Honoring the Fallen

Putting flowers on the graves of fallen soldiers seems insignificant. What I can do to guard the gift of freedom that cost these heroes their lives?

The Russian Andrei Sakharov gave me a clue when he said:

"I've always thought that the most powerful weapon in the world was the bomb, and that's why I gave it to my people; but I've come to the conclusion that the most powerful weapon in the world is not the bomb but the truth."

 The greatest danger to freedom is a well-crafted lie. Our only weapon – the truth.

Sometimes the battle is obvious. This politician says one thing. That politician says the opposite. The future of our country is at stake. Can we find the facts? Will we try?

At other times, the conflict seems minor.

• Do I ignore certain facts in order to protect my treasured beliefs?
• Do I make a whole-hearted search for the truth?
• Do I stand for the truth even if it costs me a friendship or hurts my business?
• Am I completely honest with other people?
• Am I completely honest with myself?

No matter how trivial the situation, compromise is not an option. If we compromise, we lose our grip on that ultimate weapon, the truth.

I may never pick up a gun to defend my country; but this Memorial Day I publicly commit myself to living for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.

A Musician's Take on Gun Control

“Let me write the songs of a nation and I care not who writes its laws.” ~ Andrew Fletcher

In the wake of the Newtown school shooting, we ask why there is such an increase in random violence. Many call for stricter gun control laws. But are we just treating the symptom?

Why is there such violence? Pick up a teen’s iPod. Play his video games. Go to the movies.

We claim that posting the Ten Commandments in the public school would be religious coercion. And violence in the media has no effect?

If we pass a new gun control law and ignore the greater problem, we are either fools or hypocrites. Take your pick.

Romney’s Wrong! Partly…

Photo: Creative Commons/Gage Skidmore

Do the 47% who pay no federal income taxes believe they are victims? Do they believe the government is responsible for taking care of them, giving them health care and food and housing? No. At least, not all of them. I know this because I was one of them in 2010. The Making Work Pay Tax Credit wiped out all my income tax liability that year. Other years I paid a very small amount in income taxes, but I never felt like a victim.

Romney’s comment wasn’t smart. But let’s not overlook the truth in it. When the government takes responsibility for feeding and housing the poor, those poor people lose some of their political freedom.

Picture a father entering the voting booth, knowing that he needs food stamps to provide for his children. What if he fears his family will be on the street without welfare? What about the grandma who needs Medicare to pay for the surgery that will keep her alive?

Are these people free to vote their conscience on social issues and foreign policy? Are they free to vote for the politician with the best plan for our country as a whole? Or do they feel obligated to vote for the politician who promises to maintain the program on which they depend?

I am not arguing against all welfare programs. I do urge caution. Every time the government steps in to take care of one more thing, we lose some freedom. Our forefathers pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to win freedom for us. Are we just as dedicated to preserving it?

Are you better off than you were 4 years ago? Wrong question!

Republicans like to ask this question. I’d like to tell them, “It doesn’t matter.” Are we really so selfish that we’ll vote for a president based on how our individual lives are going? If I’m unemployed, will I vote against President Obama because he hasn’t fixed my life?

The real question should be, “Is our country better off than it was 4 years ago?” With our national debt topping $16 trillion, I believe the answer is no.

I hope you have noticed by now that I am an equal-opportunity criticizer. I disagree with some of President George W. Bush’s policies. The debt increased $4.9 trillion during his 8 years in office.

The debt has increased $5.3 trillion during President Obama’s 4 years in office. Whose fault is this? Is the debt still driven by Bush’s policies? What effect have Obama’s policies had?

Those are questions we must answer. It takes research to find the truth. Are we patriotic enough to hunt for answers? Will we face the truth when we find it? Stay tuned as I pursue this truth quest.

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My facts about the debt are from a chart at "The Exploding National Debt: Who's Responsible?"

Paul Ryan may not have lied, but did he deliberately mislead?

Paul Ryan did not technically lie about GM's SUV factory in Janesville. The statements he made were factually accurate. But there’s a difference between correct facts and true honesty. Paul Ryan’s speech seemed awfully misleading.

