Finally a media personality with testicular fortitude, and rightfully it is the author of the recent book COWARDS who illustrated wonderfully the progressive hypocrisy so evidently on display in American society. Glenn Beck came under predictable fire when he dropped a bobble head representation of President Obama into a container full of metaphorical piss to exercise his First Amendment rights, and I applaud him for the stunt. Obama is a symbol of progressive politics and it is time that progressives get back some of the antagonism that they have dished out for years. See the stunt below.
Conservatives have been losing a public relations battle with progressives for decades because they have always taken the high ground, and such strategic positions are not enough when the enemies are soulless radicals hell-bent on American destruction. So force must be met with force. Rhetoric must be met with rhetoric. I know well what Beck experienced and why he did what he did, as I have my own experience with such things. CLICK HERE FOR A REVIEW. Progressives do not like it when they are given back the kinds of harassment they conduct on a regular bases against American traditionalists who despise progressivism and they scream like babies when acts like Beck performed are shoved back in their faces. Progressives have been doing such things for many years, and it is time to give them a dose of their own medicine.
It is also time to recognize that we are not in a peaceful exchange of differing opinions—we are at war—traditionalists against progressives and progressives were the ones who fired the first shots with their multiple desecrations of traditional American beliefs—everything from the harassment of housewives to “fight for equal progressive rights at the expense of their families” to literally defaming religious icons that founded The United States. Progressives have done everything in their power to rip to shreds the firm and knowledgeable family father, the solitary cowboy, and the enterprising business tycoon with the bumbling Homer Simpsons on modern TV, the homosexual activist, and the altruist who sacrifices their lives for the sake of mankind. The war is well documented, and is raging with a fury. And it is finally wonderful to see a media personality who represents traditional American value with an old fashioned swagger that is needed worse than a drought laded country needs water across a harsh, scorched desert landscape.
After all, will we let liberty go with politeness and a negligent whimper? I’m not. That’s why we have the first and second amendments—to defend liberty from domestic enemies like progressives.
Star Wars is not a political party driven philosophy. I would doubt that Star Wars creator George Lucas would call himself a Democrat or a Republican or even a Libertarian. I would say he is a story-teller with an excellent grasp of history and technical innovation. And I see Star Wars as an offering that can redeem society in ways that are currently unimaginable. For my daughter’s 23rd birthday she wanted a special cake, something that really meant something to her personally, so my wife made her a Star Wars cake complete with an Ewok Village created out of all edible elements. Only the Lego Ewoks were parts of the cake that couldn’t be eaten. Star Wars many times in my family’s past has served as a backdrop for unlimited imagination and teaching values that were family oriented. The trees were made out of ice cream cones, and also the huts. The trees were made out of pretzels. The bridges were made out of candy and graham crackers. Of course she loved it.
A message to my Tea Party friends and social reformers deserves mention, no matter how dark things may seem it can always get worse or better depending on the quality of the people who make up a republic. In fact I look very forward to Disney’s ownership of the Star Wars franchise because there may come a day real soon that the series of books spawned from the movies may be made into television or movie formats in the future similar to how today’s Clone Wars series is presented on Cartoon Network—which my wife and I watch—religiously————and I mean religiously every Saturday morning at 9:30 AM. I find them visual beautiful to look at, but at the same time intellectually stimulating. I disagree emphatically with the clip below of Adolf Hitler’s assessment of the Disney acquisition of Star Wars from George Lucas.
The following books tell the story better than anything available of religious peril, the invasion of a galaxy by a very hostile unknown species, political upheavals, family tragedy, scientific mystery, social redemption, life after death—(in great detail), personal conquest, spiritual enlightenment, galactic civil war, quests for freedom, the origins of evil, justification for violence, and in essence the entire meaning of life in a span of books that runs 42 novels long each about 500 to 700 pages in length. I consider them to be the most encompassing gathering of literature ever done on a subject of any kind and I say that with my hand on one of my favorites, Leo Tolstroy’s War and Peace. While the Star Wars books are not the most artistic as they are designed to be read by young people from the 7th and 8th grade on up, the content of the stories is truly significant and beneficial to anyone who takes the time to read them. They are in order:
Vector Prime, Dark Tide 1: Onslaught, Dark Tide II: Ruin, Agents of Chaos I: Hero’s Trial, Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse, Balance Point, Recovery, Edge of Victory I:Conquest, Edge of Victory II: Rebirth, Star by Star (one of my favorites), Dark Journey, Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream, Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand, Traitor (one of my all time favorites), Destiny’s Way, Ylesia, Force Heretic I: Remnant, Force Heretic II Refugee, Force Heretic III: Reunion, The Final Prophecy, The Unifying Force (an absolutely stunning story), The Joiner King, The Unseen Queen, The Swarm War, Betrayal, Bloodlines, Tempest, Exile, Sacrifice, Inferno, Fury, Revelations, Invincible, Outcast, Omen, Abyss, (very spiritually bold in that half of it takes place in the afterlife), Backlash, Allies, Vortex, Conviction, Ascension, and Apocalypse.
I believe with all my heart and soul that because those books are not politically motivated, and they take place in a galaxy a long time ago, far, far away, that they have the chance to shape our society in a unique way that is yet uncharted in human existence.
