The Narcissists

narcissist - a person who is overly self-involved, and often vain and selfish

For years, Obama's critics have accused him of being a narcissist. And rightfully so, since Obama has a record of publicly ostracizing those who dared to criticize either him or his policies. He even went so far as to name particular people, not just whole networks - he has called out Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity; he has had the IRS go after conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status; he has had the DOJ spy on Fox News' James Rosen and the Associated Press. Obama has acted the bully to the Supreme court before an important decision that would impact on his policies; he even scolded them in front of the world during a State of the Union address. Not to mention his countless insults hurled at Republicans or the Tea Party. Obama's speeches have been overwhelmingly in the first person - accomplishments are his, goals are his, actions and reactions are his and his only. Never does he credit anyone else, yet blame is always on someone else. His thin skin has been problematic, as a powerful and uniting leader needs a truly thick skin. These examples go on and on; it is very apparent to those willing to say it, our president is a narcissist at the very least.

Now comes along a whole new crop of people wanting that same privilege of leading this country. In the first Republican debate, hosted by Fox News moderators, Donald Trump has shown himself to possess very similar characteristics as that of our thin-skinned president. Not that this wasn't apparent before the debate, but there was a sense that he was simply calling it like it is, pulling no punches and putting on display an ego that has been a part of his personality forever. Yet until the debate, the ego didn't seem quite that problematic.

Trump, like all the other candidates, got some tough questions from the moderators. But unlike all the other candidates, he fought back by attacking the moderators, the network, and the other candidates. And now we watch as he excoriates anyone who criticizes him, how he punishes anyone whom he deems is 'against' him. The night after the debate he gave a long interview to rival network CNN during Megyn Kelly's time slot. He gets personal. He gets petulant...like a child. He is having tantrums before our eyes. When he speaks, it is about him. And it's all about the thin skin. The toughness of Trump we don't mind. The lack of political correctness we don't mind. But if this 'enemies list' is his tactic of dealing with those who oppose him and how he would lead as the next president, then this is a big problem. And this is without examining his ideas on how to run the government or his political philosophy or vision for the country. Sure, we have some general idea about him getting tough with other countries, about cracking down on illegal immigration, but it has become about his ego at this point.

Seems like the very last thing we need as a country is more of the same from our president as we've had for the last two terms. Judging by Trump's reaction to whatever he sees as negative pushback, his narcissism is the quality that will prevent him from being an effective and uniting leader. How do we know? We've already seen this show.

A Moral Convergence

This past week two stories in the news have converged in an interesting way.

One story which has received much press coverage, has been the killing of a lion in Africa by an American hunter. Not that big game in Africa aren't hunted and killed all the time, (legally), but here are some of the unusual points about this story.

This particular lion, known as Cecil, was protected and followed for several years for research purposes by Wildlife Conservation. The hunter, with his African guides, had lured Cecil out of the protected park (illegal) and shot him with a crossbow, watching him for 40 hours until he was shot dead. This made the killing more brutal than necessary. Additionally he was decapitated and skinned to become the trophy this hunter was after. Supposedly, this hunter was unaware of the protected nature of this lion. Because of the method in which he handled this animal, this particular hunt seemed egregious.

The reaction to the killing of this lion was no less than international hysteria. So much so, that the American hunter had to go into hiding, as his own life had been threatened. Warranted? I think not. However, it does call into question some issues to ponder:  Should big game trophy hunting be legal? Are there benefits to the local villages by taking the life of an animal, especially a predatory one?

The other story to come to our attention was in the way of video exposes on Planned Parenthood (PP), in which executives from the company were caught discussing the sale of fetal parts to a fictional research company.

While PP maintains that they have not done anything illegal by receiving money to cover the cost of the procedure and to transport the tissue/organs, the videos tell a different story.

