Wow, and here it is another new week to enjoy and experience, hope you do and will, all to good, of course. Today will complete the North Korea presentation, and hope it provided some new insight for you on the Korea Peninsula situation. And to repeat, the contents herein are from the most recent monthly Newsletter published by Hillsdale College, and written by Ass't Professor Sung-yoon Lee of Tufts University.
If you will remember, we are up to the part where the United States had stopped Japan's aggression through China, and Korea and had advanced into Manchuria, when they were defeated by the USA at Pearl Harbor etc.,and the Allies had partitioned the Korean Peninsula at the 38th Parallel. And Now.......
The United States, in control of defeated Japan and the southern half of liberated Korea, now emerged as the key shaper of geopolitics in Northeast Asia. But after governing South Korea from 1945 to 1948, and despite lingering misgivings about North Korea intentions, the U.S. began to withdraw troops from the South. By the summer of 1949, it had returned to a policy of benign neglect. At this point Kim Il Sung, father of the current North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il -- took advantage of the power vacuum and launched an invasion of the South. This attempt to unify the Korean Peninsula under communist control was thwarted by a multinational coalition led by the United States, and South Korea was saved.
In the 57 years since the armistice, North Korea has time and again shown its willingness to take considerable risks to turn the strategic environment in its favor. The sinking of the Cheonan, a South Korean naval ship, in March of this year, and the bombing of a South Korean island on November 23, are but the latest in a long history of deadly attacks. But today the North Korean regime faces its most serious internal political challenges in nearly 20 years; severe economic stresses, the increasing infiltration of information, higher numbers of its citizens attempting to defect to the South, and the challenge of handing over dynastic power from a long-ruling father to an unproves son in his twenties.
This uncertain situation presents a rare opportunity for policymakers in Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo to bring about changes in the North Korean regime and to ensure peace and stability in the region. Engaging the North Korean people --rather than the regime -- by means of information operations and facilitating defections, while simultaneously constricting Pyongyang's cash flow, is best means to that end. It's also important for Washington to hold quiet consultations with Beijing to prepare jointly for a unified Korea under Seoul's direction, a new polity that will be free, peaceful capitalist, pro U.S. and pro-China.
In an Orwellian world, "war is peace, freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength". In the North Korean world, the past 57 years of defacto peace is war, a life of servitude to the state is freedom, and national strength is rooted in ignorance of the outside world. Today, as trouble is once again brewing on the Korean Peninsula, we would do well to remember the noble resolve of those who fought back the North Korean invasion in 1950-53 and the precious gift they left behind: and extended period of peace and prosperous South Korea. Those courageous soldiers taught us that deterrence is peace, freedom is not free, and that to remember the past is a mark of mational character and strength.
The great and noble efforts of Americans in the Korean War, the legacy of a 60-year friendship between the U.S. and South Korea, and U.S. strategic interests should not now be sacrificed on the altar of diplomatic peace. Now is rather the time for prudent and pragmatic peace. Now is rather the time for prudent and pragmatic policymakers to pave the way for a permanent peace of the Korean Peninsula, and, in so doing, to pay the greatest honor possible to all those who served in a war -- often referred to by historians as "The Forgotten War" -- that is decidedly forgotten no more.
Thas' all folks, from me here in sunny and warming Bradenton, Fl., and I do seriously trust everyone's week will by, above, HAPPY. Cheers CJ
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
RELIGION or POLITICS ??? About North Korea, did you Know?
Hello friends, and a happy TGIF to you all. I continue with the second section about North Korea from yesterday, and of course it comes from the Newsletter IMPRIMIS, published by Hillsdale College, and written by Sung-Yoon Lee, ass't professor from Tufts University.
It is granted that it is possible a peace treaty might be conducive to reconsiliation between the two Koreas and stability in the region; but this will be the case only if it does not lead to calls for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea. What is more likely is that such a treaty would cause all sides -- not only North koreans, but South Koreans and Americans, too -- to question the need for a continued U.S. presence in Korea. And thiswould in turn advance a top priority on the North Korean state; the complete and irreversible removal of US troops from South Korea. Considering the size of North Korea's military and its stocks of both conventional and nuclear weapons, the results would likely be disastrous.
The presence of US troops in South Korea has been and remains the greatest deterrent to North Korean adventurism and a disruption of the current and longstanding peace on the Korean peninsula. And to repeat an important point: the absence of a formal peace treaty no more threatens this peace than the absence of a post World War Two peace treaty between Moscow and Tokyo threatens the peace between Russia and Japan.
But does Korea even matter, from America's strategic point of view? Consider the lessons of four other wars in and around Korea in the 60-year period leadingup to l950; the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-95)m the First Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), the Second ino-Japanese War (1937-45), and the Pacific War (1941-45). In each of these, Japan was the principal actor, driven by a desire to change the geopolitical setting in its favor. And taken together, these earlier conflicts powerfully reinforce the lesson of the Korena War itself: a power vacuum in Korean War itself; a power vacuum in Korea is an invitation to aggression.
By defeating China in 1895, Japan won Taiwan as its first colony and effectively ended the centuries-old Chinese world order. By defeating Russia in 1905, Japan won international recognition of its "paramount political, military and economic interests in Korea", as enshrined in the Treaty of Portsmouth. By 1937, Japan was in full control of its Korean colony and prepared to utilize the Korean peninsula as a supply base and military platform for invading China. Lacking strategic interests in Northeast Asia, the U.S. stood by as Japan gobbled up Korea and advanced into Manchuria. But Japan's military successes peaked at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1041, and it was defeated in August 1945. By then, the geopolitical importance of Korea was not lost on the victorious allies, who paritioned the peninsula at the 38th Parallel .
That does it for this week. I will be some of you didn't know about Japan and it's wars with China and
Russia. Well now you can tie in your history before Pearl Harbor and why and how Japan got too big
for it's britches. Do you suppose history will repeat itself with, you know who? And I don't mean
China. As always, time will tell. See y'all monday. Cheers CJ
It is granted that it is possible a peace treaty might be conducive to reconsiliation between the two Koreas and stability in the region; but this will be the case only if it does not lead to calls for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea. What is more likely is that such a treaty would cause all sides -- not only North koreans, but South Koreans and Americans, too -- to question the need for a continued U.S. presence in Korea. And thiswould in turn advance a top priority on the North Korean state; the complete and irreversible removal of US troops from South Korea. Considering the size of North Korea's military and its stocks of both conventional and nuclear weapons, the results would likely be disastrous.
The presence of US troops in South Korea has been and remains the greatest deterrent to North Korean adventurism and a disruption of the current and longstanding peace on the Korean peninsula. And to repeat an important point: the absence of a formal peace treaty no more threatens this peace than the absence of a post World War Two peace treaty between Moscow and Tokyo threatens the peace between Russia and Japan.
But does Korea even matter, from America's strategic point of view? Consider the lessons of four other wars in and around Korea in the 60-year period leadingup to l950; the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-95)m the First Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), the Second ino-Japanese War (1937-45), and the Pacific War (1941-45). In each of these, Japan was the principal actor, driven by a desire to change the geopolitical setting in its favor. And taken together, these earlier conflicts powerfully reinforce the lesson of the Korena War itself: a power vacuum in Korean War itself; a power vacuum in Korea is an invitation to aggression.
By defeating China in 1895, Japan won Taiwan as its first colony and effectively ended the centuries-old Chinese world order. By defeating Russia in 1905, Japan won international recognition of its "paramount political, military and economic interests in Korea", as enshrined in the Treaty of Portsmouth. By 1937, Japan was in full control of its Korean colony and prepared to utilize the Korean peninsula as a supply base and military platform for invading China. Lacking strategic interests in Northeast Asia, the U.S. stood by as Japan gobbled up Korea and advanced into Manchuria. But Japan's military successes peaked at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1041, and it was defeated in August 1945. By then, the geopolitical importance of Korea was not lost on the victorious allies, who paritioned the peninsula at the 38th Parallel .
That does it for this week. I will be some of you didn't know about Japan and it's wars with China and
Russia. Well now you can tie in your history before Pearl Harbor and why and how Japan got too big
for it's britches. Do you suppose history will repeat itself with, you know who? And I don't mean
China. As always, time will tell. See y'all monday. Cheers CJ
Thursday, January 27, 2011
RELIGION or POLITICS ??? About North Korea, did you Know?
Hi y'all, Sorry again, couldn't get this out yesterday, darn computer again. But then, I think it is fixed and in good shape again. Now, this blog today is about Peace in Korea and I believe your will learn some things you didn't know about N. Korea. We read about he situation there between North and South Korea, but not about pertinent history. Worth the read.
This also comes from the news letter, IMPRIMIS, published by Hillsdale College, and written by Sung-Yoon Lee, assistant Professor of Interrnational politics at Fletcher School of Law at Tufts University.. So here goes. (This maybe be in three parts).
We are often reminded that the Korean War ended not with a formal peace treaty, but rather iwth an armistice. And indeed, that is an irrefutable fact. But it is not true tht the absence of a formal peace treaty is an impediment to peace in Korea. The signing of such a treaty between the United States and North Korea today would not facilitate, let alone guarantee, genuine peace of denuclearization on the Koren peninsula. To believe that it would can only be the result of a fundamental misreading of the North Korean regime, both in terms of its nature and of its strategic intent.
