By
William L. Garvin
In 1968, a spate of zombie horror films was spawned by “Night of the Living Dead.” Given all the sequels, there are some things you just can’t kill. Given the unlimited state of technology today, there are some memories that you just can’t erase. This is especially horrifying when politicians don’t remember what they used to say and what they used to stand for. It is infinitely easier for bloggers and citizen journalists to research and debunk the errors and untruths that our representatives utter.
The internet should be an option for our voting populace to be knowledgeable about critical issues facing our country, but in the world of the low information voter, this option for knowledge is not exercised with any degree of regularity. For instance, “I can see Russia from my house” and “strategerie” were inventions of Tina Fey and Will Ferrell, not Sarah Palin or George Bush. But then, what could be expected from those who will sign petitions to authorize abortions in the fourth trimester, euthanasia for old people, banning pressure cookers as weapons of mass destruction, or immediately authorizing the government to confiscate all guns? These videos are easily viewable on YouTube or any late night comedy show.
It’s easy to find President Obama’s claiming to have already visited 57 states, butchering Gulf Coast geography, saying the Constitution is 20 centuries old, noting that Ho Chi Minh was inspired by our founding fathers, referring to Austrian as a language, putting summer events into the winter Olympics, etc., etc. Naturally, you’ll only find these on conservative websites and blogs because liberal media find conservative gaffes to be much more newsworthy. AP will even try to hide liberal gaffes. The media will go ballistic over a stupid statement by a conservative office seeker, but won’t even mention that the serial groper of a mayor in San Diego is a Democrat! Liberal media lets liberal icons “evolve” but stigmatizes conservative foes as “flip floppers.” But that’s all silliness in the one-sided world of gotcha journalism.
However, here’s a serious example of “evolution.” In March, 2006, Senator Barack H. Obama said “Over the past 5 years, our federal debt has increased by $3.5 trillion to $8.6 trillion. That is “trillion” with a “T.” That is money that we have borrowed from the Social Security trust fund, borrowed from China and Japan, borrowed from American taxpayers. And over the next 5 years, between now and 2011, the President’s budget will increase the debt by almost another $3.5 trillion…Every dollar we pay in interest is a dollar that is not going to investment in America’s priorities. Instead, interest payments are a significant tax on all Americans—a debt tax that Washington doesn’t want to talk about. If Washington were serious about honest tax relief in this country, we would see an effort to reduce our national debt by returning to responsible fiscal policies…Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘‘the buck stops here.’’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt limit.”
Senator Obama was right on target. Unfortunately, President Obama doesn’t know how to walk the talk. For the Senator, $3.5 trillion over five years constituted a “failure of leadership.” In less than five years under his leadership, he has increased the debt by $6.3 trillion to $16.9 trillion. He is on course to more than double the national debt incurred by all the presidents before him! He appears intent on continuing the “irrational exuberant” spending that characterized his first term. He will continue the same tax and spend economic policies that characterize his administration’s economic failures.
President Obama also proclaimed that “Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency.” Another promise broken. In President Bush’s final budget year, Freedom of Information Act requests were denied 47,395 times. His secrecy was roundly criticized by Candidate Obama. In the first year of the Obama administration, FOIA denials occurred 70,779 times, nearly a 50% increase. So we now have more spending, more debt, more secrecy, more IRS harassment, more NSA surveillance, more drones, more food stamps, more centralized planning. We have less trust, fewer jobs, higher costs, an undecipherable foreign policy, more scandals and cover-ups. Until we have a government that honors the Constitution, this suicidal death spiral will continue. The living debt is about to turn this nation into the living dead.
The internet should be an option for our voting populace to be knowledgeable about critical issues facing our country, but in the world of the low information voter, this option for knowledge is not exercised with any degree of regularity. For instance, “I can see Russia from my house” and “strategerie” were inventions of Tina Fey and Will Ferrell, not Sarah Palin or George Bush. But then, what could be expected from those who will sign petitions to authorize abortions in the fourth trimester, euthanasia for old people, banning pressure cookers as weapons of mass destruction, or immediately authorizing the government to confiscate all guns? These videos are easily viewable on YouTube or any late night comedy show.
It’s easy to find President Obama’s claiming to have already visited 57 states, butchering Gulf Coast geography, saying the Constitution is 20 centuries old, noting that Ho Chi Minh was inspired by our founding fathers, referring to Austrian as a language, putting summer events into the winter Olympics, etc., etc. Naturally, you’ll only find these on conservative websites and blogs because liberal media find conservative gaffes to be much more newsworthy. AP will even try to hide liberal gaffes. The media will go ballistic over a stupid statement by a conservative office seeker, but won’t even mention that the serial groper of a mayor in San Diego is a Democrat! Liberal media lets liberal icons “evolve” but stigmatizes conservative foes as “flip floppers.” But that’s all silliness in the one-sided world of gotcha journalism.
However, here’s a serious example of “evolution.” In March, 2006, Senator Barack H. Obama said “Over the past 5 years, our federal debt has increased by $3.5 trillion to $8.6 trillion. That is “trillion” with a “T.” That is money that we have borrowed from the Social Security trust fund, borrowed from China and Japan, borrowed from American taxpayers. And over the next 5 years, between now and 2011, the President’s budget will increase the debt by almost another $3.5 trillion…Every dollar we pay in interest is a dollar that is not going to investment in America’s priorities. Instead, interest payments are a significant tax on all Americans—a debt tax that Washington doesn’t want to talk about. If Washington were serious about honest tax relief in this country, we would see an effort to reduce our national debt by returning to responsible fiscal policies…Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘‘the buck stops here.’’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt limit.”
Senator Obama was right on target. Unfortunately, President Obama doesn’t know how to walk the talk. For the Senator, $3.5 trillion over five years constituted a “failure of leadership.” In less than five years under his leadership, he has increased the debt by $6.3 trillion to $16.9 trillion. He is on course to more than double the national debt incurred by all the presidents before him! He appears intent on continuing the “irrational exuberant” spending that characterized his first term. He will continue the same tax and spend economic policies that characterize his administration’s economic failures.
President Obama also proclaimed that “Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency.” Another promise broken. In President Bush’s final budget year, Freedom of Information Act requests were denied 47,395 times. His secrecy was roundly criticized by Candidate Obama. In the first year of the Obama administration, FOIA denials occurred 70,779 times, nearly a 50% increase. So we now have more spending, more debt, more secrecy, more IRS harassment, more NSA surveillance, more drones, more food stamps, more centralized planning. We have less trust, fewer jobs, higher costs, an undecipherable foreign policy, more scandals and cover-ups. Until we have a government that honors the Constitution, this suicidal death spiral will continue. The living debt is about to turn this nation into the living dead.
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