The Discerning Texan

It’s not only EMP attacks or rogue terrorists that can bring down our grid and put us in a world of hurt. Check out this from New Scientist: It has happened before…

The cover story in this week's Popular Mechanics had another lovely scenario …

These items do not even begin to delineate the existential threats to our country, from Islamist zealots who would behead not only us, but their own women and children; from rogue states, from former enemies and long-time enemies. And from ourselves--most of all the danger to our way of life comes from our own complacency.

But wait, have not we finally found The One who has filled the entire nation with abundant and overflowing Hope? Is this now the "change" so many of you voted for?

For instance--the evil specter of "climate change" (they used to call it Global Warming, but the thought police have sort of nixed that one because, well, we all seem to be freezing our asses off..) But never fear, The One has now "assured" us that this is the time when the seas will begin to recede (right?).

Now what He didn't say was that we might not be able to afford gas or electricity to heat our home or to drive our car to work anymore--but at we now have the satisfaction now of knowing that the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building won’t be underwater in about 1000 years...Right?

Of course, WE will all be broke in our lifetimes (except for those lucky non-taxpaying elected bastards who we bought this bill of goods from...); yes, there will be more death, disease, malaria, etc., a shorter life span in general; but at least we’ll have the satisfaction of knowing our great great great grandchildren and all those spotted owls and salamanders will still have a place to hang out. And we will all finally be equal--equally mediocre. Welcome to the brain-dead philosophy of the fixed pie and a Least Common Denominator, regardless of intelligence, skill, talent, ambition, persistence, ethics, and vision--they will all be "equal" with the slovenly, lazy, blood-sucking leeches who would rather wallow in their collective victimhood than to better their situations from their own initiative (some recent Southeast Asian immigrants to the contrary). There can be no more winners and losers. Only the maintenance of our collective self-esteem.

We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men, women, animals, plants, and sea creatures are ENTITLED to an equal RESULT.

Good luck with that one.

Yesterday I sat and listened to a President of the United States actually argue for the power to nationalize ANY private company (the property and labor of creative, smart, hard working men and women) that Obama THINKS might be about to go broke. This statement was so shocking to me; that I could only draw one of several conclusions (take your pick):

1. He has no CLUE about human nature, and how markets work to create wealth and prosperity to all; or
2. He may have some CLUE but in is inexperience, arrogance, deer-in-the-headlights moment, he is allowing himself to be led around by the nose by the most corrupt, destructive Congress in US history; or
   
3. He does understand all of this--but in the name of consolidating power, or his legacy, or even to become something more akin to a Putin or a Mussolini or a Hitler or like his buddy Chavez--grandiose, all powerful, narcissistic--he actually wants to tear DOWN the wealth of this country to create some sort of Weimar Republic II, out of which he can rise up to seize power, become a supreme leader--and then to crush anyone who gets in his way.
   

I like to think it is more of the first two possibilities combined--but I would be lying if I did not see signs of #3 in this Administration--and some very disturbing ones.

Remember that little "show" in Berlin? Or the "stadium nomination" with the Roman columns. Even the ubiquitous "O" logo which has sort of become the American version of the swastika lately? The "Obama Seal"... when he was just a candidate?

Albert Speer would have been SO proud.

In truth, it doesn't matter which of these factors are the primary drivers here; write it all off to hyperbole if you will. But there ARE parallels, even if inexact: when I see Geithner I see Speer. When I seen Emmanuel I see Himmler. And Axelrod? Goering? Beria? Who knows. I am not saying they ARE exactly like these historical monsters from the past--I am just saying that I see many parallels; the whole vibe of this Administration reminds me of all those books I've read as a history minor about the rise of the Nazis and the Fascists--and the Bolsheviks. Party rallies. Narcissism. Supression of dissent.

