This did not set well with those waiting expectantly. Police were called to the Instant Tax Service in Charlotte, NC as approximately 75 angry customers descended on their office demanding the refund deposits as promised on the date promised.  They wanted their money! However, was it? There is common thinking that half the people pay taxes and half do not.

This is only partially true. The part that half pay taxes is true, however, through the magic of Earned Income Credit and other creations of an overly generous congress, many who do not pay taxes actually are refunded more than they have paid into the system… thousands more! Liberals and progressives have a term for these, they are called a transfer payments. That means, money is transferred from those who have earned it to those who have not.

The near violence in Charlotte was repeated in Richmond, VA. Given the thirst for government (read taxpayers) money, it would be surprising if these were isolated incidents. This should be a source of concern for all of us as we work for and anticipate the defeat of the Prevaricator in Chief. This great divider has convinced his followers of their right to feed at the public trough at the expense of their fellow citizens. They have bought into his story European socialist vision and are waiting with outstretched hands. What’s worse, they have been deprived of the ability to create their own lives and their own successes.

What will happen when Barack Obama is ejected for the people’s house and the money stops flowing? Or, should the people foolishly keep him in office, what will happen when the money stops because we have simply run out. Denied expectations can promote a response that none of us would like, yet we must be prepared for. The fact is that sooner or later the money will stop flowing and we have a choice of whether it will be a gentle or harsh landing. And… we also have a choice of whether we are prepared for such a response or if it will take us by surprise.

This was just a small skirmish in the quest for what some consider to be rightfully theirs. However, when things begin going badly, we need to consider how we will deal with the situation. We cannot operate a European welfare state, nor should we. However, we have seen the reaction to a delay of funds for just a few days. We cannot ignore this warning and need to be aware that even though we may be doing the right thing, there will be obstacles to overcome and we cannot loose resolve.

As Christians, we need to look beyond the annoyances and the attacks on our country and speak the truth to them that the real source of our security, and the security of those seeking our money, is our Creator, not the folks inside the beltway.

This is kind of the spirit of what we heard when Barack Hussein Obama declared, “With or without this congress, I will keep taking action…” during the State of the Union message. For a President to say this of the entire legislative branch of our government shows a complete contempt for our constitution and the separation of powers the founders built into our nation’s fabric.

This is the man who considers the constitution that was designed to protect rights of individuals through restraint of government to be a hindrance to the implementation of his schemes to change the world for the good of us poor, ignorant folks who still cling to our God and our guns. That is, those of us who are too dimwitted to know any better. Never mind that we have other plans for our money, resources and our lives. The anointed one and this minions are people who know how we should live… and we should just just quietly follow them.

Many years ago, C.S. Lewis noted, “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive”. We have been told that expansion of the national government power is for our own good. We are told that the power of government will keep bad things from happening. We are told that the government can give us better health care if only we are willing to sacrifice our potential well being for the good of the overall society.

Unfortunately, it is the power of government that keeps good things from happening. It is the excess of regulation and interference that has destroyed not only jobs, but entire industries. It has turned happy, prosperous cities into towns struggling with despair and joblessness. The President’s answer to this problem is to expand the unemployment insurance. This is indicative of the myopic approach to all our problems… just think about it. If city after city lands on the skids and survives on the unemployment insurance that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi says creates jobs, will there not come a point when more cities are taking than giving and driving the rest into poverty? How about us as individuals – when more of us are surviving on resources of those who earned them?

In the The Treasure of Sierra Madre, the impersonators came to a bad end. They pretended to be people with authority and power to protect the people. They were not people with authority and power to protect the people. They were liars and thieves. They paid the price and suffered the fate of an imposter. What will be the price that Barack Hussein Obama pays for the destruction of America… both now and forever.

Congress? We don’t need no stinkin’ congress!

As Barack Hussein Obama kicked off his presidential campaign with a State of the Union message.  The Prevaricator in Chief tried to sound much more mainstream than his actions have shown him to be.  We shall look at any proposals that may actually have both merit and potential for execution at a later date, however for now, let’s look at what American patriot, Thomas Paine might tell him.

