Friday, November 10, 2006

Beware Of The 'Real" Speaker Pelosi

POLITICS / HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: BEWARE OF THE 'REAL' SPEAKER PELOSI

Smiley Flag Waver A Democratic victory will turn the House over to "the San Francisco values of would-be Speaker Nancy Pelosi."

Just how dangerous, then, is the House minority leader from California to those who hold to traditional conservative values?

Pelosi is one of the most liberal members of the House, receiving a 95 percent "liberal quotient" from the Americans for Democratic Action based on her support for the liberal position in key votes.

Beware The ‘Real' Speaker Pelosi

The Democrats will soon control the House of Representatives and San Francisco Democrat Nancy Pelosi is set to become speaker, one of the most powerful constitutional offices in the United States.

Do you really know Nancy Pelosi?

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich does. He has warned that a Democratic victory will turn the House over to "the San Francisco values of would-be Speaker Nancy Pelosi."

Just how dangerous, then, is the House minority leader from California to those who hold to traditional conservative values?

Pelosi is one of the most liberal members of the House, receiving a 95 percent "liberal quotient" from the Americans for Democratic Action based on her support for the liberal position in key votes.

She voted against cutting taxes by $70 million, against renewing the Patriot Act, against reducing the death tax, against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and against making it a crime to desecrate the U.S. flag.

She supports gay marriage, and backed legislation allowing overseas military facilities to provide abortions for women in the military and military dependents.

The would-be speaker also backed a measure calling for a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, supported a bill requiring a 72-hour background check for persons buying weapons at gun shows -- and opposed a bill strengthening the enforcement of immigration laws.

Pelosi's Hypocrisy

But a look behind the scenes exposes Pelosi as a Democratic leader who passionately fights for liberal policies, yet goes to great lengths to avoid applying those policies in her personal life.

Best-selling author Peter Schweizer's book "Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy" first revealed the glaring contradictions between Pelosi and other prominent liberals' public stances and their real-life behavior.

Pelosi claims to be a staunch union supporter, and, along with her husband, has received the Cesar Chavez award from the United Farm Workers Union, notes Schweizer.

Unions are, in her words, "fighting for America's working families" and battling "the union-busting, family-hurting" Bush administration. But Schweizer uncovered that a $25 million Northern California vineyard the Pelosis own is a non-union shop!

Pelosi's hypocrisy doesn't stop there.

The congresswoman is the top recipient among members of Congress in campaign contributions from labor unions, and has received more money from the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union than any other member of Congress in the last several election cycles.

But in addition to the wine business, the Pelosis own a large stake in the exclusive Auberge du Soleil hotel in Rutherford, Calif. The hotel has more than 250 employees; but once again, Schweizer found, it is strictly a non-union shop.

The Pelosis are also partners in a restaurant chain called Piatti, which has 900 employees.

"But a union card is not required to work there bussing tables, washing dishes, serving guests, or preparing food," Schweizer wrote in NewsMax Magazine.

"As with Auberge du Soleil, at Piatti the Pelosis' commitment to organized labor ends at the front door."

Pelosi has also demonstrated hypocrisy on the environment. "With us," she proclaims, "the environment is not an issue -- it's an ethic. It's a value."

That's what she says. Schweizer exposed what she does: One of her largest investments is a private partnership called Lions Gate Limited, which operates the CordeValle Golf Club and Resort in San Martin, Calif.

To get a permit to build the facility, the partners promised to build a "public course" providing considerable access to non-members, and to abide by several environmental requirements to ensure that there would be minimal ecological damage.

But after the facility opened, the county's Planning Commission found that the golf course was in fact private -- and the club had "ignored" many of its permit requirements concerning the environment!

"The reality is that liberals like to preach in moral platitudes," says Schweizer.

"But when it comes to applying those same standards to themselves, liberals are found to be shockingly guilty of hypocrisy."

