Brain Lemon

For anyone still reading this, I wanted to post and give an update on this blog and its future.  Firstly, I am planning on buying the domain brainlemon.com and switching the site over to that address.  Secondly, I am planning on actually promoting the blog once I have established it as an identity of its own, rather than being directly tied to my name.  Finally, I am planning on updating it more frequently.  I have no shortage of posting ideas, just the effort needed to actually write them up.

I'm hoping to make this blog something worth reading.  I am itching to get involved in politics more and I'm hoping this will help make that more possible.  I know every blogger in the world believes this, but I actually have some reason to believe that I have something to contribute to the community.  Or at least, I want to see if that's true!

I don't know if I should be depressed or self-satisfied, but President Obama so far has behaved exactly like we feared.  I honestly had some hope for him after his first few appointments, but thus far those hopes have been dashed by his numerous predictable, but nonetheless very troubling, actions.

For one, he has wasted no time in going after his critics, especially in talk radio.  Democrats have eagerly attempted to isolate, ostracize, and shut up Rush and his conservative brethren.  Obama's own goals on the White House website include imposing new rules that would serve to vastly weaken the talk radio format.  In the name of "unity," Democrats have demanded that Republicans sit down, shut up, and go along with whatever they want to do.  Whenever they don't, it is referred to as "divisive" and "politics as usual," even when they have legitimate questions.

Obama has also attempted, in just the first two weeks of his presidency, to pass a spending bill so loaded with pork and excess as to be mind-boggling, all in the name of "stimulating the economy."  In fact, the disgusting bill that just recently passed the House (with not a single Republican vote, I might add) will do nothing to help the economy and saddle future generations with over a trillion dollars in debt to fund a whole collection of liberal priorities. 

Finally, Obama has taken the expected positions on national security and abortion.  Closing Gitmo without any serious plan for the terrorists there is reckless and naive, and shows that this new administration does not believe we are at war.  And Obama's actions to force public funding of abortions will ensure that even more "unwanted" babies are terminated.

Thus, I would have to say that so far Obama is behaving just as feared.  If he continues tacking to the far left on every major issue we are in for some truly scary times.

As our new president takes control, conservatives are furiously debating what our approach should be when dealing with the new administration.  Some feel that we should wish only the best for Obama, hoping he succeeds, and going along with all but the most egregious policies.  Others feel that we should treat him much like Bush was treated – opposing practically everything he wants, and trying to derail his presidency even at the cost of damaging the country.  To sum it up as one article did – do we Bush Obama?

These are interesting questions, and I think I tend more towards the first.  I like many others have been appalled at how Bush was treated during the past eight years – demonized, hated, and opposed at almost every turn.  Democrats went as far as advocating surrender in Iraq, accusing our troops of war crimes and torture, and exposing classified secrets in their attempts to damage the administration.  All the time, the most vile of insults and slanders were bandied about by even supposedly respectable figures – it was not at all rare to hear him called a fascist, Hitler, or a warmonger.  I have sworn up and down that when the Democrats took power again, this would not be the way I acted, and I would not tolerate it from others.  And that is how I intend to act.  Of course that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun, but we'll save that for later.

However, there are a few issues that, if pursued and enacted by Obama, would turn any goodwill I have towards the president into fierce opposition.  We will disagree on economic policy, on foreign relations, and on things like energy and the environment, but as long as nothing outrageous is done, we will just have to put up a fight and hope for the best.  On a couple issues, though, I intend in no way to be tolerant, because they threaten my basic freedoms and offend my most core beliefs.

First, and most important, of these is the Fairness Doctrine.  Whatever they end up calling it, this is a blatant and fascistic attempt to silence what remains one of the most powerful and free forums for conservative thought, talk radio.  If Obama pursues this, I hope he knows that he is messing with fire.  If he comes after freedom of speech he will turn normally sane people into fighters.  He will be introducing truly Wilsonian rule on the country.  I honestly don't know what to expect from some of our more fiery citizens if their right to express their opinions freely is severely dismantled.

Secondly, there is the Freedom of Choice Act, a law that takes the already extreme Roe vs. Wade standard to an entirely new level.  It would erase virtually any progress pro-lifers have made in introducing sane, reasonable restrictions on abortion rights.  For example, parental notification laws for minors – after all, if a 15-year-old needs permission to be administered Advil, is it not reasonable to require permission for a potentially risky, life-altering surgery?  FOCA would overturn even sensible rules like this.  It would strike a massive blow against whatever is left of the sanctity of life.  I have no hopes that Obama will be even slightly friendly towards this issue – he has not a single pro-life person in his employ.  But FOCA is crossing a line, introducing taxpayer-funded abortions, thus forcing all citizens to take part in this unneccessary and gruesome practice.

