How can liberal-progressives believe that Senator Obama will change human nature sufficiently to bring everybody together in domestic political harmony and world peace?

While the great wars since the 19th century have had underlying economic causes, those economic causes ironically were the product of liberal-progressive socialism, not of capitalism. Capitalism has never produced a totalitarian state, but liberal-progressivism inevitably tends toward totalitarian tyranny, which has been the source of the great, total wars since 1900.For a realistic assessment, read Ludwig von Mises’s Economic Causes of War. Far from moving our nation toward international cooperation and peace, electing Senator Obama to the presidency will move the United States closer to economic autarky, the goal of Hitler’s National Socialism, and heighten international conflicts. One can see this economically self-sufficient, autarkic thrust clearly in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s willingness to dump a free trade agreement with Colombia, one of our staunchest allies in South America, in order exclude foreign competition, to the benefit socialist labor unions, at the expense of average American citizens.Thomas E. Brewton is a staff writer for the New Media Alliance, Inc. The New Media Alliance is a non-profit (501c3) national coalition of writers, journalists and grass-roots media outlets.His weblog is THE VIEW FROM 1776
http://www.thomasbrewton.com/

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She claims that her students violated her civil rights. She says student’s “anti-intellectualism” made her life a living hell. So, this ex-Dartmouth professor is threatening to sue her students for the temerity to have doubted her hairbrained theories on “ecofeminism” and the “French narrative theory.”

Oh, professor Priya Venkatesan was all in high dudgeon that students would dare question her efforts to “problematize” science all right. She was all discombobulated that her students were “irrational,” and “subversive” with their questions. She even thought them filled with “fascist demagoguery” — after all, isn’t it “fascist” to ask questions and not t just swallow whole what a professor dishes out? Why, it was so horrible for her that she felt she had to consult a physician for her symptoms of “intellectual distress.”

Joseph Rago of the Wall Street Journal has some more of the details.

Priya Venkatesan taught English at Dartmouth College. She maintains that some of her students were so unreceptive of “French narrative theory” that it amounted to a hostile working environment. She is also readying lawsuits against her superiors, who she says papered over the harassment, as well as a confessional exposé, which she promises will “name names.”

Ms. Venkatesan lectured in freshman composition, intended to introduce undergraduates to the rigors of expository argument. “My students were very bully-ish, very aggressive, and very disrespectful,” she told Tyler Brace of the Dartmouth Review. “They’d argue with your ideas.” This caused “subversiveness,” a principle English professors usually favor.

If it’s “subversiveness” to challenge a theory, then what exactly is college for? But, Venkatesan was having none of that silly exchange of ideas stuff.

After a winter of discontent, the snapping point came while Ms. Venkatesan was lecturing on “ecofeminism,” which holds, in part, that scientific advancements benefit the patriarchy but leave women out. One student took issue, and reasonably so – actually, empirically so. But “these weren’t thoughtful statements,” Ms. Venkatesan protests. “They were irrational.” The class thought otherwise. Following what she calls the student’s “diatribe,” several of his classmates applauded.

Ms. Venkatesan informed her pupils that their behavior was “fascist demagoguery.” Then, after consulting a physician about “intellectual distress,” she canceled classes for a week. Thus the pending litigation.

But, I have to say that we really cannot blame Ms. Venkatesan. After all, this is where our institutions of higher “learning” are headed. Venkatesan can certainly be excused for imagining that such off the wall theories as feminist “thought” et al are to be accepted as gospel, never to be questioned. This is the atmosphere we have engendered in our so-called universities. Out with the old (white men) and in with the new (gender based) truths is the ticket for the learned these days.

It has become pervasive in our colleges that all that came before is to be erased and replaced by more politically correct, group-think concepts that will re-make our world into something ostensibly better, more liberal, freer… and if you disagree the pod people will surround you, point you out to mark you as an apostate, and screech to drown you out. A recent book by Anthony T. Kronman takes up this very subject. In Education’s End (Yale, 2008, $27.50), Kronman decries the loss of the search for the meaning of life in today’s universities and pegs that loss to the constant search for “originality.” In other words, folks looking to earn their Doctorates are so intensely interested in finding a “new” angle by which to view any subject in the humanities that any understanding of context and meaning has been eschewed for the search for that “new” take.

Individuality or originality becomes the goal as opposed to an attempt to understand the wider points of a philosophical system or the finer points of great literature, according to Kronman. Was the author gay? Did his sexual proclivity “inform” his views? Was he rich? Did that wealth infuse his work with a predetermined viewpoint? These sorts of investigations into minutia drills down well past the greater value of the work in question and makes such a focus somewhat pointless. It certainly makes useless any attempt to teach about great literature when the philosophical point of the work seems so entirely lost in the halls of academia.

It would be like discussing a great movie like Citizen Kane and focusing on costuming alone instead of dwelling on the theme of the movie and its greater implications of the era in which it was filmed. Much would be lost by such a narrow focus. But it sure would be “original” research.

As Liam Julian writes in the Weekly Standard:

We’ve moved away from using facts to deduce larger lessons and toward using facts to uncover even more facts, which makes it necessary to specialize in pinpointed topics… But according to Kronman it has forced the humanities to reject Oakeshott’s “conversation” (with thinkers present, past, and future) by championing all new paradigms and rejecting all the old. Thus, instead of interacting with Aristotle, students learn to overturn his modes of thinking, to derive their own ways of making sense of life. These new worldviews do not seek to build upon the foundations of history but to tear down those foundations and replace them.

I find this sentiment revealing of where we’ve gotten to in universities today. A classic education has been sacrificed to the God’s of political correctness. We no longer graduate well-educated people, but people who are so narrowly trained as to be mere technicians. We no longer offer the world generations of people who have been exposed to ideals that might enrich all our ethical lives by training leaders who know from where we’ve come and where it might behoove us to go.

From the outside looking in, we see “minority studies,” “gay studies,” or “women’s studies” and laugh at the foolishness of such “original” thinking. We see the twisted logic of Venkatesan’s “ecofeminism” and shake our heads at the idiocy of it all. Unfortunately, it seems that our institutions of higher learning have become bastions of the silly and feckless.

I did not get a classic education either. But, I wish I had had the opportunity. But, at least I have some inkling of what I might have been missing. Most kids today aren’t even aware that there is more to this existence of ours, or at least that there could be. The classic notions of the sublimity of our existence and the ideas and ideals of men are entirely lost on too many.

