Tom Hoefling
So, we're now on track to run trillion dollar deficits every year as far as the eye can see. We just hit $22 trillion in debt, which is up more than $2 trillion in additional debt since Trump took office only two years ago. We're spending a billion dollars a day on interest alone. Under these circumstances, any "tax cuts" are illusory. The burden continues to radically rise, not lessen, on current taxpayers, and on our posterity, who haven't given their consent to any of this nonsense. There's only one way out of this horrible mess, and that's to apply my three-fold criteria for any and all public spending. Ask yourself: 1) Is it moral? 2 Is it constitutional? 3) Is it absolutely necessary? If the answer to any of these questions is "NO," then it's high time we got rid of it. Then what we have to do is to take the tax and regulatory burdens off of the producers in this country. We can start by completely dismantling the federal income tax, and replacing it with a simple, transparent, efficient retail consumption tax. It's stupid and counter-productive to tax businesses and productivity. It's the equivalent of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Put the tax burden on consumption, and you will encourage thrift and savings, which are the only things that can provide the seed for even more production of physical wealth and private property. And last but not least, dismantle the massive regulatory state which is throttling our economy and disadvantaging us in the world market. Most of it is unconstitutional anyhow. In the clean air of liberty, Americans can and will out-work, and out-think, and out-produce anyone in the world, no problem. Restore our national moral basis. Restore respect for our Constitution. Restore liberty. The rest will take care of itself. Tom Hoefling
Yesterday I was asked by a new friend for my thoughts on Limited Government. My response: I have a simple three part test of all laws and public policies: 1) Is it right? 2) Is it constitutional? 3) Is it absolutely necessary? Much of what our federal government does today fails all three parts of the test. Most of what our federal government does today fails to meet one or more parts of the test. We have to get back within the bounds of morality, constitutionality, and common sense or this great republic cannot possibly survive. Self-government in liberty cannot be preserved and delivered to our children and grandchildren unless we soon return to the basic principles America was founded upon. "Moral, constitutional, republican self-government in liberty cannot possibly co-exist with socialism, with Islam, with the homosexual agenda, or with the practice of human abortion. One absolutely precludes the other, sooner or later.. Pick a side, because it is an existential fight to the finish, whether you like it or not."
-- Tom Hoefling "Those who rebel against legitimate authority, in other words authority instituted and authorized by God for our own good, for our own protection, and the good and protection of others, shall not prosper. Conversely, neither will those who refuse to rise up against illegitimate power, against evil. Either way you're a slave, to your own selfish passions, or to a wicked outside force. Instead, let us once again be what our wise forebears were, the moral, self-governing, sovereign, free people of the United States, under Almighty God."
-- Tom Hoefling "The foundation for our claim to liberty is a moral claim. Take away that moral basis and enduring liberty is simply not possible."
-- Tom Hoefling "Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure (and) which insures to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments."
-- Charles Carroll, signer of the Declaration of Independence "A constitution founded on these principles introduces knowledge among the people, and inspires them with a conscious dignity becoming freemen; a general emulation takes place, which causes good humor, sociability, good manners, and good morals to be general. That elevation of sentiment inspired by such a government, makes the common people brave and enterprising. That ambition which is inspired by it makes them sober, industrious, and frugal."
-- John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776 “There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.”
-- Ronald Reagan “We live in an age of science and of abounding accumulation of material things. These did not create our Declaration. Our Declaration created them. The things of the spirit come first. Unless we cling to that, all our material prosperity, overwhelming though it may appear, will turn to a barren scepter in our grasp. If we are to maintain the great heritage which has been bequeathed to us, we must be like-minded as the fathers who created it. We must not sink into pagan materialism. We must cultivate the reverence which they had for the things that are holy. We must follow the spiritual and moral leadership which they showed.”
-- President Calvin Coolidge, Speech given in Philadelphia, PA, July 4, 1926, on the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence "The worst evil that could be inflicted upon the youth of the land would be to leave them without restraint and completely at the mercy of their own uncontrolled inclinations. Under such conditions education would be impossible, and all orderly development intellectually or morally would be hopeless. The Declaration of Independence...claims...the ultimate source of authority by stating...they were...'appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the rectitude of their intentions.'...The foundations of our independence and our Government rests upon basic religious convictions. Back of the authority of our laws is the authority of the Supreme Judge of the World, to whom we still appeal. It seems to me perfectly plain that the authority of law, the right to equality, liberty, and property, under American institutions, have for their foundation reverence for God. If we could imagine that to be swept away, these institutions of our American government could not long survive."
