If you have the stomach to view the National Debt Clock, you most assuredly are SOURED ON SPENDING.

Americans for Prosperity – Texas is bringing the Soured on Spending SUV to College Station.

Saturday – July 31, 2010

11:00-12:00 noon at Ace Hardware Store
11907 Wellborn Rd, College Station

12:00 noon-1:00pm at Wings N More
1803 Deacon Drive, College Station

These are come and go events!

Come by for a free glass of sweet but so-so sour lemonade and information on the cold, hard facts about out of control Congressional spending and what we can do to solve the problem of our national debt.

If you’d like to RSVP, comment on this post and/or do so on the Facebook Event Page. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you Saturday!

If you haven’t read The Fountainhead, it’s a must to understanding the danger individuality faces in today’s America. Without individuality, everyone loses. Only individuals possess abilities endowed by our Creator. If you haven’t seen The Fountainhead lately, I highly recommend it! Enjoy!

1789 engraving of the Boston Tea Party

I’ve been recommending that people add the great Texas conservative site Ramparts360 to their reading list. Well, New Revolution Now Director George Scaggs asked me to submit an article there, and today it’s posted!

Its title is Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Oligarchy. In light of the constantly bailing out businesses that are too big to fail, this article is a satirical look at the original Boston Tea Party in the view that it was oligarchy that must be protected. Like now.

Enjoy!

Now we need you!

This week they reached the 1,000,000th vote from citizens across the nation demanding reduction in government spending. Each week we are given five proposals to vote on and then the Republicans in the House vote on which proposal they will present in a bill for spending cuts.

If you have not signed up for the You Cut Program, please add your vote and voice to this call to reduce government spending.  Chet Edwards (D-TX17) so far has voted “No Cut” which translates to “continue wasteful spending.” Follow each of these links to see videos that accompany each idea and to see how members of Congress voted.

The videos highlight the stars of the conservative movement in Congress and give a glimpse of the activity we are NOT seeing on the nightly news.

1. Week One: Cut the New Non-Reformed Welfare Program ($2.5 Billion Savings)
2. Week Two: Eliminate Federal Employee Pay Raise ($30 Billion Savings) (this video is very illuminating as to House procedure in shutting off debate along with the mental capacity of  Congressmen)
3. Week Three: Reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ($30 Billion Savings)
4. Week Four: Sell Excess Federal Property ($15 Billion Savings)
5. Week Five: Prohibit Hiring New IRS Agents to Enforce Health Care Law ($15 Billion Savings)
6. Week Six: Taxpayer Subsidized Union Activities ($1.2 Billion Savings)
7. Week Seven: Prohibit Stimulus Funding for Promotional Signage (Tens of Millions)

Our power is our voice and our vote. Sign up for the You Cut Program and vote in the upcoming weeks until the election and end of the 112th Congress.

Be engaged and cast your vote at the You Cut Program each day of the continuing week. Spread the news to family and friends.

Every conservative needs to participate in The You Cut Program!

When speaking at The Americans For Prosperity – Texas  Defending The American Dream Summit in Austin, Herman Cain was a force of nature. He jokingly told the man holding the countdown time sign, that he was wasting his time, and the audience roared with approval.

One of the lessons Mr. Cain taught us was the method that he had coined to recognize Liberal/Progressive callers to his own talk radio show.

He calls this liberal-identification technique the S.I.N. Method:

S – Shift the blame

I – Ignore the facts

N – Name Call

One of the hottest conservative blogs is right here in Austin, Texas – Ramparts 360º, and I am proud to call Sybyl West and George Scaggs my friends. Both of these great conservatives received awards and recognition for their work. I highly recommend adding Ramparts 360º to your daily reads.

All this is to introduce these this exclusive video of their private interview with Herman Cain. Enjoy! Thanks for your great work, Sybyl and George.

This video from Republican Whip Eric Cantor’s  You Cut Program explains how much money is being spent on highway signs that herald a work zone paid for by last year’s stimulus bill and Putting Americans Back to Work. If you have traveled the highways of other states you may have seen these signs promoting a work zone where absolutely nothing is being done. These signs, because of their reflectivity characteristics, are extremely costly.

