A Discussion of The President's Saturday Morning Radio Address

Click here to listen to a replay of the December 15, 2007 Ozarks Virtual Town Hall

Notes and Summary of the President's Address -- Defense Appropriations

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. In a time of war, America's top priority should be to ensure that our troops on the front lines get the funding they need.

How the President Differs from the American vision of "Liberty Under God":

1. "He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat out their substance."
2. "He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures."
3. "He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power."
4. "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 & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation."
5. Every Child Left Behind: Virtually no student graduating from government schools this year will recognize those phrases from the Declaration of Independence, and be able to draw analogies between 1776 and 2007.
6. America's Founding Fathers took up arms over British taxes that did not exceed 3-5%
   1. Americans today are victims of taxes ten times greater than those that fomented the American Revolution.
7. The Government promises to be our Savior, and Taxes are our offerings to a false god.
   1. America is, on the one hand, a nation "under God."
   2. America is, on the other hand, a nation that ignores God and commits idolatry.
   3. Idolatry is when we fail to trust God (our national motto is "In God We Trust") and trust the Government to bring us "salvation."
8. Americans must think about these issues, not just in terms of the Constitution, but in terms of the values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence -- the philosophy of "Liberty Under God."

President's Radio Address	Liberty Under God
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. In a time of war, America's top priority should be to ensure that our troops on the front lines get the funding they need. So beginning in February, I submitted detailed funding requests to Congress to fund operations in the war on terror. Congress has had months to pass this funding. Unfortunately, with just days to go before members leave for their Christmas vacation, they still have not come through with these funds.	This is not "a time of war." Such a time only exists when Congress declares war. America's Founding Fathers were vitally concerned that the Executive Branch not have power to create "standing armies" and become a military monarch. Everything the Founders feared has come to pass in spades.
This week Congress considered a defense authorization bill. An authorization bill is a pledge to spend money. Under such a bill, Congress will make a promise to fund our troops in combat. But a congressional promise -- even if enacted -- does not pay the bills. It is time for Congress to provide our troops with actual funding.	Democrats were elected in 2006 to take control of Congress, and one issue in this shift of power was the war. Democrats promised to change course. No change has taken place. The problem Bush complains about is a result of inaction and incompetence rather than principle.
The stakes are high for our men and women on the front lines. Our troops are striking blows against the terrorists and extremists in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and these funds are critical to their continued success. The funds I have requested include money to carry out combat operations against the enemy. They include money to train the Iraqi and Afghan security forces to take on more responsibility for the defense of their countries. They include money for civilian agencies deployed in the field with our military to help build local governments and create jobs. And they include money for intelligence operations to protect our troops on the battlefield.	If Americans could participate in a direct vote on the question, should the federal government take $X00.00 out of your paycheck and give it to Iraqi and Afghan security forces Halliburton and Blackwater rebuild streets, hospitals, power, schools, and other government infrastructure destroyed by U.S. bombs create jobs for Iraqis torture those who oppose the U.S. occupation of Iraq the measure would be defeated overwhelmingly.
Congress has had plenty of time to consider the emergency funds our troops need. Time is running out. And Pentagon officials say that continued delay in funding our troops will soon begin to have a damaging impact on the operations of our military. Congress' responsibility is clear: They must deliver vital funds for our troops -- and they must do it before they leave for Christmas. Our men and women on the front lines will be spending this holiday season far from their families and loved ones. And this Christmas, they deserve more than words from Congress. They deserve action.	The troops deserve to be brought home.
Thank you for listening.

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Additional Resources:

Kevin Craig's Platform:

• Peace
• Defense
• Iraq
• Foreign Intervention
• Security
• Terrorism
• The U.S./Islamic-Oil Connection
• National Security
• Afghanistan
• Defense Budget
• Sanctions
• Violence

