Jane Chastain : Politically Direct

There are certain words that are overused in Washington.  They have proven effective in covering a multitude of sins and soothing an angry electorate: These words include compromise, bipartisan, comprehensive, and deficit reduction.

The beauty of using these words in Washington is that there is no expectation by lawmakers that they be grounded in reality.  The “comprehensive immigration reform,” during the administration of George W. Bush was the code for amnesty.   Before that, we had back-to-back “five hundred billion dollar deficit reduction” bills offered by George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.   Both of these bills had nothing to do with reducing the deficit and everything to do with getting out from under the constrains of the current budget.  They were designed to increase, not decrease, federal spending.

Now we have this new word, “balanced,” trotted out by Barack Obama.  On Monday, he used it seven times in his brief address to the nation.    It is designed to make us feel comfortable about rasing the debt limit, again, because we have maxed out the national credit card. Read the rest of this entry »

“What would Jesus do?” is a popular question posed by Christians facing moral dilemmas.

However, the man using it over the weekend was none other than Charlie Rangel, the disgraced slick-talking New York congressman who was caught cheating on his taxes while chairing the committee responsible for the tax code.

No, Rangel hasn’t found religion but he isn’t above using it when it suits his purpose.    He’s been doing nonstop press interviews trying to prevent Republicans from following through on their promise to cut the size of our bloated government and get federal spending under control.    Read the rest of this entry »

The bumbling, vice president who was put in charge of:

• touting the administration’s record on transparency (his speeches are often off-limits to the press)
• ensuring that the $787-billion stimulus spending was done wisely (cost taxpayers $278,000 per job)
• holding fund raisers to help Democrat Party keep control of the House of Representatives (GOP now holds a 48-seat advantage)
• reaching a budget compromise last winter (veep got rolled, Bush tax cuts were extended)
• getting a solution to the debt ceiling crisis (don’t hold your breath)

finally won one! Read the rest of this entry »

On July 4, 1776, the American colonists boldly declared their independence from Great Britain.It is that act that we will celebrate over this long holiday weekend.  But, let us not kid ourselves.  We are no longer free.

Over the years, we have sold ourselves to China, Japan and a host of other foreign powers.
The noose is slowly being tightened.  As yet, we have not felt its sting but the rope has already been lowered over our heads and, make no mistake, it will not be long before we begin to feel its tight squeeze about our collective throats.

As of January, foreigners owned a whopping 47% of our debt of more than $14 trillion and the lion’s share of that foreign debt is held by the central bank of China, a communist power.

Our ancestors thought the British were tyrants. What are our  children likely to experience under the Chinese?

“Do it for the children,” has been the siren song used by liberal socialists in this country to take over more and more of our daily lives: education, after-school care, food, shelter and now health care.  Are there any essential needs that this president and the Democrats who control the Senate would leave to the individual?

The truth is we haven’t done it for the children we have done it to the children.   Unless, we throw off the noose of big government – and quickly — our children will be slaves to the Chinese.

But before we can balance our books and get rid of our debt, we must realize that many of our citizens already have become slaves to the government.  Granted, the life  these slaves live is not all that bad for now.  In fact, it is quite good when you consider they don’t have to work for their daily bread.   All they have to do is show up with their hands out.   There is no other requirement.

Until recently, most of our citizens preferred freedom and a shot at what was commonly referred to as the “American dream”  to handouts.  However, in these difficult times, the number of people who have become complacent as wards of the state has increased dramatically.

In hard times, charities used to care for the poor and help people get back on their feet.  Now, even the charities have their collective hands out.  It is so much easier to take a large government grant than it is to raise funds from individual contributors.  Yes, fund-raising is so  20th Century!

Of the true charities that do exist, few require accountability.  It’s way too much trouble.  Far too many of these charities are now part of the problem, heaping loads of food and other goodies on those who already are on the receiving end of a plethora of government handouts.  They ignore Biblical principles like the one in II Thessalonians 3:10 “If anyone will not work, neither let him eat.”

We would do well to revisit the words of our charter, the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal   that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,  that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Our founders deemed it an obvious truth that we are created by God as equal individuals and should be guaranteed (as later spelled out in the Constitution) equal treatment under the law.  It goes on to say that each of our citizens should have an equal opportunity to succeed which is defined as the “Pursuit of Happiness.”

The definition of success or the “Pursuit of Happiness” is different for everyone.  To some success is material.  To others it is fame or influence.  Still others believe it is a balance of work and simple pleasures.

The right to the  “Pursuit of Happiness,” the opportunity to succeed, carries with it the opportunity for failure.  Failure is not a permanent state from which one must be rescued by the government.  It is an opportunity for one to assess one’s mistakes and redouble one’s efforts in the next pursuit.

There was no attempt in our charter or the Constitution to make everything equal for everyone. That is the goal of socialism or communism, which has never turned out very well for those so governed.

It is time for us to decide if we want to completely bankrupt this country by burying our collective heads in the sand.   It is time for us to decide if we want to keep going down this road toward socialism, which ends in slavery.   It is time for another declaration of independence –  independence from big government.

The Memorial Day weekend traditionally has been the first getaway weekend of the summer.  A chance to kick back, take a road trip or hop or plane and to visit relatives.  Not this year.

It 2008, when the price of gasoline began to approach $4 a gallon, the Smiths complained that they had to take out a second mortgage on the old homestead just to fill up the family car.  In 2011, as gasoline prices topped $4 a gallon, the Smiths are upside down on their mortgage(s).  Dad is working two part-time jobs and still doesn’t make what he did at the full-time job he lost when his company was downsized.  There is no more wiggle room.  The Smiths, like millions of other Americans, will be staying home this Memorial Day weekend. Read the rest of this entry »