What has happened is, the US Census Bureau erroneously claims that it “‘is required by the U.S. Constitution count everyone living in this country, regardless of immigration or citizenship status.’” Accordingly, they have counted millions of illegal aliens in the 2010 Census and are using those figures to apportion the US House of Representatives. If this egregious misinterpretation of the US Constitution is allowed to stand, five states (Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, and Ohio) will lose representation in the US Congress to which they are lawfully entitled, while three states (California, Texas, and Florida) will be awarded additional representation in the US Congress to which they are not lawfully entitled. And, of course, this will also directly impact the makeup of the Electoral College, which ultimately elects the President of the United States.

Of course, this manipulation of the 2010 US Census also impacts the election of the US President, as those states that are granted more seats in the US Congress are also granted more votes in the Electoral College as the Electoral College is composed of a “Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress. . . .” (Article. II. Section. I. Clause. 2. US Constitution). And, as everyone knows, under the US Constitution, it is the Electoral College that ultimately elects the President of the United States. Thus, the states of Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, and Ohio, will be unjustly denied their lawful votes in the Electoral College, while California, Texas, and Florida, are being unjustly granted unlawful votes in the Electoral College. Would it not be extraordinary if the margin by which President Obama is re-elected in the Electoral College would be provided by the manipulation of the census data under his control? Again, this would be an outrage!

In essence, the Obama administration is rigging the US Census to steal a congressional seat from the State of Montana. This rigging will keep Montana from having a second congressional representative. If the illegals in California, Texas, and Florida are not included, then Montana will receive two congressional seats and four electoral votes. Under Obama’s rigging plan, Montana will continue to have only one congressional seat and three electoral votes.

Considering the major media and even most “conservative” talking heads have said virtually nothing about this monstrous misallocation of constitutional government is just the latest example of how truly out of touch the people who are entrusted to inform the American people really are.

The plaintiff in this case is the State of Louisiana, which has now been joined and supported by amici U.S. Border Control, U.S. Border Control Foundation, U.S. Justice Foundation, Institute on the Constitution, Gun Owners of America, Inc., Gun Owners Foundation, English First, English First Foundation, Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund, The Lincoln Institute for Research and Education, Public Advocate of the United States, Policy Analysis Center, Virginia Del. Bob Marshall, Oklahoma Rep. Charles Key, Maryland Del. Don Dwyer, Washington Rep. Matt Shea, Wyoming Sen. Kit Jennings, as well as Candidate for Governor of Montana, Bob Fanning, and Candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Montana, Chuck Baldwin.

Attorneys filing this brief before the US Supreme Court are Herbert W. Titus, William J. Olson, John S. Miles, Jeremiah L. Morgan (of the law firm of William J. Olson, P.C. of Vienna, Virginia) and Gary G. Kreep (of the U.S. Justice Foundation).

As citizens of the State of Montana, and as candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the State of Montana, Bob Fanning and I are outraged at this unconstitutional manipulation of the 2010 US Census, and the subsequent unconstitutional and unlawful misapportionment of the US House of Representatives.

We are further outraged that our own governor, Brian Schweitzer (the incumbent Democrat governor who is term-limited out of office after the completion of his current term) has done nothing to prevent the people of the State of Montana from being denied the rightful seating of an additional US House member from the Montana delegation to Washington, D.C. He has not served as Montana’s watchman, to make certain that our State is being treated fairly by the Obama administration. Louisiana has been forced to go it alone, as the only State willing to bring this challenge. By not joining the lawsuit against the Obama administration, what Governor Schweitzer in essence is doing is allowing illegal aliens to deny the due representation of the citizens of Montana in Washington, D.C. This is an outrage!

