Steve Lonegan’s Marxism Lesson

   Steve Lonegan’s current installment of The Left Marches Onfeatures a lesson on Marxism.  Mr. Lonegan begins:

“Capitalism is responsible for the current food crisis and starvation around the world,” the voice on the radio said. “Attend our Introduction to Marxism conference this Friday and learn about the merits of Marxism.” Driving up the New Jersey Turnpike, I was shocked to hear this commercial on a popular radio station, though I shouldn’t be. The Left is on the march and more emboldened than ever. So, like any good capitalist wanting to learn what the radical left is up to, I registered.

Mr. Lonegan’s adventure at the Marxist conference yielded ominous parallels with political activity in Trenton.

Reality: The Corzine Administration is taking charge of the housing industry by forcing taxpayer-subsidized low-income housing mandates across the state, taking control of the means of distribution and leveling all citizens to the same standard.

Mr. Lonegan’s remark recalls a memorable line from Jason Lewis, Minnesota’s Mr. Right and guest host for Rush Limbaugh: “[Communism's goal is] an equality of outcome.” Marxist un-equality becomes attractive when an electorate uneducated in our heritage equates Marxist equality of outcome with American equality of rights.  The American Declaration of Independence reads, in part, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”  There is a big difference from the American acknowledgment of man’s natural equality and the Marxist encouragement for government to take from those who have and give the plundered goods to those who do not have.

   Trenton borrows another idea from their comrade, Karl Marx:

Reality: In New Jersey, how can we allow some people to live in upper class neighborhoods, affluent suburbs or trendy urban areas? The New Jersey Legislature will see to it that there is no allowance for different classes. Low-income individuals are to have a mortgage on the success of those who produce.

Has not the sub-prime mess taught us a lesson?  We all suffer when government forces mortgage lenders to loan money to people not qualified to borrow it.  Race and ethnicity does not qualify one for a mortgage. 

   Mr. Lonegan concludes:

When you go to bed at night, know every single day that your precious children and grandchildren are trusted to the government school system and that they are being taught about the need for each one of us to work for the ”Common Good.” The New Jersey Education Association is making sure of that.

Individual liberty is an obstacle to implementing the Marxist agenda. The government needs to roll over this concept for their greater purpose, the “Common Good.” After all, aren’t these sacrifices a small price to pay for the vision of the Marxist Planners to become reality, comrade? Utopia is right around the corner. 

Manny Aponte on Freeholder “Chameleon” Cooper

APONTE FOR FREEHOLDER

 

 

PRESS ADVISORY                                 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, July 17, 2008                               Contact: Manny Aponte 677-0707

 

 

APONTE ASKS COOPER TO TAKE A STAND

 

Egg Harbor Twp - Atlantic County Freeholder-At-Large candidate Manny Aponte today issued a challenge to his opponent to take a position and stick with it.

 

“It would be nice to see Alisa Cooper take a stand on an issue with some conviction, rather than bend to pressure and fold so easily,” said Aponte.

 

Aponte was referring to Alisa Cooper’s flip-flop on her recent votes to approve $40 million in county spending, after previously calling for a public referendum on the issue. The measure Cooper supported will finance renovations to the Atlantic County Institute of Technology.

 

“Cooper had an opportunity to put the fate of a tax increase directly in the people’s hands via referendum,” Aponte stated. “But Cooper removed that choice after being approached by the unions and changed her vote.” The fundamental right of a taxpayer is paramount and changing your belief due to outside influence is repulsive.

 

Aponte framed Cooper’s decision as one which was made to cater to certain special interests at the expense of the publics.  He said it’s a well known fact that Cooper was approached by the unions and changed her position for future considerations - essentially putting her vote up for sale.

 

“Alisa Cooper changed her vote and put her own personal political interests before those of the people she claims to represent,” said Aponte.  “The unions will benefit from this development, but taxpayers will suffer, thanks to Cooper.”  As a financial professional I have a fiduciary responsibly to my clients and Ms. Cooper has the same responsibility when managing taxpayer’s funds.

 

It should be noted that as recently as July 1^st, four Freeholders - including Cooper - voted to send the project to a public referendum.  Cooper herself noted the large sum of money involved along with the struggling economy as reasons to support a referendum, but changed her vote, and the measure was passed without any taxpayer input.

 

“Referendum is the most direct way for residents to take an active role in shaping the nature of our county through consensus decision-making and should have been given a chance,” remarked Aponte.  “Instead of a lesson on civic accountability we got a lesson in backdoor politics.”

 

“This is politics as usual for her, but for us, its politics at its worst.”

 

#####

 

Social Progressives Are Thieves

   Voice for Liberty in Wichita (KS) features a blog post, which is in response to a letter to the editor from a Mr. Chet Syres of Hutchinson, KS.  Mr. Syres advocates a progressive liberalism, where government offers even greater levels of altruism to people.  Government is only able to offer to one person what it takes from another.  Social Progressives are modern day government bureaucrats.

