Burke and Obama

By Thomas Sowell







http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | The other day I sought a respite from current events by re-reading some of the writings of 18th century British statesman Edmund Burke. But it was not nearly as big an escape as I had thought it would be.


When Burke wrote of his apprehension about "new power in new persons," I could not help think of the new powers that have been created by which a new President of the United States — a man with zero experience in business — can fire the head of General Motors and tell banks how to run their businesses.


Not only is Barack Obama new to the presidency, he is new to running any organization. One of Burke's fears was that "we may place our confidence in the virtue of those who have never been tried."


Neither eloquence nor zeal was a substitute for experience, according to Burke. He said, "eloquence may exist without a proportionate degree of wisdom." As for zeal, Burke said: "It is no excuse for presumptuous ignorance that it is directed by insolent passion."

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The Obama administration's going back and forth on the question whether American intelligence agents who forced information out of captured terrorist leaders will be subjected to legal jeopardy, even though they were told at the time that what they were doing was not only legal but a service to the nation, came to mind when reading Burke's warning about the dangers of continuing to change the rules and values by which people lived.


Burke asked how we could expect a sense of honor to exist when "no man could know what would be the test of honour in a nation, continually varying the standard of its coin?"


The current drive to take from "the rich" for the benefit of others came to mind when reading Burke's warning against creating a situation where "any one description of citizens should be brought to regard any of the others as their proper prey."


He also warned that "those who attempt to level, never equalise." What they end up doing is concentrating power in their own hands— and Burke saw such new powers as dangerous, even if they were used only sparingly at first.


He said, "the true danger is, when liberty is nibbled away, for expedients and by parts." He also said: "It is by lying dormant a long time, or being at first very rarely exercised, that arbitrary power steals upon a people."


People who don't like "the rich" or "big business" or the banks may be happy that President Obama is sticking it to them. But such arbitrary powers can be turned on anybody. As Robert Burns said: "Send not to know for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee." There was a lot of wisdom in the 18th century.


The Constitution of the United States set out to limit the powers of the federal government but judges have greatly eroded those limitations over the years and the dispensing of bailout money has allowed the Obama administration to exercise powers that the Constitution never gave them.


Edmund Burke understood that, no matter what form of government you had, in the end the character of those who wielded the powers of government was crucial. He said: "Constitute government how you please, infinitely the greater part of it must depend upon the exercise of the powers which are left at large to the prudence and uprightness of ministers of state."


He also said, "of all things, we ought to be the most concerned who and what sort of men they are that hold the trust of everything that is dear to us." He feared particularly the kind of man "whose whole importance has begun with his office, and is sure to end with it"— the kind of man "who before he comes into power has no friends, or who coming into power is obliged to desert his friends." Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers and others came to mind.


The biggest challenge to America — and to the world — today is the danger of Iran with nuclear weapons. President Obama is acting as if this is something he can finesse with talks or deals. Worse yet, he may think it is something we can live with.


Burke had something to say about things like that as well: "There is no safety for honest men, but by believing all possible evil of evil men, and by acting with promptitude, decision, and steadiness on that belief." Acting — not talking.

Senator Sanders:
You are a voice of hope in the wilderness. Please keep up the good work. You position on health care is right in line with the American Ideal. Don't be swayed by the shrill misinformed voices of the tools of the elite.

You are a GREAT MAN!!

keep up the good fight

God bless you Mr. Sanders,

We need more decent leaders like you. You are a cool breeze in a room filled with stale air left behind by corporate greed and those that feed off its carcass.

Please stay strong, we need you,
Sofia

The US needs universal health-care so that it can be considered a civilized and compassionate nation. Why are ordinary Americans given untruthful stories in their media about the so-called horrors about public health-care in UK, Canada and other European countries? The US media and their minions pick on a small number of horror stories that have happened in the UK and project it to be the whole problem with public health-care.
No health-care system is perfect but the British one is still far superior to the one offered in the US. May I even suggest that Australia has one of the universal health-care systems in the world. This is a model which the US should adopt.

ALL FOR YOU SENATOR. ONE OF FEW IN CONGRESS THAT TALKS THE TRUTH AND IS NOT A
SLAVE TO SPECIAL INTEREST. I JUST WISH WE HAD AT LEAST ONE SENATOR LIKE YOU IN S.C.
THIS IS A HOPELESS STATE WITH DEMINT AND GRAHAM PLUS HIKER SANFORD. HELP HELP

ITS LIKE LIVING IN A POLITICAL VOID HERE. BUT OUR COUNTY DID GO FOR OBAMA AND
WIFE AND I DID WORK FOR RESGISRATION AND OTHER WAYS FOR HIS ELECTION. JUST WISH
WE HAD BEEN A SOUTHERN PORGRESSIVE STATE LIKE N.C. AND VA. WILL THE WHOLE SOUTH
EVER CHANGE????