It was on July 27, 1953, that the armistice bringing the Korean War to an end was signed. The war ended without a clear victor and with the Korean peninsula divided more or less along the same lines as at the beginning of the war on June 25, 1950. Despite the lack of a final resolution, the armistice made possible a long peace in Northeast Asia and planted the seeds of South Korea's freedom and prosperity.
In North Korea, on the other hand, July 27 has a different meaning. The date is referred to as the day of "Victory in Fatherland Liberation War", and Pyongyang commemorates each year " the anniversary of the great victory of the Korean people in the Fatherland Liberation War." North Korea considers it a reminder of the unfinished business of communizing the entire Korean peninsula -- or, in the words of Communist Part Charter, "the accomplishment of the revolutionary goals of national liberation and the people's democracy on the entire area of the country." The war may have ended in 1953, but the North Korean revolution rages on. This fact helps explain the fundamental geopolitical dynamic on the peninsula.
In this light, consider Nort Korea's repeated demand for a peace treaty with the United States. What explains its insistence on signing such a treaty with its vanquished foe? The answer is self-evident to realize its goal of evicting the U.S. forces from South Korea. Ever since North Korea joined the World Health Organization in 1973 and opened a diplomatic mission in New York the following year, it has been proposing bilateral peace negotiations with Washington.
Of course, this didn't stop it from sending assassins to kill South Korean President Park Chung Hee or kidnapping South Korean fishermen. Why would a nation that claims to seek peace engage in such war-like activities? The answer is that North Korea is not seeking peace, but rather a change in the military balance of power on the Korean peninsula. In addition, North Korea regularly makes threats against the U.S., its ostensible future partner in peace. WHY? Because Pyongyang sees itself as the party wielding the carrots and sticks in order to cajole and coerce its adversaries, Washington and Seoul. In other words, North Korea acts upon its own strategy. It does not merely react to signals coming out of Washington or Seoul, no matter how "diplomatic" they may be.
This be part I of this series and I hope you are interested enought in the affairs, of the world and the good old USA, to get a handle on this rather peculiar situation in world aggressiona and diplomacy and learn more than you will read in the newspapers. Probably will continue this tomorrow seeing as how it is friday and my lateness. So do come back and visit agiain, I do so appreciate it. Cheers CJ
This also comes from the news letter, IMPRIMIS, published by Hillsdale College, and written by Sung-Yoon Lee, assistant Professor of Interrnational politics at Fletcher School of Law at Tufts University.. So here goes. (This maybe be in three parts).
We are often reminded that the Korean War ended not with a formal peace treaty, but rather iwth an armistice. And indeed, that is an irrefutable fact. But it is not true tht the absence of a formal peace treaty is an impediment to peace in Korea. The signing of such a treaty between the United States and North Korea today would not facilitate, let alone guarantee, genuine peace of denuclearization on the Koren peninsula. To believe that it would can only be the result of a fundamental misreading of the North Korean regime, both in terms of its nature and of its strategic intent.
It was on July 27, 1953, that the armistice bringing the Korean War to an end was signed. The war ended without a clear victor and with the Korean peninsula divided more or less along the same lines as at the beginning of the war on June 25, 1950. Despite the lack of a final resolution, the armistice made possible a long peace in Northeast Asia and planted the seeds of South Korea's freedom and prosperity.
In North Korea, on the other hand, July 27 has a different meaning. The date is referred to as the day of "Victory in Fatherland Liberation War", and Pyongyang commemorates each year " the anniversary of the great victory of the Korean people in the Fatherland Liberation War." North Korea considers it a reminder of the unfinished business of communizing the entire Korean peninsula -- or, in the words of Communist Part Charter, "the accomplishment of the revolutionary goals of national liberation and the people's democracy on the entire area of the country." The war may have ended in 1953, but the North Korean revolution rages on. This fact helps explain the fundamental geopolitical dynamic on the peninsula.
In this light, consider Nort Korea's repeated demand for a peace treaty with the United States. What explains its insistence on signing such a treaty with its vanquished foe? The answer is self-evident to realize its goal of evicting the U.S. forces from South Korea. Ever since North Korea joined the World Health Organization in 1973 and opened a diplomatic mission in New York the following year, it has been proposing bilateral peace negotiations with Washington.
Of course, this didn't stop it from sending assassins to kill South Korean President Park Chung Hee or kidnapping South Korean fishermen. Why would a nation that claims to seek peace engage in such war-like activities? The answer is that North Korea is not seeking peace, but rather a change in the military balance of power on the Korean peninsula. In addition, North Korea regularly makes threats against the U.S., its ostensible future partner in peace. WHY? Because Pyongyang sees itself as the party wielding the carrots and sticks in order to cajole and coerce its adversaries, Washington and Seoul. In other words, North Korea acts upon its own strategy. It does not merely react to signals coming out of Washington or Seoul, no matter how "diplomatic" they may be.
This be part I of this series and I hope you are interested enought in the affairs, of the world and the good old USA, to get a handle on this rather peculiar situation in world aggressiona and diplomacy and learn more than you will read in the newspapers. Probably will continue this tomorrow seeing as how it is friday and my lateness. So do come back and visit agiain, I do so appreciate it. Cheers CJ
Monday, January 24, 2011
RELIGION or POLITICS ??? Platform for a Constitutional Government. cont'd,
Happy monday to all, Friday I completed the Platform for a Constitutional Government, which as you were informed was originated by Hillsdale College at Hillsdale, MI., and also the Publisher of their monthly newsletter, IMPRIMIS. The college stems back to 1844, and their core curriculum is is based around theri Articles of Association which commits them to two things. The first is "sound learning" of the liberal arts, and the second is the reading of the Declaration of Independence, following its arguments and research from old books in history.
Hillsdale is devoted in the first sentence of its Articles of Association to the principles of "civil and religious liberty". These principles are America's gift to the world. We are all of us products of that gift. We are not sons of dukes and earls -- or of czars. We are Americans because of this gift. And signs are lately that Americans do not much want to give it up. This is a very hopeful thing.
Hilsdale College has always taught the Constitution and has always fought for it. Our teaching of it is intense, difficult, challenging. As for fighting, we are famous in modern times for a decade-long lawsuit against the federal government, and for the fact that we refuse to take money from the government. It is expensive these days, indeed increasingly so, for a college not to take federal money. But we believe that the price of taking it is dearer still.
No one should think, however, that in refusing money from the modern bureaucratic of government that exists in this city today, we have forgotten our loyalty to the constitutional form that flourished here for so long.
There is only one way to return to living under the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the institutions of the Constitution. We must come to love those things again. And if we love them, then we serve them. But we cannot love them until we understand them until we know them. So the first step is to study them and teach them, and Hillsdale College comes to Washington meaning to do that. We aim to create an atmosphere in this city of the study and knowledge and understanding and love of the principles of America.
And so be it, my friends. If you aren't in love with this country and willing to fight to keep it as it was conceived, then I'd say, get out and stay out, and the sooner the better. See y'all. Cheers CJ
Hillsdale is devoted in the first sentence of its Articles of Association to the principles of "civil and religious liberty". These principles are America's gift to the world. We are all of us products of that gift. We are not sons of dukes and earls -- or of czars. We are Americans because of this gift. And signs are lately that Americans do not much want to give it up. This is a very hopeful thing.
Hilsdale College has always taught the Constitution and has always fought for it. Our teaching of it is intense, difficult, challenging. As for fighting, we are famous in modern times for a decade-long lawsuit against the federal government, and for the fact that we refuse to take money from the government. It is expensive these days, indeed increasingly so, for a college not to take federal money. But we believe that the price of taking it is dearer still.
No one should think, however, that in refusing money from the modern bureaucratic of government that exists in this city today, we have forgotten our loyalty to the constitutional form that flourished here for so long.
There is only one way to return to living under the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the institutions of the Constitution. We must come to love those things again. And if we love them, then we serve them. But we cannot love them until we understand them until we know them. So the first step is to study them and teach them, and Hillsdale College comes to Washington meaning to do that. We aim to create an atmosphere in this city of the study and knowledge and understanding and love of the principles of America.
And so be it, my friends. If you aren't in love with this country and willing to fight to keep it as it was conceived, then I'd say, get out and stay out, and the sooner the better. See y'all. Cheers CJ
Friday, January 21, 2011
RELIGION or POLITICS ??? Platform for a Constitutional Government. cont'd,
Hello everyone, I am sorry I missed this past Wednesday's blog., why? Well, guess what? Yep, the not so old computer crashed, I finally to the dreaded Blue Page of Death. Had the good fortune to be led to an excellent computer wiz, with very reasonable rates, and voila, I am now back in business, so to speak.