Let me explain—most of the work that shaped the American Revolution consisted of small works, such as the literature of John Locke, Adam Smith, Plato even Shakespeare—all of which I’ve read. The thoughts about communism that are so prevalent today were shaped by Karl Marx’s little book The Communist Manifesto and the left has used the methods of Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience to organize support during the Civil Rights Movement. That is another small book that has had a big impact on the world around us. All those works combined do not equate to the amount of work and effort that Lucas Publishing has expended in telling the marvelously epic story of Star Wars described in the books mentioned above. But the story doesn’t end with just those books—not even close–there are over 100 books that take place during a 6000 year span of time that displays vividly the violent rise and fall of many generation’s governments and how different species of beings interact positively and negatively against each other.
When I think of the book burning rituals that took place whenever dictators rose to power to assert their strength over the previous cultures, I think of the attempt by those despots to erase from the minds of mankind the knowledge they need to question reality—which is the point of burning books. Most of the time because of the cozy relationship business often has with government out of the necessity of survival books like the Star Wars series could never have been even conceived let alone achieved, but under George Lucas he has pulled off the feat and done human kind a tremendous service.
It is only a matter of time before the young people who have read these Star Wars books are in a position socially to act on what they’ve learned, and I can say that when that day arrives, the world will be much better off. Star Wars is about fighting and winning personal freedom in the context of social responsibility. It’s a big concept that has tremendous potential philosophically, and socially and the best of Star Wars is not in the films, which simply plant the seeds of story for curious minds to follow, but is in the books which takes readers deep down the Rabbit Holes of life for a journey that holds many of the keys to all the possibilities that exist. The impact of this literature has yet to be felt, but in time it will. The literature of Star Wars is the key to understanding many of the complex issues of our modern age in the context that they must be taken in—and within that knowledge is a security that can only come to an increased intellect. For that, I will always be a fan—and be eternally grateful. It is for that reason that I suggest to all those feeling hopeless and desperate in their lives to take a few years off life and read all those books in the order that I presented them, and you will discover within yourself a life of unlimited potential and everlasting joy that cannot be taken by any government or social parasite.
George Lucas has always been much more of an advocate of education than a mindless capitalist like he’s been accused of. He used his money to educate the world in a way that was so cleaver that the worst of the tyrants never knew what was happening, until it hit critical mass and entered the subconscious of the world in an unstoppable force that now has a life of its own. The first of that education miracle is Angry Birds Star Wars, the game of time, distance, trajectory and impact strategy!
Sadly many people young and old alike have forgotten what the difference between capitalism and socialism is, so the arguments provided by the Tea Party movement recently against the government growth progressives is lost to them as they were taught in public school and college to hate money. They were taught that money and capitalists are evil, and they spend half their lives learning otherwise—sadly. So it becomes increasingly necessary to educate people on the difference between capitalism and socialism—because it is socialism that the Obama White House is advocating. In fact George Bush both daddy and son along with their good friend Bill Clinton have slowly used elements of socialism to advance their own political careers. Sadly, since World War II only two presidents have acted in a beneficial way to promote capitalism in America, one is John F. Kennedy because of his commitment to NASA and all the technology that spawned off the moon effort, and Ronald Reagan who was able to pull America from the brink of left-winged politics and cast it back into capitalism during the 1980’s to fight the Soviet Union during the Cold War. For many young people they don’t understand how this cast of characters plays out in historical context and what the fundamental differences are between the various economic systems. So for those inquiring minds, have a look at this clip from the film I Want Your Money where Ronald Reagan teaches Barack Obama the difference between his version capitalism and Obama’s socialism.
I had the good fortune to have grown up in the 1980’s when capitalism was king under the Reagan years. He did such a good job that the carry-over effect lasted until the tragic event of 9/11 2001, prompting George Bush Jr., to inject government interference into the economic equation which began the downward economic spiral seen today. Growing up I never lacked a job, because there were so many opportunities. I often worked two to three jobs all at the same time two of them full-time jobs and one of them part-time, and I worked 7 days a week. I’ve worked on all sides of making money. I’ve done work as a gunsmith, repo man, an inventor, a graphic designer, a fund-raiser, a videotographer, a salesman, a grill cook, a waiter, landscaper, tree trimmer, a middle manager, even a top rung manager, and done a lot of work as a writer both ghost and traditional. And of course most people at this site know me as a political activist that may seem like a large part of my life, but in reality is only part of one chapter in my life that is turning out to be a very large book.
My employers have been mobsters, drug dealers, corporate raiders, corrupt politicians, power grabbers, publicly traded corporations and traditional capitalists—all of them look on the up and up at the interview, but over time you learn a lot about people and personal philosophies will clash, and they have—many times. But during all that I have learned a lot and managed to see every side of ugly, and stayed out of jail because I always found the path of goodness even in the darkest depths of hell. I have tested thoroughly my moral compass and it has always pointed in the correct direction even if the path seemed complex at times. I will say in a heartbeat that the world is better off under the rule of all those different degrees of capitalists than they are under the fairness of government redistribution which is currently choking the economy.
Capitalism is about opportunity, not protecting life from the thugs, the goons, and the killers who share life with the rest of us. “Hit men” are people too, and they have families like anyone else. To them, killing is just a job that gets them paid. And most of them stay out of jail because they are friends with judges and police detectives who know all too well what they are up to. In many cases such people thrive under big government because it is those relationships with authority that prevents competition in the field of killing, which might sound extreme, but is a thriving business. For every death reported in the newspaper, there are many others who never get reported or discussed. Relative to Cincinnati, Ohio the bodies are dredged out of the Ohio River down in Louisville by the locks at The Falls, and they go “unsolved” most of the time.