It is a gross misinterpretation of the US Constitution to claim that the US Census is supposed to “count everyone living in this country.” Article. I. Section. I. Clause 3. as amended by Section. 2. of the 14th Amendment authorizes “a targeted decennial census of the ‘respective numbers’ of ‘the People’ of the several States, not a wholesale count of the numbers of persons found ‘living’ in the United States.” The term “the People” is a technical term used in the U.S. Constitution to refer to the polity, that is, the people who constituted the government and who are legal citizens of the nation. Only by such a tailored count can the constitutionally-authorized decennial census serve the purpose for which that census has been required–the apportionment of representation of the people of the several states in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“It is manifestly untrue that the decennial census ordained by the Constitution is to be taken without regard to a person’s ‘immigration or citizenship status.’ The decennial census is conducted for the apportionment of representation in the House of Representatives, the members of which are ‘chosen every second Year by the People of the several States.’ (Article. I. Section. 2. Clause. 1. US Constitution). The first sentence of the 14th Amendment establishes a symbiotic relationship between a person’s United States citizenship and that person’s State citizenship. Thus, whether a person is part of ‘the People’ of a State is largely, if not exclusively, dictated by a person’s ‘immigration or citizenship status.’ Any census that ignores that connection is fatally flawed.”

In the afore-mentioned lawsuit, we are asking the US Supreme Court to preserve the integrity of the US House of Representatives and Electoral College.

I can tell you that the people who want to disassemble constitutional government in this country are hoping that no one notices what the Obama administration is doing to manipulate the 2010 US Census to unlawfully reconstruct the US House of Representatives and Electoral College. Well, I can tell you, Bob Fanning and I (along with the other amici curiae supporting Louisiana in this lawsuit) are not going to let that happen!

I will be holding a press conference to blow the whistle on what is taking place to deny the people of the State of Montana (along with the people of the states of Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio) their lawful representation in Washington, D.C. I am also using the influence and outreach of this column to alert the American people as to how the Obama administration is attempting to manipulate the US House of Representatives and Electoral College.

It is more than interesting also that the “anointed” establishment neocon Republican Montana gubernatorial candidate, Rick Hill, has, himself, not even bothered to alert the people of Montana to this travesty. Why not? Rick is a career politician who once served in the US House of Representatives from Montana. One would think he would want to protect the people of the State of Montana from this outrage. But he has said nothing! Plus, have you heard anything about this from any of the “conservative” talking heads on FOX News? No you haven’t! Why not? Why is it left to this column to alert you to this gross violation of constitutional government?

Therefore, I unashamedly appeal to readers to help Bob and I carry this fight to preserve the integrity of the US House of Representative and the Electoral College to the US Supreme Court. Please go to our web site.

I also highly encourage readers to visit the web site of the law firm filing this brief. William J. Olson, Herbert Titus, et al., have been at the front lines in helping to defend constitutional government for longer than many of us have been alive. Bill Olson and Herb Titus have defended a sizeable number of patriot organizations and individuals against federal usurpation for decades. I don’t know of another law firm with the credentials and track record of fighting for constitutional government, Second Amendment rights, and individual liberty anywhere in the country than the law firm of William J. Olson, P.C.

To learn more about this lawsuit and the Olson law firm…

In the meantime, each of us should be using our individual and collective sphere of influence to trumpet this attempted travesty as loudly as possible! I especially encourage readers in the states of Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, and Ohio to demand of every elected public office holder in their respective states to use every means possible to defend the lawful rights of their states to proper representation in the US House of Representatives and the Electoral College. The people of America simply must not allow this flagrant manipulation of the 2010 US Census to take place! If the Obama administration gets by with this now, think how the states’ representation in Congress will be abused in the future.

For more by Chuck Baldwin go to http://chuckbaldwinlive.com

However, as John Adams told us, “Facts are stubborn things”. The facts in this case, include the Iowa caucus results being reversed to give Rick Santorum the victory. Romney was no longer 2 – 0 in the prior contests. Another fact was that CBS News, in an obvious attempt to swing the election results, made a clumsy effort to damage the former Speaker with a hatchet job interview with his former wife.