Anway this is the finale to this series of blogs, and hope you read it thoroughly and remember it. Things are going to be happening in this country over the next couple years or so, and it will be the good old wringing out that will bring this country back to a Republic and capitalism, as it was designed to be. So Go:
Part 3. To accomplish its primary duty of protecting individual liberty, the federal goveenment must uphold national security.
a. National defense has been for most of American history the chief undertaking of the government under the Constitution. It has been supplanted by the federal entitlement and regulatory state. This reversal of priority hapers growth at home, deprives the American people of scope for self-government, and undermines the defense of the nation.
b. We should pursue relentlessly every form of defense against foeigh threats. Especially is this true in the case of attack by weapons of mass destruction. Therefore missile defense and a vigorous policy to combat Islamic and other forms of terrorism are urgently required.
c. We must overcome all interntional and domestic efforts to undermine American sovereignity, including those mounted through the United Nations and other international organizations, or through efforts to impose new treaties.
d. Promotion of democracy and defense of innocents abroad should be undertaken only in keeping with the national interest.
4. The restoration of a high standard of public and private morality is essential to the revival of costitutionalism. As the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 states, "Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the haappiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." The Constitution itself says nothing about education, for the same reason it says nothing about families or marriage or child rearing. Parents and teachers, not the federal government, teach children. What they teach them matters most, for without proper moral and civic education a republican form of government will falter. With it, and with a strong defense of our right to religious liberty, republican government can flourish.
It closes again with the words of Lincoln, from the same speech with which we began. Quoting the Bible, Lincoln said that "a house divided against itself cannot stand?" We shall be governed either by ourselves, under a constitution, or else we shall be governed by the NEW kind of master invented in our day, the bureaucrat, and by the imprenetrable web of rules that he fabricates and enforces.
Let us stand against the rule of bureaucracy, and for liberty and the Constitution.
So I close for this week and remind you of what Obama wants to do now, and that is to look into all the rules and regulations and decide which ones are not needed and then supplant them with those that would be better. Ummmmmmm, for WHOM?????? Wake up people, this in-house invasion is so insidious and little by little designed to ruin, " America under the Constitution". Question everything that is proposed in Washington and check what is behind it for their hidden agenda.
Cheers CJ
Anway this is the finale to this series of blogs, and hope you read it thoroughly and remember it. Things are going to be happening in this country over the next couple years or so, and it will be the good old wringing out that will bring this country back to a Republic and capitalism, as it was designed to be. So Go:
Part 3. To accomplish its primary duty of protecting individual liberty, the federal goveenment must uphold national security.
a. National defense has been for most of American history the chief undertaking of the government under the Constitution. It has been supplanted by the federal entitlement and regulatory state. This reversal of priority hapers growth at home, deprives the American people of scope for self-government, and undermines the defense of the nation.
b. We should pursue relentlessly every form of defense against foeigh threats. Especially is this true in the case of attack by weapons of mass destruction. Therefore missile defense and a vigorous policy to combat Islamic and other forms of terrorism are urgently required.
c. We must overcome all interntional and domestic efforts to undermine American sovereignity, including those mounted through the United Nations and other international organizations, or through efforts to impose new treaties.
d. Promotion of democracy and defense of innocents abroad should be undertaken only in keeping with the national interest.
4. The restoration of a high standard of public and private morality is essential to the revival of costitutionalism. As the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 states, "Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the haappiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." The Constitution itself says nothing about education, for the same reason it says nothing about families or marriage or child rearing. Parents and teachers, not the federal government, teach children. What they teach them matters most, for without proper moral and civic education a republican form of government will falter. With it, and with a strong defense of our right to religious liberty, republican government can flourish.
It closes again with the words of Lincoln, from the same speech with which we began. Quoting the Bible, Lincoln said that "a house divided against itself cannot stand?" We shall be governed either by ourselves, under a constitution, or else we shall be governed by the NEW kind of master invented in our day, the bureaucrat, and by the imprenetrable web of rules that he fabricates and enforces.
Let us stand against the rule of bureaucracy, and for liberty and the Constitution.
So I close for this week and remind you of what Obama wants to do now, and that is to look into all the rules and regulations and decide which ones are not needed and then supplant them with those that would be better. Ummmmmmm, for WHOM?????? Wake up people, this in-house invasion is so insidious and little by little designed to ruin, " America under the Constitution". Question everything that is proposed in Washington and check what is behind it for their hidden agenda.
Cheers CJ
Monday, January 17, 2011
RELIGION or POLITICS ??? Platform for a Constitutional Government. Cont'd.
(Content taken from newsletter IMPRIMUS published by Hillsdale College),
Greetings my good friends. For those of you who wisely follow my blog efforts, 3 times a week, and which are loaded with pertinent wisdom specifically chosen for insert in my blog title, Religion or Politics. Today is the 2nd Pillar of the considered Platform for Constitutional Government. The First Pillar of course was in my last blog last friday, and before that check my archives, especially the one with the quote from Abraham Lincoln. Now, onward and upward:
Pillar 2. Economic Liberty is inversely proportional to governmental intrusion to the lives of citizens.
The platform upon which Abraham Lincoln was elected president stated "that the people justly view with alarm the reckless extravagance which pervades every department of the Federal Government". It urged "a return to rigid economy and accountability" that "is indispensable to arrest the systematic plunder of the public treasury by favorite partisans......." Likewise today:
A. American economic recovery requires that we liberate the American people to work, to save, and to invest, secure in their property, confident about the dollar as a store of value, and sure tht the government will be an impartial enforcer of the law and of contracts.
B In all administrtion of federal programs we must demand the utmost economy, and that every care be taken to avoid further growth and sprawl in the federal administrative establishment.
C. Our massive public investment in entitlement programs must be protected through privatization programs, which should utilize the real practices of insurance against catastrophe and of savings for future needs. In this process our investment must be safeguarded from loss, as the government must keep its contracts.
D. Sound money is among the most sacred of the federal government's responsibilities and price stability should be the aim of monetary policy.
E. The federal government must not subsidize corporations or individuals in its tax code or any other policy.
F. Philanthropy is the natural outgrowth of American principles and institutions. It should be encouraged and relied upon, along with local and state government, as the great engine of social reform, and the amelioration of distress.
Greetings my good friends. For those of you who wisely follow my blog efforts, 3 times a week, and which are loaded with pertinent wisdom specifically chosen for insert in my blog title, Religion or Politics. Today is the 2nd Pillar of the considered Platform for Constitutional Government. The First Pillar of course was in my last blog last friday, and before that check my archives, especially the one with the quote from Abraham Lincoln. Now, onward and upward:
Pillar 2. Economic Liberty is inversely proportional to governmental intrusion to the lives of citizens.
The platform upon which Abraham Lincoln was elected president stated "that the people justly view with alarm the reckless extravagance which pervades every department of the Federal Government". It urged "a return to rigid economy and accountability" that "is indispensable to arrest the systematic plunder of the public treasury by favorite partisans......." Likewise today:
A. American economic recovery requires that we liberate the American people to work, to save, and to invest, secure in their property, confident about the dollar as a store of value, and sure tht the government will be an impartial enforcer of the law and of contracts.
B In all administrtion of federal programs we must demand the utmost economy, and that every care be taken to avoid further growth and sprawl in the federal administrative establishment.
C. Our massive public investment in entitlement programs must be protected through privatization programs, which should utilize the real practices of insurance against catastrophe and of savings for future needs. In this process our investment must be safeguarded from loss, as the government must keep its contracts.
D. Sound money is among the most sacred of the federal government's responsibilities and price stability should be the aim of monetary policy.
E. The federal government must not subsidize corporations or individuals in its tax code or any other policy.
F. Philanthropy is the natural outgrowth of American principles and institutions. It should be encouraged and relied upon, along with local and state government, as the great engine of social reform, and the amelioration of distress.
Friday, January 14, 2011
RELIGION or POLITICS ? The Presidency and the Constitution, cont'd
Constitutional Government. Cont'd.
Hi y'all, boy this country is certainly going through convulsions these days, huh? And the fingers pointing at most anybody whether it has facts behind the pointing or not. What this country has come to, uh uh! What has happened to good old values and principles??? Anyway, let's continue with getting back to a Constitutional Government. (Content taken from newsletter IMPRIMUS published by Hillsdale College),
Oh, go to my archives if you want to see what I've published previously and well worth your time, if you have any sense of love for America. Now to go on: The last one ended with "Politicians are not angels or perfect, therefore government must have powers, but these powers must be limited and checked.
If this is where we are, then it is easy to see"what to do, and how to do it" We must return to the priniciples and institutions of the founding of our country. We must revive constitutional rule. to do so, we propose the following four pillars of constitutional government.
1. Potecting the equal and inalienable rights of individuals is government's primary responsibility
a. By rights, America's founders meant those things naturally belonging to us, and those things earned by our own labor. The protection ot rights understood in this way breeds harmony in the society, because each of us claims for himself what he can also give to all others. We may speak, worship, asemble, and keep our justly earned property without taking from another.
b. Each branch of government is subservient to the Consttution.
c. The federal government has the constitutional duty to ensure that each state maintains a republican form of government. This obligation is strengthened and clarified in the 14th Amendment. It must ensure that no state infringes on the rights or the "privileges or immunities" of citizens. Yet it must also recognize the constitutional standing of state governmtents.
d. The duties of Congress are clearly dilineated in Article I, Section 8 of the constitution. It should do no more, lest liberty be endangered. It should do no less, else anarchy ensue.