They show executives negotiating the price of tissue/organ procurement and 'then some', (illegal profiting) and in the latest video, there is discussion as to how to procure a fully intact fetus for the said research company. In one of the videos, it is revealed that PP does change the method of abortion (illegal) to fulfill the request of the research company, while claiming to reassure the mother that the procedure will follow protocol and not do anything different in their care for her.

To add insult to injury, the cavalier attitudes of the PP executives shown on camera was truly offensive. Casual and incidental, they discussed the dismemberment of the fetus, the crushing of some body parts, and the subsequent extraction of the fetus. All this without an iota of humanity, gravity or respect. Whether one agrees with fetal tissue donation or not, one should not treat a prenatal life with such brutality as illustrated here.

Again, some other questions arise:
What is PP's primary focus - giving the woman the best care she can get, or doing whatever needs to be done to sell tissue/organs to a business?

What is the ethical nature of fetal tissue procurement even if done for supposedly noble purposes?

Should taxpayers fund an organization whose practices are morally questionable at best?

While one may have outrage over both stories, it was the contrast in the press coverage that was troubling.  The lion story was covered way more in the media, while the PP story got little coverage (other than Fox News, which covered the PP story extensively). Something seems wrong with this picture. Clearly the politics of protecting PP by not giving this horrific story the proper attention was evident.

Finally, if one has outrage over an animal getting killed in a hunt, then shouldn't one have outrage over thousands of human fetuses whose lives are reduced to spare parts? If not, and that appears to be the case with many expressing anger over the lion, but not the fetuses....it begs the question: if it were animal fetuses that were being extracted in ways so as to sell its parts, would then these people get angry?

Speeding To The Cliff

With just over a year left in office, Obama is stepping on the gas pedal hard. He is accelerating as fast as he can, this fundamental transformation of America. In the beginning, it seemed as though he was gradually changing things, and that with enough resistance from the people, we would be able to slow him down. But as time went on, the pace picked up. It seemed as though every day there was another outrage to deal with, coming from his policies, his lawlessness, his rhetoric. Now it's as though the speed limit just got higher on the highway and he wants to take advantage of it. With the higher speed limit, watch out though, and make sure you're buckled up.

The latest in his transformation is the giving away of the world's security with concessions to Iran. The largest sponsor of terrorism in the world just got permission to develop nuclear weapons, which they will be able to showcase in several years. I'm sure Israel can't wait for that one. Essentially Obama has started an arms race in the Mideast, since Iran's neighbors are not going to sit still for them to power up. With this new deal, economic sanctions on Iran are lifted, paving the way for them to purchase all kinds of war toys from Russia and China, including intercontinental ballistic missiles; oh goody, then they can reach the United States. If that's not all, inspections of these building sites do not come with unfettered access. While we are told they can be inspected 24/7, the deal gives them up to 14 days to 'prepare' for the visit. But the dagger in the heart, is that Obama, the great negotiator, left 4 Americans in Iranian jail cells. How dare he. While our thin-skinned President scolded a reporter for inquiring about that in a way that left him uncomfortable, the truth is, he really doesn't care about the hostages. After all, how could he let a few Americans get in the way of his agenda.

What about that agenda? Remember, he has been working very hard at undermining every institution, every tradition, and every pillar that held up this once great country.

Time is running out for him. And he promised us he will continue to affect change until he leaves. When he does leave, if he leaves (tyrants tend to stay), he will have left us a much, much, weaker nation. The question is, will anyone be able to turn the car around before it drives off the cliff?

Unspeakable Evil

The level of barbarity belonging to the world's evil enemy cannot get any lower. I'm referring to the enemy called ISIS, aka, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and the atrocities they have been committing more and more boldly for a couple of years now.

In their quest to build a Muslim caliphate in the region, eventually to have world domination, they have been responsible for beheadings, crucifixions, torture, enslavement, rape, drowning, and burning people alive in cages. When the Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of gay marriage, ISIS celebrated by throwing gay men off of rooftops. These horrors go for women and children alike. It goes for Christians and Muslims, as well. In fact, Christians are being exterminated from the Mideast by the many thousands, reminiscent of the Jewish holocaust of Europe.