Paying for signs that advertise a work zone where no work is happening is not only frivolous spending, it is political propaganda.

Chet Edwards (D-TX17) voted – NO CUT on this item.

Howard Davidowitz: U.S. Economy "Is a Complete Disaster"

Watch this video. Some good ways to explain to those you know who don’t see this yet. Main topics:

• Obama as “Mr. Mass Destruction” (hmm…reminds me of something I’d heard before)
• Bad housing news continues to pour in
• Small Businesses and Unemployment
• The Future a Massive Struggle

Hat tip: Ramparts360.

live reporting the conference

If you’d like to peruse some of the great information being presented at this year’s Defending the American Dream Summit in Austin, just check out these links:

Compilation of all attendees’ live reports

The B/CS Tea Party’s reports

Don’t mind the “#txdad” characters; they’re just there to make these reports easy to search.

Enjoy!

If you have ever watched the videos of the big conferences like CPAC or Heritage Foundation and thought, I wish I could go to something like that, but were put off by the price or the travel expense, this is the event for you. Great names are on the roster as speakers and the break-out groups are incredible.

Here are some of the confirmed speakers:

• Samuel Wurzelbacher, AKA “Joe the Plumber”
• Governor Rick Perry
• Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams
• John Fund, Wall Street Journal
• Stephen Moore, Wall Street Journal
• Steven Crowder, Comedian & Fox News Commentator
• Craig James, ESPN Commentator & Former NFL Player
• The Honorable Ted Cruz, Former Texas Solicitor General
• Herman Cain, Radio Host & Fox News Commentator

Also, since Mark and I will be attending the event and then I have the opportunity to “house-sit” so that I can work on my book project, I will be canceling our usual first Thursday of the month Pot Luck Meeting.

If you’re coming, or would like to, please let us know!

“Oh please Bishop Edwards (D-TX17) please help me preserve my family business or our research funding. I pledge the rights of my children in perpetuity for your gracious attention today.”

We must stand as Men together for we shall surely hang alone if divided.

A week ago, Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) posted a video on his YouTube account that shows his floor speech in which he voices his concern with secret bills and the fact that the Senate passes over 90% of legislation without any debate, without amendment, and without a roll call vote.

Further, who is writing these bills that Congress doesn’t read before passing into law? (continue reading here.)

At the 2009 Defending the American Dream Summit. Maybe you'll get a chance to meet some people! Far be it from me to name drop (Michelle Malkin)!

You will hear from top conservatives from Texas and across the nation. You will be able to attend small groups to learn about issues or learn how to be a Citizen Watchdog yourself. But, most of all you will meet people with similar concerns for our country with whom you can share ideas, stories and strategies.

People that are excited about the Conservative Revolution taking place in our nation. People, just like you, that are working every day to renew our nation in the values that established it—the rights endowed in every individual of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Please plan on marking your calendars to attend the Americans For Prosperity – Texas Summit.

Plan to show your patriotism joining us in Austin the weekend of July 4th!  AFP’s premier grassroots event happens this July 2-3 in Austin, TX. This is a state-wide gathering of grassroots activists and conservative leaders for a weekend of training, motivation and networking to keep Texas Lone Star Strong!

• When: Friday July 2 – Saturday July 3, 2010
• Where: Renaissance Austin Hotel, 9721 Arboretum Blvd, Austin, TX 78759
• Speakers Include: Wall Street Journal columnists Steven Moore and John Fund, Gov. Rick Perry, Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, Comedian and PJTV Personality Steven Crowder, Conservative Radio Host Herman Cain, ESPN Commentator Craig James, the Honorable Ted Cruz, and many more!

Registration starts as low as $29 for students, $59 for general admission and $125 for families. Click Here to register today!

For more info, go to www.TXDream.org

Flags up today, please! Tragically, flying your flag has become a political statement. But since it has, please make it!

Today we honor those who have given their lives in service to our country. To the friends and family of all those who have done so, our thoughts and prayers are with you. And we stand beside you in gratitude to honor them.

If you have the opportunity to buy a poppy (or poppies) from the VFW, please do so. Here’s some background: The meaning of Memorial Day. Here’s some more at usmemorialday.org.

