a State thing.
What's wrong with you?
A Grin without a Cat| 11.7.12 @ 9:55AM
Something's not adding up. We had a wave election two years ago that brought a Republican pickup of 65 seats in the House. Did the electorate change that radically in two years?
Archie| 11.7.12 @ 10:19AM
Minorities and youth did not show up in 2010, as they usually don't in the mid-cycle elections. In hindsight, there was too much read into the significance of 2010.
Al Adab| 11.7.12 @ 10:24AM
Congressional races are local races. This was a battle between the takers and the payers and the takers won. The urban areas are completely dependent upon government largess for their existence, for the bread and circuses they so enjoy. The last recourse is simply non-compliance; to quit footing the bill for the unproductive. After all, "dissent is the highest form of patriotism" isn't it?
Archie| 11.7.12 @ 10:41AM
And I meant to include the marginally interested / motivated. These people also did not show up.
OregonBuzz| 11.7.12 @ 10:28AM
The answers to your final two questions, Dr. Sowell, are NO and NO.
"You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man's age-old dream -- the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order -- or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. Regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have embarked on this downward path." --Ronald Reagan
Where is this man, or his like, when we most need him?
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 2:19PM
It's not "Where's a man like that, when we need him?"
It's DEMOGRAPHICS.
Period.
howard lohmuller| 11.7.12 @ 10:33AM
My suspicion is that Obama, like a long line of Socialists before him, may try to keep control of the government for longer than the two terms allowed him. Putin is getting away with the ruler for life routine in Russia by partnering with his second in command whom pretended to rule while Putin ran and looted Russia from behind the scene. Then they switched jobs with Putin in the top job. Hugo Chavez in Venezuela has successfully circumvented his constitution as he openly admits his intention to be President for life.
Obama might try the Putin switch-a-roo technique with V.P. Biden in 2016, letting Biden run for President while he runs for V.P. but keeps control himself. Any serious Socialist feels the need to create a Utopia for his subjects.
Russel| 11.7.12 @ 11:54AM
But bear in mind Putin " rules " Russia , not the old socialist union bloc . America has yet to go through the secessions they did . I suspect we will .
Al Adab| 11.7.12 @ 2:38PM
See Colin Woodard: American Nations. His social/cultural maps mimic the voting patterns.
JimH| 11.7.12 @ 10:38AM
I hate to say it, I think that we are now living in a large Venezuela.
Pecos Pete| 11.7.12 @ 10:57AM
The 2012 election is a depressing disappointment for supporters of the free enterprise system and for those who believe in freedom. King O was reelected with a small margin, not a mandate. The Senate remains in the hands of Harry Reid. The House remains Republican.
Nothing has changed. Legislative stalemate. Gridlock.
Thus, King O and his administration will continue overloading the economy with Executive Orders and non-legislated (unconstitutional) regulations. The backlog of regulations held back until after election day will now be released in a flood. Union votes will not be secret. Public unions will govern the unwashed public. The education level of our children will generate essentially illiterate citizens and the children will damn sure eat their broccoli. Unemployment will increase. Food costs will rise even more dramatically. Energy magic will be demanded from the sun and wind further reducing our use of fossil fuel. Transportation vehicles will be downsized with gasoline/diesel cost rising to $10 per gallon. Electric generation costs will increase dramatically and energy rationing will be instituted through time-outs, brownouts and price escalation. The Fairness Doctrine for radio and TV will be implemented with most broadcasters funded by government money which is already happening with “public service” announcements becoming a large percentage of broadcaster revenue.
Pecos Pete| 11.7.12 @ 10:59AM
A recession followed by a depression will be caused by King O’s central planning and Marxist policies.
ObamaCare, the most damaging law ever to come from the federal government, will be challenged with more lawsuits, many of which will reach the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will uphold ObamaCare and we will end up with single payer insurance ... provided by the federal government ... and our health care system will disintegrate. Obama will provide waivers for the favored few who will have gold plated medical care from hospitals and doctors exempted from the cost controls of ObamaCare. The rest of us will pay, and pay, and pay. And stand in lines waiting for whatever medical help remains. But, there will be free contraceptives and abortion for anyone. Planned Parenthood will become the world’s largest non-manufacturing corporation. Those over 70 will face rationed care in order to reduce costs of the federal’s insurance plan.
The nation's fiscal condition will become catastrophic with trillion dollar deficits continuing for years to come. The Senate will not pass a budget. The Federal Reserve will continue to print money eventually causing hyperinflation. Sequestration will happen. Higher taxes will be paid by everyone, including the poor. Congress will continue to increase the national debt limit, which means that there is no cap on the debt.
Pecos Pete| 11.7.12 @ 11:01AM
Our Armed Forces will be dramatically reduced in size and capability with a corresponding loss of morale by our volunteers. Enemies of the USA will grow in strength and will attack with success both here and abroad. We will not defend ourselves. Remember Benghazi!
