Folks I know that this is from the history stacks, however I wanted you to see me and hear me. I hope to help Freedom ring. Thanks, Rick
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
A Prayer for the Bridgeport Lincoln Day Dinner
I was elated when Mike Garrett asked me to give the blessing. I will say a short prayer in my mind that he doesn't regret asking.
In any event, I have recently found renewed faith so it's fitting that I deliver the blessing.
But before that I want to give context as to why we are here today. We are the Republican Party of Bridgeport. We stand together in an effort to help guide our society in the right direction.
A group of men hundreds of years ago did the same thing, we call them our founders. The were deeply faithful people. They constructed a country based on Judeo-Christian ideology. They recognized that if we were to create a country rooted in Natural Law which is also God's Law, that our country would prosper and it did.
So they also said: All men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. And that Governments are instituted among men to defend these rights.
Thou Shalt not Kill (Life),
Thou Shalt not Covet (Liberty)
Thou Shalt not Steal (Pursuit of Happiness or Property)
John Adams perhaps the founder most deeply rooted in his God. Said this:
"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If `Thou shalt not covet' and `Thou shalt not steal' were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free."
As John Adams said, protection of our property is the most important role of government.
C.S. Lewis a preeminent defender of God wrote these words:
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his greed may at some point be satisfied; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
My prayer for us today is that we learn the righteousness of protecting property. Also that we learn that some Americans need to be liberated from an oppressive government which denies them the American Dream.
We ask our Lord to hear our request to be modern day abolitionist as we defend property from a hungry government. We ask that He give us the strength, the language and the courage to help liberate the oppressed.
Please also Lord, bless the food we are about to receive.
In any event, I have recently found renewed faith so it's fitting that I deliver the blessing.
But before that I want to give context as to why we are here today. We are the Republican Party of Bridgeport. We stand together in an effort to help guide our society in the right direction.
A group of men hundreds of years ago did the same thing, we call them our founders. The were deeply faithful people. They constructed a country based on Judeo-Christian ideology. They recognized that if we were to create a country rooted in Natural Law which is also God's Law, that our country would prosper and it did.
So they also said: All men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. And that Governments are instituted among men to defend these rights.
Thou Shalt not Kill (Life),
Thou Shalt not Covet (Liberty)
Thou Shalt not Steal (Pursuit of Happiness or Property)
John Adams perhaps the founder most deeply rooted in his God. Said this:
"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If `Thou shalt not covet' and `Thou shalt not steal' were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free."
As John Adams said, protection of our property is the most important role of government.
C.S. Lewis a preeminent defender of God wrote these words:
Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his greed may at some point be satisfied; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
My prayer for us today is that we learn the righteousness of protecting property. Also that we learn that some Americans need to be liberated from an oppressive government which denies them the American Dream.
We ask our Lord to hear our request to be modern day abolitionist as we defend property from a hungry government. We ask that He give us the strength, the language and the courage to help liberate the oppressed.
Please also Lord, bless the food we are about to receive.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Fred Trinity
This is going to take some time to finish. Here is my first draft. I hope you will forgive obvious mistakes as I'm sure I've made many. But by all means please comment. I love to hear your thoughts.
We certainly have a good understanding of the Trinity; I won't go there. But I think I have discovered a new group of prophets which when their messages are combined you get a strong affirmation of the existence and the necessity for a creator especially in the area of governing and economics.
All three Freds where strong mathematicians, but one was especially good. His name is Fred Hoyle. Now this Fred is a Brit and he spent most of his life as an arrogant and academic atheist, that is until he actually looked for himself.
The second Fred is Fred Bastiat. It might seem a little informal to call this person Fred as he is actually listed on his book covers as Claude Frédéric Bastiat, however, I think I know Frédéric well enough to call him Fred. So Fred he is. BTW the Claude thing never took hold, even he didn't like it. This Fred was a Frenchman and he endured the ignorance of large government intervention in France during and after the Napoleon years. Sadly this Fred died just as he was getting going. I have a strong kinship with this Fred. This Fred is responsible for the best defenses of conservative government since the inception of this country (the first affirmation of conservative government).
The third Fred is Friedrich August Hayek and this Fred saw the Nazis first hand and he moved out of Germany to help anyone who would stop this demon. Fred was an accomplished Economist and he recognized the demon to have two heads. The first head was the ugliness we've all read about, but the other was the fascism associated with Nazism. Fred recognized this ugliness had actually been borne in the US during the Wilson years and taken root in England with the nonsense of Maynard Keynes. Fred felt he had to do everything he could to destroy this demon so he wrote what is considered by many as the best defense of freedom ever written: "The Road to Serfdom". This book also debunks everything Keynes wrote.
What's funny here is that all three men did not know each other. I can only assume that Hayek knew of Bastiat, Bastiat knew neither, and Hoyle wasn't interested in the other two. But all of them are hugely relevant.
