Let's Talk About Donald Trump

Hello, Fellow Republican.  Thank you for sitting down to chat with me.  In the past, we've agreed on so many things.  We both feel strongly about free markets and free trade.  We both love liberty, and have fought to protect it in our great nation.  We both believe strongly in the original intent of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  We've both been outspoken about the rights of the unborn, and the need for more government protections of those rights.  We both believe that private citizens should love and serve their fellow men through kindness and personal service as well as through churches and charities.

That's why I'm a little bit perplexed by your recent decision to support Donald Trump.  It seems to me that perhaps we don't have the shared beliefs that I thought we did.  I've been watching Donald Trump on the debate stage as well as news outlets and other sources.  He just doesn't seem to embody any of the conservative Christian principles that I believe in.  I've been watching his supporters debate about him, mainly on Facebook, and it seems like there are only a few arguments that people give.  These arguments don't seem to hold water for me, especially when viewed through the lens of the principles I thought we shared.  I thought I'd go over each of these arguments and explain why they don't work for me.

Below you will find 100% of the arguments that I have observed.  The good news is this won't take long because there aren't very many.

He Will Make America Great Again
I've also heard this argument summed up in other equally ambiguous ways such as: "He's the only one with the guts to get it done."  What it means is never defined, just as what a great America looks like is never defined.

In Donald Trump's book, The Art of the Deal, he wrote this about the way he promotes himself or his business enterprises:

The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to people’s fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. That’s why a little hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular.

Is it possible that the reason you don't say anything specific about him is that he hasn't made any specific policy proposals?  Is it possible that you are promoting a fantasy version of him that he is purposefully trying to get you to create in your mind?  What does a great America look like to you?  Has he suggested specific elements of your great America?

Every time he is asked about specific plans, he dodges the question by insulting the person asking.  It's very frustrating for those of us who want to hear specific ideas come from him.  But for those willing to believe his bravado, it's very effective.  I'm honestly terrified, because I don't know what he will do as President.  But when you consider that through most of his business career he has donated to liberal politicians including supporting Hillary Clinton's previous attempts at the Presidency, it doesn't make me believe that he will do conservative things in that office.

I can't tell you what a great America should look like for you.  I can tell you what it looks like for me.  I'd like to see a President who will respect the original intent of the Constitution and who will appoint Supreme Court Justices accordingly.  I'd like someone who will decrease the tax burden on individuals and on businesses so that companies can create jobs.  I'd like to see more protections for the unborn.  I'd like to see religious liberties strengthened.

Do those things describe Donald Trump?  They definitely don't describe the Donald Trump of a few short years ago when he supported Hillary.  The Donald Trump of today says nothing specific, so who knows?  But I do know that all of those things describe Ted Cruz.

Ask yourself, why you are voting for Donald Trump?  Is there a specific policy he has espoused that you like?  Has he painted a specific picture that describes the America you'd like to see?  If not, and if your great America looks anything like mine.  I suggest a vote for Ted Cruz.  The guy memorized the Constitution when he was a teenager.  I can't think of any other candidate more qualified to appoint justices to the Supreme Court.  He is conservative on taxes and has pledged to defend religious liberty.  He is truly the candidate who understands how to make America great.

He's Not Afraid to Speak His Mind
I've also heard people say, "He just says what we're all thinking."  Really?  Are these things really what we're all thinking?  Donald Trump definitely isn't afraid to speak his mind.  But shouldn't we also look at what's on his mind and decide whether those things are things we want in a President?  When he says that most Mexican immigrants are rapists, that his daughter has a nice enough figure for him to be dating her, that we shouldn't vote for Carly Fiorina because she's too ugly or any of his many other nasty, creepy, and generally terrible quotes, do we not stop and think that we don't want someone this vile as our President?

