Sure, Let's Build a Fence on the Border

Take note; if you care about freedom. Fences and closed borders not only keep people out...they also keep people in. Closed borders and onerous immigration requirements are a sign that a country is becoming more authoritarian, less free.

People move to countries where there is opportunity and openness...they don't move to places like Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union or Cuba...they escape from them if they can...to America. Maybe not for long. Soon they may be escaping from America...if the Obama administration continues headlong toward fascism.

If the government continues to destroy our economy no one will want to live here, even us. Why complain about people who want to get in?

Look at how many people want to get out. High valued executives for one. Doctors, nurses, medical industry professionals, automotive engineers, automotive parts manufacturers, car dealers, small business owners, bankers, entrepreneurs, technology developers, factory owners...the list will probably grow. These are the unemployed created by boondoggling politicians who are destroying their jobs for the sake of professional parasites. These people could be creating millions of jobs if the government would leave them alone and let them live as free citizens. In fact, they could create good jobs for educated Americans who will then hire immigrants for a pittance to mow their lawns and massage their backs. Instead, we'd rather complain about immigrants who will soon want to leave anyway...because there are no jobs. Why stand silently while talented people are taxed and regulated to death?

Wake up, America.

Honoring Life on Memorial Day

Notice that the President always mixes American values with his own twisted sense of them. For instance, today he talked about how our fallen soldiers sacrificed for others. Remember that he wants us all to agree about his brand of sacrifice - the sacrifice of the able to the unwilling. He never mentions that most of these fallen soldiers should be honored because they fought to protect their own freedoms. For Obama that would be selfish and not what the America he thinks he owns is about. He thinks that our fallen soldiers were merely "risking their lives for people they had never met." How cheap is that view of our soldiers!! What does that statement say about the depth of his judgment? I think Obama dishonors Veterans, the depth of their understanding and their love of country when he makes statements like that. Those words could be said of any soldier who died even for Soviet Communism. Sacrifice is not a value...it is a loss.

There is a better, more important reason why our fallen Veterans should be honored; they died for a new idea, and they were willing to put their lives on the line for it because they knew it was important. The American soldier is something entirely new in the history of the world; the American soldier is a philosopher who knows what it is for which he fights. Each soldier in a free country, must go into the depths of his conscience and decide for himself why he fights. He must question life and ask himself what principles are important enough for him to defend. For the first time in history, unlike all soldiers in the past, the American soldier was so unique that he would only fight for the good...he would only fight for a society that made good possible; a society that established the principles that made happiness and living possible, a society of reason, freedom, rights, the sanctity of contract; a society so constituted that it endured, not because of its people alone, but because of the principles it had established. Anyone who fights for America, in spite of Mr. Obama's words, knows that he is fighting for something special, not just giving up his life for others.

These philosopher soldiers died because, for the first time in history, there was an idea worth fighting for, an idea that meant self-sufficiency, prosperity and happiness for the living. Yes, they died because they wanted to live and they fought to the death those who would make them and their loved ones into slaves. They felt so strongly about this that the bodies of these philosophers lie near battle fields on virtually every continent on the planet. They didn't want you to take a lesson from their sacrifice; they wanted you to take a lesson from their desire for life.

Remember...the men we honor today fought, suffered and died so we could be free and they thought about why they were fighting. They were not just "bodies" or "grunts"; they were thinkers. They thought first about the kind of society in which they wanted to live; they thought about those they loved and they thought about how much they loved life. That arrogance of Americans that President Obama criticizes, that confidence and certainty for which the European intellectual hates us, is our moral certainty that when we fight, we are fighting for the best possible of worlds; a world of freedom. They didn't sacrifice for "people they had never met"; those people were represented by their fellow soldiers and they loved them as extensions of their own lives...as people like themselves who possessed the positive, life-giving sense of life for which American soldiers are known.