And a poem there which I remember hearing over the years:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

Here’s what Dr. Painter sent describing his background:

Boy Navigator in the Air Force, 1954-1958 active duty. Hardship Outpost at West Palm Beach, FL.
Ex-GI Student on Korean G.I. Bill, with wife and 2 kids, Univ. of Illinois, 1958-1962.
Radio Communication Engineer in NASA, Apollo Project, 1962-1964, Houston.
Radio Communication Engineer at Motorola-Scottsdale, AZ, 1965-1967.
Radio Research Engineer in NASA, Multipath Propagation, 1967-1974, Langley, Hampton, VA.
Professor of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Aerospace Engineering, TAMU, 1974-1998.
Retired, 1999-Date.

Dr. Painter labels those who temporarily control two branches of the U.S. government as “cultural aliens.” They are characterized as those who hate the 400-year-old traditional American culture.

He says we’re seeing a final push to complete the conversion of the U.S. into a Democratic-Socialist Welfare State, like the European Post-Christian West. And, he says this push must be turned around in the 2010 election. 2012 may be too late.

Dr. Painter will be presenting his paper at our next Pot Luck Dinner Meeting, June 3, 2010. If you’d like to RSVP, please comment here and/or on the Facebook Event Page. Thank you!

Benjamin Franklin's original 1751 political cartoon

People in the Tea Party Movement are individualists. If we are for something or against something, it is because our experience and principles have taught us to take that position. But, for now, we all face a common enemy that transcends our differences.

The HBO miniseries John Adams did a great job of dramatizing the serious struggles the representatives of the thirteen original colonies had in approving and signing the Declaration of Independence. The differences these colonies had with each other were not minor. But they eventually recognized that they faced a bigger issue, and the only way they could address it was to, for a time, put their other serious issues aside.

The Join, or Die. AGAIN. slogan will not get anyone to change positions or principles. It is to remind us that we must stand united against the left’s relentless attempts to change us from a constitutional republic. Unless we do Join, or Die. AGAIN, they will be successful.

As the 2010 elections get closer, I anticipate resposting various versions of this message. In Tx-17, this slogan could easily be modified to say Join, or Chet. AGAIN.

Elected officials and candidates for office from across the nation are signing this document as their pledge to us. I couldn’t find anything yet on Bill Flores’ website pledging to sign this pledge to adhere to these principles; Mr. Flores, here’s the link. Now is a great time to do so!

Here is a brief news interview (April 16, 2010) about the Contract from America featuring Matt Kibbe of  Freedom Works:

Here are the ten  Contract from America agenda items:

1. Protect the Constitution
2. Reject Cap & Trade
3. Demand a Balanced Budget
4. Enact Fundamental Tax Reform
5. Restore Fiscal Responsibility & Constitutionally Limited Government
6. End Runaway Government Spending
7. Defund, Repeal, & Replace Government-run Health Care
8. Pass an “All-of-the-Above” Energy Policy
9. Stop the Pork
10. Stop the Tax Hikes

At Thursday’s Potluck dinner, we had a great opportunity to hear from former congressional candidate and homeland security expert Dave McIntyre. Dave gave a great talk, centered on understanding why our political opponents think the way they do.

Doing so is crucial, because:

If you’re going to explain your side and argue your side, if you want your concepts to triumph, then you gotta attract more votes than they do. And to do that, you can’t bully people, you can’t just say, “Well, that’s stupid.” You gotta be able to articulate and explain why you believe what you believe, and how reality demonstrates it. Audio here

Here is the audio of the main talk. It’s just over an hour long but well worth the listen.

We look forward to the next meeting, which we’ll post on the Upcoming Events page as soon as it’s scheduled. Thank you Dr. McIntyre and everyone who came!

Pot Luck Dinner

May 20th, 2010 – Thursday

6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

302 Mobile, Bryan, TX

Speaker – Dave McIntyre – Homeland Security and Border Control

View Larger Map

YouCut – a first-of-its-kind project – is designed to defeat the permissive culture of runaway spending in Congress. It allows you to vote, both online and on your cell phone, on spending cuts that you want to see the House enact. Vote on this page today for your priorities and together we can begin to change Washington’s culture of spending into a culture of savings.

hat tip: A. Jordan

Now is the time to show your support of the Texas Social Studies Curriculum and we want it passed on May 21, 2010.
WHAT Can You Do?

