Can Democracy Survive in America?

An interesting e-mail has been going around for about 7 years now, in which it discusses the Scottish Historian, Lord Woodhouselee Alexander Frasier Tytler's, research into the phases of a democracy. As I do with all chain e-mails, I ran it by the snopes webpage, and found that the research is real but the rest of the e-mail has inaccuracies related to the 2000 presidential election.

So I am going to post the accurate information, in hopes that it will spark some discussion.

Alexander Tytler concluded the following:

'A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a
permanent form of government.'

'A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover
they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.'

'From that moment on, the majority always vote 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.'

'The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning
of history, has been about 200 years'

'During those 200 years, those nations 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'

It is suggested that we are in the 6th phase of the Democracy, in the Apathy phase... and quickly moving into dependence.

Don't believe me?

Look at the Katrina refugees, unable to help themselves... some died due to lack of water, food, shelter... all the while they had the means to band together and help themselves.

Look at Hillary Care. This is a further plan to ensure dependence on the government for healthcare, rather than personal responsibility in ensuring self and family health while demanding a fair market price.

And look at Social Security. Originally planned as a protection against starvation, it has become a government controlled retirement plan, mandating savings, and leaving no room for personal savings. Hell, with taxes and inflation it is hard to save anything above and beyond my current costs of living! The perfect situation where one becomes dependent on the government structure and handouts.

Is the sun setting in the West? Is the great experiment coming to a close? What can we do to return us to phase 3/4?

Comment if you have some ideas... otherwise, check in later... I will surely be expanding on how to save America!

Heartbreak and Chaos in the Rocky Mountains

The Colorado Rockies... the fluke that brought hope and heart-ache to the Mile-High city... After an amazing streak to come from 4 1/2 games back in the wildcard, going 21 of 22 to make it to the world series, the Rockies fell to the baseball Juggernaut called the Boston Red Sox.

For better or for worse, I saw a football city become a baseball town overnight, and I loved every minute of it. Originally from Seattle, which is a baseball town indeed, it was odd to see a half filled stadium and fans that did not know how to cheer... enter the winning streak, and viola! It was like being in baseball heaven...

But baseball comes with high AND low points... and getting swept in the World Series is a very low point!

However, there is hope for the Rockies... the increased name recognition and appeal will bring more money to the ball club, and maybe, just maybe, we can afford some solid pitchers!

And now the chaos... Tom Tancredo has announced that he will not seek re-election in the Colorado House District CD-6... my district. This brings chaos because every state senator in the district is jockeying for this seat, which will leave a number of state senate seats up for grabs... This means that a number of state representatives are looking for that promotion and will surely put their names in the hat, leaving state representative seats in question.

As if 2008 wasn't going to be hectic enough, now Douglas county (and other south of Denver counties) are going to be scrambling to not lose any more seats to the liberal democrats.

Tom Tancredo has been a beacon of conservative hope in Colorado, and his absence will surely be felt nationally and locally.

My hope is that he throws his name in the hat for the Colorado Senate seat and challenges Bob Schaffer in the primaries. This could be the key to beating Mark Udall, and maintaining a 1-1 Democrat/Republican split in the Colorado US Senate. Or perhaps, due to his extended bid for the White House, he will hold off on a Senate run in an attempt to unseat liberal Ken Salazar in 2010. Either way, I say "RUN TOM RUN!"

The Implications of a Communist Moon Landing

It is a feat that only the United States has been able to accomplish: Landing a Man on the Moon.

Communist Russia failed, and since the great space race no one else has even tried.

In fact, the United States has been sitting in the Ivory Tower of space travel so long, that many fail to see the problem with China stepping ever so close to landing a communist on the moon.

When the US beat the Soviets to the moon, there was a lasting impression that only in a free society was man capable of achieving the impossible. Russia gave up their lunar ambitions, and within 20 years they ceased to exist as a communist led society.

Fast forward to the 21st century, where China is making all the appropriate advancements in their plan to permanently inhabit the moon. Today they will launch a lunar orbiter, proving that they have the capability to at least get to and orbit the moon. And with their space program cloaked in secrecy, they could be just a few years away from planting a flag of an oppressed people on the surface of the moon.

Remember, the US left a plaque on the moon which stated that our journey was for all men... the significance of this plaque was that it represented the heights to which free men could travel... and now that we are sitting idly by and watching, let alone providing help (Thanks Bill Clinton - Ass), and who knows what this could mean.