And many people seem just as hypnotized by these pretenders as the Germans were by Hitler. Mesmerized is a better word. (no, I am not speaking of anyone who dared watch that atrocious presser last night...). But some of this "swarm" of worker bees seem to have such blinders on that they WANT to believe he is The One, despite any and all evidence to the contrary. So they just ignore all of the obvious incompetence playing out daily before their eyes. And there is much to ignore.

This is mass hypnosis on a Hitlerian scale; although fortunately it is only about half of the country (and dropping rapidly) who seem to have bought into the Big Lie. Swallowing all of that empty, vacant campaign rhetoric that meant absolutely nothing--except whatever the mesmerized cultists listening to it wanted it to mean. They had seen the light: HOPE! CHANGE! Finally a candidate who talks and looks so GOOD, so eloquent with those teleprompter-driven slogans; he will TALK to our enemies (that worked so well for Chamberlain, after all); and he is so completely above politics and petty things--like using a slim 52% plurality to blow up the whole social contract that has been in place between We the People and our government since 1789. To smithereens!

What did those guys know? The One wants Change and Hope! He knows what is right for us! And he is creating Jobs!

OR…. Just maybe--he really does know exactly what he’s doing--but not in the way his zombie followers think. For example there are Obama's friends:have you noticed that they ALL seem to be getting rich? And they are not even having to pay taxes. Where to begin

Al "I'm making out those Carbon Credit checks out to my own Company" Gore

Barney (the "Heterophobe") Frank

Chris "Where did those houses and bonuses come from" Dodd

Tim Geithner the rocket scientist/tax cheat, who is just so indispensable!

And then there is Barack himself (that little book deal 10 days before he took the oath for instance... that sweetheart housing deal... his wife's big earmark and raise...)

And yes, even “the Benefactor” himself. Who knew that the very billionaire architect of this whole Democrat revivalfor the last 10 years (MoveOn, CAP, MediaMatters, ACORN funding, etc) has somehow managed to fix it so that he got filthy rich at the very moment of our country's greatest misery. (But I am sure that is only "coincidence"...)

So am I off base; am I missing something? After all, they tell me. Obama means well, right? I'm just thinking back to Joe the Plumber: 95% of us are going to get a stimulus and tax cuts--all but the "rich".... Right?

And I saw that debate with McCain: we're going to drill for oil AND explore new alternatives...right?

And most importantly, we just want to be loved by all those wonderful people in Pakistan and Syria and Iran and Russia and China...and Europe. Just like the "good old days"... Right? We can all be Sally Fields: "they like us, they really like us..." Right?

Hmm, funny thing happened to the coronation of Obama as the Savior of the World (and the empathy and cooperation of our European allies): today the President of the EU--a Czech who really has lived under State Socialism and knows first hand what happens when that failed theory is tried--stated the following, and I quote (via the Financial Times):

European Union hopes for a new era in relations with the US were thrown into chaos on Wednesday when the holder of the EU presidency condemned American remedies for the global recession as “the road to hell”.

Barely a week before Barack Obama is due to arrive in Europe on his first official visit as US president, Mirek Topolanek, the Czech Republic’s prime minister, put the 27-nation EU on a collision course with Washington.

His attack compounded the confusion that has engulfed EU policy after the Czech leader lost a no-confidence vote in the country’s parliament on Tuesday, forcing him to offer his government’s resignation midway through its six-month EU presidency.

Mr Topolanek said EU leaders had been disturbed at a summit in Brussels last week to hear calls from Tim Geithner, the US Treasury secretary, for more aggressive policies to fight the global downturn.

“The US Treasury secretary talks about permanent action and we, at our spring council, were quite alarmed at that . . . The US is repeating mistakes from the 1930s, such as wide-ranging stimuluses, protectionist tendencies and appeals, the Buy American campaign, and so on,” he told a European parliament session in Strasbourg. “All these steps, their combination and their permanency, are the road to hell.”

Not exactly diplomatic-niceties from a European leader who suddenly has a new found love for America since The One's coronation. And Putin and Ahmadinejad and Putin seem to be so enamored of The One too, don't they?

