PEERING INTO A CRYSTAL BALL

Media Matters was founded in 2004 to massage the news according to the progressive mindset. You have to look closely to realize the genesis of this group.

The founding dollars came largely from Daddy DeepPockets, George Soros. The worldview that Mr. Soros embraces and pours money into (as if from a boot)...the same worldview that he seeks to influence others toward...can be understood at this link:

http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/10/the_religious_quest_of_george.html

Mr. Soros has some pretty interesting ideas. On death and dying, for instance, he gave a speech in 1994 and reported that he had offered to help his mother, a member of the Hemlock Society, commit suicide.

Then there is Hillary Clinton. She had something to do with the founding of Media Matters according to her own words in a speech given on 08.04.07 to the Kos Convention.

Soros/Clinton. There's a pair of progressives.

Walk back in your mind to the early 2008 campaign. Would anyone ever have predicted defeat for the Clinton machine?

And didn't Hillary seem to step back toward the end of the campaign...and acquiesce to her opponent? It was surprising that there were no hardballs from the Clinton war room.

More surprises. President Obama talked of putting Hillary in his cabinet. Didn't he know how badly she wanted his job? But she played ball and Mrs. Clinton did become his Secretary of State.

Now all of a sudden we are hearing James Carville in soundbites again. And Hillary is making critical comments from foreign countries about our debt. Is the old Clinton machine firing up again? Hold that thought.

What is one thing that has been repeated about our president besides that he is a socialist and big-spender? OK, you're right. That question is too broad. I'll just tell you what I'm looking for. President Obama is known for his use of a teleprompter.

Although glib of tongue, could it be that President Obama follows a "script"? Could Mr. Soros be controlling this fray from on high? Let's also wonder if the plan from the beginning was the old "one, two punch". What would the one, two punch look like?

Well, at the risk of sounding conspiratorial...how could the progressives win and keep the White House? Perhaps George Soros' plan was to run the black candidate first (because America was ready to erase their guilt). Barack Obama comes in with hurricane force and gets as much social policy changed as his fawning popularity will allow. He would not be worried about a second term; he knows he lives in the daylight for a season. That would make sense as to why President Obama goes on vacation after vacation and entertains lavishly in the White House (think $100/pound Wagyu steaks) and flies First Dog Bo to their Maine vacation in a separate jet. What does he care?

That's the first punch.

Then raise the curtain on the second act. Entering stage left (of course) Mrs. Clinton arrives for the next punch. She positions herself as the moderate candidate (sound Clintonesque?) and swoops in to the rescue. "Oh, President Obama was way too far left. Let me bring us back to center."

Tell me, now. When President Obama started showing his true color as a waaay left guy, didn't that make Hillary look reasonable? I even had that thought. I thought "well, she's on a power trip, but at least she likes our country".

America, please know that progressives will not come proclaiming change. We've swallowed that line already. Now progressives count on us falling for the bait-of-the-day, moderate.

There is nothing moderate about the progressive ideas Mrs. Clinton has for our country. Hillary and Mr. Soros want to take America to a place unimagined ten years ago. If President Obama got elected because the media did not vet his candidacy, let's not make the same mistake twice. KNOW what George Soros and Hillary Clinton believe.

It doesn't take a crystal ball.

WHO'S IN CHARGE OF AMERICA?

Time was...when people took to the streets with political grievances,

they were perhaps either the idealistic young, or miscreants with fringe causes.

But now even grannies like this author are out demonstrating.

The rallies are peaceful expressions of discontent,

but you have to know we're hacked off enough to be inconvenienced. Why?

What could motivate what Nixon called "the silent majority" to become activists?

That's what the ruling class is wondering.

They should know nothing that sparks anger quicker than being ignored.

Ask any wife whose husband doesn't listen to her.

Today a percentage of Americans in power do not listen to the governed.

The governed are groaning.

Yesterday a long article in the American Spectator defined our predicament.

The author uses the terms "ruling class" and "country class".

The country class ("country" as in "my country tis of Thee") is bowing up.

The ruling class would like to think this is a recent phenomenon.

They would like to attribute a base motivation for our angst.

But this article documents the struggle's roots back through the 20th century.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

"The ruling class's appetite

for deference, power, and perks grows.

The country class disrespects its rulers, wants to curtail their power and reduce their perks. The ruling class wears on its sleeve the view that the rest of Americans are racist, greedy, and above all stupid.

The country class is ever more convinced that our rulers are corrupt, malevolent, and inept.

The rulers want the ruled to shut up and obey.