As with many ill-conceived efforts to strong arm the public, an aggressive, confident response can turn the entire situation around. John King’s attempt to put Gingrich on the spot with an embarrassing question turned sour quickly as it was met with a surprisingly determined response that called out the network and the questioner for what they were. The crowd cheered. Instead of turning on the former Speaker, they understood this was just an attempt to dredge up old news and remove the effect of any repentance and change of heart the man may have had.

This was just one of many times the Speaker’s refusal to back down from difficult questions accrued to his benefit and endeared him to the the voters in South Carolina, and the rest of the country. With the response from the voters, some have theorized that this was a media attempt to boost a Romney rival. This thinking is based on the idea that they really are afraid of former frontrunner. I’m not sure this is really the case… however some have this mindset… but then, some think Obama is doing a great job.

In any case, a few days before the primary, the polls started to detect rising support for Newt Gingrich. They didn’t really understand the just how strong his support was, and how impressive his win would be. For those satisfied, or at least, not overly upset with the things going on in our country, it is hard to comprehend how horrified many Americans are at the actions of the ruling elites. Four in ten voted for Gingrich, only a quarter voted for the party’s golden boy. A thirteen point spread is pretty impressive for one who had been trailing in the polls only a few short days before.

Rick Santorum had a solid third place finish, with the endorsement from evangelical leaders. Yet such endorsements alone did not help the man, who would do a good job, but fails to excite the electorate. He did, however, finish ahead of the candidate with the most loyal and aggressive support base.

Some Ron Paul supporters have tried to spin the results as voters not voting against their man, but as voting against Mitt Romney. Gingrich just happened to be the lucky beneficiary of this antipathy. It would seem that a vote for the fourth place finisher, Paul, would also have been a vote against Romney… yet the people chose Newt and Rick Santorum over their heart throb. It could be that some voters have found, not the candidate, but some supporters, too much to deal with and looked for another candidate to support. Dedication is fine, but attacking those who are essentially on the same side, is not the way to win them over.

Each one on the ballot is doing their best to make the best story out of the outcome. However, I’m sure many of the good old boys in the Palmetto State have seen the t-shirt hawked at NASCAR events that reads, “Second Place Is Just The First Loser!” There is no way to spin this other than to say that Newt won this round handily.

Will this begin the momentum that carries him to the White House? Will the media and establishment beat him down so their guy can be McCain 2.0? Is it possible the Santorum or Paul campaign can get a second wind and electrify the voters? I don’t know. Time will tell. I would suggest though, that if your guy isn’t in the first position, it’s time to get to work.

Just don’t try to help your favorite by telling all sorts of disgusting stories about the other competitors. There is very little we have not heard of the nastiness and many of us are tired of it. No one will be convinced of the righteousness of your cause by having their intelligence or patriotism attacked, Remember, we will have to work together as a team to defeat the imposter in the White House when this is over. We can’t do this showing greater hostility to each other than to those destroying our country.

Some will say, but candidate R or candidate G is no different than Barack Hussein Obama. We many not like some, or even many, of their policies, but to say they are the same is utter nonsense. We need to remove the socialistic cancer in our government, then work at fixing the problems it has created. Sure, some will fix them more quickly than others, but we need to stop the bleeding in any way we can… with any one we can!

Now, let’s think about this for a moment. Is there any candidate, front runner or back marker, who fits this stereotypical image many hold of the GOP? I’ll give you a hint. He has really nice hair. He, along with others, bought companies – made some successful and sold others just for the assets, leaving the workers to find their own way to the unemployment office.

This is not necessarily an attack on all of the practices of Bain Capital, but we really need to look past the “electability” issue the press and Republican establishment keep pushing in our faces. Is this a time for anyone so removed from the average American to run for the presidency? In some ways, it’s a lot like the question, no matter what you think of his qualifications, is it the time for Jebb Bush to run for the office?

We have an environment where the president is running against any sort of success, viewing it as only producing resources to be looted for the benefit of his constituents. He is only to happy to point out the evils of capitalism. Something he and many see Mitt Romney as the chief exponent of.

Paradoxically, these are same people who have no problems when they cozy up to wealthy supporters like George Soros and Jeffrey Immelt. Never mind that one uses his wealth to destroy national economies, including our own, and the other ships American jobs overseas. Sometimes their selective indignation is astounding.

