Friday, February 12, 2010
Scott Brown, Sarah Palin, and the Tea Party
Monday, January 25, 2010
Thoughts on Michelle
Because of my interest in the Obama’s as a power couple who have made it to the top very early in life, I am reading Michelle, a biography written by Liza Mundy, on Michelle Obama’s life that includes quite a bit of history about Barack’s life as well.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Mika Brzezinski on Balancing a Career and Motherhood/Life
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Monday, November 30, 2009
George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789
"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both House of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness;
Now therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been able to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations, especially such as have shown kindness to us, and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best."
Monday, November 23, 2009
Making History
America has become obsessed and enticed with the idea of making decisions for the reason of “making history. Americans were dazzled with the idea of electing Barrack Obama was so that we could be the first generation to elect the first black president. It meant that we finally were no longer a “racist nation” and we got the bragging rights to be the first to do it. Many people told me the only reason that were voting for Barrack Obama was so they that could help “make history”; that was cool to them despite that they knew none of his policy platforms.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
2009 or 1984?
The White House has declared an ongoing war on Fox News, claiming they do not produce real news because they don’t suck up to them like the other news stations. If Fox News airs anything unflattering about Obama, it must be opinion news.
Former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, gives a great analogy to this situation:
How would the Obama White House deal with Thomas Paine?He challenged the notion that the English King had unquestionable authority over the lives of his subjects. He challenged the notion that Americans were subjects at all, and for that, he made himself Public Enemy Number One of George the Third.
Fox News is doing something similar with the Obama White House today. In stark contrast to the other major media, Fox News (to which I am a contributor) is raising serious questions about the Obama agenda of endlessly expanding government through its economic stimulus, energy and health care policies.The Obama White House's war on Fox News is petty and political at the least, and an abuse of the presidency at the worst. And it's only part of a wider campaign to discredit and destroy the Obama's White House's perceived enemies, be they American businessmen and women or independent journalists.
Already, we've seen this administration put a gag order on an insurance company for warning its customers about the effects of Democratic health care reform, set up an email account for Americans to inform on their fellow citizens' criticisms of its policies, and declared open war on the Chamber of Commerce for its failure to remain mute in the face of the Obama administration's anti-business policies.
To have government officials on the payroll of the taxpayers engaged in the petty politics of institutional destruction, retribution and censorship is scandalous and shameful. To have the president and his senior advisors directing this activity is behavior unbecoming of the presidency.
In fact, it is behavior more in keeping with a monarch than a president.
The president and his advisors no doubt believe they are engaged in a tough but clever political strategy. Time spent attacking Fox, after all, is time not spent answering the American people's concerns about the economy and the costs of health reform. But while these tactics may have served them well in Chicago, they are a fundamental misreading of American history.
The lesson of Washington and Paine is that you can't stop a free people from talking, questioning and seeking the truth. Together, these two men declared American independence from the tyranny of unquestioned authority. They helped found a nation of individuals endowed with rights by their Creator, not granted rights by their king.
But the current White House doesn't seem to get this. If Obama were confronted with Paine today, it's not hard to imagine him sending out Rahm Emmanuel to call Paine a heretic or a pawn of the military industrial complex.
It's also not hard to imagine him failing as utterly as King George did.