THE TROUBLE WITH SOCIALISM II

George Bernard Shaw once said this:

“A government that takes from Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul”

i suppose this is true in whatever circumstance. It doesn’t have to be a government. It could be a parent or a teacher, but it must always be a third party with authority over Peter. If you’re like me, you’re probably tempted to empathize or sympathize with either Peter or Paul because you’re driven by some deeply held principle of justice. If we look a little closer at the machinery though, its insideous trap is that the conflict is about neither of these men.

The party with the authority to instigate, facilitate, and perpetuate the conflict between Pete and Paul is the real winner.   Because we’re using names, i think it best to call the third party, Mike.   Mike is uniquely self-interested as long as he’s human and motivated at least by self-preservation.   And think about this: in the senario whereby a third party finds its worth in choosing sides is no arbiter, but an advocate.   In the case of Peter and Paul this third party’s (Mike) goal is to first redress the situation as Peter V. Paul, pick a pugilist, and knock out the opposition.

That’s not much of a fair fight. Especially since Mike (as the government) has a gun.

(We’ll get back to that  reality a little later even though it’s probably the most important point.)

The issue at hand that makes it especially noteworthy that Mike has a gun is that Mike is also Paul.    Let me explain…

The governement is a consumer.    In the best of circumstances it is rarely a good investor and only by accident.    It doesn’t invest in markets but in visions and ideologies, and it does this by spending – other people’s money.   A government has no money to spend save for that which it gleans from it’s people/producers or by minting it.   When it’s acting responsibly and ontologically (according to its nature) it carefully motivates its producers to do what they do by their nature.    A government which excessively interferes with that process will gum up the works and suppress the will and nature of its greatest asset (the people).   This is what we have going on right now.

We can argue in another post about motive, details and specific actions.   The salient point in the present moving toward the future is that OUR government is taking action that will further suppress the producers of this country.   It is doing so by becoming the largest consumer of goods, services,  and commodities to supply the basic needs of its people.   And to make matters worse, it’s doing so by propping up market failures and rewarding cheaters in an effort to cover up its own market tampering.    This tampering has been going on for some time by fomenting an otherwise healthy relationship between Peter and Paul into an artificial conflict.   Most recently with Community Reinvestment, TARP, and the purchase of two auto-makers.  

If healthcare falls into the hands of meddlesome Mike, Peter is going to need life-support.

The gross result of the current trend is that the government will ultimately need to step in and become a – or THE – major producer of the things it is now consuming because of the damage being done to the real producers (Peter).   What we’re marching toward is Socialism.   The frightening consequence is the necessary end game of that march.  

It’s called Communism.

MISCUES

The Holocaust Museum in D.C. was the scene of another assault on American values.   A lone gunman waltzed in to the crowded tourist spot and started shooting – with a rifle.   A security guard was killed and the gunman was critically injured.    We should pray for both their families.

Evidently the gunman was some kind of American Nazi.   i know there’s plenty of them out there, but this one is kind of strange and more disturbing than usual.   He was a WWII veteran.   i don’t know where he did his service, but one would think that a guy like that might have access to other veterans who had seen the carnage of the Third Reich.   How does one come to deny the Holocaust?

Watching the news last night i was just a little taken aback by the early editorializing about gun control.   That sort of talk usually takes 24 hours to start gaining momentum after an incident like this.   But none-the-less, it’s always out there opportunistically waiting for the next abuse of liberty.   Yes, this crazed gunman abused his liberty.   That gun he owned and chose to aim and shoot at civilians was intended by the Framers to be a deterrent to abusive and oppressive tyranny.  

Ironically, the discussion of gun-control or abolishing the 2nd Amendment arising from this incident at this place is 180 degrees out of phase.   The Holocaust Museum is intended to remember those who died at the hands of an abusive, oppressive tyrant.   It ought to be a sober reminder of just what happens when too much power is centralized into the hands of so few.   Human nature being what it is will always erode the conditions of civility if left unchecked.

As i scanned the images of the names on the monuments at the museum i was reminded of the fact that though 6 million Jews were exterminated, many times more people were slaughtered at the hands of Communists in the 20th century.   But  the M.O. is always the same:  power corrupts.

Is this true?   Or do the corrupt seek power?

HATCHET MAN II

i remember when Mitt Romney came to town.   The first time he came to MA to make his mark, he ran against the Kennedy legacy.   He tried, unsuccessfully, to unseat the Prince of the Bay State who through no fault of his own is the sole heir to the immediate family legacy of his rock-star brothers.   After losing to Teddy, he successfully became governor of the state against all odds and a one-party legislature.

Mitt’s public record isn’t the focus today.   i’m more interested in the irony of the campaign against him.   At the time it was a very real assault on the man’s character that he had amassed his fortune as a Hatchet Man.   For those of you who don’t know what that is; see pretty woman.   The essence of what a Hatchet Man does is saving or liquidating failing businesses by breaking them up and selling assets and/or making the smaller parts more productive and salvageable.   By all accounts he was quite good at it.