   Voice for Liberty in Wichita writes: 

Mr. Syres says he wants to promote “social justice” through charity implemented through legislation. Is progress made when voluntary charity is replaced by government programs, fed by taxation? Is progress made when the voluntary cooperation of free people trading in free markets is replaced by the heavy hand of government coercion? Of course not, except for those who believe that they know better than everyone else how things should be, and seek to implement their ideas through expanded government. These are the social progressives, and they are a threat to liberty and prosperity.

Edmund Burke and Thomas Jefferson on Government

   Free Capitalist Daily writes in “Who Decides the Price of Liberty?“

Edmund Burke explained, “There is no safety for honest men except for believing all possible evil by evil men.” And finally, Jefferson, one of our greatest founding fathers, explained a number of ideas about freedom, where it comes from and how it is maintained.

It would be a dangerous delusion were a confidence in the men of our choice to silence our fears for the safety of our rights….Confidence is everywhere the parent of despotism. Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions to bind down those whom we are obliged to trust with power….Our Constitution has accordingly fixed the limits to which, and no further, our confidence may go…

In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.

Jason Vaughn is critiquing Bryan Caplan of the Library of Economics and Liberty in the original post.  Mr. Vaughn concludes:

The Library of Economics and Liberty has one thing right. Liberty and economics cannot be separated. The proper implementation of both is necessary to maintain an eternal vigilance of the independence our Founders created.

Who decides the price of liberty? Those who crave it the most.

He shares in our belief that the motto of New Jersey, “Liberty and Prosperity,” is as true today as it was in 1776.  We argue that there is an essential connection between personal liberty and economic prosperity.  Join us today, www.libertyandprosperity.org.

 

Human Rights Are Not Rights

   Wealth is not the Problem: Poverty is the problem.  Wealth is the solution. is a great blog.  Beth writes in “Why ‘Human Rights’ Aren’t:”

“Human rights” which start with life, liberty and property but then overreach proper limits to include “rights” to food, shelter, well-being, etc., have led to apparent conflicts in rights and the subsequent push for governments to initiate force in the name of “justice.” Such “human rights” give common cause between well-meaning humanitarians and the political systems of socialism and communism. Attempts to provide these “human rights” necessarily involve initiating force against proper liberties and property, which is why what seems good in theory (the theory of “human rights”) ends in oppression and dictatorship.

Beth makes the claim that many “human rights” advocates are extensions of the entitlement class.  Men feel entitled to certain benefits and make the argument that they have the “right” to a given benefit, viz. the “human rights” argument often is another version of the entitlement attitude, where men think that they are entitled to what what they want without having to work to earn it.

   The way to obtain goods is to produce something that one can exchange for a desired good.  There is also a service industry, where other people assist someones productivity and share in the benefits of the endeavor.  When someone lobbies government for desired goods, but is not working for them, the government must take some of the fruits of many people’s labors, in order to give to the man that feels entitled to the goods.

   Beth uses the French Revolution and recent events in Columbia, where leftist guerillas held many people hostages, to illustrate how human rights are not rights. 

Only a proper definition … limits rights to life, liberty and property.

Until this is understood, we will not be unified in our struggle to create liberty and prosperity. Values improperly elevated to the status of rights will destroy both.

Beth makes great points.  Let us conclude with her reflection on the contrast between the American founding and French Revolution.

Important lessons can be learned by comparing the American and French Revolutions, their differing views on rights, and the events which followed from these views. The United States was constructed on the principles of Life, Liberty and Property. Even though Jefferson substituted “pursuit of happiness” for property in the Declaration of Independence, in other writings he makes clear his appreciation of the central role of property to individual rights. The US Constitution and the works of Hamilton, Adams and Madison (and many others) provide further justifications for limiting rights to these three key elements. What resulted was a limited form of government restricted to the defense of individual rights with the bulk of human interactions remaining private. By restricting rights to life, liberty and property and restricting the role to the defense of these rights, government has no call for initiating force on some citizens for the sake of others. The bulk of human interactions remain private, outside the sphere of government. What followed was a period of relative peace and an explosion of prosperity unparalleled in human history. A different choice of “rights” led to a different kind of government and an aftermath of bloody conflicts destructive to life and well-being.

Christie Todd Whitman on the Reuben Torres Show

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Reuben Torres; 646-591-3551; Reuben_anthony@yahoo.com

Christine Todd Whitman  is the President of The Whitman Strategy Group (WSG),  my guest this coming Monday on my radio show “Lets Get Real With Reuben Torres “ will discuss  politics, The United States presidential election of 2008, the RLC, and the environment. 