Finally, there are a few other issues that would signal Obama has no intention of being a fair and moderate ruler.  Card check, which seems likely to pass, would signal a slavish devotion to labor unions even to the point of opposing basic American values.  Reckless foreign policy, such as unilateral disarmament, would signal a frightening naivete and demonstrate he has no serious intentions of keeping us safe, as would precipitous withdrawal from Iraq, though that seems more and more unlikely.  And assaults on gun ownership rights, likely to take the form of indirect and "back-door" measures, would signal he has no respect for the Second Amendment.

Many other things Obama can, and will likely, enact will be objectionable if not surprising.  But on the issues I listed above, especially FOCA and the Fairness Doctrine, Obama better tread carefully before he turns half of the country, currently withholding judgement and offering goodwill, from his loyal opposition to his fierce enemies, or possibly worse if things get bad enough.  After all, there are still those of us who love freedom enough to fight for it.  Let our new progressive rulers know this well.

Add this to the warning signs about Barack Obama's arrogance – he is being sworn in using the same Bible used for Lincoln's inauguration.  There have already been numerous troubling signs of this, from the painting of "O-Force One" to look like Air Force One, the modification of the Presidential Seal into a campaign sign, and the absurd farce that is the "Office of the President-Elect".  This guy has been built up and worshiped by so many, and made out to be nigh superhuman.  I think he honestly believes in all of it and has a truly scary vision of himself.  In a time when people are celebrity-obsessed and want their president to be a rock star, we have long left the idea that our leaders are supposed to be humble servants, not demigods.  For all his faults George Bush realized this.  Meanwhile Obama, in a severe economic downturn, sees fit to make his inauguration into a coronation.  Let us hope, for all our sakes, that when reality comes to his desk, he is able to come down to earth and make reasoned decisions.  Let us hope that this offensive revelry soon ends, and people realize he is just human.  And that in the end of the day we all wait and see before engraving his head on freaking Mount Rushmore.

I've spent the last eight years supporting George W. Bush, even in college where such support makes you feel like a leper.  I believe he is a good man who made some hard choices after 9/11.  I thank him immensely for keeping us safe even under intense pressure from political enemies.  The level of hatred, and the purely partisan attacks that have been made have been shameful.  In the end, I believe that Iraq will turn out to be a good decision and we will understand in time why it needed to be done.  In short, I believe he has been spectacularly misunderstood and resented without legitimate cause.

Myself and many other conservatives have certainly had our problems with him.  We are still vexed by his support for expanding Medicare, supporting campaign finance reform, amnesty, and growing government to a truly shocking degree.  We know he is not a true conservative in principal, but rather someone who is conservative on some things but in the end is a politician, and someone highly reliant on his own instincts and "gut," often to deleterious result.

Now the final shoe has dropped.  Any pretense we had of his support for free market principles is out the door.  The previous government intervention has been disturbing and excessive, but at the very least it was justified in that the banking/financial system is crucial to our lives.  However, with the auto company bailout another level has been breached.  This is the government stepping in to bail out private industry that by all rights should be forced into bankruptcy.  This is an industry that, aside from sentimentality, has no business being saved by the government.

In the end, then, I suppose Bush's legacy will be a mixed one.  In the areas where he followed conservative principles, such as in national defense, I will remember him as a stalwart leader.  But in the areas of government size and intrusiveness, border security, and free market principles, Bush will be remembered as a disaster.  He has discredited so-called conservative ideas and helped to usher in an era of increasing socialism, government dependency, and staggering debt.  He has laid the table for the potential end of America as we know it.  With Obama coming in, we are on the verge of seeing the end of prosperity for a long time.  In the end we will hopefully realize that fiscal responsibility is the real answer, but until then we are in for a long period of unheard of government intervention. 

In yet another sad chapter in the gay agenda's campaign against traditional marriage, the New Jersey AG has decided to force eHarmony to match gays.  Not only that, but they have to advertise this service and give out free memberships.  As someone who has been an eHarmony subscriber a couple times, I have to say this really makes me conflicted about ever using it again.  Not because I dislike gays, but because I place a high value on standing for your beliefs and I despise it when perfectly law-abiding businesses cave in to the tyrannical, intolerant actions of the radical "gay rights" activists.

The absurdity of the whole think is incredible.  There are many gay-friendly, even exclusively gay dating sites out there.  No one has ever attempted to change them, or even said that they should be forced to match straights as well, because they have every right to provide whatever service they want.  If we take the gay movement out of the question, we would be talking about something similar to forcing a gynecologist to do prostate exams.  It is one person or group forcing another to provide a service they were never designed to provide.