To Conservatives the existence of God is the cornerstone necessary to the establishment of a just government. Without it the whims of men become central to the formation of the government and hence "justice" is that which the controlling interest wishes it to be. Remember the quote attributed to Hitler "If you win you don't need to explain, if you lose you are not there to explain".
America is the only country founded on the philosophy of God through a Judeo-Christian standpoint. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
And the founders codified their intent through the constitution assuring their purpose:
"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it..."
In the simplest terms: Respect your neighbor is the point of the Constitution and the success that our country has enjoyed since its founding. Many politicians over the years have done their best to abrogate our sacred promise to not steal, but even with oppressive levels of theft our country still has prospered.
We certainly have a good understanding of the Trinity; I won't go there. But I think I have discovered a new group of prophets which when their messages are combined you get a strong affirmation of the existence and the necessity for a creator especially in the area of governing and economics.
All three Freds where strong mathematicians, but one was especially good. His name is Fred Hoyle. Now this Fred is a Brit and he spent most of his life as an arrogant and academic atheist, that is until he actually looked for himself.
The second Fred is Fred Bastiat. It might seem a little informal to call this person Fred as he is actually listed on his book covers as Claude Frédéric Bastiat, however, I think I know Frédéric well enough to call him Fred. So Fred he is. BTW the Claude thing never took hold, even he didn't like it. This Fred was a Frenchman and he endured the ignorance of large government intervention in France during and after the Napoleon years. Sadly this Fred died just as he was getting going. I have a strong kinship with this Fred. This Fred is responsible for the best defenses of conservative government since the inception of this country (the first affirmation of conservative government).
The third Fred is Friedrich August Hayek and this Fred saw the Nazis first hand and he moved out of Germany to help anyone who would stop this demon. Fred was an accomplished Economist and he recognized the demon to have two heads. The first head was the ugliness we've all read about, but the other was the fascism associated with Nazism. Fred recognized this ugliness had actually been borne in the US during the Wilson years and taken root in England with the nonsense of Maynard Keynes. Fred felt he had to do everything he could to destroy this demon so he wrote what is considered by many as the best defense of freedom ever written: "The Road to Serfdom". This book also debunks everything Keynes wrote.
What's funny here is that all three men did not know each other. I can only assume that Hayek knew of Bastiat, Bastiat knew neither, and Hoyle wasn't interested in the other two. But all of them are hugely relevant.
To Conservatives the existence of God is the cornerstone necessary to the establishment of a just government. Without it the whims of men become central to the formation of the government and hence "justice" is that which the controlling interest wishes it to be. Remember the quote attributed to Hitler "If you win you don't need to explain, if you lose you are not there to explain".
America is the only country founded on the philosophy of God through a Judeo-Christian standpoint. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
And the founders codified their intent through the constitution assuring their purpose:
"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it..."
In the simplest terms: Respect your neighbor is the point of the Constitution and the success that our country has enjoyed since its founding. Many politicians over the years have done their best to abrogate our sacred promise to not steal, but even with oppressive levels of theft our country still has prospered.
Monday, April 25, 2011
The Individual is Supreme! A talk to young African- American and Latino students in Bridgeport.
Rick: If you had help, could you pick up a rock that is bigger than you could pick up by yourself?
Students: Yes.
Rick: So then is it true that groups of people are better for society than individuals?
Students: No.
Rick: Why not? When everything we buy comes from the work of groups of people we start to believe that groups are better than individuals. Right?
Students: Yea.
Rick: But is it true? Are groups better than individuals at creating new things?
Rick: Mankind is the only creative species in the whole planet. Nothing was ever created by two men, not in music, in art, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy. Once an individual performs the miracle of creation, then the group can build on it, but the group never invents anything. The miracle of creation happens in the lonely mind of a single man or a single woman.
So what is the most valuable thing in the world? Is it gold? Is it stuff? No, the most valuable thing in the world in in here. (point to their heads). Most smart people believe we have learned about 1% of what there is to learn. 99% of what mankind will know in the future is still unknown. So if you get educated and you believe what I say is true, then you can be one of the people that finds out something important in the future.
But can you do that? Do you believe in yourself?
Here is a sad fact. Most kids in Bridgeport will not go to college. Here is a sadder fact. Most kids in Fairfield will go to college. What is the difference?
I'm a biologist. I know you are the same as those kids in Fairfield. So why will they go to college and not you?
The answer is that many people you will encounter in your daily lives will tell you you can't. Kids in Fairfield are told that they can. Not your teachers. They are not the ones I speak of. The ones I speak of are some of your friends and even some of your family. They will drag your dreams down into their reality. Have you ever hear of the term: Misery loves company? It does.
But I'm here to tell you that you have a moral obligation to be the best that you can be. You owe it to your Creator. You owe it yourself. To your teachers. To your parents if they agree with individual success. You owe it to your race, you and I are here to show the world that we are as good as any other human who walks the earth. African-Americans and Latinos are as good as any in the world. We can do anything anyone else can do and at times we can do it better.