Finally, our staunchest allies have been insulted: handing Gordon Brown the DVD's that play in American DVD players only was a real home run. Offering to abandon our allies in Eastern Europe: the Poles, Czechs, Romanians, and Ukrainians. I'm sure they are ready to fall down at The One's feet right about now.

And then we have Israel. I have to say, I am still stunned that ANY Jew in his or her right mind voted for this Farrakhan-loving, Iran and Syria-coddling, guy who is spending American tax dollars giving money to Hamas! I am sure Bibi is feeling the love too right now.

I think that given a choice, most of our traditional allies in Europe and the Middle East would LOVE to have George W. Bush back right now.

So here we are, about 60 days into the Era of Hope, and Change, and the End of the Old Politics. All Americans working together (that is if you follow a Marxist in lockstep off of the cliff...).

Meanwhile we on the right are deemed "lunatics" and "full of hate" who dare to question ANYTHING about this...icon of intellect, panache and experience.

You know, people sure seem to have pretty short memories as to the kinds of vile venom and hate that the Left has been hurling at Bush for over 8 years now (but as I recall that was just "dissent" from your intellectual superiors...right? I believe they even spent several years calling that dissent "patriotism". Welcome to your own nightmare, hypocrites.)

I have some very dear friends who really came into this thinking that Obama was "the answer". Maybe they still do for all I know. I don't know, because I don't even bring it up whenever I can help it (because I am so "obsessed", don't you know...). They can talk about His Holiness when no one is around to dispute their viewpoint. But the really disheartening thing is that these are highly intelligent people who seem to have completely closed themselves off to any other point of view--the very thing they accuse me of. So be it.

But I'll tell you this--if someone brings up Obama or the cabal in Congress around me, I am through just sitting there and biting my tongue while everyone else in the "in crowd" get to run down everything this country has always stood for--as their man appears to be in a frenzied gotta-have-it-now hurry to blow up the whole thing--and quickly, before anybody catches on to the very far-reaching ramifications to just what it is that they are doing.

Fortunately, I think Obama cannot move quickly enough, because the anger and mistrust is rising faster. These Tea Parties. Protests the media refuses to cover, but which we all know are happening. It is tangible; I can FEEL it out there. Frustration like I have never seen. And every bit of that anger is justified.

If we are going to prevail, it is time we stopped being such cowards and find it within ourselves to speak up for what is right. Yes, we conservatives seem to be the ones who are supposed to fill the role of being more "civil and polite" in mixed company. In a sense that is a good example to set in periods where there is not so much at stake.

But the MoveOn Democrat Underground ideologues on the Left--the kinds that throw molotov cocktails at the Governors mansion or at buses of Senior Citizens on their way to the RNC convention--could care less about civility.

If it is possible to have reasonable dialogue? Well thought out discourse? Fine. Where it is possible I am all for it. But in such cases there has to be some agreement or stipulation on SOME shared core principles or else there is no hope that discourse will go anywhere but south. And it seems to me that the principle of principles in this argument comes down to what Lincoln said in 1864. He was talking about slavery, but he was also talking about those men who risked their lives and families "forescore and seven years" prior. He was talking about what they stood for and what all those souls at Gettysburg died for. For those did not catch my post yesterday, here is the quote once again:

"We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others, the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men's labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name--liberty. And it follows that each of the things is, by the respective parties, called by two different and incompatible names--liberty and tyranny."

--Abraham Lincoln, 1864

My friends, It is long past time that we got organized, got ACTIVE, and start working NOW to save this thing before it is too late. And if that means a fight--if people can't sit and converse and try to find common ground without getting personal--well I am prepared for that too.