Have a great weekend my friends, and by all means, when you can get a chance, listen to Glenn Beck. He is incredible in my book, and could well be a saviour and greatly influence this country in getting itself turned around from it's present direction to the dumps. Listen, take action and stand up for a Constitutional government, and also keep in mind China is about take over the title of World Power. Pay attention. Cheers CJ
Hi y'all, boy this country is certainly going through convulsions these days, huh? And the fingers pointing at most anybody whether it has facts behind the pointing or not. What this country has come to, uh uh! What has happened to good old values and principles??? Anyway, let's continue with getting back to a Constitutional Government. (Content taken from newsletter IMPRIMUS published by Hillsdale College),
Oh, go to my archives if you want to see what I've published previously and well worth your time, if you have any sense of love for America. Now to go on: The last one ended with "Politicians are not angels or perfect, therefore government must have powers, but these powers must be limited and checked.
If this is where we are, then it is easy to see"what to do, and how to do it" We must return to the priniciples and institutions of the founding of our country. We must revive constitutional rule. to do so, we propose the following four pillars of constitutional government.
1. Potecting the equal and inalienable rights of individuals is government's primary responsibility
a. By rights, America's founders meant those things naturally belonging to us, and those things earned by our own labor. The protection ot rights understood in this way breeds harmony in the society, because each of us claims for himself what he can also give to all others. We may speak, worship, asemble, and keep our justly earned property without taking from another.
b. Each branch of government is subservient to the Consttution.
c. The federal government has the constitutional duty to ensure that each state maintains a republican form of government. This obligation is strengthened and clarified in the 14th Amendment. It must ensure that no state infringes on the rights or the "privileges or immunities" of citizens. Yet it must also recognize the constitutional standing of state governmtents.
d. The duties of Congress are clearly dilineated in Article I, Section 8 of the constitution. It should do no more, lest liberty be endangered. It should do no less, else anarchy ensue.
Have a great weekend my friends, and by all means, when you can get a chance, listen to Glenn Beck. He is incredible in my book, and could well be a saviour and greatly influence this country in getting itself turned around from it's present direction to the dumps. Listen, take action and stand up for a Constitutional government, and also keep in mind China is about take over the title of World Power. Pay attention. Cheers CJ
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
RELIGION or POLITICS ??? Platform for a Constitutional Government.
Hi y'all, boy this country is certainly going through convulsions these days, huh? And the fingers pointing at most anybody whether it has facts behind the pointing or not. What this country has come to, uh uh! What has happened to good old values and principles??? Anyway, let's continue with getting back to a Constitutional Government.
When I left off a couple days ago, it read about the national debt being the largest since World War II, and that it leaves us vulnerable to every mischance that may come upon the nation from abroad or at home, and how this burden stifles enterprise and closes opportunity for all but the well connected.
To continue: As the government has grown, it has become a powerful interest in the everyday affairs of the nation. Increasingly, bureaucracy is a factor in every operation our citizens undertake. In the management of our businesses, in the accomplishment of our jobs, in the rearing of our children, and in the very caring for our own bodies, there now are rules too numerous to count. Ominously, these rules now seek even to intrude into electoral processes by which ouor free people choose their representatives.
These rules originate in laws passed by Congress that are much too long for anyone to read. After these laws are passed, they are enhanced, expanded, interpreted, and complicated by regulatory agencies. WE forget therefore the words of the Father of the Constitution, James Madison.
IT WILL BE OF LITTLE AVAIL TO THE PEOPLE THAT THE LAWS ARE MADE BY MEN OF THEIR OWN CHOICE IF THE LAWS BE SO VOLUMINOUS THAT THEY CANNOT BE READ, OR SO INCOHERENT THAT THEY CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD; IF THEY BE REPEALED OR REVISED BEFORE THEY ARE PROMULGATED, OR UNDERGO SUCH INCESSANT CHANGES THAT NO MAN, WHO KNOWS WHAT THE LAW IS TODAY, CAN GUESS WHAT IT WILL BE TOMORROW. lAW IS DEFINED TO BE A RULE OF ACTION; BUT HOW CAN THAT BE A RULE, WHICH IS LITTLE KNOWN, AND LESS FIXED?
All these developments, so long entrenched in our politics, are presented by their proponents as a natural extension of the original principles and the original institutions of the nation. Doubtless those who argue this also believe it, but it cannot possibly be true.
Gone now is the caution about human nature that recognizes that human beings must live under law in order to protect their rights, and that those who make and enforce the law are no more likely to perfect -- or less likely to violate the rights of their fellow citizens -- than others. The current tendency toward unlimited government undermines the foundation of constitutional rule in our country. That foundation is stated by Madison in a few words: "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary."
Men must be governed because they are imperfect -- less than God, less than angels. But then so too are those who make and enforce the law imperfect. They also have interests. Therefore government must have strong powers, but these powers must be limited and checked.
OK, going to stop here for today, and suggest you read these last two paragraphs over and over until you realize the dangers this country is in, and the need for stalwart men and women who believe strongly in a Constitutional Government as our founders had in mind. Thanks for visiting again and please come back as I will continue on friday. I invite everyone to speak up and say what you think for or against. Cheers CJ
When I left off a couple days ago, it read about the national debt being the largest since World War II, and that it leaves us vulnerable to every mischance that may come upon the nation from abroad or at home, and how this burden stifles enterprise and closes opportunity for all but the well connected.
To continue: As the government has grown, it has become a powerful interest in the everyday affairs of the nation. Increasingly, bureaucracy is a factor in every operation our citizens undertake. In the management of our businesses, in the accomplishment of our jobs, in the rearing of our children, and in the very caring for our own bodies, there now are rules too numerous to count. Ominously, these rules now seek even to intrude into electoral processes by which ouor free people choose their representatives.
These rules originate in laws passed by Congress that are much too long for anyone to read. After these laws are passed, they are enhanced, expanded, interpreted, and complicated by regulatory agencies. WE forget therefore the words of the Father of the Constitution, James Madison.
IT WILL BE OF LITTLE AVAIL TO THE PEOPLE THAT THE LAWS ARE MADE BY MEN OF THEIR OWN CHOICE IF THE LAWS BE SO VOLUMINOUS THAT THEY CANNOT BE READ, OR SO INCOHERENT THAT THEY CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD; IF THEY BE REPEALED OR REVISED BEFORE THEY ARE PROMULGATED, OR UNDERGO SUCH INCESSANT CHANGES THAT NO MAN, WHO KNOWS WHAT THE LAW IS TODAY, CAN GUESS WHAT IT WILL BE TOMORROW. lAW IS DEFINED TO BE A RULE OF ACTION; BUT HOW CAN THAT BE A RULE, WHICH IS LITTLE KNOWN, AND LESS FIXED?
All these developments, so long entrenched in our politics, are presented by their proponents as a natural extension of the original principles and the original institutions of the nation. Doubtless those who argue this also believe it, but it cannot possibly be true.
Gone now is the caution about human nature that recognizes that human beings must live under law in order to protect their rights, and that those who make and enforce the law are no more likely to perfect -- or less likely to violate the rights of their fellow citizens -- than others. The current tendency toward unlimited government undermines the foundation of constitutional rule in our country. That foundation is stated by Madison in a few words: "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary."
Men must be governed because they are imperfect -- less than God, less than angels. But then so too are those who make and enforce the law imperfect. They also have interests. Therefore government must have strong powers, but these powers must be limited and checked.
OK, going to stop here for today, and suggest you read these last two paragraphs over and over until you realize the dangers this country is in, and the need for stalwart men and women who believe strongly in a Constitutional Government as our founders had in mind. Thanks for visiting again and please come back as I will continue on friday. I invite everyone to speak up and say what you think for or against. Cheers CJ
Monday, January 10, 2011
RELIGION or POLITICS ??? Platform for a Constitutional Government.
(Greetings good and intelligent people -- you have to be to enjoy my blog, but in any case today I am starting on the subject of the Constitution which is brought to you from the publication of Hillsdale College's monthly newsletter called IMPRIMIS, by Larry P. Arnn, President of Hillsdale College.)
We all regret, I am sure, the horrible shooting in Arizona this past weekend. You all may well know that guns are easy to get in Arizona by almost anyone, and as I understand they wanted to issue guns to students and teachers in the higher levels of educational institutions. What with all the rest it's like Tombstone, and in this day and age a great formula for the nuts and radicals afloat in our population. Given the Causes, there will always be the Effects. Never failing Law. But to go on.
On June 17, 1858, Abrahma Lincoln said in his House Divided apeech, "If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do and how to do it."
His analysis was founded upon a profound contemplation of the Declaration of Independence and its embodiment it the Constitution of the United States. It issure in a set of proposals disigned first to limit and tehn to extinguish slavery by strictly constitutional means.
We require a similar kind of analysis today. Our most difficult policy issues are embedded in a vast administrative state that is built without regard for the principles of the Declaration in their true meaning, or for the proper constitutional operation of government.
The Declaration of Independence articulates the place of man in nature below God and above the beast. It says that we may be governed only by our consent. Woodrow Wilson and the founders of modern liberalism called these doctrines "obsolete". They argued that we live now in the age of progress , and that government must be an engine of that progress. This idea changes how we view not only the purpose of government, but also the rights of its citizens.