That disappointed me. I had respected him. Would he really twist the truth? I needed to figure that out. I read the details about the GM plant.  I read the entire speech that candidate Obama gave at Janesville in 2008.

Did Obama promise to keep the plant open? Didn’t he realize it would be closed before he took office? Did Paul Ryan take one sentence out of context to make a sleazy point?

Obama did not promise to keep the plant open. After honoring the plant’s nearly century-long history, he admitted it shut down temporarily during the Depression. He acknowledged how many times they changed what they manufactured to meet changing demand.

He described how Manitowoc, WI, lost a factory but gained two green energy companies that cut their unemployment in half.  He complimented the GM workers on how many hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles they were producing. Then came the all-important comments to which Paul Ryan referred.

And I believe that if our government is there to support you, and give you the assistance you need to re-tool and make this transition, that this plant will be here for another hundred years. The question is not whether a clean energy economy is in our future, it’s where it will thrive. I want it to thrive right here in the United States of America; right here in Wisconsin; and that’s the future I’ll fight for as your President. 

My energy plan will invest $150 billion over ten years to establish a green energy sector that will create up to 5 million new jobs over the next two decades – jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced. We’ll also provide funding to help manufacturers convert to green technology and help workers learn the skills they need for these jobs.

Candidate Obama implied that with the government’s help, they could transform the plant into a factory that produced something more energy efficient than SUVs. He did not specifically promise this. He did not break his promise. But the people of Janesville were rightly disappointed when the factory stood empty for Obama’s full first term as president. And Paul Ryan was not being dishonest when he mentioned their disappointment in his speech.

Capitalism operates on humanity’s selfish tendency. Do you agree?

Yes! Does it surprise you that someone as conservative as I would go along with a statement that seems so socialist? Well, I’d like to add my own question to the mix:

“Is mankind perfectible?”

We claim that we have separation of church and state in America, but there is no way to separate fully our religious beliefs from our politics. The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (See Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV.) I look at my own heart and find this is true.

Take chocolate for example. We have a candy dish in our house. When Mom fills it with chocolate, I help myself freely. Those Hersey chocolates with toffee bits are the best!

I have another chocolate stash. It’s my personal supply. When it disappears, I must spend my hard-earned money to replenish it, or I must go without. And life without chocolate is not a pretty picture.

Yes, I’m selfish. I consume less when I pay for something myself. I work harder when I know I can use the money for that thing I want. A bigger bag of chocolate?

Socialism’s motto sounds great. “From each according to his ability. To each according to his need.” But does it work?

I am capable of great unselfishness within my family circle. I’ll give freely to my close friends. Will I work 16-hour days to give more money to the government and hope that our elected officials use it wisely to help the poor? No.

Maybe I’m skeptical because of scandals like the GSA conference in Las Vegas. Maybe I doubt because I know my personal selfishness which I fight each day. But I’m thankful that our founding fathers left us with a system that uses selfishness to motivate us toward hard work, and our hard work benefits all of society.

“I know my rights, I know the law, and what I say I saw, I saw!”

I may not be a movie buff, but even I know that this line comes from the Shirley Temple movie The Little Princess.

This 1939 quote applies to most Americans today. We know our rights. We know the first amendment, and we argue about what can be included in free speech. People join the NRA to defend their right to own guns. Characters on television continually seek refuge in their fifth-amendment rights.

But do we know the tenth amendment?

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Who cares? I do. If my state treads on my freedom, I can move to a different state. Consider the Great Migration (1910-1970), the mass movement of African Americans north. They knew how to escape Jim Crow laws.

Even now, we can choose to live in a state where it’s easy to run a home business or where there are fewer restrictions on home schooling. If I want to drink large sodas, I’ll stay out of New York City.

But if the federal government enacts oppressive regulations, where can I go to escape? Does the Constitution give Congress power to regulate health insurance, or was this a power reserved to the states?

I promised not to post again until I had read the entire Constitution. I kept my promise. I only found three places in the Constitution that might give Congress power to regulate health insurance. They are as follows:

1. The Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8.3)
2. The General Welfare Clause (Article I, Section 8.1)
3. The taxing power (Article I, Section 8.1 and Amendment XVI)

If you found another relevant clause, please comment.