I point this out because in a society that is functioning under pure capitalism there is actually less of this destructive behavior because there isn’t so much profit in government to look the other way to maintain a monopoly between organized crime and government—as we all suspect is behind the current presidency, just as it was during the Kennedy presidency—most likely leading to his death. The misperception is that thugs and crooks are fewer under a heavily regulated society, but nothing could be further from the truth. The difference is the criminals move out of the shadows and instead into a suit and begin doing government work for The White House, the IRS, the CIA, the FBI or the local police department instead of working in the backroom of a seedy restaurant running a mob arm away from the heart of Chicago, or using a car dealership as the front organization for a drug smuggling operation and money laundering scam. Safety in society is in more capitalism and having a bigger gun than the other guy—it is not in government.
When I was a very young man I attended a dinner with a highly decorated Judge from Sharonville along with his wife, known killers, drug dealers, and other mob types. I was being “groomed” into service because I had elements to my temper that they liked. I learned at the dinner how the world worked—as the judge was very open in revealing that he knew damn well what all the criminals at the table were up to and how they made their money. I also know that many of these organized elements began during the Ford and Carter years under more regulation and the concern that Ronald Reagan was de-regulating many industries was a concern for them, because if markets opened up, they couldn’t jack up their smuggling rates of delivery. Free market competition was a threat to the criminals who looked for an alliance with government to preserve their monopolies. The judge wasn’t sitting at our table to talk about sports, even though two former Bengal players were at the table as well serving as the public front to divert attention away from the true intentions. (Life on Chester Road in the 80’s) No, the judge was there to help maintain the criminal monopoly, to keep competition shut down and to legally block for the criminal underground.
Once I caught on to that life and what it was, and proved to myself that I had the nerve of steel that I always wished to test myself against—as a young man needing to know I had the guts to do anything, I took an honest job at a very dangerous factory under the coaxing of my wife, who wanted to live a somewhat normal life. Some people join the military to test themselves, but I was never willing to take orders, so I found other ways—and living to tell about it is the most important part. Because the experience gave me a unique perspective on capitalism even from the seediest aspects of it, and I have seen firsthand how socialism works. The idea of fairness is how it’s sold, but what really happens is government thugs gain the legal title to steal, and pillage instead of having to hide their behavior. That is the only difference. The less capitalism there is the more crime that will occur. The more capitalism there is, the criminals become easier to spot and their hiding places move into the dark corners of society as opposed to right out in the open.
So for those safety freaks out there who are afraid for your children’s life and think that more socialism will protect them—think again—because nothing could be further from the truth. Do not look to government to protect you and your children from the big “mean” people of the world. And certainly don’t look to government to educate, and care for your children. I’ve known the worst kind of people God has created, and they are just as worse as the people who currently reside in public education. The only difference is that they took off the cheesy suits from the 80’s and now wear business attire learned from their university. But they are all thugs if they advocate the looting of personal wealth for their own well-being at the expense of the innocent.
Efficiency is key to the success of any economic endeavor. The reason I’m a conservative is because logically that is where economic efficiency is best found. Let’s face it, the liberal bureaucratic bound approach to all of life’s issues requiring potential monetary endowments also represents the antithesis of efficiency. I defy a single Liberal to step forward and explain the logic behind the socialist economic theories liberalism espouses, let alone provide examples of how those theories can actually create efficiency.
Last year I ran for an open school board position in the district where I live. I was a literal unknown challenger in a group that included an incumbent, an existing member of the District Finance Committee, and a former Board President. Needless to say I was a long shot. Even though I didn’t win I still managed a good showing, even beating out the former Board President. The reason I was able to do as well as I did was because of my approach. I didn’t waste time demonizing my opponents or any particular group such as the teachers union. Instead, I focused my message on the concept of creating true efficiency within the district.
Efficiency comes in many flavors. The teachers union openly feared me because they also fear the word efficiency. Understandably, the reason is that whenever they hear that word it typically translates either into layoffs, pay cuts, or both. However, had they actually listened to my message, they would have realized that approach wasn’t necessarily the efficiency I was talking about. That type of efficiency is what I call the cheap status quo model. For example, how cheap can I get by when negotiating on copier paper when the real question should be what other options are there to send out information other than in printed form? When it came to our district I was seeking to think beyond just the simple cheaper status quo model. I was seeking to rethink everything we do, not just negotiate a cheaper price on things we may not even need in the first place.
When it comes to our schools we must start doing better. We are already screwing over our heirs when it comes to burdening them with the disastrous results of our approach on overspending and debt. I see no reason why they must also suffer at the hands of a failed approach to education as well. The current system we have is an unmitigated disaster. We are relying on a model that was created nearly a century ago. It is a system that is so outdate, over bloated, over controlled, and inefficient that actual learning takes a back seat to far too many other self serving and inefficient agenda’s. Furthermore, it fails to meet the skill set required for the modern workforce.
In 1979 President Carter created the Department of Education thus placing oversight over the nation’s educational system under federal control. His idea was that he could fix all of our educational ills and make everything “equal” at the same time. Instead it proved to be a huge mistake. We currently have twice as many people working in our public educational system today as we did in 1970. At the same time our public school enrollment has only gone up by 8.5%. Even after adjusting for inflation we dump exponentially more dollars per student into public education than we did in 1970 yet test scores haven’t budged in all those years. If anything, we’ve gone down in our educational rankings against the rest of the world. In the mean time the bureaucracy that Carter created is so overwhelming that attempting to make any significant structural changes is like trying to turn around a battleship in a fishing pond. If you attempt any movement at all you’ll only find yourself sinking further in the muck.