Franklin Roosevelt added economic security to the natural rights, as the Declaration of Independence states, of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Government grew as a result, expecially under Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. And it continues to grow -- all in the name of progress. Indeed, the current administration is the most aggressive proponent of the doctines of Progressivism since they were first introduced.
Under the influence if these new doctrines, the government has grown to be, in simple terms, the largest single force by far in the land. It now consumes nearly half of all we produce, and it is soon to accumulate public debt as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product equal to the largest in our history, matching our debt level at the end of the Second World War. This debt leaves us vulnerable to every mischance that may come upon the nation from abroad or at home. The burden of it stifles enterprise and closes opportunity for all but the well connected.
So my friends, how well connected are you? NOT??? Then you had better listen up and absorb what I am sending in this and some blogs to come. We must make a pledge to ourselves to wake up and get active in defending this great country of ours, from the dangers inside which is working hard to "fundamentally change America". Thanks for stopping by and do come back. I'll continue you on Wednesday. Cheers CJ
We all regret, I am sure, the horrible shooting in Arizona this past weekend. You all may well know that guns are easy to get in Arizona by almost anyone, and as I understand they wanted to issue guns to students and teachers in the higher levels of educational institutions. What with all the rest it's like Tombstone, and in this day and age a great formula for the nuts and radicals afloat in our population. Given the Causes, there will always be the Effects. Never failing Law. But to go on.
On June 17, 1858, Abrahma Lincoln said in his House Divided apeech, "If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do and how to do it."
His analysis was founded upon a profound contemplation of the Declaration of Independence and its embodiment it the Constitution of the United States. It issure in a set of proposals disigned first to limit and tehn to extinguish slavery by strictly constitutional means.
We require a similar kind of analysis today. Our most difficult policy issues are embedded in a vast administrative state that is built without regard for the principles of the Declaration in their true meaning, or for the proper constitutional operation of government.
The Declaration of Independence articulates the place of man in nature below God and above the beast. It says that we may be governed only by our consent. Woodrow Wilson and the founders of modern liberalism called these doctrines "obsolete". They argued that we live now in the age of progress , and that government must be an engine of that progress. This idea changes how we view not only the purpose of government, but also the rights of its citizens.
Franklin Roosevelt added economic security to the natural rights, as the Declaration of Independence states, of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Government grew as a result, expecially under Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. And it continues to grow -- all in the name of progress. Indeed, the current administration is the most aggressive proponent of the doctines of Progressivism since they were first introduced.
Under the influence if these new doctrines, the government has grown to be, in simple terms, the largest single force by far in the land. It now consumes nearly half of all we produce, and it is soon to accumulate public debt as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product equal to the largest in our history, matching our debt level at the end of the Second World War. This debt leaves us vulnerable to every mischance that may come upon the nation from abroad or at home. The burden of it stifles enterprise and closes opportunity for all but the well connected.
So my friends, how well connected are you? NOT??? Then you had better listen up and absorb what I am sending in this and some blogs to come. We must make a pledge to ourselves to wake up and get active in defending this great country of ours, from the dangers inside which is working hard to "fundamentally change America". Thanks for stopping by and do come back. I'll continue you on Wednesday. Cheers CJ
Thursday, January 6, 2011
RELIGION or POLITICS ??? Platform for a Constitutional Government.
Greetings good and intelligent people -- you have to be to enjoy my blog, but in any case today I am starting on the subject of the Constitution which is brought to you from the publication of Hillsdale College's monthly newsletter called IMPRIMIS, by Larry P. Arnn, President of Hillsdale.
Today, they read the Constitution to the Congress in Washington, but left out the 18th Amendment. Just Why, I don't know, but there must have been a reason, so why don't you check it out for yourself and see what the Amendment is about, then go figure. OK?
This was adapted rom remarks delivered on Sept. 17, 2010 at the dedication of Hilldale College's, Allan P. Kiby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washingto D.C., and the reason for launching the Center has to do with the times in which we live, and it has to do with the purposes of Hillsdale College.
The times are pretty easy to estimate. I'll must mention two things about them that are astonishing and fearful.The first is that we have managed, in about the last 30 years of relative peace and umprededented prosperity, to pile up a debt that rivals the one we piled up while winning the Second World War, the most disastrous and largest war in human history. And this debt is of a different character. The Second World War was going to end at some point, and we were either going to win and go back to living and working and pay off the debt -- which is what happened -- or else we were going to lose and the the debt would never be paid. In contrast, our debt today has become the ordinary way our government and our country operate. As my father, a schoolteacher in Arkansas and a wise man, used to say, it is the kind of debt that means it really doesn't matter how rich we've become, because we can waste money faster.
The second sign of the times that I'll mention is this: We have now a figure in the American government called the regulatory czar. Not only is it shameful and wrong for anybody in America to let himself be called that, he takes the title seriously. Indeed, he writes that some people should be allowed to regulate speech rights -- to redistribute them, much as the government redistributes wealth -- in the name of what he and his politial allies regard as fairness. His is a far different kind of argument about speech than the one our Founders made, which was that speech is an individual right. His argument not only opposes the prohibition the founders placed in the First Amenement, which says that "Congress shall make no law....abridging the freedom of speech." It rejects the understanding of human nature that grounds the very idea of constitutonalism. James Madison summarized that understanding when he wrote in Federalist 51 that because men are not angels, they need government, but that government must be controlled and limited for the same reason. (is that beautiful or what?)
Because those in our governmment are men rather than angels, we must not allow them the kind of power that this regulatory czar desires and claims. (And so is this, YES).
There needs to be an argument about whether Madison and the founders are right or this bureaucratic czar and his allies are right with regard to civil liberties, just as there needs to be an argument about whether our nation should keep piling up unsustainable debt. There is going to be an argument about these and other big questions in this city in coming years, and the Kirby Center will have a hand in that argument.
This is it for today and will be back soon again with Part ll. Thanks for stopping by, and may I suggest in closing, READ THE LAST 3 PARAGRAPHS AGAIN. Cheers CJ
Today, they read the Constitution to the Congress in Washington, but left out the 18th Amendment. Just Why, I don't know, but there must have been a reason, so why don't you check it out for yourself and see what the Amendment is about, then go figure. OK?
This was adapted rom remarks delivered on Sept. 17, 2010 at the dedication of Hilldale College's, Allan P. Kiby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washingto D.C., and the reason for launching the Center has to do with the times in which we live, and it has to do with the purposes of Hillsdale College.
The times are pretty easy to estimate. I'll must mention two things about them that are astonishing and fearful.The first is that we have managed, in about the last 30 years of relative peace and umprededented prosperity, to pile up a debt that rivals the one we piled up while winning the Second World War, the most disastrous and largest war in human history. And this debt is of a different character. The Second World War was going to end at some point, and we were either going to win and go back to living and working and pay off the debt -- which is what happened -- or else we were going to lose and the the debt would never be paid. In contrast, our debt today has become the ordinary way our government and our country operate. As my father, a schoolteacher in Arkansas and a wise man, used to say, it is the kind of debt that means it really doesn't matter how rich we've become, because we can waste money faster.
The second sign of the times that I'll mention is this: We have now a figure in the American government called the regulatory czar. Not only is it shameful and wrong for anybody in America to let himself be called that, he takes the title seriously. Indeed, he writes that some people should be allowed to regulate speech rights -- to redistribute them, much as the government redistributes wealth -- in the name of what he and his politial allies regard as fairness. His is a far different kind of argument about speech than the one our Founders made, which was that speech is an individual right. His argument not only opposes the prohibition the founders placed in the First Amenement, which says that "Congress shall make no law....abridging the freedom of speech." It rejects the understanding of human nature that grounds the very idea of constitutonalism. James Madison summarized that understanding when he wrote in Federalist 51 that because men are not angels, they need government, but that government must be controlled and limited for the same reason. (is that beautiful or what?)
Because those in our governmment are men rather than angels, we must not allow them the kind of power that this regulatory czar desires and claims. (And so is this, YES).
There needs to be an argument about whether Madison and the founders are right or this bureaucratic czar and his allies are right with regard to civil liberties, just as there needs to be an argument about whether our nation should keep piling up unsustainable debt. There is going to be an argument about these and other big questions in this city in coming years, and the Kirby Center will have a hand in that argument.
This is it for today and will be back soon again with Part ll. Thanks for stopping by, and may I suggest in closing, READ THE LAST 3 PARAGRAPHS AGAIN. Cheers CJ
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
RELIGION or POLITICS ??? Social Security Trust Fund...Myth????
Hello good friends, welcome. I was going to start my run on the Constitution today, but ran across this article by E.Thomas McClanahan of the Kansas City Star. It seemed so appropriate that I just had to put it our for you, some of whom believe that Social Security is safely funded. It Aint !!!! So go read.
ARTICLE.......
Imagine a parent who, faced with the duty to build a college fund for his child, writes himself IOUs instead of putting real money aside for the future.
That's what Social Securtity has done, except that it calls its stash a "Trust Fund".
Many people believe the trust fund contains securities that have real economic value. IT DON'T.
AARP, to cite a more well-known example, has actively spread the notion that Social Security's financial footing is quite strong, perfectly healthy -- nothing we need worry about right now -- because the trust fund contains trillions in government bonds.