The ruled want self-governance."

The article is six pages long and if you are like me,

my A.D.D. had to be repeatedly overridden.

But my fascination for the way the author fleshed out the history

of our country's division was WAY worth it.

Please read the article by Angelo M. Codevilla.

I believe he is onto something.

http://spectator.org/archives/2010/07/16/americas-ruling-class-and-the/

PRESENTING...DADDY BERT

May I present Daddy Bert? He's the good sport on the left in the blue lei...going along with his 89th birthday festivities in 2007. He hated bringing attention to himself, so we "lost" the blinking button and other adornments when we went down to the lunchroom.

Bert was my husband's father who lived 92 years. That's a pretty impressive number of years for "the runt of the litter" (as he called himself).

Dadddy Bert died this year on the Fourth of July. Now we will always remember the Fourth as HIS independence day.

Bert Cruse was born at home on the farm in Goobertown, AR in the spring of 1918. He was the last child in his family, and he MAY have gotten some "babying".

Bert had a really tender heart for others and was the one in his family who took care of his widowed mother until she died (also at 92).

This is our favorite picture of Bert when he was younger.

One of Bert's best traits was his great sense of humor. He actually kept a file marked "anecdotes", but by any other name it was a joke file.

He would clip out things from magazines like Readers Digest when something tickled him. The last funny on file was "if you'd like to make new friends, just pick up someone else's golf ball".

The game of golf was fun for Bert until his 80's. His golf buddies would say that he might not hit it the farthest, but he always hit it right down the middle.

Bert could also be found at the city pool hall where he liked to play snooker and pitch. The other men had to quit smoking when he came into the pool hall because he couldn't breathe the smoke. I guess that worked for them because he was a "regular" there.

The most fun Bert had was when he was giving. He gave obvious and continuous things such as a smile and a wave and a joke, but he also was financially generous. Bert was the first to reach out to those in need. We heard story after story of how he helped others during/after the Depression. Because his working years were in farm loans/real estate, over the years he helped people get and keep their property. There were many stories about Bert's later life when he gave to many unconditionally.

One thing Daddy Bert was not willing to talk about was dying. He had some fears about death and our prayer for years was that the Lord would take him gently. He had wonderful caregivers who enabled him to be able to live independently at an active retirement place until the last two months of his life. But when they began to tell us that Bert was talking about "going to see his mother and wife"...we knew something was up.

Pneumonia put Bert in the hospital for two brief stays, then he spent four days in rehab and two days at Jonesboro's new Hospice House. Looking back, we believe God more than honored the prayers.

There was one gift wrapped in a bow for Mike on the day before Bert died. His dad had been non-responsive and had his eyes shut. But on this particular Saturday, when we arrived Bert opened his eyes wide open. Mike leaned down in his ear and said "Good morning, Dad...it's good to see you!" And with bright eyes, Bert responded "Well...good morning to YOU, Son. It's good to see you, too!" Bert closed his eyes after that and those were the last words he said. The next morning, his soul left his body.

A fine lifestory and good name are wonderful legacies that pass to the next generation. The Bible says "a good name is more to be desired than great wealth, and to be respected is better than silver and gold." Proverbs 22.1 We are still getting Daddy Bert stories as people find out that he has died. What fun to hear of his "good works" from grateful hearts who speak fondly of Bert Thaddeus Cruse.

Daddy Bert was a special man.

SPENDING OPM (Other People's Money)

"Why do, basically, people with money have good healthcare and why do people who live on lower salaries not have good healthcare?" asked President Bush's 28-year-old daughter, Barbara (left). "Healthcare should be a right for everyone."

Universal healthcare is what everyone deserves. That would be optimum and it would also be nice to think that everyone deserves a home. Everyone deserves a decent wage. Everyone deserves adequate food on the table. Everyone deserves...(fill in the blank).

Short of eternity, we live in the reality that everyone may deserve all those things and more, but there is no feasible or economic way for the government to provide them.

History shows folks who have tried; the systems that tried to redistribute money failed. What works best is capitalism to give the "have nots" a better shot at providing for themselves. And we have laws that ensure that no one is turned away from emergency rooms.

We could look at Europe to see the systems that are failures, but if you don't have time to cross the ocean, just look at California and New York. They are in the process of trying to subsidize living and those states are going under. Look at Detroit. They already have gone under after thirty years of unchecked one-party "compassion". The same was true in New Orleans pre-Katrina. One party ruled with liberality and it was one big reservoir of helpless people. The poor didn't get richer, they got poorer.