The latest barbarism involves demonstrating booby-trap techniques to other ISIS fighters by attaching explosives to a baby and detonating it. If you can continue reading after that horror, they are also killing men by amputating their sex organ and letting them bleed to death. This is seriously depraved. It is the darkest side of humanity this world has seen. It is hard to write about it. But if you were unaware of all of this, then your liberal media is negligent in their duties.

And then there's the Pope; the spiritual figurehead for the Catholic Church. As a spiritual leader, one would expect, in his travels around the world, for him to speak about the Christians in the Mideast getting slaughtered daily. One would think that the Pope, of all people, would stand up for those being tortured by Muslim fanatics. After all, the Pope is supposedly a man of peace and love, preaching the gospel to the masses.

Incredibly, that's not the case. Instead, the Pope has decided that the biggest problems for the world to hear about from the Church involve greedy capitalism and climate change. Seriously?

Humanity's moral compass must be broken - the Catholic Pope is not even standing up for his Christian bretheren.

JULY 2ND IS THE DAY THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS VOTED ON. TO COMMEMORATE THAT UNIQUE AND CONSEQUENTIAL DOCUMENT, WHICH LAID OUT OUR FOUNDING PRINCIPLES, BELOW IS A REPRINT OF THE TEXT.



LET'S REMEMBER WHY AMERICA WAS FOUNDED IN THE FIRST PLACE. 

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.

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—That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The History of the present King of Great-Britain is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodation of large Districts of People, unless those People would relinquish the Right of Representation in the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them, and formidable to Tyrants only.

He has called together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the Depository of their public Records, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance with his Measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly Firmness his Invasions on the Rights of the People.

He has refused for a long Time, after such Dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the Dangers of Invasion from without, and Convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States; for that Purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their Migrations hither, and raising the Conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.

He has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance.

He has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our Legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pre-tended Offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an arbitrary Government and enlarging its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an Example and fit Instrument for introducing the same absolute Rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all Cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People.

He is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy of the Head of a civilized Nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the Executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.

Nor have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren. We have warned them from Time to  Time of Attempts by their Legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence. They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of Consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the  rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

http://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-declaration-of-independence/read-the-declaration/ 

The Transformation Is Nearly Complete

The fundamental transformation of the United States of America is nearly complete.

We no longer have a clear delineation between the 3 branches of government.

We have a president who circumvents Congress to create policies via pen and phone.

We have an opposing political party in Congress which refuses to oppose the radical progressive agenda of our president.

We have a Supreme Court which won't adhere to the Constitution, but will play politics.

We no longer have to prove citizenship in order to vote.

We have handed over to the government, control of 1/5 of our economy via healthcare.

We have a federal government becoming more centralized while the states are losing power.

We have driven up the national debt to the highest and most unsustainable level it's ever been.

We are a diminished economic power domestically and around the world.

We have a govt agency, the EPA, which is strangling businesses with massive regulations and fees.

We are demonizing wealth and capitalism.

We have nearly half the population dependent on government entitlements.

We are pushing for social justice, aka wealth redistribution.

We are forcing low income housing into wealthy neighborhoods.

We have rights to freedom of religion and freedom of speech which are under attack.

We have a govt agency, the IRS, which plays politics with conservatives and right-leaning organizations.

We have govt officials who 'lose' their emails to cover up corruption.

We have an imperial president and First Lady who vacation extensively on taxpayer money.

We have very porous borders which allow into our country virtually anyone, including our enemies.

We are offering benefits to illegals that are not afforded our own citizens.

We have a government which will not enforce immigration laws already on the books.

We have an enemy, that will not be named by our president, who chops off heads, crucifies people (including children) and throws homosexuals off of rooftops.

We have, for the first time since its inception, daylight between this country and Israel.