NewsMax.com
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Taxpaying Voters Send A Message To Congress

TAXES / ELECTION 2006: TAXPAYERS SAY DON'T RAISE TAXES - GET A HANDLE ON THE BUDGET - KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OUR PROPERTY

Smiley Flag Waver "The 2006 election did not give a boost to bigger government, and in many cases it delivered a strong message for limited and accountable government," said NTU President John Berthoud. "Had Americans been able to use the write-in options for instructing candidates as well as casting votes for them, ballot-counters across the county would be seeing the same words over and over again: don't raise taxes, get a handle on the budget, stay out of trouble, and keep your hands off our property."

Press Releases

Election Was No Mandate for More Government, Taxpayer Group's Analysis Shows

For Immediate Release Nov 8, 2006
For Further Information, Contact:
Peter J. Sepp, Sam Batkins, (703) 683-5700

(Alexandria, VA) -- Despite the GOP's loss of the House, Democratic gains in the Senate and the defeat of several tax limitation measures on state ballots, most Americans who went to the polls yesterday voted to keep their keep their pocketbooks closed, according to a post-election survey by the 350,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU).

"The 2006 election did not give a boost to bigger government, and in many cases it delivered a strong message for limited and accountable government," said NTU President John Berthoud. "Had Americans been able to use the write-in options for instructing candidates as well as casting votes for them, ballot-counters across the county would be seeing the same words over and over again: don't raise taxes, get a handle on the budget, stay out of trouble, and keep your hands off our property."

Berthoud noted that the Congressional election results were influenced as much about those who didn't vote as those who did. Using the NTU Rating of Congress, which is based on every roll call vote affecting federal spending, taxes, debt, and regulation, his research found that GOP candidates who strayed from the principles of fiscal conservatism were more likely to alienate their base and be defeated:

Of the 19 Republican House Members confirmed as being ousted from their seats at press time, just 2 were recipients of NTU's "Taxpayers' Friend Award" in 2005 for attaining a Rating score of at least 70 percent.
The remaining 17 losing incumbents posted an average NTU Rating of just 56 percent last year, several points below the overall average for the GOP.
The six Republican Senators (including George Allen on the assumption that Jim Webb's lead holds up) who were defeated, by and large did not compile very good records on taxpayer issues. The defeated six on average scored 59 percent in NTU's Rating in 2005. The rest of the Senate Republican caucus averaged 70 percent. Only one of the defeated Senators (George Allen) scored higher than the average for the entire caucus.

Several gubernatorial races also appeared to be at least partially influenced by taxpayer issues. Governorships in Arkansas and Ohio swung to Democrats after the Republicans who previously held the offices lost credibility with their own voters by proposing tax increases. Republican Governors in South Carolina and Minnesota who practiced tough fiscal restraint won reelection, as did the somewhat more moderate Democrats in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Tennessee (all of whom professed varying degrees of concern for cutting taxes or controlling spending).

Some of the most important election outcomes involved ballot measures rather than candidates. This year saw nearly 100 proposals pertaining to fiscal and government reform issues. "A shallow reading of the election results would indicate that voters were more liberal this year -- by approving minimum wage hikes in all six states proposing them, and by turning down expenditure limits in Maine, Nebraska, and Oregon," Berthoud said. "A deeper examination, however, shows that voters were skeptical of most tax hike schemes and were concerned about taxes and regulations on their property." Among the highlights of NTU's review of 2006 ballot measure contests:

