Thursday, January 28, 2010

Dissecting the State of the Union Speech

It would be helpful to always keep in mind that there is an opposite side to everything. Keep this verse in mind, "The first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him." (Proverbs 18:17). As I've been studying the history of government initiatives to better American society I've noticed a common feature that runs through a lot of them: They have the right intention, right facts, but the wrong solutions (and sometimes they don't have the first two). Check out what many independents and moderates have to say about last night's State of the Union Address. I've put together a few videos and one article from a contrarian's perspective. By the way, the Ben Shapiro article is very helpful to understand what Obama (or at least what Shapiro perceives) is saying when he uses familiar rhetorical devices.


[1] Cato Institute Scholars Dissect the State of the Union Speech (9 Mins)

[2] Schiff Dissects the State of the Union Address (15 Mins)

[3] Obama's Philosophically Fascist State of the Union Address - By Ben Shapiro

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Here are some bonus videos from 2010 and 2009. They also focus on breaking down the words and speeches of President Obama. The speakers or writers consists of Republicans, Libertarians, and Conservatives.


Bonus Video: Cato Scholars Dissect June 09 Health Care Speech

Bonus Video: The Lunacy of Government

Bonus Article: President Obama's Lexicon of Rhetorical Devices

Friday, January 15, 2010

Family Fellowship Night

As promised I created a blog entry for family fellowship night. Basically, all I really wanted you all to do were three things. One, subscribe to my blog. Two, watch the movies that I recommend. They are free and they are online. Third, check out my old blog posts and keep up with them. An especially important entry is my November 6th, 2009 entry. It is a free financial self-defense book.

Movies to Watch
Hyperinflation Nation [30 minutes]
The Dollar Bubble [30 minutes]
Fiat Empire [1 hour]

Make sure you check out my next blog entry in a few days entitled "Don't Take my Word for It!"

Monday, January 11, 2010

No more "Stimulus!" It fuels the fire!


The official statistics show unemployment is at 10%. However the unofficial statistics show that it is at 17%. During the 1st Great Depression unemployment peaked at 25%. And what did the government do then?

They added fuel to the fire.

Instead of letting market forces do their work, FDR and Herbert Hoover began a long chain of intervention in the economy. This merely prolonged the recovery. This legislation was known as the New Deal.

Economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out that the New Deal did not end the great depression, World War II did. He explains that the War itself wasn't a catalyst for economic recovery since wars increase national deficits and destroy natural resources. Instead, World War II stopped the New Deal - the same intervention that was supposed to help the recovery!

I obviously did not explain HOW the New Deal prolonged the recovery. What I will say is that it reallocated resources to places to where it should not have gone.

Think about it today, does anyone REALLY THINK (besides the Obama Administration) that spending on COSTRUCTION JOBS will help fuel economic growth? How does this help the private sector? By allowing them to travel to work faster?

The Obama administration is making the same mistakes as its predecessors. Little do many know there was a recession in the early 1920's (I think 1920-1922) much worse than the first year of the great depression in the 1930's. But the government did the right thing. They didn't intervene and the recession was over within two years.

Maybe if our government takes its hand off of the economy maybe it will actually be free to grow!

For two recent articles on this topic click here:
Associated Press takes on Stimulus Spending
Peter Schiff on government job "creation."
Thomas Sowell on Obama's Job "Creation"
Phyllis Schlafly on Unemployment Causes
A second column from P. Schlafly on Unemployment

WCF Chapter One "Of Holy Scripture" Sunday School (Sept.-Oct. 2021)

Our text for Sunday School (also "The Confession of Faith and Catechisms") Biblical Theology Bites What is "Biblical Theology...