Remember that when you read about the President hiring and firing executives or bailing out his largest contributors with money stolen from you; or deciding what kind of car you should own or what kind of fuel you should use. Who would die for that? No American soldier in any war died so that Americans could be taxed to death. They didn’t die so that the government could destroy the value of their savings or the value of the dollar through inflation. They didn’t die so they could be honored for helping George Soros and his off shore clients or to protect General Electric’s monopoly on wind turbines or for the sake of 800 new IRS agents. Our soldiers did not die for the right to sacrifice. They fought for the right to live and be happy; they fought for freedom. Remember that, Mr. President. Remember that before you take your next step toward making us into slaves. Some of us do remember.

Find Your Voice Videos

I've I've linked to three YouTube videos on my blog that I've created on how to blog for the Tea Parties. I hope you enjoy them.

Find Your Voice Part 1

"Find Your Voice Part 1"

Find Your Voice Part 2

"Find Your Voice Part 2"

Find Your Voice Part 3

"Find Your Voice Part 3"

Indiana Laissez Faire Policy

The Recession is hitting Indiana hard. Losses of capital investment due to high taxes on businesses, over-regulation, the growing Federal government, inflation and sub-prime lending have harmed the ability of Indiana businesses to replace inventories and maintain jobs. The results are layoffs and unemployment. The key question for Indiana residents is how can we weather the economic storm?

News reports about several states angry with the burgeoning size of government are a signal that the entire country is in the throes of a grass roots protest against big government. Many Americans, particularly productive and responsible citizens, are appalled at the spectacle of a government that takes over banks, hires and fires executives and shakes down private investors in favor of labor unions.

I’d like to suggest that our local governments take a different approach that will not only set us apart from other states but also protect our citizens by fostering free markets and the right to work. Rather than raise taxes, we should declare a moratorium on tax rate increases for individuals and completely eliminate all taxes on companies in Indiana. In addition, we should do a complete review and elimination of all economic regulations that hinder competition as well as lower or eliminate the State Sales Tax. We should also review our right to work laws and ensure that no citizen is forced to join a union if he/she prefers not to do so.

This bold “Indiana Laissez Faire Policy” will put Indiana squarely among states that encourage commerce. It will also increase our tax revenues and give our state a strong capital investment base compared to the many states that are raising taxes and increasing regulations. In particular we should establish powerful concessions to welcome companies with a strong manufacturing capability, as well as a financial services and high technology orientation. We could also offer generous college credits for the children of employees of any company that increases its investment in Indiana jobs or moves to the state. Another initiative could also investigate alternative voluntary methods for funding Indiana government such as “user pays” and other similar ideas.

By establishing a “Laissez Faire Policy” with a long-term commitment of several decades, we are declaring to companies around the world that a home in Indiana will help them create prosperity and jobs. Additional efforts can consist of protecting citizens and businesses through an Intra-state commerce policy in areas where the state has a legal and Constitutional privilege.

These actions can be accomplished locally by local politicians and they are consistent with the principles of the Indiana Tea Party. It will give local politicians an opportunity to communicate to its citizens that they understand freedom and individual rights and that they are behind the restoration of the Constitution to its original intent.

Moral Authority

This article is about moral authority and how it influences people. What is moral authority? Who has it and why?

Moral authority is a major factor in many societies. It is the idea that one individual should be given the right to speak for and judge all others in a given group. Religious leaders, politicians and business leaders have tried to gain moral authority in order to inspire people to work toward a particular cause that they promote. Their moral authority testifies to the value and importance of their ideas and exhorts people to participate in the grand plan. Here are a few statements made by some of history’s most influential moral authorities:

“There is a road to freedom. Its milestones are Obedience, Endeavor, Honesty, Order, Cleanliness, Sobriety, Truthfulness, Sacrifice, and love of the Fatherland.”[1]

and

"It is thus necessary that the individual should finally come to realize that his own ego is of no importance in comparison with the existence of his nation; that the position of the individual ego is conditioned solely by the interests of the nation as a whole.., that above all the unity of a nation's spirit and will are worth far more than the freedom of the spirit and will of an individual.... "

