Selected Commentary & Action Items

“If Virtue & Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslav'd. This will be their great Security. ” —Samuel Adams, letter to James Warren, February 12, 1779

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A Moral Debate: Why Capitalism is Best for America  - Analysts often divide conservatives into two big groups -- social conservatives and economic conservatives. Conservatives are used to seeing social controversies like abortion or gay marriage as moral issues. Battles over economics, though, are rarely cast in moral terms. But as Washington liberals push hard to convert America into something less capitalist and more socialist, both camps of conservatives are realizing how a country runs its economy also has a huge impact on its social and moral issues. In his new book The Battle: How the Fight between Free Enterprise and Big Government Will Shape America's Future, Arthur Brooks, president of the highly influential American Enterprise Institute think tank, says it's time to change that. Brooks says capitalism and the free enterprise system are under powerful assault today by forces on the left who believe these systems to be morally flawed. Consequently, those who believe the free market system is good and right need to fight back by learning to defend it on moral grounds. He argues they need to present capitalism as not just the best way to make money, but as the best system to ensure a country's citizens thrive and prosper and that they are free and able to pursue happiness unfettered. The battle is at a desperate stage right now because many conservatives worry that President Obama and some of his liberal allies on Capitol Hill have convinced many Americans that the economic meltdown of 2008 was mostly the fault of greedy capitalists and Wall Street fat cats. Many of these left-leaning forces insist the only way for the country to dig itself out of recession is to grow big government bigger and empower it to control the excesses of capitalism. They also argue this bigger, more powerful government needs to reform the capitalist system by redistributing the wealth of the country. If those solutions are imposed on America, Brooks wonders whether the freedoms of the free enterprise system can survive.  

"Medical Home" Concept Saving Illinois Millions on Health Care - The "medical home" concept under a state initiative started about four years ago appears to be saving Illinois taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars from the state Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, according to a new study by Washington-based Robert Graham Center. The idea behind a medical home is that patients get higher-quality medical care, including specialized services up front in a doctor's office, where costs are much lower than at a hospital.  The patient also is encouraged to maintain a closer relationship with the medical home. According to the study: In 2006, Illinois health officials began to link people enrolled in the state's Medicaid program to a medical home, where treatment and patient referrals are coordinated centrally as a way to keep costs down. From 2006 to 2007, Illinois Medicaid assigned nearly 2 million people to primary care doctors who agreed to coordinate these patients' health care for an extra monthly payment under the program. Illinois Health Connect saved the state $140 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009, and an additional $80 million in fiscal 2008 (figures were unavailable for fiscal 2007 because the program was not fully implemented). The study also showed that a disease-management program launched by Hamos' department has saved more than $300 million during the last three years by helping Medicaid patients adhere to taking their prescriptions for chronic conditions. The program, Your Healthcare Plus, is administered by McKesson Corp. and also helps physicians coordinate care. In addition, Your Healthcare Plus reported increases in the number of patients getting vaccinations, which officials say typically result in fewer hospital admissions. (Source: Bruce Japsen, "'Medical home' concept saving Illinois millions on health care," Chicago Tribune, August 11, 2010. For text: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-08-11/business/ct-biz-0812-notebook-health-20100811_1_medicaid-patients-health-care-medical-home) 

Judicial Activism Taking Center Stage in Run-up to 2010 Elections by Catherine Snow, managing editor - What do U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker, U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro and 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Goodwin Liu have in common? They all favor the redefinition of marriage and are known to have favor or participate in legislating from the bench.

MissionAmerica.com - Special series on the RELIGIOUS LEFT in AMERICA
Part 1:  George Soros, Jim Wallis and the Big Funders of Left-Wing "Evangelicals"
Part 2:  More on Wallis and other community organizing "faith" groups
Part 3:  Liberation Theology with guest Dr. Gloria Wiese
Part 4:  Strange bedfellows among the "faith" lefties in Ohio
Part 5:  Homosexual "Faith" Groups 
Listen to Linda Harvey and Mission America Radio Every Weekday!! LISTEN to Linda Harvey and Mission America each weekday 2:00 to 2:30 p.m. ET on WRFD am 880 in Columbus, OH. This station can be heard all over Ohio, in eastern Indiana, northern Kentucky and southern Michigan. Or, listen live on the web on WRFD.