The first thing we need to do to right this ship is to get rid of the Department of Education and send that function back to the states. Not only will that unload a huge layer of unnecessary bureaucracy, but in all honesty, those that have the best interest of the children are those that can be found closest to the children themselves. That means even the state should surrender the bulk of control back to the local districts. After all, it’s the parents within the district that care the most for the educational welfare of their own children. Yes, I get the whole concept of economic disparity, but what we are talking about here is control. The best method for equalizing the economic disparity and also provide parental control at the same time is through a voucher system whereby parents are granted choices and quality is promoted through competition.
The answer we’ve always gotten ever since Carter took over education is that rather than actually addressing the real needs of our kids, we simply need to continually pour an ever increasing amount of money into an ever increasing bureaucracy that does nothing to fix our failing schools. However, there is no model whatsoever that proves such a correlation between money and a quality education actually exists. When kids in 3rd world countries are proving everyday that it’s possible to learn even in grass huts and bombed out buildings than more money isn’t the answer. When it does come to money we need to get personal agenda’s out of education. It makes no logical sense whatsoever for a district to be forced to pay a gym teacher and a chemistry teacher on the same pay scale. There is no logical reason for denying parents choices when it comes to their kid’s educational opportunities simply based on personal income either. For their part parents do need to become more active participants in their child’s education instead of viewing schools as nothing more than glorified daycares. Practically every study out there confirms that the single biggest factor in the quality of our schools is parental participation.
We need to modernize our approach to education in general. That means we need to stop simply teaching to a standardized test. Yes, it’s important that our kids understand things like reading and writing. However, much of what is being taught today isn’t really learning as much as it is memorization in order to pass those standardized test. What we should really be teaching our kids is critical thinking skills. We need to understand and accept that in the modern world things are changing at such an incredible rate that much of what a freshman learns today won’t even be relevant by the time they graduate. Therefore, we need to be teaching them the skills necessary to perpetually adapt to an ever changing environment. We can’t do that by being wed to an antiquated inefficient model.
There seems to be universal agreement that what we are currently facing is an educational crisis in much the same manner as we are facing a very real debt crisis. In both cases there are sound answers that can be found simply by looking to both logic and efficiency to find the answers. We are already threatening to enslave the next generation to the will of our debt holders. There’s no sane reason that we should also be taking tomorrow’s potential leaders and turning them into the menial labor force of a foreign master as well.
Since the socialist Barack Obama is now president for another long four years it is time to re-invent the game of Monopoly to one that more reflects the kind of economy America has under the Obama Presidency. Monopoly is a game of capitalism which is no longer relevant under the socialist push by progressives. So it is only appropriate to change the rules of the game to reflect the Obamanation of The United States under socialism. Doc Thompson from CBS Radio’s 1270 AM in Detroit found just such a person who had taken the game of Monopoly and updated it to reflect Barack Obama’s economy and it’s called Obamanomics Opoly. Listen to Doc speak with the inventor in this interview below.
Under Obamanomics Opoly the Community Chest is gone, it is now Community Organizing. Designed with American Ingenuity, & Built in the U. S. A. Obamanomics-Opoly Is the New & Creatively Unique board game that will educate people on the miserably failed economic policies of the Obama administration & forever remind people of the disastrous effects those policies will have on “We the People” It features all of your favorite, “Political Hot Button” Issues like Banking reform, cash for clunkers, QE1 & QE2, legislation on C-Span for all to see, (yea right)! And also includes…. the infamous, GSA junkets to Las Vegas, Secret Service agents in Cartagena…and the “ongoing fiasco” known as Fast & Furious, and does it in an entertaining way that’s fun & easy to understand. But most of all it highlights the 2 most disastrously failed policies, Immigration Reform & Obama Care! You see, there is a space on it called “Health Care Tax”. When you land on it, You don’t pay the Tax, instead, your opponents equally share, and pay the tax for you… (here comes the twist) Anyone who owns Lugosi Lane, or Read Road, is Exempt. . . and does “Not” have to “Pay their fair share” of the Tax. Sound Familiar! It includes all of your favorite “not ready for prime time politicians” like… Nancy Lugosi, (The blood sucking, “Nosferatù Vampire” from the west) along with Harry Read, Jeremiah Right, Bill Errors, Hank Paulsin, Barnie Franks, Erick Holdurr, Joe the Plumber, and of course, our Top Gun Helicopter Pilot himself, Ben Barnakey. (You’ve got to love this crew!) It’s loaded with rampant foreclosures, QE1 & QE2 and all of the “pay your fair share” and “spread the wealth” Fed stimulus you can handle! It’s upgradeable too! Hope & Change “expansion packs” coming soon will keep your game timely & fresh!
The best way to navigate through the Obamantion of America is by adapting to the socialist economy that supports it, and with the new Obamanomics Opoly game players can learn how socialism works under the new rules of American decline. So during this holiday season give the gift of survival to a loved one—buy them Obamanomics Opoly. When Health Care taxes begin to kick in during 2013 people will want to know where all their money is going and the best way to show them is through a game how their money is spent and on what. So buy your copy today, you can find it at Amazon.com.