"This state of mind, which subordinates the interests of the ego to the conservation of the community, is really the first premise for every truly human culture .... The basic attitude from which such activity arises, we call—to distinguish it from egoism and selfishness—idealism. By this we understand only the individual's capacity to make sacrifices for the community, for his fellow men."[2]

and

“We have lost the understanding that in a democracy, we have a mutual obligation to one another — that we cannot measure the greatness of our society by the strongest and richest of us, but we have to measure our greatness by the least of these. That we have to compromise and sacrifice for one another in order to get things done.”[3]

and

“When you’re really trying to make serious change, you don’t want people to get caught up in emotion because change isn’t emotion. … Its real work and organization and strategy.. that’s just the truth of it. I mean, you pull people in with inspiration, but then you have to roll up your sleeves and you’ve got to make sacrifices and you have got to have structure.”[4]

and

“The wise and virtuous man is at all times willing that his own private interest should be sacrificed to the public interest of his own particular order or society.”[5]

and

“We demand that the State shall make it its first duty to promote the industry and livelihood of citizens…. We demand extensive development of provision for old age. We demand creation and maintenance of a healthy middle class…. We demand development of the gifted children of poor parents, whatever their class or occupation, at the expense of the State. The state must see to raising the standard of health in the nation….”[6]

Moral authority is fostered, most often, by people that we trust. Yet, sometimes, charlatans define a cause and decide to seek the moral authority that would enable them to obtain participation in their cause. Religious charlatans, and even leaders of nations, often use the language of moral authority in order to steer men in a direction of their choosing.

The tactic behind many political movements is to muster the moral authority that will enable them to obtain the support of a large number of people and, presumably, accomplish much good. The theory is that a group of people, working together, and sacrificing their time, money and energy, can create a better world. According to this view, collective goals pursued by collective action mean good works and tangible results. If we all get together, they think, we can solve the world’s problems. How many times have we heard that?

Moral authorities also tell us that selfishness and greed are the enemies of mankind...and they should be punished for the harm they do. The problem in the world, the thinking goes, is that some people do not want to participate in collective action toward collective goals. These few, not only cause the world’s problems, they also refuse to participate in working to solve them. Our moral authorities are perceptive enough to see this, and for members of the collective, it makes sense.

A person with moral authority, because he is given much power and a position of trust, has the ability to affect the lives of people in significant ways. He gives beautiful speeches, uses eloquent phrases and has learned the skills necessary to convince millions to go along with him toward social justice and equality. The goal is utopia.

Yet, the individual, the joiner in collective goals, gives up his own ability to judge what is moral. The person granted moral authority is considered to be more studied and with a superior ability to decide for the group. In many cases, this unique, superior knowledge comes as a revelation from God. At other times, it comes from his love of humanity and/or his past suffering for the people.

Indeed, moral authority is an extremely powerful strategic tool in a variety of areas. For instance, in war, if the general of one army is seen to be a great leader and a powerful moral agent, that fact alone may intimidate an opposing army and tilt the balance of victory. The astute general will use that power, not only to intimidate his opposition, but to motivate his own soldiers.

The god that a particular army worships may also be a strategic advantage. If that god is seen as powerful and capable of intervening in the events of the war, he could have a powerful influence on both sides. Here an astute general will do all he can to convince the soldiers of both sides of the power of his special God.

Oftentimes, leaders with moral authority use that authority to disarm dissent. Anyone who questions the moral authority of a leader is branded as evil and subversive, an enemy who wants to stop the progress of the group…the group cannot be wrong.

Why do moral authorities always talk about the need for sacrifice? Why do their goals always involve people sacrificing their own wishes and desires for the group? This is because the idea of sacrifice itself has a tremendous moral authority. Today we call it altruism but it is essentially the view that it is good to live for others. The leader with moral authority appeals to victims who have been oppressed by the self-interested enemy and he declares himself to be fighting for the downtrodden and helpless. This gives him tremendous credibility and power among people who don’t want to think too much…who would rather see the riches given to them instead of earned by them.