This action to force eHarmony to match gays is just another example of the incredible hate and intolerance one can find in the "gay rights" movement.  Not content to stick to themselves, mind their own business, and be satisfied with all the benefits of marriage sans the actual title, the gay agenda has pursued a campaign to not only secure benefits, but to force those who believe in traditional marriage to approve of homosexual marriage.  They have attempted to force through gay marriage in blatant violation of public will.  They have pursued "hate crimes" legislation designed to demonize anyone who expresses any misgivings about the health and rightness of homosexual behavior.

What is really on display here, as I have believed and said for a long time, is a bunch of activists who claim to be seeking "rights" when in fact such rights do not exist, but instead must be invented to satisfy gays' desire to force everyone to accept and celebrate their immoral activities.  In fact, as my own personal experience and numerous examples demonstrate, the primary motivating factor for most gay activists is quite simple – hatred for traditional values and against anyone who dares disapprove of them.  This is perfectly on display by the rampant rioting, vandalism, and personal assaults being conducted against those who supported Prop 8 in California, especially the Mormon church.  There have been numerous examples of harassment, including the posting of supporters' information online and subsequent visits to their homes.

This really is a war, and the people of America are clearly on one side, but the other has sway over courts and the media, and a well-armed, fiery army of activists who will rest at nothing until traditional, Judeo-Christian values are expunged from society.  eHarmony is just the latest in a series of victims whose only crime was in holding such values.

Now that the deed is done and the chosen one has ascended, it is time for conservatives to gather together, lick our wounds, and plan for the future.  To be sure the next few years will be spent fighting fiercely against liberals, who will likely push forward a whole host of disastrous policies.  They will win some fights, but others we can win by banding together with moderate Democrats and standing against the worst abuses.  Throughout all this, though, there are a few reasons to have hope.

First of all, about 55 million people stood against Obama and socialism and voted for, let's be honest, a less than exciting candidate in John McCain.  Millions of conservative-leaning Americans were able to get past McCain's long history of wrongs (his immigration stance, campaign finance reform, global warming, etc.) and pull the lever in opposition to Obama.  In many cases voters risked being called racist by opposing the first black candidate.  In others the new media was able to reveal enough damning information about Obama to help some realize how scary he is.  In a Democrat year with a candidate fully supported by almost every media outlet, a lot of people said no to what he represents.

Secondly, another large group of the population voted for Obama not fully aware of his past or views, or in the belief that he would moderate if elected.  These people are going to be shocked by the reality, when they realize just how radical these Democrats are and what they want for the country.  Any illusion anyone has about a "centrist" Obama will be shattered very soon.  Though it may take time, these people will feel buyer's remorse and perhaps realize how they were tricked and lied to about Obama, and how deceptive he was during the campaign.  This may take time – Obama will get an extra-long honeymoon period and many are enthralled by his victory.  But in the end, a Marxist is a Marxist and Obama and the Dems simply have no intention of controlling themselves.

Obama's rule will likely be the most liberal, socialist turn in American history.  But this is not, in the end, a socialist country.  Most Americans are not looking for the kind of high-tax, economically stagnant welfare state of Europe.  Americans value our right to bear arms and will be scared and offended by the liberal's designs on gun rights.  Americans will see how many jobs are destroyed, how many companies fail, and how their lifestyle is reduced by Obama economic policies.  And all of this can't be blamed on anyone but the Democrats.  If a true leftist agenda is pursued, it will prove so ruinous that conservatives will have a perfect opening to push an agenda of smaller government, lower taxes, and more personal freedom.

The true danger, then, lies in what happens going forward.  Will the liberals be able to successfully squelch any dissent?  Will people stand up, even under fear of punishment, and support the consitution and our rights?  Will conservatives take this election as proof their ideology is outdated, or take it as an opportunity to march back in 2010 and beyond with true American values?  How much damage will be done to our economy, to the family and our values, and to our military and national security?  These are the questions that the next few years will answer.

If America chooses Obama next week, there can be no excuse when we finally realize what that means.  America has been shown in clear terms who Obama is, and what he and his Democrat allies want to do.  I am convinced that at this point, those still voting for Obama fall into two categories.  First of all, those who actually agree with him; secondly, those who are ignorant  or indifferent to his true desires, despite mountains of evidence making them quite clear.  Here is a brief history of Obama.  Others are far more detailed but this is my understanding of his life thus far.