I have a magician friend who gets very perturbed when members of the audience reveal to him during a show how the tricks he is doing on stage are preformed. He knows that for many of his magic tricks to work that the audience must suspend their logic and be willing to believe in hocus pocus before the onstage illusions can be accepted as reality. So it is with some insight that I see the same level of anger coming from progressives like Barack Obama and his merry band of federal thieves, radicals and despots when they wish the public to believe in their magic tricks on a stage of illusion that the national media lapdogs assist in creating for the public. Progressives wish the entire world to believe that Barack Obama was re-elected in November 2012 because America is a progressive left-leaning nation of “enlightened” souls. But the reality behind the trick is that Democrats bought audience suspension of belief with “gifts.” Obama bought the election by giving things away to labor unions—money stolen with taxes and given to powerful bloc voting groups—such as the new TSA union that we all have to deal with at airports now. More people are on food stamps than they ever have been, thanks to Obama’s socialist stance of taking from the rich and giving to the poor. But the most disgusting of all is the Obama Phones given out to residents of the inner cities—particularly Cleveland, Ohio where free phones and minutes were apparently given out to key voting blocs with the intention to purchase votes in the upcoming election—which worked. Some of these voting districts where Obama Phones were handed out didn’t cast one vote for Mitt Romney in the election giving Obama 100% of the turnout……….mysteriously. It is kind of like magic—right.
Well my ol’ buddy Doc Thompson is one of those irritating audience members who refuse to let a band of manipulative magicians scam the public unimpeded. He has sifted through the facts of this whole Obama Phone issue and had a little fun with it on his radio show in Detroit, Michigan. On Black Friday Doc was filling in for Glenn Beck with a broadcast footprint of over 10 million people and it is then that Doc played the very funny audio clip about Obama Phones shown below. Have a listen.
My wife and I were taking our oldest daughter out to lunch since she had to work Black Friday and I was still laughing while we were driving to the restaurant from that broadcast clip when Doc Thompson called me to wish my family a Happy Thanksgiving and wonderful Holiday Season. (to non-progressives that means CHRISTMAS) Doc had just finished up with the Glenn Beck Radio Show and took a minute to talk to me a bit off-air.
It sure was nice when Doc was in the Cincinnati market at a local radio station broadcasting his unique brand of radio program that is old-fashioned in many respects, but hard hitting like Howard Stern without the vulgarity. I felt privileged when he was in Cincinnati, and his vacancy is very much missed but Doc is working on a syndication deal that could put him all over The United States which would be great for America—but until that time it is a real treat to hear him covering for Glenn Beck from time to time—because not many radio hosts do the kind of hard hitting reporting that Doc does without losing their sense of humor. And that is what Doc is best at—no matter how serious the situation is—Doc Thompson finds a way to have a little fun with the material to dull the blunt impact of the grim reality.
Make no mistake about it however—Barack Obama’s election was not legitimate in regard that he won it straight up—without magic tricks. No, he bought the election with “GIFTS” and progressives might wish to conceal that information, but the facts are what they are. It is no different than when government school levies pass because parents believe that they are getting a free education for their child when in reality the money used in public education is money stolen from property owners who no longer have kids going to the school—then a portion of that money is given to powerful labor unions to elect Democratic politicians who then set the stage for progressive magic tricks that many of us are no longer believing. The Obama Phones are just the most recent example of how disgusting the political magicians have become and to what extent they are willing to lie and manipulate their way into power. With those kinds of diabolical social menaces in the world it is wonderful to know that Doc Thompson has the opportunity to take to the air waves and rattle the cages of these perpetrators of doom who try to hide their true intentions of wealth redistribution with the suspended belief in magic that allows them to commit the crimes. Doc Thompson isn’t having any of it, and he wasn’t shy in letting millions of people know about it. And during the Thanksgiving Season as my family sat down to give my daughter a nice Black Friday lunch—I realized that I am most thankful to know people like Doc Thompson and that the fight for truth carries on beyond the reach of the sinister manipulation designed by the Obama Phone giveaways.
David Green the CEO of Hobby Lobby has had to take action to protect himself from the terrible costs of mandated government health care advocated by President Obama and his gang of government thugs. Below is a letter from Green in an attempt to get his story out. This is not a new action, but given the re-election of Obama by the rule of the stupid and foolish looking for a social hand-out as opposed to American self-reliance, this story regarding Hobby Lobby needs to be told so others facing similar issues can figure out how to deal with Obamacare, or fold in order to protect the hard work they have amassed over many years of productivity. Now might be a time to cash in and check out before government invades your businesses forever.
A Letter from Hobby Lobby Stores CEO By David Green, the founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.
When my family and I started our company 40 years ago, we were working out of a garage on a $600 bank loan, assembling miniature picture frames. Our first retail store wasn’t much bigger than most people’s living rooms, but we had faith that we would succeed if we lived and worked according to God’s word. From there,Hobby Lobby has become one of the nation’s largest arts and crafts retailers, with more than 500 locations in 41 states. Our children grew up into fine business leaders, and today we run Hobby Lobby together, as a family.
We’re Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. I’ve always said that the first two goals of our business are (1) to run our business in harmony with God’s laws, and (2) to focus on people more than money. And that’s what we’ve tried to do. We close early so our employees can see their families at night. We keep our stores closed on Sundays, one of the week’s biggest shopping days, so that our workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest. We believe that it is by God’s grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us and our employees. We’ve not only added jobs in a weak economy, we’ve raised wages for the past four years in a row. Our full-time employees start at 80% above minimum wage.
But now, our government threatens to change all of that. A new government health care mandate says that our family business MUST provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health insurance. Being Christians, we don’t pay for drugs that might cause abortions, which means that we don’t cover emergency contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary to our most important beliefs. It goes against the Biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one. If we refuse to comply, we could face $1.3 million PER DAY in government fines.
Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy. Our government threatens to fine a company that’s raised wages four years running. Our government threatens to fine a family for running its business according to its beliefs. It’s not right. I know people will say we ought to follow the rules; that it’s the same for everybody. But that’s not true. The government has exempted thousands of companies from this mandate, for reasons of convenience or cost. But it won’t exempt them for reasons of religious belief.
So, Hobby Lobby ? and my family ? are forced to make a choice. With great reluctance, we filed a lawsuit today, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, asking a federal court to stop this mandate before it hurts our business. We don’t like to go running into court, but we no longer have a choice. We believe people are more important than the bottom line and that honoring God is more important than turning a profit.
My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but the government is going to make that much more difficult. The government is forcing us to choose between following our faith and following the law. I say that’s a choice no American ? and no American business ? should have to make.
The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your fundamental religious belief. They have exempted thousands of companies but will not except Christian organizations including the Catholic church.Since you will not see this covered in any of the liberal media, pass this on to all your contacts.
Sincerely,
David Green, CEO and Founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.
Mark Etterling is in the leadership at the Liberty Twp Tea Party and has been a school board candidate in the past for Lakota, and I hope he is a future candidate because he’s a good guy who is a whole lot nicer politically than I am, and is willing to work with people on the other side. It takes all kinds to make the world go around and Mark is certainly one of the first-class people functioning in the world. As a local author he contributes frequent articles about the state of America that are quite good and balanced. He has been a guest pundit on CNN and other media expressing Tea Party views articulately and I enjoy his work. Because of that I am going to begin featuring some of his work here at the OW to expose his efforts to a larger audience. So enjoy!
The looming economic debate that’s taking over the headlines has to do with Republicans seeking spending cuts while at the same time Obama wants to raise taxes on the wealthy. The ever popular battle cry of the Left is that we should be demanding the wealthy pay their “fair share”. In reality the first thing that we should be doing is forcing the Left to officially declare once and for all exactly what they believe constitutes a fair share. It is an act which they will never do knowing that it would destroy the very demon their rhetoric relies upon. However, I have an even bigger question for Obama and his cohorts on the Left. Why do they keep insisting on aiding wealthy people while crushing the hopes and dreams of the poor? Yes, you read that correctly.
Billionaire Warren Buffett recently stated that he wouldn’t mind paying more in taxes and everyone on the Left immediately saw Mr. Buffett as some sort of a hero based on his statement. Personally, I see him as a villain. First of all, if Warren truly believed what he was saying he wouldn’t still owe over $1 Billion in back taxes based on existing tax rates. Plus, there is nothing to have ever prevented him from overpaying his taxes in the first place if he was in fact a true believer in what he espoused. But I digress. The real reason for Buffett’s statement and Obama’s actions is far more self indulgent. The Left itself is merely playing the role of the mindless minions to this sinister plot through their shear ignorance.
There is an economic concept that Buffett and others like him understand that the Left simply doesn’t get. The Left is so caught up in the falsity of their own rhetoric that they never bother to think things through far enough to understand reality. The truth is that Warren already has far more wealth than he could ever spend in a lifetime and he has also acquired all the material toys he could ever dream of from that wealth. What he seeks is power. What wealthy people like him understand is that the power derived from wealth doesn’t come from how much someone has. It comes from the difference between how much they have versus everyone else. For example, anyone can become a millionaire in Zimbabwe. However, a million in Zimbabwe currency might only buy you a loaf of bread, so big deal. Again, it’s not the numbers that matter. It’s the difference in the numbers that counts. What Buffett also understands is that we don’t tax based on wealth in this country. We tax based on the acquisition of wealth. In other words we tax income. The easiest way for wealthy people like Buffett to maintain the power of their wealth isn’t by adding yet another $ Billion to their pile. It’s by preventing everyone else from being able to “catch up”. The best method to accomplish this is through punitive tax rates.
Here’s a simple explanation. Even if Warren Buffett shows a net worth of $50 Billion and you show a net worth of only $50K, on January 1st of each year, as far as the IRS is concerned, you and Buffett are considered equal with neither having yet earned any income for the new year. At this point the fortune he has already amassed is irrelevant as far as future taxes are concerned. Again, we don’t tax wealth. We tax the acquisition of wealth. So basically, if Warren decided to bury his $Billions in the dirt and didn’t bother to earn anything for next year he would still be a Billionaire, yet his tax bill at the end of that year would be $0. Therefore, if you and Warren both happen to earn the same amount for this year you would both pay the same in taxes regardless of whatever that tax rate might happen to be. To Warren that extra cash is irrelevant since his bank account already has more digits than he knows what to do with. However, to you that extra cash could mean the difference between moving up a bit more on the economic ladder or remaining stuck on a lower rung.
To illustrate this concept in a slightly different manner think of the act of achieving wealth as being similar to climbing the stairs of a tall building. The Left claims that they want to see everyone have the opportunity to climb up as many floors as possible. Yet raising tax rates actually prevents this from happening because with higher tax rates the faster you climb, the faster you get shoved back down. The Buffett’s of the world are already living in the penthouse as it is, so they don’t need to concern themselves with climbing faster. However, if you are at the lower levels and fighting hard to advance yourself it is far easier to climb when you get to take 10 steps forward in income for every 1 step backward in taxes compared to being forced to take the 5 steps backward in taxes that you experience from higher rates. The Left is constantly pointing out the ever widening divide between the wealthy and the poor while at the same time they naively espousing the very tax rules that allow such a widening to occur. If the Left were truly as compassionate about the poor as they claim they would be demanding lower tax rates at all levels to enable opportunity for advancement instead of stagnation.