Everyone has nasty, terrible thoughts at times.  Most people suppress those thoughts and replace them with something else.  The act of choosing to cast away those thoughts helps us to grow beyond them, so that our nature changes and those types of thoughts happen much less frequently.  Donald Trump chooses to spout them off as they come to him.  He gives in to his basest nature and in so doing, that part of his character grows rather than shrinks.  It has helped him become a more nasty person.  It has turned him into someone that is not a person that I want representing the United States to the rest of the world.

When I watch him on the debate stage, it honestly seems like the others are debating with a toddler.  In the most recent debate, he bragged about the size of his genitals and then referred to Senator Rubio as Little Marco.  This was during a Presidential Debate!!  It baffles me that people could see that, and think that is Presidential.

The thing that most people are looking for when they say, "He's not afraid to speak his mind" is not necessarily someone who voices every vile thought that comes to them.  What they are looking for is someone who is willing to stand up for what they believe in.  They are looking for someone who will be genuine, and be willing to have the difficult conversations.

Ted Cruz has gotten a reputation for being unpopular in the Senate.  Let me tell you a little story to illustrate why.  Back when the debt ceiling was being debated, all of the Senate Republicans met in a room to discuss strategy.  As you probably know, in the Senate you need 60 votes to get anything passed.  Democrats controlled 55 seats which meant that they would need 5 Republican votes in order to raise the debt ceiling.  Republican leadership wanted to pass a resolution to allow Democrats to pass the bill with only 50 votes.  That way, they could raise the debt ceiling without voting for it.  All of the Republicans could go back to their constituents and say that they had voted against it, even though they had voted for giving the Democrats the ability to do it.

Ted Cruz felt like that was dishonest.  He felt like he was there to represent the interests of Texas and they wanted him to control the size and scope of government.  This is what he said about it in his own words:

None of us should oppose this, we were told, and for two reasons. First, if we lowered the threshold, then the "clean" debt ceiling would pass, and that was very much the outcome the leadership assumed each of us really desired.

 And second, if we consented to lowering the threshold, Democrats would then have the votes to raise the debt ceiling on their own. We could all vote no. This way, we could return home and tell the voters that we had opposed raising the debt ceiling, right after consenting to let it happen.

 This time I was stunned by the chicanery, expressed openly, if not proudly, to the rest of us. Looking around the Lyndon Johnson Room, named for one of the biggest-spending presidents in American history, I had a new appreciation for why we were gathered here, beneath his smiling portrait. Most senators seemed perfectly fine with the leadership’s proposal. There were nods and murmurs of assent.

 It was too much. I raised my hand and said, "There’s no universe in which I can consent to that."

Whether you agree or disagree with his position on the debt ceiling, that's the kind of "speaking your mind" that requires courage.  Simply calling people names is not courage, it is cowardice.  If you're looking for someone who is willing to speak their mind, even when it requires courage, I suggest a vote for Ted Cruz.


He Will Create Jobs
I totally get that he has made a lot of money in the private sector.  A year ago, I knew nothing about Donald Trump, and I would have assumed that he would be a great job creator because his private sector experience gives him economic knowledge that will help him reduce regulatory burden.  But when you listen to him in the debates, is that what he talks about?  I have heard him talk a little bit about lowering taxes, and that's something I can get behind.  But much more often, I've heard him talk about how we need to protect American businesses.  We need to stop China from exporting goods to the United States.

Look, if you want to personally stop buying anything that was manufactured outside of the United States, more power to you.  That's what freedom is all about.  But I thought we were the party that believed in free trade.  Donald Trump wants to put tariffs on imported goods.  The net result is that if you want to buy something that was manufactured elsewhere, Donald Trump wants to make it more expensive for you.  He wants to hit American families right where it hurts, in our pocket books.

After that, do you think other countries will be happy about that?  Do you think they won't retaliate with tariffs of their own?  Once the trade war begins, it will be more difficult for American companies to sell goods overseas.  Do you think that will create more jobs?

This is one of the very few things that Trump has been specific about, and it would be a disaster.