So do you know who Chappelle is?
Students: He's a comedian
Rick: Emmett W. Chappelle is a black man. He is the recipient of 14 U.S. patents and was recently recognized as one of the 100 most distinguished African American scientists and engineers of the 20th Century.
How about Benjamin Banneker. The son of former slaves, Benjamin worked on the family tobacco farm and received some early education from a Quaker school. But most of his advanced knowledge came from reading, reading and more reading. At 15 he took over the farm and invented an irrigation system to control water flow to the crops from nearby springs. As a result of Banneker's innovation, the farm flourished – even during droughts. He also created the country's first clock.
The free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And we have a room full of young individuals and some not so young that can be the next round of creation that we experience.
One of you may have an answer inside your mind that can feed the world or power our cars more effectively or invent a way to take us to Mars. We must fight to make sure all of your minds are free to take any direction.
My prayer for you is this: That you all believe in the wonder that the Creator instilled in your minds. That you recognize your gifts and abilities. That you will use that gift to make this world better.
God Bless.
Rick: If readers of this blog recognize the influence of this talk, you are very good. My thanks to John Steinbeck and the blog: http://www.black-inventor.com/Benjamin-Banneker.asp.
Students: Yes.
Rick: So then is it true that groups of people are better for society than individuals?
Students: No.
Rick: Why not? When everything we buy comes from the work of groups of people we start to believe that groups are better than individuals. Right?
Students: Yea.
Rick: But is it true? Are groups better than individuals at creating new things?
Rick: Mankind is the only creative species in the whole planet. Nothing was ever created by two men, not in music, in art, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy. Once an individual performs the miracle of creation, then the group can build on it, but the group never invents anything. The miracle of creation happens in the lonely mind of a single man or a single woman.
So what is the most valuable thing in the world? Is it gold? Is it stuff? No, the most valuable thing in the world in in here. (point to their heads). Most smart people believe we have learned about 1% of what there is to learn. 99% of what mankind will know in the future is still unknown. So if you get educated and you believe what I say is true, then you can be one of the people that finds out something important in the future.
But can you do that? Do you believe in yourself?
Here is a sad fact. Most kids in Bridgeport will not go to college. Here is a sadder fact. Most kids in Fairfield will go to college. What is the difference?
I'm a biologist. I know you are the same as those kids in Fairfield. So why will they go to college and not you?
The answer is that many people you will encounter in your daily lives will tell you you can't. Kids in Fairfield are told that they can. Not your teachers. They are not the ones I speak of. The ones I speak of are some of your friends and even some of your family. They will drag your dreams down into their reality. Have you ever hear of the term: Misery loves company? It does.
But I'm here to tell you that you have a moral obligation to be the best that you can be. You owe it to your Creator. You owe it yourself. To your teachers. To your parents if they agree with individual success. You owe it to your race, you and I are here to show the world that we are as good as any other human who walks the earth. African-Americans and Latinos are as good as any in the world. We can do anything anyone else can do and at times we can do it better.
So do you know who Chappelle is?
Students: He's a comedian
Rick: Emmett W. Chappelle is a black man. He is the recipient of 14 U.S. patents and was recently recognized as one of the 100 most distinguished African American scientists and engineers of the 20th Century.
How about Benjamin Banneker. The son of former slaves, Benjamin worked on the family tobacco farm and received some early education from a Quaker school. But most of his advanced knowledge came from reading, reading and more reading. At 15 he took over the farm and invented an irrigation system to control water flow to the crops from nearby springs. As a result of Banneker's innovation, the farm flourished – even during droughts. He also created the country's first clock.
The free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And we have a room full of young individuals and some not so young that can be the next round of creation that we experience.
One of you may have an answer inside your mind that can feed the world or power our cars more effectively or invent a way to take us to Mars. We must fight to make sure all of your minds are free to take any direction.
My prayer for you is this: That you all believe in the wonder that the Creator instilled in your minds. That you recognize your gifts and abilities. That you will use that gift to make this world better.
God Bless.
Rick: If readers of this blog recognize the influence of this talk, you are very good. My thanks to John Steinbeck and the blog: http://www.black-inventor.com/Benjamin-Banneker.asp.
The proper role of government
This OP-ED appeared in the Connecticut Post as a response to David Horsey's attack of the proper role of government and of Libertarians. David Horsey is a Liberal/Socialist who comments frequently. As a Libertarian/Republican I felt compelled to respond.
What is the purpose of government? To a Liberal the purpose of government is to "justly and fairly" shape society and its inhabitants. To a Libertarian the purpose is to provide for the mutual lawful defense of Life, Liberty and Property and to allow people to freely and lawfully do as they wish.
These views are diametrically opposed, the former is dictatorial and requires a large government, the latter celebrates individual freedom which includes success, failure, and philanthropy and needs limited government. Liberalism insist in making laws that favor some groups at the expense of others. Libertarians insist that laws apply to everyone equally.