-- President Calvin Coolidge "Our liberty depends on our education, our laws, and habits...It is founded on morals and religion, whose authority reigns in the heart, and on the influence all these produce on public opinion before that opinion governs rulers."
-- Fisher Ames Dwight D. Eisenhower: A true American political party vs. a mere conspiracy to seize power9/20/2012 "If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power."
-- DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, speech, Mar. 6, 1956 "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism who should labor to subvert these great Pillars...Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle...Morality is a necessary spring of popular government...Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation?
And of fatal tendency...to put, in the place of the delegated will of the Nation, the will of a party; - often a small but artful and enterprising minority...They are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the Power of the People and to usurp for the themselves the reins of Government; destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion... But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism...Disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an Individual...(who) turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty...The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism..." Let there be no change by usurpation...It is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed." -- George Washington, Farewell Address The Equal Protection for Posterity Resolution
America's Party Platform (Includes the Resolution) America's Party Leadership Pledge (Includes the Resolution) Tom Hoefling: I Believe (Includes the Resolution) "Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other."
-- John Adams "Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time...They therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure and which insures to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments."
-- Charles Carroll, U.S. Senator and signer of the Declaration of Independence "[T]here are certain basic moral truths that all of us really know, even if we pretend to ourselves that we don't. ... [D]ifferent cultures disagree only about the details of morality, not about the basics. C. S. Lewis gave us a good example when he remarked that although some cultures say you can have four wives and some say you can have only one, up until very recently, every human culture has recognized the sacredness of marriage. ... Paul said in Romans 1 that we 'suppress' the truth because of our sins. But if the knowledge is really down there, then it can be dredged back up, no matter how deeply suppressed. ... Don't forget: People know more about right and wrong than they ever let on. And you can learn how to get past their denials in order to remind them of the moral truths that they can't not know."
-- Chuck Colson "Nothing is more certain than that a general profligacy and corruption of manners make a people ripe for destruction. A good form of government may hold the rotten materials together for some time, but beyond a certain pitch, even the best constitution will be ineffectual, and slavery must ensue."
--John Witherspoon, The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men, 1776 Provided courtesy of SayNOtoSocialism.com
Coalition for Healthcare Redesign Dave Racer In a way I felt badly for my listeners. They had to confront some very hard facts about our great country that go far beyond, but include the provision of and payment for healthcare. The United States is in trouble – deep and serious trouble. This is what I said to the professional health insurance agents in Peoria, Illinois on March 6. Then I laid out overwhelming statistics about state and federal spending, the increase in the national debt (in dollars and as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product), and most appallingly, the total unfunded debts and liabilities of American government. And I talked about cultural and moral decline. Please, don’t stop reading. This is a vitally important message. Dr. Larry Kotlikoff, a Boston University economics professor, totals the U.S. unfunded liabilities at $211 Trillion - $676,000 for every U.S. resident currently counted by the U.S. Census Bureau. These are funds that must be spent if we are to maintain the programs currently on the books. But that spending will never happen because it cannot happen. It cannot happen because we will be bankrupt before it can happen. According to Peter Ferrara, in his must-read tome,America’s Ticking Bankruptcy Bomb, the U.S. public debt ratio to GPS will be 107 percent by the end of 2012. It will quickly climb thereafter to a level exceeding that which is destroying Greece today. If there is no sharp change in U.S. spending, it will lead to a world economic collapse. I know, I know, these are harsh words and hard to read; not at all uplifting. Now, however, is time for sobriety and seriousness. Frankly, I wish I could give this same talk to all Americans. Maybe I could do it as a webinar. It is an urgent talk, a vital talk. But there is more. The U.S. at its root is not about money: it’s about ideas upon which we have built a great nation of free people, an exceptional nation in every way. One of our foundational ideas is moral integrity. “We do not have money problems,” Alan Keyes often said during his 1996 presidential campaign. “We have moral problems.” The moral problems are directly related to how and