Comprehensive approaches to limiting government spending growth to inflation and population increases failed at the polls in Maine, Nebraska, and Oregon. However, the percentage of defeat in Maine is smaller than the rate for a property tax limit that failed in 2004, suggesting that voters there are warming to the idea of tax and spending caps. Past history shows that such proposals must often take several trips to the polls before being ratified (both Proposition 13 in California and Amendment 1 in Colorado did).
Proposals aimed at property taxes coasted to victory. In South Carolina, voters gave the nod to a plan that will limit the rise in taxable property values, while Arizonans and residents of Nashville, Tennessee approved laws protecting or requiring future public referendums for certain property tax hikes. Louisianans opted to remove municipalities' authority to levy property taxes on motor vehicles, and Washingtonians expanded the exemption level for personal property taxes. A modest New Jersey ballot measure that could allow at least some property tax relief passed, as did various new or increased exemptions for homeowners in several other states, including Florida and Louisiana.
Property rights measures did well at the polls, with 9 out of 11 possible states adopting new protections against eminent domain abuse. In the wake of last year's Kelo v. New London decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, states and localities have been emboldened to seize private property for purposes of economic development rather than public uses (such as roads and schools). This issue is of a special fiscal concern because many of the projects that eminent domain enables are taxpayer-subsidized sports stadiums, shopping malls, and private housing complexes.
Voters were generally in no mood to rubber-stamp tax increases. Californians rejected a $4 billion tax hike on oil production in the state (a proposal once considered a slam-dunk for passage), and nixed a higher business tax earmarked for publicly-funded campaigns. Tobacco tax hikes, often a weapon of first resort to would-be revenue raisers, did not receive blanket approval -- such proposals were defeated in California and Missouri, while they were enacted in Arizona and South Dakota.
Even the so-called politically safe topic of increased education budgets did not push citizens into backing higher taxes. Idahoans said no to a one-cent rise in the sales tax earmarked for education, while Californians gave a collective thumbs-down to a new per-parcel property tax. A Michigan scheme to guarantee a minimum level of school funding that would go up with inflation lost by a wide margin.
In a reflection of recent federal-level scandals, restrictions on pay and perks for politicians proved popular. Although term limits in Colorado and Oregon did not succeed, Missourians adopted a Constitutional Amendment to deny pensions to politicians removed from office, and Oklahomans chose to bar state pay for legislators convicted of a crime. A pay raise for state lawmakers was nixed in Arizona, and South Dakota's voters put a ban on the use of official state aircraft for personal travel.

Returning to the national level, Berthoud observed that the new House majority will not necessarily make up a monolithic consensus for bigger government. A significant number of Democrats who took over Republican-held seats had a more moderate stance on fiscal issues than the party's national leadership. For example, at least five winners (Ellsworth-IN, Giffords-AZ, Hill-IN, Mitchell-AZ, and Sestak-PA) have publicly pledged support for either holding the line on tax increases or putting a lid on budget growth.

"A fairly good case can be made that the story of Election 2006 is more about poorly-led House Republicans losing than Democrats winning," Berthoud concluded. "This is especially true when viewed alongside the state and local ballot measure results, which show that voters don't long for a return to the tax-and-spend mindset. Americans would likely cheer Bill Clinton's statement in 1996 that the era of big government is over, but 10 years later they're still waiting for the political establishment to act that way."

NTU is a non-profit, non-partisan citizen group working for lower taxes and smaller government at all levels. Note: NTU's Ballot Measure Guide, as well as the NTU Congressional Candidate Survey, is available at www.ntu.org.

P.S.:

I wanted to let you know that despite what you may have read about the results of the Congressional races, all is not lost for taxpayers. You probably won't see this in the post-election wrap-ups and post-mortems, but committed fiscal conservatives running for the U.S. House and Senate were overwhelmingly successful at the ballot box. It just goes to show that being true to one's principles is not only good policy but also good politics.

Despite some setbacks, voters across the country supported efforts to curb real estate taxes and protect private property. Missourians adopted a Constitutional Amendment to deny pensions to politicians removed from office, and Oklahomans chose to bar state pay for legislators convicted of a crime -- two measures that are sorely needed at the national level. You can read our analysis of how taxpayers fared on ballot measures above.

So if you think the next two years will be nothing but an uphill battle, don't forget this bit of wisdom from Ronald Reagan: "There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder." I promise you that NTU will be here fighting every day for you -- advancing an agenda of lower taxes, limited government, and personal freedom.

