A Government of Laws? Not So Much

As an attorney, I am seriously hacked with U.S, Attorney General Eric Holder and his Oregon counterpart, Ellen Rosenblum. Lawyers are supposed to zealously represent their clients within the bounds of the law, even when they may personally disagree with the client's position. That's the essence of being a professional, but does it apply to government attorneys? Nah!

Holder has failed to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA - man/woman marriage) in the courts saying it is indefensible. Never mind the fact that there are a couple of thousand years of history in every country in the world that has followed this principle and it was adopted by a majority in Congress and signed by President Clinton, Holder doesn't like it and won't defend it. Now he has told the state attorneys general that they can do it too. Rosenblum jumped the gun and announced that the Oregon DOJ will not defend the Oregon Constitutional amendment similar to DOMA passed by voters in 2004. Whee - this is fun! 

The bottom line is that the Ruling Class, not the citizens, know what's best for us and this trend is accelerating. It is profoundly anti-democratic and profoundly anti-professional on the part of supposedly top lawyers. They have become political toadies and nothing more. Professor Jonathan Turley, of The George Washington University Law School, is quite liberal but has testified before Congress that he too is greatly troubled by the trend and is fearful that we are no longer a government of laws but one of men and historically that has always spelled trouble. Well, trouble is here at both the Federal and state levels and once both sides of the aisle get a taste of unrestrained power, the United States is in for some ugly times.

The World According to Obama

Victor Davis Hanson gives us a tour of Jabberwocky Place, aka "Obama's World":

"Losing a job is freedom from job lock. A budget deficit larger than in any previous administration is austerity. A mean right-wing video caused the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi. Al-Qaeda was long ago washed up. The Muslim Brotherhood is secular. Jihad is a personal journey. Shooting people while screaming Allahu akbar! is workplace violence. Unaffordable higher premiums and deductibles are the result of an Affordable Care Act. Losing your doctor and your health-insurance plan prove you will never lose your doctor and your health-insurance plan — period! Being a constitutional lawyer means you know how to turn the IRS and the FCC on your enemies. Failure is success; lies are truth."

www.nationalreview.com/article/371784/when-failure-success-victor-davis-hanson

We now know who Obama is. The real issue is whether the American people care any more. It almost seems that we are so intent on doing our own individual things that outrage at any of this is impossible. The measure will be how many people stay home in the November elections. 

Here We Go Again

Back to the late 1930s that is. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced that the new Defense Department budget anticipates trimming the Army to the same size as it was in 1940. For those of you who may not remember, that was a year before Pearl Harbor and America's entry into WWII. The Army at that time was a shell. The few new recruits were drilling with broomsticks because there were not enough rifles to go around. They trained with cars instead of tanks. After the war started, it took a year to ramp up and get men trained. Even then they were not equipped in most cases with equipment that was even close to the quality of that employed by the Germans and Japanese and they were not nearly as well trained. The result were several battles lost in North Africa and the Pacific because of troops that were not battle-hardened and trying to use obsolete or obsolescent gear. We seem determined to go back to those days. 

The budget also proposes to permanently ground the A-10 Warthog, which is the only true ground attack aircraft in the Air Force's inventory. The Air Force has never liked the plane because it's ugly. (See blog 2/26/13). Fortunately for the ground pounders it is also supremely effective and was the point at the end of the spear in Gulf War I, II and now Afghanistan when things really go in the dumper on the ground. No matter. Apparently the new Army won't need close air support because it will be too small to be sent anywhere. The IRS will probably pick them up at a surplus sale to use for tax collections. 

The there's the Navy. Hagel said the fleet will be kept at 11 carriers, which is good, but still undersized for what is being asked of the Navy around the world. The Navy will fall short of the 306 ships it needs to meet current responsibilities and will experience a shortage of cruisers and destroyers, as well as attack subs, all of which are critical to the battle fleets. Compared to the Army, though, the Navy is skating. This time. 

In the meantime, aircraft and other equipment is wearing out and there are no projects in the pipeline to replace current inventory in a timely manner. Simultaneously, the Chinese are ramping up and to a lesser extent, so are the Russians. China is trying to make the South and East China Seas its private ponds and the CNO reported on recent exercises by the Chinese that were clearly designed to do this. This includes potentially taking island currently under Japanese control. The Japanese can be fanatical when aroused, so it would not seem to be in our or anyone's interest to let things devolve to that point, but it appears that official Washington slumbers on. Don't be surprised to wake up some morning and find a mess on our hands in that part of the world. 