This belief is one of the reasons entitlement reform has been so difficult. Those who subscribe to the myth accuse reformers of seeking to destroy one of America'smost cherished programs.
But reformers are correct in arguing that if Social Security isn't fixed, and soon, it will be difficult to shore up without threatening the benefits of people already retired.
In most years, the payroll tax dedicated to Social Security produces more money that the government needs to pay benefits. When that happens, the revenue is spent by Congress and the Social Security trust fund is credited with "special issue", non- marketable, U.S. government bonds.
Many people point out, correctly, that the trust fund bonds, like publicly traded bonds, are backed by the full faith and credit of the government. They conclude from this that social Security is on a solid financial footing.
But like the foolish parent who builds a college fund of IOUs written to itself, and then on some future day expect to use those IOUs to fund benefit checks.
To turn trust fund bonds into real money, the government must do what it would have to do if the trust fund did not exist: borrow, cut spending somewhere else, or raise taxes. The trust fund bonds may be assets from the point of view of Social Security, but they're a liability for the government as a whole, and for us as taxpayers.
These bonds represent "the debt to American workers" who have paid the payroll tax. And right--the Trust is full of debt.
Social Security is not a pension program as we commonly under-stand it. It is a pay-as-you-go program.
Current recipients must be paid with current tax revenue. Future recipients must be paid with future tax revenue. This year, the Social Security trustees said revenue from the payroll tax would fall short by $41 billion. That cash deficit is expected to shrink in 2011 as the economy strengthens (hope). It will vanish for a couple of years, then reappear with a vengeance in 2015, when Social Security begins running permanent cash DEFICITS. By 2020, the annual shortfall will balloon to more that $78 billion. A decade later it will top $267 billion. (A mere quarter trillion).
McClanahan comments in closing that, it could not be more clear that Social security reform should and must be phased in now and gradually, so that benefits for retirees and those nearing retire-ment aren't cut.
BUT, if government waits too long -- should they listen to those who subscribe to the trust fund myth -- the borrowing needed to finance benefit checks will rapidly push us closer to the growth-killing tax increases and benefit cuts that no one wants.
Hey, people, heads up here and pay attention, and there are even more problems that this, just to be cheerful to the end, so if you still think this admin is going to take care of things in years ahead, better buy a ticket to another world somewhere, as long as you are dreaming. Anyway, I will really get started friday on the Constitution eye opener. Meantime, take care, and as we say in Nichiren Buddhism, "Enjoy what there is to enjoy, suffer what there is to suffer, consider that joy and suffering are a fact of life, and keep on chanting 'Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" no matter what happens." . Then remember that FAITH alone is all that really matters. Cheers CJ
ARTICLE.......
Imagine a parent who, faced with the duty to build a college fund for his child, writes himself IOUs instead of putting real money aside for the future.
That's what Social Securtity has done, except that it calls its stash a "Trust Fund".
Many people believe the trust fund contains securities that have real economic value. IT DON'T.
AARP, to cite a more well-known example, has actively spread the notion that Social Security's financial footing is quite strong, perfectly healthy -- nothing we need worry about right now -- because the trust fund contains trillions in government bonds.
This belief is one of the reasons entitlement reform has been so difficult. Those who subscribe to the myth accuse reformers of seeking to destroy one of America'smost cherished programs.
But reformers are correct in arguing that if Social Security isn't fixed, and soon, it will be difficult to shore up without threatening the benefits of people already retired.
In most years, the payroll tax dedicated to Social Security produces more money that the government needs to pay benefits. When that happens, the revenue is spent by Congress and the Social Security trust fund is credited with "special issue", non- marketable, U.S. government bonds.
Many people point out, correctly, that the trust fund bonds, like publicly traded bonds, are backed by the full faith and credit of the government. They conclude from this that social Security is on a solid financial footing.
But like the foolish parent who builds a college fund of IOUs written to itself, and then on some future day expect to use those IOUs to fund benefit checks.
To turn trust fund bonds into real money, the government must do what it would have to do if the trust fund did not exist: borrow, cut spending somewhere else, or raise taxes. The trust fund bonds may be assets from the point of view of Social Security, but they're a liability for the government as a whole, and for us as taxpayers.
These bonds represent "the debt to American workers" who have paid the payroll tax. And right--the Trust is full of debt.
Social Security is not a pension program as we commonly under-stand it. It is a pay-as-you-go program.
Current recipients must be paid with current tax revenue. Future recipients must be paid with future tax revenue. This year, the Social Security trustees said revenue from the payroll tax would fall short by $41 billion. That cash deficit is expected to shrink in 2011 as the economy strengthens (hope). It will vanish for a couple of years, then reappear with a vengeance in 2015, when Social Security begins running permanent cash DEFICITS. By 2020, the annual shortfall will balloon to more that $78 billion. A decade later it will top $267 billion. (A mere quarter trillion).
McClanahan comments in closing that, it could not be more clear that Social security reform should and must be phased in now and gradually, so that benefits for retirees and those nearing retire-ment aren't cut.
BUT, if government waits too long -- should they listen to those who subscribe to the trust fund myth -- the borrowing needed to finance benefit checks will rapidly push us closer to the growth-killing tax increases and benefit cuts that no one wants.
Hey, people, heads up here and pay attention, and there are even more problems that this, just to be cheerful to the end, so if you still think this admin is going to take care of things in years ahead, better buy a ticket to another world somewhere, as long as you are dreaming. Anyway, I will really get started friday on the Constitution eye opener. Meantime, take care, and as we say in Nichiren Buddhism, "Enjoy what there is to enjoy, suffer what there is to suffer, consider that joy and suffering are a fact of life, and keep on chanting 'Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" no matter what happens." . Then remember that FAITH alone is all that really matters. Cheers CJ
Monday, January 3, 2011
RELIGION or POLITICS ??? Some predictions for 2011-2012
Greetings friends, one and all, I sincerely hope you, of those celebrating the New Years's strongly, have fully recovered and ready for a good year. However you will temper those feelings a bit by reading these forecasts or predictions for the next 2 years by the Health Ranger, of Natural News news letter. Very impressive and filled with stuff you had better pay attention to, especially if there are any of you who have your head up your rear end, still expecting great things from thhis administration. So here you are, go read.:
********
As people realize the importance of having their own home-grown source of food, we will see a surge in backyard gardens, food storage and in-home production methods such as sprouting and food dehydrating.
We will see a strong "back to basics" interest surge leading up to 2012, with many people choosing to move out of high-density cities (or even high-density nations) and seek self-reliance in more rural areas.
This will also reveal renewed interest in home-grown meat production with more people growing (and eating) their own chickens and cows rather than relying on processed, factory-farmed meats.
Increased awareness of natural remedies and health freedom
The natural health community will achieve significant victories over the next two years in awakening people to natural remedies, medicinal herbs and the core ideas of health freedom. The monopolistic pushers of pharmaceuticals are fighting a desperate, losing battle to try to keep people ignorant, but they will lose that fight and natural medicine will ultimately emerge as the healing method of choice for an increasing number of people.
Natural childbirth will continue to gain recognition around the world, and more parents will begin to question the ADHD drugging of their children. The industry of psychiatry as we know it today will continue crumbling under the burden of fraud and criminal behavior, finally collapsing well before 2020 thanks to the efforts of a few groups, notably CCHR.
The global shift away from pharmaceuticals and toward disease prevention and nutrition will accelerate in 2011 - 2012, with vitamin D leading the charge. An increasing number of people will learn about top nutrients such as resveratrol, astaxanthin and omega-3s. Nutrition education will become increasingly evident in public schools, and many school lunch programs will be reworked to remove more processed dead foods and increase real nutrition.
Significant victories will be achieved over water fluoridation, mercury fillings and GMOs (see below). The vaccine issue, however, will remain highly contentious. Victory over seasonal flu vaccines will take many more years...
More people waking up to reality
Today, most people are sleepwalking through their lives, functioning as cogs in a giant machine of which they have no knowledge and no control. Over the next two years, that will significantly change. More and more people will be awakened into a state of awareness. They will realize that living out their lives working mundane jobs, watching television, eating junk food and taking pharmaceuticals is not fulfilling their true purpose in life, and many will seek a higher purpose.
An increasing number of people will come to understand that their lives are mere illusion -- that they've been following programming set out for them by others, and that if they wish to truly achieve freedom (of mind), they must break out of the patterns that have been constructed for them.
As a result, we're going to see more people rebelling against the status quo while simultaneously expanding their own awareness of the bigger picture -- how things work in our world and what their role might be in uplifting our shared reality.
In the short term, this might result in a tremendous amount of strife, but in the end, it will give rise to a true uplifting of consciousness among the people in our world.
Specific upcoming victories in the world of natural health
• The People will achieve significant victories over GMOs. I believe that We the People will ultimately win this battle against GMOs in America. As information about the dangers of GMOs continues to spread, people will increasingly demand that GMO foods be labeled. With enough support (perhaps in 2012, but probably later), a law will be passed requiring that GMO foods be labeled as such, and that will spell the beginning of the end of the GMO era in America.
• The FDA will, one way or another, be forced to admit that mercury fillings ("silver fillings") are dangerous for human health. At the very least, the agency will warn that children and expectant mothers should not be exposed to silver fillings. If this does not happen, you can expect a popular revolt against the FDA and a loud cry for the dissolution of the entire agency.