However, Ted Cruz has outlined a plan that would reduce regulatory burden on businesses and reduce their tax burden so that they can create more jobs.  His plan would also decrease taxes on ordinary individuals and simplify the tax code so that you can do your taxes on a post card.

The Ted Cruz plan helps Americans create jobs by increasing freedom and decreasing the tax burden.  Donald Trump would do the opposite.  If you'd like to see more American jobs.  I suggest a vote for Ted Cruz.

He Will Save the White Race
I'm ashamed that this one is on this list.  If this is not why you are voting for Trump, I'm very glad.  Please understand, I'm not accusing you of racism.  But you also need to understand that there is a very vocal group of Trump supporters that are loudly making this argument.  I've seen them on Facebook.  That's why I had to put this on the list.

In the past, if you are a solid conservative, you have definitely been accused of racism.  The left automatically assumes that the only reason you could have chosen to not vote for a black man for President is because of the color of his skin.  They already assume we are all racist.  Why in the world would we want to elect someone who gives them real reason to believe it?

I'm sorry.  When he says that the majority of Mexican immigrants are rapists and criminals, even if he concedes that some are good people, that is terribly racist.  When he says that Muslims should not be allowed to enter our country, that's definitely bigoted, even if it's not exactly racist.  (And terrifying for a person like me who is a member of a religion that has been persecuted in this country.)  Do we really want him to be the representation of our party?  Donald Trump is definitely a very racist individual.  Whether he wants to use the Presidency as a way to promote white supremacy, as some of his followers have suggested, I have no idea.  But in my mind, the fact that he is racist enough that white supremacists can see their agenda in him is reason enough not to vote for him.  If this is your reason for voting for him, I don't have another candidate suggestion for you.  But I would like to suggest that you should not vote at all.  Also, I would rather lose an election than win it with your help.  I don't want to be part of a party that would ever have your belief system as a tenet.

If that is not your reason for voting for Trump, please understand that many intelligent people are looking at the other reasons and realizing that they are false.  They are assuming that this is your reason since there really isn't another reason for a conservative to vote for him.  Please don't vote for racism and put it on a pedestal in my party.

He Can Beat Hillary Clinton
The simple answer to this claim is, "No, he can't."  But I'd like to dive into this a little bit more.  I'd like to divide this up into two questions.  Can he beat her?  and Do we want him beat her?  I'll do the latter first.

Do I want Donald Trump to beat Hillary Clinton?

Hillary Clinton is dishonest.  She will say anything to get elected.  She has openly tried to destroy the lives of her husband's sexual assault victims.  She will say that she stands for women's rights until the women whose rights need protecting stand in the way of her power.  She loves abortion and would love to expand it in our country.  In short, she lacks any morals whatsoever.

She's also a bought and paid for politician.  She has accepted donations from Wall Street and plenty of other big business types.  She is the very personification of crony capitalism.

A Clinton presidency would be terrible for our country and it would be terrible for the cause of liberty.  No one wants a morally bankrupt crony capitalist who thinks that Planned Parenthood is super awesome.

And that's why I don't want Donald Trump to beat her.

I can hear you now.  "Wait a minute. Jeff.  You just said you don't want those things in a President.  Shouldn't Donald beat her to avoid those things?"

Exactly.  All those things I said about Hillary are true.  But guess what.  They are also true of Donald Trump.

Donald Trump conned people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through Trump University.  When people had their credit cards maxed out, they had people available there to help them call the credit card company and lie to them about their income.  They told the people that it wasn't a lie because they were going to be making that higher income in the future.

Trump University has a D- through the Better Business Bureau but he has repeatedly lied saying it has an A.  I can't even count the number of lies Donald Trump has told on the debate stage over the past few months.  He will say anything and he doesn't care what's true.  You'd be hard pressed to convince me the man has any morals.

