blog 
Punishing the Many to Protect the Few
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Terrorists are not admittedly intelligent individuals, by and large, though they seem to consistently outsmart those who have been tasked with ensuring this nation’s safety. At least, one easily comes to this conclusion by casually observing the responses enacted by politicians and their bureaucratic minions following any sort of threat or actual attack.
What is terrorism? Stripped of its fear-inducing layer of propaganda, it is little more than an attempt to incite panic. One dictionary defines it as “the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature”. In this post, I’ll leave aside the blatantly obvious fact that most acts of alleged terrorism are actually retaliatory responses to our own aggressive meddling in others’ lives, and simply assume that the things we label as “terrorism” have no historical context and are purely meant to induce fear.
A New Year for Patriotism
America has long been on an IV drip of political poison, its vitality and well-being slowly being sapped as a result. This steady erosion of liberty has been augmented to an increased dosage in the past year under the rule and reign of Mr. Obama, his authoritarian Czars, and a socialist, statist Congress. From the outright nationalization of swaths of industries to the imposition of tens of thousands of pages of unconstitutional and oppressive legislation, this government has made clear that like a parasite, it aims to enlarge itself at the expense of its host.
For too long, the general public has tolerated this centralization of power and loss of liberty. Largely due to how slowly this process has occurred, many seem altogether unaware of how bad things really are. As Judge Andrew Napolitano has wisely noted:
GOED: Redistributing Utah’s Wealth
The following is an op-ed I wrote that was published in the Daily Herald today:
Republicans have rarely done a good job at identifying and rejecting socialism. Many seem to think that only Democrats enact such policies, and therefore anything passed by a fellow Republican must have some sort of basis in fiscal conservatism. Thus, conservative activists shake their fists in outrage at Obama’s stimuli, bailouts, and “spread the wealth around” administration, yet they ignore, excuse, or embrace similar policies being promoted in their midst.
For an example of this cognitive dissonance, one need look no further than the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) here in Utah. This agency has recently been in the news, with the board funneling nearly $2 million to a company owned by one of its own members, and the announcement of $4.4 million in incentives going to the company headed up by Fred Lampropoulos, the recent week-long Senate candidate.
The Hyper-Sexual Indoctrination of Children
In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley writes of a dystopian future in which children are raised on sexual gratification and regular drug use as basic staples of entertainment and psychological well-being. So ingrained in the culture is this practice that the “brave new world” in which the characters live considers promiscuity a virtue.
The justification provided and encouraged by the government in the story is that “everybody belongs to everyone else”, thus reducing each individual to an objectified apparatus of sexual pleasure to be used for mutual and general benefit. The complete reversal in sexual mores can be best illustrated by the following passage from the book:
Stay the Course… of the Titanic
An op-ed posted yesterday in the Deseret News blew me away with its statist nonsense to such a degree that I could not help but formulate a rebuttal. Since my own op-ed was published in the paper so recently, and since I would rather not have this response be constrained to the word limit imposed by the paper, I will publish it here. I invite you to first sit down, distance yourself from any breakables, take a few calming breaths, and read the article before returning here for my comments.
The title and focus chosen by the author, one Eric Samuelsen of Provo, encourages the reader to “stay the course” with President Obama. As a preface and prelude to my own remarks, I first will bring in Lee Iacocca, himself no opponent of big government and bailouts, who nevertheless has recently remarked the following:
Why the New Anti-War Right is Wrong
Social networks buzzed last week with the publication of an article by Reihan Salam titled “The New Anti-War Right”, which praised the “conservative case for withdrawal [from Afghanistan]” promoted by Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah. The author went so far as to designate Chaffetz as the “beginning of a wave”—that wave being the swelling ranks of “the new Anti-War Right”.
Salam summarizes the situation by observing that “grassroots conservatives” are concerned that the military is “too hamstrung by concern about civilian casualties and political correctness to wage an effective military campaign”, despicably bundling a (noble) regard for innocent life with a widely despised concession to neutered language and protocol. Since when did conservatives show a complete disdain for innocent life?