Of course, being good at that sort of thing requires an obligatory ideological and ad hominim attack from the left.   Mitt was portrayed as an enemy of the ’regular guy’ and of the ‘middle class’ and of unions because of the residual effect restructuring has on labor contracts.   Say what you want about that.   You might be inclined to agree or disagree – it doesn’t matter.

What does matter is that if you are opposed to people like Mitt because they ”side” with business owners at the expense of their workers (not customers) you must be deeply troubled – or at least conflicted.

No doubt you voted for and are in deep support of President Obama.   Notice something though if you haven’t already: 

he is the new Hatchet Man.

HERE WE GO

So, our reckless government just officially took over feckless GM.   In case you’re wondering what that means; it means that the President’s critics – you remember the ones who received savage ad hominim attacks because of their “tired rhetorical”, “partisan”, “mean-spirited”, “premature” criticism of Mr. Obama’s policies – were right. 

If you’re wise you’ll pay attention to the rest of their warnings.   Government Motors (formerly General Motors, but still conveniently GM) is a harbinger of things to come.   GM is largely in the tank because no one is buying new cars and if they do they definitely aren’t going to throw their hard earned money at a losing investment when there are much better values on the market.   Now that the government is running the show and ostensibly making cars, you can bet the product isn’t going to improve much.   Nothing is going to change for the better at GM.

i wonder if AIG would let me take out a policy on GM still sucking?   That sounds like a good bet.

What i really want to know is why you and i, Joe-taxpayer, have all vicariously thrown in and bought a car and won’t be receiving one.   Heck, i’d take a “free” GM auto.   Can i put in an order for a Sierra Super-Crew with a long bed?   Somebody should take the time to figure out how many new cars you can buy with 50 billion dollars.

If anyone doubts that this move is about saving union jobs -ergo Democrat constituents- you must live in a yurt in the Canadian woods.

(Sorry Canada)

Oh, The Pain

Dr. Tiller is dead.

i was going to leave this one alone until i saw the news and was challenged by some random comments.   A distraught woman was decrying the “evil” that went on there at her church this day.   

i don’t need or appreciate a lecture from a woman who has little qualm with sharing Christian community with a guy that sucks the brains out of 279 day old babies.

i’d have preferred she simply lament that evil ought not repay evil.

PC FOOLISHNESS: An excercise in redundancy

Late last week there was another T-train “accident” in Boston.   Last year a similar rear-ending type crash took the life of the driver who caused the crash.   Both incidents were the result of operators not paying attention due to the distraction of texting.  

This post isn’t about the evils of texting.   i don’t have an axe to grind with technology; it’s not that kind of progress with which i have a problem.   Rather, it’s about the people who set the policy for and ultimately hire these drivers.  

Both drivers were under 25.   Both were women (sort of).   And the latest one had a sketchy automobile driving record.   The three moving violations and one accident the most recent driver had amassed in the last 4 years is not highly unusual, but isn’t it a bit suspect that someone entrusted with public safety – and such large numbers of people at one time – would be so young and unnatentive?   i know when i was that age i shouldn’t have been considered for such a position of trust because of my lack of necessary concern for the responsibility a mass-transit driver should possess.

Which brings me to point:  Michelle McPhee from TKK radio reported that the driver of last week’s crash indicated that she was a woman on her application.   No big deal?   Perhaps, but the reality is that this ‘woman’ is actually a transgendered man.   If it’s a standard hiring practice to excercise cultural “balance” in an effort to level the field of opportunity, it’s also necessary to do so at the expense of other more important standards – like safety.

It seems to me that the MBTA is caught in a quandry of PC operations which have put the public at significant risk.   What’s next?  i heard reported this morning that the pilot of the plane that crashed outside Buffalo this winter was being flown by another suspiciously underqualified PC hire.  

Folks, quotas are BAD!

Stop supporting politicians and leaders and policies in your own life that make you feel better about yourself as a person and seek out the way that makes the most sense.   Is that too much to ask?

BIRTH PAINS

An amazing thing has been happening to me.  

Three years ago i and my family went through a wrenching life change.   We felt  - and ultimately believed - we were at the ‘wrong’ church.   i won’t say much about the church we were at except that it was a more traditional denominational setting.   The doctrine was sound and the people were great, but there were many things that just weren’t “right”.    The odd thing is, now that i look back on the events in their entirety i’m getting a clearer picture of what God was doing and not just what we were doing.

If you asked me a about this a year ago my answer would probably be different.   When we left our old church i was convincing myself it was because God wanted us to be in fellowship closer to home.   We had been traveling 35 minutes each way three times a week to the town in which my wife and i grew up, where our parents still live, and where the surroundings said, “home”.   But it didn’t feel like we were building anything or really part of the community at large because in reality we weren’t.   The problem i had internally was that i felt like i was running from a failure and not being ushered into a ‘call’.   Sure, my mouth was saying the right things, but it never felt quite right.

