The Right to Choose

 

 

Jennifer

“The right to choose is the right to success and prosperity in this country. Being able to determine our future, or at least have a strong say in it empowers us a chance to put other goals in front of raising a family until that is our choice. I was 24, a recent graduate with a career in environmental field studies in pursuit, in a new relationship when our birth control method failed. I was not ready to be a mother, it would have been a terrible environment to raise a child and would have made all our lives miserable. Why would anyone choose that for a child?”

Source:  http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/womens-voices/womens-stories/jennifer-1.html

 

Our essay today focuses on the first sentence of Jennifer’s tale – the right to choose is the right to success and prosperity in this country.   Jennifer is addressing her right to success and prosperity.  One could say, “Jennifer is self focused.”  Jennifer has a great deal of support in her philosophy or belief of her right to prosper.  Her government supports her legally and financially – free birth control – free abortion – free choice.

 

Now let’s say you are not Jennifer and you made the choice to have your baby (i.e. you’re a Mom.)  Does your government continue its belief, its philosophy  – of letting you choose what is best for you and your child?  That is our question today.

 

So, now we’re Mom and we’ve got our baby and we need to take care of our baby and we very early on realize that we need to educate this little one because, just as Jennifer points out – the right to choose is the right to success and prosperity in this country.  Jennifer might even agree – education is also important in that success and prosperity focus of hers.

 

Jennifer made her choice with the full support of her government.  But does Mom get the same government support?  The right to choose?  Legal and financial support?

 

Well, we went to several places to seek an answer to this question:

 

www.whitehouse.gov

www.naral.org

www.plannedparenthood.org     

www.democrats.org

www.nea.org

www.aft.org

All support a woman’s right to choose (Jennifer’s definition)  – none support a Mom’s right to choose.  (Go ahead – go to each of the above site references and search on this phrase “right to choose”).   Think about that – they all agree with Jennifer – a woman’s right to choose is the right to success and prosperity in this country.  But no support for all the Mom’s seeking a good education for their child – the born child – the living child – the citizen child.  No right to choose; no right to have government legal and financial support – no decision with Mom, or Dad for that matter.  They offer one education choice – take it or leave it – otherwise you are on your own.  But you will pay for their one alternative, regardless.

What is this “right to choose” business all about?  Is it just a political convenience – not a committed philosophy of choice leading to success and prosperity.  Why would the right to choose be limited to having/not having your child and then disappear after your child is born?  This makes no sense.  If anything the choices one makes after the child is born are more important to a society focused on prosperity and success wouldn’t you think? 

This society of ours frowns on those who state the obvious – who see reality and don’t pretend otherwise.  If you support any of the organizations cited above, ask yourself this question – do I really believe that I should be limiting the choices of Mom’s to decide what is best for their child?  Have I thought it through?  Do I trust Mom’s to choose just as I trust women to choose?  Or am I just in this for the convenience of some politicians, bureaucrats and their union masters?

Bureaucrat Bluster

Once again we hear bluster from the federal bureaucrats: 

Bring them to justice…

...follow them to the ends of the earth...

...leave no rock (stone) unturned…

...let us go about our business…

...evildoers…

...terrorists…

...work around the clock.

Television loves it.  The bureaucrats love it.  All lined up.  All with something to say.  Tough.  Focused.    The big shots have a speech – get in front of the cameras – about what they will do now that the attack is over.  No one, not one of them said a thing about what they were doing the minute or the seconds before the bombs were detonated.  We don’t know where they were – what they were doing – but now we do – they’ve told us – we can count of them.  They’re on the job.  Now, but, in case you missed it - they knew about the older bomber brother.

 

How much do you think these bureaucrats cost the American people?  Well, we decided to do a little research and a little calculation and add it up – in numbers we can all relate to - billions and trillions of dollars.  We figured that we would cover the time period from 2001 (World Trade Center attacks) to 2013 (Boston marathon bombs.)   A thirteen year period of time.  No analysis, just the cost numbers (please focus on the bold numbers) from that impeccable of all sources:  www.whitehouse.gov

 

For each of their departments/agencies/programs/offices:

Department of Justice:   $340 Billion                                                              $ 133 Billion

Department of Homeland Security:  $529 Billion                                           $ 120 Billion