As we have seen for the last 8 years, our "civility" has gotten us precisely nowhere with the partisan Dems in Congress, nor to those who spend their entire lives finding things that are "unfair" and "unequal". But I am beginning to believe that to have reasoned, non-inflammatory discourse with people whose only focus is how much power over your life which they or their central planners want to grab from you; power to confiscate your property (of which YOUR money is certainly part) for their "holier than thou" purposes; the concept that they, not you should have the power over your labor, your sweat, and your moral priorities. In 1864 that was called slavery. But it didn't end there.

• Lenin and (later) Stalin. The purges of the 20's-40's. Millions murdered or starved to death.
  
• Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo 13 million dead. The death camps.
  
• Mao and the "Cultural Revolution" -- tens of millions killed by the 'Mobs'
• The Iron Curtain: The Berlin Wall--killing anyone who dares to leave "the State". The Stasi and "The Lives of Others".
  
• The KGB. Their funding of Palestinian terrorism, beginning with the PFLP and Red Brigades.
• Ho Chi Minh's purges and Cambodia's Killing fields
• The millions crying from Cuba's graves (many thanks to Che himself)
• Nicaragua. Venezuela. Iran, and yes even China.
  

Wherever the Statist tyrants feel threatened, it always ends the same way. And it is inevitable that they eventually do feel threatened, because Statism: whether you call it Fascism, Communism, Socialism, or National Socialism--all ends this way because IT. DOESN'T. WORK.
It never has, because it runs contrary to human nature. It always leads to corruption, loss of productivity, servitude, totalitarianism, corruption, inefficiency, losing ground to those who are not burdened with this pestilence--and then to the Gulags and Concentration Camps for those who can't or refuse to adjust.

We've been here before, and there are well over 100 million souls who have died to date because they called this lie for what it was, and because the Statists could not allow the TRUTH about human freedom to shine through. But eventually it always did.

Now it is in danger of happening here. It IS happening here. And we must expose the lie. Here. Now. Wake up for God's sake!

To defeat this enemy we must be educated in our core beliefs.

Read Shcharansky and Solzhenitsyn, writing from the Labor Camps; read Ayn Rand; read current authors like Mark Levin; read Bill Whittle and Mark Steyn...

But don't stop there--do your homework. Go back even further: to the products of the Enlightenment who gave us this great gift. READ Adam Smith, and Edmund Burke, and Jefferson, Lincoln, and Reagan, and. READ the Federalist Papers and Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics and former Communists David Horowitz tall of their journey from Radical Communist to patriot. READ the magnificant, brilliant Opinions and Dissents of Scalia and Clarence Thomas; Read De Toqueville, read of his sheer wonder --this product of the French Revolution and their own mob "terror"--of how amazed he was at our experiment. Other great minds like Milton Friedman. Freidrich Hayek. Ludwig von Mises. Broaden and deepen your mind. Cleanse your mind from the drivel that your Leftist/Unionist teachers have been trying to force feed you and your children since you were very young. Open your minds. The truth WILL set you free.

This is not just our history--this is inspiring, thought provoking, mind expanding. These are some of the greatest thinkers and communicators who ever lived. Some of them are still living.

The key is that we must prepare ourselves and our mettle and to know the rightness of our cause. Levin's new book is a great place to start.

But here is the thing: we have to FIGHT this time, we have to WORK this time, and we have to be able to articulate the rightness of our defense of Liberty just as those men did so long ago in that Philadelphia hall. Because if we cannot articulate it (with as much civility as our angry opponents will allow) and if we are not willing to fight for it-if we merely are content to sit by and watch it play out like some movie plot without getting ACTIVE, we WILL lose our country to these Statist, totalitarian, tyrants. I know my history, I minored in history--and I have seen all I need to see to know what this is.

If you are feeling me on this; if you are hearing me. Let's email. Let's get organized. Let's do everything in our power to stop the rape of the United States and all it stands for.

We have not chosen to be painted into a corner by greedy, corrupt, overzealous power-hungry politicians. We didn't choose this fate, but it is the hand we have been dealt.

It is time to take our country back.