Go Left, Lefty

Article Posted at Salon.com by David Sirota 11/10/08

Obama, be progressive!
Voters want you to go big and go liberal -- and not channel Clinton-style incrementalism.
By David Sirota [2008-11-08]

Lord Please, Please, Please let this happen! Then Obama and His loony supporters will see just how center right our nation is......

Common "Gun" Sense

1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.

3. Colt: The original point and click interface.

4. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.

5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?

6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.

7. "Free" men do not ask permission to bear arms.

8. If you don't know your rights you don't have any.

9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.

10. The United States Constitution (c) 1791. All Rights reserved.

11. What part of "shall not be infringed" do you not understand?

12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore
the others.

13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.

14. Guns only have two enemies; rust and politicians.

15. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no
safety.

16. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

17. 911 - government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.

18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.

19. Criminals love gun control -- it makes their jobs safer.

20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.

21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to
control them.

22. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.

23. Enforce the "gun control laws" we ALREADY have, don't make more.

24. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create
slaves.

25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun
control.

How Long Do We Have?

About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh , had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:

"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government."

"A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury."

"From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."

"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years"

"During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:

1. From bondage to spiritual faith;

2. From spiritual faith to great courage;

3. From courage to liberty;

4. From liberty to abundance;

5. From abundance to complacency;

6. From complacency to apathy;

7. From apathy to dependence;

8. From dependence back into bondage"

Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:

Number of States won by: Democrats: 19 Republicans: 29
Square miles of land won by: Democrats: 580,000 Republicans: 2,427,000
Population of counties won by: Democrats: 127 million Republicans: 143 million
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Democrats: 13 Republicans: 2

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Republican won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Democrat territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare..." Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegal's and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.

If you are in favor of this, then by all means, delete this message. If you are not, then pass this along to help everyone realize just how much is at stake, knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.

Inside the Numbers

In 2004 we had 37% GOP, 37% DEM, and 26% IND that made up the popular vote. The total popular vote being 121,068,715.

In 2008 we had 32% GOP, 39% DEM, and 29% IND that made up the popular vote. The total popular vote being 122,698,661.

A total difference of 1,629,946 between the two presidential elections.

In 2004 Bush turned out 93% of the GOP, 11% DEM, and 48% IND. Kerry had 6% GOP, 89% DEM, and 49% IND. George Bush lost the independent vote by 1%, but turned out the GOP by 4% more than Kerry. Also the total amount of self identified GOP was the same as the DEMS.

In 2008 McCain had 90% of the GOP, 10% DEM, and 44% IND. Obama had 89% of the DEMS, 9% GOP, and 52% of the IND. Obama won by 6 percentage points based off these clear facts. The total GOP vote was only 32% of the vote which is 5% less than Bush had in 2004.

Where we go now

Well the election is over and I finally collected my thoughts enough to comment. Unlike many I am not fearful what is going to happen because I already have an idea where we are headed and I am preparing for it. So Indulge me;

Obama is going to find it difficult to make good on any of his promises given the deepening financial problems in this country. His first two years will produce little or nothing, he will spend it dodging anything that will tarnish his reputation and hyping the few menial accomplishments that he can get enacted. At the same time he will be just like Bill Clinton was, in a continual campaign mode for 2012.

Pelosi and Reid will drag him to left on every domestic issue. The offshore drilling ban will be reenacted and gas prices will rise. They will throw more money into the market in vain attempts to stem the looming credit crisis which will set the table for zero growth, stagflation, double digit unemployment and a deep recession.

I don't see them having the stones to raises taxes overtly by legislative act, but they will allow the tax cuts Bush passed to expire in 2010. These will result in high tax rates for every taxpayer either directly or indirectly. This alone will hurt any chance of seeing an economic upturn by 2012.

The DOD, JCS and General Petraeus will drag him to the right on Iraq and Iran. He will find himself in a peculiar spot of having to privately admit to himself that Bush was correct once he is exposed to the same intelligence. This is the point the Anti War types will turn against him. He will not withdraw from Iraq and be forced by conscience to expand the conflict in Afghanistan.

Throughout all of this the democrats will continue to blame every new crisis on the Bush Administration, but by 2010 that line will be threadbare given they are in complete control. And all those unmarried women that voted in droves for Obama, will begin to question him once they loose their jobs and their "hope", and begin to see for the first time "real change".