1.  Sign the petition HERE

2. Send an Email To The SBOE – sboesupport@tea.state.tx.us

Let them know that you support the Social Studies Curriculum and want them to vote “Yes” on May 21, 2010.
3.  REGISTER TO TESTIFY — if you can be in Austin on May 19, 2010 and want to testify before the board details here:

http://austinreteaparty.com/SupportTexasEducation.aspx

Or email Heather Liggett of New Revolution Now to join their conference call of the procedure.  h.liggett512@yahoo.com

The Texas State Board of Education needs YOUR support to pass the Social Studies Standards so that American exceptionalism will be taught to our children.  Please do not delay in making your voice heard on this important issue.

Background

The House is scheduled to consider H.R. 5116, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 the week of May 10, 2010.  The bill would increase the level of authorized spending significantly above current law. The measure also expands and adds several new programs and activities beyond what is in current law.

In August 2007, Congress passed the America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69) in response to the concerns of the business and academic communities with regard to America’s global competitiveness.  The bill authorized appropriations targeting investments in science and technology grant programs, energy research, and engineering, science research, technology, and mathematics (STEM) education, from K-12 through post-secondary.

The authorized funding provided a three-year, $43.3 billion bill through FY2010, which placed the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy’s Office of Science on a 7-year “doubling path.”

Issues of Concern

Increased Spending: At a time of unsustainable government spending and large federal deficits, H.R. 5116 authorizes nearly $86 billion.  This amount is #22 Billion above the FY2010 base amount, and $8 billion above the original 10 year “doubling path.” These totals do not reflect the nearly $5 billion in additional funding provided in the stimulus bill.  The bill would also extend the authorization period from three years to five years, discouraging oversight and fiscal restraint.

Increased Government: The new spending would create at least six new programs, several that involve activities not associated with research and development, and others that are duplicative or unnecessary. The following are new and potentially duplicative programs:  The MEP Innovation Services Initiative, Bioscience Research Program, Innovation Prize Pilot Program, Department of Commerce Loan Guarantee Program, Department of Commerce “Regional Innovation Clusters” Program, and the Energy “Hubs” R&D program.

Policy Concerns: The original 2007 legislation passed Congress with bipartisan support; the consensus being that the priority of the bill was to focus on the important needs of basic research and development. This bill shifts those priorities, both through the implementation of new programs and the modification of existing programs, to focus on technology commercialization, which many members may consider to be corporate welfare.

Call Chet Edwards today and ask him to vote No! on the America Competes Bill – H.R. 5116

“Civility” per Obama

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Some would say it hardly matters at which school President Barack Obama gave his commencement address on May 1st. I agree. Most if not all American universities are top-heavy with every variety of left-wing and collectivist faculty, concentrated in the humanities and dedicated to lobotomizing their students and weeding out the recalcitrant. But while institutions like Harvard are noisily left, other major schools, like the University of Michigan, where Obama spoke, are quietly so. State universities turn out a higher proportion of indoctrinated serfs, obeisant automatons, and committed gauleiters than does Harvard, Yale or Princeton.

Was his speech “over-the-top”? Or an instance of underhanded dissimulation? Or evidence of plain ignorance? What did he mean by “civility,” which he mentioned three times? His speech has been analyzed in several columns. Luria Doan scores him on a dozen instances of hypocrisy and double-talk in “Obama Jumps the Shark In Michigan,” while Frederick Cosby also reports on Obama’s interview with Matt Lauer on NBC’s “Today.” Speaking openly about the Tea Party for the first time, he generously conceded that many of its participants are “legitimately concerned about the deficit,” but was dismissive of others.

So, there’s that segment of it (Tea Party movement) which I think is just dug in ideologically, and that strain has existed in American politics for a long time.

Since the American Revolution? Perhaps he wouldn’t have approved of the uncompromising “tone” of the original patriots. But apparently there’s nothing wrong with this socialist/pragmatist being “ideologically dug-in,” dedicated to “changing” America into a servile, European style nation.