Department of Veteran Affairs:  $1.103 Trillion                                             $ 472 Billion

Department of State:  $ 222 Billion                                                                  $   74 Billion

Department of Defense – Military Programs:  $6.810 Trillion                    $3.531 Trillion

Other Defense Civil Programs:  $635 Billion                                                  $ 345 Billion

Judicial Branch:  $79 Billion                                                                             $   35 Billion

National Aeronautic and Space Administration:  $213 Billion                        $ 171 Billion

Executive Office of the President:  $24 Billion                                               $     3 Billion

 

Bureaucrats and their bluster.  Whoever said, “Talk is Cheap?”   They never encountered the blustering bureaucrats of Washington DC.  Remember, this is just the fed bureaucrats.  What would we do without them?  More pertinent - what would they do without us?  In case you’re wondering, about that other set of numbers; after the first set; on the  right; in italics?  That’s what these same outfits cost US taxpayers in the thirteen years preceding the attacks on the World Trade Center.   

Osama said he would bankrupt the US of A the same way he and his ilk took down the Soviet Union.   The bureaucrats are fulfilling Osama's prophecy - Osama's boys spend peanuts; Obama's bureaucrats spend billions and trillions.  Bernanke runs the printing presses to finance it.  No one will say - STOP.  Big winners besides the bureaucrats?   Their union masters:  AFGE, SEIU, AFSCME and AFL-CIO.  The bureaucrats and politicians tell us that the entitlement costs drive the federal budget deficit.  Baloney.  Look at the numbers above - bureaucrats are a big cost component  - running into each other - always on the job after the fact.  We are spending trillions of dollars on bureaucrats and we can't afford it.  No one can.

In His Own Words - Barack Obama says, "...get the facts..."

 

 

In this brief video, Mr. Obama uses his rhetoric/propaganda skills to dismiss citizen concerns about gun control.  He tells those who have concern to "...get the facts..."   Well, Mr. Obama, just last week, TheFundamentals, using your words, displayed you accusing your predecessor of being "irresponsible" and "unpatriotic" for building up the debt of the United States.  Since then, you have built debt at three times the pace of Mr. Bush.  Now that's a fact.  We do "get the facts."  The facts do not support confidence or trust in you or those you surround yourself with.  Blind trust, sure.  But, it's a big world out there, Mr. Obama.  Not everyone drinks the cool aid the way your cronies in Chicago and Cook County do.



Mission Accomplished?

Here is an Osama observation made in 2004:

“All that we have to do is to send two mujahedeen to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al Qaeda, in order to make generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses without their achieving anything of note other than some benefits for their private corporations," bin Laden said.

Bin laden went on to say, “"We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah,"

And this bin Laden historical observation, “"We, alongside the mujahedeen, bled Russia for 10 years until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat,"

Source: http://articles.cnn.com/2004-11-01/world/binladen.tape_1_al-jazeera-qaeda-bin?_s=PM:WORLD

In the article Osama estimates that the cost of the 9/11/2001 attacks was US$500,000 or one half of a million dollars. It is safe to say that America has spent at least one trillion dollars fighting Osama and his boys since then and that would suggest a ratio of about US$2,000,000 spent by America for every $1 spent by Osama and his gang. An astounding ratio of 2,000,000: 1.

Now, let us remind our readers again of the of the US debt on certain dates:

9/11/2001 – $ 5.8 trillion (attack on World Trade Center)

5/1/2003 -- $ 6.5 trillion (Bush II speech “Mission Accomplished)

5/2/2011 – $14.3 trillion (Obama puts bullet in Osama’s head)

5/1/2012 – $15.6 trillion (Obama crows about bullet in Osama’s head)


Today, April 16, 2013:  $16.8 trillion (Yes, that's correct - as Mr. Obama claims to be cutting back and "responsibly" managing the American economy, the debt has risen $1.2 trillion in less than one year.)
 

So, we pause before we say what should be obvious to even a casual observer.

Osama stated his mission quite clearly as noted above. If you find even a passing causal relationship between debt and bankruptcy, you would need to conclude that those in charge of America’s borrowing/debt situation for the last 11 years are he** bent on fulfilling Mr. Osama’s prediction. We at TheFundamentals find ourselves almost speechless in writing this observation but we darn well would suggest a rather rapid reconsideration of the deficit spending/massive borrowing path bin Laden laid out for us and that we are so willingly pursuing. Alas, we have been so suggesting for some time now but the debt just gets bigger and bigger.