Sincerely,

John Berthoud
President

108 North Alfred St. Alexandria VA 22314 | Phone: 703.683.5700 | Fax: 703.683.5722 | E-mail: ntu@ntu.org

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Thursday, November 09, 2006

Decay In The Church Leads To Decay In Society

RELIGION / DECAY OF THE CHURCH IN AMERICA LEADS TOWARD THE DECAY OF SOCIETY IN AMERICA

Smiley Flag Waver We are treading on dangerous ground in the American Church. We love to engage in hero-worship, and unfortunately, pastors are most vulnerable, gleefully receiving the flock’s adulation. The pastor is only one of the parts in the Body of Christ. Sadly, in most churches, Sunday has become a spectator sport where most sit and watch the man in the pulpit perform.

SOUL-SICK AMERICA

~ Coach Dave Daubenmire
November 9, 2006
NewsWithViews.com

My heart goes out to Ted Haggard, and especially to his family. The collateral damage to sin is devastating. Let us never forget the impact our actions have on others.

Mr. Haggard doesn’t need a kick in the ribs from me. Sadly, we all struggle with sin. I am no exception. It is a sad, sordid story that is repeated daily in America. Ted Haggard’s fall seems greater because people had elevated him so high; putting him on a pedestal that he didn’t deserve. He is a sinner, just like the rest of us.

We are treading on dangerous ground in the American Church. We love to engage in hero-worship, and unfortunately, pastors are most vulnerable, gleefully receiving the flock’s adulation. The pastor is only one of the parts in the Body of Christ. Sadly, in most churches, Sunday has become a spectator sport where most sit and watch the man in the pulpit perform. He becomes the show, and in some cases thousands flock to feed off of every word that spills from the pastor’s lips. Glorification of personality, especially in the Church, grieves the heart of God.

But I will save that commentary for another day.

I continue to be amazed as I scan the TV on Sunday mornings. In most cities, Sunday morning TV has become a haven for those who want to “preach the Gospel.” I wouldn’t be as discouraged if they really did … preach the Gospel. Instead they regurgitate over the air-waves a humanistic-Gospel that is nothing short of a life-enhancement seminar designed to make our journey here more enjoyable.

Go ahead; scan your dial on Sundays. See if I am wrong. Most of the sermons you will hear focus on how much the Lord wants you to be happy and prosperous, which by the way, I think He does. But that is a by-product of salvation, not the goal. Last Sunday as Ted Haggard was on my mind, I did some note taking as I flipped. Here are some of the sermons I heard:

We need to stop living in a state of financial need
The blessings of the Lord are yours for the taking.
End Times sermons (at least 3)
Healing
God’s supernatural provision
Your breakthrough is coming
The poor hungry kids in Sudan
You are what you think
Developing better relationships

That was just until my thumb got sore from flipping! Go to this website, or this one, here, or here. Do your own search and you will not find that one thing the preachers need to mention; the thing that is strangling the Church.

Sin.

That subject doesn’t sell many books or CD’s, and it sure doesn’t fill a church. Visit Ted Haggard’s church’s website. Do you see sin and repentance mentioned anywhere on that page?

It makes me want to weep, what we have allowed Christianity to become. Christ died to give me a better life … what a cheapening of His sacrifice. I John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

Sin is of the Devil. It is rebellion against God. God hated sin so much he sacrificed His Boy … wouldn’t you think we would talk more about that rather than using the Gospel to enhance our fleshly desires?

Ezekiel 18:3 “For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son -- both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.”

Americans’ souls are sick and dying. But we want to put a salve on the flesh.

The Church Growth Movement will tell you that preaching on sin is a no-no. Read this, scroll down to Joel Osteen’s interview with Larry King, where he admits he doesn’t talk about sin! Is it any wonder he has 30,000 members in his church?

I’m a sinner, let there be no mistake about that. Like everyone else I have “besetting sins” that constantly are knocking at my heart. But as I once told my pastor, “please preach the Truth to us. When I go to church I don’t want to be told how great I am … I want to be told how much I am missing the mark. I want to be challenged. ‘Be Holy’ Christ said. Please Pastor; challenge me to live that way.”