On Monday, November 15, in the Connecticut Post, Mr. David Horsey wrote a lengthy attack against the notion that laws affect everyone equally (New libertarians exhibit myopic selfishness). In his column Mr. Horsey describes Libertarians as selfish and rich blockheads that resist the "just" taking of their property by the humanitarian tax collectors who work for a benevolent government that wishes nothing more than to "liberate" the poor. Really? How many of you see the IRS or the local tax collector in that light?
Horsey's ideological tome merits a response as his world view is shared by so many, especially in Connecticut.
We have gone far astray from our founding in 1776 when we stated clearly and loudly that our government was instituted to secure for ALL persons their inalienable rights to Life, Liberty and Property. And although, we failed to protect all Americans at that time we righted that wrong with the largest amount of bloodshed in American history.
Regrettably today, many people like Mr. Horsey occupy all layers of government, experimenting with social-engineering programs forcing government to increasingly plunder the working population especially the rich. Taking from some because you can is wrong. Taking from some because they can afford to be robbed, is wrong. Taking from some because the government is doing the taking is a perversion of the Constitution's intent.
No longer are we a nation that protects ALL Americans from injustice. Now we use the law to justify theft from some to give to others. This action will not assure our survival, but it will continue to pave our demise.
To add insult to unjust injury the money unjustly taken from the rich and others is used by an incompetent government to do nothing well. Mr. Horsey's claims to the opposite flies in the face of our vision. Witness: the 2008 financial sector meltdown driven by sub-prime mortgages,the communities reinvestment act, Katrina, Fannie, Freddy, the Fed, Public Housing, Welfare, the bankrupt Social Security system, Medicare and Medicaid, the VA, etc., etc., etc.. The list of governmental failure delineated by both the Left and the Right is so vast as to fill an encyclopedia. Governments by their structure, being able to tap into a never ending feed bag (taxation), have no incentive to do anything well and they never do. However, government has been "successful" in keeping whole segments of the population poor and uneducated, this is quite an achievement.
My disdain for government is balanced by my superior respect for the 325 million individuals that comprise our nation. We are great. We the people are great. President Lincoln affirmed that our government was "a government of the people, by the people and for the people." That government was successful and we prospered. Mr. Horsey and others like him have inserted the word "some" into this most effective concept. Horsey would say: a government of some people, by some people and for some people. This is neither natural nor just. An unjust nation must fail as we failed once before. Injustices must be righted so that our great nation may prosper once again.
Pragmatically speaking, freedom means being able to keep what you honestly earn. Without this feature, freedom is a naked joke. John Adams warned us that property rights are more important than any other right that man could contrive. What good is freedom of speech if you're hungry? What good is the 2nd amendment if you can't buy a gun? What good is working hard and innovating if the government is our greedy partner?
I take great pride in the rising to prominence of so many Libertarians nationwide. I pray that they stay true to our adoration of our founding principles and that there is time to restore the great gift to freedom that our country has been to the world since our founding.
What is the purpose of government? To a Liberal the purpose of government is to "justly and fairly" shape society and its inhabitants. To a Libertarian the purpose is to provide for the mutual lawful defense of Life, Liberty and Property and to allow people to freely and lawfully do as they wish.
These views are diametrically opposed, the former is dictatorial and requires a large government, the latter celebrates individual freedom which includes success, failure, and philanthropy and needs limited government. Liberalism insist in making laws that favor some groups at the expense of others. Libertarians insist that laws apply to everyone equally.
On Monday, November 15, in the Connecticut Post, Mr. David Horsey wrote a lengthy attack against the notion that laws affect everyone equally (New libertarians exhibit myopic selfishness). In his column Mr. Horsey describes Libertarians as selfish and rich blockheads that resist the "just" taking of their property by the humanitarian tax collectors who work for a benevolent government that wishes nothing more than to "liberate" the poor. Really? How many of you see the IRS or the local tax collector in that light?
Horsey's ideological tome merits a response as his world view is shared by so many, especially in Connecticut.
We have gone far astray from our founding in 1776 when we stated clearly and loudly that our government was instituted to secure for ALL persons their inalienable rights to Life, Liberty and Property. And although, we failed to protect all Americans at that time we righted that wrong with the largest amount of bloodshed in American history.
Regrettably today, many people like Mr. Horsey occupy all layers of government, experimenting with social-engineering programs forcing government to increasingly plunder the working population especially the rich. Taking from some because you can is wrong. Taking from some because they can afford to be robbed, is wrong. Taking from some because the government is doing the taking is a perversion of the Constitution's intent.
No longer are we a nation that protects ALL Americans from injustice. Now we use the law to justify theft from some to give to others. This action will not assure our survival, but it will continue to pave our demise.