Unfortunately, the formerly mainstream media is helping perpetuate Obama’s distorted narrative with Keynesian economic fallacies. Also, unfortunately, there is a gullible and economically illiterate public ready to eat up the class warfare rhetoric.

Running a candidate who fits the narrative of an evil, money grubbing business man, particularly in view of some of the practices of Bain Capital, is giving the imposter in the White House a gift he does not deserve. He wants to face off against Romney because he fears the former governor less than some of the more outspoken candidates.

It is too easy to take shots at a man born with a silver spoon in his mouth and a record that includes putting people out of work to make a profit. The fact is, that despite the consensus of “electability” and the pre-campaign polling, this man does not really fit the bill.

But, some would say, he is an fine example of capitalism. Only in an elitist fantasy, is he the fine example. Mitt Romney is much more of corporatist who has little in common with a guy with a dream who starts a small business and struggles to keep it alive in a hostile economic environment. He watches guys like that fail and buys out their assets for almost nothing, or watches them succeed and convinces them to sell by overwhelming them with competition they cannot afford to meet.

The Republican Party has an opportunity to respond to the fears of the American people who see a government with its sites set on everything they have to redistribute it to their political allies. The party needs a candidate the Joe Lunchbox can relate to… and a candidate that can relate to them. For those of us who thought the days of the Rockefeller Republicans were over… we need to take another look.

While most Americans were celebrating the holidays, President Barack Obama quietly signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), otherwise known as the “Indefinite Detention Act,” into law. Obama had initially said he would veto the bill which contains the draconian language authorizing the US military to seize and incarcerate US citizens without warrant, due process, trial, etc. Of course, Obama quickly changed his mind after the bill passed both houses of Congress.

When signing the NDAA into law, Obama issued a signing statement that in essence said, “I have the power to detain Americans… but I won’t.” See this report.

Americans should realize that, coupled with the Patriot Act, the NDAA, for all intents and purposes, completely nullifies a good portion of the Bill of Rights, turns the United States into a war zone, and places US citizens under military rule. And what is even more astonishing is the manner in which the national press corps, and even the so-called “conservative” talking heads, have either completely ignored it, or have actually defended it. The likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, et al., should be ashamed of themselves!

At this juncture, I want to highly encourage my readers to review two columns written by my constitutional attorney son, Tim Baldwin. He has written two masterful columns explaining the draconian provisions of the NDAA and responding to those irresponsible journalists who fail to understand and warn the American people regarding the horrific implications of the NDAA.

This is Tim’s column explaining the NDAA:

And this is Tim’s column, which rebukes journalists who choose to stick their heads in the sand regarding the NDAA:

Mike Adams at NaturalNews.com has also written a great piece regarding the seriousness of the NDAA. He begins his report saying, “One of the most extraordinary documents in human history–the Bill of Rights–has come to an end under President Barack Obama. Derived from sacred principles of natural law, the Bill of Rights has come to a sudden and catastrophic end with the President’s signing of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a law that grants the U.S. military the ‘legal’ right to conduct secret kidnappings of U.S. citizens, followed by indefinite detention, interrogation, torture and even murder. This is all conducted completely outside the protection of law, with no jury, no trial, no legal representation and not even any requirement that the government produce evidence against the accused. It is a system of outright government tyranny against the American people, and it effectively nullifies the Bill of Rights.

“In what will be remembered as the most traitorous executive signing ever committed against the American people, President Obama signed the bill on New Year’s Eve, a time when most Americans were engaged in the consumption of alcohol. It seems appropriate, of course, since no intelligent American could accept the tyranny of this bill if they were sober.

“This is the law that will cement Obama’s legacy in the history books as the traitor who nullified the Bill of Rights and paved America’s pathway down a road of tyranny that will make Nazi Germany’s war crimes look like child’s play. If Bush had signed a law like this, liberals would have been screaming ‘impeachment!’”