Anyone who has eyes and a brain can see that Obama has been marinated in some of the most radical, anti-American ideology from the moment he was born.  From his leftist parents to his mentor growing up, a full-blown Communist named Frank Marshall Davis, from the very beginning Obama has been influenced by the far left.  In college he was attracted to the most radical Marxist professors.  He learned their ideology, and began to idolize the radicalism of the 60's and the ideas put forth by Saul Alinsky, who advocated the complete destruction of capitalism.  This is what he taught as a law professor and later senior lecturer.

When he got to Chicago he sought out the "radical chic" players, such as Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright, and worked as an Alinsky-inspired "community organizer," working in communities to agitate class warfare and promote a socialist agenda.  He served on a number of leftist boards and organizations.  He was hand-picked for the Illinois legislature by a retiring Communist, where he assembled a far-left voting record, even speaking against legislation banning the practice of doctors leaving infants to die if they happened to survive abortions.  Then he was elected to the US Senate, only winning due to his Republican opponent, Jack Ryan, having to get out due to a divorce scandal, and his replacement, Alan Keyes, not even living in Illinois.  And after less than two years serving, Barack Obama started running for president.

All of this, and his own statements, have made it clear that Obama is not who he claims to be.  He is by no means anywhere close to being a moderate.  He has no interest in free speech or bipartisanship.  He does not have the same understanding of the Constitution as most Americans.  He indeed desires great change, but in fact into a very different country, one with a near-fascist level of government control, oppressive taxes, and globalist foreign and trade policy that will seriously undermine American sovereignty.

Since I believe that Obama likely will win, I think it is time to start coming to terms with what the near future will likely be like.  It is time for those of us who still believe in this country and our constitution to band together.  Things are going to change quicker than we realize.  The plays are already being made; the pieces are already being put into place.  All that is needed now is an Obama administration and a strong Democrat Congress, and the true changes will start to happen immediately.

First of all, free speech as we know it will be highly curtailed.  The entire tax structure will be redesigned in order to effect wealth redistribution.  Unions will surge in power – millions will be forced to unionize against their will, and employers will suffer from aggressive pro-union policies.  Abortion rights will be further enshrined, including the introduction of publicly-funded abortions.  Affirmative action will reach a previously unheard of point, reaching into every area of life.  Critics of the government will be harassed and silenced.  Groups like the gay activists will make further strides in undermining and destroying the traditional family.  Gun rights will be severely damaged.

This is all already in place.  Every single one of these items has already been supported by Obama or other powerful Democrats, promised by the various special interests, or included in legislation that will surely be passed and signed by a President Obama.  The attacks on free speech have already begun with many incidents of inconvenient or bothersome criticism of Obama threatened with legal action or shouted down.  We have already heard many examples of critics being called racist or bigoted for simply investigating Obama's past associations.  Michelle Obama has provided a perfect window into her husband, describing how Barack will "not let you return to your previous life."  Obama and Biden have made clear their extreme hatred for capitalism.

I believe things will approach a point where we will have to make some tough decisions.  While I hope this point is far away, people can only be pushed so far before they begin to push back.  Whether this means just politically, or with violence, one cannot say.  But no matter what, we are going to have to fight tooth and nail to save what we can of our country under constant assault.  I will gladly join this army and fight for our Constitution.  Who will stand together?  Who will take the easy road and surrender their rights to the government?  These are questions that will soon be answered.  But as long as I am free to, I will proudly speak out and try to warn people.  It is my duty to myself, my God, and my country.

After much thought on the matter, I have decided that I am against the bailout plan as it is currently being constructed by Congress. 

When this plan was first put forth by Hank Paulson, I mildly supported it.  Most people don't know it, but last week the credit markets were essentially frozen, threatening to bring all sorts of business to a screeching halt.  Without short-term loans to get, thousands of companies would be unable to operate.  The problem mainly comes from the huge amount of sketchy assets owned by investment banks, including mortgage-backed securities based on bad home loans.  The bailout plan would buy some of these assets and provide much-needed liquidity to the market.  Thus I begrudingly supported the plan as a terrible but necessary laxative for the economy.

Now that Congress has got its grubby little hands on it, the plan has become a special-interest bonanza with many Democrats trying to radically redefine the plan to make it an even more socialist endeavour.  Some are suggesting that any profits realized from the later selling of the questionable assets should be redistributed, thus turning the whole thing into a perfect socialist transfer of wealth.  They're even suggesting some of it go to help low-income people buy houses.  Yes, they are actually talking about helping more people get mortgages they can't afford.  You can't make this stuff up.