But, if one professor can sue her way to a greater understanding, I say more power to her. Now, if only someone could get through to her that it is she, rather than her students, that exhibits those traits of “fascist demagoguery” so woefully common in feminist thought and its mother, PCism.

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I often wonder why the issue of race has been brought up much lately, and with such emphasis in the media. Especially during this year’s race for the White House. Race is more and more, earning a spotlight in the media.  Sadly, in various parts of the nation, the issue of race is still a problem. But, to counter that, many places stand above the fray as exemplary examples of how one should treat his fellow man.

Just a few days ago, I made a trip from Memphis to the Appalachian Mountains (southwest region) and the differences between both areas are day and night. Race is still an issue in Memphis, of all places. Martin Luther King Jr. fought hard to let this nation and the world know that people should be judged by the content of their character and that a person’s skin color should NEVER be judged. But sadly, I’ve experienced the latter in Memphis too many times.

In the particular part of Appalachia where I visited, the surroundings are not only beautiful, but the people are as well…in that their spirits are humble and friendly. They still believe in Christian tenets…”do onto others as they would do unto you.” I felt God’s presence in this beautiful area and it is reflected in the people.  I had interesting conversations with complete strangers and the whole time, we were engaging in conversation as people…one on one. As Americans.  In other places, I’ve experienced an awkwardness and silence as if the person I’m speaking to does not want to talk to me.   The air is tense, and there is also a spiritual struggle on my end, but when I spoke to the people of Appalachia, I NEVER had that problem.

As I was getting ready to leave the mountainous region, I lamented the return home because of what I knew I was going to face.  More of the same…people who are too stuck on themselves and narrow minded to look past skin color.  Coming back to the Memphis area, (or going from day to day) I tend to think at times with certain people, upon approaching them to speak with them, “Will they hold a conversation with me without looking at my race?”  “Will they see ME instead of the outer package?”

Why must I go through this? Why must someone look at me as if it is a problem that I am sitting with someone else who is of another race?  It’s a HUGE letdown, because I know in 21st century America, we are supposed to be further along than this in race relations. 

And as Christians, we ought to be living according to what we believe. So racism on the part of the Christian…if you say you are a Christian and then behave in a manner as to throw a stumbling block in someone else’s way, it is deplorable!

What is wrong with us? Can’t we learn from the past…that racism tears up a nation and leaves an ugly scar?

Don’t get me wrong, racism exists regardless of what race a person is. I’ve seen it come forth from black people as well as white. It’s ugly no matter who harbors ill will towards another human being because of their skin color.

It’s a shame that the people of Appalachia seem to be the butt of jokes from Hollywood and are looked upon as being “backward” or hillbillies (I’m recalling a particular Saturday Night Live skit).  From what I’ve seen, they have integrity and love for their fellow man. 

I will switch now and speak of another positive example of brotherhood I saw today, May 15, 2008, on CBS’s The Early Show…

Morehouse, a historically black college, is graduating its first white valedictorian Josh Packwood. Packwood described the bond he and his fellow graduates had and while watching the program, I could see that. This is historic for the school.  The president of Morehouse, Dr. Robert Franklin commented that historically black colleges “always operated on a non-discriminatory basis” and was happy about the occasion.  Josh Packwood had the grades and he made history at Morehouse.  

I wish that everyone would look beyond the outer package, the human body (which isn’t perfect to begin with) and learn to connect with people based on their character.

I’d like to see peace in our nation. I’m talking about the kind of peace that resides in the hearts of men…the peace that radiates from a person and the fruit of that is kindness towards others and overall happiness.

The only way we will get past the race issue is if we all started treating each other like family…a family of American citizens. As a black woman (it’s obvious) but an American first, I hope that we all can think and change the course we are on in terms of race.

Thank you to the people of Southwestern Appalachia for showing me there are still people out there who are REAL and are truly engaging and warm towards their fellow man.

Related Video:

Morehouse College graduates White Valedictorian: CBS 

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4098170n

*Felicia Benamon is a conservative columnist who writes from a political perspective, but occasionally deviates to write about other concerns facing her country.  A patriotic American, Felicia hopes to motivate others to be more conscious of the current state of affairs in America, and to hold true to the wonderful traditions that make America great.Felicia comes from a military background and is proud to support the men and women who put their lives on the line daily to protect American citizens and who reach out to help those in need across the globe.

Write to Felicia at: FeliciasDesk@aol.com

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There is a whole raft of new projects that are sure to become box office stinkers that make Americans rather want to stay home instead of stream to the movies. There’s Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS) extravaganzas, anti-capitalist potboilers and global warming scaremongering galore all coming to a theater near you!

Of course, we all know of the Oliver Stone movie about George W. Bush that is beginning principle filming now. We’ve heard how everyone that has any knowledge of president Bush is saying that this schlock entirely misses Bush the man and presents a silly, unbelievable caricature instead of a serious movie (when even the entertainment press is reporting that the Stone debacle is over-the-top, you know we have trouble). But, then again, it is Oliver Stone who has proven over and over again that truth is not what he is interested in. On the contrary, his own special brand of far left propaganda is his real goal.

But, Hollyweird has no shortage of leftist tripe masquerading as “entertainment” soon to be forced upon the country. At least three more such exercises in leftist tropes are making news in moviedom. First up is the announced sequel to Point Break, the 1991 Patrick Swayze/Keanu Reeves flick that featured bank robbers that wore U.S. President masks in the execution of their crimes. A Sci Fi channel extravaganza called Lost City Raiders that absurdly features a post global warming world that is almost entirely under water (even though there isn’t that much water on the planet!). And yet another anti-war flick, this one disguised as a comedy.

It has been announced that the Point Break sequel will feature a new gang of bank robbers. For those unaware, in the last film the bank robber gang that wore masks of past U.S. presidents was called “The Ex-presidents” gang. Well, impugning all the presidents jointly wasn’t intense enough for the sequel, apparently. The new gang in the film will be called “The Bush Administration” because, well, we all know what crooks Bush and his administration are, right? This is deep writing, folks. I guess “deep” and “Keanu Reeves” aren’t compatible concepts, though.

