President
Bush's
Saturday Morning Radio Address
|
Another
Perspective:
"Liberty Under God"
|
| THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This
week, our country received good news in the fight against illegal
drugs. New data show that illicit drug use amongst young people
continues to decline -- and that we are making good progress in
our efforts to help thousands of Americans renew their health and
hope. |
- Can the government take credit for this drop in drug use?
Abortions are also down. But the government legalized abortions.
- ABC
News: Why Abortions Are Down in America
- Granted, abortions went way up when the federal government
unconstitutionally prohibited states from making the murder of
unborn children a crime, and they're only coming down from
that high level. If using drugs were no longer a crime, would
everyone go out and get stoned? When Prohibition
was repealed, did America become a nation of drunkards?
|
| Substance abuse is a serious
challenge for our Nation. Addiction breaks hearts, destroys
families, and keeps our citizens from fulfilling their God-given
potential. The drug trade also enriches our enemies, and brings
crime and violence to our streets. |
Where does the
blame/responsibility/fault lie for breaking hearts, destroying
families, and failing to fulfill God-given potential? Is it the
fault of the drugs, or are human beings responsible? Would our
enemies be enriched as much if drugs were legal and the prices
were much lower? |
| So in 2002, I committed our
Nation to an ambitious effort to cut drug use by limiting demand,
reducing supply, and helping addicts get treatment. |
Both the demand and
the supply of abortions are lower today than in 1990. Why is this?
Government policy? How can addicts get treatment if they are sent
to prison? |
Over the past six years, we've
made great strides toward these goals.
- Parents,
teachers, mentors, and counselors have done fantastic
work to educate children about the dangers of drug abuse.
- Law enforcement officers have risked their lives to
cut the supply of drugs on city streets.
- And with help from our international partners, we're
pursuing drug dealers around the world, and interdicting
supply before it reaches our shores. This year, the
Coast Guard took possession of more than 360,000 pounds
of South American cocaine -- an all-time record.
|
|
- Education is not a function of
the federal government. The federal government has destroyed
fruitful education in America.
- Law enforcement officers create more risks for the innocent
than they do for themselves. Being in the vicinity of a drug
bust is far more dangerous for those who are completely
innocent of any wrong-doing than it is for law enforcement.
- Approximately 2,039,276
pounds of cocaine were produced in 2001 in South America.
360,000 pounds is a sizeable dent, but the car keeps on
traveling. What was the cost of interdicting this amount of
cocaine? Was it worth the cost? Would other ways of reducing
supply and demand have been more effective of the resources
conscripted by the government had been used by voluntary
associations in the Free Market?
|
| To help Americans break the
chains of addiction, we've built strong partnerships with
faith-based and community groups. These
groups open minds and change hearts in a way no government
bureaucracy can -- so my Administration has supported their
life-changing work. Through our Access to Recovery program,
addicts receive vouchers they can redeem at treatment centers of
their choice -- including faith-based centers. So far, this
program has helped more than 260,000 addicts along the path toward
clean lives. |
Nothing will
destroy an effective voluntary organization faster than government
subsidies, regulation and bureaucratization.
Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey points out that monthly illicit drugs
users have declined since 1980 by approximately half, to 12.5
million, but the drug budget has gone from $1 billion to $16
billion. How many of these can be called "addicts" is difficult
-- even for the government -- to say.
|
| Taken together, our efforts to
reduce demand, cut supply, and help people break the chains of
addiction are yielding measurable results. Over the past seven
years, marijuana use by young people has dropped by 25 percent.