Immigration will continue to be a festering wound. “Entitlement” programs will not be revised. Both will continue to increase the “gimme” population (more democrat voters) while adding to the national debt.
Pecos Pete| 11.7.12 @ 11:03AM
There will be appointments to the Supreme Court. The Court will become "progressive" and there will be significant decisions that will reduce freedom, including anti-gun and anti-God laws and regulations. The first and second Constitutional amendments will be rolled back dictatorially, not by lawful amendment.
There is not enough space here to list more than a few future disastrous events. But, there will be entertainment: e.g., the House will be investigating Benghazi, Fast and Furious, the massive theft of taxpayer money by friends of King O, and Hillary will resign as Secretary of State to be replaced by Valarie Jarrett (currently negotiating nuclear freedom for Iran). The King and Queen will continue to play golf and buy thousand dollar clothing, and enjoy rich travel and parties with their wealthy patrons. The poor will become poorer. Chicago will continue to be a killing ground.
Lots of people … like me … in recognition of the coming disaster will do a John Galt. The Village Idiots now have four, or more, years to create their equality and fairness nirvana. They will do it without my taxes or my labor. The United States died on November 6, 2012. Ultimately there will be secession.
Al Adab| 11.7.12 @ 1:52PM
The American people have decided, conciously or not, that this nation shall become a Social-Welfare State; we will abandon our obligations to the world and we shall impoverish future generations for our bowl of government pottage. Those, and there are many, who still believe Liberty is of greater value than that must now decide individually what actions they will take to secure their freedom. The choices are not good. Perhaps many will relocate to States or areas where their beliefs are honored while others may resist. The Left, after all, spent eight years telling us, "Dissent is the highest form of Patriotism".
CJW| 11.7.12 @ 3:27PM
Al
We are at a point in history similar to the 1850's, before the Civil War. The Dem presidents from Jefferson, Monroe, Madison, Jackson, Van Buren, etc. did not deal the slavery issue, but perpetuated slavery and kept pushing it down to future generations.
The end result was over 600,000 men died, then segregation again by the Dems, and finally the bitterness and resentment you see today among the young blacks, and among whites.
Since 1973, the unborn have been judged to be non-persons, not entitled to legal protection, from abortionists, just like black slaves were not deemed persons worthy of constitutional protection. Abortion is now the religion of the Dems, the party of the Left. Obama's campaign was geared to women to protect their "right" to abort and contraception.
There will not be any civil war over abortion, but the stain on our national character and morality is the same with abortion, if not worse, as with slavery.
Al Adab| 11.7.12 @ 4:25PM
I suspect it is our worship of the idol goddess "Choice" which has led to the handwriting on the wall... Weighed in the balance and found wanting.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 2:20PM
The DOW is down 200 Points.
KennesawJack| 11.7.12 @ 6:49PM
Pete, I truly believe that one of Obamarx's main targets in the next four years will be the military. How better to destroy a country you hate than to unilaterally disarm her?
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:14AM
Its already started. Just as with Clinton, good officers are getting forced out and spineless, politically-correct officers are being promoted. Seriously, is Casey not the worst Joint Chiefs ever?
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:15AM
Yeah, why even have a military if you're going to let millions of foreigners just walk in and take over without firing a shot?
Pecos Pete| 11.7.12 @ 11:06AM
At 11:04 AM, the DJIA = 12,964.50 -281.18 (-2.12%). The market reacts to future costs.
Simon Templar| 11.7.12 @ 12:15PM
Expect it to keep falling. There will be a rush to gold as soon as the inflation hits in a few months and small businesses collapse and layoffs begin.
There are reports coming out that some have already started to make plans to fold and begin laying off. The irony is that most of these white working class males that voted for this bastard have jobs in these vast small companies from lumber yards, to tool and dye shops, to cab drivers, etc.
Pecos Pete| 11.7.12 @ 12:34PM
At 12:30 PM, the DJIA = 12,940.25 -305.43 (-2.31%)
Pecos Pete| 11.7.12 @ 11:07AM
California passes Proposition 30 increasing taxes. California will next ask King O to bail them out.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 2:21PM
Stock up on Guns, Ammunition, Food, and all of the other Staples that you can.
That's what I do.
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:12AM
Plant a garden and if you have country land dig a well. Seriously.
Petronius| 11.7.12 @ 11:50AM
To uphold protect and defend...Chicagomocracy. What was the United States has been supplanted by the trash elements of society that must be purged, the predators, perverts, and parasites; 'ere we are condemned to serfdom, dependency, and desolation in perpetuity.
Simon Templar| 11.7.12 @ 11:53AM
Why is this such a shock to all of you?
Yes, it is incredibly disturbing but not a complete surprise to me that a slim majority of Americans went with the Fraud those that live in cities of the east coast and west coast. The flyover country was not fooled.