His remarks on “civility” at Michigan were a sly overture to censorship, a trial balloon to see how his audience received it. The audience, with which he enjoyed a disturbing bonhomie, applauded and cheered his words without grasping what they were applauding and cheering.

Now, the second way to keep our democracy healthy is to maintain a basic level of civility in our public debate. (Applause.) These arguments we’re having over government and health care and war and taxes — these are serious arguments. They should arouse people’s passions, and it’s important for everybody to join in the debate, with all the vigor that the maintenance of a free people requires.

But we can’t expect to solve our problems if all we do is tear each other down. (Applause.) You can disagree with a certain policy without demonizing the person who espouses it. You can question somebody’s views and their judgment without questioning their motives or their patriotism. (Applause.) Throwing around phrases like “socialists” and “Soviet-style takeover” and “fascist” and “right-wing nut” — (laughter) — that may grab headlines, but it also has the effect of comparing our government, our political opponents, to authoritarian, even murderous regimes.

“Civility,” noted Obama, requires that opposing parties treat each other with “courtesy and respect.” Why? He gave no reasons. Note that he was brave enough to pronounce the terms “fascists,” “socialists,” and “Soviet-style takeover” — things he and Congress have been accused of being and doing — intending to obliterate their significance by pronouncing them and angling for the audience’s response — laughter — to help him wipe out that significance. The audience obliged.

All during the period leading up to the passage of ObamaCare, people’s passions were aroused. They were ignored. Everybody tried to join the “debate.” They were shut out in the name of “transparency.” Demonization is not a synonym for the accurate identification of ideas and motivations, which is what the Tea Parties have attempted to communicate over the noise of a hostile and demonizing press and the denigrating statements of Democratic politicians. One can’t question someone’s views or positions without delving into his motives and patriotism. (E.g., “Sir, if you know the idea is patently fraudulent, stupid, and costly, why are you for it?”) Note that three of the four instances of “demonization” are correct identifications of Obama’s demonstrable agenda; certainly not examples of Democratic name-calling.

The problem is that this kind of vilification and over-the-top rhetoric closes the door to the possibility of compromise. It undermines democratic deliberation. It prevents learning –- since, after all, why should we listen to a “fascist,” or a “socialist,” or a “right-wing nut,” or a left-wing nut”? (Laughter.)

The door was closed to compromise, except to anyone willing to compromise his principles to pass a bill that nationalized one-sixth of the American economy and declared that the lives and wealth of Americans are now federal property, to be managed and disposed of at a bureaucrat’s whim. “Democratic deliberation” is merely the triumph of the gang with the loudest mob and best press; the Founders knew that when they established a republic. And, we have been assaulted with the exhortations of fascists and socialists in and out of government for two years now. Note, also, how Obama lumps together “right-wing nuts” and “left-wing nuts,” as though no one could or should discern the difference between someone arguing for limited government and someone advocating unlimited government. This is vilification by equivocation.

He made one salient observation in the course of his address, and it may or may not be based on fact:

But what troubles me is when I hear people say that all of government is inherently bad. One of my favorite signs during the health care debate was somebody who said, “Keep Your Government Hands Out Of My Medicare” — (laughter) — which is essentially saying “Keep Government Out Of My Government-Run Health Care Plan.” (Laughter.)

Obama might have been more troubled were the Tea Parties dominated by anti-government anarchists, which they were not. And, I don’t know if such a sign was ever displayed at a Tea Party. If one was, it is telling that he should choose that one to mock, and not any other sign that was non-contradictory, such as “Keep the Change, I’ll keep My Freedom.” That the audience laughed at his punch line is also telling. It would have laughed, also, had he mocked Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty, or give me death!” Obama did not have a “tough room” that rejected his humor, but rather a crowd friendly to him and to his policies.