Adams is absolutely right! Liberals are as bad as conservatives when it comes to overlooking traitorous behavior when it is perpetrated by one of their own.

Adams goes on to say, “Even while committing an act of pure treason in signing the bill, the unindicted criminal President Obama issued a signing statement that reads, in part, ‘Moving forward, my administration will interpret and implement the provisions described below in a manner that best preserves the flexibility on which our safety depends and upholds the values on which this country was founded…’

“Anyone who reads between the lines here realizes the ‘the flexibility on which our safety depends’ means they can interpret the law in any way they want if there is a sufficient amount of fear being created through false flag terror attacks. Astute readers will also notice that Obama’s signing statement has no legal binding whatsoever and only refers to Obama’s momentary intentions on how he ‘wishes’ to interpret the law. It does not place any limits whatsoever on how a future President might use the law as written.”

See Adams report.

Signed into law by President George W. Bush, the Patriot Act and Military Commissions Act effectively eviscerated the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution. Now, the NDAA of 2012, signed into law by President Barack Obama, has effectively eviscerated the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth amendments to the US Constitution. Note that it has not mattered one whit whether it was a Republican or Democrat President or Congress in power at the time. Both parties in Washington, D.C., have superintended over the deliberate and unabashed dismantlement of the Bill of Rights. And, of course, we must all realize that for all intents and purposes–and with very few exceptions–both parties in Washington, D.C., have ignored the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution for decades.

We should also add that the First Amendment was pretty much expunged in 1962 and 1963 when the US Supreme Court outlawed the public acknowledgment of God. And the Second Amendment suffered a major setback with the passage of the Nazi-like Gun Control Act of 1968. And, of course, the infamous Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision also effectively annihilated the right to life clause of the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution.

Therefore, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that, over the past several decades, the US Congress, the US Supreme Court, and the US Presidency have collaborated together to strip the American people of the protections and safeguards of their liberties contained in what must be recognized–along with the Declaration of Independence–as the Holy Grail of liberty: the Bill of Rights.

So, how long will it be before the President of the United States will actually act upon the power that has been granted him under the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, and the NDAA of 2012? How long will it be before the US military is ordered to turn their guns on the American citizenry? How long will it be before American citizens begin disappearing in much the same way that the people in Stalin’s Russia, Hitler’s Germany, and Mao’s China disappeared? What will be the “national emergency” that triggers the implementation of these Hitlerian laws?

Another 9-11-style attack maybe? Who knows? One thing is certain: these laws are not painstakingly written, debated, and passed into law for the fun of it! These laws are on the books for a reason: the federal government fully intends to implement these laws at some point! You can count on that!

I am reminded of the sagacious words of America’s most celebrated jurist Daniel Webster. He said, “God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it.” So, I guess it’s time to start asking the question: Just who is left within these States United that truly love liberty and are willing to guard and defend it? Because one thing is certain: the vast majority of the miscreants in Washington, D.C., sure aren’t going to do it.

For more from Chuck Baldwin, go to http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/

It appears that we don’t really have an economic problem… but a confidence problem. It’s not that we lack cash… the Fed is printing paper just as fast as the virtual presses will run – but it’s not filtering down to the average taxpaying American. We have a president with no lack of confidence in his ability to do everything short of walking on water, although I’m not sure he hasn’t tried. At this point though, his extreme confidence in himself is not shared by Wall St. or Main St. People have begun saving what money they have and stopped buying much that they really don’t need. The economy is slowly winding down.

One would think that all the people who voted for, and supported, Barack Hussein Obama would have the confidence to move the economy forward, yet even they… the bankers who received bailout money… and contributed to his campaign… don’t have the confidence to start the credit flowing again. For the bankers, it’s not a cash shortage, they received billions of our money from the government, but an unwillingness to lend it out. It’s hard blame them too much as they’ve made a habit of bad choices in recent years… it wasn’t all their fault though…some was because of government rules and community organized intimidation.

