Timothy Lawton

     President Obama’s moves, and lack there of, on the world stage reveal a dangerous idealism. His policies also seem to be beneficial to despots and tyrants and antagonistic to those nations with which the U.S. shares cultural and political similarities. His only consistency has been to cater to our enemies and shun our allies. This has been evidenced on at least a number of occasions. Whether it be policy statements on Israel or his defense of the unconstitutional efforts of Honduran President, Manuel Zelaya, the President can be sure to support the wrong side. Time and again he chooses to take positions that only further the goals of those who stand against liberty and freedom. The President seems more like a wide eyed college student fresh out of a Howard Zinn lecture than he does the leader of the free world.

     The agreements reached today with Russia are a perfect example. Essentially Obama gave away the store without getting anything in return. He spoke of how he “trusts” the Russian leadership. Were these not the same leaders who ordered the invasion and virtual annexation of two of the provinces of the sovereign country of Georgia? Yet, Obama seems to think that this warrants “trust”. This is the same government that opposes all of our efforts to deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons as well. The President simply sat down with Putin and Medvedev and conceded to every demand that they had. No promises of stopping their opposition to our missle defense shield in eastern Europe. No word that they won’t use their vast natural gas and oil reserves to hold their neighbors hostage again this winter. No, Obama signed a nuclear arms reduction package and then spoke about how he dreams of a nuclear free world. Maybe he should listen to what the leaders of other nations are dreaming about. How about a world without an America or wiping Israel off the face of the map. Neville Chamberlain dreamed of a world without war too. That’s what led him to sign the Munich agreement with Adolf Hitler in 1938. “There will be peace in our time.”, said Prime Minister Chamberlain. Does Obama have access to the same history books that I do? If I’m correct 1939 to 1945 was a pretty rough time, maybe he hasn’t studied that yet.

     While North Korea threatens to lob missiles at Hawaii the President dreams of a better world. While North Korea prepares to increase the power and range of its missiles Obama waits around for an effete Security Council resolution from the United Nations. I have to admit that the North Korea issue is probably one of the most difficult to find answers to solve the problem. Yet, our glorious leader has done nothing to change the situation. Could he have not pressured Russia to do more to help? I mostly worry about the possibility that Kim Jong Il will try to go out with a bang as he approaches his end. This same feeling about Saddam Hussein was one of the reasons I supported going to war there in 2003. Pyongyang doesn’t need nukes to do damage, with artillery alone they could level the city of Seoul and attack the tens of thousands of troops that we have in South Korea.

     Meanwhile the President exhibits near schizophrenia when it comes to democracy. On one hand he does nothing to support the Iranian people who were denied free and fair elections and on the other he supports an emerging tyrant in Honduras who violated the orders of their Supreme Court and the will of his own political party. Is it possible that Obama liked the anti-american book given to him by Hugo Chavez so much that he’s willing to speak out on behalf of his dear friend Zelaya? He calls it “meddling” in Iran, but immediately jumps to the defense of a president who violated the laws of Honduras. Is Obama revealing his true self with these dichotomous actions?

     More importantly is the issue of nuclear proliferation with Iran. I’m glad that the people of Iran are standing up against the Mullahs, but Mousavi is certainly no friend to the U.S. or the west. He is just as hell bent on destroying Israel as Ahmadinejad. Yet, this is one of the gravest situations confronting the world. Israel WILL defend itself before the menace of a nuclear armed Iran comes to fruition. No amount of diplomacy, pressure, or anything else will disuade them from a pre-emptive strike on Iran. Surely anyone with the least bit of knowledge of global affairs knows what trouble that could lead to, but instead we have the Obama administration lecturing the Israelis on settlements. He doesn’t move to fight the proxy armies of Iran, Hezboullah and Hamas. He doesn’t support the right of Israel to exist free from rockets and the threat of annihilation. No, Mr. Obama talks to them of restraint and asks nothing of the terrorists. He speaks of a two state solution, but never says that the Palestinian demand of the right of return to Israel would destroy the nation as a Jewish state. Like all leftists Obama’s anti-semitism may not be overt it’s only a matter of practicality.