With this bailout plan turning into a deadly behemoth of big government, and with the price tag completely unknown but potentially going into the trillions of dollars, there is absolutely no way a conservative can support it.  To put the cost in perspective, it would likely exceed the total amount of currency now being circulated.  That is, more money than you'd have if you piled up every bill and coin out there.  The inflation that would be caused by this action is staggering.  The dollar would be massively weakened, and foreign investment would surely go away.  Add to that the fact that the federal government would essentially own millions of mortgages and even properties, and you have an expansion in government size and scope that is terrifying.

The true solution to this problem, like so many others, is unleashing the free market.  The unfortunate thing is that so much of a bubble has been built up that we would be in for a very rough ride.  True fiscal restraint, and true conservative economic principle, is tough like that.  It is sort of like vegetables, in that it is good for you in the end, even if at the moment you have to eat broccoli instead of ice cream.  We've gorged on ice cream for so long as if it would never make us fat and cause us health problems.  But just like obese people need an agressive, sometimes grueling diet, we need that for our economy.  We will recover but for now we need to cut back drastically.  No more excessive houses, insane credit card bills, and risky investments that no one even understands.  And for God's sake, NO MORE GOVERNMENT SPENDING!!!  I honestly believe that for anyone to suggest new, lavish programs such as universal college or health care is morally reprehensible, unless one's goal is to radically change the county forever, which I believe is indeed the goal of Barack Obama and friends.

Unfortunately, given the nature of government, we are likely to see some monstrous creature emerge from meetings this weekend.  Politicians of all stripes have a deep need to feel like they are "doing something," even if their actions are harmful or useless.  The president and far too many Republicans have embraced big government ideas, and of course the Democrats are eager to control more of the private market and manipulate things as they desire.  In a time when many politicians and cronies should be put in jail for fraud and mismanagement, no one is likely to go down because the culprits are everywhere.  We are facing a time when our government and our economy are on the brink of total failure, and one can only imagine the consequences for the average person.  There simply isn't much more we can take.

I'm sick of liberals, who constantly go on about conservatives "blurring the line between church and state" one day, then go on the next day to use plainly religious language for their own benefit.  This is found everywhere – recently Obama has described himself as an implement of God's will, and prayed that he may do God's work on earth.  It seems like it is perfectly fine for liberals to do this, and to explain their positions on economic, social, and foreign policy issues as being related to their faith and religion.  Of course, they never apply the same to abortion, but that's another issue entirely.  Meanwhile, when a conservative dares to explain their view on the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and the universality of freedom in the same words, they are called theocrats and the like.

This outrage has come to a head in recent days with many liberals, including Rep. Cohen on the floor of the House, comparing Obama to Jesus and Sarah Palin to Pontius Pilate.  The line goes like this – Jesus was supposedly a "community organizer" like Obama was, and Palin is the "governor" much like Pilate was.  In effect, then, Obama is a Messianic, virtuous fellow while Palin is comparable to the man who ordered the crufixion of Christ.

The absurdity of this comparison is incredible.  It represents a complete ignorance of what it means to be a "community organizer."  Contrary to the deceptions floating around about this profession, it is far removed from a simple, good-natured public servant.  It is in fact an explicitly and deliberately political activity, designed to agitate groups of disadvantaged folks into a lather of class warfare in order to pursue leftist/socialist agendas.  For one thing, it heavily uses the politicization of churches to gather and fire up people.  This explains the naked partisanship of chuches like Obama's Trinity UCC.  The view of community organizers is that it is perfectly acceptable to preach partisan politics from the pulpit.  This, of course, is part and parcel of the religious left, which readily uses churches in order to promote socialism using terms like "social justice" as code words.

Jesus was not a community organizer.  Jesus never read Saul Alinsky, the father of community organizing.  Jesus was concerned with bigger things than job centers and unionization.  The suggestion that he was no more than a leftist political activist is beyond offensive.  It is just as offensive as suggesting Jesus was a foreign policy hawk, or a capitalist, or a social conservative.  He may have been these things but it is ridiculous to reduce Jesus to fit in the tiny political terms bandied about by modern politicos.  More likely than not, he was a combination of things – clearly on the right on issues like abortion, while more to the left on economic isssues, though not quite as liberals portray.  All this to say – Jesus was not limited to the terms we use.

So I ask of liberals in general – if it is okay for you to compare Obama to Jesus, why is it so "scary" for conservatives to be influenced by our faith on issues like freedom and abortion?  Why is it a problem for President Bush or Sarah Palin to be an evangelical, while it is no problem at all for Obama to be a practitioner of black liberation theology?  To me it seems like that is far more askew to American values – an ideology explicitly Marxist and racist.  But supposedly that's no big deal, according to liberals who defend this association.  All I'm asking for is consistency and honesty in questions of religion and faith.  And that seems to be far, far more than the left is willing to offer.