Debt Crisis

            We can't turn on the TV or the radio these days without hearing about the debt crisis that threatens to consign our grandchildren to the poorhouse. Everyone agrees that something has to be done. Yet, no solution is possible under the circumstances. And by circumstances I mean a government split into parties, wings, movements, coalitions, factions, and caucuses, all with good intentions overridden by the necessity of achieving or remaining in power.

            Instead of taking bold action to fix the problem, Washington is mired in endless arguments about what and how much to cut from discretionary spending, which is only about 30% of the budget. Even here, every proposed cut is met with cries of anguish from the ox being gored. Cut, yes, cut. But cut the other guy, not me.

            The same cries emanate from the Department of Defense. With a budget larger than the defense budgets of the rest of the world combined, we can't possibly deny the need for another aircraft carrier, can we ? Or for more submarines equipped with ballistic missiles that are powerless to prevent the Middle East from becoming a gigantic Islamic republic? Seriously, do we still need 60,000 troops in Germany or an air base in Bulgaria?

            Meanwhile, no one is willing to offer a sensible plan to reduce entitlements for fear of offending seniors--you know, those old folks who vote. Someone has suggested that we lock congressional leaders in a room and not let them out until they've agreed on a solution. That way neither side would fear retribution from those nasty seniors. So much for leaders with the courage of their convictions.

            And then we have our dear President who still thinks we can spend (Sorry! Invest) our way out of this mess.

            God help us.

           

Unions

            The protesters massing in Madison's capitol have been compared to the protesters in Cairo by union sympathizers. They have got it exactly wrong.

            Union members have called Governor Scott Walker a Nazi and a Fascist while carrying signs that portray him as Hitler and Stalin. But just who is it that is refusing to cede power? The real despots, it seems to me, are the union bosses who have bullied their way to power and who unleash their goons to enforce their dictates.

            The crowds in Cairo wanted freedom. Union members should have freedom, too. The one thing union bosses fear the most is the freedom of their members to choose. Their loudest protests are against Governor Walker's proposal to have union members write their own checks to pay their union dues rather than the government doing it for them.

            Why? Because given the choice, some members would choose not to pay their dues. Why not? Because not all union members approve of the way union bosses spend their money. Specifically, they do not want their dues supporting the Democratic Party exclusively so that Democratic legislators can return the favor. Why else would Democrats in the Wisconsin legislature leave the state to avoid voting on bills unfavorable to their union supporters? There are no secrets here.

            We can argue all day about the pros and cons of unions. There is much to be said on both sides. But the reality is that states with public sector unions are going bankrupt, because they can no longer afford to pay for the sweetheart deals their members got on benefits and pensions, not to mention salaries that far outpace those in the private sector.

            Governor Kasich of Ohio has it right. He has seen his state lose hundreds of thousands of jobs to Right to Work states and to states with no income taxes. He wants those jobs to come back to Ohio. And the only way he can do that is to make Ohio employer-friendly. But what employer is going to want to build a plant in Ohio after seeing the vicious thuggery of union protesters massing in Columbus?

            I believe we have reached a seminal moment in American history. We will either make the tough choices necessary to rescue this country and the states from collapsing into intractable bankruptcy, or will blow a goodbye kiss to the good old USA that we've all known and loved.

Stupidity and Contempt

            Stupidity and contempt. To me, these are the two primary characteristics of the Obama administration when it comes to energy policy.

            Let's start with stupidity. The United States sits on the greatest reserves of gas and oil in the world. Yet, we import millions of barrels of oil from other countries that are either our sworn enemies or vulnerable to a takeover by them. The price of oil on the world market has just shot up to over $100 a barrel  because  of the turmoil in the Middle East. It could easily double if Islamists succeed in blocking the Straights of Hormuz or the Suez Canal. But the administration not only discourages exploration, it prevents the drilling of new wells.

            When Americans find themselves paying double and triple at the pump, the money spent there will not be available to spend on food, clothing, and other necessities. That is a surefire formula for economic collapse. But the administration doesn't see it that way. It's more important to keep the tree-huggers happy.

            Is that stupid, or what?

            Now contempt. In the last two years we have witnessed the contempt of the Obama administration and its Democratic lackeys in pushing through legislation like Obamacare, which the American people clearly opposed. The contempt of the administration in conducting its energy policy has now also been made clear.

            U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman has found Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in contempt for violating his 6/22/10 injunction against enforcing the drilling moratorium, which Salazar imposed after the Gulf oil disaster. But let's follow the bouncing ball here.

            First, Salazar appealed Feldman's decision, but lost. Unwilling to concede, he colluded with Climate Czar Carol Browner and imposed another, slightly different but effectively the same, moratorium on July 12. Judge Feldman declared this moratorium was also a violation of his injunction. On 9/12/10 Salazar lifted the moratorium. But guess how many drilling permits have been issued since then. NONE.

            Is that contempt, or what? Judge Feldman certainly saw it that way. Now it remains to be seen what the consequences will be.

            Up against such stupidity and contempt, is there any hope?  