As for crony capitalism, one of those business people who has donated to Hillary in exchange for political favors is Donald Trump.  Why do we look down on the politicians who accept the donations but we give the business people on the other end a pass?  Are they not both participating in crony capitalism?  Especially when we consider that Donald has used eminent domain to harness government power and take property from private individuals for his developments.  This is a man who has bragged about using government power to help himself and other elites.

He has openly praised Planned Parenthood from the debate stage.  His views on abortion are unclear.  He has stated that he is pro-life as well as pro-choice, so I leave it to you to decide what that means.

But in the end, he is a morally bankrupt crony capitalist who loves planned parenthood.  While a vote for Hillary would be bad for the country, a vote for Donald would be equally bad, but with the added bonus of being terrible for the Republican party.

We get all of the big government policies of Hillary, but we also get a super racist, sexist bully for a President, who has an R next to his name, so that decent people will be frightened a way from the Republican party for decades.  Is that what you want?

In the end, politics isn't about sports.  Do we want our team to win even if they don't believe in the principles we espouse?  What is the value in that? Personally, if it's between Hillary and Donald,  I'd rather Republicans lose and try to put a principled conservative in the White House in 4 years.

Which brings me to my last point

Can Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the general election?
No, he can't.  I've outlined above why a staunch conservative like myself would not vote for him.  There are plenty like me.  Do you really think a Republican can win without the solid conservative part of our base?

Maybe you think I'm an idiot.  Maybe you think I'm the only one who thinks this way.  Well, take a look at CNN's latest poll.  That poll says that Donald Trump loses to Hillary Clinton.  In fact, 18 of the last 20 polls say that Donald will lose to Hillary.

But guess what?  That poll, as well as 7 of the last 9 polls, say that Ted Cruz beats Hillary Clinton in a general election.

So let's pick a principled conservative as our nominee.  Let's put a principled conservative in the White House.  Let's vote for Ted Cruz.

Your right of suffrage

Today is election day.  I know we're all sick of this election season.  Both of the major candidates have inundated us with ads filled with political spin.  I'm kind of a political nerd, and I'm sick of it.  I can't even imagine what normal people feel like.

But I'm not here to talk about either candidate.  I'm here to talk about the sacred privilege that many of us take for granted.

We're all familiar with the story of how the American Revolution came to be.  One of the most well known phrases from that era is, "Taxation without representation is tyranny".  Colonists were angry, not about the taxes themselves, but about the lack of representation.  Put simply, they were angry that they didn't get to vote.

The 56 men who signed the declaration of independence all suffered greatly.  Many died, others lost their wealth, their friends, their children and their wives.  They believed in a simple dream of freedom.  An important part of that freedom was the right to choose representatives who will safeguard your beliefs, your ideals and your vision of liberty.

Later, after the Civil War, there was a movement to help black men gain the right to vote, to have their voices heard within government.  And still later, women had to fight their own fight to gain this right of suffrage.

In each of these cases, individuals had to fight.  Some had to give their lives, others had to fight the battle of words in the arena of ideas.  In all cases, the individuals were passionate about one simple principle.  They simply wanted to vote for their representatives.

Today, we have the opportunity to choose our representatives, both at the local level and the national level.  We get to choose the President of our nation, as well as our representative in Congress (and other representatives as well, depending where you live.)

Unfortunately, many people do not value this right that was so highly prized by previous generations.  Please remember the battles that were fought so that you could have this right.  Remember that every election affects you.  You will pay the taxes that are imposed by your government.  You will have to live by the laws that are passed.  You will have to live within the culture that is created.

Please study the issues.  Please go out and vote today, even if your vote cancels out mine.

Chick-fil-a Day

Today I went with some coworkers to support Chick-fil-a on the official Chick-fil-a day.  If you don't know what Chick-fil-a day is about, let me briefly explain.

Recently, a baptist news organization was interviewing Dan Cathy, the president of Chick-Fil-A. In the interview he said, "We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that."