For one moment in your lives, think outside your principle and your shoes, and place yourself in the shoes of these Americans. Now, what do they hear, read, and see every day? Where do they get their information about the outside world? What do they learn in schools? What did they watch on TV and what was the last movie they saw?
Most of the people are mindless foot soldiers and useful idiots.
Please understand this, and if you do not believe me take a chance someday to talk at length with them and in a very nice and interested manner ask them about what they know on anything and what they think about a variety of issues, events, etc. You will quickly find out that they are largely misinformed, ignorant, bizarrely have conservative values but do not realize it, think their messiah is doing great things and not aware he is doing shit that they would greatly disapprove of, and have bought all the narrative that has been handed to them from the liberal elites from hate the corrupt rich, to the Dems are the only people who care about the working man bullshit. As yourselves, how is this?
IT IS BECAUSE LIBERALS UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS ALL ABOUT PERCEPTION NOT REALITY. It is about controlling the flow of information and propaganda.
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:12AM
Good point. They call us stupid yet all they see and hear is ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN and NPR. I was suprised when talking to one of my liberals friend that our differences went much deeper than opinion, he literally did not know about Benghazi, all the layoffs upcoming, how high food stamp usage has grown, how historically bad our employment situation overall is, or many other black and white statistics.
Simon Templar| 11.7.12 @ 12:07PM
Many of these people do not realize that they have elected a socialist, hell most of them do not even know the definition of what that term means. Most of them do not understand deficits, taxes, or economics or have an opinion about them. MOST of the do not give frign rats ass about homosexuals, abortion, or any social issue. If they did, blacks and Jews would be all republicans as well as Catholics. So stop listening to this claptrap from liberaltarians that this is why we lose elections. They vote according to their vested interest in unions, their race identification and victomology myths, and their class envy stoked by the liberal elite. Its the economy stupid is correct but not in the way you think of it. When the Clinton's say this, they mean its the liberal narrative about the rich soaking the poor, and the corrupt big business which is screwing you. This is what the average idiot on the street think he knows as a fact of life. This is why Catholics vote democratic, these narratives have been built for nearly 80 years! They used them, duh, in this last election.
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:32AM
Many don't, but most did. They WANT a welfare nanny state.
Belianis | 11.7.12 @ 12:20PM
Two words:
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
Dr King and Rev Shuttlesworth's tactics are perfect to fight the Bull Connor of our time. Since O-bastard has inflicted civil war upon this country, 'tis only right to fight it with the same weapons and the same determination for which the leaders of the civil rights movement are justly famous.
Mars the Avenger| 11.7.12 @ 1:00PM
Belianis,
Your point is correct ONLY if there is the kind of decent public shocked by the repressive tactics of a Bull Connor. I am afraid that may not exist now. Any civil conflict to come may be of the kinetic type, sad to say, but as Jefferson once said about the tree of liberty, it needs to be watered with the blood of patriots and tyrants....
Al Adab| 11.7.12 @ 1:42PM
Sounds like a plan. After all, The Left spent eight years telling us, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism".
RCV| 11.7.12 @ 6:23PM
Dissent is patriotic. Armed rebellion against the country is treason.
Al Adab| 11.7.12 @ 6:39PM
No, it is justified under the Declaration of Independence against a government destructive of the ends for which it was formed. Nonetheless, one must prevail in order to make it stick.
RCV| 11.8.12 @ 2:38PM
Sorry, Al Adab. As the great firebrand and Patriot Sam Adams said of those convicted in Shay's Rebellion, "Rebellion against a king may be pardoned, or lightly punished, but the man who dares to rebel against the laws of a republic ought to suffer death."
The ballot box is available for the People to elect representatives who will enact the kind of laws they want, subject to the constraints of the Constitution. The Judiciary, appointed in accordance with the strictures of the Constitution, will adjudicate claims that any such laws are unconsitutional.
Just because you disagree with those laws or rulings does NOT validate taking the law into your own hands and engaging in armed rebelllion in a representative republic.
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:31AM
No, but we can secede. There is no reason for secession to be peaceful other than one group not letting the other leave. Being able to leave is the highest form of freedom.
Brian Richard Allen | 11.7.12 @ 12:29PM
.... Will this still be America in 2016 ...?
Will the Pope poop in the woods?
Will the bears all be cardinals?
God save us.
Al Adab| 11.7.12 @ 1:45PM
Quite frankly Brian, it is possible that this WAS Gods action. If indeed He judges the nations then perhaps we have been weighed in the balance and found wanting for our idolatry and promotion of perversions.