We are told that the banks are the key to freeing up the credit that keeps our economy moving. Individuals and companies in debt up to their eyeballs don’t necessarily need more debt to get them out of debt. The same could be said for governments. Somehow many in our population know this instinctively, but it somehow escapes the thinkerbrains in Washington who have no other answers for us. They tell us to have confidence in them… however more and more people are out on the streets with no job. The want us to have confidence in their answers… but they cost us money… they cost our children money… they cost our grandchildren money – AND THEY DON’T WORK! Telling us that expanding credit is the key to prosperity when excessive debt is what brought us to our knees is utter foolishness… and the low interest rates they are touting are the death knell to savers. The elites have foreclosed on the solutions to our problems.

The truth of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s statement, “Who among us would ask our children for a loan, so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need? That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did. It’s irresponsible…” cannot be overemphasized… and even the progressives understand this, but they will never admit it publicly. Our kids money is the source of their power.

We are in the midst of a crisis of confidence in our financial markets, our businesses, our government, in America… even in ourselves. This may be the worst crime the administration has committed against the American people.

What can we believe in, that will get us moving? Perhaps it is the Christians who have confidence that goes beyond the financial institutions and government to listen to the wisdom of God and lead us forward. We are attempting to follow people who have no idea what they are doing. Watching the current DC drama reminds me of a political consultant who is fond of saying, “Never assume malice when incompetence will do.” Although, I am not completely ready to rule out malice. If ever there was a time for a calm word of common sense, it is now.

The solutions we are offered are massively more of the same thing that got us into this mess. Of course, they won’t listen to us, just like they ignore conservative objections because, “I won!”. Perhaps we can show our fellow Americans the way out by taking care of our families and refusing to take part in the “sky is falling” rhetoric, while still making preparations for the worst. Where there are problems, there are also opportunities. The only way to find them is to lose the panic mode and logically assess the situation. Seeking wisdom could go a long to insuring a happy outcome for us, individually, and for our families in spite of everything going on around us. Psalm 37:25 tells us, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” This is the confidence we need.

Someone has to lead our country out of the fix we’re in. We are preparing for an election in the coming year, yet in spite of the dire threat to our country we are a fragmented mob more concerned about our parochial interests than winning the big victory. The people in charge don’t have the sense to know that when you find yourself in a hole… STOP DIGGING! And they need to be replaced.

When our country was founded well over two hundred years ago, the citizens were neither perfect or marching in lock step, yet there was a form of Christian consensus. There was a general agreement on what constituted right and wrong. There was an agreement on the rights and duties of citizenship in this great land. Because of this the people were happy and productive – creating the most prosperous nation on earth.

Sure there were conflicts. There were those who desired to take advantage of the good people… both inside and outside the government. In spite of this the sense of common values and common destiny held us together even through our darkest hours. This sense of common values kept us from fragmenting ourselves into ineffective and hostile tribes that could only succeed at the expense of others.

This is exactly what scripture above tells us. It comes from the story of the Tower of Babel, where a disobedient people thought they could build their own society on their own terms. To a point, they could… but there came a time when God intervened and put a stop to their humanistic schemes. We humans are created in the image of God with considerable physical and intellectual capabilities. We can do a great many things, even though we cannot save ourselves.

When we work together, we can do amazing things. We can find energy under thousands of feet of rock. We can turn a barren desert into an abundant garden. We can put a man on the moon. We can develop businesses that employ thousands, giving them a way to support their families and enjoy a good life in our land.

However, in recent years, we have not been so together as we once were. Many in our land still have a love and respect for the “American Dream”. They believe in the work ethic that made this country great. They believe in working hard and reaping the rewards of that work.

Unfortunately, this belief is not as common as it once was. There are those who cannot make it in our performance oriented society, or do not think they can make it… or do not wish to put forth the effort that seek to receive the benefits of the work of others and are willing to take what they want. They have no regard for the people or the system that is so effective that there is enough left over to allow even those at the bottom of our economic ladder to live better than most of the rest of the world.

We will always have those among us who, legitimately, have disabilities that prevent them from productively working in our society. They are not that many that we cannot care for them. However the systems to do so that are in place, make it far to easy for those who are capable, but simple do not wish to put forth the effort.