To me, this doesn't sound like a particularly divisive statement.  However, there were those who took issue with him referring to the "biblical definition of the family unit."  Those same individuals resorted to boycotting, protesting, and in some cases, trying to get government to shut down Chick-fil-a restaurants.

Conservative circles decided to rally together to support Chick-fil-a and their stand for traditional marriage.

Since I happen to have a deep and abiding love for chicken, I thought it would be fun to participate in this event.  Participation was simple, you just had to show up and buy something delicious.  (How can you not support a cause when it means eating delicious food?)

Lest there is confusion, I thought I should clarify what I was supporting.
1.  Chicken.  It's delicious.
2.  Fidelity.  He is still married to his first wife.
3.  Christian Principles.  I've always been impressed with Chick-fil-a and the fact that they are not open on Sundays.
4.  Willingness to take a stand.  He has been willing to stand for what he believes in in spite of the consequences.

I was not supporting the following
1.  Hatred.  He didn't say anything hateful to anyone or about anyone.
2.  Discrimination.  Had he said anything discriminatory about any group, ethnicity, sexual orientation or anything else, I would not be in support of his statement.

The above disclaimer aside, I was blown away by how many people were there.  I decided to make this video below to show how many people I saw.

We had to stand in line for a little over an hour. But it was worth it.  As the great Leeroy Jenkins once said, "At least I have chicken."

Even that girl behind me is excited that I have chicken.

An Open Letter To Global Warming Activists

Dearest Global Warming Activists,
There are some things we need to discuss.  I don't think you've been going about everything the right way.  I know you don't like to listen to dissenting view points; so in an effort to bribe you to hear what I have to say, I'm going to let you know something.  I'm on your team...kind of.

Does that entice you enough to hear me out?  I'll get to why I'm kind of on your team in a minute.  But first we need to talk about the issues I have.  Here they are:  you aren't that into science, your leadership is questionable, you distract people from less controversial (and arguably more important) issues, you want to destroy the economy.

You aren't that into science
I know this one is going to get you real riled up.  That's why I'll explain it first.  You see, climate change believers like to tell the rest of us that we're stupid and that we hate science and all sorts of other ridiculous things.  That kind of gets my knickers in a bunch because I am a big believer in science.  I don't have anything against scientists.  I know that polls show that the majority of scientists believe in global warming.  But those polls try to imply that those scientists all believe in Al Gore's version of global warming.  You see, the data says that since 1995 the earth has been warming at a rate of 0.12C per decade.  Phil Jones, climate scientist, says that is not statistically significant.  His data also says that from the years 1860-1880 the warming was a rate of 0.163C per decade.  This means that global warming was worse from 1860-1880 than it was from 1995 to 2009.

I'm no climate scientist, but I am a thinker.  If there was more global warming before we filled the world with cars and airplanes and other carbon emitting machines, doesn't that say something about the correlation between the two?  Phil Jones does say that even though he doesn't have the data to prove it, he still believes that Anthropogenic (man-made) global warming is real.  I don't have a problem with that.  In science that is called a hypothesis.  The purpose of science is to prove or disprove a hypothesis.  He doesn't have enough data to prove it or disprove it at this point and that is fine with me.  As a bystander, I feel the data points a different way.

I will glady believe in AGW (Anthropogenic global warming) when there is more data to show it.  So when all the believers out there start telling me that they know that AGW is a fact.  Well, how can they know that when the scientists don't?  I understand they have faith in Phil Jones and other scientists.  But saying that you know it to be true based on your faith in what Phil Jones says is no longer science.  Now we are talking about religion.  Science is about empirical evidence.  Religion is about faith.  I'm not going to bash your religion, feel free to believe whatever feels right to you.  But let's call a spade a spade so we're all on the same page.