Mark Etterling
You can find Mark’s published work at the link below:
The motivating driver behind communism for the proletariat—(the workers) has always been a false sense of fairness in the marketplace. For that fairness communists of old and progressives of new have sought to replace capitalism with socialism and in America this has been attempted through labor unions. Anyone who participates in a labor union either public or private is functioning from a communist economic social engineering experiment that is designed to attack capitalism which is the economic engine behind freedom in an American lifestyle that puts a lot of pressure on the tyrants of the world to adopt. Those power-hungry tyrannical responses however have been to attempt to destroy America through the sponsoring of international alliances—primarily through the United Nations, and spread labor unions as a direct attack on Americas brand of capitalism. To understand why capitalism is so important to America the video below will position the argument wonderfully, and needs to be watched.
Communist Union Lover: Um, why does this have no discussion of how horrendously management f’cked up in this situation by giving themselves all between 60-300% raises when the company was already soaked with debt?
Rich Hoffman’s response: Because it is irrelevant. It is the ownership and managements job to operate the company, not the employees. Collective bargaining is a destructive enterprise. Think of it like everyone in a car trying to drive that car. Everyone wanting to turn in different directions. It doesn’t work, yet that is what collective bargaining does. It is the driver’s job to drive the car, and that is management. If the driver crashes and kills all in the car by their mistake that is very sad, but the responsibility for driving the car is the driver, not the passengers. If you think the management is bad and is going to wreck the car, then get out of it and find some other car to carry you around. That is the choice, and luxury of the employee. It may not pay the same, but it gives more freedom of movement than those in management who take all the hard risks.
Communist Union Lover: Ok, let’s get something out-of-the-way first: collective bargaining inevitably exists in the free market since we all pursue self-interest, and the employees of a company like Hostess share common individual self-interests. It doesn’t matter if collective bargaining is “destructive” because it is going to exist in the free market no matter what, minus a concerted effort by the government to destroy union labor. Public sector unions are a different issue. A large part of why Hostess failed is because they have not adapted to the marketplace and their staple products have lost popularity. That is not anyone’s fault but the better judgment of the American people. The company carried a lot of debt but whether or not debt or union contracts was the main issue is not really what’s important to me. Management was trying to cut Bakers’ pay by 8%, benefits by 32% at the same time that the CEO gave himself a 300% raise and nine other executives received 60-100% raises and they owed $160M to the employees’ pension. I want to know what kind of management team looks at their company, sees how terrible of a condition its in and undertakes such venal measures at the expense of the employees and then expects people to believe that the union destroyed the company. Anyways, apparently the employees would rather let management be the victims of their own decisions than continue with the company. The free market at work.
Rich Hoffman’s response: That’s a reasonable response. I would bet that the employees saw the writing on the wall and probably should have stepped out of the car at a stop sign–since the driver was apparently drunk. The driver too (management) knew the condition of the car was bad so they drank more to forget about it making the situation worse for everyone. The CEO and key management knew the bankruptcy portion would be painful and an insult to their leadership so they padded their pockets for the exit while the decision was still theirs. The employees who lost their jobs will find other jobs if they want them. But the CEO and management might have more difficult time. After all who wants to hire a management team from Hostess that ran the company into a tree?
It is sad that so many people in America have been infected like progressive zombies this hatred of capitalism. It is odd that the same mouths that utter such support against capitalism will spend their entire weekends watching American Football which is essentially a game of capitalism invented to reflect Americas economic engine compared to the game of soccer that the rest of the world plays. American Football is a game of capitalism whereas soccer is socialism. I say that primarily because the fundamental rules of the game dictate such suggestions. Football is all about gaining yards on the field of play and scoring eventually as an enterprising team moves the ball down the field. In American Football a defense becomes offsides when a player jumps into the neutral zone prior to the ball being snapped. In Soccer a player is offsides when an offensive forward or halfback gets behind a defensive fullback when the ball is lobbed down the field. In American Football this kind of outmaneuvering is considered great. In European Soccer, it is penalized. This is in essence what every labor union is trying to impose on every business, this idea of fairness that one might find in soccer where two teams might smack the ball around for two hours and only score 2 points. In American Football a good score would be in the 20’s or 30’s. That is the big difference between capitalism and socialism, one produces many more points but might be considered unfair for those not fast enough or strong enough to keep up with the various offenses in the games of life. Socialism—always leading to communism makes fairness the primary motivator, but leads to a boring game where the ball just bounces randomly all over the field until someone just so happens to get lucky and score.
The way to solve America’s economic problems is to ban all aspects of socialism in favor of pure capitalism. Just like in American football, more rules lead to fewer points. More rules lead to the game of soccer, which is what Europeans call—(football). They do not think the way Americans do, and their opinions on matters of goodness, fairness, and economic fortitude need to be cast aside for the good of the world, because like the union lover shown above—they do not have the intellectual understanding to help themselves, much less anyone else.
In modern America it is only the Tea Party who today is advocating the health of capitalism and for that they are called “terrorists” by supporters of progressive socialism. That makes it very easy to see who the enemies of America truly are. But the path to limited government and strong fiscal business markets is in more capitalism and less socialism—and it is the goal of the Tea Party to help re-teach Americans about capitalism as the labor unions have spent so many years teaching a hatred for the primary economic force that stands behind individual freedom—which is capitalism.
This is what we are fighting to keep!
