Column for April 14, 2011

There is an old saying, “Follow the money”. It does not take much to do so in the obvious financial and political shenanigans we are tolerating nowadays. We had people tarred and feathered, run out on a rail, and tossed tea into a harbor for less than we are putting up with today.

In looking at the federal budget battles, the budget is obviously about money. However, money is a means of gaining and keeping power. I grow tired of the argument that there is “non-discretionary spending” in the federal budget. That is, that there are entitlement spending obligations that can not be touched. Sorry, but if Congress set up a program with a law, Congress can change or abolish the law, thereby changing what is discretionary and what is not. This is why we read in the Declaration of Independence that people “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” and not by Congress. If Congress can grant the right, Congress can change that right. Then again, most of today’s actions and spending by Congress are prohibited by the Constitution.

I take issue with those who believe that we need the government to take care of people. I have no problem with helping others. I find it to be the Christian and just plain humanitarian thing to do. I do not, however, believe in making people into total dependents upon the government for their substance.

As I recall, we are supposed to rely upon our “Creator”, as referred to in the Declaration of Independence rather than government for our dependence. I take issue with those who state that it is only “Christian” to provide for people and that is why we render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, which is a euphemistic way of saying taxation.

A great example is Harry Reid, United States Senator from Nevada. In a 2001 interview he said, "I think it is much easier to be a good member of the Church and a Democrat than a good member of the Church and a Republican." He went on to say that the Democrats' emphasis on helping others, as opposed to what he considers Republican dogma to the contrary, is the reason he's a Democrat. Reid is a convert to Mormonism. Of course the vast majority of his stances run contrary to not only the doctrines of The Church of Latter Day Saints, but to Christianity.

I firmly believe that taking care of people is an obligation to be shouldered by the Church and families first and government last. The Church family has an obligation to look after people both because of Scriptural command as well as the precept of loving your neighbor as yourself. As I assured one old classmate from high school, “You will never have to eat dog food as long as you know me.” She was lamenting her fear that she would become a poverty stricken old lady who could only afford to eat Alpo.

Political gamesmanship happens at all levels. It is just more visible at the federal level because we are talking about trillions of dollars and a constant national media presence rather than billions or millions and state and regional media. Senior citizens are often the volleyball batted about by political gamers. Every action, however, has an equal and opposite reaction, according to Isaac Newton. Local governments and the federal government alike are struggling with the idea of Baby Boomers retiring. My own mother just retired about six weeks ago from her job of 35 years. I will be picking her up at the airport withing a 24 hour window of this column being on news stands and enjoying her newly found freedom.

As millions of such people are retiring, counties and towns will be struggling with revenue losses from the boomers taking advantage of property tax exemptions. Politicians used the promise of such exemptions in an effort to lure voters with money to gain power via votes. Now the bill for these exemptions is going to require payment (or lack thereof, as the case may be). It is all about power and money.

I have run across many such examples in the news this week, but I only have so much space in which to rant. Just remember, follow the money and associated power, and most of your questions about politics, whether they be in government, business, or even in churches will be answered.

Column for Nov. 20, 2008

Retreating is not a bad tactical move at times. I have been studying the American Revolutionary War, seeing the tactics used by various generals of both sides. There were a lot of tactical victories for the colonials seeking independence, though the traditional thought was that securing the field of battle at the end of a conflict was considered victory. In the economy of life, however, retreating can itself be victory.

I don't know if it is just a phase I am going through or what, but I have personally decided to retreat from many things and activities that have frustrated me, taken up time I felt was more valuably spent elsewhere, or just not really meaningful in the grand scheme of things. For a long time, I knew that there were changes coming in America. I knew the form in which they would come. I have even made some predictions i this very column. In today's time, I am watching them come to pass. The prophets of old did not always get to see their prognostications come to pass. Often, their prophecies would take hundreds or thousands of years to come to pass. One did not need to be a prophet, however, to see where this nation has been headed; just a casual student of history and a little bit of politics.

As much as I have desired to be more active in my community, I have decided to concentrate on those areas that have a more permanent or even eternal consequence. That does not mean that I have lost passion or opinion. I have just decided to retreat from other things like blogging, talk show hosting, memberships in ineffective organizations, etc. Sure, I still want to reach for the imaginary death ray or missile launch buttons on my car's dashboard when I see an Obama bumper sticker on the back of a car driven by some ignorant supporter. To be fair, I do have an adverse yet less visceral reaction to McCain bumper stickers.

Knowing that this nation is heading into a downward spiral, I have stayed the course by picking away bit by bit on the mountain of ideas. I pray that I have been effective to some degree. In the grand scheme of things, I wonder if it will make any difference.

I wrote one time about the quotation attributed to Alexander Tytler, a Scottish history professor from the 1700's. "A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship." We are seeing that very thing right before our eyes with massive federal and state spending, bailouts, entitlement programs, and the promise of government run health care.

Tytler also wrote that on average, the age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During the 200 year cycle, each great civilization always progressed through the following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith
2. From spiritual faith to great courage
3. From courage to liberty
4. From liberty to abundance
5. From abundance to complacency
6. From complacency to apathy
7. From apathy to dependence
8. From dependence back into bondage
I believe that we are in the apathy to dependence stage right now, and have been losing ground in that stage for the past 20 years or so.

What is it that yields a nation that looks to raid the public treasury for their own benefit? Power and money. The root of all sorts of evil, we are told by scripture, is the love of money. How then, can people who claim to support or uplift those same scriptures vote for someone such as Barack Obama? I have wondered that myself and seriously doubt the spiritual Moxie of anyone who did vote for him or anyone else of his ilk. I make no apologies for the position. I have had people question my staunch position as such in the past, though not necessarily dealing specifically with Obama. Usually I get an accusation, I reply with reasoned answers and citations for my faith or positions, and get either no or emotional responses. That is fine. I know where I stand and why.

With our slide towards apathy and dependence rather than concern and independence, I have been preparing for quite a while for the apostasy of not only spiritual values, but also of this nation's civil values upon which it was built.