In his address, Obama called for the abandonment of “over-the-top rhetoric” in political debate. What debate? From his perspective, the expansion of federal power over virtually every aspect of American life, except, perhaps, in weaving AIDS doilies, is a foregone conclusion. He is of the same mentality as those global-warming believers who proclaimed that the “science is settled” and would the deniers please be so kind as to shut up? “Civility,” to Obama and his sycophants in Congress and the MSM, means that the looted victims should just concede defeat, go quietly away and submit to extortion and robbery without much protest. “Drop your written complaints in the customer suggestion box as you go out, please.”

The trump card hidden up Obama’s sleeve, behind his notion of “debate,” is force. If he loses the “debate,” out will come the mandate.

It would be an error to think that Obama does not understand the First Amendment, which reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

There are six key prohibitions in it one could easily argue he has violated himself, one after the other, or is capable of violating. It would be easy to dismiss his power-lust and desire to empower Congress beyond even the most specious argument for federal authority as simple misunderstanding or plain ignorance. Actions speak louder than words, if the actions complement the words. But there is an obvious disconnect between Obama’s words and his actions to date, a dichotomy which is consciously consistent with his desire to establish the state as the end-all and be-all of American life. He praises freedom, but enacts and sanctions slavery. It’s not a very subtle or skillful instance of rhetorical legerdemain, and more men should call him on it. He has proven that he is a compulsive liar.

What one must come to grips with is his deliberate orchestration of the usurpation of the Constitution with the connivance of a willing Congress. For years, the man taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago. At one time, he must have had the Constitution, relevant documents, and case histories memorized. He knows what he is doing. He intends to conquer.

His University of Michigan address is rich with warning. And what I regard as particularly frightening is how Obama was greeted by a member of the crowd. It was reminiscent of the relationship between evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson and her mobs of adorers.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you!
THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. (Laughter.)

In all fairness, I have observed the same phenomenon between Sarah Palin and her admirers.

Moreover, he would not have been able to get away with it had he any real opposition to his aggressive campaign against American freedom — that is, opposition by a party that took its name literally and seriously. But, he doesn’t expect much in the way of opposition from the Republicans. He noted only three instances in his address of Republican presidents who advocated government programs, when he could have cited multiple dozens of other instances of “bipartisan“ collaboration in the establishment of the welfare state and federal controls, (He failed to credit George W. Bush credit with signing into law the expansion of unfunded Medicare prescription drug entitlements.)

Picture Thomas Jefferson in a debate with Obama. The contrast could not be more stark. Posed with constitutional questions from a moderator, Jefferson, who confessed to not being much of a public speaker, still would have been able to answer eloquently, forcefully, credibly, and memorably without the aid of notes, rehearsed answers, or teleprompters. That was the caliber of man and mind that founded the United States.

Obama would have to draw on his meager intellectual resources and the necessity to embellish his answers with dissembling ambiguity to participate in the debate. He would stumble badly. All he would project in the way of certitude is his belief in the welfare state and the authority of government to impose and govern it.

If truth be said, it is a man of Jefferson’s caliber and stature he would like to see ostracized. Men of Jefferson’s mettle are anathemas to him and his allies. I do not think Harvard, Yale, or the University of Michigan are producing them, so he has little to worry about. At least, such men are not going into politics.

However, how has Obama violated the First Amendment? Let us count the ways.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion……

Are an unthinking advocacy of and an unreasoning belief in the welfare state symptoms of a religion? Can the absence of evidence of a supreme deity (whatever its name) be legitimately paired with the absence of evidence of the “truth” of the welfare state? Could welfare statism be treated as a state religion? Has it actually been established?

Benito Mussolini proclaimed: “Fascism is a religion. The twentieth century will be known in history as the century of Fascism.” Would Obama dare contradict Mussolini’s assertion that the “keystone of the Fascist doctrine is its conception of the State, of its essence, its functions, and its aims. For Fascism the State is absolute, individuals and groups relative.” How would he gloss over Mussolini’s dictum, “All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state,” in an attempt to make his words sound like a pæan to liberty and homage to the Founders?

Obama’s belief in the welfare state and government power has permitted him to caution, in words dulcified by his humor, but openly and with the approval of 92,000 listeners in the University of Michigan stadium, that criticism and opposition to his agenda are intolerable and that he could be persuaded to do something about it.