To add insult to unjust injury the money unjustly taken from the rich and others is used by an incompetent government to do nothing well. Mr. Horsey's claims to the opposite flies in the face of our vision. Witness: the 2008 financial sector meltdown driven by sub-prime mortgages,the communities reinvestment act, Katrina, Fannie, Freddy, the Fed, Public Housing, Welfare, the bankrupt Social Security system, Medicare and Medicaid, the VA, etc., etc., etc.. The list of governmental failure delineated by both the Left and the Right is so vast as to fill an encyclopedia. Governments by their structure, being able to tap into a never ending feed bag (taxation), have no incentive to do anything well and they never do. However, government has been "successful" in keeping whole segments of the population poor and uneducated, this is quite an achievement.
My disdain for government is balanced by my superior respect for the 325 million individuals that comprise our nation. We are great. We the people are great. President Lincoln affirmed that our government was "a government of the people, by the people and for the people." That government was successful and we prospered. Mr. Horsey and others like him have inserted the word "some" into this most effective concept. Horsey would say: a government of some people, by some people and for some people. This is neither natural nor just. An unjust nation must fail as we failed once before. Injustices must be righted so that our great nation may prosper once again.
Pragmatically speaking, freedom means being able to keep what you honestly earn. Without this feature, freedom is a naked joke. John Adams warned us that property rights are more important than any other right that man could contrive. What good is freedom of speech if you're hungry? What good is the 2nd amendment if you can't buy a gun? What good is working hard and innovating if the government is our greedy partner?
I take great pride in the rising to prominence of so many Libertarians nationwide. I pray that they stay true to our adoration of our founding principles and that there is time to restore the great gift to freedom that our country has been to the world since our founding.
Socialism and Christianity are Opposites!
This OP-ED appeared in the Connecticut Post and is a response to David Horsey's OP-ED.
Mr. Horsey associates big-government programs (Socialism) as an extension of Christianity.
David Horsey's column in Monday's Connecticut Post continues an incessant drum beat that Socialism is a natural extension of Christianity. The truth is that the two philosophies are completely opposed to each other. It's about time that Republicans, Christians and other righteous folks understood this and acted to challenge this preposterous assumption.
Horsey tells us of David Beckmann, an economist and Lutheran Clergyman, who is planning a hunger strike and prayer vigil to convince the Republican Congress to spare social programs from budget cuts. Coincidentally, this past Sunday we heard in church that the Catholic Bishops are planning to ask for the same thing. Their message is the "Christian" righteousness of government "help" programs.
This assemblage of do gooders demonstrates how far Socialism's deceptions have penetrated into the Christian community.
Horsey, Beckmann and the Bishops have fallen pray to Socialism's false promise: namely that we need government to make life fair. Life isn't fair and nothing is going to change that. The closest thing we have to fairness in life is to allow individuals to keep the fruits of their labor. In this way you reap what you sow. This is also called the Free Market (Socialism's anti-Christ).
Socialism's group mentality is also repulsed by individuality. Christianity on the other hand celebrates individuality from every standpoint, but especially from the standpoint that we will be judged alone someday and how our judgement day goes will be based on what we have done individually, not as a member of collective or by how much money the government took from us in forced taxation for "help" programs.
Jesus is my savior. He told me to follow the Ten Commandments. Among the relevant Commandments are: Thou Shalt not Covet, Thou Shalt not Steal and Jesus added Love your neighbor as yourself. Here is all Christians need to know. Don't envy your neighbor's success. Don't steal from your neighbor. But if your neighbor needs you, you must help him.
Another way to look at it is: if a poor man enters the house of a rich man and takes his property, he is a thief and will go to jail. But a politician writes laws accomplishing the same result. Is this theft? Technically no, but in reality yes since one was deprived of his property to give to another. The euphemism for this act is income redistribution and it is wrong.
You might wrongly conclude that I am an advocate for the rich. I'm not. I am, in fact, an advocate for the poor, as my Lord Jesus Christ would want me to be. However, for the poor to be served well, it must be done following God's Commandments. He said: Thou Shalt not Steal. He did not equivocate. He was not abstract or unclear. Stealing is not washed clean of sin if someone else does the stealing or if the stealing is called something else like income redistribution.
You might also wrongly conclude that I don't want any government. Just like Thomas Jefferson I believe that governments are instituted among men to secure for each of us our unalienable rights, not to be used as a weapon against some for the benefit of others. And Jefferson warned us that our government might someday become destructive to these ends, and when it did it was our obligation to right those wrongs.
So Horsey et. al. argue that philanthropy must include governmental force, but can that be philanthropic? Why do we doubt that Americans will treat their neighbors well? Even with the weight of the greatest levels of taxation our nation has ever experienced it is still by far the most generous country on the planet.
We are Americans. We are generous. We are the most prosperous nation on the planet, because for the most part in our history we have valued to defend Life, Liberty and Property. Prosperity and unequaled wealth accumulation came from the freedom to pursue opportunities and by protecting the property generated by that effort. Generosity comes from Prosperity. We can only help others when we don't need help. A hungry government means more of us become needy, less prosperous, and less generous. When government takes so much from us, it deprives us of opportunities to be more Christian; to serve our fellow man.