To be certain, there were many failures – personal and collective – at our old church.   In fact, that church closed over a year ago (oh, the guilt!).   Certain again, there are many people who feel a deep sense of loss and personal responsibility for that closure of a church family which began in the early 1800’s.   But God only knows, he makes his plans, and we thrust our paddles into the rapids in anxious desparation at times to navigate the river.   Thankfully, most of the people who called our old church “home” have not been deterred by the beaching and have found their way back into the rapids – better off.

And so have we.   i’m glad to report that the meaningful departure i so wanted to be true but was belied by my feelings, has come to fruition.   The whole while i felt like a traitor and a liar and perhaps worse, God was actually calling us out of the old and into the new.   He really did want us at FC Holden.   There, there is life and growth and a purpose beyond right believing.   It’s a flawed community of earnest people who are trying, trying, trying to live the life full and free promised in Scripture.  

It’s a life in Jesus, for Jesus.

It’s really quite simple and not as dower and intimidating as the world would portray.   The details are often sketchy and hard to work out, but most of the time we make it harder than it is.   You see, if God is asking you to consider the needs of others as well as your own, you have to make the choice – a lot.    That can get uncomfortable at times to say the least, but the rewards are fantastic!  

Don’t believe the hype of metaphysics; a relationship with the God who made you isn’t like; you, a Candy Machine, and pocket full of change.   You don’t get to speak reality into existence.   That’s been done the proper way when existence was spoken into reality.   You quite simply get to be awed, and then be happy about it.

There are few people who wouldn’t argue that Jesus was a great man and teacher.    So ask yourself, “If Jesus were alive today, would you go see him?   Would you invite your friends to come hear him?”   

Would you follow him?

Will you only ‘feel’ your way through life?

 or will you reason also?

RALLY TIME?

Is anyone really suprised that GM is shutting down for the summer?

Frankly, i’m a bit insulted that the government and its many sycophantic ‘news’ outlets have been drilling us with demoralizing reports that the nations largest automaker is in the tank because of bad leadership.    GM, like every other car company, is faltering because NOBODY IS BUYING CARS!

Sure, GM probably isn’t the best run of the auto giants, but expecting the Federal Government to improve on the situation is laughable.   i’m inclined to stand up and applaud Ford Motor Co. for not taking the mob money and selling out (i actually did stand and clap for a moment).    The kind of rally we need right now is the one that gets behind people, institutions and ideas that are uniquely American.    Big, intrusive, power grabbing centralized government is not a worthy cause for me to don an inside-out ballcap.

The Flex is really cool…

Buy FORD.

PC MISS USA

i can’t believe it.   The venerable Miss USA pageant has fallen prey to savages of political correctness.   Miss California has made a claim that she probably didn’t win – or at least was disqualified – because of her answer to a question on ‘gay marriage’.

The question was put to her by a celebrity blogger named Perez Hilton.   i don’t know Hilton and i’ve never heard of him before this morning; and yes, he’s gay (in the modern vernacular, not meaing gleeful).   Miss CA answered essentially that she believes marriage should be between a man and a woman.    After her response i could see Hilton’s entire visage and body language change from its previously gay (proper, traditional use) attitude to one of obvious disappointment.

More shocking and noteworthy are his comments to Matt Lowrer on the Today show about the whole affair.   Hilton is under the opinion that Miss USA should be more PC because she represents all Americans.   He was very unashamed of his bias against her because of her OPINION on same-sex marriage.

i had a lot of emotions and thoughts during the 1 minute i spent paying attention to this story.   But as i gave it more thought the enjoyment i get from that second cup of coffee had diminished.   i’m not offended at Miss CA’s answer or that Mr. Hilton didn’t like it.   i’m kind of upset that he asked the question in the first place.

i think it’s fundamentally wrong to ask a person in a Beauty Pageant a question such as this.   First, because it’s a set up.   It doesn’t matter which way she answers the question; she’s going to piss off somebody with her answer.   i wish she’d had the stones to politely ask him to pose another question to her for that reason.   Second, Mr. Hilton obviously hinged the entirety of his vote on the answer to that question.   Whoever got it was doomed to fail or bear the burden of being a poster child for ’the cause’.   He brought his personal agenda to the competition.   i’m sure he’s passionate about same-sex marriage, but is the Miss USA pageant really the time and place?

In short, i think it stinks that this woman is being judged and – in this case – condemned for her religious and political beliefs.   She was essentially on trial.   Today Miss USA, tomorrow…?

THREE CHEERS!

i must give our Commander in Chief kudos for his handling of the pirate event.

As you could easily surmise, i’m not a big fan of the President’s politics or vision. But i’m a fair and even-handed man if nothing else (though i hate the concept of “fair”).

For those of you who remember the pre-911 “Blackhawk Down” incident where the U.S. flexed its most feckless foriegn folly, this pirate problem ought to be met with unmistakable clarity.

It was rather “cowboy” of Mr. Obama.