Income re-distribution is altruism applied to the income of working people. Those who produce goods and services that people want are required to give up part of their income for the sake of others who are not able to produce as much. The moral authority who advocates this idea thinks that it makes everything better to have income re-distribution.

One moral authority put it like this:

“From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!”[7]

and another said:

“My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s gonna be good for everybody. If you’ve got a plumbing business, you’re gonna be better off if you’ve got a whole bunch of customers who can afford to hire you, and right now everybody’s so pinched that business is bad for everybody and I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody."[8]

But there are some people who understand that the above words are merely empty promises. The idea of altruism, of sacrifice, makes it possible for people to declare that it is moral to re-distribute wealth - but no one has bothered to look at history to see if wealth is ever created in a society based upon that principle. No one has analyzed the Soviet Union, Fascist Italy, Communist China, Socialist England, New Harmony, Indiana and a whole host of other utopian failed societies to see if altruism and collectivism actually made things better. In fact, these societies experienced a progressive decline into collective poverty because they disenfranchised the productive (which forced them to produce less) and enfranchised the less productive (which encouraged them to produce nothing) - while the entire group descended into bickering and finger-pointing. Yet, even after a whole century based upon that premise, we are still promised affluence and better lives if only we would sacrifice for the vision.

Yet, some utopians understand that utopia is not the goal of re-distribution. Words like “sacrifice for the common good” are merely code words used to obtain power, to deceive people…just like in the societies mentioned above. One advocate of collective action said it this way:

"You do what you can with what you have and clothe it with moral garments."[9]

Re-distribution/sacrifice/altruism continues to be the motive power behind the advance of fascism. Fascism is the control of the nation by the politicians; it is a society where the citizens own most of the property but the politicians dictate the social goals toward which the property owners should work. In this system, the government manipulates certain (successful) enterprises or industries in order to re-distribute income to government favorites. Whenever government manipulation forces a particular enterprise to fail, it rescues the enterprise and takes it over - using money it has extorted or stolen from other productive sectors of the economy. Fascist politicians think they are too smart to fail...as did Hitler and Mussolini. When they bankrupt a country, they enlist further support by starting wars.

Collectivism and altruism are the stock in trade of fascist politicians; the result historically has always been dilatory acquiescence (slavery) or revolutionary dissent (concentration camps and/or armed struggle). In either case, destruction was the result. Along the path toward fascism you will find, strewn along the side, burned out factories and homes, bombed cities, decaying concentration camps engaged in genocide and groups that destroyed each other out of hatred. You see victims…not utopia. The only thing that fascism destroys is the people. After it has reached its destructive goal, its leaders commit suicide or are punished by the people they have exploited. This is the path upon which the Obama administration and its moral authority are taking us . I've said it...history will prove me right...my children and yours will be the pebbles ground under to make up this path. Do you really want that?

Moral authority, and the blind acceptance of moral authorities, is the all-consuming cancer on our society. It is the idea that kills the intellects of millions of people and opens them to the exploitation of fascists like Hitler and Obama. When we give moral authority to any individual leader, we give up the responsibility that each of us has to be moral, the responsibility we have to judge and question our leaders; and we allow these leaders to turn us against each other. There should be no moral authority over any individual except the individual.

[1] http://quotations.about.com/od/morepeople/a/Hitler1.htm
[2] Speeches of Adolf Hitler, quoted by Dr. Leonard Peikoff, “Ominous Parallels”
[3] Michelle Obama, http://www.veerite.com/favorite-barack-obama-quotes/
[4] Michelle Obama, http://www.woopidoo.com/business_quotes/sacrifice-quotes.htm
[5] Adam Smith, “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” quoted by Dr. Leonard Peikoff in “The Ominous Parallels”
[6] “Twenty-Five Points”, Nazi Party, 1920, quoted by Dr. Leonard Peikoff in “The Ominous Parallels”
[7] Karl Marx, 'Critique of the Gotha Program'
[8] Barack Obama, conversation with Joe the Plumber
[9] Saul Alinsky “Rules for Radicals”

Who has the Courage?

