Too Pig To Fail

Can A Free Market Support a Democratic Socialist Society?

"Contrary to what the Obama Democrats claimed, the face-off in Congress did not mean that the nation’s politics were “dysfunctional”. The politics of the US were functioning precisely as the Founding Fathers intended: the legislature was acting as a check on the power of the executive."


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Open Thread: Can a Free Market Support a Democratic Socialist Society?
By NB Staff | August 08, 2011 | 10:26

In recent years, America has become increasingly socialized through a welfare state with entitlements seen as rights, mostly paid for by the rich through the redistribution of wealth. Such a state is seemingly the goal of President Obama and fellow liberal Democrats, who relish in the ideas of a more European-style centralized government.

Last week, many labeled the debt negotiations in Congress as a failure of the American political system, laying much of the blame on Tea Party Republicans who were reluctant to compromise on their principles. One of their main convictions was in cutting away unnecessary social programs, which have put an unsustainable burden on the economy. Do you think the US can continue to support socialized programs, or will socialization lead to the economic calamities currently seen across much of Europe? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Americans, who are generally more resilient in resisting state infringement than Europeans, could have the wherewithal to bounce back from a downgraded credit rating, especially with the fiscally conservative Tea Party fighting for them in Congress. As Janet Daley explains in the Telegraph,

Contrary to what the Obama Democrats claimed, the face-off in Congress did not mean that the nation’s politics were “dysfunctional”. The politics of the US were functioning precisely as the Founding Fathers intended: the legislature was acting as a check on the power of the executive.

The Tea Party faction within the Republican party was demanding that, before any further steps were taken, there must be a debate about where all this was going. They had seen the future toward which they were being pushed, and it didn’t work. They were convinced that the entitlement culture and benefits programmes which the Democrats were determined to preserve and extend with tax rises could only lead to the diminution of that robust economic freedom that had created the American historical miracle.
The experience of Europeans should be an example to Americans. As many European countries attempt to sustain social democratic programs, they are finding that a capitalist economy can no longer support an ever-expanding social welfare state.

At the same time, citizens have come to expect the entitlements they have paid into their whole lives. Some politicians are finally realizing that social programs cannot last forever, especially with the wealthy already being taxed at exorbitant levels.

The frustrations against the Tea Party were rooted in the thinking that the US can continue supporting the welfare and entitlement programs at ever increasing rates as it has for the past 50 years. Instead, the frustration should be targeted against those who accept the idea that the broken programs will be sustainable much farther into the future.

To what extent do you think a free market economy can support social programs like welfare and entitlements? Do you think the US can continue supporting such programs?



Read more: http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb-staff/2011/08/08/open-thread-can-free-market-support-democratic-socialist-society#ixzz1US9xWeVd

The Undefeated Looks Great

I Am Convinced You Have Used The funds Of The Bank..

Gentlemen, I have had men watching you for a long time and I am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country.

When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank.

You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter, I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin!

You are a den of vipers and thieves and we intend to rout you out and by the grace of the Eternal God, we WILL rout you out! *



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(*Took a little liberty here. The first quote ended at You are a den of vipers and thieves. But I also have found a quote that is the entire last sentence. I did put the two together and I wouldn't be at surprised if they were not said entirely in this way, but in the interest of full disclosure and accuracy, I add this comment.)

Lord, We Cry Out For Your Forgiveness

Full transcript of Perry’s remarks at the Response
By Jason Embry | Saturday, August 6, 2011, 12:23 PM

Gov. Rick Perry spoke to about 30,000 people today at the Response, the prayer-and-fasting gathering he initiated. Here is my transcript of his full remarks, except for the Bible passages he read:

“I’m so humbled to be in the midst of men and women who have answered the call to prayer and fast for our nation. I want to especially thank brother C.L. Jackson who’s standing here with me and a great man of God, and Alice Patterson. They both have been with me and praying with me and supported me through the years. And pastor, we stood in your church one day and we got on our knees in a moment of powerful prayer and I just thank you both for being here with me.

“Like all of you, I love this country deeply, thank you all for being here. Indeed the only thing that you love more is the living Christ. But our hearts do break for those who suffer, those afflicted by the loss of loved ones, the pain of addiction, the strife that they may find at home, those who have lost jobs, who have lost their homes, people who have lost hope. Those that cannot see the light in the midst of all the darkness. Because we know a loving God, we know the greatest darkness comes just before the morning. We know, we know a loving God and we know the darkness that he takes care of and wipes away. We know that there is hope for those who trust in him who fills our hearts with joy and gives us life. This God who knows our imperfections, he didn’t leave us to live a life in our sins, but paid the price for them. He who knew no sin, he gave his life in ransom for me. This loving, this loving and perfect God is also a personal God. He desires not a show of religion, but a deep connection with our innermost being.