America’s leaders are fulfilling Osama’s mission on their own. Terrifying thought that the bad guys will ultimately be able to unfurl Bush II’s banner from the 5/1/2003 USS Abraham Lincoln speech and use it just as Osama predicted.

Note to Readers - Much of this essay was first posted on May 1, 2012.   Nothing has changed; we now set out to locate and bring a new group of terrorists to justice.  Certain prediction:  debt will rise;  physical security will decline and the freedoms and liberty that we, the people, live for will continue to disappear under the burden of debt and government bureaucrat involvement in all aspects of our lives.

In His Own Words - Mr. Obama on "irresponsible" and "unpatriotic" behavior

Frequently we are asked, "Do you think Mr. Obama knows better?  Is he just pursuing bad policies for political reasons or does he really think that his policies will help others?"   The answer is found in this brief video:

 

In case you are wondering, the debt today, to the extent that Mr. Obama's regime discloses something to the public, is about $17 trillion and rising very rapidly.  Mr. Obama clearly knows better - he knew better five years ago - he knows better today - he just does not have the leadership capability and/or inclination to pursue responsible and patriotic acts.   Americans will pay a dear price for the Obama experiment.  This simple observation is something the new and growing Latino component of our future will begin to recognize.  Their future is also being mortgaged by Mr. Obama and his irresponsible and unpatriotic regime.

Ich bin ein Detroiter – II

We recently provided an update on the Detroit situation.  We also gave you some information on the nature of many state constitutions and the wording or clauses contained therein that has been relied upon by public employee unions to demand, with no compromise (favorite term of progressive/liberal propagandists), complete and total payment of all monies due them – past, present, future – under so-called collective bargaining agreements, benefits plans and pension programs.  No quarter given – pay us because we earned it and the constitution says you must.  Well, is that the last word?  Read on.

A few weeks ago, Michigan’s governor appointed a well known bankruptcy lawyer to take over Detroit’s financial affairs.  Here is what the attorney, Kevyn Orr, had to say:

 "Don't make me go to the bankruptcy court. You won't enjoy it," Orr said Thursday in a possible warning to city unions, vendors and others after being introduced by Gov. Rick Snyder as Detroit's emergency manager.

"Bankruptcy's been my stock and trade. I'm very comfortable in bankruptcy courts," said Orr, who has resigned from the international Jones Day firm ahead of his new appointment. "You can do everything by consent. ... When I say consensual, I mean ... let's get at it and work together because we can resolve this."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/14/3285881/bankruptcy-expert-named-detroit.html#storylink=cpy

So, an intelligent view of the Detroit situation is – either fix it or go bankrupt in federal court.

You understand this message – TheFundamentals understands this message – we’d bet that even Ben and Barry understand the message.  Who doesn’t? 

Some examples of those who are struggling with the message:

The local city council of Detroit – it’s gone – terminated – kaput – fini.  So what brilliant statements are forthcoming from these accomplished public servants?  Read on:  “Detroit City Council members said this morning they will continue to represent citizens while they to figure out what role they’ll play under Detroit’s new emergency financial manager, Kevyn Orr.”

“Under the state’s new emergency financial manager law, which takes effect Thursday, he (Orr) assumes all decision-making authority currently held by council and the mayor.”

The law also calls for the elimination of council’s salary and benefits. Orr can later decide if he wants to reinstate their compensation and at what level.   Question for our readers:  just how long do you think these council members will “continue to represent citizens” when they figure out there’s no paycheck at the end of the week?  Pretty funny isn’t it?  Source:  http://www.freep.com/article/20130319/NEWS01/130319057/Detroit-City-Council-Despite-EFM-takeover-we-still-represent-Detroiters-

Next, from a fellow who doesn’t even live in Detroit – he lives in Chicago, a town doing its best to implement the “Detroit plan.”   This fellow actually has his hands full with local opportunities for his leadership brilliance, including some family member matters.   But, alas, that is not how this great minority community leader thinks:

“The Rev. Jesse Jackson is calling for mass demonstrations and court action to oppose the appointment of an emergency manager over Detroit's finances. “ 

Source:  http://www.freep.com/article/20130319/NEWS01/130319063/

No, folks, we don’t make this up.  Can you even imagine anyone with a functioning brain cell concluding that Jesse Jackson is just what the Detroit doctor ordered?  Jesse, try this on for size – Ich bin ein Detroiter.