Mr. Horsey associates big-government programs (Socialism) as an extension of Christianity.
David Horsey's column in Monday's Connecticut Post continues an incessant drum beat that Socialism is a natural extension of Christianity. The truth is that the two philosophies are completely opposed to each other. It's about time that Republicans, Christians and other righteous folks understood this and acted to challenge this preposterous assumption.
Horsey tells us of David Beckmann, an economist and Lutheran Clergyman, who is planning a hunger strike and prayer vigil to convince the Republican Congress to spare social programs from budget cuts. Coincidentally, this past Sunday we heard in church that the Catholic Bishops are planning to ask for the same thing. Their message is the "Christian" righteousness of government "help" programs.
This assemblage of do gooders demonstrates how far Socialism's deceptions have penetrated into the Christian community.
Horsey, Beckmann and the Bishops have fallen pray to Socialism's false promise: namely that we need government to make life fair. Life isn't fair and nothing is going to change that. The closest thing we have to fairness in life is to allow individuals to keep the fruits of their labor. In this way you reap what you sow. This is also called the Free Market (Socialism's anti-Christ).
Socialism's group mentality is also repulsed by individuality. Christianity on the other hand celebrates individuality from every standpoint, but especially from the standpoint that we will be judged alone someday and how our judgement day goes will be based on what we have done individually, not as a member of collective or by how much money the government took from us in forced taxation for "help" programs.
Jesus is my savior. He told me to follow the Ten Commandments. Among the relevant Commandments are: Thou Shalt not Covet, Thou Shalt not Steal and Jesus added Love your neighbor as yourself. Here is all Christians need to know. Don't envy your neighbor's success. Don't steal from your neighbor. But if your neighbor needs you, you must help him.
Another way to look at it is: if a poor man enters the house of a rich man and takes his property, he is a thief and will go to jail. But a politician writes laws accomplishing the same result. Is this theft? Technically no, but in reality yes since one was deprived of his property to give to another. The euphemism for this act is income redistribution and it is wrong.
You might wrongly conclude that I am an advocate for the rich. I'm not. I am, in fact, an advocate for the poor, as my Lord Jesus Christ would want me to be. However, for the poor to be served well, it must be done following God's Commandments. He said: Thou Shalt not Steal. He did not equivocate. He was not abstract or unclear. Stealing is not washed clean of sin if someone else does the stealing or if the stealing is called something else like income redistribution.
You might also wrongly conclude that I don't want any government. Just like Thomas Jefferson I believe that governments are instituted among men to secure for each of us our unalienable rights, not to be used as a weapon against some for the benefit of others. And Jefferson warned us that our government might someday become destructive to these ends, and when it did it was our obligation to right those wrongs.
So Horsey et. al. argue that philanthropy must include governmental force, but can that be philanthropic? Why do we doubt that Americans will treat their neighbors well? Even with the weight of the greatest levels of taxation our nation has ever experienced it is still by far the most generous country on the planet.
We are Americans. We are generous. We are the most prosperous nation on the planet, because for the most part in our history we have valued to defend Life, Liberty and Property. Prosperity and unequaled wealth accumulation came from the freedom to pursue opportunities and by protecting the property generated by that effort. Generosity comes from Prosperity. We can only help others when we don't need help. A hungry government means more of us become needy, less prosperous, and less generous. When government takes so much from us, it deprives us of opportunities to be more Christian; to serve our fellow man.
The New Urban Republicanism
THE URBAN MESSAGE
Urban areas are hugely important to the success of future Republican politics. Republicans need to become competitive in the cities so that the margin of failure is not as severe as it has been. Furthermore, Republicans must compete in urban politics to maintain our edge in the suburbs. For too long it has been the contention of the Democrats that government must do anything and everything for the poor to facilitate their move out of poverty. This policy has been ineffective and has, in fact, enslaved the poor into poverty. Republicans, however, have not been vocal calling out this injustice.
This failure has resulted in a nagging reputation about the values of the Republican Party that are, frankly, impossible to retort at this time: namely that the Republicans are not concerned with the afflicted. Some suburban folks are so repulsed by this reputation that they can't join us even though it is in their self interest to be Republicans.
A NEW PARADIGM
This reality need not be. We can immediately begin to change this dynamic if we engage the poor in conversation, not with Democrat-lite talking points, but with real Republican concepts. We must demonstrate that Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness should also be theirs. Give talks on Conservative principles in a Black churches. Remember the hostility that exist in the African-American community for all things Republican. The hostitility is there because we have disconnected from African-Americans. Go to Spanish churches and speak to them about property rights and the American dream in Spanish. Think of visiting tough urban high schools and bringing our message of self-dependance. Think of challenging Socialist or Communist speakers on the demerits of all things Socialist.Think of going to our jails and urging people on their way out to change their ways. A good republican must ultimately defend our philosophy and win debates on our behalf in these arenas.