Even more unfortunate is the fact that the most influential people in our government are among their number. Just recently the New York Times ran an article, publicized by Rush Limbaugh, that confirms the President is building his support among those looking to benefit from the federal “safety net”. He is expanding programs at a pace and in areas the even FDR never considered. The only thing is that, while he is succeeding in giving away more and more, he is also succeeding in pseudo job creation programs that give the appearance of concern, but have absolutely no possibility or intention of creating jobs… which would be the only way of paying for his redistribution schemes.

This president is not only taking from the productive members of society, he is reducing their numbers. Beyond that, worse even, is the fact that he is generating hostility between the working and the non-working segments of society. He is building his whole administration by driving wedges between classes of people. This is his worst crime of all. The animosity Barack Obama has created over recent years by telling people at the lower end of the economic scale that their problems are the result of intentional actions by those who have worked for their lifestyles is poisoning our society, making a return to united prosperity possibly generations away.

Apparently he never heard that Benjamin Franklin told us, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” Neither has Obama considered Dante’s interpretation of hell where he looked on the “sowers of discord” as worthy of only slightly less torment then the Devil himself. This time though, I would suggest that it is not the Creator fragmenting us – we are doing it to ourselves.

However one wants to look at it, a united society overcomes adversity, while a fragmented society fails and reduces everyone to the lowest common denominator. We cannot permit the political class, particularly the progressive political class, to destroy our country for their own nefarious gains and ends.

The reactions to this antipathy are more interesting. Both the first lady and her husband have made clear their disdain for patriotic, independent, Christian citizens like the ones who enjoy the sights and sounds of NASCAR. Mrs. Obama and Joe Biden’s wife had the audacity to show up at this event that decided the season championship. They surrounded a noble veteran who works to ease the transition of other returning veterans. Yet the race fans who paid $50, $100 or more to be there and watch their heroes battle each other on the one and a half mile Homestead Miami oval, did not take kindly to the intrusion of these two women that represent everything our country is not… at least did not used to be.

Given this oil and water mixture, the reaction could be predicted… and has been predicted. I, myself, called NASCAR, suggesting it was a mistake to have these beltway intruders take part in Sunday’s proceedings. The organization decided to honor the dishonorable and serve as a platform for the President’s re-election campaign. A campaign to destroy everything these fans hold dear.

It is interesting that when people reach a certain level in life they tend to regard themselves as members of an elitist club. That membership, for many, means that to keep their position, they support other members of the club. The fact that the management of both the sanctioning body and the track thought it was a good idea to have this socialist who was never proud of her country until the radicals in the Democrat Party gave her husband the presidential nomination is evidence that this ostentatious society does not view the world the same way the “common folk” see it – or even the way the drivers who risk their lives chasing a dream see it.

Also not surprising is the inability of the formerly mainstream media to understand the hostility of these little people who should be pleased that royalty should come down to be with them. They thought the reception their heroine was disrespectful and shameful. While it may not be anything to be rejoicing over, this behavior is what the regular people will do when they are, at last, given the opportunity to make their feelings known.

This is apparently not acceptable behavior when it comes to criticism of their chosen one. The peasants are to be quietly respectful and accept what the ruling class gives them. NASCAR fans do not regard themselves as dependent on any self appointed upper class group. They love their freedom and they jolly well intend to keep it. They could not be silent.

Even some with no use for the White House resident have been critical of the negative reaction of the crowd. They believe it is disrespectful of the position of first lady even if the one occupying it is unworthy of public adulation. It gives a bad impression of the race fans. It gives a bad impression of the American people. They believe civility is an important virtue, even overriding the outrage of our treatment by the current regime.

It might be good to remember that right and wrong are really more important than smiling and at each other and pretending everything is alright, and we can resolve our differences by talking things over and negotiating with those of good will who see things differently. The problem then, comes down to accepting the things done to us are coming from those who really are looking out for our best interests.

I have not been able to make that leap of faith.