Methamphetamine use by young people is down by 50 percent. And the
use of cocaine, hallucinogens, steroids, and alcohol by America's
youth are all on the decline. Overall, illegal drug use by
Americans is down by 25 percent -- meaning we
have helped approximately 900,000 young people stay clean. |
"We"
have helped, he says. |
| These
statistics reflect successful government policies. They also
represent the courage and compassion of Americans who are
determined to help their fellow citizens win their struggle
against drugs. On Thursday, I met with some of these people at the
White House, and I am inspired by their stories. |
Oh yeah, and all
those other Americans who are working to help fight drug
addiction. |
| I was especially interested in a
young man named Josh. At age 19, Josh had never touched drugs or
alcohol. He had a promising life and career ahead of him. Yet
after a car accident left him injured and unable to work, Josh
started abusing alcohol and cocaine. He put his marriage and
career in jeopardy. Eight different treatment programs failed to
turn his life around -- but the
intervention of his grandmother, the support of his wife, and the
loving influence of God did. Today, this young man is free
of drugs. He's a caring husband and father. And Josh Hamilton of
the Texas Rangers is one of the best players in Major League
Baseball. More importantly, he and his wife Katie make time to
share their blessings. Through their ministry, they're helping
other Americans avoid the suffering their family endured. |
... and the
government? |
| Josh Hamilton shows that the
devastation of drug addiction can happen to anyone -- but that
with faith and determination, anyone can turn a life around. So
today I ask every American with a drug or alcohol problem to seek
treatment -- because your life is precious to the people who love
you, our Nation needs your contributions, and there is a more
hopeful future ahead. I ask all Americans to reach out to your
neighbors in need -- and do your part to help our Nation win the
fight against illegal drugs. |
If I'm an addict and
I seek treatment, will I be arrested and sent to prison? Will my
parents lose their home if the DEA finds some of my drug
paraphernalia there? Will my friends lose their car or boat if I
left some evidence of drug use in them? What incentives are there
for me to seek treatment? What disincentives? |
| Thank you for listening. |
|
Kevin Craig's Platform:
The Democrat Party Radio Address:
The The
Democratic Radio Address was delivered by Barack Obama, the
President-Elect.
|
Remarks of President-elect Barack
Obama
Radio Address on the Economy |
|
|
Saturday, December 6, 2008 |
|
| Good morning. |
|
| Earlier this week, we learned
that the number of Americans filing their first claim for
unemployment insurance rose to a nearly 30-year high. This news
reflects the pain that’s been rippling across our entire
economy. Jobs are being cut. Wages are being slashed. Credit is
tight and people can’t get loans. In cities and towns all
across this country, families enter a holiday season with unease
and uncertainty. |
|
| To end this economic crisis, we
must end the mortgage crisis where it began. This all started
when Americans took out mortgages they couldn’t afford. Some
were reckless, aware of the risks they were accepting, but many
were innocent, tricked
by lenders out to make a quick buck. With banks creating
securities they could not value, and regulators looking the
other way, the problem began infecting the whole economy,
leading to the crisis we’re now facing. |
How can a lender "trick" a borrower?
Government "regulators" were not "looking the
other way," they were actively pressuring lenders to loan
to marginal borrowers.
|
| One in ten families who owns a
home is now in some form of distress, the most ever recorded.
This is deeply troubling. It not only shakes the foundation of
our economy, but the foundation of the American Dream. There
is nothing more fundamental than having a home to call your own.
It’s not just a place to live or raise your children or return
after a hard day’s work -- it’s the cornerstone of a family’s
financial security. |
Actually, these homes are owned by the bank. What's
fundamental is the right to use one's property
free of government regulation, coercion, compulsion,
restriction, or threat of seizure. |
| To stem the rising tide of
foreclosures and strengthen our economy, I’ve asked my
economic team to develop a bold plan that will dramatically
increase the number of families who can stay in their homes. But
this plan will only work with a comprehensive, coordinated
federal effort to make it a reality. We need every part of our
government working together -- from the Treasury Department to
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the agency that
protects the money you’ve put in the bank. And few will be
more essential to this effort than the Department of Housing and
Urban Development. |
HUD
is an unconstitutional bureaucracy. |
| From providing shelter to those
displaced by Katrina to giving help to those facing the loss of
a home to revitalizing our cities and communities, HUD’s role
has never been more important. Since its founding, HUD has been
dedicated to tearing down barriers in access to affordable
housing -- in an effort to make America more equal and more
just. Too often, these efforts have had mixed results. |
More shelter has
been provided to Katrina victims by
the Free Market than by HUD.