I don't understand why this country never learns in the military field. There are a large number of supremely bad actors in today's world and the day after is way too late to realize that fact and try to play catch up. We won't have the luxury of a year the next time. 

www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/24/hagel-proposed-budget-will-reportedly-shrink-army-to-pre-wwii-numbers/

Tears are Shed in Heaven

Multiple sources reported this week that official statistics released from the City of New York show that in 2012 more black babies were aborted there than were born.

townhall.com/tipsheet/cortneyobrien/2014/02/21/horror-more-african-american-babies-aborted-in-nyc-than-born-n1798537

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13

Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world. 

I'm Ready

Michele Bachmann is someone I generally like. During an interview the other day she said that she didn't think America was ready for a female President in 2016. Maybe. Any time a Margaret Thatcher comes along, though, I'm ready. Ditto on the male side for another Ronald Reagan or Winston Churchill. The problem today is that so many of the politicians contending to lead the country are little people with eyes glued to the latest focus group results rather than having a deeply felt set of enduring values on which they firmly stand and are able to articulate. Another Thatcher - roger that. 

townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2014/02/20/bachmann-a-lot-of-people-arent-ready-for-female-president-n1798140

Did You Know?

"Hitler's Germany was the most eco-friendly regime in modern political history. As well as banning smoking on public transport and creating some of Europe's first nature reserves, the Nazis were heavily into wholefood and clean living. Himmler wanted to feed the SS on organic food only. Goering threatened to send people who were cruel to animals to concentration camps."

www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2014/02/21/SKEPTICAL-CLIMATOLOGIST-CALLS-OUT-GLOBAL-WARMING-NAZIS

Maybe we could copy the Nazis too so that the Green Agenda gets throughly embedded here? Al Gore has helpfully identified "fertility management" as one way to fight global warming. Yeah, that's the ticket! After all, the ends do justify the means. It just seems to get used a little selectively. Six million Jews had their fertility permanently managed and could not be reached for comment. 

dailycaller.com/2014/01/27/al-gore-once-again-suggests-fertility-management-to-fight-global-warming/

Observation Point

Niall Ferguson writes in the Wall Street Journal about Mr. Obama's foreign policy:

"Maybe, on reflection, it is not a Kennan that Mr. Obama needs, but a Kissinger. 'The attainment of peace is not as easy as the desire for it,' Dr. Kissinger once observed. 'Those ages which in retrospect seem most peaceful were least in search of peace. Those whose quest for it seems unending appear least able to achieve tranquillity. Whenever peace—conceived as the avoidance of war—has been the primary objective . . . the international system has been at the mercy of [its] most ruthless member.'

Those are words this president, at a time when there is much ruthlessness abroad in the world, would do well to ponder."

Indeed.

online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303945704579391492993958448?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303945704579391492993958448.html%3Fmod%3DWSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

Glad We Cleared That Up

A Muslim cleric has issued a fatwa saying that righteous Muslims should not live on Mars. Well, okay but how about Venus?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/unitedarabemirates/10649939/Muslims-warned-in-Fatwa-not-to-live-on-Mars.html

Mr. Putin is Calling

I just finished reading Tom Clancy's last book Command Authority and it is startling how the events in the book are mirroring the events happening right now in the Ukraine. Kiev is ablaze and people are being slaughtered all because they want to be a part of the West and not Putin's retro-Soviet empire. This is a big deal.

Russia has already managed to install a more pro-Russian government that is cracking down on those wanting to cast their lot with the West. Supposedly this is what the protestors in Kiev are rioting about. Clancy's book posits exactly this situation but has the Russians engineering such a "crisis" as a pretext for sending in troops to "stabilize" the situation. Could it be?

If you look at the map, the western border of the Ukraine is with Poland and other former Eastern Bloc countries that have moved gratefully toward the EU and the West after decades of Soviet occupation; they do not want to go back. If the Ukraine is Russianized it will be a dagger sticking into the ribs of these countries. 

The Ukraine itself has a deep Christian community and could be a breadbasket to all of Europe if it is able to fully modernize its agricultural system and adjust to modern agricultural marketing. 

So far the response of the Obama Administration has been one level above the usual crickets. Diplomacy is fine but unless more substantive measures are under way behind the scenes, Putin is unlikely to be persuaded after Obama's recent performance in Syria and his appeasement of them by stripping Poland of an advanced U.S. ABM system directed at Iran. The nature of dictators is such that failing to act in a way that means business will simply embolden them until they do something from which not even a milk-toast can avert their eyes and ignore. Ignorance is not bliss and certainly not in the Ukraine or Eastern Europe.

www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/08/us-ukraine-idUSBRE9B60DH20131208

No Hay Sopa para Ustedes!