When Billy Dalton, military special ops and star surfer, is disqualified from the pro-surfing tour, he takes off for the coast of Bali looking for the perfect wave. While there he’s recruited by a private security force who are trying to find a gang known as The Bush Administration, surfing outlaws and modern day pirates who work like “The Ex-Presidents,” a bank robbing crew from Malibu twenty years ago.

I would like to suggest that the new film be titled “Point Bleak” for the box office bomb it will surely become.

Another film, this time premised on Goregasmic global warming hype, is so far titled Lost City Raiders. It is set in 2079 after that eeevil global warming has melted all the ice caps and flooded the entire Earth with the ocean’s waters. In this flick a roving band of explorers in their own little yellow submarine will spend their damp days visiting the sites of submerged cities looking for a sacred object that will reverse “the rising.” Apparently, a Catholic leader at the Vatican sends the explorers looking for this object of power. I am pretty sure that by the end of the film we will all discover that what they seek is Al Gore’s Oscar statuette. After all, what else could have such globaloney power? But in this one we get global warming AND a nice diminution of the Catholic Church taking the Church from one of the World’s greatest religions to glorified treasure hunters. That’s a two for one deal for Hollyweird, folks.

I found a great article on this project published in German, but there is a small recap of it on the homepage of one of the actors in the flick, too. (Here is the full article in German, for those Teutonicly inclined readers out there.)

Lastly, soon to open, is the new anti-war flick starring John Cussack called War,Inc.. This one tries to make a comedy out of America’s supposed war-like interests in the Middle East. Turaqistan, a fictional country, is invaded and taken over by a warmongering former U.S. vice president who is in control of a private corporation with its own army — shades of Darth Cheney and his henchmen in Haliburton, we can only assume. See, this one is funny cuz it’s an American corporation stealing oil from a helpless Middle Eastern country… see, funny stuff man! I mean, it’s funny cuz it’s so true, right? All sorts of American corporations have taken over countries and are stealing their oil we all know. Just hilarious stuff.

There are several other projects in the works, like the dreary Watchmen which I will be writing about when this film gets closer to completion. These are just some of the latest attempts by Hollywood to attack, impugn, and ridicule the ideas and values held by most Americans, folks that these producers imagine to be their customers, curiously enough.

Yes, with this long line of stinkers about to accost you at the cineplex and your paraded across your TV screens, I’d say this calls for a renewal of your library card, or refamiliarizing yourself with your local book store. Maybe even taking up golf or hiking. Obviously Hollyweird isn’t interested in making films that most Americans care to see, anyway.

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In truth, it is Matthews and his kind who ought to be ashamed, first for his sanctimony, but even more so for his hypocrisy. Matthews is able to conduct his program as he does because those same “Founding Fathers and soldiers” secured for the citizens of this Republic the rights of a free press. The Founders well understood the critical importance of information in the hands of the public as the ultimate check on government action.

Yet Matthews, perhaps more than any other modern pundit, thoroughly trivializes this great institution by supplanting any serious consideration and discussion of the current issues with his rapid-fire rudeness.

Moreover, the value of the press to a free people is contingent upon the dissemination of truth. However, the modern liberal media relentlessly seeks to suppress truth in order to present the “news” in a manner that might promote its inarguably leftist agenda. In so doing, it becomes little more than a willing propaganda wing for the Democrat Party. So much for a worthy embodiment of the founding principles of the country.

Nevertheless, all of the sanctimony and phony outrage from Matthews and his kind is understandable, given their intense frustration with Rush Limbaugh’s advocacy of Republican crossover voting which he dubs “Operation Chaos.” That the effort has continued to date is proof of the disintegration of the nation’s governing principles, as evidenced chiefly among the Democrats.

Free speech, even from so powerful an individual as Limbaugh, could do little to upset a well defined and established political movement. And the current discord among the Democrats merely confirms that they can hardly claim to be such.

Against Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and their consuming ambition, the increasingly frantic calls for “reason” and devotion to the Party above their individual interests, even when voiced by party chairman Howard Dean, are exercises in futility.

Rush Limbaugh clearly identified and seized the opportunity to fan the flames of the current Democrat Party havoc as a result of his insight and genius for analyzing the political landscape. Ultimately however, it is the very nature of liberalism itself that created the sordid tinderbox for him to ignite. And with each passing day that it continues, “Operation Chaos” provides the nation with a excruciating glimpse into the realities of liberalism and the mindset of the American left.

Hardly anything new, this liberal “crack up” has been coming for quite some time. But to put it into proper perspective, “democracy” or our representative republic, should be considered as it was originally intended, and then as it has degraded at the hands of corrupt politicians in general, and the current crop of liberals permeating government and the media in recent years.

To begin with, the framers of the Constitution knew that self-government would only function among a people who clearly understood that the welfare of the nation must supersede their own blind ambitions and interests. Thus all citizens of the nation could actually have a stake in the process of elections as well as their outcomes. But while this process was under attack from the earliest days of our nation, its degradation has accelerated in recent years.

Ultimately, the fortunes of such a government will rise or fall in direct proportion to the honor and integrity of its participants. Voters can go to the polls in “banana republics,” but the ballots they cast do not necessarily portend a bright and glowing post-election future for their nations. Nor can the American electoral system provide any guarantee of a worthy outcome as its process increasingly departs from the worthy manner in which it was originally devised. A few recent examples present alarming evidence of how far things have descended.

Americans across the political spectrum well remember the pandemonium that ensued in Florida in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election. Rarely mentioned by the liberal media is that the overriding reason that matter was not settled with a single recount was that Democrat operatives, including the Florida Supreme Court, were desperately seeking to concoct a scheme by which to count votes from those areas of the state that might shift the outcome to Al Gore.

So ingrained is this manner of thinking among Democrats that they are no longer even quiet about it. Hillary and Obama, as well as their cadre of supporters, even including Democrat National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, are openly pondering the inclusion and/or exclusion of the Florida and Michigan delegates in the upcoming Democrat convention, based not on what is a proper assessment of the votes, but on which candidate might benefit from the particular decision rendered. In the midst of such machinations, any regard for “the people” is of absolutely no importance.

Meanwhile, both candidates continue to play their respective versions of the “race card,” proving to the public at large what conservative America has known for a very long time. In the minds of liberals, “minorities” are highly valued only insofar as they can be utilized to empower the “ruling class.”