"Tearing down barriers" is precisely one of the
major government causes of the housing bubble. |
| That is why we cannot keep
doing things the old Washington way. We cannot keep throwing
money at the problem, hoping for a different result. We need to
approach the old challenge of affordable housing with new
energy, new ideas, and a new, efficient style of leadership. We
need to understand that the old ways of looking at our cities
just won’t do. That means promoting
cities as the backbone of regional growth by not only
solving the problems in our cities, but seizing the
opportunities in our growing suburbs, exurbs, and metropolitan
areas. No one knows this better than the outstanding public
servant I am announcing today as our next Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development -- Shaun Donovan. |
Why should
"cities" be promoted rather than suburbs, or rural
living? Where does the Constitution give the federal goverment
authority to tell us where we can live? |
| As Commissioner of Housing
Preservation and Development in New York City, Shaun has led the
effort to create the largest housing plan in the nation, helping
hundreds of thousands of our citizens buy or rent their homes.
Prior to joining Mayor Bloomberg’s administration, Shaun
worked both in business, where he was responsible for affordable
housing investments, and at one of our nation’s top
universities, where he researched and wrote about housing
issues. This appointment represents something of a homecoming
for Shaun, who worked
at HUD in the Clinton administration, leading an
effort to help make housing affordable for nearly two million
Americans. Trained as an architect, Shaun understands housing
down to how homes are designed, built, and wired. |
New York is a
housing disaster.
Obama does not represent "change." Same old
bureaucrats. The Clinton policies are responsible for the
current housing crisis. |
| With experience that stretches
from the public sector to the private sector to academia, Shaun
will bring to this important post fresh thinking, unencumbered
by old ideology and outdated ideas. He understands that we need
to move past the stale arguments that say low-income Americans
shouldn’t even try to own a home or that our mortgage crisis
is due solely to a few greedy lenders. He knows that we can put
the dream of owning a home within reach for more families, so
long as we’re
making loans in the right way, and so long as those
who buy a home are prepared for the responsibilities of
homeownership. |
"We"
are making loans. Why is the federal government making loans?
The money is just being printed up by the Fed; why not give
it to the needy rather than giving it to the banks so
they can exact interest from the needy? |
| In the end, expanding access to
affordable housing isn’t just about caring for the least
fortunate among us and strengthening our middle class -- it’s
about ending our housing mess, climbing out of our financial
crisis, and putting our economy on the path to long-term growth
and prosperity. And that is what Shaun and I will work to do
together when I am President of the United States. |
|
| Thank you. |
|
What Would America's Founding Fathers Do?
The men who threw tea into the Boston Harbor over a tax of 3 pence
per pound would not be happy with a tax ten times greater on
every gallon of gas. Those who took up muskets over a total tax burden
of less than 3% would not be happy with the
fact that the federal government now takes more
than half of everything you earn.
Today it is illegal for public school teachers to teach their
students that the Declaration of Independence is really true (and not
just an outdated historical document). The federal government is clearly
at war with everything the Founding Fathers stood for.
America's greatest Americans would abolish
today's federal government.
Muskets are Not an Option
There are two reasons why we should not take up arms to pull off the
violent overthrow of the federal government, even if America's Founders
would surely do so. First, the feds have nukes. Second, violent
revolution is unChristian and unBiblical. We must beat our swords
into plowshares and use persuasion to
abolish tyranny. This is time for a revolution
of ideas.