Wall Street Drunk and Drinking More
The following is an op-ed I wrote that was published in the Deseret News this week:
Former President George Bush was wrong on many issues, but at least one of his comments was right on the money. At a private fundraiser in Houston in July 2008, during one of those many unscripted moments, Bush opined on some of the reasons behind the then-nascent economic decline. His simple summary was that “Wall Street got drunk”.
While metaphorically true in a sense, what he failed to mention was that the government was primarily responsible for supplying the cheap booze to the bankers. Wall Street did indeed get drunk on credit default swaps, mortgage-backed securities, and easy money through artificially-controlled low interest rates. None of this would have been possible, however, without the Federal Reserve’s control over America’s paper-based monetary system and the existence of a fractional-reserve banking system which creates credit out of little more than thin air. Frat boys can’t get drunk without access to cheap (or free) beer, and bankers can’t compound investments and risky loans without a “lender of last resort” who is willing to finance the shenanigans.
Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires
The following article was first published at sgtdanger.com, the blog of my friend Drew Dangerfield, a non-commissioned officer in the Army currently deployed in Afghanistan.
An officer fighting in Afghanistan submitted a letter to the highest ranking defense official over the war, which reads in part:
We should honestly admit that our efforts over the last eight years have not led to the expected results. Huge material resources and considerable casualties did not produce a positive end result—stabilization of military-political situation in the country. The protracted character of the military struggle and the absence of any serious success, which could lead to a breakthrough in the entire strategic situation, led to the formation in the minds of the majority of the population of the mistrust in the abilities of the regime.
The experience of the past years clearly shows that the Afghan problem cannot be solved by military means only. We should decisively reject our illusions and undertake principally new steps, taking into account the lessons of the past, and the real situation in the country…
This frank assessment of the situation in Afghanistan came after several years of ongoing fighting to eradicate enemy forces determined to resist the military’s presence. Its plea for an entirely new direction, a study of relevant history, and an honest analysis of the progress and circumstances in the country they are occupying is most welcome.
Unfortunately, this letter was not written by any American soldier, nor by anybody in the coalition of forces currently fighting in Afghanistan. It was written over two decades ago by Colonel K. Tsagalov, addressing the newly-appointed Soviet defense minister, Dmitry Yazov.
How I Support the Troops
Drive around town for a few minutes, and chances are you’ll encounter a car emblazoned with a bumper sticker or magnet that encourages you to “Support Our Troops”. With almost 1.4 million active duty soldiers and close to the same number in the reserves, tens of millions of Americans are connected to a solider either through immediate or extended family ties, friendship, or some other close association.
If 1% of our population is in the military, then a whole lot more are inherently its supporters by virtue of the fact that a loved one’s life is being put in danger in its service. The emotional ties involved in such a relationship to the military and its campaigns have resulted in the slogan “Support Our Troops” becoming almost entirely synonymous with support for whatever campaign they are engaged in, and whatever policies come down from their commander-in-chief and his war-making subordinates. The slogan lacks any qualifiers, promises and encourages an endorsement of whatever action the troops are assigned, and perpetuates a blind allegiance to what has long become a mighty military machine.
Constitutional Superficiality
The electoral campaigns for 2010 will likely be saturated with fiery conservative rhetoric, grassroots organizing, and a widespread and categorical rejection of the policies and programs enacted by the Obama administration. Candidates of all stripes are putting themselves forward to scoop up vulnerable seats, and if they know anything about the discontent masses looking to put their carbon footprints on a few incumbents’ foreheads, then they’ll be preaching that tried-and-true conservative message that has worked so well in the past: limited government, low taxes, and free enterprise.
The Civic Duty of the Latter-day Saints
The following is the text of a lecture I gave last night to the Young Americans for Liberty chapter at Utah Valley University:
Throughout the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, those who have been sustained as its leaders have repeatedly spoken out on political matters. This has occurred not so much because prophets feel it their duty to opine on controversial topics of temporal relevance, but because the spiritual and temporal elements of our lives are understood by the Latter-day Saints to be, at their core, one and the same.