So, while the Clinton camp points with palpable derision towards Obama’s nearly monolithic support from black voters as proof that he cannot garner a win among the middle American electorate (read: white voters), Obama likewise reverts immediately to some suggestion of prejudice among any opponents who find his brazen leftist philosophies and allegiances repulsive. In the end, each seeks to gain an edge in this theater of the contest on the basis of victimhood.

At the onset of this election cycle, one Democrat camp sought its place at the top on the basis of inevitability and experience. The other made its case on stirring but empty oratory about “hope” and “change,” without a whit of substance to the soaring words. Now the political and intellectual bankruptcy of both camps has been made known to the American people, by the hands of the competing camp.

Neither saw any reason to put party or country ahead of its own ambitions. Nor could the party leadership persuade any of its underlings to end the bloodbath by retooling the campaign season for a quick finish.

Eventually, this issue will be decided, but the damage to the Democrat facade during these past few months can never be undone. Any “bloom” is long gone from either of these would-be “roses.” Liberalism, in its stark ugliness, is on display for all America to see.

It is a crying shame that, in the face of what should be such a momentous opportunity for the GOP, John McCain is squandering it by conducting his own “Operation Chaos” within the Republican Party.

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The first part of Hillary’s sentence is true – women indeed earn less than men. But the last four words – “for doing the same jobs” – is as laughable as Hillary’s dodging-sniper-bullets-in-Bosnia tale. 

Let’s say you have a job opening and two persons apply who have identical skills and qualifications. Joe wants to be paid the prevailing wage, while Jackie says she is willing to work for only 77 cents on the dollar. 

Who would you hire? Jackie, of course. 

So if women are doing exactly the same work as men and getting paid 23% less, every profit-maximizing entrepreneur would hire only women. But last I heard, men are still getting jobs. Obviously there’s something wrong with the gender wage gap theory. 

Last month Senator McCain was campaigning in the hard-scrabble coal fields of Kentucky. He commented that if women want to overcome the gender wage gap, they would need more “education and training.” And knowing that Women’s Studies grads might not realize that coal mining is the economic mainstay of the region, McCain then deadpanned, “traditionally, women have not gone into that line of work.” 

But the Funny-Fems reflexively insist the culprit is sex discrimination, not women exercising the right to choose their preferred work. So when they heard Senator McCain’s comments, they flew into a purple-passion rage. Within days MoveOn rolled out its propaganda machine, making the claim that “Study after study has shown that women are paid less than men for the same work.” 

That’s good for another belly laugh, of course, because in eastern Kentucky, the best paying jobs go to the sooty-faced men who are willing to descend 900 feet into the ground and hope a boulder doesn’t break loose from the mine roof. That’s what happened to Cornelius Yates, who was crushed to death in a Kentucky coal mine in January 2006.  

Yates’ death came just a week after 12 miners were killed in a West Virginia mine explosion. And that followed a year in which nine miners died throughout Kentucky. 

Not surprisingly, women are not very interested in doing hazardous jobs that may send them to the grave. Indeed study after study has shown that when differences in the type of work, hours on the job, and education are accounted for, women are treated fairly. 

Actually, women may be doing better than men. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, in many fields female college grads are being offered higher starting salaries than their male counterparts. 

Female physicists are getting $6,500 more. Co-eds who majored in petroleum engineering are being offered $4,400 more. And women computer programmers are being enticed with $7,200 extra pay. In fact for dozens of majors and occupations, women coming out of college are getting better offers than men, reveals Warren Farrell in his book, Why Men Earn More. 

Why these disparities? Because in traditionally male-dominated professions, employers are willing to ante up more greenbacks to attract females in order to forestall a costly discrimination lawsuit. 

So once again the radical left is caught red-handed, trying to push a socialist scheme that centralizes bureaucratic control and weakens free markets. That’s the approach that brought the Soviet economy to its knees 20 years ago. 

The Sisters of Silliness are out of touch with the needs of women. By scorning the notion of education and disempowering women, they prove they are trying to force women into a dependency relationship at the porcine foot-stool of the government trough.     

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A Culture War involves an on going debate on social issues between conservatives who advocate a traditional value system and liberals who advocate a progressive value system.  Conservatives base their belief system on the tenets of America’s Judeo-Christian heritage, which are contained in the pages of the Bible.  On the other side of the Culture War, liberals base their belief system on the post-modern ideologies of secular humanists, which represents rebellion against God. 

Each generation of Americans face many different cultural issues. The two main cultural issues that Americans differ on at present are abortion rights and homosexual rights. Basically, most conservatives would oppose these two cultural issues, but most liberals would favor them.  But, which side would God logically back?  Logically, God would back the side that bases its beliefs on His Word.  Therefore, the conservatives most likely would win automatically.  However, it appears that God is using another approach to deal with America’s most deadly Culture War.  Apparently, God is letting all Americans get their stomachs filled with the ugliness of their cultural ways, as seen in their actions, the actions of their children, and the actions of their government.

How does the war over abortion rights and homosexual rights affect society at large in America?  First, abortion is destroying the very soul of America.  Every sector of America’s society is affected by the murder of unborn babies by unscrupulous doctors.  If there was an excess of jobs in the United States, the labor force would not be able to provide the workers, since millions of future workers were aborted at birth. Could this be one of the reasons that legal and illegal immigrant workers are needed in America?  Also, many men and women who would be responsible for saving the lives of many Americans were never permitted to come into the world.  Therefore, abortion has cost the United States economy billions of dollars.  Fewer workers mean less tax revenue for the U.S. Treasury.  Fewer workers mean less Social Security revenue for the U.S. Treasury.  Fewer workers mean less money spent on food, clothes, and shelter in America which definitely affects the economy negatively.  Get the picture!  Of course, let’s not forget the mental and emotional state of those who have had an abortion, too. 

Second, homosexual activities are destroying the very soul of America, too.  It is amazing to see how the homosexual agenda is being pushed by so many Congressmen in Washington, D.C.  It is amazing to see the number of public schools that are promoting a homosexual lifestyle as an acceptable sexual alternative in their curriculum.  It is amazing that some states boards of education are changing their mission statement to include “sexual orientation.”  It is amazing that some state legislatures are appropriating thousands of dollars to promote homosexuality in their public schools.  It is amazing that some schools are celebrating “Gay Awareness Week” each year.  It is amazing that many schools are establishing Homosexual/Lesbian Clubs.  It is amazing to see that in some settings boys are actually being taught how to become a homosexual.  It is amazing to see that saying anything negative about homosexuality is considered to be politically incorrect.  It is amazing to see the possibility of future laws that would prevent preachers from condemning homosexuality from the church pulpit, even though the Bible calls it an abomination.  Ultimately, it is amazing to see how close the United States resembles the ancient city of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Of course, anyone who has read the Old Testament in the Bible knows exactly what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah and the rationale behind it.  Simply, God does not continually play with those who make a mockery of His Holy Word.       