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• Ron Paul:
  • The war in Iraq was sold to us with false information.
  • The area is more dangerous now than when we entered it.
  • We destroyed a regime hated by our direct enemies, the jihadists, and created thousands of new recruits for them.
  • This war has cost more than 3,000 American lives, thousands of seriously wounded, and hundreds of billions of dollars.
  • We must have new leadership in the White House to ensure this never happens again."
• Ron Paul: The War in Iraq (nearly 100 links)
• Glenn Reynolds: "The Framers of our Constitution had a fear of standing armies, and of governments backed by them, that one legal scholar calls 'almost hysterical.'"
• Jacob G. Hornberger:     "Our country was founded on the principles of individual liberty, free markets, and constitutionally limited government. Our Founders believed that the greatest threat to their liberty lay not with foreign regimes but rather with their own federal government. That in fact was the reason they used the Constitution to bring the federal government into existence — as a means to control its power.
       "Our Founders and ancestors also understood that among the greatest threats to their liberty and well-being was a standing army — that is, an enormous military machine within their midst, albeit composed of citizens from their own country. The reason they feared such an army is that they understood that historically such armies had inevitably been used by political rulers to oppress their own citizenry."
• The Bill of Rights: Antipathy to Militarism
• Standing Armies Stand in the Way of Freedom
• The Anti-Federalists on Standing Armies
• Brutus on the Evils of Standing Armies
• Standing Armies Don’t Stand Around Very Long
• Cato on the Evils of War and Standing Armies
• Standing Armies, Political Mischief
• The Danger of Standing Armies by C.T. Rossi
• The Troops Don't Defend Our Freedoms
• Foreign Policy for Novices
• Standing Armies and Armed Citizens: An Historical Analysis of the Second Amendment
• The Third Amendment and the Issue of the Maintenance of Standing Armies: A Legal History

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The Democrat Party Radio Address:

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House delivered the The Democratic Party Radio Address, covering "a New Direction for Energy Security.

Democrats' Radio Address	Liberty Under God
"In order to reduce the price at the pump, our legislation increased fuel efficiency standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. This legislation is historic - it is the first time in 32 years that Congress has raised these standards, known as CAFE.	Congress Brews a Deadly CAFE Don't Raise CAFE Standards The National Academy of Sciences reported in 2001 that the current standards are directly responsible for the deaths of 1,300 - 2,600 motorists a year. Government decides what kind of cars can be built and driven in socialist and communist nations, not America.
"One way to make Americans safer is to grow our energy here at home. That is why we have made an historic commitment to homegrown biofuels - increasing the Renewable Fuels Standard to 36 billion gallons in 2020. The crops America's farmers grow are becoming the fuel that powers our cars. We will send our energy dollars to the Midwest, not the Middle East - to farmers nationwide. America's farmers will fuel America's energy independence, promoting small businesses and creating millions of new jobs.	Ethanol costs more energy to make and use than regular gas. This is another counter-productive move by government, which will achieve the exact opposite result from the one intended. Is Ethanol the 'Energy Security' Solution? Ethanol Makes Gasoline Costlier, Dirtier Cato-at-liberty The Ethanol Con Bush’s Alternative-fuel Boondoggle enriches special corporate interests Renewable Energy BS at U.S. News & World Report
"Energy security is closely related to global warming - the greatest environmental challenge facing the planet. The urgency of that challenge was recognized this week as former Vice President Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and as world leaders gathered for the Bali global warming conference. The Bush Administration has responded far too slowly to the threat of climate change.	There is no more evidence that "climate change" is a "threat" than there was evidence that Saddam Hussein was a "threat." There is no more evidence that Pelosi and Gore's proposals to meet the "threat" will actually cool the climate than there is evidence that Bush's "War on Terruh" is cooling terrorism. The evidence is overwhelming that the Democrats' proposals will do as much or more damage to our standard of living than Bush's war. It will be costly It will destroy our liberties It will make us less safe against the "threat" If temperatures are increasing, we need to use more energy, not less, to power our air conditioners. if storms are increasing, we need more energy, not less, to build stronger homes and infrastructure. We will not be safe from the environment by living a primitive "eco-friendly" lifestyle in a grass hut. The real goal of environmentalism is to destroy industrial civilization. Environmentalists believe human beings should live like animals, "in harmony with nature." Whatever human beings do, using reason and consuming energy, is deemed by environmentalists to be "against nature" even though that is our nature as human beings. Gore Accuses U.S. of Obstructing Climate Talks - promotes Global government
"With our new energy legislation, Congress takes us in a New Direction. Instead of remaining wedded to the failed energy policy of the past, the New Direction Congress has embraced a clean, renewable, energy independent future for America.	This is not a "new direction." It is the same direction as the Soviet Union.

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