We have therefore received instructions and commandments regarding our civic duty right alongside similar commandments regarding our spiritual duties as members of the Church. Home teaching, magnifying our callings, temple worship, and paying our tithes and offerings are on an equal platform, to some extent, with our activities to study, support, and defend the principles of liberty and our republican government.
John Taylor spoke of this intertwining of our responsibilities when he said that the Elders of Israel should "understand that they have something to do with the world politically as well as religiously, that it is as much their duty to study correct political principles as well as religious" (Journal of Discourses, 9:340). Further, Elder Bruce R. McConkie said (emphasis in all quotes is my own):
To worship the Lord is to stand valiantly in the cause of truth and righteousness, to let our influence for good be felt in civic, cultural, educational, and governmental fields, and to support those laws and principles which further the Lord’s interests on earth.
I will warn you at the outset that I will be generously referring to the teachings of men far wiser than myself—men who we Latter-day Saints regard as prophets, seers, and revelators. The quotes I’ll be sharing clearly explain what the civic duties of Latter-day Saints are. We’ll then take a look at how well we are fulfilling those duties, and what their attending promises are if we act as we are told to.
A Letter to the Treasury from the LDS First Presidency in 1941
Warning: long post ahead!
For several years I have been citing a quote in various posts, emails, discussions, and other settings, allegedly from the First Presidency in 1941. This quote is both potent and largely unprecedented, and its implications are especially interesting.
The quote is as follows:
The Church as a Church does not believe in war and yet since its organization whenever war has come we have done our part … we do thoroughly believe in building up our home defenses to the maximum extent necessary, but we do not believe that aggression should be carried on in the name and under the false cloak of defense. We therefore look with sorrowing eyes at the present use to which a great part of the funds being raised by taxes and by borrowing is being put … We believe that our real threat comes from within and not from without, and it comes from the underlying spirit common to Naziism, Fascism, and Communism, namely, the spirit which would array class against class, which would set up a socialistic state of some sort, which would rob the people of the liberties which we possess under the Constitution, and would set up such a reign of terror as exists now in many parts of Europe … (LDS First Presidency, 1941, via Quoty)
A larger portion of this quote appears in the appendix of H. Verlan Andersen’s book The Moral Basis of a Free Society (see the heading “What To Do, To Have Unity With The Prophets”). Over time, I have encountered people who either refused to pay it any attention until they could be proven such a letter existed, or sincerely asked me if I could provide a more complete reference. However, upon inquiring with the Church History Library and the BYU library, it seems that the only source of which they are aware for this quote was in Elder Andersen’s book. That didn’t help.
what's new
Featuring 733 posts w/ 11,045 comments.
