Saturday, October 18, 2008

Manchester Union Leader: Obama's agenda: Forcing us to 'share'

"There is no question, Barack Obama the man is a new and exciting presence on the national stage. His plan for governing the country is not. It is nothing more than failed redistributionism wrapped in pretty new paper. That isn't change. It is a failure of imagination. And it is a betrayal of trust in the American people and of the ideals on which this great and free nation was founded."

While I agree with the Union Leader that Obama's plan is nothing more than regurgitated redistributionism re-packaged for the 21st century, I take issue with the newspaper's description of the Senator from Illinois. There is nothing exciting about failed socialist policies or a politician who lacks the moral courage to take a stand against his increasingly radicalized party.

I suspect the Union Leader meant to say that Senator Obama is "charismatic." And I wouldn't argue with that. But then, so was Adolph Hitler. A person may be charismatic when they engage in oration but remain dull intellectually. Ian Kershaw, writing about Hitler, explains that, "By any stretch of the imagination Hitler’s rise and fall was extraordinary. He was not an intellectual. He produced no great works of philosophy or art. He was not a military leader of genius or insight yet this petit-bourgeois Austrian came to power constitutionally in 1933 and remained in power for 12 years and by 1941 he commanded a European empire not seen since the days of Napoleon. He was also the instigator of a genocidal war of unparalleled scope and brutality."

Now obviously I'm not trying to compare Senator Obama with Adolph Hitler in the strict sense. I merely intend to show that an intellectually dull human being can rise to power. And in their rise to power, such people (while remaining charismatic in oration) offer agendas which really suffer from a "failure of imagination."

Senator Obama is indeed very charismatic. Sadly his economic agenda, which is anything but inspiring, is the real "bridge to nowhere." Let's hope Joe American realizes this before he takes a drive onto that bridge.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

And Obama's rise has also been extraordinary. As he himself has said - the utter improbability of it all.

The MSM continue with their negative attacks against the McCain/Palin ticket while refusing to examine Senator Obama's radical ideology and his fringe-left connections. As Rush Limbaugh noted, the same MSM camped out on Joe the plumber's front yard to question him and to try to discredit him. But after some two years, they have not investigated Obama's connections at all.

What a pathetic example of media bias. I don't trust the MSM anymore.

Anonymous said...

Frightening article at World Net Daily:
http://worldnetdaily.com/
index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78309

Anonymous said...

I was actually leaning toward Obama until I read your posts. Call me "scared straight" in Massachusetts. I hadn't realized just how radical his platform was. I don't know yet if I'm voting Republican, but I'm definitely not voting Democrat.

- Bob

Anonymous said...

Hot off the wire from the Associated Press: "CONCORD, N.C. –Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Saturday accused Democratic rival Barack Obama of favoring a socialistic economic approach by supporting tax cuts and tax credits McCain says would merely shuffle wealth rather than creating it...

At least in Europe, the Socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives," McCain said in a radio address. "They use real numbers and honest language. And we should demand equal candor from Sen. Obama. Raising taxes on some in order to give checks to others is not a tax cut; it's just another government giveaway."

Anonymous said...

Some Obamites prematurely started using textbooks to indoctrinate school children with the virtues of our new leader:

New 8th Grade English Textbooks Now Contain 15 Page Section on Barack Obama
October 14, 2008
http://www.againstobama.com/2008/10/new-8th-grade-english-textbooks-now-contain-15-page-section-on-barack-obama/

The public 'screwls' are not teaching! The far-liberal/leftists are indoctrinating eighth graders via textbook! The'Dear Leader', Barry Obama gets a 15 page spread in eighth grade 2008 school textbooks - no Bush, No Hillary, JUST OBAMA. This is beyond freaky, it's scary!

From Real Debate Wisconsin:

My 8th grade son is in an advanced English class at a public middle school here in Racine, Wisconsin. I just found out that my son's new (copyright 2008) Wisconsin - McDougal Littell Literature book has 15 pages covering Barack Obama.

I was shocked - No John McCain, no Hillary Clinton, no George Bush - Just Barack Obama. I'm wondering how it is that Obama's story gets put into an 8th grade literature book? It would be one thing, if it was just the tidbit about his boyhood days, but 15 pages, and they talk about his "Life of Service". Honestly, what has Obama really done to be included in this book? Not only that, but on page 847 there is a photo of Obama at the 2004 Democratic Convention with at least 8 Obama signs in the background! Front & center is an www.obama2004.com sign.

Now I understand that many teachers are liberals, but does the school have the right to shove Obama down our kid's throats? All the kids grouped together and read the story. After that, they discussed it… I guess it appears that Obama is planning ahead. If he doesn't get his coveted Presidency, Obama is going to make sure, that the younger generations know all about him, and his "life of service".