There are several hard hit areas of the United States society that have created financial stress, emotional stress and sadness for most Americans.  First, even though other nations pay more for their gasoline than the United States, Americans are being hit hard at the gas pumps.  Since Americans are spending more money for gasoline, they have less money to purchase food.  Since it costs more to transport food products to the market, the food producers are charging more for their products.  Since the food producers are charging more for their products, the cost of food at the grocery store is much more expensive, too.  As a result, consumers of all political persuasions must sacrifice the quantity and sometimes the quality of the food products that they would normally purchase.  For example, if gasoline escalates to over $5.00 per gallon, what are minimum wage workers going to do when they make around $5.00 per hour?  That would definitely dig an economic hole for these workers and their families. 

Second, the employment sector in the United States is currently facing a serious crisis.  American businesses are either outsourcing their jobs to other foreign countries or downsizing jobs here in the United States.  Of course, the aftermath of Americans losing their jobs is their inability to pay their mortgages, credit cards, and other financial obligations.  Therefore, the inability of unemployed workers to pay their debts makes it even more difficult for their creditors to meet their financial obligations, too.  As a result, the economy in the United States is presently going into a tailspin.  In fact, it could very well lead to a recession.  Of course, a recession would negatively affect the lifestyle that most Americans cherish. More and more people could possibly move toward the lower end of the social-economic ladder.  In other words, the American Dream may become the American Nightmare. 

Third, the Iraq War has become a battle zone for American troops.  Also, it has become a major topic of debate in the United States between those who support the war effort and those who oppose the rationale for fighting in Iraq.  Of course, like any war, the two major concerns is the loss of lives and the cost to finance the war.  Currently, over 4000 U.S. military personnel have died in the Iraq War.  However, is there a significant relationship between the actual deaths in the Iraq War and the moral deaths in America’s Culture War?  Also, the cost is astronomical, especially since billions of dollars are spent every month.  As a result, the drain on the United States Treasury is staggering.  Therefore, it is easy to understand the rationale for Congress eventually increasing taxes tremendously.  But, it will also be understandable that Americans will have even less money in their pockets than they do now. 

Fourth, alcohol and drugs has taken the spirit to achieve from many of America’s teenagers and adults.  They have only one main driving force in their life.  They live for the next drink.  They live for the next shot or sniff of some illegal drug.  They are actually serving the god of death instead of the God of Life.  Their productivity on their jobs, that is if they have a job, is null and void.  Their relationships with family and non-drug using friends has become a thing of the past. Marriages are broken up, too.  Of course, if drugs and alcohol do not kill them first, many teenagers and adults will spend many years of their life in jail and/or prison.  Therefore, too many Americans are wasting the time given to them by God to make a positive difference in the world.

Fifth, many teenagers and adults alike are serving the god of sex instead of the God of Eternal Life.  They are degrading their bodies and destroying their eternal soul at the same time.  They are doing abominable things, such as using modern technology to send abusive and sexually explicit pictures to their friends.  Needless to say, America’s godless views on sex is destroying internally the greatest Christian nation in the world. Unfortunately, the same actions that caused God to annihilate Sodom and Gomorrah are happening daily in America.  Will sexually-transmitted diseases continue to rise?  Will aids continue to kill thousands of people in the United States and around the world?  Will pornography continue to destroy marriages and relationships?  Ultimately, will the sins that caused America’s Culture War eventually destroy the moral fiber of the nation as a whole?  God Forbid!

One final concern in America’s Culture War is the Christian Church.  Even though the Christian Church should be conservative in nature and should fight the Culture War to the end, it has apparently surrendered already. Many Christian churches are preaching a social gospel, a gospel that meets the physical needs of people instead of a spiritual gospel, a gospel that meets the spiritual needs of people.  As the spiritual fire is dying out in many churches in the United States, it is being rekindled in church movements located in countries south of the equator.  According to many ecclesiastical scholars, the center of Christendom has migrated south of the equator, too.  Therefore, the Christian Church in America must renew its vows to God and return to its first love. 

Despite all the negative aspects of the current Culture War, there is one positive thing that should be remembered.   According to Hebrews 13: 5, God has promised to provide for His faithful followers.  God has always been willing to forgive and to heal those who have been wounded in America’s Culture War, too.  But, the same Bible that states that God would never leave or forsake His followers also states in Psalms 9:17 that the wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God.  Therefore, could it be possible that all the economic and social problems that America is facing today are related to the moral breakdown of a society that once feared God?

Dr. Parnell is a retired public school educator and presently teaches social science courses at a private, Christian high school in Georgia.  He is the author of From Schoolhouse to Courthouse: Exposing America’s New Terror from Within (Wheatmark Publishing, ISBN: 1-58736-613-4).  He is also a guest columnist on several online websites.       

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I am proud to be an American. Historically, we have gone through some challenging times. However, because The Almighty provided us with strong leaders, we have always pulled through. America has learned many lessons well, and righted the wrongs she identified over the years.

During the era of the freedom marches, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. moved the hearts of all who heard him and, eventually, segregation became a part of history that our great country overcame. We continued to grow, haltingly at times; but we became a better nation.

Many heroic civil rights leaders stood firm before President John F. Kennedy. He eventually gave in to the pressures of both black and white Americans and got behind civil rights legislation. The civil rights marches shed light throughout the world upon the struggle for civil rights for people of color within the United Sates. “It [King’s teachings] made it clear that we did not have to use violence to achieve the goals which we were seeking.” — Ralph Abernathy.

Today, all Americans enjoy every liberty our country affords. We are free to come and go, free to speak our minds, and free to aspire to become anything we want to be. Our country offers free education to all of its citizens through high school. Our educational system provides enormous sums for loans and grants to help those who could not otherwise afford college. Our system also provides students opportunities to work their way through college, making their degrees even sweeter on graduation day.