Perhaps you have noticed that Venezuela is descending into chaos as its vaunted socialist paradise courtesy of the late and not so great Hugo Chavez sinks into the muck, as socialist paradises always do. Rachel Marsden writing in Townhall has noticed and pens an amusing column about what the American response should be: Nada. She writes:

"Here we go again. Yet another country full of voters who foolishly bought into the socialist pipe dream of endless nanny-state freebies is noticing the check coming due. Facing hyperinflation and shortages of necessities like toilet paper, Venezuelans are spilling into the streets, pleading for Captain America to rescue them from their own chronically poor voting choices. Sorry, amigos, but it's not America's problem."

Probably good policy advice. It certainly will be the case for the U.S. when our check comes due - ain't nobody else big enough to pick up the bill.

It's for Your Own Good - Part II

It is not difficult to see why religion poses such a threat to the Ruling Class. Anyone or anything that purports to know better about what is best for the people must be fiercely resisted and even destroyed because, of course, it is a counter worldview to that of the Ruling Class. Consequently, there is great hostility to religion and active persecution where possible. Even in this country, with the shield of the First Amendment, the judicial establishment has reinterpreted it to effectively mean freedom from religion, not of religion, there is a persistent and vigorous effort to marginalize Christians and Jews and keep them from having any impact on public policy. The IRS is the most recent tool used in this regard and despite exposure in the media and table-pounding in Congress, the illegal persecution continues against Christian and other non-profits.

Why should this matter to Christians? After all, Jesus did say that in this world you will have tribulation.  But He didn't also say to ignore it. Christians are called to be salt and light to the society around them and it is a simple truth that a society that tries to run on Godly principles simply runs better for all citizens than one that does not. History teaches that Ruling Classes start bad and always get worse. That is why God was so reluctant to grant the Jews request for a king in the Old Testament. He eventually acceded to their demands and to put it mildly, the record of the Kings of Israel is with very few exceptions, awful. 

Humans, being who we are, want more and more of everything and this is what a Ruling Class does at the expense of the rest of society. They abuse power, wealth, culture - every area of life - and sink into decadence until they are so revolting and abusive that society finally does revolt and overthrows them (French Revolution) or an outside power(s) does the honors (Hitler's Germany). Biblical values such as humility, honesty, concern for others, a strong sense of stewardship and responsibility for what God entrusts to us are all very positive attributes for a society and its politicians. The mode du jour is, however, very Nietzchean - we don't need no stinkin' restraint, we are the Kings of the World! The Bible and history say otherwise and if we are to be faithful Christians and good citizens it is incumbent on us to do our best to prevent a similar fate befalling the United States. 

It's for Your Own Good

This is where Progressives would put all of us. Angelo Codevilla's seminal book The Ruling Class lays out the explanation perfectly for what we see happening today with President Obama and his Administration. Obama believes that he (as the current incumbent Ruling Class leader) knows better than we do what we need to live the good life and Obamacare and all the rest of his actions are to ensure his version of the good life for us. In so doing, the Declaration of Independence is turned on its head:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..."

We have the right to individually pursue happiness in life in the Founders' view and government is instituted to preserve and protect that right - its power is derivative only and we the people hold the reins. The Progressive view is that the Ruling Class knows what is best for our happiness and must make us pursue it, whether we want to or not, as it is for our own good. Witness Obamacare.

A huge majority of the American public do not want this program. So what? Since it's for our best interest the Administration moves ahead to implement it regardless of the lack of support, the huge cost overruns, and the sheer inability of the program to deliver. Further, severe penalties are necessary for disobeying because it is for our long term good even though we are too stupid to recognize it. True love in action, no? 

Of course the lie is exposed when the Ruling Class exempts itself and its supporters from all or much of the effect of the law - shades of ancient Rome - wine and orgies for the Ruling Class and the dregs for the great unwashed rabble. History shows what happened to Rome. It can happen here too. In fact the Declaration of Independence anticipated this in the completion of the sentence quoted above:

"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

That is our birthright as Americans. Keep your doctor; change your government! 

