As the conversation progressed it became clear that my friend felt that the problem was that Americans are too stupid to vote the right way. It occurred to me that I had heard this argument before. It is the argument that is used to justify virtually every liberal program and concept. Parents can’t raise their own children, “it takes a village”; we can’t be trusted to manage our own retirements, government must provide “security”; Americans can’t be trusted with guns, and so on.

This is a very dangerous trap that leads to a belief that the ends justify the means. This is the liberal view that explains why they see no problem with attempting (and sometimes succeeding) to steal elections in Washington state, Minnesota, and Florida. This is why liberals turn to the courts rather than the people when they want to force their agenda on America.

 For forty years we have allowed the left to control the education and media in this country. The problem is not that Americans are stupid, we are not. However we are not as well educated or informed about civics and politics as we should be. We have been lied to and manipulated and indoctrinated into believing more in government than in ourselves. But I believe that Americans still understand freedom and still desire it more than anything. But in the absence of strong leaders committed to freedom, Americans sometimes fall for strong speakers with a compelling message of hope and change, particularly when he is running against a candidate without a strong message of freedom following an unpopular President.

 Gerald Ford was defeated by Jimmy Carter’s big smile and easy manner when the voters were sickened by Watergate and the loss of the Vietnam War. But only four years later, Ronald Reagan told them that he knew Americans could do anything, that the “malaise” existed only in Washington and that government was not the solution to the problem, government was the problem.  Ronald Reagan’s magic wasn’t his speaking skills or rhetoric; it was his fundamental belief in the goodness of America and Americans. He spoke directly to the American people as often as possible, when the liberals in Congress tried to block his goals, he didn’t turn to the courts, he turned to the people.

When Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980 the Dow Jones Industrial average stood at 771, interest rates, inflation and unemployment all stood in double-digits, the Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan, 52 Americans were being held hostage by the Iranian government, and the Cold War was at its peak.

When Ronald Reagan left office eight years later, our economy was booming in what would become the longest peacetime growth in our nation’s history. The Cold War was effectively over with the collapse of the Soviet Union a few years later.

In 1976 when Jimmy Carter was elected, I am quite sure there were many who believe that the American dream was over. Teddy Kennedy was pushing universal healthcare, taxes were brutally high and the government was expanding every day. Our military was being cut back and demoralized. In many ways February 1997 resembled February 2009. In that there is a message of real hope. Americans are not stupid. If we conservatives can put forth our message with a strong, likable candidate with an unwavering message of freedom, personal responsibility and personal success. That candidate will win in a landslide; particularly if President Obama continues down his current path.

If, on the other hand, we put forward a candidate like John McCain, with a “centrist” message trying to appeal to the left as well as the right, we will again lose and deservedly so. Americans want a strong leader to protect their freedoms, to fight for them in Congress and overseas. They don’t want a milquetoast seeking compromise on every issue. Despite all of the media whining about bi-partisanship, the record clearly shows that the American people want the conflict and consider it good.

I hope that everyone will keep the faith in the American dream and the American people alive. We are a great people and we will survive this as we have survived in the past. We have a long war ahead of us, and we will have to fight for every inch of freedom against Obama’s encroachments. We have lost a major battle, but the war is far from over. We Shall Return.

God Bless America

Dear Mr. President:

Congratulations on becoming the 44^th President of the United States. I wish you the best of success in that most difficult office. As you familiarize yourself with the White House I hope that you will take the time to read (re-read I hope) the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to remind yourself of the full burden that you are about to undertake.

Mr. President, these documents, which you spoke of so highly in your inaugural address today, deserve and require more than lip service. Much of what you spoke of in your speech is diametrically opposed to the ideals set forth in those documents. Freedom is not provided by government. It is not the government’s responsibility to help people find jobs or homes or medical care. It is the job of the government to stay out of the way, and to make sure that others stay out of the way, of each individual’s God-given freedom to make their own way in the world, powered by their own innate skills and abilities.

Mr. President, God has given us conscience and the desire to help those who cannot help themselves. Government has taken that desire away and impersonalized it, removed it from the American psyche so that now we view a homeless person and see it as a government problem, not a problem for us to deal with as individuals.

Mr. President, when we look at the world and see countries where the citizens are trapped in poverty and opportunity is denied, we cannot help them by simply sending money to their captors or extending an open hand hoping that they will unclench their fists. We must help them by opening free trade and opportunity, showing the people and their governments that the strength of any nation comes from the individuals that make up its citizenry. Those individuals, each pursuing his or her own brand of success and satisfaction, are the people that truly benefit the “common good” for as each one achieves more, they also share more, either via their purchases, their gifts, or their good works.

Mr. President, when you penalize the most successful in our country, the pain will be felt most by the least among us; for they are the ones whose jobs will be lost; they are the ones who will no longer be building homes, yachts, cars, or anything else.