I am a nurse and deal with workers compensation everyday. I know first hand how the health care system in this country has forced people to loose thier jobs and has broken familes apart due to financial reasons. Please continue this good fight with our friend Big Ed. Your are our voice. Stay strong.

Fabulous, I'm so glad you are doing this Senator Sanders. You truly are the People's Senator.

He's fantastic; we need more of him and more voices like his.

I agree with everything you said...but in particular the need for affordable healthcare for all and to spend our military/defense dollars wisely. More attention should be given to the direction our country is going to get all the terrorist. Afghanistan has survived weapons and wars...maybe its time to help get them into the twenty-first century in a genuine and appreciable way. Our dollar would be spent more wisely. Maybe its not the size of the army but the type of army that will finally kill the terrorists.

I am so excited about this weekly show, and so appreciative to you, Senator Sanders, for your exemplary service in representing all Americans in the halls of Congress. Senator Sanders , you are one of the very few lawmakers in Washington whom I feel is a true, true Statesman. Thank you for your service, Senator. YOU are a true hero to all Americans, even if they don't know it. I have been following you in the Senate for some time now. (Wish you were my Senator -- but then you do serve us all). I've looked at your record concerning not just your work and voting record, which no one with any knowledge can dispute, but you do not take money from Lobbyists, i.e. bankers, big business, etc! You stand on principle, honesty, and integrity -- there's not much of that in Washington these days. Keep up up the great work. We need more Bernie Sanders in Congress, a more diverse and honest media, and a more informed public to make things right. Thank you Senator Sanders, once again. I look forward to next week's show.

At last an elected official that admits, we are in trouble, that if we do not return jobs to America, our nation will melt away to be a pawn of the New World Order. I'll go him one better, I'm still running as a candidate for President, for when we throw Obama out of office before our nation surrenders. Google for Don Cordell, Google keeps me right at the top. I grew up in Detroit in the 1930's, I've seen our nation depend upon the manufacturing ability of those companies to make the defense needs of our nation. As this manufacturing ceases, our ability to defend our nation also ceases. This is a matter of survival now, we have to retake control of our nation before there is no future left. I'm scared that Fighting for Survival has left the citizens, who spend too much time watching Sports, and not the history of America. Hey folks, I'm an 82 year old retired on Social Security, and I'd rather sit back and enjoy the grandchildren, but I can't, defending America, and RESTORING America has to come first, or my grandchildren have no future.
Lets all join in the Tea Party Town Hall conferences and let all of our politicians know, we are concerned about our future. Remember all the moneys we've spent to defend us against Communism, and now we are best friends with Communist China, why? Who sold America to the lowest bidder?

I want to add my comments both to Bernie Sanders and Bernard Carman.

We don't need to worry about big government as much as we need to worry about (big) corporate america.

We need to reduce the undue influence of big corporations on our elections and on the legislative process. They help to put congresspeople in, and then they write the legislation to their advantage. This would include the national and multi-national oil companies, energy companies, chemical / pharmaceutal companies and insurance companies.

We resemble Nazi Germany in this respect of the close alignment of government and big corporate interests. Auschwitz was conceived by and run for the benefit of HOECHST, BAYER and BASF, where the inmates worked as slave laborers on the medical plant, and were also its non-consenting medical subjects.

I am a small business owner, so I'm not talking about small businesses. (I can tell you that for all its supposedly pro-business actions, small and mid-size businesses were not given any breaks by the previous administration.)

What can we do from a grassroots perspective, to reduce the influence of the big corporations?

there is ONE area which is not being talked enough about except by ONE Congressman, Ron Paul. that is cutting back the Federal government to its *legal* Constitutional limitations. according to David Walker, ex-US Comptroller General, if this were to happen we would cut 66% of the Federal budget.

We the People have allowed this runaway "American" government to not only usurp our individual unalienable rights, but also to get into "business" where it never belonged, and control nearly every area of private life.

regarding the health care fiasco, here is a response to the Obama administration from my blog, infinity liberty: http://infinityliberty.blogspot.com/2009/07/fro...


WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2009

"From the White House: What health insurance reform means for you"

Mr. President, with all due respect...

NO! Nationalized health care means more loss of freedom -- in this case, our unalienable health freedoms!

Please tell me:

• Why should We the People trust the government with control over our unalienable health freedoms, when its alphabet soup organizations like the FDA & AMA approve poisons to be included in our foods & medicines?

• Why should We the People trust the government with control over our unalienable health freedoms, when we know minimal control will eventually grow into maximum control? "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." -- Lord Acton

• Why should We the People trust the government to effectively and efficiently manage our health freedoms for us, when health care costs were not a problem before the government got involved in the first place, and further when it cannot even properly manage the national economy, or for that matter nearly anything it attempts to manage?