• The next big public health battle will be over water fluoridation, and you can expect NaturalNews, the Fluoride Action Network and many other organizations to turn up the heat on the dangers of water fluoridation. Expect to see the fluoride pushers eventually forced to back down and admit that the fluoride dripped into the municipal water supplies is actually collected as a toxic waste byproduct of the phosphate mining industry. (We are releasing a significant mini-documentary on this topic in the next 30 days.) The reputation of the ADA -- which has backed mercury fillings for decades -- is headed into the dumpsters.
• On the issue of freedom and liberty, I predict a surge of interest in Libertarian political philosophy from both former Democrats and former Republicans who realize that the path to prosperity and freedom is found in individual liberty and personal responsibility. I see the Tea Party suffering from disillusionment as its own elected members betray its supporters with more taxes and Big Government spending. Expect to see Ron Paul and Rand Paul do extraordinarily well in the coming years (as long as they stay on principle), and watch for a groundswell of popular support for the once-again-new idea of sensibly limited government.
• Watch for a rise in the Tenth Amendment movement in America as an increasing number of Americans fight back against what they see as a dangerous expansion of the power of the federal government. With the TSA in your pants and the FDA in your greenhouse, there's no telling what part of your life Big Brother wants to control next. America was founded on the idea of limited government, and I believe we'll see a powerful, passionate movement that seeks to bring the federal government back down to its Constitutionally-mandated size (which is a fraction of its current size and scope). The Tenth Amendment, by the way, specifically reserves all rights not specifically granted to the federal government to be held by the States or the People. The Constitution, for the record, never granted the federal government the right to run a health care system, nor to give away the power to coin money to a private banking cartel, nor to inspect your backyard food production operation that you use to produce jams and jellies for the local farmers' market.
Specific short-term predictions
• Expect a new Big Government war on internet freedom. Mostly due to the Wikileaks releases, governments around the world are going to desperately attempt to police the internet and clamp down on web-based free speech. This will likely result in an online war between the "empire" (the USA and the UN) and the "rebel alliance" (the internet hackers such as 'anonymous').
• By the end of 2012, I predict significant food supply disruptions in North America, brought about either by radical weather affecting crop yields or perhaps the invasion of disease indirectly caused by the over-use of pesticides or GMOs. The number of people in America struggling to feed themselves and their families will rise along with food prices (see next). This will inevitably result in a huge increase in crime (burglaries, thefts) at precisely the same time that cities are laying off local law enforcement officers due to budgetary restrictions.
• Expect to see food prices climb with alarming speed over the next two years. Wheat is already on the rise, and even meat prices will surge up sharply before the end of 2012. While food won't disappear, it will become significantly more expensive, causing more people to shift to subsidized foods (corn, sugar, etc.) which also happen to be some of the worst foods for your health. GMOs are cheap in the short run... until you get your hospital bill.
• Oil prices will also trend sharply upwards over the next two years. We will almost certainly see oil at $150 per barrel and possibly even at $200 for a brief time. This will of course impact food prices, the transportation industry and virtually the entire economy.
• By late 2012, the economic downfall of the United States will have accelerated, and the inevitable collapse of the U.S. dollar will by that time have become apparent to virtually everyone. The ability of the U.S. Treasury to auction its debt will drop sharply as ratings institutions either downgrade U.S. debt or publicly threaten to.
Long-term predictions
• Over the next decade, I predict a disappearing "health middle class" and a great divide between the healthy and the sick. The healthy, you see, are consuming superfoods, getting sunshine on their skin and taking nutritional supplements on a daily basis. The unhealthy are eating processed foods, taking prescription medications and following the advice of their ignorant doctors even if it kills them. There will be fewer people of "average" health in America in the coming years. The masses will gravitate toward disease and sickness while the informed few (such as NaturalNews readers, raw food vegans, superfood fans and so on) will get healthier and more productive.
• By 2025, the FDA as we know it today will be ancient history, and a new era of food freedom and health freedom will have swept across the former United States of America. Marijuana will become a key crop for raising revenue for the states (or the equivalent governing entity), the pharmaceutical industry will have severely downsized, and the scientific censorship of the FDA will have been abandoned to a chapter of the dark history of America. Millions of doctors, oncologists and useless government bureaucrats will find themselves out of work or, in the most extreme cases, subjected to court trials for their crimes against humanity.
• By 2030, it will become obvious that all those people treated with vaccines, chemotherapy, pharmaceuticals and conventional medical procedures are largely infertile and dying from degenerative disease. Also by this time, those individuals who ate diets largely made of GMOs, processed foods and artificial chemical additives will discover they, too, are infertile and diseased. The dying, diseased people of the western world will look back upon the "age of medical science" with hatred and disbelief, and the vaccines, chemotherapy, mercury fillings, water fluoridation and other poisons that are common in our world today will, by 2030, be written up in the history books as examples of humanity's incredible capacity for self-deception and faulty thinking, even in the realm of so-called "science."
Health Ranger predictions are already coming true
Many of the predictions I made a year ago have already come true, by the way. These include:
• China unleashes armies of corporate espionage hackers onto western nations (now verified as true through Wikileaks cables)
• A worldwide shortage of rare earth metals (already under way)
• Food supply disruptions (disruptions have been widely reported throughout 2010)
• Honeybee population collapse spreads to other species (bats are now threatened, too)
• Weather patterns become increasingly radicalized (also widely reported in 2010)
• Medical imaging scandal unfolds as older patients begin to show serious health damage from radiation via mammograms, CT scans and more (widely reported in medical journals in 2010)
• War on health freedom ramps up, targeting raw milk, homeopathy, herbs and supplements (major raids have been conducted this year on food co-ops and raw milk producers)
• New attempts are made to destroy internet freedom (the UN is now planning to roll out internet police, and the U.S. customs department has been seizing websites for the last several months)
These are just some of the many predictions I made one year ago. Many more will yet come true in the years ahead. Overall, by the way, I remain optimistic about our future, if only because it is evident that by living through suffering, oppression and slavery, enough members of the human race will finally see the importance of health freedom and take the necessary action to regain it and defend it for generations to come.
In the grand experiment of nations and civilizations now playing out across our tiny planet, those nations which forget the importance of health and freedom are doomed to eventually destroy themselves. Only those nations which recognize freedom and invest in the health of their citizens have any sustainable future. And one day, such a nation of truly free people will undoubtedly rise from the ashes of whatever is left after the current global miscalculations run their course.
I know it was a bit long but it is good to have a big dose of considered predictions and wisdom to give you plenty of food for serious thought and pondering on the future of this nation to say nothing of you and me and others all in the same boat. Check the 10th Amendment, I was not familiar with this one, very important. Then as to the Constitution I will start on that subject on Wednesday. Thanks again for stopping by, and know I appreciate you, and you , and you. Cheers CJ
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/030903_predictions_2011.html#ixzz1A1QqQDKp
********
As people realize the importance of having their own home-grown source of food, we will see a surge in backyard gardens, food storage and in-home production methods such as sprouting and food dehydrating.
We will see a strong "back to basics" interest surge leading up to 2012, with many people choosing to move out of high-density cities (or even high-density nations) and seek self-reliance in more rural areas.
This will also reveal renewed interest in home-grown meat production with more people growing (and eating) their own chickens and cows rather than relying on processed, factory-farmed meats.
Increased awareness of natural remedies and health freedom
The natural health community will achieve significant victories over the next two years in awakening people to natural remedies, medicinal herbs and the core ideas of health freedom. The monopolistic pushers of pharmaceuticals are fighting a desperate, losing battle to try to keep people ignorant, but they will lose that fight and natural medicine will ultimately emerge as the healing method of choice for an increasing number of people.
Natural childbirth will continue to gain recognition around the world, and more parents will begin to question the ADHD drugging of their children. The industry of psychiatry as we know it today will continue crumbling under the burden of fraud and criminal behavior, finally collapsing well before 2020 thanks to the efforts of a few groups, notably CCHR.
The global shift away from pharmaceuticals and toward disease prevention and nutrition will accelerate in 2011 - 2012, with vitamin D leading the charge. An increasing number of people will learn about top nutrients such as resveratrol, astaxanthin and omega-3s. Nutrition education will become increasingly evident in public schools, and many school lunch programs will be reworked to remove more processed dead foods and increase real nutrition.
Significant victories will be achieved over water fluoridation, mercury fillings and GMOs (see below). The vaccine issue, however, will remain highly contentious. Victory over seasonal flu vaccines will take many more years...
More people waking up to reality
Today, most people are sleepwalking through their lives, functioning as cogs in a giant machine of which they have no knowledge and no control. Over the next two years, that will significantly change. More and more people will be awakened into a state of awareness. They will realize that living out their lives working mundane jobs, watching television, eating junk food and taking pharmaceuticals is not fulfilling their true purpose in life, and many will seek a higher purpose.
An increasing number of people will come to understand that their lives are mere illusion -- that they've been following programming set out for them by others, and that if they wish to truly achieve freedom (of mind), they must break out of the patterns that have been constructed for them.
As a result, we're going to see more people rebelling against the status quo while simultaneously expanding their own awareness of the bigger picture -- how things work in our world and what their role might be in uplifting our shared reality.