Larceny of power - Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933), 30th president of the United States from 1923 - 1929. He made this observation in a speech that he delivered on May 30, 1928 (Decoration Day) at the site of the Gettysburg Battlefield, Pennsylvania.- “For the purpose of promoting a reign of law in the world there is a special obligation resting upon all public officials. In our own country, and in most others, the government is one of limited powers. The purpose, as has been so well expressed, is to provide a government of law and not of men. The great majority of offices are those created by statute. Those who fill such places should be alert to ascertain the powers with which they have been invested and scrupulous to observe the law under which they have been appointed. But in addition to these there is a considerable body, executive, legislative, and judicial in its functions, which derive their authority directly from constitutional sources. None of these are all-powerful, but are held within strict limits. They have all come into existence because the people have decreed by their constitutions that they should be clothed with certain limited authority. The chief temptations to go beyond the bounds which the people have set arise in legislatures. In their desire to take some action which they conceive to be in the public interest, they oftentimes manifest a disposition to exceed their constitutional authority. Such action is a larceny of power. Responsibility for it cannot be evaded by the weak plea to let the law be passed and the courts can decide its constitutionality. Legislators are required to qualify upon their solemn oath. That oath is not that they will leave the Courts to defend and support the Constitution, but that they themselves will defend and support it. When additional authority is required, they should apply to the people to amend the Constitution, and not attempt to evade it or strain it by subterfuge and misconception.” (The entire speech can be read here.) 

Social Security: Government 'Ponzi' Scheme Turns 75 with $41 Billion Shortfall Social Security, with its 'trust fund' filled with Treasury IOUs, is in serious fiscal trouble, but you wouldn't guess it from stories by the mainstream news media. Reporters and columnists have downplayed the program’s budget shortfall and claimed that fixing the broken system would be a “snap.”

Social Security Should Compete Against Other Investment Options - The nation's largest entitlement program is officially in the red.  This year, Social Security has paid out more than it receives in payroll taxes. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts that by 2039, the system won't be able to pay retirees their "guaranteed" share of Social Security benefits that they paid into the system without massive tax increases or benefit cuts.  In less than 20 years, just two workers will pay the benefits of every one retiree, says Dick Armey, a Texas Republican, former House majority leader, and current chairman of FreedomWorks. 

President Obama's deficit commission is considering an increase in both the retirement age and payroll taxes to "fix" the compulsory Social Security system. But, at over 12 percent of a worker's income up to $106,800 (half paid by employers), Social Security is already the largest tax that most Americans pay. Studies have shown that payroll taxes would need to increase by 50 percent in order to temporarily save the insolvent program.  But what happens when that's not enough?  At what point does Social Security become generational theft, asks Armey: Raising the retirement age is simply a cut in Social Security benefits.
Under these proposals, young workers would lose money by paying more in Social Security taxes than they receive in benefits upon retirement. 

Americans should ask, if Social Security is such a great program, why is it mandatory?  Workers should have the choice of whether they want to remain in the current system or invest in a personal saving retirement account, which would allow them to have complete control over their retirement funds and pass the remaining balance to family members.  Let's have Social Security compete against other investment options, says Armey. In fact, dozens of other countries have developed similar and successful retirement plans that promote freedom.  Australia's popular retirement program, which includes personal accounts that have provided more income for retirees, increased national savings and reduced pressure on the budget. 

With U.S. lawmakers proposing tax hikes and benefit cuts to Social Security, the program is increasingly becoming a bad deal for workers and retirees.  Americans should be free to choose an optional personal retirement account that allows them to take their retirement into their own hands, explains Army. 

Source: Dick Armey, "Let's Upend Social Security," USA Today, August 10, 2010. For text: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2010-08-10-editorial10_ST1_N.htm  

More Wealthy Migrate South To Avoid Tax Hikes For years, wealthy retirees from high-tax states in the Northeast and Midwest have been streaming to sunny, low-tax Florida. That stream is now turning into a flood, say observers...

Mainstream Media an Enemy of Christian America? NOTE: Political Columnist and author S.E. Cupp appeared on The 700 Club, June 4, to talk about why she believes there is so much disdain for Judeo-Christian values among the media, what motivates her as an atheist to defend Christianity, and why she believes a war on Christianity is a war on all Americans. Political comedien Bill Maher says religion is a "neurological disorder." MSNBC's Keith Olbermann called prolifers "Christian jihadists." CBS News Anchor Katie Couric claims Christian values are "repugnant" Christian America is under attack. The enemy? The mainstream media. According to author and political columnist S.E. Cupp, the goal of the mainstream media is to overthrow God and silence Christian America for good. Cupp warns that the mainstream media is using its influence to wage war against the nation's Judeo-Christian heritage. In her book, Losing Our Religion, Cupp, who is a self-proclaimed atheist, takes a look beyond her own beliefs. She contends it's not extremists in the news who are the most hostile threat to our nation's values. It's the news media itself. Through her book Cupp exposes the media's overt hostility toward traditional values. Losing Our Religion is a preemptive strike, holding the media accountable for what she calls their "unapologetic bigotry."

LaBarbera to Ann Coulter: Reconsider Appearance at Event for GOProud -- Phony 'Gay Conservatives' /Christian Newswire/ -- Americans For Truth About Homosexuality President Peter LaBarbera today urged conservative pundit Ann Coulter to reconsider her appearance at "Homocon," a September event for the homosexual Republican group GOProud.

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