In fact, working on the current US moon program myself, I take issue that we are slipping schedule and focusing so much time and energy on the ISS. We are unloading a significant amount of time and energy on a way station that serves little to open the expanses of space to the next generation of explorers. I compare it to Columbus rowing a dingy around the harbor instead of sailing across the Atlantic.

When the US fails to dream big, we fail... period.

This is a case where the ambition of an oppressive entity is greater than the drive for being the best from a free society.

So perhaps this means that the America that existed just 50 years ago no longer exists. Are we no longer up to the challenge of proving the superiority of a Free Society? Are we even still a free society, or are we bogged down with suspicion and corruption... the legacy of freedom?

Think long and hard about what we are giving up in allowing China to have dominance in the new Moon Race... leave a comment... and perhaps, if you think the implications are as I have stated, give your government representatives a call and tell them to Make Space a Priority!

Stupid Is as Stupid Does

Barack Obama, in a continued disregard for American values, now chooses to disrespect the National Anthem. A month ago, Obama was caught on film to not properly salute during the National Anthem...

During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. — United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10, Sec. 171

Of course it was just days after this event that Barack Obama stated that he refused to wear a flag lapel pin during his campaign.

So I have to ask myself, "What does this guy have against America and our values?"

He seems to have a complete disregard for America, and in my opinion, his lack of respect for American patriotic rites is reason enough to not support him as the leader of this sovereign nation!

California is Burning...Santa Ana's Destroy SoCal

Images of uncontrollable flames tell a story of a Southern California that is in the fight for it's life, one it will long remember.

Over a half million people have been evacuated, the Governor has declared a state of emergency, and National Guard troops from all over the nation are on their way to help stop the uncontrollable fires.

With the loss of property, homes, and the enormous cost that is going to go into dealing with this natural disaster, one cannot help but wonder if the terrorist minds are paying attention. Imagine the satisfaction on their part of starting small fires, and letting Santa Ana take care of the rest?!? And one cannot help but wonder how a tragedy of this caliber can be avoided in the future. With the inability to protect against natural occurences, it is questionable that such a human attack could be avoided either.

As we sit and watch in horror as California is helplessly burned to the ground by the wrath of God, it would behoove us all to say a prayer for the residents who are victims of the fire, as well as for the cities choked by the smoke.

God Bless

Louisiana Tired of Do-Nothing Democrats?

The nation's youngest governor in history, and the first non-white governor of Louisiana since Reconstruction is 36 year old Republican, Bobby Jindal. Jindal received 53% of the vote in a race where 11 candidates duked it out for control of the post-Katrina state.

This event is significant for so many reasons... the biggest is that the people of the state are so tired of their local Democratic leadership's inability to solve the problems of the state after the Katrina disaster that they are overwhelmingly ready for party change.

How overwhelming and what is the significance? Jindal received 625,000 votes (53%), where the next closest candidate received 209,000 (18%). The remaining field (other than Jindal) split the votes between multiple Democrats and Independents, but no one clear alternative to Jindal and his leadership came about.

We are seeing the same frustration with the members of the US House and Senate, as their numbers remain in the low teens.

And with the 2008 presidential race on the front of everyone's minds, we have to look into message, content, and most importantly their ability for action.

With Democrats and Independents upset about the Pelosi/Reid do-nothing approach to leading the US Congress, and the results rippling into Democratic strong states like Louisiana, could we be looking for a Republican upset in 2008?

I say yes. The Democrats laid all their cards on the table in 2006. The US has taken this year to realise that Jokers are not wild, and that a pair of 4's does not beat a pair of Aces. I am not saying that Republican leadership is without fault, but the loss in 2006 has been cause for introspection, and in doing so the party is beginning to see the importance of being strong conservative action takers.

The outcome of the election in Louisiana should be closely observed... It may be foretelling of the attitude towards Democratic talking heads, and may be an indicator of how the 2008 election will go!

As always, comments are appreciated!

God Bless.

The Republican Presidential Field Shrinks Again

Firstly, I must admit that I was wrong in my latest prediction of who would stay, who would go... of course, that was a month ago and I predicted the next to go would be Duncan Hunter...

Well, FoxNews is reporting that Sam Brownback is exiting the race.

He has not stated an endorsement of any candidate, but we may see an endorsement when he officially exits the race tomorrow.

So the Candidate field is now as follows...

Rudy, Mitt, Thompson, McCain, Huckabee, Tancredo, Paul, Hunter.