In the short term, this might result in a tremendous amount of strife, but in the end, it will give rise to a true uplifting of consciousness among the people in our world.
Specific upcoming victories in the world of natural health
• The People will achieve significant victories over GMOs. I believe that We the People will ultimately win this battle against GMOs in America. As information about the dangers of GMOs continues to spread, people will increasingly demand that GMO foods be labeled. With enough support (perhaps in 2012, but probably later), a law will be passed requiring that GMO foods be labeled as such, and that will spell the beginning of the end of the GMO era in America.
• The FDA will, one way or another, be forced to admit that mercury fillings ("silver fillings") are dangerous for human health. At the very least, the agency will warn that children and expectant mothers should not be exposed to silver fillings. If this does not happen, you can expect a popular revolt against the FDA and a loud cry for the dissolution of the entire agency.
• The next big public health battle will be over water fluoridation, and you can expect NaturalNews, the Fluoride Action Network and many other organizations to turn up the heat on the dangers of water fluoridation. Expect to see the fluoride pushers eventually forced to back down and admit that the fluoride dripped into the municipal water supplies is actually collected as a toxic waste byproduct of the phosphate mining industry. (We are releasing a significant mini-documentary on this topic in the next 30 days.) The reputation of the ADA -- which has backed mercury fillings for decades -- is headed into the dumpsters.
• On the issue of freedom and liberty, I predict a surge of interest in Libertarian political philosophy from both former Democrats and former Republicans who realize that the path to prosperity and freedom is found in individual liberty and personal responsibility. I see the Tea Party suffering from disillusionment as its own elected members betray its supporters with more taxes and Big Government spending. Expect to see Ron Paul and Rand Paul do extraordinarily well in the coming years (as long as they stay on principle), and watch for a groundswell of popular support for the once-again-new idea of sensibly limited government.
• Watch for a rise in the Tenth Amendment movement in America as an increasing number of Americans fight back against what they see as a dangerous expansion of the power of the federal government. With the TSA in your pants and the FDA in your greenhouse, there's no telling what part of your life Big Brother wants to control next. America was founded on the idea of limited government, and I believe we'll see a powerful, passionate movement that seeks to bring the federal government back down to its Constitutionally-mandated size (which is a fraction of its current size and scope). The Tenth Amendment, by the way, specifically reserves all rights not specifically granted to the federal government to be held by the States or the People. The Constitution, for the record, never granted the federal government the right to run a health care system, nor to give away the power to coin money to a private banking cartel, nor to inspect your backyard food production operation that you use to produce jams and jellies for the local farmers' market.
Specific short-term predictions
• Expect a new Big Government war on internet freedom. Mostly due to the Wikileaks releases, governments around the world are going to desperately attempt to police the internet and clamp down on web-based free speech. This will likely result in an online war between the "empire" (the USA and the UN) and the "rebel alliance" (the internet hackers such as 'anonymous').
• By the end of 2012, I predict significant food supply disruptions in North America, brought about either by radical weather affecting crop yields or perhaps the invasion of disease indirectly caused by the over-use of pesticides or GMOs. The number of people in America struggling to feed themselves and their families will rise along with food prices (see next). This will inevitably result in a huge increase in crime (burglaries, thefts) at precisely the same time that cities are laying off local law enforcement officers due to budgetary restrictions.
• Expect to see food prices climb with alarming speed over the next two years. Wheat is already on the rise, and even meat prices will surge up sharply before the end of 2012. While food won't disappear, it will become significantly more expensive, causing more people to shift to subsidized foods (corn, sugar, etc.) which also happen to be some of the worst foods for your health. GMOs are cheap in the short run... until you get your hospital bill.
• Oil prices will also trend sharply upwards over the next two years. We will almost certainly see oil at $150 per barrel and possibly even at $200 for a brief time. This will of course impact food prices, the transportation industry and virtually the entire economy.
• By late 2012, the economic downfall of the United States will have accelerated, and the inevitable collapse of the U.S. dollar will by that time have become apparent to virtually everyone. The ability of the U.S. Treasury to auction its debt will drop sharply as ratings institutions either downgrade U.S. debt or publicly threaten to.
Long-term predictions
• Over the next decade, I predict a disappearing "health middle class" and a great divide between the healthy and the sick. The healthy, you see, are consuming superfoods, getting sunshine on their skin and taking nutritional supplements on a daily basis. The unhealthy are eating processed foods, taking prescription medications and following the advice of their ignorant doctors even if it kills them. There will be fewer people of "average" health in America in the coming years. The masses will gravitate toward disease and sickness while the informed few (such as NaturalNews readers, raw food vegans, superfood fans and so on) will get healthier and more productive.
• By 2025, the FDA as we know it today will be ancient history, and a new era of food freedom and health freedom will have swept across the former United States of America. Marijuana will become a key crop for raising revenue for the states (or the equivalent governing entity), the pharmaceutical industry will have severely downsized, and the scientific censorship of the FDA will have been abandoned to a chapter of the dark history of America. Millions of doctors, oncologists and useless government bureaucrats will find themselves out of work or, in the most extreme cases, subjected to court trials for their crimes against humanity.
• By 2030, it will become obvious that all those people treated with vaccines, chemotherapy, pharmaceuticals and conventional medical procedures are largely infertile and dying from degenerative disease. Also by this time, those individuals who ate diets largely made of GMOs, processed foods and artificial chemical additives will discover they, too, are infertile and diseased. The dying, diseased people of the western world will look back upon the "age of medical science" with hatred and disbelief, and the vaccines, chemotherapy, mercury fillings, water fluoridation and other poisons that are common in our world today will, by 2030, be written up in the history books as examples of humanity's incredible capacity for self-deception and faulty thinking, even in the realm of so-called "science."
Health Ranger predictions are already coming true
Many of the predictions I made a year ago have already come true, by the way. These include:
• China unleashes armies of corporate espionage hackers onto western nations (now verified as true through Wikileaks cables)
• A worldwide shortage of rare earth metals (already under way)
• Food supply disruptions (disruptions have been widely reported throughout 2010)
• Honeybee population collapse spreads to other species (bats are now threatened, too)
• Weather patterns become increasingly radicalized (also widely reported in 2010)
• Medical imaging scandal unfolds as older patients begin to show serious health damage from radiation via mammograms, CT scans and more (widely reported in medical journals in 2010)
• War on health freedom ramps up, targeting raw milk, homeopathy, herbs and supplements (major raids have been conducted this year on food co-ops and raw milk producers)
• New attempts are made to destroy internet freedom (the UN is now planning to roll out internet police, and the U.S. customs department has been seizing websites for the last several months)
These are just some of the many predictions I made one year ago. Many more will yet come true in the years ahead. Overall, by the way, I remain optimistic about our future, if only because it is evident that by living through suffering, oppression and slavery, enough members of the human race will finally see the importance of health freedom and take the necessary action to regain it and defend it for generations to come.
In the grand experiment of nations and civilizations now playing out across our tiny planet, those nations which forget the importance of health and freedom are doomed to eventually destroy themselves. Only those nations which recognize freedom and invest in the health of their citizens have any sustainable future. And one day, such a nation of truly free people will undoubtedly rise from the ashes of whatever is left after the current global miscalculations run their course.
I know it was a bit long but it is good to have a big dose of considered predictions and wisdom to give you plenty of food for serious thought and pondering on the future of this nation to say nothing of you and me and others all in the same boat. Check the 10th Amendment, I was not familiar with this one, very important. Then as to the Constitution I will start on that subject on Wednesday. Thanks again for stopping by, and know I appreciate you, and you , and you. Cheers CJ
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/030903_predictions_2011.html#ixzz1A1QqQDKp
Saturday, January 1, 2011
RELIGION or POLITICS ??? CJ HERE Happy New Year.
Hello and a Happy New Year 2011. Be Prosperous and Healthy. OK?????
My apologies folks, for not publishing these past few days. Oddly, after completing several blogs on Causes of Illness, last Tuesday for some reason I came down with a stomach problem that caused me to lose my equailibrium entirely for a couple of days and slowly improving, but leaving me quite lethargic and in no condition to do blogging. Today, Saturday, what with all the foorball games on the tube and stuff, as well as my Tampa Bay Bucs tomorrow, should be able to begin my next topical Blog by monday.
This will be on the subject of our Constitution and well worth following, as it will be a blog report for several times, and, in my opinion, extremely important to get this view of things today related to the Constitution and its content. Thanks for stopping by and do come back next week. I appreciate you.
Cheers, CJ
My apologies folks, for not publishing these past few days. Oddly, after completing several blogs on Causes of Illness, last Tuesday for some reason I came down with a stomach problem that caused me to lose my equailibrium entirely for a couple of days and slowly improving, but leaving me quite lethargic and in no condition to do blogging. Today, Saturday, what with all the foorball games on the tube and stuff, as well as my Tampa Bay Bucs tomorrow, should be able to begin my next topical Blog by monday.
This will be on the subject of our Constitution and well worth following, as it will be a blog report for several times, and, in my opinion, extremely important to get this view of things today related to the Constitution and its content. Thanks for stopping by and do come back next week. I appreciate you.
Cheers, CJ
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