Your leadership is questionable
Al Gore seems to be the most outspoken AGW believer.  However, his claims just don't seem to jive with what scientists are saying.  A few months ago at the Climate Summit in Copenhagen, Al Gore made a claim that all polar ice caps will be completely melted by the summer of 2014.  He cited Dr Wieslav Maslowski as the source of that information.  That evening Dr. Maslowski told The Times: “It’s unclear to me how this figure was arrived at.  I would never try to estimate likelihood at anything as exact as this.”

In his movie, Al Gore shows Florida being engulfed by the ocean, up to 100 miles from the current beaches.  The maps he put together would be what would happen if the ocean were to rise 20 feet.  That is a scary future, but scientists don't believe that will happen at all. The United Nations International Panel on Climate Control issued a report in 2007 saying that the ocean could rise up to 15 inches.  That's a little bit less than the scary 20 feet Al Gore predicts. I don't know if Al Gore is deliberately deceiving his audience, or if he just doesn't know how to do research.  I'm also not sure which is worse; but either way, is he someone you want to be following?

You distract people from other issues
A few months ago, there was a horrible inversion in Utah Valley.  Robyn started coughing horribly all the time.  We couldn't see the mountains and there was a yucky smell that wouldn't go away.  To me, that was an important issue.  That was definitely a day I wanted to reduce carbon emissions.  When I think about all those that aren't buying the AGW story.  I think, "why can't we all just agree that smog is stinky?"  If we work to reduce smog, we can be on the same team.

There are other issues that are important to me such as reducing our dependence on foreign oil.  Middle eastern countries aren't generally very friendly to us.  Even if every country we imported oil from were friendly, it would still be better for us to be buying from ourselves.  Can we work together on that issue?

What about deforestation?  Forests across the world turn dangerous Co2 into O2 which is our friend.  I'm not so concerned about Co2 but I would like to preserve habitats of life in the rainforest.  That's right, as much as I am a conservative and a capitalist I still think animals are important.  As a small child I made my family cut up the rings that come around six packs of pop because I saw a picture of a seagull with one of them stuck around his neck.  I've always felt that preserving our natural world was an important thing to do.

As you can see, there are things I believe in that happen to line up with your agenda.  Can we work together?

You want to destroy the economy
This is the main beef I have with your movement.  We agree on a few issues but we disagree with tactics of how to solve it.  One of the main strategies that has been discussed is a cap and trade program that would allow organizations to "trade" in the right to emit carbon.  The idea is that making pollution more expensive will reduce it.  President Obama said, "Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket."  So your and my bills would "skyrocket" as the President said.  First of all, in a strained economy this one thing could tip some businesses and individuals over the edge into bankruptcy.  The second thing is that if people can't afford to heat their homes, they are going to do something.  There will be alot more fireplaces burning wood.  These won't be coal plants that have spent money maximizing efficiency.  No, these will be average people in average fireplaces who will inefficiently burn that wood and maximize carbon emissions.

I won't get into all the plans that have been proposed that will hurt our economy.  That happens to be the worst one so I'll stop there.

So we've agreed we have some common goals.  But we have some differing priorities as well.  How about we make an agreement?  I'll do what I can to help the environment if you do what you can to preserve our economy and our freedom?  Deal?

There's some things we can do to work on this together.  Here are a few of my thoughts.
Start with yourself - This may sound too simple, but how about doing things in your own home?  Robyn and I put in new insulation and better windows this year in our home.  That increases the efficiency of our home and lowers our carbon output (as well as our bills)  You could do something simple like replace your light bulbs with fluorescent ones.  The U.S. Energy Star Program says that if every American household replaced just one lightbulb with a fluorescent one, it would be the equivalent of removing 800,000 cars from the road.  It's a small drop in the bucket, but it's a start.

Government tax incentives - Robyn and I got a nice tax credit for the home improvements we did.  It was great!  In addition, President Obama actually did something I agree with recently when he proposed a tax credit for buying more fuel efficient cars.  Tax incentives along this line allow the free market to still work while just giving it a little nudge.  (It's debatable whether my favorite economist, F.A. Hayek, would support that kind of incentive, but I'm willing to give a little on this one.)

