"The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants" - Albert Camus

Thursday, June 28, 2012

R.I.P. America - It Was Good While It Lasted

Up to the last minute, many constitutional law experts and almost everyone else were sure that Obamacare was not going to survive in the SCOTUS, especially after the disastrous performance of the Administration at the hearings.

...And then the unthinkable happened...

Thank you Chief Justice Roberts, I hope you sleep well for the rest of your miserable life since you now have the figurative blood of free America on your hands!

I just blogged two days ago that, in the foot steps of the terrible Arizona illegal immigration ruling, I was afraid to see the decision that would come out of the SCOTUS. Was I justified in my fears or what?!
As we say in Turkish, "the village that you can see does not need a guide to get to" (loosely translated). The Arizona decision was a clear harbinger of things to come.

Today's decision to uphold Obamacare in its entirety will undoubtedly go down in history among the worst SCOTUS decisions. America just took a decisive turn towards collectivism, likes of which there are no detours from. When FDR crammed Social Security down our collective throats, the opposition was hopeful of repealing it too. Much later, Medicare...the same hopefulness was found among those who realized how these small steps were undermining the foundation of America. None, none of it, were ever repealed because it is extraordinarily tough to repeal an existing law. What is required is nearly 2/3 of the congress made up of like minded freedom lovers, and the likelihood of that in a country where about half the population is on some type of government assistance is next to zero. Hanging any hopes on a November victory would be misplaced optimism.

So, what is next? We all know the story already...a bunch of gutless Republicans will talk big, the base will be energized, promises of repeal will fly through the air non-stop, blah, blah, blah....

At the end, this travesty will stand like many others before it stood and there is nothing you and I could do to change that. You see, the insidious nature of socialism is similar to that of a terminal cancer that eats away at the healthy tissues and organs of the body. Once started, there is little hope of return from short of a miracle. Ever increasing numbers of people on government assistance are like drug addicts that are fed small doses of narcotics every day. Their numbers will only increase until the day the system completely collapses, like it is starting to happen in Europe.

No my freedom loving friends, our choices are being dwindled down. We are being trapped in an inescapable corner where we will have only two choices: become a serf to the state, or rebel openly. The choice is not a pretty one, but I am afraid it is the only one left. There is no return from this point on the road to oppressive collectivism that the left has embarked on over eight decades ago. They have taken over the educational system that sees to it that the new generations cannot think for themselves. They have taken over the media that continually feeds their propaganda to the unsuspecting apathetic masses and ignores news detrimental to their collectivist ideology. They have taken over the courts, the bureaucracy, entertainment, and many other aspects of life. All we have left for us is our families and religious organizations (heck, they have even taken over some of those). Although our numbers are strong, we are isolated and many of us feel weak. So, the question remains, will we fight or be enslaved quietly?

The main difference between Democrats and many in the Republican Party seems to be their approach to big government – not their determination to do away with it. The only apparent solutions left are open rebellion or secession. Open rebellion, like the massive Tea party rallies of 2009-2010, has all but been forgotten...again thanks to apathy, which I have been critical of. A big purpose these rallies served was the sense of empowerment they gave to people, but they practically disappeared among bickering and ineptness of various Tea Party leaders.

Secession - as outrageous as it sounds to many - on the other hand is the only viable - and difficult - solution left. After all, we are a nation of 50 supposedly sovereign states, though you would not know it from the actions of this Administration. Challenges to state sovereignty over enforcing the integrity of their borders, elections, or business environment have been taking a toll on their relationships with the federal government. Will deliberate betrayal of the concept of federalism eventually move some states to declare their independence? Only time and the will of freedom loving Americans will tell.

The unchangeable reality remains that individualists cannot coexist with collectivists. Collectivism must feed from the fruits of individualism, therefore it must - and will - dominate. As such, those who value individual rights over the perceived rights of the collective must now drive towards the goal of pushing for red states like Utah, Texas, and others to secede from the union. Then, and only then, will the freedom loving Americans have a haven to turn to. We must not fool our selves, however, in that there will be many road-blocks on the way to achieving this goal and the potential for violence will always be there. The determination needed will be unequalled ever since the determination shown by our founding fathers. In a sense, we will have to re-form this country from its own ashes if we hope to have our children live in a free nation once again.