“His agenda is not a political agenda, his agenda is a salvation agenda. Brother C.L., you and I have had this conversation. He’s a wise, wise God, and he’s wise enough to not be affiliated with any political party, or for that matter, he’s wise enough to not be affiliated with any man-made institutions. He’s calling all Americans, of all walks of life, to seek him, to return to him, to experience his love and his grace and his acceptance, experience a fulfilled life regardless of the circumstances. I want you to join with me as I share his word with you:”

(Perry then read from three Bible passages: Joel 2:12-17; Isaiah 40: 28-31; Ephesians 3:14-21.)

“As I finish I want to ask each of you to bow your head in prayer, or go to that position of prayer, and pray with us. Lord, you are the source of every good thing, you are our only hope. And we stand before you today in awe of your power, and in gratitude for your blessings, in humility for our sins. Father our heart breaks for America. We see discord at home. We see fear in the marketplace. We see angers in the halls of government. And as a nation we have forgotten who made us, who protects us, who blesses us, and for that we cry out for your forgiveness. We pray for our nation’s leaders, Lord, for parents, for pastors, for the generals, for governors, that you would inspire them in these difficult times. Father we pray for our president, that you would impart your wisdom upon him, that you would guard his family. We pray for our military and the families who love them. Father especially, for those special operators who lost their life yesterday in defending our freedoms. You call us to repent, Lord, and this day is our response. We give it all to you. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen. And amen.”

Eat Your Own Damned Peas, Obama

...The People Must Be Disarmed...

"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States."

–Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, 1787

Progressives' Socialist Vision The Demise of US?

Contributed by Joanie Redman

Why is it that the Tea Party and any American not affiliated with the TP considered fanatical for holding firm on the demand that Congress and the Executive branch stop reckless spending and an increase revenue (taxes) plan before allowing a Debt Ceiling increase?

What better time to go over our budget (but oh, we don’t even have one!) and review were spending is wasteful, duplicated and/or unnecessary? Why must those of us that hold to the tenets of small government, free market ethical principles, personal responsibility and fair taxation, be the only ones expected to compromise and give into a proposal from the Progressive left that do very little to support these values, but even more importantly, do little to improve the financial debacle that this country now faces? We should not have to and must not do so.

The US House of Representatives have produced two bills that were approved by that chamber and tabled by Harry Reid immediately upon reaching the Senate (key word is tabled). Cap, Cut and Balance Bill was reasonable and received the approval of the majority of the American people. Yet, once again the Progressive Democrats in the Senate feel compelled to ignore the will of the people, as they did with the Healthcare bill, to push their political agenda at the expense of the people and detriment of the USA . What is more disturbing is the fact that with the lack of true reporting from the Mainstream Media, people are under the false illusion that the Republicans are the ones blocking a solution to our financial crisis and our AAA standing in the world.

Americans must stop allowing the Progressive Democrats to point fingers at those that are striving to implement real and long lasting resolution to this ongoing problem. The conundrum is to figure out the impetus behind the Progressive Democrats' motive to ignore the will of the people and its aversion to doing what is needed to get on sure financial footing and people back to work.

One possible explanation may be an underlying belief on the part of Progressives that in order to fulfill their desire for a socialist/communist vision of America, the demise of our free market system and the death of our Democratic Republic must occur.

It is a scary scenario, but not out of the realm of possibility. If the US defaults and lose its standing, it will only add to an already disastrous situation, create fear, more instability and panic; all needed for big government to step in and take over.

If this is not the case, then we must demand Reid call the Cut, Cap and Balance bill to the floor and be voted on by the Senate to end this stalemate and do right by the America.

If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress

This is an excerpt from The American Patriot's Almanac, by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb, c. 2008, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, TN ISBN 978-1-59555-267-9.

August 3. "IF THERE IS NO STRUGGLE, THERE IS NO PROGRESS."

On August 3, 1857, in a speech at Canandaigua, New York, abolitionist Frederick Douglass reminded his fellow Americans of the costs of freedom. His words which foreshadowed the coming Civil War, are among the most famous of his many orations:

The general sentiment of mankind is that a man who will not fight for himself, when he has the means of doing so, is not worth being fought for by others, and this sentiment is just. For a man who does not value freedom for himself will never value it for others, or put himself to any inconvenience to gain it for others....

The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle. The conflict has been exciting, agitating, all-absorbing, and for the time being, putting all other tumults to silence. It must do this or it does nothing. If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.

This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.

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