Anyone can achieve his or her highest goal. There are no limits to the many things that personally can be attained. When mixed with hard work and perseverance, every American can prosper and succeed in life. We can all own the American dream.

When I think about how fortunate we are to have been born in this country, my heart is extremely thankful. The American flag and the words of the song “God Bless America” and the Pledge of Allegiance make me tear up whenever I am at an event where we honor our nation.

One evening when I was working in a hospital, a young nurse introduced herself to me. While chatting and exchanging our backgrounds she told me something quite astounding. She believed that God actually does work all things out for the good. She related it to the fact that slavery brought her ancestors unwillingly to this country. With all of the hardships they endured, God became central. She then expressed how thankful she was that this strange and terrible time in our history afforded her the opportunity to be born in a country where she is free to worship a loving Savior. Jennie’s words stayed with me. I saw the wisdom that she possessed. Later on in our lives, I was privileged to sing at her wedding. Jennie and her husband have a beautiful little girl. We are sisters in Christ Jesus. Our love for one another deepens with every passing year.

We all need to understand the great sacrifices that have been made by the wonderful people who call America their home and their ancestors, but it is perfectly fine to question the voracity of those who see America in a negative, distorted light and take umbrage with their point of view.

No, not GOD DAMN AMERICA, as declared by Rev. Jeremiah Wright — but God bless America. It behooves all Americans to denounce the words of those who continually decry this country or their own lot in life, because each person is the master of their own destiny.

So, when Americans hear a woman who may become the First Lady of these United States sound so disparaging of her country, they wonder. Michelle Obama has worked very hard and she has attained so very much. Why is she not proud of her country? Hope comes from a heart of a loving God. “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)

However, Black Liberation Theology is taught and preached from the pulpit at the church Barack Obama attends. We have seen the terrible outcome of such an unscriptural teaching. Rev. Jeremiah Wright is not a mere enigma. His strangely perverse views come from what he and other Black Liberation theologians have wrought. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

“What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of Black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love.” — James Cone, A Black Theology of Liberation

Excerpts from American Thinker: The Real Agenda of Black Liberation Theology

“Now, suddenly, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright is misunderstood. Suddenly, so-called black liberation theology is misunderstood.

“Wright’s successor at Trinity United Church of Christ, the Reverend Otis Moss III, won’t bow to the wishes of ‘they’ to shut up. It begs the question: ‘Who are they?’ The larger white cultural? Or liberals and Democrats who see all this unfavorable publicity hurting the election chances of Barack Obama?

“The sad truth is that neither the Reverend Wright nor black liberation theology is being misunderstood. Both, thanks to the candidacy of Barack Obama, are being exposed. God, in fact, works in mysterious ways. And unless it’s the aforementioned liberals and Democrats who are trying to hush up Wright, Moss and others of their ilk, sensible Americans want to hear more, for knowledge is power, the power to combat hate.

“And make no mistake, what Americans are hearing, they don’t like. In the Rasmussen poll, 73% of voters find Wright’s comments to be racially divisive. That’s a broad cross section of voters, including 58% of black voters.” Full Article

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3) Black liberation theology rejects the Word of the God of the Bible. They have created a god who will have black people war against white people. These idolaters put another god before them to participate in the destruction of a perceived (white) enemy of their own making.

The Civil War, was a nationally traumatic part of our history, but it has been over for a long time. Brave men died to give blacks their freedom. How dare these Black Liberationists continue with this same old canard of racial lies that the Democrat Party also feeds them to divide our country. The party includes unjust, malicious race-baiting organizations with pastors who willingly castigate the establishment. Too often, situations that involve crimes are capitalized on to perpetuate the notions that the country is still dealing with an inordinate amount of race injustice.

Whenever people of good will such as Bill Cosby, Juan Williams and, Larry Elder utter words of corrective criticism to the black community, the same race-baiters go on the attack by calling them sell-outs and Uncle Toms.

It is our duty to be informed and ask poignant questions about what Senator Obama actually believes about his faith. We have enough to contend with pertaining to Islamic terrorists who are ready and willing to attack America without having to deal with the bigoted belief system of a president who clings to his own brand of racism while sitting in the Oval Office. That is not America’s ideal; it is not a president we want leading our country.

The Democrat Party and the “Drive-By-Media” would try to confuse the issues by making it a problem to question Obama’s relationships with questionable people such as Wright, Rezko and Ayers. They would contend it is unfair, claiming guilt by association. However, it is true that we are judged by the company we keep.

“If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.” (1 John 1:6)

Obama whole heartedly embraces Black Liberation Theology. He remains in a church that is controversial but was helpful to his political ambitions. He is a true believer of Rev. Wright. Imagine what will happen to our country if this cult theology spreads from city to city, all across our land within black communities? It would eventually erode everything that was accomplished by Dr. Martin Luther King. Our nation would begin to crumble from within.

Unfortunately the Democratic National Committee and the media did not do their vetting. It is too late for Democrats to offer up another candidate for the presidency. Barack Obama is politically damaged goods. He is not going to appeal to those who will be voting in the general election. His personal beliefs have been exposed and they are not commendable or compatible with mainstream American values.

America has proven herself over and over. We keep moving in a positive direction, not backwards. And we are not about to allow those who wish to live in the past impede our progress. “And unlike the Reverend Moss and his kindred, I’ll specify the “else.” Civil unrest. Disruptions in cities. Riot in the streets.” — Jeffrey Schmidt

A man of integrity leads by example. Obama has shown America that he is a mere duplicitous politician, whose words amount to contrived and sorry, misleading rhetoric.

Related Links:

Black Liberation Theology: The Enemy Within

Congregation Defends Obama’s Ex-Pastor

Glen Beck: The Teachings of Rev. James Cone

White Hatred In Black Liberation Theology

Marie is a political/religious-based writer and founder of www.DrawingClose.org — a sister website to RenewAmerica.

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On March 1, 2007, when Rev. Wright blasted me, Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes for being too ignorant to even presume to speak on theology because we had not studied Black Liberation Theology (BLT), through his belligerent, imperious egomania, he effectively flung open the door for much of the potentially damaging scrutiny now being directed at this dubious gospel.

Black Liberation Theology is nothing new; it has been festering largely unseen within the Church since the ‘Sixties. Indeed, it is likely that it would have remained “hands off” if not for the Obama/Wright controversy, lest messengers be upbraided for attempting to deny blacks their religious freedom. “Attacking” black churches isn’t exactly politically-correct, be it with words or molotovs.