The slick-haired TV preachers seem to have it all together. They have the new trinity of fame, fortune, and power. And whether we will admit it or not, most American’s flock to those churches because they desire to have what the pastor has … the new trinity … and it’s flesh-pleasing benefits.

I wonder how much all of that means to Ted Haggard now.

Please understand, Ted Haggard is not the exception, his sin was merely exposed. All of the “plastic pastors” are fighting demons of their own, praying secretly that their sin will not be discovered. How do I know that? They all live in a flesh suit. In fact, the higher you go up the ladder the greater the temptations. Different levels, different devils. You think it is hard fighting pride where you are now, imagine what it would be like when you receive a White House invitation, or regularly appear on TV around the world.

I can’t help but wonder if Pastor Haggard would be in this situation if he had spent more time preaching against sin. The conviction of the Holy Spirit is God’s smoke alarm. It warns you that it is time to flee the impending doom. Perhaps if sin had been a greater focus in the ministry it wouldn’t have been as easy to hide behind that isn’t-everything-great grin. As most pastors will tell you, when they preach on sin, they find they are preaching to themselves.

Temptations abound but the Apostle Paul’s solution was simple: “Flee immorality.” I Corinthians 6:18. Being born-again does not mean temptation ceases; it only provides a way of escape. We have to make the decision to run when the smoke alarm goes off.

Apart from Jesus, who was the greatest man the world has ever seen? Moses? David? Joshua? Daniel? Samson? We could certainly get a discussion going on that one. But fortunately, Jesus already answered the question for us.

Matthew 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen one greater than John the Baptist:

None greater than John the Baptist, huh? Isn’t that amazing? John the Baptist was not welcomed into the churches of his day. He spent most of his time living in the wilderness eating locust and wild honey. He didn’t have a huge following, no multi-media productions, no books and CD’s to promote. His message was simple and Jesus said it was the most important message ever delivered. What was that message?

Matthew 3:1-2 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” We could learn something from that radical.

Ted Haggard won’t be the last to fall. Many more are afflicted with the illness. Sin is nothing more than soul-sickness. Americans are rotting in their souls and instead of a pastorate of John the Baptist’s trumpeting the cure, America’s pulpits are filled with snake-oil salesman marketing the “blessings of God,’ feeding our flesh, increasing the butts and the bucks.

Luke 13: 2-5 “And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" 1 Peter 4:17

Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

Repentance is the cure for soul-sick America. America needs some John the Baptists.

Do you think like a Christian or a humanist? Did the Founders really separate Church and State? Is Judicial tyranny ruining America? Check out these great teachings by the Coach.

E-Mails are used strictly for NWVs alerts, and are not for sale or re-sale.

Coach Dave Daubenmire, founder and President of Pass The Salt Ministries www.ptsalt.com and Minutemen United www.minutemenunited.org, is host of the high octane Pass The Salt radio show heard in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1999 Coach Daubenmire was sued by the ACLU for praying with his teams while coaching high school in Ohio. He now spends his energy fighting for Christian principles in the public domain.

E-Mail: coach@ptsalt.com

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Contaminated Bottles Of Acataminophen Recalled

HEALTH - MEDECINE / 11 MILLION BOTTLES OF ACETAMINOPHEN RECALLED - CONTAMINATED WITH METAL FRAGMENTS

WMUT-TV 9

Smiley Flag Waver A major manufacturer of store-brand acetaminophen recalled 11 million bottles of the pain-relieving pills Thursday after discovering some were contaminated with metal fragments.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or illness.

Contaminated: 11M Bottles Of Pain Med Recalled

Store-Brand Caplets Contaminated With Metal Fragments

10:16 am EST November 9, 2006

WASHINGTON -- A major manufacturer of store-brand acetaminophen recalled 11 million bottles of the pain-relieving pills Thursday after discovering some were contaminated with metal fragments.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or illness.