A Knife at Your Child's Throat

Arrogant atheism is a danger to this country. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn famously described Communism as “atheism with a knife at your child’s throat...” An earlier writer, de Tocqueville, recognized the corollary of this when he attributed the uniqueness and genius of the American political system to the deep religious impulse in the American people. As Proverbs 111:10 says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 

We have been blessed over the years to have had a substantial number of leaders who at least to some degree believed this verse and the country has consequently enjoyed the fruits of their belief - the will to power has been checked. It seems that now, however, the well has run pretty much dry, and those who would be God are in the ascent. Soon enough, they will present themselves to "save" us and guide us to "utopia" as only they can. Without a return by many to God, the source of all goodness, we can expect the knives to our children's throats as has happened so many times throughout history and instead of utopia, hell will again reign.

townhall.com/columnists/robertmorrison/2014/02/12/the-faith-of-ronald-reagan-n1793463

Why?

The Obama Administration has announced an easing of the immigration rules for folks who "only" provided "limited material support" for terrorists or terrorist organizations. Are we nuts? What is wrong with the people in D.C.? What is wrong with letting in computer whizzes and rocket scientists instead of bomb throwers? Whiskey tango foxtrot. 

townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2014/02/10/us-easing-immigration-rule-for-terrorist-support-n1792390

Another One Hits the Dole

It seems to be the goal of government at all levels to get everyone on the dole, even companies. The TARP program saw the big banks get bailed out in 2008-2009. A few years ago the Port of Portland shelled out $3.5 million to keep Delta flying the Portland-Tokyo run nonstop. Now another company has lined up for the Port's largesse. 

I have done a couple of stories on Hanjin Shipping pulling its container ships out of Portland and the impact that would have, especially on Oregon agricultural exports. The company's problem is terrible union problems at the Portland docks and the fact that its ships have to travel 100 miles upriver to load/unload. How to solve the problem? Bribe them, of course, with $4M for their trouble. The real answer to the problem lies elsewhere, though, specifically in Astoria.

Astoria is a deepwater port just across the Columbia bar which eliminates the 200-mile roundtrip for large ships. Container and bulk loading facilities for grain and lumber would rejuvenate the coastal economy like nothing seen there in 100 years. The rail line between Astoria and Portland would have to be extensively upgraded, but this would almost certainly be privately financed if BNSF and/or Union Pacific knew that the new port was going in. Then there is the second issue of labor relations. 

Oregon is going to have a "right-to-work" measure on the ballot this year. This means that a worker doesn't have to be a union member to work at a job in the state. If this is passed it would break the back of small groups like the dock workers holding the rest of us hostage for their economic gain. 

Shipping is now a global market and Portland is competing with Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, Vancouver and Prince Rupert, B.C. It is the smallest of these ports with some serious drawbacks. Paying bribes merely delays the inevitable in economics - adjust and adapt to the market or die.

www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2014/02/port_of_portland_plans_to_subs.html#incart_m-rpt-2

Everything is Fine, Fine

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that a sniper attack in April 2013 that knocked out a California power substation was a terrorist attack that may have been a rehearsal for mass attacks to shut down America's power grid and plunge the nation into darkness. It was successful. 

Stored away any emergency rations yet? Think about it.

www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/02/04/Report-2013-Attack-on-California-Power-Station-Was-Terrorist-Rehearsal

Everything's Coming Up Roses

Victor Davis Hanson gives a status report on the current state of the world:

"In the last two weeks, we learned that Bashar Assad has dismantled only 5 percent of his WMDarsenal, despite President Obama’s soaring rhetoric to the contrary. Russia violated a long-observed agreement with the U.S. about testing missiles. Iran’s take on the negotiations over its bomb program bears no resemblance to our interpretation. Chinese officials now happily leak fantastic stories about using their military to punish Japan. All that is trumped by veiled threats from the Sunni Gulf monarchies, terrified of Iran, to buy a bomb or two from Pakistan. We hear other rumors that even China thinks the new leadership in North Korea is unhinged and is not worried about friendly warnings from Beijing."

www.nationalreview.com/article/370259/our-icarus-chief-victor-davis-hanson

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
                                                                                                       John 16:33

Frankly, the latter is the only consolation we have because the current occupant of the White House hasn't got a clue.

Frankly Scarlett...

I do give a *%*! which is why I respect Scarlett Johansson's fighting back in the whole dustup over her SodaStream ad during the Super Bowl. 

By Super Bowl standards the ad itself was pretty ho-hum - Scarlett pitches a DIY soda maker as she changes from a white lab coat into a slinky black dress and closes with a seductive sip on a straw. A huge dust up has arisen, though, because SodaStream is an Israeli company and all the usual (and anti-Semitic) suspects have gone into full howl for her A-list skin. 