 

 

Christine Todd Whitman is the President of The Whitman Strategy Group (WSG), a consulting firm that specializes in energy and environmental issues. WSG offers a comprehensive set of solutions to problems facing businesses, organizations, and governments; they have been at the forefront of helping leading companies find innovative solutions to environmental challenges.

She is also co-chair of the Republican Leadership Council (RLC), which she founded with Senator John Danforth and Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. The RLC’s mission is to support fiscally conservative, socially tolerant candidates and to reclaim the word Republican.  The RLC was created in March of 2007 by joining forces with Governor Whitman’s political action committee, It’s My Party Too. She is the author of a New York Times best seller by the same name, which was published in January of 2005 and released in paperback in March 2006.

 

Governor Whitman served in the cabinet of President George W. Bush as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from January of 2001 until June of 2003. She was the 50th Governor of the State of New Jersey , serving as its first woman governor from 1994 until 2001.

 

 
Governor Whitman is on the Steering Committee of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey; the Board of Trustees of the Eisenhower Fellowships; the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations; the Governing Board of the Park City Center for Public Policy; and is a member of the Board of the New America Foundation. She was also the Co-Chair for the Council on Foreign Relations’ Task Force, More Than Humanitarianism: A Strategic U.S. Approach Toward Africa as well as the Aspen Health Stewardship Project, which was released in February of 2008. She co-chairs Clean and Safe Energy (CASE) with Dr. Patrick Moore.

  

 

“Lets Get Real With Reuben Torres” is an open forum where topics on politics, immigration,  health, education, and other global issues, that affect our country and the world at large, are discussed and debated at  local, national, and global levels. “Lets Get Real With Reuben Torres”  will  air  this Monday  evening from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm .

 

To listen to the program go to  www.blogtalkradio.com/LETSGETREALWITHREUBENTORRES

All are welcome to participate by calling (347)  327-9003

Heritage Foundation Internship

I received the following from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

Friend of ISI,

Act now to intern with the world’s leading conservative public policy think tank…

The Heritage Foundation’s (paid!!!) interns have real jobs, acquire policy expertise, build marketable skills, enhance their resumes, and attend events where they can meet and talk with the nation’s leading policy-makers, and make friends with their conservative peers.

Specifically, their interns work with Heritage experts in such areas as homeland security, tax and budget, communications, religion and civil society, the rule of law, and foreign affairs. Additionally, for young entrepreneurs, interested in learning management skills, Heritage offers the opportunity to work in fundraising, donor and government relations, information systems, marketing, and online communications.

The Heritage Foundation has extended the deadline for our Fall 2008 Internship Program to July 15th. Juniors, seniors, and recent graduates are all eligible. All applications for the program must be submitted through our online form, available at www.heritage.org/internships.

For more information about the Heritage Foundation’s prestigious internship program, please visit: http://www.heritage.org/About/Internships/

Thanks,

Kenneth

Assemblymen Polistina and Amodeo Family BBQ

Family Fun Barbeque hosted by Assemblymen Amodeo & Polistina

07/09/2008

Please join us for the 2nd annual
Amodeo & Polistina for Assembly Family Fun BBQ

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

4pm-8pm

Margate Log Cabin
Jerome Ave. & the Bay
Margate, NJ 08402

$25/person
Children (12 & under) Free w/ adult

Food, Bevergages, and fun for all ages

RSVP:

Amodeo and Polistina for Assembly
8213 Amherst Ave.
Margate, NJ 08402

609-823-1642

 

 

Paid for by the Atlantic County Republican Committee.
Michael Goloff, CPA, Treasurer.

A Good Government Is . . .

   The Brussels Journal in Duly Noted: Second Thoughts:

Ultimately, good government, which is also responsible government, allows people live in security as they see fit. What does good government do? It reduces arbitrariness, protects a private sphere, and it secures an environment in which destines can be shaped by individual striving and not by the empowered. Reasonable laws, security within the law‘s boundaries, create conditions in which economic development, that is, the escape from poverty can take place. Political rights and economic security are and remain interrelated.

There are some sound minds in Europe.  The Europeans here give a great explanation of good government.  We would do well to strive for the above-mentioned good government.

History Of Our Flag

   Aunty Belle concludes her treatment of the history of our flag with the following:

The flag first rose over thirteen states along the Atlantic seaboard, with a population of some three million people. Today it flies over fifty states, extending across the continent, and over great islands of the two oceans; and two hundred and five million owe it allegiance. It has been brought to this proud position by love and sacrifice. Citizens have advanced it and heroes have died for it. It is the sign made visible of the strong spirit that has brought liberty and prosperity to the people of America. It is the flag of all us alike. Let us accord it honor and loyalty.

Our flag is a visible sign of liberty and prosperity.  We should jealously defend both the flag and her ideals.