If you would like to see the 15 page story on Obama, it appears that you can order this book online. There is a note in the book that says, For more on Barack Obama, visit the Literature Center at www.ClassZone.com The book is: Wisconsin - 8th grade - McDougal Littell Literature - copyright 2008. The Obama story starts on page 830. I hope you will take the time to look at this book. I'm really angry about this - In fact, I would love to rip the pages right out of this book.

Anonymous said...

How Will History Judge Catholics in the 2008 Election?
by Deal W. Hudson
10/20/08
InsideCatholic.com

The Catholic Church is often accused of complicity in a variety of moral evils, including the institution of slavery, the rise of the Nazi Party, and even the horror of the Holocaust itself.

Historians differ on the degree of blame properly assigned to Catholics. But they all agree on one thing: These evils were the result of Church teaching being ignored by the laity and acquiescent bishops who should have said more and with a louder voice.

Will historians a century from now look back on this election as the moment when Catholics in America fully embraced another intrinsic moral evil -- abortion -- directly contradicting their professed beliefs? Will historians say that, after 40 years of strong papal leadership opposing "the culture of death," American Catholics chose to turn a deaf ear? That the U.S. bishops said too little, and with too soft a voice?

If Barack Obama is elected president on November 4 with substantial help from Catholic voters, the historical record will show precisely that. As Justin Cardinal Rigali has argued, Catholics will have voted to remove all legal restrictions to abortion, as well as taxpayer funding of abortion both here and abroad. Why? Because Barack Obama has promised, as his first presidential act, to sign the Freedom of Choice Act.

Just as many Catholics sold and owned slaves or remained silent during the Holocaust, Catholic voters may let loose the full force of another moral evil that contradicts the heart of their faith: "Human life is sacred -- all men must recognize that fact" (Paul VI, Humanae Vitae).

Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton has recently reminded us that the voice of the Church was heard in the midst of Nazi Germany. In 1941, Bishop Clemens von Galen -- the "Lion of Munster" -- gave a homily condemning Nazi officials for many crimes, including the murder of the mentally ill. "The right to life, to inviolability, to freedom is an indispensable part of any moral order of society."

Bishop von Galen's "Three Sermons in Defiance of the Nazis" are breathtaking for their courage in face of the likelihood of arrest and possible execution. (Shortly after these sermons, the Nazis placed the bishop under house arrest until the end of the war. The Lion of Munster died of an appendix infection in 1946 and was beatified on October 9, 2005, by Benedict XVI.)

There are bishops speaking out -- more than 40 and counting -- and their voices are growing louder. The loudest of all is Archbishop Charles Chaput who, in addition to his recent book, Render Unto Caesar: Serving Our Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Public Life, has issued two public statements, the latest titled "Little Murders."

Archbishop Chaput directly addresses the arguments made by Catholic supporters of Obama, including Prof. Doug Kmiec, who
have done a disservice to the Church, confused the natural priorities of Catholic social teaching, undermined the progress pro-lifers have made, and provided an excuse for some Catholics to abandon the abortion issue instead of fighting within their parties and at the ballot box to protect the unborn.

Archbishop Chaput further notes the relative lack of conviction among Catholics on the issue of abortion compared to the abortion lobby. "Apparently they believe in their convictions more than some of us Catholics believe in ours. And I think that's an indictment of an entire generation of American Catholic leadership."

He is exactly right -- and history will note this failure of Catholic leadership all the more if Obama is elected president. His policies will surely bring about an increase in the number of abortions, not the reduction he and his surrogates have promised.

Of course, what historians have to say is not the real issue; it's what history will be recording -- the loss of life and the impact of these "little murders" on those who commit them and on families. History will also record the failure of the largest Christian community in the United States to protect its most innocent and vulnerable, the unborn.

As Bishop von Galen reminded the Nazis sitting in his church on August 3, 1941:

"Thou shalt not kill!" This commandment from God, who alone has power to decide on life or death, was written in the hearts of men from the beginning, long before God gave the children of Israel on Mount Sinai his moral code in those lapidary sentences inscribed on stone which are recorded for us in Holy Scripture and which as children we learned by heart in the catechism.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deal W. Hudson is the director of InsideCatholic.com and the author of Onward, Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States (Simon and Schuster).

Paul Anthony Melanson said...

And speaking of Blessed Cardinal Clemens von Galen:

http://lasalettejourney.
blogspot.com/2007/02/charity-
or-rudeness.html

I'm glad Mr. Hudson now agrees with me that a priest or deacon may "name names" during Holy Mass when such serves the common good.

Paul Anthony Melanson said...

http://lasalettejourney.blogspot
.com/2007/02/fr-salvany-
deacon-tom-and-authentic.html

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