My predictions for the shrinking field are as follows:

Tancredo will withdraw by the end of the month, giving him one more debate (this Sunday) to make his case on immigration. Then it is time for him to come home (to my district) and consider running for re-election into the House.

Though Hunter has little support, and little funds, it seems that he is willing to stick it out a little longer... perhaps until the early Primaries.

Ron Paul will continue his crusade through the primaries. Why do I think this to be true? Because he has no intention of running as a third party candidate... so this is his shot for the spotlight.

The other five will be the core group of vote-getters, and will continue to jockey for position.

Make sure to tune in on Sunday to see another great debate (i hope)

The Importance of Gun Ownership

When I mention the word TYRANNY, what does it make you think of? Perhaps you are reminded of the American Revolution, fighting against King George... or perhaps you think of our current involvement in Iraq, in which we are fighting the totalitarianism of islamofascism.

But what if I told you that our very own government is guilty of tyrant-esque behaviors?

Consider New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Law abiding gun-owners, lawfully carrying personal protection were subdued and had their fire arms unlawfully confiscated. That is right... if you choose to defend yourself, the government is guilty of taking away your endowed right of liberty.

And it is bound to happen nation wide unless we send a clear message to our elected representatives that gun ownership is not about hunting or sport, but about maintaining liberty!

Consider that the American Revolution could not have happened without an armed citizenry... In fact the Continental Army was made up of farmers using their own arms.

And consider that the founding documents were written with this very fact in mind, that a well armed citizenry is the only defense against tyranny, protecting our liberties, and defending ourselves against our own government!

And now consider the following two videos:





With conservatives who think like this, who needs liberals?

Implementing a nationwide gun ban, or gun confiscation is nothing less than a Casus belli for Revolution against a Tyrannical US Government. What is the last straw? This is... taking away my RIGHT to liberty... one of the three rights endowed by my Creator.

I hold the Declaration of Independence above the Constitution, because the Declaration of Independence establishes the rule of law as the continuation of our rights to Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness... The Constitution merely sets up a government to protect the rule of law and outlines how the government can protect, but not infringe on our liberties!

We are now in a place where we fear our government... wire taps, spying internally, creation of the North American Union, and now the confiscation of our last means with which to protect ourselves.

I have five words for you:

FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS

How Free Men Squandered a Free Society

This blog was inspired by a BBC documentary call The Century of the Self

As a modern day conservative, it is expected of you to embrace the modern model of progressive capitalism. The Republican Party is clearly the party of business, and operates under the banner of a "free market society".

In fact, I am currently going through training on the free market system and the fundamentals of the conservative principles, called the Leadership Program of the Rockies. An excellent training course for future leaders, indeed.

However, I find myself observing a conflict with the fundamental founding principles and the concept of modern capitalism. Let me explain...

A free market, in it's simplest form, works when one person has a need and this person is able to freely choose how to fill the need... without government involvement. Where we are with the current form of progressive capitalism, is in an entanglement of government over-regulation of business and industry, and thus an alliance/power-share of government and business. The more government involvement in business, the less of a truly free market society we have.

As well, the founding principles discuss an endowment of natural rights, allowing the pursuit of happiness. Understanding that the original intent of the word "happiness" was property, one has to question why the word was changed to a broader term "happiness" and question if it was because the founders understood that property does not equal happiness. And I would go further to argue that today's society has confused capitalism with gluttony and greed, and as such the economy is crumbling under the hammer of credit and over-consumption. Therefore the pursuit of happiness is being hampered by the exit ramp of over-consumption and over-credit.

This is where the above video comes into play. The video discusses the surge of emotional marketing, and how it started a consumer nation in the US. It is a very interesting video, and to fully understand the state of the nation, and of the world, you should take a moment and watch it.

Now that you understand the original intent of the founding of this society, and understand the new consumer nation that has replaced the free society, you may understand my next argument.

I am surmising that the combination of government over-regulation of the businesses and the consumer crazed populous has created a situation in which we have freely offered up our fundamental freedoms in exchange for goods.

There is a reason that the approval rating of our congress, the freely elected "representatives", is in the 9% - 11% area. The reason is that the citizens of this great nation are being sold "success of the society" by economic and consumer reports. And the leadership of the country uses the same consumer based mindset to sell the people a bad product... themselves.

We have become trained to react to our emotional instincts... and marketing continues to reinforce these emotional responses.