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:09AM
Its possible. In the OT you can see time and time again where God "gave the people over to their own desires" and it was done as judgement!
witsend| 11.7.12 @ 1:21PM
Thomas Sowell,
Once again, you nailed it! Your articles this past month or two have been excellent. I've always respected, and mostly agreed, with you - lately, you are writing better than ever. Thanks!
old progrmr| 11.7.12 @ 1:48PM
Dear Mr. Sowell: But, this is evidently the type of government and society the majority of our citizens desire. Our once great Republic has passed the tipping point and the people have spoken in favor of living under a radical leftist, collectivist dictatorship void of the traditional checks and balances provided by our forefathers. We have proven Franklin correct, we had a Republic, but we couldn't keep it.
John II| 11.7.12 @ 1:55PM
Here's Edmund Burke reflecting on the French Revolution, template of the modern Left:
"Political power is not a license to rebuild society according to some abstract, untested scheme; it is a trust to be held by those who are mindful of both the value of what they have inherited and of their duties to their inheritors."
The Professor's take on political power, of course, is the licentious sort. He has no concept of, no interest in the other take. Among his countless lies in office so far, the supreme whopper was "I am not an ideologue."
There is no more accurate poll possible than a general election, and yesterday we learned that America is now divided almost evenly between the productive doers and the amoral takers.
To use the buzzword-of-the-hour favored by the puppetmasters of the takers, America is now in an unsustainable bind, controlled by the passions of the mob. Romney's 47% remark last May, it turns out, was an understatement. The figure is closer to 51%.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 2:28PM
I don't remember that Broadway Play.
Al Adab| 11.7.12 @ 2:42PM
That John is why Burke is considered one of the thinkers of Conservatism. Poeple are not elected to rule but to govern and protect the rights of the citizens. One of those rights is to be secure in the possession of their wealth and property. When a government becomes destructive of those ends, as Jefferson put it, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.
TLP| 11.7.12 @ 3:33PM
As does the Declaration of Independence.
KennesawJack| 11.7.12 @ 6:55PM
Al, if you recall, after he was elected in 2008, Robert Gibbs was asked if Obamarx was ready for the Presidency. Gibbs said, and I quote "He'll be ready to rule from day one." Obamarx and his lackeys NEVER intended to GOVERN, only to RULE, and it's going to be worse, much worse, now.
JD| 11.7.12 @ 6:00PM
Takers are not amoral. They are immoral.
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:08AM
Great point. Me and my conservative friends have long referred to conservatives as "heirs of the American Revolution" and liberals as "heirs to the French Revolution".
Marc Jeric| 11.7.12 @ 4:34PM
Our Marxist Muslim President from Kenya (or was he a citizen of Indonesia?) can now proceed to a total communization of the country. His program called “Arab Spring” can continue to establish jihadist governments in Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Mali, and “Palestine”, after achieving a complete success in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. Confiscation of the entire wealth of our millionaires under his “social justice” program will enable the federal government to run about 6 months without incurring further paper money printing; on the other hand that will arrest all private investments leaving the government the only source of new investments in “targeted industries”, as determined by the White House “Industry Czar”.
bluecollarbytes| 11.7.12 @ 6:28PM
Republicans still hold the house, which under current dynamics just means they have the target on their backs as things get worse. It will not matter what their intentions are, or the obstructionism they face in obama the lone revenger and Ried's nasty leadership.
at best voters may have kept the majority intact in case 'obama tries to do something really crazy'. a baby-sitting gig essentially.
markinla| 11.7.12 @ 8:40PM
Obama wasn't the start of a President ignoring the law to score political points or pay off big donors. I seem to remember some people whose last names were Reagan and Bush ignoring the immigration laws so companies could pay slave wages.
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:00AM
Agreed, but while they may have ignored only the immigration laws, Obama is helter skelter with whatever he wants.
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 8:59AM
Did Romney even bring up the Supreme Court? And why did Rove's "SuperPACs" not put up much of a fight? Why did Gov. Christie basically switch parties? Why did the Romney campaign play it safe for debates 2 and 3? He's the challenger, you can't play it safe to win. Ugh...he didn't even get as many votes as McCain!
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:06AM
I tried to explain to my liberal friends that our deficits are now over $1.2 trillion a year and cutting the military or taxing "the rich" alone won't get even close to closing the gap. Our defense department budget was $613 billion last year. So, if you cut the ENTIRE thing, then you have only halved it and then you have zero military going forward. You could raise taxes to 100% on "the rich" and close the remaining gap - assuming there is no tax avoidance and receipts rise in a linear fashion (impossible). You now have absolutely no military and no rich people and all you've done is balance the budge for ONE year. What's next? The rich are gone. They've left or quit creating income. This is only about a two minute conversation but you can see the liberal's eyes glaze after 10 seconds. And they call us stupid.
delahaya| 11.9.12 @ 9:17AM
This is what wretched, compulsory public schooling has wrought. We absolutely need to take bad education and the media or we are absolutely doomed (and yes, it looks like its already too late).