A proactive Republican can change commonly held perceptions about our party.
THE DEBATE IS SIMPLE
Think about it sometime; the issue which I predominantly present, urban and poor outreach, represents the great schism in American politics. It is singularly the most important distinction between the two parties. Democrats are the party of the poor. Remember, they said so. However, our dodging of the issue and/or our complicity in agreeing with and supporting failed Democrat policies has paralyzed us. We don't know what to say or do when challenged with this issue. And yet, our fundamental principles are right. We are right! We just need to believe IT ourselves and then we can battle others.
Our great Republican message will resonate with the poor and with minorities. Then we can reassert ourselves to our rightful status as the Party of Liberty for all men regardless of their skin color, their native language or their financial status in life.
Urban areas are hugely important to the success of future Republican politics. Republicans need to become competitive in the cities so that the margin of failure is not as severe as it has been. Furthermore, Republicans must compete in urban politics to maintain our edge in the suburbs. For too long it has been the contention of the Democrats that government must do anything and everything for the poor to facilitate their move out of poverty. This policy has been ineffective and has, in fact, enslaved the poor into poverty. Republicans, however, have not been vocal calling out this injustice.
This failure has resulted in a nagging reputation about the values of the Republican Party that are, frankly, impossible to retort at this time: namely that the Republicans are not concerned with the afflicted. Some suburban folks are so repulsed by this reputation that they can't join us even though it is in their self interest to be Republicans.
A NEW PARADIGM
This reality need not be. We can immediately begin to change this dynamic if we engage the poor in conversation, not with Democrat-lite talking points, but with real Republican concepts. We must demonstrate that Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness should also be theirs. Give talks on Conservative principles in a Black churches. Remember the hostility that exist in the African-American community for all things Republican. The hostitility is there because we have disconnected from African-Americans. Go to Spanish churches and speak to them about property rights and the American dream in Spanish. Think of visiting tough urban high schools and bringing our message of self-dependance. Think of challenging Socialist or Communist speakers on the demerits of all things Socialist.Think of going to our jails and urging people on their way out to change their ways. A good republican must ultimately defend our philosophy and win debates on our behalf in these arenas.
A proactive Republican can change commonly held perceptions about our party.
THE DEBATE IS SIMPLE
Think about it sometime; the issue which I predominantly present, urban and poor outreach, represents the great schism in American politics. It is singularly the most important distinction between the two parties. Democrats are the party of the poor. Remember, they said so. However, our dodging of the issue and/or our complicity in agreeing with and supporting failed Democrat policies has paralyzed us. We don't know what to say or do when challenged with this issue. And yet, our fundamental principles are right. We are right! We just need to believe IT ourselves and then we can battle others.
Our great Republican message will resonate with the poor and with minorities. Then we can reassert ourselves to our rightful status as the Party of Liberty for all men regardless of their skin color, their native language or their financial status in life.
What is a Republican
WHAT IS A REPUBLICAN?
Here is what the Republican Party stands for:
1) We know that government is incompetent, inefficient and or irresponsible in most matters. We want to limit government's role in our lives to the protection of our unalienable rights.
2) We know and trust the free-market. We believe in its ability to bring prosperity and wealth. We know that the free-market will allow the hard-working to prosper so long as government does not procure the fruits of their labor. We believe that an unencumbered free-market can restore economic vitality.
3) We believe that it is our responsibility to help our fellow man, not as a collective, but as millions of individuals acting independent of government. We believe that a job is the best social work we can offer our fellow man.
4) We believe in God. We recognize that without God anything goes. Without God we lose objectivity and we become a subjective society. This is a strong distinction that we have from Democrats. We know that God's Law is Natural Law and that it is the basis of our Constitution.
Thou Shalt not Covet, Thou Shalt not Steal are fundamental to our God and to the success that America has experienced since its inception.
This God-fearing Republican philosophy should allow us to communicate with the very people who hate us most; the poor. They too are strong believers. It is this group that we have ignored for as long as I have been politically active. This is the group that repays us for our disconnect by universally voting against us. This is the group that rightly concludes that Republicans are the party of the rich, since they are clearly not the party of the poor. But this is also the group on which Socialism has been tried; and it has failed like Socialism has failed everywhere and anytime it has been tried. The poor have lived in poverty for so long that they will testify to the failure of the Socialist's efforts. We must engage them and encourage them to tell us their stories.
5) Republicans believe that the American dream is available to those who work hard. We must lead the poor to the American dream.
6) Republicans are repulsed by the injustice of income redistribution and we must vigorously fight to end it. Republicans believe that the Law just like Justice must be blind. Republicans believe that we are all created equal and must all be treated equally.
7) Republicans believe that lowering taxes and reducing government interference will optimize the economy and, by extension, increase prosperity.