A Hidden Heresy

In the last year, and particularly since the airing of Wright’s sermon excerpts, certain biblical scholars and real theologians have seized upon the opportunity to publicly compare and contrast BLT with mainstream Christianity. As it happens, there was a substantial amount of information out there on the subject prior to Obama/Wright; now there’s little doubt it didn’t get nearly the amount of attention it merited.

One essay that has gained exposure in the last month or so is The Truth about Black Liberal Theology by Dr. Robert A. Morey, founder the California Biblical University and Seminary in Irvine, CA. Morey’s study is probably the most direct and succinct primer on the subject.

“The fundamental ideas of BT did not come from black thinkers but from such white European thinkers as Hegel, Darwin, Marx, etc. It is Euro-centric in its ideology although it is Euro-phobic in its rhetoric. Black liberal theologians are in reality “Uncle Toms” still licking the boots of their white, Marxist masters at such bastions of white liberalism as Princeton, Yale, Harvard, etc. They are the slaves of Karl Marx.”

The Truth about Black Liberal Theology, Dr. Robert A. Morey

 A point I’ve made many times in response to those who claim that black conservatives are Uncle Toms, race traitors, and things of this nature: Black civil rights activists (BLT proponents included) have long since been corrupted by the agenda of far Left whites, an agenda that has done infinitely more harm to black Americans than good. The individuals who engage in the aforementioned invective seldom have a solid working knowledge of the history of the United States, but with BLT, pundits and pastors are validated with an almost unlimited supply of credentials toward promoting this insidious movement.

“The goals of BT are to turn religion into sociology, Christianity into a political agenda, Jesus into a black Marxist rebel, and the gospel into violent revolution. They are more interested in politics than preaching the gospel.”

The Truth about Black Liberal Theology, Dr. Robert A. Morey

This is evidenced in just about every excerpt we’ve seen of late; Jeremiah Wright, James Meeks and Otis Moss (Wright’s successor) seem wholly invested in accentuating the negative in every meaningful area of blacks’ lives, from their self-perception, to their worldview, to the evil of their “oppressors.” No doubt their advocates will accuse this columnist of having cherry-picked “snippets” of sermons to deliberately place said pastors in an unfavorable light.

“Reducing black identity to “victim” distorts the reality of true progress. For example, was Obama a victim of widespread racial oppression at the hand of “rich white people” before graduating from Columbia University, Harvard Law School magna cum laude, or after he acquired his estimated net worth of $1.3 million? How did “rich white people” keep Obama from succeeding?”

Wright’s Theology as Victimology, Anthony B. Bradley

Another brilliant study of BLT was done in several essays and a dissertation by Anthony B. Bradley, an assistant professor of theology at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO. Excavating the roots of BLT, from Jeremiah Wright’s beloved James Cone, the chief architect of black liberation theology, to the contextual present, Bradley explains how BLT is about as far from New Testament Christianity as it could be. In the above paragraph, he refers to Rev. Wright’s assertion that “Barack Obama knows what it means to be a black man in a country controlled by rich white people.”

“The Black Church”

Pastors such as Wright speak of “The Black Church,” but there is no black church, or white church, or any-other-ethnicity church if the discussion remains confined to bible-based Christianity. The salvation of Christ transcends ethnicity, period. Those who embrace hatred, racism, judgment, etc., are either spiritually immature or have an unspoken, malignant agenda.

The “black religious tradition” referenced by Wright and other BLT proponents is not traditional, unless one counts the Marxist-infused “tradition” established in the ‘Sixties. Certainly black Christian Americans’ experiences have been socially and spiritually unique unto them. BLT’s “black church” as a cultural phenomenon however, is not the church that maintained blacks through the ignominy of slavery and segregation, bringing them through these not only with a sense of dignity, industry and self-worth, but grasping the gospel with far more dedication and understanding than many whites.

Pharisees in “The Black Church”

Like many people, I never heard the kind of swill proffered by Rev. Wright in a black church, and so did not identify BLT with churches in which the congregants were predominantly black. One might wonder why black pastors themselves do not speak out against BLT.

Well, take the story of Rev. Lainie Dowell, a Five-Fold Minister from Columbia, Maryland with a long history in the church and very impressive credentials in her own right…

“When it was not popular to do so, 20 years ago, I spoke out against the same kinds of rantings about white people preached by my black pastor and other black colleagues. In an attempt to intimidate me and shut me up, he conspired with cohorts and filed false police reports and court documents to have me arrested inside the church.”

Rev. Lainie Dowell, April 17, 2008

So much for the question of why black pastors might not challenge BLT; gangsterism and conspiracies to discredit enemies using the law and the press are right out of the Marxist playbook. Being arrested inside one’s own church would likely stand as a pretty dissuasive example for a dissatisfied clergyman or clergywoman. For the record, Rev. Dowell’s pastor (also named Wright, no relation) not only preached Black Liberation Theology, but had a strikingly similar religious background to Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

When challenged by lay people, these pastors become belligerent and switch to “Pharisee mode” – pointing to their credentials, their degrees, the contention that no one but they can understand black religious and social history in America and relate it to a black congregation. We already have an example of their modus operandi when challenged by colleagues.

Faith Devoid of Faith

Finally: The incongruence with mainstream Christianity aside, Black Liberation Theology doesn’t even make sense. Churches and pastors which espouse BLT could not exist without one essential element: A white oppressor. The more one studies this heresy, the clearer it becomes that this element is even more important than Christ Himself.

Where then, one may ask, is the salvation of Christ in this theology? Theoretically, let us suppose that we awake one morning to find that everyone is black. Who is the oppressor then? Where is BLT’s credibility? They seem to know who their enemy is now however, it isn’t the same one that Christians at large acknowledge.

Dr. Morey maintains that BLT is of that Enemy, the devil. Many Christians may agree. Non-Christians may view it as general corruption of the church as an institution of cultural stability via far Left social engineers. The calculated outcome for practical purposes is the same.

In parts of America, there are enclaves of white supremacists who embrace forms of “Christianity” that foster perverted, quasi-Old Testament views of black Americans as latter-day Canaanites or the cursed descendants of one of Noah’s errant sons. Some other doctrines are even more bizarre. I would wager that 99 percent of whites in America find this as disgusting as I do. I submit that Black Liberation “theologians” ought to be viewed in precisely the same light, as both extremes are undeniably racist and can have nothing but deleterious effects on the harmonious progression of American society.