     I am greatly disturbed by the foreign policy of this President. From issue to issue all I see are detrimental moves to the security of this nation. I see quite the appropriate analogy to Jimmy Carter. President Obama is a committed internationalist. President Obama is a socialist. President Obama holds a world view that disdains the American past and is opposed to our present dominance in the world. He has done nothing to alter my opinions on these matters and everything he has done has only served to reinforce my ideas of him. Lord willing we will endure four years of this man and still live in a world where we can exist in relative safety and security.

     Are the Democrats and President Obama hell bent on destroying our economy? The actions that they have taken over the last five months demand that we ask this question. The list of bills already passed and ones that have been proposed that will wreak havoc on our economy is long and costly. From the “Stimulus” to the Cap and Trade Bill currently winding its way through Congress it is hard to believe that Obama and the Democrats aren’t purposely trying to destroy the United States of America. Along with Mr. Obama’s title, Commander in Chief, he should take a new one, Bankrupter in Chief.

     The same Democrats who railed against the irresponsible spending of the Bush administration are now willing to at least triple his worst debt. Including the war spending, which was not included in the ordinary accounting (which it SHOULD have been) Bush’s worst year was 560 billion dollars in federal debt. This year will probably top 2 TRILLION due to decreasing tax revenues. How can we sustain such profligate spending? No less when much of this debt is being paid for by printing money.  For those who are not familiar with economics this will lead to inflation. The Bush administration started this madness and Obama has taken it to another level. As a percent of Gross Domestic Product our federal deficit is now matching what we had during WWII. I know we are at war and in a financial crisis, but we are not even close to facing the challenges that we were facing in the largest war ever fought in the history of mankind.

     The seven hundred billion dollar spending bill, otherwise known as the stimulus package, is one of the greatest wastes of money the world has ever seen. Most of it goes to pork projects and theoretical plans to alter the basis of our economy. A lot of this is targeted at so called “green” energy. Yet, these technologies are extremely elusive and in most cases years from producing significant amounts of energy. Yes, we should be investing in these concepts, but we must maintain the current energy production we have until we can bridge over toward alternative sources. Solar energy only produces 1% of our current consumption. Add to that the fact that we import nearly 70% of our oil and the reality of replacing coal and oil today becomes absurd without destroying our economy. The Democrats either do not recognize this or don’t care. Obama seems to be a true believer in socialism and eco-fascism and this governs all his policies. This can be the only reason he supports Cap and Trade, or as I like to call it Cap and Slave.

     Cap and Slave is based on the concept that mankind is causing global climate change. This is unproven and the costs of trying to remedy a theoretical problem will be the collapse of the American economy. The cost of all fossil fuel produced energies will dramatically increase. This will in turn raise the prices of all goods. The lower and middle class will be hurt the most by this due to the percentage that energy costs comprise of the average person’s budget. Our country’s ability to compete with foreign competition is already hindered by a number of factors. Adding this monstrosity of a tax to our businesses will be the straw that breaks the back of this nation economically. Companies will look overseas to conduct operations in lands that do not have these self-imposed burdens placed on their corporate citizens. This will drive out the little that remains of our manufacturing base. And little is as dangerous as depending on an unfriendly world for means of production.

     On top of these cumbersome impediments to economic growth we also have the proposals for socializing medicine, a gargantuan highway bill, and the raising of taxes. This would be a prescription for a disaster in a healthy economy it is suicide in the global downturn in which we now find ourselves. How can these ideas be seen as anything other than a deliberate attack on the United States? This is an attempt to reduce America from the world’s leading power into just one of many nations. Nationalized health care is bankrupting the countries in which it is practiced. We need to make changes to our system, but government control will only increase costs and diminish treatment. 

     In addition to this the government meddling in the economy is creating a climate that is hostile toward investment and private enterprise. The Bush administration’s take over of large sectors of the financial system have permitted for an unprecedented power grab by Washington. Obama has only increased this disturbing trend. The takeover of GM and Chysler are another example of this insanity. We wasted billions of dollars in order to hold off their inevitable bankruptcies by about six months. The government has involved itself in day to day operations and also ignored the law when it came to investors. When people who are supposed to be first in line as creditors are ignored in favor of pacifying unions who will be willing to risk capital in American based companies. This arbitrary power of government is the same thing that chills investment in communist and socialist nations.