Sounds pessimistic? Yes, yet it is strangely optimistic at the same time. Is it unfounded fear? Our own history, along with that of the world, begs to differ.
In the coming days and weeks, there will be much analysis of the SCOTUS decision made by all sorts of people, but the end result will remain unchanged. America that we knew as the freest, most glorious nation in modern times has been dying a slow death. The latest SCOTUS decision was the news that cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. Soon, the patient will die. How soon? The proximity of that virtually inevitable conclusion is not important in the overall scheme. The deep sense of loss is already there, accompanied with a sense of having let down our children, who not only will suffer the terrible financial consequences but will never know America as we and the generations before us did. The profound sadness that I feel for America to which I emigrated over three decades ago is almost unbearable.

Rest In Peace America. It was good while it lasted.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Latest Betrayal By The SCOTUS

Unlike the victory that some so-called conservatives have portrayed it as, Monday's decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to uphold only the provision of Arizona Immigration law that allows law enforcement to require proof of citizenship from suspicious detainees is just the latest betrayal of our constitution.  Betraying the spirit of our founding is nothing new to the SCOTUS as they have been hard at work doing just that since 1934.

In this latest fiasco, the descenting justices were exactly right.  Here we have a state that is literally under siege by illegal immigrants and Mexican drug lords.  On the other hand, we have a federal government that refuses to enforce existing illegal immigration laws for political reasons.  So, when the state passes law to protect its sovereignty by enforcing nothing more than the existing federal laws that are being ignored by the criminal regime in Washington D.C., the thuggish regime sues them and the supreme court of the land sides on the most part with this federal government?  Say it isn't so!  But, unfortunately, it is.

This is exactly like police refusing to stop a dangerous criminal from doing bodily harm to you, and when you shoot the criminal, charging you with murder.  That sure can't happen in a country of laws, can it; one might ask.  George Zimmerman would like to take exception with those idealists who think we have a blind justice system.  But I digress.

The latest action of the SCOTUS shows once again that the notion of federalism is dead in the 21st century U.S.  Despite the harm to a sovereign state, in the face of federal indifference, it seems that states are in a life and death struggle unless they happen to be progressive havens.
With a lawless executive branch undermining the essence of what America is all about - challenging not only anti illegal immigration statutes but anti election fraud attempts in multiple states along with other acts of defiance (of people's will) - there seems no end to this outrage.  And now, we have a SCOTUS decision that rubber stamps this lawlessness.  I am afraid to see the Obamacare decision due out on Thursday!

It has been clear for a while now that there is no choice but to defeat Democrats in November.  The alternative is unthinkable and likely to result in upheaval that has not been seen since the civil war in this country.  May God help us by giving the masses wisdom to see that their individual liberties are slipping by as they apathetically go through life.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Doubling Down on Stupidity

The Democrats have such contempt for American people.  When you are an elitist, you unquestioningly believe in your supposed intellectual superiority.  And when this psychosis reaches advanced levels, one is blinded to even the obvious that a political novice can see.

Take Obama.  The rigid ideologue that he is, despite disastrous couple of weeks he's had culminating in his ridiculous assertion that the private sector is doing just fine (and inevitably back pedalling), he's been out parroting the same old rhetoric about financing bigger and bigger government to cure what ails us.  Apparently, none of his Democrat advisers are free from the same psychosis in that Obama continues pursuing his ill-advised divide and conquer strategy - a sure loser come November.

No, American people are not that stupid.  They may not always pay attention to politics but they certainly have a sense of what is right and what is wrong despite the condescending attitudes of progressive collectivists.

Doubling down on stupidity?  Not only that, they are going all-in!

Friday, June 8, 2012

The Softball King

Obama's performance over the past few weeks is worthy of the national softball champions, University of Alabama.  God knows, he has tossed enough softballs for Romney to hit out of the park, which Romney swiftly has.

My fear, up to a month or so ago, was that Romney was going to run a Dole or McCain type campaign against Obama.  I am glad to admit that I was wrong.  Every time Obama has gaffed with statements like "private sector is doing fine", or "economy is weak because the federal government is not big enough" Romney and the RNC have been quick to respond in an effective way (in ads or, in Romney's case, by issuing statements). 


Now, that is more like what we expect from the Grand Old Party!

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Why Can't Johnny Think?

Remember the book Why Can't Johnny Read?  Quarter of a century later, some seem to be just as clueless as they were back when the book was published.

I recently watched a segment on the local evening news called 'the mystery of failure of high schools'.  The report centered around the supposed reasons why overwhelming majority of high school graduates require remedial classes in college. 