Right now we are a country with a weakening economy and a strong President. On January 20th 2009, we will be a a country with a weaker economy and an untested novice as a President. A very dangerous combination. Imagine these very possible scenarios;

The Israelis having no faith in the United States, attack Iran with a Nuclear weapon.

Putin makes good on the rumors, recaptures governmental control of the Russian Federation and embarks on an expansionist spree, invading the Ukraine.

Hugo Chavez makes a bid to expand his control into Cuba or sees a window to strike at the Columbians.

Kim Jong Il is found to be dead and that the North Korean military is in control. Japan strikes them touching off a firestorm with the Chinese.

Tensions between Pakistan and the US sour further and reignite long standing issues between themselves and India...... The list is endless.

Just one of these would worsen economic troubles in this nation, two or more could destroy it. If the actions taken by the Oval Office are perceived as weak or ineffective. It would embolden other enemies of this nation to make provocative moves seeing that the United States was too weakened to intervene.

Horrible as these seem, there are two others that would be worse in my opinion because they would directly lead to lose of American lives.

First, Imagine this news bulletin in the next year or so "President Obama assassinated by white man from Alabama". The ensuing racial and political outrage could possibly ignite the bloodiest days this nation has seen since the Civil War at worst, or at best cement such polarization into the national political fabric that blood could be the only long term recourse.

Lastly, Let us not forget that we have a very patient and very dangerous foe intently observing our every move. And what better way to destroy the "Great Satan" then to aid in its own self destruction. Suppose if, just if, Hamas, Hezbollah, or Al Queda were the ones behind the aforementioned assassination. Playing off the racial tensions of nation in order to achieve their goal of marginalizing this nations dwindling influence. Throw in major attack on LA and the seeds of our nations destruction would be sown.

I used to think that this nation could absorb a direct attack against it, Tuesday confirmed in me its less likely to. It wasn't an election, it was an episode of American Idol. It wasn't won by the one with the most qualifications, but the one that had the most public appeal, and the best press agents. It was the culmination of years of exposure to the "Hollywood Culture". Popularity and style over chracter and substance.

It confirmed in me just how devoid of commonsense and patience, how spoiled, and how intellectually lazy this nation has become. And just how few Americans know and understand what a gift was given to us by the men who wrote the Constitution and the untold millions that have defended it sense.

Ask yourself, when is the last time you read it, can you still recite its Preamble? Do you even know what a Preamble is? Ask your children the same, the answer will frighten you. But now is not the time for fear, now is the time to prepare and be informed.

Until we as a nation can understand and defend the core values instilled into it by those who founded it, this downward spiral will continue. And, "a nation of the people, for the people, and by the people" will become nothing but words spoken by some guy a long time ago.

There are 65 million of us may not understand that, the good news is that 57 million of us who do. At a campaign stop Obama challenged his supporters to "get vocal to speak out", notice he never asked them educate themselves before doing so.

My challenge is just that, educate yourself, read "our" Constitution, don't rely on people to interpret it for you. Learn "our" history from those who made it, Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Hamilton, Madison, Lincoln, not from a historian who maybe attempting to rewrite it.

Do this and decide for yourself if we have lost our way. Hopefully you will see just how intelligent and forward thinking our Founding Fathers were. It is difficult to know we aren't heading the right direction if you don't know what that direction is.

And finally when the next election comes, vote, vote your concious. Let me ask you, are you so busy that you can't exercise the most important right that you have. We shouldn't have to be told or bribed with free mechandise, we should view it as our solemn duty. A duty we shouldn't take lightly, but seriously, and exercised often as required.

Godspeed "W" you deserved better.....

Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.

According to recent Gallup polls, the president's average approval rating is below 30% -- down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11. Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.

This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans. During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, "Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."

Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties.

The president's original Supreme Court choice of Harriet Miers alarmed Republicans, while his final nomination of Samuel Alito angered Democrats. His solutions to reform the immigration system alienated traditional conservatives, while his refusal to retreat in Iraq has enraged liberals who have unrealistic expectations about the challenges we face there.

It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the right.

Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.

Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."

To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S. Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left office. Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in history.

Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years -- and how extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.

Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty -- a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House.

Mr. Shapiro is an investigative reporter and lawyer who previously interned with John F. Kerry's legal team during the presidential election in 2004.