I have been appalled at the low level of intellect, understanding, forthrightness and principle of political candidates who, for some reason, believe they have the qualifications to lead the greatest country in history. I am further appalled at the low level of judgment that has characterized the voters who have given these men and women leadership positions. With that said, I am wondering if there is a man or woman on the scene who has the courage to run a political campaign based on the following:

Principles that should guide a President:

New policies:
Individual rights
The Constitution establishes the right of the individual to be free of government coercion. It sets the rules for how the government should operate by establishing freedom of religion as well as freedom from religion, freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, right to bear arms, property rights, the pursuit of happiness and much more.

As President, I would reinstitute individual rights by establishing several policy positions. These include:

Policy 1. Transition our government through three stages to eliminate the IRS.
Stage 1. Move to a temporary National Sales Tax.
Stage 2. Gradually eliminate all government programs based upon redistribution of income from one group to another. These include welfare programs, jobs programs, housing programs, Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security to name a few. Where possible, privatize these programs gradually. Ensure that all people who are vested in these programs receive their full benefits but allow no new payees into the programs.
Stage 3. Totally eliminate the IRS, the National Sales Tax and set up a system of voluntary support of government services as well as direct payments for services such as courts, contract enforcement, etc.

Policy 2. Create a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate government interference in the economy. Until such an amendment can be ratified, it will be the policy of my administration to eliminate all government interference in the economy including the dismantling of every regulatory agency of the Federal government.

Policy 3. Elimination of the Federal Reserve Bank and an immediate return to the gold standard.

Foreign Policy

Policy 1. I will immediately declare America’s goal to eliminate any foreign threat that is presently engaged in military action against America or American interests abroad. This policy will not seek to win “hearts and minds” but to eliminate any threat as soon as possible by whatever means necessary - once the threat is eliminated, we will leave.

Policy 2. I will announce a unilateral elimination of any trade barriers that are presently in place by the U.S. government. U.S. citizens can decide individually or corporately which nations they will choose for trade. The only exception would be nations that have sworn to destroy the U.S. or any U.S. allies.

Policy 3. I will remove the U.S. as a member of the United Nations and I will politely ask the UN to move its headquarters to another country within 2 years.

Policy 4. I will immediately convene a commission to reform immigration laws and policies so that our country can attract an adequate number of hard working immigrants seeking freedom and prosperity. Key goals of this commission will be to ensure an adequate level of immigration that will fill the demand for new workers, ensure that every immigrant is treated with respect, reform the system so it does not unfairly restrict immigration, implement the Constitutional principle that "all men are created equal" and finally, ensure that immigrants do not come here for a government "hand-out."

Education
Policy 1. I will eliminate the U.S Department of Education.
Policy 2. I will place all schools owned by the Federal Government up for sale to the highest bidder.
Policy 3. I will eliminate the laws that mandate that any child in the U.S. must attend school as a matter of law.

Inauguration Speech
My fellow Americans, we stand today in a time that has seen the most serious decline of the power and prestige of our country in its history. The causes of this decline are many but it goes without saying that the fundamental cause is government intervention in our economy and most importantly in the private lives and decisions of our citizens. Once and for all we have seen the damage done by runaway government. The myth of government power has blinded us about the very real damage that can be done by government to the free choices and business decisions of our citizens. The human mind must be free to function and any individual who works hard and produces abundance must be free to keep that abundance and enjoy his or her life. This long nightmare of worshipping the power of government is over. The people have their lives back and the government will soon get out of their way.

My administration will return our nation to the root principles that created it – the very principles that made it great. For the first time in many decades, you will have a leader who believes that principles matter. What are these principles that will guide my administration?