In America we do everything better–BECAUSE of CAPITALISM
Much of the work I do here, and why I conduct it so fervently, is because the human race is at an impasse, and the quality for which we deal with that issue will determine our species fate. When I blast away at the progressive political platform it is not just to embrace the values I find valuable which might be summed up in every John Wayne movie ever made, or the tone of Walt Disney’s America shown gallantly in the television series Davy Crocket. What I love about America is captured in those artistic tributes to traditional value, because within those tabernacles of virtue is a formula for human prosperity. Progressives on the other hand are stuck in an old version of human fairness pursuit from a world that predates the Industrial Revolution and are functioning from a philosophy that is dangerous to themselves and everyone on this planet—the concept of collectivism. The reason why is in what is coming up rapidly for the human race—because each and every one of us must come to grips with it very soon—as in thirty years or less. That perilous impasse that is meeting us faster than we are meeting “it” is called THE FUTURE. Watch the below videos carefully and take notes.
With computing power being what it is now, and what it will be within 10 years, the mysteries of the human brain will be solved and the idea of what a “soul” is will become clear. Human being will gain the ability to UPLOAD their identities into other bodies which will prevent even accidental death by tragedy. In fact, sex, race, and even human ability such as strength, height, and physical attractiveness will all be options in the world of tomorrow. The idea that has been introduced to us all though avatar creation through social websites like Facebook and Twitter as well as the online gaming world are metaphorical instances of a reality that is coming to our daily lives. Online gaming such as seen on games like World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, and many others will become a reality for our own bodies—especially as the younger generation moves into their 40’s and 50’s. They will have no problem making these difficult psychological adjustments as they have been playing computer games their entire lives and have created thousands of online characters all representing key aspects to their human souls. The body those souls reside in do not matter as much as the essence of the spirit behind the soul.
Education of tomorrow will be as simple as uploading a new program into your home computer. A child could reasonably have uploaded onto their brains the entire wealth of knowledge of the human race in just a few decades from now completely eliminating the need for classrooms known so well in traditional education which has proven ineffective. 12 to 18 years of study in schools is unnecessary in the world of tomorrow as knowledge is simply an upload not created by neuron building through repetition as it is today, but data directly implanted onto neurons constructed upon an upload of the data. So holding on to the old, archaic formula that the government is driving is a foolish gesture that only holds society back unnecessarily.
There are literally millions of such difficult technical advances that are coming our way within the next hundred years so it is important that during these transitions government is reduced to a minimal amount, because these new technologies will be devastating in the hands of overreaching government dictators. It is best to eliminate these threats to the human race now rather than deal with them later when ousting their power will be much, much more difficult. But they will be ousted. Their days are numbered because I can say that the youth that grew up with online gaming will not put up with such restrictions. In video games many of the environments are best reflected by laissez-faire capitalism. It is this type of economy that is most prevalent in the online world because politicians have not learned how to loot off of it—but it’s too late. Too many people have had a taste of pure capitalism online, and will expect it in the years to come. Once they learn that the economy of the real world is caused by political tampering, they will become very angry—and active. Currently many citizens tune out of politics preferring fantasy evasion over grim reality so long as they have enough money to buy new video games and pay for their basic living needs. But if that is threatened, they will expect laissez-faire capitalism and won’t understand the politics of United Nation power grabs like Agenda 21 or the fairness merits of socialism. In the world of computer gaming no such fairness is appreciated since all computer users are equal—they can be as big and strong, fast or slow as they desire when they set up their avatars. What separates the good from the bad is effort and commitment something the most devout video gamer understands very well. It is only a matter of a few years that those kinds of options will be available to the masses in reality.
Some of the great quarterbacks of old from the game of Football is Doug Flutie and Joe Montana—both guys were about 5-10 weighting about 190 to 200 pounds. Just twenty years later most quarterbacks are 6-5 and weigh 240. Evolution is happening and technical advances will soon make quarterbacks that are 7 foot tall and weigh 300 pounds. These advances will occur because the game will demand it through competition. And if a player gets injured, instead of going on the IR for the rest of a season, he will simply upload himself into a new body that he has constructed to use as a backup while their primary body heals. Paralysis and handicaps will be a thing of the past. These things will happen whether or not we are ready for them, so it is our job to get ready for them, and to focus our philosophies and religious on ways to train our minds to contend with the adjustments. But the path of the political progressive is a doomed one. They are literally clamoring to outdated ideas that were put into motion a 100 years ago and are trying to hold society back politically to preserve them from the changes that are about to flood society with the dawn of a new age just as revolutionary as the Industrial Revolution.
Speaking for myself I never plan to retire. I don’t see myself living in a Florida condo taking 20 pills a day just to stay alive and watching the sun rise and set waiting to die. Rather 100 years from now I plan to still be active doing all types of projects pursing the ideas my mind craves to consume, and I plan to run over any political ideology that gets in the way of my doing it. I’m not in love with power or politics in any fashion. I just want to be left alone to live my life in the fashion I want to live it. And in the future it will only be easier—not harder to do such. The impediments of our age are manufactured and false made uselessly cumbersome to protect the empires of old and their out-dated thinking that runs counter to what’s coming. It does no good to pander to these types of people because it only delays the inevitable. The future is an exciting place but it will be radically different from the lives we live today. That is why it is important to preserve the American Constitution as the blueprint to a healthy society of tomorrow so that they power grabbers of corruption can inflict minimal damage in the days to come with archaic beliefs that are a century out-dated trying to hold back a future that is coming at us with a fury.