“The civil rights leader told the Associated Press by telephone today that turnaround expert Kevyn Orr's appointment by the state is a "constitutional crisis" because it usurps local control.”  Thanks Jesse – spectacular brain functioning – incomparable insight capability.

We save the best example for last – it involves your great leader, Barack H. Obama.  Detroit is lost – Barry knows it.  Barry’s voters and supporters, in Detroit and elsewhere, look to Barry for direction; to move on – to even greater things.  Such as what you ask?  Well, Barry proposes that America spend a hundred million dollars mapping the human brain.  Without addressing the merits of this "brainy" idea, Barry, here’s our suggestion – find a brain that has evolved the ability to discern the difference between what works and what doesn't and then takes appropriate action.  Mr. Orr excepted, you don't need to bother with any of the people described above.

 

 

Ich bin ein Detroiter

If you have been following the Detroit situation, and you have been thinking about how Detroit can decline from one of America’s wealthiest communities to a destroyed dust bin in a matter of several decades, you will quickly grasp why TheFundamentals modestly suggests in the title to this series, that we all are becoming Detroiters.  Thanks to that combination of democrat party welfare policies that promote nothing but decline; an only too willing minority population to vote for said policies and the most incredible gathering of bottom feeding union masters dedicated to running their employers businesses into the ground (all for the good of the worker and that important  “collective bargaining agreements” principle), American cities and states are looking more like the proving ground for testing military weaponry.  Detroit leads the pack – but places like Oakland and Chicago and Newark and Atlanta are doing their best to catch up fast (big announcement due out today affecting Stockton, California's bankruptcy petition.)

Ich bin ein Detroiter *.  (I am a Detroiter.)

For those who are new to grasping the Detroit situation and what this coalition of bottom feeders can do with your neighborhood, we offer this reference from March 2011:  http://thefundamentalsus.blogspot.com/2011/03/deficit-trials.html

Detroit is headed to the bankruptcy court – slowly, meandering its way there.  Why the slow, meandering process?  Politics, politics, politics.  Democrat and urban black citizenry and public employee union politics.  Who is served by this slow, meandering process?  The aforementioned characters.  Who is not served by it?  The taxpayers of the state of Michigan and anyone still working in a private sector job in the state of Michigan.  Ditto for your home town and state.

Why is bankruptcy inevitable for Detroit?  Well, let’s read from the Michigan constitution, article IX, Section 24:

 

“§ 24 Public pension plans and retirement systems, obligation.  The accrued financial benefits of each pension plan and retirement system of the state and its political subdivisions shall be a contractual obligation thereof which shall not be diminished or impaired thereby.” 

How do you break a “contractual obligation”?  Even one backed by the constitution of the state?  Only one way that we know – bankruptcy.

 

Remember, bankruptcy is not a state matter – not even a matter for the people – it belongs to the federal government in the constitution of the United States which overrides all state constitutions.

 

The implication is significant.  Many of the 50 states have clauses with similar “guarantees” about pensions and retirement plans for public workers that “shall not be diminished or impaired” etc. and many of the 50 states and many of their “political subdivisions (cities, towns, school boards, counties, etc,) are insolvent – meaning they cannot pay current obligations with current resources or their liabilities exceed their assets.

There are two alternatives to insolvency and bankruptcy:

1.      Get your house in order – meaning cut your liabilities to match your resources and your assets and live within your means, or

2.      Get the feds to print money and send it to the cities and states in return for their vote to keep the “something for nothings” in their public employment jobs
 

Alternative one above is not doable; minorities will not tolerate it; the democrat party is committed to a welfare state and the unions will suck the last dollar of private wealth if permitted.  And, at some point, alternative two will end – it has ended for Detroit.

So, say it loud and say it proud, “I am a Detroiter!”

* We choose to paraphrase this line from JFK's speech in Berlin in 1963 because more than any one person, JFK set America on the path of public employment unionization by single handily enabling, via executive order #10988, federal employees to join unions.