It greatly amuses me to watch the puzzlement displayed by presumably intelligent reporters while presenting such programs as they state the obvious rather than a mystery to those of us who are sadly aware of what is going on.  Just as astonishingly, one can't help but wonder why only a very few who are perceptive enough dig further to ask the even more probing questions that beg for attention.

The more relevant question in the light of alarming trend towards a progressively clueless public who would self identify as conservative over liberal by a margin of 2:1 yet, at times, buy unquestioningly in to the snake oil being sold by Democrats, should be Why can't Johnny think? After all, being able to read and write without the ability to engage in higher level thinking does not advance the cause of a free society very much!

According to study after study, anywhere from 60% to75% of high school graduates require remedial math and english classes in college.  Moreover, many other studies have found that up to half the college graduates are still ill-prepared to take on the rigors of the real world after the supposed rigors of 4 years of college.  A mystery?  Hardly!  Not unless you are still under the mistaken impression that public schools teach trivium (no, not the music band), and colleges - including Ivy league ones - are institutions of 'higher learning' in the literal sense of the phrase.  You can thank public school unions and teacher/professor tenure for this grave failure.

The problem is really two distinct problems: First being one of the failure of elementary and secondary schools in providing true, classical education - as in trivium - which is the foundation for critical thinking; and second being one of college campuses having become congregations for radically leftist professors who are eagerly awaiting the poorly educated, indoctrinated freshmen in order to cement them as life long progressive, these days aka Democrat, voters.

I have written numerous times about the rise of cultural Marxism in the U.S.- more specifically in public schools - starting in the 1950s.  Since then, the teacher unions - AFT, NEA, UFT, as well as lesser known ones - have been taken over completely by Marxist devotees like Randi Weingarten.  Who can forget the infamous quote attributed to late Albert Shanker: "When school children start paying union dues, that‘s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children.”  or the top lawyer for NEA, Bob Chanin, saying "This is not to say that the concern of NEA and its affiliates with closing achievement gaps, reducing drop rate rates, improving teacher quality, and the like are unimportant or inappropriate. To the contrary these are the goals that guide the work we do. But they need not and must not be achieved at the expense of due process, employee rights, or collective bargaining."  Then there is the image of public school teachers dragging their young students to protests against Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin?  While we are at it, let's not forget the recent example of North Carolina high school teacher screaming her head off at a student that insulting Obama (which the student did not even do) is a criminal offense, or any one of countless news stories of radical leftist teachers indoctrinating their students on the superiority of collectivist systems over capitalism!  The examples are endless...

It is the forerunners of these same radical teachers who followed the blueprint of cultural Marxism that Antonio Gramsci laid out for them a few decades earlier.  The genius of Gramsci was that he (and later new generation Marxists like Saul Alinsky and Frances Fox Pivens) realized brute force could never transform a society successfully without much bloodshed.  The smarter alternative was changing the culture through affecting education, entertainment, and any other institution that played a role in influencing people.  Once moral standards were weakened and sufficient state dependency was achieved, society would collapse and Marxism rise victoriously without actually having to get the blood of people on their hands. 
For their part, radical educators got to work like none other.  Within a decade, most teacher union bosses who did not share their ideology were replaced by those committed to Marxism.  Teachers unions, like other public employee unions, only strengthened throughout years unlike private sector unions.  As a result, it became progressively harder for parents and other advocates for children to have a meaningful say over their education.  After all, how do you think it became acceptable for too many school districts to replace emphasis on civics, history, philosophy, and logic with "Heather has two mommies", minority studies, earth day, and every other pet cause of all sorts of, if not outright Marxist, collectivist splinter groups?!
The game plan was simple and executed to near perfection: Undermine the education process so that the youth not only get indoctrinated in leftist propaganda, but the process left incomplete so that the logic and rhetoric stages of education would never be taught as they would enable the students to critically think and question the indoctrination they received under the guise of education.

The cultural-Marxists have been very successful in a general sense, but there may be some hope.  The problem with the best laid plans of collectivists is that they under estimate human nature.  As much as security is important to many, individual liberty which is antithetical to collectivism of any sort, is even more important.  Reality of an ever increasing segment of the society falling prey to the clutches of government dependency and collectivism is thus countered by just as powerful a motive.  

Whether the question being posed is why can't Johnny read, or why are we number 27 globally in math scores, or whatever academically related issue, learning the three Rs is a far cry from learning to think critically.  Overwhelming majority of U.S. schools still fall short on that account.  The challenge is to start teaching critical thinking skills once again so that Johnnies of this world can make the cruical connection between their liberties and individual initiative; and that requires activism on the part of parents.