We are a world in trouble, in part, because this country will not stand up against evil.

We are allowing Iran, the world's sponsor of terrorism, to build nuclear weapons.

We are allowing a barbaric jihadi movement to build a caliphate which seeks to dominate the world.

We have allowed associates of terrorist groups to infiltrate our government.

We have a military which has been weakened by new rules of engagement and new PC standards.

We have growing anti-police sentiment which will inevitably lead to nationalizing the police depts.

We have allies who no longer trust us.

We are no longer a moral influence in the world.

We are no longer a society based on Judeo-Christian values.

We have redefined the thousands-year-old institution of marriage, which has been the bedrock of our society.

We are a nation more divided in every way; race, gender, class, ideology.

We have become a nation of victims.

We have changed from a country which valued merit to a country that values diversity and inclusivity.

We have more racial tension now than we have had in decades, despite our having a black president and top govt officials.

We are eliminating gender labels and telling our children that gender doesn't matter.

We have business owners who must shut down because they no longer have the right to exercise their religious conscience.

We have a national educational curriculum which revises our history.

We have a national system in education which collects data on our children.

We are tearing down symbols which represent our history, good or bad.

We have a media which refuses to report on the government's wrongdoing if it doesn't advance their liberal agenda.

We are raising the next generation to be 'global citizens' rather than American citizens.

We have institutions of higher learning which promote diversity of race and nationality, but prohibit diversity of thought.

We are allowing a small population of political agitators to set the agenda for the vast majority of the population.

We have become dangerously politically correct, which impacts on our speech and ultimately on our thoughts.

We have a government which knows no bounds with our privacy and collects data on all citizens.

We have a president who is working to extend power and control outside of the Constitution and onto a new world order.

We have a president who believes the biggest threat to our country is climate change.

We are watching the progressive left build their socialist utopia; from history we know these plans never end well.

What's next? Not much left.  Beware the government shutting down conservative media.

And beware the government that will try to disarm its citizenry.

What to do? Stand up, mobilize and don't accept the unacceptable.

The Mideast Powder Keg

In an unprecedented move, President Obama announced he will be re-thinking America's support for Israel; ever since Netanyahu won re-election and stated he will not consider a two-state solution at this time (given that the Palestinians have aligned with Hamas, which does not recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and furthermore, calls for its destruction). Since Israel's inception in 1948, there has never been a time when Israel did not have the support of its closest ally, the United States. Obama, however, seems to be looking for excuses not to support Israel.

                                                               

In the ongoing negotiations with Iran re: developing nuclear weapons, Netanyahu said, "the dangerous accord which is being negotiated in Lausanne confirms our concerns and even worse." He added, "The Iran-Lausanne-Yemen axis is very dangerous for all of humanity and must be stopped." At this point in time, Obama is negotiating not whether Iran produces centrifuges, but how many, allowing Iran to produce its own nuclear fuel. That our President is not doing what needs to be done to prevent the largest supporter of terror in the world, Iran, from building nuclear weapons, is incomprehensible. This is in conjunction with the lifting of economic sanctions on Iran, which many felt were effectively working in our favor.

This past week it was reported that the Obama administration, early last month, leaked a classified document detailing Israel's nuclear program. This highly covert information has been kept secret to avoid a regional nuclear arms race.
                                                                                                    

Additionally, the Obama administration is still calling Yemen a success, as our efforts in Yemen represented his anti-terror strategy. Problem is, the Yemeni President Hadi was driven from office by another Iranian backed terror group, the Houthis. Earlier this month, U.S. troops, there as counter-terrorist forces, made an emergency exit from the country as the Houthis struck a U.S. airbase which was being used as a headquarters for their efforts.

Saudi Arabia has now entered into the war with airstrikes fighting back the Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen. The Saudi kingdom is not ruling out building nuclear weapons to counter-balance a nuclear-armed Iran.

"The mideast is on fire," said Sen. Lindsey Graham. Is Obama lighting the matches?