Perrigo Co. said it discovered the metal bits during quality-control checks. The company passed 70 million pills through a metal detector and discovered the metal in about 200 caplets, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The fragments ranged in size from "microdots" to portions of wire one-third of an inch long.

The recall affects bottles containing various amounts of 500-milligram caplets.

Perrigo bills itself as the world's largest manufacturer of store-brand nonprescription drugs. The Allegan, Mich., company did not disclose the chains for which it manufactures the store-brand acetaminophen. A list of batch numbers and store brands affected by the recall was forthcoming, the FDA said.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., CVS Corp., Walgreen Co. and Costco Wholesale Corp. are among the companies Perrigo supplies with health care products, according to company Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Perrigo said the pills contained raw material purchased from a third-party supplier and affected 383 batches.

Acetaminophen is best known as the drug in products sold under the Tylenol brand, but is widely available in generic versions. The recall does not affect Tylenol. The recall should not cause a shortage of acetaminophen, the FDA said.

The voluntary recall is considered a Class II recall since it covers products that might cause a temporary health problem or pose only a slight threat of a serious nature, according to the FDA.

Consumers with questions can call Perrigo toll free at (877) 546-0454.

Consumers who swallow any of the contaminated pills could suffer minor stomach discomfort or possible cuts to the mouth and throat, the FDA said, adding that the risk of serious injury was remote. Anyone who suspects they have been injured should contact their doctor, the agency said.

The FDA said Perrigo began investigating after realizing the equipment it uses to make pills was wearing down prematurely.

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America - Living In A Divided Nation Without God

AMERICA - LIFE / LIVING IN A NATION WITHOUT GOD

New Media Alliance

Smiley Flag Waver In a youth-oriented society, there is no tomorrow; just the Epicurean "eat, drink, and be merry." In an atheistic and philosophically materialist society, living a righteous life is a quaint relic of a discredited past; one must focus on personal consumption, financed by credit cards, confident that the Federal government must and will take care of us no matter how profligate or debauched we may be.

Whenever society strays from God's will and worships wealth, personal power, and sensual gratification, disaster is not far away.

A Divided Nation Without God

~ By Thomas E. Brewton

We are no longer "One nation under God." The destructive blows of liberal-progressivism since the 1930s have increasingly left us a disunited, spineless rabble.

The urgent readiness of the majority of voters to pull out of Iraq, regardless of the consequences, is the expression of a nation that no longer has core beliefs and faith in itself. We refuse to fight for our national rights and our survival, preferring groveling, making-nice to other nations, to get their approval.

Liberal-progressive spokesmen like Senators Kennedy and Kerry declare that gaining the approval of other nations via the UN should be the objective of our foreign policy. Supreme Court Justices declare that we must turn away from the Constitution to laws of other nations for guidance in deciding cases before the Court. Laws to make English the nation's official language are denounced by liberals as racism. Politicians on both sides of the political aisle perceive no danger to our survival in the overrunning of the Southwest and the West Coast by Hispanic illegals who have no intention of Americanizing themselves, and by immigrants who openly declare their intention to become the majority and vote to secede from the United States.

This sort of craven surrender of national tradition and pride is not unprecedented. It started in Europe in the 19th century.

There is very little of Friedrich Nietzsche's thought that can be taken seriously. But his appraisal of the jellification of European culture in the late 19th century is an exception.

In "Beyond Good and Evil" (1885), speaking of the ethos prevailing in Western Europe (what we witness today in the United States as a cultural war between Judeo-Christian traditionalists and liberal-progressive, atheistic materialists), he wrote:

There is a point of pathological hollowness and over-indulgence in the history of social groups where they even side with those who harm them, with their criminals -- and they feel this way seriously and honestly. Punishment seems somehow unfair; at any rate it is certain that the idea of punishment, of having to punish, hurts the group. It creates fear in them. "Isn't it enough to render them harmless? Why punish on top of that? Punishment is frightful!" ... Anyone who tests the conscience of today's Europeans, will pull the same imperative out of a thousand moral folds and hiding places, the imperative of herd-timidity: "We desire that someday there shall be nothing more to fear." Some Day -- the will and way to that some-day is everywhere in Europe today called "progress."