Invest in new technologies - Bill Gates is funding a company that will be able to create nuclear reactors that run on the waste from existing nuclear plants.  This means he could eliminate the problem of where to put nuclear waste while also making cleaner, cheaper energy.

This brings me to my final idea.
Let the free market work - Why can Bill Gates fund this?  Because the free market allowed him to become a billionaire.  Clean energy means cheap energy.  If we get out of the way of the economy so that the recession can end, there will be people willing to invest in cleaner energy sources.  Nuclear energy is just one idea.  It's amazing the genius that a profit motive can create.  If government gets out of the way, someone will make a lot of money finding a way to help the poorest among us be able to have infinite energy.  In so doing, carbon will decrease and there will be no more stinky smog.  We can all win.  Is that something we can agree on?

The New Regime

Normally, I pride myself on being a fairly positive person. Unfortunately, I'm not feeling very positive right now so I apologize in advance for the somewhat negative approach of this post. I just watched the speech of our new President Elect. Our country has just elected the most socialist leader that we've had to date. Why am I concerned by this? Well, I'd like to share a quote by someone I respect greatly both for the position he held as Prophet, Seer and Revelator as well as the position he held in government as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Of course I speak of Ezra Taft Benson. In a BYU devotional he gave in 1968, he told the following story:

“I have talked face to face with the godless communist leaders. It may surprise you to learn that I was host to Mr. Khrushchev for a half day when he visited the United States, not that I’m proud of it. I opposed his coming then, and I still feel it was a mistake to welcome this atheistic murderer as a state visitor. But, according to President Eisenhower, Khrushchev had expressed a desire to learn something of American Agriculture — and after seeing Russian agriculture I can understand why. As we talked face to face, he indicated that my grandchildren would live under communism. After assuring him that I expected to do all in my power to assure that his and all other grandchildren will live under freedom he arrogantly declared in substance:

“ ‘You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept communism outright, but we’ll keep feeding you small doses of socialism until you’ll finally wake up and find you already have communism. We won’t have to fight you. We’ll so weaken your economy until you’ll fall like overripe fruit into our hands.’

Mason Weaver, a favorite author of mine, said something similiar when defining the difference between socialism and communism in his book, It's OK to Leave the Plantation he said: "A communist is a socialist in a hurry. Socialism is a gradual process on many fronts. It will grow on you like cancer. Communism is the result of a revolution and is very rapid. We are ready for communism, but are defenseless against the onslaught of socialism."

It honestly scares me when I think of the shape that our economy is in right now and I imagine what more social programs will do as they continue to tax our economy. Our society has become so inundated with the mentality of entitlement. Citizens of our country are slowly trading their dignity, self reliance and self respect for the easy road of handouts. Of course, many will ask, "what of those in need? Shouldn't the government help them?" The answer is no. That is not the role of government. That is the role of private charities and churches, most of which are very good at it. (The welfare program of the LDS church is truly phenomenal.)

In his book, The Mainspring of Human Progress Henry Grady Weaver said:
"Most of the major ills of the world have been caused by well-meaning people who ignored the principle of individual freedom, except as applied to themselves, and who were obsessed with fanatical zeal to improve the lot of mankind-in-the-mass through some pet formula of their own ... The harm done by ordinary criminals, murderers, gangsters, and thieves is negligible in comparison with the agony inflicted upon human beings by the professional 'do-gooders,' who attempt to set themselves up as gods on earth and who would ruthlessly force their views on all others - with the abiding assurance that the end justifies the means."

I could go on forever about the danger our country is in. But I won't further bore those of you that actually read this far. I apologize again for my negative nature. I'll try to make my next post happy and joyful. But, for now, enjoy this tongue in cheek video that Glenn Beck made to commemorate the new regime.