Revolution Won't Come in a Day
John Adams once wrote that the American
Revolution began in 1761, when Massachusetts attorney James Otis
began legal challenges to the Writs
of Assistance. He lost the case, but "American
independence," Adams wrote, "was
then and there born." Now do the math. That means it took 15
years to convince the rest of America to declare Independence
(1776). Then another seven years of war was required before a
Peace Treaty was signed (1783), and then six years before the
Constitution was finally ratified (1789). That's almost 30 years. (And
Jefferson said we shouldn't go 20
years without another rebellion!) How can we hope to convince
Americans to fight for principles they were never taught in government
schools? We need to be in this battle for the long term. "Eternal
Vigilance is the Price of Liberty."
The Internet Can Speed up the Revolution
Here are ways you can help.
Support This Campaign
Send emails. Find out how this free tool can
change everything.
Revenge:
Vote Against Every
Politician Who Voted for the Bailout, No Matter What
Communicating with Government and Media
- Contact Congress -- this
is from the JBS website, powered by "CapWiz," from Capitol
Advantage. Lots of organizations use capwiz. If you don't want to go
through the JBS, search for capwiz
on Google and find another organization that uses it.
Notice that you can also contact media through this webpage.
- Action E-List
Sign up for the JBS Action E-List and be notified when you can
make a critical difference on important issues.
|
| |
Make
Congress Read Their Bills Before Voting
Make Congress read every word of every bill they create before
they vote on it.
Urge your Representative and your Senators to sponsor
DownsizeDC.org's “Read the Bills Act” (RTBA). |
TWIC
- A Backdoor Real ID Card
Real ID is dying. But the Department of Homeland Security has a
new plan to subject every American to a national ID card anyway.
They plan to pick off one occupational field at a time, starting
with the maritime industry. One man is fighting back. Meet him,
and help stop this backdoor Real ID plan.
| |
|
| |
Stop
the Killer Horse Hormones
The FDA "outlawed" the use of Estriol, an estrogen
medication that's bio-identical to human estrogen. Doctors must
now prescribe animal-derived estrogen instead. Are bio-identical
hormones dangerous, while animal-derived hormones are safe? No.
The practice of medicine is moving to chemically identical to
human hormones and away from animal hormones. Learn why the FDA
decided to endanger women's health in this way, and take action. |
End
Asset Forfeiture
If the government suspects you used your house or car in a crime,
they can take it and sell it at auction. They don't even have to
prove your guilt. They call this practice civil asset forfeiture,
but it's really theft. It violates the 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th and
14th Amendments. It also encourages law enforcement to put profits
before justice. Tell Congress to end civil asset forfeiture.
| |
 |
|
|
|
Support
an Iraq Referendum
Americans keep debating when, how, or if to leave Iraq. Maybe we
should ask the Iraqi people what they want. After all, it's
their country. Tell Congress to request that the Iraqi
government hold a public referendum on the U.S. occupation. Learn
more »
|
 |
|
"Cap
and Trade" is not the way
The politicians seem to be unifying around "cap and
trade" as a way to cut CO2 emissions. If they take this
step it may be the largest increase in the size, scope, and
intrusiveness of government since the creation of Medicare.
Worse still, it may not even achieve its purpose. Please tell
Congress to oppose "cap and trade." Learn
more »
|
|
|
|
Iraq
Waste
Big government prospers through failure. Each new failure is used
to justify more spending and new powers. Wasteful spending in Iraq
is the latest example. One way to change this is to hold
government accountable. A new bill in Congress seeks to provide
some of the needed accountability. Please support it. Learn
more »
|
 |
|
Stop
the War for Terror
U.S. policy has inflamed the Middle East. It has made
terrorism more likely rather than less. We seem to be fighting a
war for terror, rather than on
terror. This policy must stop. The place to start stopping is
with Iran. We must not attack Iran. War with Iran would
devastate our economy, disrupt world oil supplies, and recruit
more terrorists. Click
here to stop this war before it starts.
|
|
Click here
for a replay of this edition of the Ozarks Virtual
Town Hall
|
|