why we spend money, as individuals, families, and governments. How we spend money on healthcare is directly related to our moral dilemma. What I am about to write is likely to cost me some readers, because some people do not want to deal with these disturbing trends. Each of them, and far more, contributes to our cultural, moral, and financial decline. Recently, a British bio-ethicist opined that a newborn baby should be treated the same as an unborn child – only he uses the “scientific” term, fetus. This “ethicist” believes that abortion law should apply to newborn babies – meaning parents should be free to kill the unwanted infant, just as they are able to do with babies still in the womb. Dr. Peter Singer, of Dartmouth, made the same observation years ago. Dr. Zeke Emmanuel, former adviser to [Alleged] President Obama on healthcare reform and brother to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, believes we spend too much on healthcare for certain populations. In a 2010 Lancet article, Emmanuel and his co-authors suggested that we should reduce spending for children younger than about five, and adults older than about 62. He believes we should focus healthcare spending on others, healthier people with more life expectancy. Who should decide? Under ObamaCare, the Independent Payment Advisory Board, and others of the new federal MediCrats who know better than you, or me, or pastors, priests, rabbis, and Imams. An 18-month old girl toddler declared one day, “I am a boy.” As a result, her parents are raising her as a boy, and intend to treat her with hormones to delay the onset of puberty. By age 17 or 18, the parents reason, the girl can choose to be a boy for life, and undergo transsexual surgery. The story is told in the context of an article about an emerging pediatric practice, whereby children are choosing to live as genders different from the one God created (oh, of course, they do not see that God has a role to play a role in these issues). Parents of children with gender confusion hope that health insurance will pay for their children’s treatment as preventive care. Lastly, is the latest report on children born out of wedlock – excuse the old-fashioned term. If you wish, I can just say “born to single mothers.” These statistics should set off alarms for the social cost awaiting our country, none of which figure into Dr. Kotlikoff’s calculations. According to the National Institutes of Health, 29 percent of Caucasian babies are born to single moms. As bad as this sounds, 53 percent of Hispanic babies are born to single moms; the number for African-American babies soars to 73 percent. Even during slavery, as Alan Keyes points out in Masters of the Dream, only 15 percent of African-American babies were born into families without a father present. We must integrate the underlying facts about our country’s financial and cultural demise with every decision we make about the future of U.S. healthcare. To pretend these are not relevant is to self-destruct. The root cause and the real solution are the same: personal moral responsibility. A remnant still has it, but society in general seems to be tossing it aside. We will keep fighting for healthcare consumerism, a reduction in wasteful healthcare spending, doctor-patient relationships, healthier bodies, and all such pursuits. But, the one pursuit that overrides all this is that of moral character, at a far higher level than is apparent today. In 2012, we can get started on one aspect of saving America; elect people of moral integrity to office, and throw the others out the door. ![]() American Minute with Bill Federer George Washington was born FEBRUARY 22, 1732. He was unanimously chosen as the Army's Commander-in-Chief, unanimously chosen as President of the Constitutional Convention, and unanimously chosen as the first U.S. President. After having the Declaration of Independence read to his troops, General Washington ordered chaplains placed in each regiment, stating: "The General hopes and trusts, that every officer and man, will endeavour so to live, and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier, defending the dearest Rights and Liberties of his country." General Washington stated at Valley Forge, May 2, 1778: "To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest Glory to laud the more distinguished Character of Christian." To the Delaware Indian Chiefs who brought three youths to be trained in American schools, General Washington stated, May 12, 1779: "You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ." As recorded in The Writings of George Washington (March 10, 1778, 11:83-84, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1934), record George Washington's order: "At a General Court Marshall whereof Colo. Tupper was President...Lieutt. Enslin of Colo. Malcom's Regiment tried for attempting to commit sodomy, with John Monhort a soldier; Secondly, For Perjury in swearing to false Accounts, found guilty of the charges exhibited against him, being breaches of 5th. Article 18th Section of the Articles of War and do sentence him to be dismiss'd the service with Infamy. His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief approves the sentence and with Abhorrence and Detestation of such Infamous Crimes orders Liett. Enslin to be drummed out of Camp tomorrow morning by all the Drummers and Fifers in the Army never to return." In his Farewell Address, 1796, Washington stated: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness." |
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