We the People who acknowledge and understand the War on Liberty, which has existed since the dawn of man, and which includes the unalienable right to life, will continue to resist the ever continuing advance of socialism & fascism in America -- it is our duty as Americans to do so!

"If men, through fear, fraud, or mistake, should in terms renounce or give up any natural right, the eternal law of reason and the grand end of society would absolutely vacate such renunciation. The right to freedom being a gift of God, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave." -- Samuel Adams

JUST SAY NO TO TYRANNY!

8-)

bernard baruch carman
- seeker of truth / seeder of truth • SeedsOfTruth.org • ∞Liberty
- We The People • Oath Keepers • LibertyAsheville
•••


On Jul 29, 2009, at 12:29 PM, President Barack Obama wrote:

Dear Friend,

If you’re like most Americans, there’s nothing more important to you about health care than peace of mind.

Given the status quo, that’s understandable. The current system often denies insurance due to pre-existing conditions, charges steep out-of-pocket fees – and sometimes isn’t there at all if you become seriously ill.

It’s time to fix our unsustainable insurance system and create a new foundation for health care security. That means guaranteeing your health care security and stability with eight basic consumer protections:

No discrimination for pre-existing conditions
No exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles or co-pays
No cost-sharing for preventive care
No dropping of coverage if you become seriously ill
No gender discrimination
No annual or lifetime caps on coverage
Extended coverage for young adults
Guaranteed insurance renewal so long as premiums are paid

Learn more about these consumer protections at Whitehouse.gov.

Over the next month there is going to be an avalanche of misinformation and scare tactics from those seeking to perpetuate the status quo. But we know the cost of doing nothing is too high. Health care costs will double over the next decade, millions more will become uninsured, and state and local governments will go bankrupt.

It’s time to act and reform health insurance, drive down costs and guarantee the health care security and stability of every American family. You can help by putting these core principles of reform in the hands of your friends, your family, and the rest of your social network.

Thank you,

Barack Obama

I'm a fan for a long time. I think your video is great. To the point. No going around trying to explain the absurd (like why CEOs need 100 millions... as if nobody could do the same job for 10 millions... and doing what? what are they creating? nothing). Keep the good work.

Sen Sanders,

You just happen to be the first opportunity I've had to share my complaint and concern about American Express' increase of the APR they charge on all balances on all cards. The increase varies depending on the type of charge, but basically the rate for purchases has been increased by, in my case, 25% (from 12.24% to 15.24% - prime plus 11.99%)...the rate if one has a single late payment has been increased to 27.24 (prime plus 23.99%.

If, as I have been told by AMEX, every card holder is receiving this same increase, somebody needs to be boiled in oil. Hopefully, you and the members of Congress that are trying to look out for us, will get the kettles cooking.

More, more. We need a lot more and it must be distributed to those who aren't interested. I would love to join and be active in a grass roots organization that can eventually have a huge impact BUT the only activist organization I can find are really just backing whatever Obama wants. Nice man but he is afraid or doesn't want to confront Wall Street and the establishment.

Frank Rick wrote a column Sunday which really states how I am evidently millions of AMericans. The game is rigged. The ordinary people do not have a voice at all. Wall Street owns and controls the whole government. I don't know what to do but it has only quite recently dawned on me that we no longer have a democracy. I had hope when the Congressional email was shut down by the millions of people who wrote to protest the Wall Street bailout but what good did it go? They still got their billions and we got the shaft. I would like to protest by not paying federal taxes. If 100 million people did this in a concerted effort we might get some attention but how does one do this.

Senator Sanders _ please come up with some ideas for growing a grass roots movement. Please.

Thank you for the videos but it is all about things I know already. Action is what I want. Why are not people marching on Washington? Why are they not up in arms over what we have been fed the last 30 years. Now we have a president who seems hopeful but he turns out to be just another corporatist. Rats.

Barbara Crowley

kavs66@gmail.com

Page bookmarked. Thank you for expressing forthright, sensible and humane positions on the issues challenging America. Let's hope you go viral . . . in a good way.

In view of the Patriot act, I'm a little worried about public assembly, also I've heard The president speak of a 'homeland security' force, a term not heard since you know who!

Wher have you been, We need Reps like you!

The problems have been talked about before. What can we do about it besides talking with our congressmen and bombarding the air waves. I hope that helps. Thanks for trying. (I think you can tell I am a little discouraged.

Excellent presentation! Short. To the point! Good work.

We need 99 more Bernie Sanders!

This is great news.
Based on your weekly hour with Thom Hartman and from what I've seen of you on progressive t.v. shows, I'd have to say you're my favorite Senator.

Thank you for fighting the good fight!

And thanks for all of the ongoing political enlightenment!

I think my search for a spokesman for my own personal thoughts has been found! Thank you, Senator Sanders, for being the voice of reason in an a time when chaos and misinformation reign.