In this one can recognize today's liberal-progressive preoccupation with "sensitive" foreign policy. Common sense in the past informed us that it is better to be respected, or even feared, than to be held in contempt. Liberal-progressives move in the opposite direction. The object of liberal foreign policy is not protection of our vital national interests, including survival itself, but being liked by socialist governments around the world. That necessarily means that we cannot make our own foreign policy; the UN, led by thugs like Hugo Chavez, will do that for us.

In Nietzsche's description of the 1885 climate of opinion in Europe, we also can see foreshadowing of the pathetic myth that a world government by socialist intellectuals and technicians, the UN, will remove all reasons to fear aggression by other nations and other cultures. Liberal-progressives remain steadfast in their faith, in the face of repeated disappointment, that socialism is the gnostic path of progress to perfection of humanity. At the end of that gnostic path government will wither away, and we will find ourselves in the Garden of Eden.

Nietzsche continues: Anarchists in 1885 were savagely antagonistic to this liberal faith in "progress" ... and even more to the bungling philosophasters and brotherhood-visionaries who call themselves Socialists and desire a "free society" -- but in actuality the anarchists are of the same breed, of the same thorough and instinctive hostility against any social structure other than that of the "autonomous" herd (they go so far as to reject the concepts of "master" and "servant" -- [Neither God nor Master] is one of the Socialist slogans) ...

. . . they are one in their faith in the morality of commonly felt compassion as though this feeling constituted morality itself, as though it were the summit, the attained summit of mankind, the only hope for the future, the consolation of the living, the great deliverance from all the guilt of yore -- they are all one in their faith in fellowship as that which will deliver them, their faith in the herd, in other words, in "themselves" ...

Nietzsche could easily have been describing today's "educated" young people coming out of our colleges and universities, having been thoroughly inculcated with the anti-American, atheistic, and philosophically materialistic religious views of the Vietnam War Baby-Boomers who infest academia's professoriats.

As many other observers have noted, our short-changed young graduates have been led to believe that universal indulgence in narcotics, sexual promiscuity, and rebellion against the nation's founding traditions constitutes individuality -- Nietzsche's herd-mentality. Conformity to the latest media-communicated fad in dress, entertainment, and social justice ideas is "individuality." Worse, the media bombard us with images of youth, turning society into an immature juvenocracy that worships only that which is novel and consciously rejects the wisdom of experience in past ages.

Nietzsche's "commonly felt compassion as though this feeling constituted morality itself" is the doctrine enunciated by Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. -- truth is whatever wins out in the public market, whatever viewpoint the media can create in the minds of the majority of citizens.

In this scene there is no place for Judeo-Christian morality and principles of self-reliance, hard work, and saving for the future. There is no basis for, or even thought given to, the Constitution's Preamble:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

In a youth-oriented society, there is no tomorrow; just the Epicurean "eat, drink, and be merry." In an atheistic and philosophically materialist society, living a righteous life is a quaint relic of a discredited past; one must focus on personal consumption, financed by credit cards, confident that the Federal government must and will take care of us no matter how profligate or debauched we may be.

Thousands of years in the Jewish people's history described in the Bible's Old Testament tell us, to the contrary, that whenever society strays from God's will and worships wealth, personal power, and sensual gratification, disaster is not far away.

Please consider publishing/posting this article from the New Media Alliance (www.thenma.org). Reprint rights granted.

Thomas E. Brewton is a staff writer for the New Media Alliance, Inc. The New Media Alliance is a non-profit (501c3) national coalition of writers, journalists and grass-roots media outlets.

His weblog is THE VIEW FROM 1776 (http://www.thomasbrewton.com/)

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