Johansson has been on the Oxfam board which allegedly promotes "social justice" and is really a code word for throwing the Israelis out of Israel and letting the Palestinians take over. Oxfam is part of the "Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions" (BDS) movement which is for the same sort of "social justice" and it is bound and determined to make Johansson pay the price. The only problem is that the truth of this particular situation doesn't support their professed goal, although it cuts against their real objective.

Johansson cooly issued a statement in response to all the hoorah that sets the record straight:

" 'While I never intended on being the face of any social or political movement, distinction, separation or stance as part of my affiliation with SodaStream, given the amount of noise surrounding that decision, I’d like to clear the air,' read the statement. 'I remain a supporter of economic cooperation and social interaction between a democratic Israel and Palestine. SodaStream is a company that is not only committed to the environment but to building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine, supporting neighbors working alongside each other, receiving equal pay, equal benefits and equal rights. That is what is happening in their Ma‚Äôale Adumim factory every working day.' ”

And here I thought you were just another pretty face. You've got some chops girl standing up to these international bullies and posers. Well done.
www.wnd.com/2014/02/scarlett-johansson-slinks-into-politics/?cat_orig=world

A Maybe

Dr. Ben Carson, who I respect greatly, was speaking in Portland yesterday on behalf of U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Monica Wehby. She is also a pediatric neurosurgeon in Portland and is in the Republican primary for Sen. Jeff Merkley's seat in November. She has a slick website and I like what she says on it, but she does not say enough yet. 

A little research thus far reveals that she is pro-life (good) but realizes that the U.S. Supreme Court has the final say on this subject (realistic). She does not like Obamacare and has produced a Carson-like alternative that is a good starting point for a follow-on after the Affordable Care Act is repealed. That's about it, though, and there are many more issues that I would like to know more about before pitching in with her camp. It is encouraging, though, that we may have a bright, capable and conservative candidate to challenge Merkley, who is a high-octane Progressive. Time for a change.

www.monicafororegon.com/

Observation Point

"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."   Luke 9:23

Lead Pastor Steve Fowler of Salem Alliance Church unpacked this key Bible passage about Jesus' teachings in his weekend sermon and used this gem from C.S. Lewis:

“The natural life in each of us is something self-centered, something that wants to be petted and admired, to take advantage of other lives, to exploit the whole universe… Especially it wants to be left to itself: to keep well away from anything that might make it feel small. It is afraid of the light and air of the spiritual world…and in a sense it is quite right. It knows that if the spiritual life gets hold of it, all its self-contentedness and self-will are going to be killed and it is ready to fight tooth and nail to avoid that.”

We have met the enemy and he is us. Welcome to the fight. 

True Grit

Under the heading of "Everyday Heroes" is Dr. Zenko Hrynkiw, a neurosurgeon in Alabama. He got a call that a hospital patient 6 miles away needed emergency brain surgery. He jumped in his car and set off for Trinity Medical Center but only made it a few blocks because traffic was at a stand-still due to the snow and ice that hit the South last week. Hrynkiw said he was told that if he didn't get there, the man would almost certainly die and he vowed, "Not on my watch." He jumped out of his car and walked the nearly 6-mile distance to the hospital, did the surgery, and saved the man's life. 

That's the Right Stuff and that's what America is about, not the fluff that makes the headlines today. I hope a new generation of Americans learns to embody this ideal - we need it. 

www.foxnews.com/health/2014/02/01/neurosurgeon-walks-6-miles-in-snow-storm-to-perform-brain-surgery/

The Gov Gets Caught

No, not Chris Christie - John Kitzhaber. Gov. Kitzhaber's skating on the Cover Oregon mess may be ending. KATU in Portland (ABC) has put investigators on the trail of what happened and caught the Gov in a totally non-credible statement. Specifically, in a televised interview Kitzhaber said that he did not know about the mess until "late October" which is totally unbelievable because the lid blew off the scandal on October 1, 2013. Further, there had been a series of reports to the Executive Department for 2 years warning of major problems. We are thus presented with the situation that Kitzhaber either completely ignored the burgeoning problems with Cover Oregon, a complete dereliction of his duty as Chief Executive, or he was complicit and lied about it. That could be criminal. In either case, that this guy is even thinking about running again for governor shows the contempt in which he holds Oregon voter. 

Well done KATU! Keep up the good work. Reporting like this will help bring the change in Oregon's politics to keep our elected officials really accountable. 

www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2014/01/31/Local-News-Report-Oregon-Governor-Lie-About-His-Knowledge-of-State-Exchange-Disaster