8) Republicans must believe that to behave differently means that we are open to the charge of hypocrisy. Success will be measured by how many voters we can convince to join our cause. Republicans must better understand why conservatism works and socialism fails.
Here is what the Republican Party stands for:
1) We know that government is incompetent, inefficient and or irresponsible in most matters. We want to limit government's role in our lives to the protection of our unalienable rights.
2) We know and trust the free-market. We believe in its ability to bring prosperity and wealth. We know that the free-market will allow the hard-working to prosper so long as government does not procure the fruits of their labor. We believe that an unencumbered free-market can restore economic vitality.
3) We believe that it is our responsibility to help our fellow man, not as a collective, but as millions of individuals acting independent of government. We believe that a job is the best social work we can offer our fellow man.
4) We believe in God. We recognize that without God anything goes. Without God we lose objectivity and we become a subjective society. This is a strong distinction that we have from Democrats. We know that God's Law is Natural Law and that it is the basis of our Constitution.
Thou Shalt not Covet, Thou Shalt not Steal are fundamental to our God and to the success that America has experienced since its inception.
This God-fearing Republican philosophy should allow us to communicate with the very people who hate us most; the poor. They too are strong believers. It is this group that we have ignored for as long as I have been politically active. This is the group that repays us for our disconnect by universally voting against us. This is the group that rightly concludes that Republicans are the party of the rich, since they are clearly not the party of the poor. But this is also the group on which Socialism has been tried; and it has failed like Socialism has failed everywhere and anytime it has been tried. The poor have lived in poverty for so long that they will testify to the failure of the Socialist's efforts. We must engage them and encourage them to tell us their stories.
5) Republicans believe that the American dream is available to those who work hard. We must lead the poor to the American dream.
6) Republicans are repulsed by the injustice of income redistribution and we must vigorously fight to end it. Republicans believe that the Law just like Justice must be blind. Republicans believe that we are all created equal and must all be treated equally.
7) Republicans believe that lowering taxes and reducing government interference will optimize the economy and, by extension, increase prosperity.
8) Republicans must believe that to behave differently means that we are open to the charge of hypocrisy. Success will be measured by how many voters we can convince to join our cause. Republicans must better understand why conservatism works and socialism fails.
Welcome Americans who need to be Free
Welcome everyone who loves freedom. I love America because of its heritage of respect for Life, Liberty and Property. Today I asked Google the question: What is a Republican? The reason I did this was to see the top responses to this question. What I read where a series of postings that failed to define the question. This is what is wrong with the Republican Party today.
I left this response to a blog that fell into this same mode of thinking, namely that Republicans are a "big tent" party. BS! We are not. We stand for things. Here is my post:
... Republicans stand for things and those things are not fungible. Our founders were all conservatives. Protection of Life, Liberty and Property is the reason for the Constitution. We are a Conservative country. Anonymous is confused. He and others like him believe that "The Law" is a system available to politicians so that they can break the covenant with our fellow Americans.
If we want Justice to be blind, then we must write blind laws not laws that target some Americans for the enrichment of others. Welfare and all of its cousins are laws that target the working class. These laws are by default unconstitutional as they target some Americans.
Anonymous your last post is really quite Fascist. You want the State to steal from the rich to give to the poor. When a poor man goes into a rich man's house and takes some stuff he is a thief. But when someone named Anonymous gets elected he can write laws that accomplish the same thing and he is called benevolent. The rich guy who got plundered doesn't even get a thank you card. The Anonymous'es of the world take bows for their "generosity". They are the benefactors of the poor. Really?
Republican principles are NOT fungible! If you can't stand with our cause of freedom for all then be a Democrat. We blindly believe in FREEDOM. Anytime a law is written that diverges from that we go further down the drain of confusion and we cannot lead.
I left this response to a blog that fell into this same mode of thinking, namely that Republicans are a "big tent" party. BS! We are not. We stand for things. Here is my post:
... Republicans stand for things and those things are not fungible. Our founders were all conservatives. Protection of Life, Liberty and Property is the reason for the Constitution. We are a Conservative country. Anonymous is confused. He and others like him believe that "The Law" is a system available to politicians so that they can break the covenant with our fellow Americans.
If we want Justice to be blind, then we must write blind laws not laws that target some Americans for the enrichment of others. Welfare and all of its cousins are laws that target the working class. These laws are by default unconstitutional as they target some Americans.
Anonymous your last post is really quite Fascist. You want the State to steal from the rich to give to the poor. When a poor man goes into a rich man's house and takes some stuff he is a thief. But when someone named Anonymous gets elected he can write laws that accomplish the same thing and he is called benevolent. The rich guy who got plundered doesn't even get a thank you card. The Anonymous'es of the world take bows for their "generosity". They are the benefactors of the poor. Really?
Republican principles are NOT fungible! If you can't stand with our cause of freedom for all then be a Democrat. We blindly believe in FREEDOM. Anytime a law is written that diverges from that we go further down the drain of confusion and we cannot lead.
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