Mr. President, the Declaration and the Constitution lay out these values clearly and precisely. The Constitution places sharp restrictions on the authority of the government. Although these restrictions have been honored mostly in the breach over the past 76 years, they are critically important. If you follow those restrictions and move government out of the way by reducing spending and reducing ALL taxes you will be amazed at what this country can do.

Mr. President, I pray for your success in office, I pray for the future of our nation. Please bring your capabilities and strengths to bear to ensure that our nation is more free in 2012 than it is today, that my daughter will grow up in a country founded on and still based upon individual freedom and responsibility.

God Bless you and God Bless America,

James W. Hunt

“We are all in the same boat in a stormy sea, and we owe each other a terrible loyalty.” – G.K. Chesterton

The headlines today are the same as they have been many times before. “Death Toll Mounts as Israel Expands Gaza Offensive” – “French President says violence ‘must stop immediately, as soon as possible’.” – “Syria’s President Assad calls the Israeli offensive a ‘war crime’.” – “Toll Rises in Gaza”

To anyone unfamiliar with the situation it would appear that Israel is the aggressor and the people of Gaza are being subjected to vicious attacks. Even the United States government has joined in the call for a cease fire. Of course it was Hamas’ refusal to continue the previous “cease fire” that initiated this conflict.

Who are we to criticize Israel? Why are we not standing at her side in this conflict? Hamas was founded with the explicit goal of the complete destruction of Israel. It has never renounced that goal. Hamas deliberately targets innocent Israeli civilians with suicide bombers and missiles. Israel, on the other hand, issued warnings to the people of Gaza when and where they were planning to strike to allow people to clear the area. Hamas reacted by forcing civilians on the roofs of targeted buildings. Israeli hospitals are caring for people injured in Gaza.

While Iraq seeks stability, Israel is the sole bastion of freedom in the Middle East. They have been under constant threat from their neighbors yet they have maintained freedom and built a thriving economy.

Would we listen to diplomatic calls for “discussions and cease-fire” with Osama bin Laden after 9/11? No, and no more should Israel (or former U.S. presidents) be talking to Hamas until they repudiate their stance on Israel and cease all acts of terrorism.

The seas that Freedom sails upon are particularly stormy at the moment. There are some on board who are determined to rock the boat and perhaps even sink it. But we, the crew of that boat, have a responsibility to show “a terrible loyalty” to her and to all who seek to continue to sail aboard her.

God Bless America

Jesus sought to right wrongs wherever he saw them, sometimes by direct and even violent action (the destruction of the market in the temple). He taught us to treat all people with equal love and kindness, regardless of their station in life, color of their skin, gender, or physical handicap. He taught us that the least among us could make the greatest gifts and that wealth was in no way an indicator of goodness. But most of all he taught us to treat everyone as we would want to be treated.

The story of Jesus of Nazareth compels us to work to guarantee freedom around the world. Jesus’ word was the word of freedom and love and peace. For anyone who truly treats others as they would themselves be treated is unlikely to hold anyone else in slavery or revel in holding power over others.

The Founding Fathers felt this issue so important that they made it the very first item to be protected in the Bill of Rights. Ahead of freedom of speech, press, and assembly come TWO specific clauses protecting religion. The first ensures that the government cannot impose any particular denomination or religion upon us, and the second is supposed to ensure that the government cannot limit our free expression of religion. Unfortunately this latter protection has been nearly wiped out by recent court decisions. It is clear that the Founders never meant to remove religion from the public square or from our government. However, I don’t want to go into that right now.

This is a season of love and forgiveness. In these difficult times, let us remember those less fortunate than ourselves. Not just those here in America where we have so much, but all those around the world living in oppression and poverty. From Cuba and Venezuela to Iran and China people are living in fear, repression, and conditions that we simply can’t imagine. In Iraq, conditions are improving after 30 years of terror and five years of war. The Iraqi people now have the opportunity to take advantage of freedom if they can learn the lessons and grow to respect each other.

Let us all remember, that no matter who we are, no matter how much or how little we have, we are blessed to live in a country that tries to uphold the ideals of freedom and peace around the world. We don’t always do it right, but we stand for what is right.

“Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord… Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men.”

Merry Christmas and God Bless America

It is not a document granting rights, but rather affirming that government could not interfere with the God-given rights of the people. (“We are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights…” remember that?)

The first eight amendments enumerate specific limitations on the government from the protection of free speech to the guarantee of trial by jury. The ninth and tenth amendments make the full intent of the founders crystal clear:

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

These two amendments, and particularly the tenth, have become the forgotten amendments, observed mostly in the breach. The tenth amendment was specifically designed to prevent the government from growing overly large and taking over our lives.

I urge you to think about this amendment and try to justify our current government programs in light of these strictures. Where is the authority for the Department of Education, Social Security, Housing and Urban Development, Welfare, the National Endowment for the Arts, National Institute of Health and so many, many more?