The Big Lie

            I confess I was taken in like so many others by the dire warnings of the catastrophe a failure to raise the debt ceiling would cause. This failure, we were told, would make us default on our debt and damage our world standing.

            These warnings, it has now become clear, are a big lie.

            Let me put it as simply as possible: we don't have to raise the debt ceiling to prevent a default on our debt obligations. We all know that our government spends more than it takes in. True. But our cash flow is far greater than the interest on the debt. All we have to do is pay the interest on our debt first before the government overspends on everything else.

            How can anything be more simple than that?

            The beauty of this solution is that it would force the government to live within its means. All Congress has to do is refuse to raise the national debt ceiling. Then the government would have to make hard decisions on what to cut. Not next year, not in 2020. Now!

            The government would have no choice but to live with a balanced budget. Just like the rest of us.

            Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania first launched this idea in January and has now proposed legislation entitled "Full Faith and Credit Act" that would require the Treasury Department to deal with the debt first. Tim Geithner is screaming bloody murder, and Senate Democrats have sided with him, so the bill will not pass. But a similar bill has been introduced in the house by California Representative Tom McClintock and appears to have the backing of Tea Party supporters.

            The fight is on. Now that the lie has been exposed, we'll see who is really serious about controlling government spending.

World War III

            If I predicted that World War III will begin in the Middle East, I wouldn't be the first. All that's needed is for someone to light the fuse.

            We have war in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have Syria abetting Hezbollah's ascendancy in Lebanon. We have a revolution in Tunisia. Yemen is in turmoil and Libya is shaky. Are Algeria and Morocco next? Or Jordan?

            The recent developments in Egypt are most alarming. If the Islamic Brotherhood takes over in that country, it could block oil deliveries through the Suez Canal. And above it all we have Iran repeating its clear intent to wipe out Israel.

            This raises all sorts of questions for us:

1. If the Islamic Brotherhood closes the Suez Canal, how high would the price of gasoline have to soar before the United States intervenes? With President Obama having encouraged Mubarak's ouster, would he intervene at any price?

2. How far should the United States go to protect Israel in the event of an all-out war in the Middle East?

3. Would we be justified in supporting Israel in a preemptive strike against Iran?

4. Will it take World War III for President Obama to realize that his policy of appeasement doesn't work, that his praise of Islam only invites contempt, and that engagement with the enemy is no substitute for strength in the face of aggression?

The Challenge of Secularism

            While we recognize the restrictions placed on our behavior by the legal system, laws are broken everywhere and every day. Yet, law breakers respect authority, whether it's in the form of a police car, a notice from the IRS, or the judgment of a man in a black robe wielding a gavel.

            On a national level, we have challenges to our form of government that would impact our familiar way of life. We have already seen how a radical move to the Left in the past two years can alter the role of government and repress individual freedoms. Socialism and Communism certainly represent a challenge to our Constitution and our democratic republic. Fortunately, in a Judeo-Christian nation such as ours, an aroused electorate can still rise to such a challenge.

                This brings into question the impact of secularism on our democracy. Does the insistence on freedom from religion necessarily entail a separation not only of church and state, but also from the Judeo-Christian tradition that is the basis of our civilization and the laws that govern us? If there is no divine authority, what prevents us from breaking the links with our Founders' vision and establishing a perfectly secular system of government?

            One might point to the consequences of the French Revolution as an answer to that question. Closer to home, we might also remember how the American Revolution was the result of an experiment in self-government that ultimately rejected the divine right of kings. America proved that authority is not divine if it denies the inalienable God-given rights of man. Communism has been a failure everywhere precisely because it does deny them.

Madness and Depravity

            I watch very little network television. I can't stand laugh tracks or dramas that dish out gore and vice as their regular fare. One program I do watch is Blue Bloods, a show about a family of cops starring Tom Selleck as New York's Police Inspector. It deals with crime, but focuses on family values above all.

            In the episode airing January 19th, Selleck's character said (I think I have it right), "What diminishes most the quality of life is the taking of a life." He was referring to a murdered child, but also to his own son who had been killed in the line of duty. He might just as well have been referring to the massacre in Tucson or to the story in the next day's news about Dr. Kermit Gosnell.

            Gosnell, a Philadelphia abortionist, was arrested, along with nine of his employees, and charged with the murder of one woman and seven babies. The reports said that he had been in the business for over 30 years and specialized in late-term abortions. Babies born alive were killed by snipping their spinal cords with scissors. Although most of his records had been destroyed, it is said Gosnell killed hundreds of living babies in this way.

            You would not want to read the gruesome and barbaric details of this story on a full stomach.

            I am not going to get into the pros and cons of the 2nd Amendment, Roe v. Wade, or capital punishment. I certainly don't have anything to add that will convince the advocates of either side to change their minds. It just seems to me, however, that at the center of all these arguments is the value of life itself.

            Life is the greatest gift of all. We may feel justified in killing in self defense or in defending our country in a just war. But in either case, there is no denying that humanity itself takes the hit. There is something much worse, however, in choosing to take an innocent life. The madness of Loughner and the depravity of Gosnell diminish us all as members of the human race.

            If there is such thing as the wrath of God, He has just been sent an in engraved invitation.