For decades, we have been taught that statism and interventionism were the way for government to ensure a more equitable society. It was thought for many years that a capitalist system inevitably left some people behind and that the rich got richer. Yet, while time passed, few noticed that the entire society was being lifted up and people who were once considered poor were living life styles better than those of kings of old. No one noticed that the technology advances brought by capitalist innovators were being enjoyed by both rich and poor. Yet through out this period, the call was for more regulation, higher taxes and more government intrusions into our every-day decisions. These recommendations were accompanied by massive government-funded propaganda campaigns against capitalism - engaged by politicians, college professors and the very schools that were supposed to educate our children.

An even worse spectacle were the long lines of private businesses that sought government money to save their businesses, help with cash flow or finance huge boondoggles with political support from Senators and Congressmen who in return received generous campaign contributions. This practice will stop today, not next year, not in the unforeseeable future. No one can obtain money from the government in the form of welfare or loans.

I declare a policy of immediate elimination of all government intervention into the economy. This will eliminate the need for career politicians; it will eliminate the need for campaign contributions and there will be no need for quid pro quo or bribery. Finally, politicians will be required to do their jobs which is to protect individual rights rather than countenance their violation.

The worst principle that a free society can accept is the idea that the government has the right to redistribute money from one citizen to another. It is this principle that has destroyed countless nations and caused monumental disasters even in our own country.

Regarding the education of our young people, my administration will do away with government-run schools; further, it will fight for a school system that is free of government control. Parents will now be able to choose which schools their children will attend, which curricula and subjects will be taught and they will never be forced again to accept the imposition of ideas upon their children with which they disagree. Further, I will abolish the monopoly that teachers unions have in our schools by eliminating the requirement that teachers must join a union. If we are to have a free society, your schools must be free of government. This includes our universities, colleges and technical schools.

As a society that was founded upon individual rights and freedom, we have learned the value of a Constitutional government that is restricted to protecting the rights of citizens; a government whose purpose is to defend those rights rather than violate them. I pledge to you that individual rights will not be mere political rhetoric; these words will not be empty; they will be the principles that guide us. If it is a crime for a citizen to rob another citizen, it is a crime for the government to do the same.

Likewise, as a free nation, we prefer to deal economically and diplomatically first with those countries that have similar free societies and individual protections. We pledge to those countries an abiding friendship and open trade. As with domestic economic policy, we pledge a “hands off” foreign economic policy.

But we also know that our country has enemies who want to harm or destroy us. Dictatorships and terrorist groups that have no regard for the lives and property of their fellow citizens pose a threat to their neighbors and to the world. Many try to justify their hatred of us by accusing us of brutal acts or of seeking to dominate the world. Their arguments are based upon lies and prejudice. Let me state clearly that the United States of America holds by conviction that “all men are created equal” and this applies to men of other nations. If you want to be our friend, we welcome you with open arms. If you want to do us harm, we will ensure that you spend your time hiding, starving or dying.

We pledge our Armed Forces and Intelligence Services to be always vigilant to the activities of our enemies and we will do whatever is necessary to thwart them before they can accomplish their destructive aims.

Finally, my fellow Americans, I want to make it clear that we need an Amendment to our Constitution that strictly prohibits government interference in the economy. Just as we have a separation of church and state in our Constitution, true freedom requires a separation of economy and state. There has never been a situation in our history where our government’s interventions into the economy have served a useful purpose. This ability of the government to regulate and control the economy has resulted in the impoverishment of our people and this must be stopped. The only way to stop the corruption and theft that government interference has brought about is to prohibit the government from making any regulations that interfere or regulate economic activity. Since this issue has been the keynote of my candidacy, I thank you for your support and I promise that we will begin immediately to remove the corruption of government from our lives and daily decisions.

My fellow Americans, I am not going to ask you to sacrifice. I am not going to ask you for more of your money; nor will I slyly advance massive spending programs while I promise to cut spending. Those of you who have listened to inaugural addresses in the past are accustomed to hearing clever phrases demanding collective solutions for individual problems. Today is a new day and I won't ask you to marvel and my clever eloquence. I am going to provide you with one of the most quotable lines ever to be uttered. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Thank you for your support.

Who has the courage?