How could that happen in the midst of such compassion?

Clearly, compassion is NOT "Uncle Sam picks up the tab". If Detroit and New Orleans are studied to see what happens when government tries to be everyone's Daddy...it should be obvious. Life just doesn't operate that way.

Instead, we should realize that Uncle Sam was never intended to provide for us. Uncle Sam's job is to protect us while we help each other. Americans are more generous than anyone else on the planet. And conservative/church goers are the most giving. HUH? Liberals are said to be caring and conservatives are thought to be cold. But as the articles below show, the numbers aren't witness to that assumption.

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2682730&page=1

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/conservatives_more_liberal_giv.html

Here are some additional eye-openers:

Liberals call for sacrifice and volunteerism and paying higher taxes as though it was duty. But check out the tax returns and see who walks their talk. In 2007, the Bushes donated 23% of their income to charity. In 2008, the Obamas donated 6 1/2%. Vice President Dick Cheney gave 75% to charity ($6 million) in a single year...versus the $369 a year average for 10 years by Vice President Joe Biden. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-12-biden-financial_N.htm

Conservatives give their money; liberals give taxpayer's money.

That brings us to today's spending and the national debt. Taxes are sure to rise and there will be less money in circulation. Charitable giving will go down. The people who give the most will not be able to give what they have in the past. That will not bode well for the needy. When that happens, the government will be benefactor and determiner of need.

I prefer the liberty of choice.

AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL

I don't remember how old I was when I came up with one of my more brilliant plans. Maybe I was twelve or thirteen when I decided that I would try smoking.

Smoking was against the house rules, but who thinks they will get caught in the beginning?

It's important to know that this plan was conceived in a 1,000 square foot home with one bathroom. My thought was to go into the bathroom and raise the window. Then no one would know.

Out in the hall by the bathroom door, there was a wrought iron bookshelf. One day I chose a book and cut out a square in the middle. I put glue around the edges of the pages. VOILA! The perfect stash for a pack of cigarettes.

I smiled at my book selection, An Old Fashioned Girl.

I can't say that I would recommend trying this at home because somehow my mother figured out my plan.

Today, I keep this book in our bookshelves. The book is empty now, but it reminds me that sometimes when I think I can swim upstream of the rules, it doesn't work.

Even if your Mama doesn't catch you, there is an invisible Observer who records all our deeds.

The Lord sees things done in secret. He saw the widow's mite and it impressed Him. And He also sees the sneakiest heart working in what they think is darkness.

The beauty of God is that He stands ready with an offer of divine exchange. In fact, His specialty is exchanging our hearts for His.

"Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, 'Who sees us? Who will know?' You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'He did not make me'? Can the pot say of the potter, 'He knows nothing'?" Isaiah 29.15,16 NIV

EXPECT/INSPECT

Do people do what you expect or inspect?

You don't have to live long to know the answer to that one. And upon inspection, we are finding out that the country got sold a bill of goods in 08.

Think first about healthcare.

#1. WE WERE TOLD..."We will cover the uninsured, but no one's costs will go up". Oh, pshaw! Did we really believe that one? How can you cover more and it cost less? Congress passed (then rescinded, now chewing on again) a half-trillion dollar cut in doctor reimbursement to Medicare. Remember when folks thought you were a demagogue if you said the word "death panels"? Well, of course that's not what they are called, but that's what is happening. Know that Dr. Berwick that the president has just brought in the back way (without confirmation hearings) to run Medicare/Medicaid? What is he known for? Rationing. During the healthcare debate last year, where was he cost cutting? Dr. Berwick was focused on the biggest costs to the system...the elderly and the chronically ill. You betcha.

http://fredthompsonshow.com/b/Obama-Uses-Recess-Appointment-for-Donald-Berwick/631017045871160347.html

#2. WE WERE TOLD..."Like your doc? Keep him." Yeah, Mr. Obama. Love to do just that. But unfortunately, my doc retired rather than play games with you. Why would they want to go to school half their lives to make whatever salary the government decides, and get paid whenever the government decides to make the payment?

#3. WE WERE TOLD..."You can choose. Keep the coverage you have, or go with the coverage we offer." Back in 09 I wrote a piece about this called "Words and Meanings" (you can put that title in the search box of this blog). That has already happened in one of our states. Hawaii tried to initiate universal healthcare for children. What happened? Everyone signed up for the "free"/private insurance tanked/the government couldn't sustain the cost/children's healthcare went out of business.

That's a taste of healthcare. What about some of the promises made?