Search the blog
Media/Events
- 12/21/09 Op-ed, Daily Herald
- 12/2/09 Op-ed, Deseret News
- 11/18/09 Lecture, Young Americans for Liberty UVU Chapter
- 11/5/09 Op-ed, Salt Lake Tribune
- 9/16/09 Op-ed, Daily Herald
- 9/4/09 Talk radio guest appearance
Recent Comments
- Eric on Punishing the Many to Protect the Few
- Eric on Punishing the Many to Protect the Few
- Kelly W. on Punishing the Many to Protect the Few
- Kelly W. on Punishing the Many to Protect the Few
- Neal Davis on Punishing the Many to Protect the Few
- Gabrielle Valentine on A New Year for Patriotism
- Clumpy on A New Year for Patriotism
- Clumpy on A New Year for Patriotism
- S. Logan on A New Year for Patriotism
- Clumpy on A New Year for Patriotism
- M on A New Year for Patriotism
- rmwarnick on Punishing the Many to Protect the Few
- Clumpy on Punishing the Many to Protect the Few
- a concerned mommy on A New Year for Patriotism
- Brandon Dupuis on A New Year for Patriotism
- View extended list »
Most Commented
- Why Do Latter-day Saints Ignore Ron Paul? (329)
- Why I’m For Ron Paul and Against Mitt Romney (257)
- Religion and Politics: The LDS Church and Proposition 8 (161)
- Outrage Over a Shoe (153)
- The Protected Class of Sexuality (152)
- Breaking: New Anti-Proposition 8 Campaign to Target LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson (152)
- Council on Foreign Relations (125)
- Glenn Beck’s Broad Brush (124)
- FLDS Petition Conclusion (120)
- Brigham Young on Public Education (117)
- Domestic Enemies of the Constitution (116)
- Harry Reid Against the “Right Wingers” (115)
- Health Care Hocus Pocus (115)
- Media Blacklisting Ron Paul (110)
- On President Hinckley’s “War and Peace” (106)
- Monarchial Remnants (103)
- The Rights of an Embryo (102)
- Some Questions on 9/11 (96)
- Constitutional Questions (85)
- Barack Obama’s Inaugural Implosion (82)
- View extended list »
Recent Posts
- Punishing the Many to Protect the Few
- A New Year for Patriotism
- GOED: Redistributing Utah's Wealth
- The Hyper-Sexual Indoctrination of Children
- Stay the Course... of the Titanic
- Why the New Anti-War Right is Wrong
- Wall Street Drunk and Drinking More
- Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires
- How I Support the Troops
- Constitutional Superficiality
- The Civic Duty of the Latter-day Saints
- A Letter to the Treasury from the LDS First Presidency in 1941
- The Fall of the Wall
- Do We Really Want an NSA Data Center in Utah?
- Special Interests
- The Improper Price of Proposition 8
- The Dehumanization of Women
- The Manipulative Media Narrative
- Procrastinating the Day of Preparedness
- A False Plea for Political Unity
- View extended list »
Church Talks
- The Family: A Proclamation to the World
- For the Strength of Youth—Service to Others
- For the Strength of Youth—Honesty
- For the Strength of Youth—Music and Dance
- For the Strength of Youth—Entertainment and Media
- For the Strength of Youth—Family
- Inviting the Savior Into Our Home Through Worship
- Gratitude
Aaaaarchives
- December 2009 (8)
- November 2009 (8)
- October 2009 (7)
- September 2009 (8)
- August 2009 (6)
- July 2009 (8)
- June 2009 (6)
- May 2009 (8)
- April 2009 (7)
- March 2009 (8)
- February 2009 (8)
- January 2009 (10)
- December 2008 (10)
- November 2008 (12)
- October 2008 (13)
- September 2008 (10)
- August 2008 (8)
- July 2008 (9)
- June 2008 (10)
- May 2008 (7)
- April 2008 (9)
- March 2008 (12)
- February 2008 (10)
- January 2008 (11)
- December 2007 (11)
- November 2007 (14)
- October 2007 (12)
- September 2007 (10)
- August 2007 (20)
- July 2007 (7)
- June 2007 (13)
- May 2007 (21)
- April 2007 (23)
- March 2007 (26)
- February 2007 (23)
- January 2007 (29)
- December 2006 (34)
- November 2006 (55)
- October 2006 (62)
- September 2006 (27)
- August 2006 (32)
- July 2006 (68)
- June 2006 (26)
featured shtuff
PORTFOLIO
Web/print design and development (and other stuff!), done right.
QUOTY
Save and tag your favorite quotes, and share w/ your friends!
BOOK OF MORMON
Join Elder Holland in declaring your witness to the world!
UTAH PREPPERS
Preparing Deseret, one blogger at a time.
LEADERSHIP EDUCATION
To build men and women of virtue, wisdom, diplomacy, and courage who inspire greatness in others and move the cause of liberty.
POLITICAL RESTORATION
Restore the Republic! Join the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty.
BOOK LIST
Here's what I'm currently reading.