     So, I feel the title Bankrupter in Chief is most appropriate for President Obama. He and his Democratic cronies are doing everything possible to ensure that this nation will spiral into an economic depression. We may see a temporary improvement in the economy that will be followed by a sharp economic downturn. This is practically a certainty if these policies are not reversed as soon as possible. The printing of copious amounts of money will cause inflation and the massive deficits will drive up the cost of debt financed by government issued bonds. That in turn will drive up the cost of mortgage rates. We can not continue to spend like drunken sailors, though that is an insult to drunken sailors. Eventually the willingness of investors to finance our debt will cease to exist. Obama and the Democrats are pursuing policies that will destroy this nation. It is imperative, if the America we know is to survive, that this madness be stopped.

The purpose of this blog is to foster REAL debate. People from ALL ideologies are welcome. I only ask that we keep our discussions focused on the issues and use appropriate language. Hopefully we can have meaningful exchanges that allow us all to more completely understand the challenges that face us in our society and world.

Since this is my first post I’d like to take a general view of where we now find ourselves. The United States has just elected one of the most liberal politicians in our nation to the office of President. Thus far almost everything he has done has been the wrong thing to do. Outside of sending more troops to Afghanistan I can not think of a single act that I approve of by Barak Obama. His negligent spending, rescinding of Bush’s ban on Federal money going to embryonic stem cell research, and his egregious errors on the international stage are just a few of his blunders.

The debt we have accrued in just around two months of this administration is mind boggling. The same Democrats who bemoaned Bush’s spending and the cost of the war in Iraq have authorized TRILLIONS of dollars to be spent in a number of pork laden bills. I felt that the waste of the former administration was disturbing, but the waste that is occurring right now is maddening. If the average person understood how badly this spending spree will impact the America of the future they would be taking to the streets. In fact some already are. Witness the “Tea Parties” that are being held around the country to protest these insane fiscal policies.Instead of profligate government spending we would have been better off reducing tax rates on individuals and corporations. Our corporate rate of 35% is one of the highest in the industrialized world. Reducing that would incentivize corporations to maintain or open operations here in the states. Lowering individual rates would help all people who pay taxes and allow them to decide how to spend their money. I trust the people over politicians any day.

Mr. Obama’s ridiculous attempts to try to get the rest of the world to like us would be laughable if the consequences weren’t so serious. His changing of the name of the War on Terror to the Global Contingency Operation is Orwellian. The fact that Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security Secretary, has used the term “man caused disaster” instead of terrorism is truly scary. What objection could she possibly have to calling terrorism what it is? I guess being from Arizona she didn’t see New York City burn with her own eyes like I did. The President’s use of the term “arrogant” to describe America’s foreign policy over the last eight years is also a rewriting of history. It is the Europeans and the U.N. that abandoned the United States. They were more interested in keeping their cash cow the Oil for Food program than they were in stopping an “unnecessary war”.

On the homefront we have seen a number of questionable policies and ideas floated that have the potential to destroy this nation. One of the first is the cap and trade proposal. It has not come to fruition yet, and it may not because even many Democrats are opposed to the concept, but if this were ever passed into law it will put our economy into a tailspin. The U.S. is already at a disadvantage when it comes to keeping production in this country. If cap and trade were passed it would saddle the economy with another massive burden to our ability to compete. This is especially true when the emerging world, China, and India will not have the same degree of impediment placed on their nations. We need to improve our economic competitiveness not hinder it. No less when this entire idea is based on remedying unproven human induced climate change.

Lastly, I would like to look at the repeated statements by the teleprompter reader about how his energy policies will reduce our dependence on foreign oil. As nice as this may sound it is not reality. The only way we will make a significant reduction in our consumption of foreign oil is to produce more domestically or reduce our use of oil overall. Obama and his Party are opposed to the former and their proposals on the latter will only drive costs up for consumers. Yes, we need alternative sources of energy, but our economy is not presently equipped to meet our needs from renewable resources. We must have a transition source in between and that is only when we find alternative energy sources that will be able to power our society.

The liberals are now firmly in control. It is their policies that will now be put to the test. I hope that people will not be fooled by a temporary improvement in the economy. It takes years for policies to show their full effect. Our current crisis traces its origins to the Community Reinvestment Act of the Carter administration, but that is not its sole cause. On the world stage the blunders of Obama will be much quicker to bear their rotten fruit. His weakness is palpable and our enemies are salivating as they wait to take their first strike. The future being created by those in power in Washington D.C. today is a world we may not recognize and an America that has lost its strengths and ideals.