And politicians have learned the same techniques. This is why you hear "vote for me, I can win", instead of "vote for me, I am a man of principles"... And thus we are left with the "lesser of two evils" vote. In doing so, we are continually perpetuating a strengthening ruling class who's ultimate goal is to, by keeping the people subdued with consumerism, change the face of the free society into a government protectorate, government dictatorship that intends to have ultimate control over the world citizenry.

I am not a conspiracy theorist... consider the following source: Video on Globalism.

Ask yourself... how free are you? Is this freedom perceived, or does it exist?

As a conservative, should you support a free market society, or a consumer nation masked as a free market society?

And, does Capitalism have borders? More importantly, SHOULD capitalism have borders? For instance, how free of a market is it if I want to enter the textile industry when all other textiles are produced in nations where free market is a pipe dream (China, Pakistan, Indonesia).

So to answer my heading, Free Men have Squandered a Free Society by submitting to their baser emotional instincts, and have submitted that as long as they have items to consume, and thus appear happy/content, the government can continue to increase in size and reach, reducing our liberties. By keeping the people Fat, Dumb, and "Happy", the leaders have succeeded in squandering our society around us.

Can Iraq Exist Without the US?

Reuters has published a new article discussing Turkey's increased drive for invading Northern Iraq, the most stable region of the country. Their main reason is because of a the US commented on an incident which happened in 1915. There is always the pesky business of controlling the Kurdish regions in South Turkey by controling the Kurdish north in Iraq.

So with Sunni Turkey chomping at the bit to invade from the north, and Shiite Iran already making incursions into the country from the East, the question is this: Can Iraq continue to exist without a strong US presence?

Considering that the central government will never have the complete control over the country as Sadaam did, and that national pride is lower on the totem than religious loyalty, it would seem that Iraq does not have a chance at survival.

Assuming that the US leaves, and the country is left without a national army able to defend it's borders, then the most likely course of events (as I proposed earlier this year) are that Turkey succeeds in moving into the north for "security" reasons against the Kurds - as they are already attempting to do, Iran moves into the Shiite strong holds of the South-East, and eventually takes the southestern region. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will have to militarize their borders for fear of a Shiite incursion into the Sunni lands, and another attempt at taking the oil fields of the region. The eastern half of the country is desert, and therefore would be claimed by one or the other invading countries...

Which leaves the security of the region up to the Turkish/Iranian relations... which are shaky at best.

So how is the country of Iraq going to be able to fight off invaders? There will be much resistance in the north, as the Kurds do not want to be ruled by the Turks OR the Iranians, but would rather form Kurdistan. There would be little resistance in the south, as the Shiites would most likely find comfort in the safety that Iran could provide against Sunni Al-Quaeda attacks. Iraq will be unable to sustain itself or defend itself without the protection from the US.

And the rest is history.

Find Your Perfect Candidate

I was forwarded a link to an USA Today "game" in which you are matched up with the candidate who most closely agrees with you on certain issues.

The way it works is that you answer a series of questions, then rate the level of importance. The level of importance is necessary because the way the answers are presented do not always seem to give you EVERY option available, rather a mix of certain quotes by the candidates.

My results were pretty predictable, though I figured that Bill Richardson would have been higher due to his stance on renewable energy... but it looks like USA Today is not giving him credit for renewable energy, instead they are sticking him solely with "carbon caps". So there are some flaws, but otherwise the results are pretty close.

My results are as follows. Click the image to take the test for yourself, and leave a comment on who your top three were!

(This poll is not showing an endorsement of any one candidate, rather the results of a poll showing issues alignment)

Republican Candidates Debate... The winner is...

Duncan Hunter, In my humble opinion. Duncan seems to have shown up to this debate with an aire of confidence, strong leadership, and excellent communication. After one of the last debates I had predicted that he would be the next to drop from the stage... however, he was surely digging his heels in tonight and sending a strong message...

What was the message? It was that 21% of Republicans STILL don't know who their candidate is... so it is still anyone's game!

The rest of the debate was interesting.

Ron Paul was given his "rant" time, and continues to get "boos" from the crowd. The thing that I love best about Paul is his staunch reconstructionist stance! If we had more conservative leaders who were more concerned with the constitution than the front page of the WSJ then we may have a Federal Government that is more in line with the visions of the Founding Fathers!

Sam Brownback made an interesting statement regarding the biggest problem with our future economy... when everyone else is concerned about China and trade deficits, Sam recognizes that the biggest problem is an uneducated workforce, with no work ethics... the cause, the destruction of the home.

Tom Tancredo did what he does best... and that is talk about illegal immigration. He is the strongest in the debates when he comes right out and lets everyone know that regardless of the question you are going to ask, he is going to talk about illegal immigration.