Note the sleazy way the federal government got around this for setting national speed limits, seat belt requirements and national drinking age. The government used extortion – no more highway money if you don’t do what we say. The bureaucrats and politicians in Washington are drunk on power and they have pulled out all the stops to gain more, regardless of the clear intent of the Constitution. Only we can stop them, only by fully understanding our rights and the limits on their power that are in place but not enforced.

President-elect Obama (he really is President-elect now) seems set on a course to make the government even bigger, to control more and more of our lives. I do not want to debate the merits of any given government program at this point. What I do hope you will think about is whether the Constitution allows the programs to be created at the national level or whether, as the Constitution says, these powers should be reserved to the states respectively, or to the people?

How many of you have read the Bill of Rights or read them recently? Please do, it might be an eye-opening experience. You can find them listed by clicking on the following link: Bill of Rights

God Bless America

Most of us, at one time or another, have complained about nanny government trying to run our lives. Most of us are guilty of deciding it isn’t worth fighting about as we watch our rights get slowly chipped away. Maybe, just maybe, someone is fighting back. You’ll never guess who it is.

In upstate New York and in Michigan nanny governments are suing some individuals for building their own houses on their own property. They are complaining that the owners did not get proper building permits, did not use “approved” lumber and the houses do not have proper smoke detectors. All this may be true, but it would be very difficult for these houses to have smoke detectors because they don’t have any electricity. Nor do they have indoor plumbing. Yet these homes are not eyesores, we are not talking about shanty town shacks. These are beautifully built traditional homes.

The problem is that the owners are Amish. They do not use electricity and they will not apply for a building permit because to do so would require them to lie to obtain one. Another challenge is that the Amish believe in non-violence and no conflict which means that they will not even stand up for themselves in court. However people are stepping up to fight on their behalf.

As I have discussed in previous entries, the 1^st Amendment to the Constitution is very clear. It says, among many other things, that there shall be no law regarding “an establishment of Religion or the prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”  Clearly it would be a violation of the Amish faith to require them to put smoke detectors (and therefore electricity even if only batteries) in their homes.

These are not commercially built homes for sale to an unsuspecting buyer. Several Amish homeowners have been fined thousands of dollars for failing to meet building codes. Enough is enough. How can we sit here and let local, county, state and federal governments dictate every aspect of our daily lives. In some towns, landscape inspectors will fine you if you do not mow your lawn or fertilize your trees often enough (Sunrise, FL for example). The federal government dictates to the states what the speed limit on state roads must be (and use extortion to enforce their mandates).

If I were to list all of the regulations that the various governments have imposed in order to “protect” us from ourselves, I would probably be typing for the rest of my life and then some.

When did we Americans stop believing in our own Freedom? Two hundred thirty-five years ago, Americans said NO to a tiny tax on a pound of tea. They stood up and said NO MORE. When are we going to do the same? When are we going to follow the direction given in these words in the Declaration of Independence?

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

It is time to make sure that we elect new Guards for our future security. It is time that we put a stop to this madness. If you want to read more details of the persecution of the Amish click here. Please, it is time to stop letting the government interfere in everything we do. Freedom is a vanishing commodity that is as precious as the air we breathe. Don’t let it continue to be destroyed.

God Bless America

"On this Veterans’ Day please accept my thanks for your service to your country and to all of us. Hopefully our country will never forget the principles that you each took time from your lives to protect. Your sacrifices helped to keep us free just as those of your predecessors helped to make us free. Also thanks to the loved ones who stayed behind while fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters went off to serve and particularly those whose loved ones never came home. Whether in war or peace, you, the men and women who serve in our armed services, honor us with your dedication to American freedom and human liberty. May God bless all who have and are serving and may those serving in harm’s way today or in the future come home safely and in Victory." 

Summoned by the three musket shot signal that ringed the village and countryside, the Minutemen hastened to the home of their young Captain, a skilled gunsmith who had made his own gun and equipped his company with bayonets. [The only Minuteman Company so equipped that day.]

After saying farewell to his wife Hannah, shown standing in the doorway, Captain Davis turned and said, "take good care of the children Hannah."

Then, at the head of his company, Captain Davis gave the order to march. In that early spring dawn, to the tune of fife and drum playing the "White Cockade" they marched the more than six miles over the old roads to the agreed upon rendezvous at the Muster Field in Concord.

There, after a conference of Officers, Captain Davis was heard to say "I haven't a man afraid to go," He then wheeled his men to the right of the column and with Major Buttrick of Concord and Colonel Robinson of Westford led his men to meet the attack at the Bridge.

He was shot through the heart by the first British volley on the spot where the Minuteman Statue now stands.  Another of the company, Abner Hosmer, was killed by that same volley.

Captain Davis, the first commissioned officer to be killed in the War of Independence, became the symbolic model for the Statue, chosen by Daniel Chester French as best typifying the spirit he wished to portray.

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