#4. WE WERE TOLD..."Closing Guantanamo within a year." Still open.

#5. WE WERE TOLD..."I'll end the war by July 2011." Setting a date was idiotic.

#6. WE WERE TOLD..."I'll have the most open and honest, transparent administration." (Please see #7) "I'll broadcast negotiations on CSpan so the people can see the process." (Not.) "When a bill comes to my desk, the public will have five days to look online to find out what's in it before I sign it." (Uh, huh.) "Sunshine is the greatest disinfectant and when I'm president you will know who benefits from legislation." (Unions) "If you have a better idea, I'll be glad to listen to you." (But then even Congressional Republicans couldn't get into the meetings.)

#7. WE WERE TOLD..."We were on top of the oil spill from Day One." There's no need to illustrate the obvious, except for a look at the moratorium. That process was a small snapshot of this transparent administration.

When Obama's Interior Secretary Salazar proposed a moritorium in the Gulf, he attached an endorsement by experts. Trouble was...the experts didn't endorse a moritorium...and they quickly corrected the record. Here is a selection copied verbatum from the judge when he overturned the moritorium.

Much to the government’s discomfort and this Court’s uneasiness,

the Summary also states that “the recommendations contained in this report

have been peer-reviewed by seven experts

identified by the National Academy of Engineering.”

As the plaintiffs, and the experts themselves, pointedly observe,

this statement was misleading. The experts charge

it was a “misrepresentation.” It was factually incorrect.

The judge sez HE'S uneasy? Well, so are we. Someone has to watch these transparent guys 24/7.

You have readers fatigue yet? I'm tired and I haven't even gotten to the most important issue, the economy. But you are getting the picture. Some of these (like #6 and #7) might be written off to learners curve or campaign promises. But most of the other things were dependent on his veracity, which this growing body of evidence suggests is pathological.

So when you hear the president say "Look, let me be clear about this"...then you might want to try to imagine just the opposite.

POST-RACIAL LEADER

Our country is black-and-blue over the issue of race. People really just want the strife to be over and so we voted for a black man to prove the point that we have moved on. We believed him when he said the time was right for things to be "post-racial" and that we should "break the racial divide" and that he was the "uniter".

Now we are less than halfway into his window of opportunity to make those words a reality. How's he doing?

Here's what President Obama said on the Fourth of July:

"We celebrate the principles that are timeless, tenets first declared by men of property and wealth but which gave rise to what Lincoln called a new birth of freedom in America...civil rights and voting rights and workers' rights and women's rights and the rights of every American."

That's some slicing and dicing, Mr. President. Now America is sectioned like a grapefruit.

We offer our apologies to the Founding Fathers for the hit they took on the Fourth of July for being men of property and wealth. What did THAT have to do with anything? This president who collected 5.5M last year and owns a 1.6M house and speaks such words from the balcony of the White House and goes on dates that cost you and I tens of thousands of dollars...this man has some bulging nerve to mischaracterize men who put whatever they had on the line for love of country. Besides, his comment is not even correct. According to Wiki not all of the founders were wealthy. So why would he even SAY something like that?

When those founders signed their names, if the war had gone differently, it would have been their death sentence. When has this president ever laid something on the line like that? He even votes "present" when he cannot make up his mind on how to vote. What would happen if he had the privilege to sign the Declaration of Independence?

President Obama then went on to carve America into people according to civil rights/voting rights/workers' rights/women's rights...oh, and the rights of every American. Excuse me, but wasn't the whole point of Independence Day to celebrate freedom from tyranical rule that brought us together as "united we stand" Americans?

President Obama was raised and steeped in "rights" and "injustice". That created bruised fruit. He does not have the big picture of what our country is about, nor does he appreciate his own gift of liberty.

Lift your eyes, Mr. President. Your authority is an umbrella over all Americans. Tell your AG to prosecute crimes, not practice race-selective prosecution as in the Black Panthers intimidation case http://www.examiner.com/x-40779-Chicago-Conservative-Issues-Examiner~y2010m7d7-Civil-rights-panel-issues-subpoenas-in-voter-intimidation-case . Let go of that ridiculous lawsuit against Arizona, whose law upholds your own federal law and is supported by 70% of the American public (as evidenced by 500K dollars sent in to help AZ pay for the lawyers in the lawsuit). Tell your NASA chief that his job is not to prop up the Muslim world's ego. For someone touted as THE leader to steer the ship away from racism, you sure do have race on your mind a lot.

Each day we watch the eloquent portrayal that the President painted of himself...morph into disfigurement.