Fred Thompson made his debate debut... and it was about what I expected. The first hour seemed pretty scripted and patchy. He seemed to be trying to recall his talking points from his debate prep. I did not hear anything of substance from the Senator, which is seemingly his forte... speak, but say nothing... I think that he has a lot to prove in the coming debates... otherwise no one (still) is going to know where he stands on the issues.

Romney seemed more polished than usual, but seems to have begun attacking both Rudy AND Hillary. Breaking Reagan's 11th commandment can prove to be a negative to the campaign. Though when you are bashing liberals, it is hard to draw the line for RINOs.

Rudy continues to show that his policies will be a continuation of Bush policies. For anyone who understands that Bush has become a polarizing figure for the Republicans, it is curious to me why a candidate will almost come out and say that they are for the continuation and expansion of Bush policies. Rudy is also coming down harder and harder on Iran, and had some interesting things to say about the region.

John McCain, who enjoyed a bump in the polls following a HUGE win in the last debate will not see such an increase in the numbers this time. I was sad to see that John McCain changed up some of his lines... it was funny to be able to predict his debate answers after 5 debates. One thing that always concerns me about picking a president is picking a healthy president. McCain, being the eldest candidate, had several occasions in which he was unable to hear the questions.

And Mike Huckabee... Mike may have been given the least amount of airtime of all the candidates. Of course this is nothing new, as the spotlight usually rests on the "front-runners", however as of late the lines are beginning to blur for who is ACTUALLY a top tier candidate. In fact a poll was just released that shows Huckabee within 2% points of Romney nationwide amongst Republican voters. Huckabee is third in Iowa behind Romney and Thompson. And yet the early line of who is considered "top tier" is still in place.

Forgive my rant.

Mike Huckabee did another great job in answering the debate questions. As always he was an eloquent speaker, and let his conservative colors fly. He finally got some serious time to discuss the Fair Tax, which no other Republican candidate fully embraces (besides Hunter). I am a huge advocate for the Fair Tax, and I love listening to the candidates who truly understand the importance of REALLY FIXING our tax system.

The Republican Party was founded on radical ideas... and it is only on radical ideas that we are going to survive.

The Fair Tax is the ONLY way to save the American economy for the lower and middle class, and help ensure that the economic ladder is not missing the middle class rungs.

As well, it was great to hear candidates discuss Energy Independence... The best ideas, again, are the most radical. We need fast change, sweeping reform, and a new understanding of energy. Free markets be damned... This is one place where I would agree with a candidate like Bill Richardson (I know, I know)... we need drastic changes... mandatory market shifts to renewable resources. We live in a time where oil is not the only medium, yet oil has become so powerful that it demands that it is the currency of the world... Remember, Silver used to be the US standard before Gold... but alas, a radical change... and we are all the better for it!

In all, the debate did a good job of touching domestic issues. Still no discussion about education, and not the right kind of discussion about health. The audio was poor quality, and the moderation was almost as bad as Wolf Blitzer's...

But it gave us another data point...

God Bless.

Back from a much needed vacation

Sometimes it is essential to get away! Especially when my little sister announces that she is getting married! So a week in Maui has kept me from blogging, and from updating everyone on my other site.

For those of you who have asked to be invited to the "invite only" blog of Colorado 4 Huckabee, know that it is no longer an active site being operated by me. I have had one offer to transfer, so perhaps that will be taken care of sooner rather than later. The reason for the shut-down was not because of my lack of support for Mike Huckabee, but rather a new position to which I was elected - Secretary of the Douglas County GOP, where the bylaws restrict me, as an officer, of endorsing or supporting any candidates before the primaries. Once the blog is transferred, it will be public again, but run by another source.

As far as other political events... like I said, I took a well needed vacation, where I insisted that I remove myself from political news for the entire week. It looks like I really didnt miss anything...The 3rd qtr FEC numbers came in, but I have yet to look at all the candidates. I did hear that Taiwan is once again formally though unofficially declaring their independence... this time by officially changing their unofficial name to just Taiwan... no mention of China... This could be interesting... perhaps Taiwan is using the 2008 Olympics as their open door to declare Independence, knowing that the Olympic games will not be held in beijing if China decimates their island nation! Good Move Taiwan!

I will get back on track tomorrow, with great new blogs, and a refreshed look on life! I love Maui! It is a perfect place to go to refill the soul!

Cheers and god Bless!