The belief in the “rightness” or “truth” of the welfare state is of the same species of belief as that about God or a supreme “intelligent designer.” It is simply a truism, never to be questioned, only accepted on faith as infallible and inspired. The “greatest good for the greatest number,” in a welfare state, however and historically, always proves to be the greatest misery for the greatest number. But, belief in the welfare state is “true faith.” Belief in it is reason- and evidence-proof. Both parties adhere to the belief. Believers simply dismiss reason and the evidence of its destructiveness. It is a genuine “article of faith,” infallible and beyond doubt. The alleged efficacy of the welfare state as a vehicle for “social justice” is a revealed supernatural verity.

Revealed by whom? By the works of Auguste Comte, Karl Marx, Lenin, and countless other humanitarians. Their opposite numbers are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Their vicars on earth can be represented by Stalin, Mao, the Khmer Rouge, and Hitler. What difference should it make to a man if he is slain with a Christian metropolitan, an Islamic scimitar, or by all 906 pages of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 dropped on his head? (That is the official page count.)

…or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….

Neither Obama nor Congress has yet prohibited the free exercise of anyone’s religion. If welfare statism can be called a religion, Obama and Congress (and their predecessors) have freely exercised it, and taxed all other denominations to support it. Better informed students of American history think we got away from this kind of thing with the Declaration of Independence.

…or abridging the freedom of speech….

The most recent abridgement of freedom of speech, the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Law, was dealt a serious blow by the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Citizens United case. But the Federal Election Commission has not been dissolved and it retains some power to decide who may and may not exercise speech during election campaigns.

…or of the press….

The traditional press, together with broadcast news, has not needed to be controlled or censored by the government. With few exceptions, and with a variety of passions, the MSM have for decades largely endorsed the federal government’s expansion of power. The new “press” is the Internet, and Cass Sunstein, head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and others in the Obama administration, are devising rationales and ways to control this new press, lately through the net neutrality scam. They’re still pondering how to suppress speech without calling it censorship.

…or the right of the people peaceably to assemble….

The people peaceably assembled, repeatedly, in countless cities and towns, for over a year. The only incidents of violence were when these assemblies were invaded or infiltrated by those with malicious intent, or with the Saul Alinskyite purpose of discrediting the assemblies. These incidents were instigated at the behest of organizations in alliance with the Democratic Party, which hired proxies to do what it could not do publicly.

…and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Countless emails, letters, faxes, literal petitions, and telephone voice messages from American citizens deluged members of Congress protesting the contents, aim, and scale of ObamaCare. To no avail. State lawsuits are now being filed against the federal government for Congressional over-reach and for violation of states’ rights. Doubtless some of these and private suits will wend their way to the Supreme Court. But, what good is the liberty to petition the government to redress grievances, when an authoritarian regime can ignore the petitions and dismiss the grievances as “racist,” “homophobic,” “Nazi,” or “anti-government”? Or simply because it doesn’t wish to recognize them?

To be sure, “civility” requires courtesy and the premise that issues can be discussed or debated without resorting to ad hominem and ridicule. It does not necessarily imply “respect” for an opponent’s views, but rather disagreement with the fundamentals of those views, and a willingness to attempt persuasion by way of refutation. It also requires an esteem, if not for his views, then at least for an opponent’s honesty, intelligence, and standing in his field.

“Disagreement ” with the positions and arguments of opponents of ObamaCare has been and continues to be delinquent in the actions and statements of Obama and the Democrats. In its place is an elitist, patronizing hubris that does not deign to recognize dissension.

Esteem in civility has not been accorded the Republicans, the Tea Party, and the American electorate at any step in the pursuit of Obama’s and Congress’s legislative agenda. Given all the lies, deceit, machinations, behind-closed-doors deal-making and horse-trading, bribery, billions in pork, scabrous arrogance, ridicule, derogatory statements, vilification, demonization, and brazen disregard for the Constitution and individual rights and a concomitant indifference to the consequences that have marked Obama’s administration and Congress’s behavior, Obama has no right to lecture anyone on the subject of “civility.”

Because “civility,” to him, is just another way to silence his opposition. He may speak loudly and distinctly; he expects the rest of us to mutter, sotto voce, “But, it‘s wrong!”