When I was in grade school, every now and then one of the other kids, having discovered I was of mixed race, would ask: “If the whites and blacks had a war, what side would you be on?”

I never answered these questions. It is profoundly sad and speaks to the sickness of our society that some of these people reached adulthood to find there were actually so-called religious organizations that were more than happy to sustain their spiritual, moral and intellectual retardation.

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We are certainly used to seeing the MSM causing trouble for conservatives and this one is no different at least on that level. But the interesting thing here is that the trouble a social conservative discovered was as a result of what she wrote in the MSM as opposed to what was written about her by the MSM. It seems that the opinion editorial written by Crystal Dixon for the Toledo Free Press got her fired by the University of Toledo because… well, you know how universities are all about free expression and speech, right? Unfortunately for Dixon, though, hers wasn’t the proper, politically correct sort of speech that is officially approved of by the thugs at the University of Toledo.

You see, Crystal Dixon made the mistake of believing that this whole silly idea of “freedom of religion” also applied to our institutions of higher learning. She foolishly asserted in her Toledo Free Press op ed that as far as her religious beliefs are concerned, homosexuality is a choice made by the individual instead of some genetic predisposition, that someone chooses to engage in homosexual activities instead of assuming that being gay is forced upon one by “nature.”

Of course, Dixon based her entire op ed on her Christian religious beliefs. It was no hate filled rant and was quite civil, even tempered, and to the point. But the gay mafia inside the University of Toledo must be awfully powerful. Or, at the very least, fear of them was enough to stifle — no, execute — Mrs. Dixon over what the president of UoT must imagine is her wretched religious extremism.

President Dr. Lloyd Jacobs dashed off a letter summarily firing Mrs. Dixon from her $134,383 a year job as associate vice president for employee resources.

A letter to Ms. Dixon informing her of her termination, stated “The public position you have taken in the Toledo Free Press is in direct contradiction to university policies and procedures as well as the core values of the strategic plan which is mission critical.”

It went on to say her position calls into question her ability to continue in her role as an administrator in charge of personnel actions and decisions and that “the result is a loss of confidence in you as an administrator.”

Don’t you DARE have any religious beliefs in an American university. Well… unless it is the church of Satan, or Islam, global warming, anti-Jewish or feminism you want to belong to. Those are perfectly fine religious opinions in the halls of our fetid universities it should be noted.

So, what sort of evil, no good, rotten thing did Mrs. Dixon say in her op ed for the Free Press? I mean, it HAD to be the most scurrilous thing on record, right?

She began with this:

I respectfully submit a different perspective for Miller and Toledo Free Press readers to consider.

SHOCKING! Wanting to be respectful of her opponents and to add to the debate? Say it ain’t so! She is off to a bad start with this. We all know that no university wants any different perspectives, don’t we? As soon as she finished her first words she should have known her job was lost.

First, human beings, regardless of their choices in life, are of ultimate value to God and should be viewed the same by others. At the same time, one’s personal choices lead to outcomes either positive or negative.

OUTRAGE! Speaking of God dooms this woman to the educational purgatory reserved for conservatives and other nefarious inhuman cretins as far as the denizens of our universities are concerned.

I won’t replay her entire op ed here, but it’s filled with some great stuff. But I do have to reiterate one of her themes before I close this article of mine.

As a Black woman who happens to be an alumnus of the University of Toledo’s Graduate School, an employee and business owner, I take great umbrage at the notion that those choosing the homosexual lifestyle are “civil rights victims.” Here’s why. I cannot wake up tomorrow and not be a Black woman.

You know, I have often wondered why the civil rights establishment has allowed homosexual extremists to co-opt the mantle of civil rights for their own twisted agenda? Dixon is exactly right. I can no more “decide” not to be white as she can “decide” not to be black. And, if people are to attack Mrs. Dixon because of the color of her skin, this is something so inherently wrong as to be axiomatic that a civil right would be violated by oppression based on that reality. But, it is possible to decide not to be gay. It is something eminently under the control of the individual to change. It is a behavior, not an unalterable fact.

But, all that aside, if Mrs. Dixon’s religious beliefs dictate that homosexuality is a choice, then how is it the right of the university to fire her over that belief? Has it affected her job in the past? I don’t see how it could have. After all, she has risen through the ranks of the university to a rather high position. If no one noticed her religious beliefs had affected her job by now, then it is safe to say that she was not acting in a discriminatory manner in the execution of her duties.

I hope Mrs. Dixon sues the University of Toledo and Dr. Lloyd Jacobs into oblivion. If you’d like to send this so-called educator a little note, try this email address: UTPresident@utoledo.edu. Or give him a call and set up a nice lunch with him at: (419) 530-2211. Then there is the ever popular yet slightly technologically backwards fax number: (419) 530-4984. I think the good doc would love to respectfully hear another perspective from all of us. He looks like just the sort of fella that enjoys a good chat, doesn’t he?

(Photo credits, the Toledo Free Press for Mrs. Dixon and the University of Toledo for the prez)

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For an eminently readable analysis of Keynesian economics, the economic bedrock of liberal-progressive worship of the socialist religion, read Professor Murray Rothbard’s 1947 critique, Spotlight on Keynesian Economics.One caution: when Professor Rothbard speaks of liberal economists, he is using the classic terminology of 18th England that referred to true freedom: laissez-faire economics, free from government intervention, not to today’s American sect of the international religion of socialism.

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But this is just another so-called survey that is reported backwards. It turns out that, even by their unscientific criteria, 49 percent of the Americans they surveyed said that they were “thriving, with few health or money worries.” So, why is this reported as if the preponderance of our fellow citizens is claiming to be “struggling”?

Here is how Reuters begins their report:

Many Americans are struggling through life but only 4 percent are truly miserable, with no hope for the future, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

Nearly half — 49 percent — describe themselves as thriving, with few health or money worries, according to the researchers at the global polling organization Gallup and health consulting firm Healthways.

Then the report goes on to say that 47 percent claim they are “struggling” and that 4 percent are without hope.

So, why did the survey get reported that Americans are “struggling” when most said they were doing just fine? Why, because it makes for a better beat-up-America story,