Tag United States

Celebratory Occasions or Obligations?

Allen Frederick 1 Comment

But the former governors lived at the expense of the people and took from them food and wine, besides forty shekels of silver [a large monthly official salary]; yes, even their servants assumed authority over the people. But I did not so because of my [reverent] fear of God. Nehemiah 5:15 (AMP)

English: Queen Elizabeth II at Queen's Park

English: Queen Elizabeth II at Queen’s Park (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last week, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in observance of her 60 years as constitutional monarch of the Commonwealth realms. The four-day celebration included public holidays throughout Britain, a 1,000-vessel flotilla on the Thames River, and a public concert outside Buckingham Palace (the queen’s residence). Impossible to miss was the day of pageantry during which crowds thronged the streets around the palace and World War II aircraft flew over. The queen remarked publicly about being humbled by the outpouring of support her subjects had given her.

Notice she used the term subjects as meaning subordinate to her. I am not well versed on Kings and Queens of England but to think that one person would be subject to another is slavery. Those in positions of authority rule over their SUBJECTS without regard to the needs and well-being of those subjects.

This is what Nehemiah found to be happening to his kinsmen and brethren in his homeland.

NOW THERE arose a great cry of the [poor] people and of their wives [driven to borrowing] against their Jewish brethren [the few who could afford to lend]. For some said, We, our sons and daughters, are many; therefore allow us to take grain, that we may eat and live! If we are not given grain, let us take it! Also some said, We are mortgaging our lands, vineyards, and houses to buy grain because of the scarcity. Others said, We have borrowed money on our fields and vineyards to pay the [Persian] king’s heavy tax. Although our flesh is the same as that of our brethren and our children are as theirs, yet we are forced to sell our children as slaves; some of our daughters have already been thus sold, and we are powerless to redeem them, for others have our lands and vineyards.

I [Nehemiah] was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. I thought it over and then rebuked the nobles and officials. I told them, You are exacting interest from your own kinsmen. And I held a great assembly against them. I said to them, We, according to our ability, have bought back our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations; but will you even sell your brethren, that they may be sold to us? Then they were silent and found not a word to say.

Also I said, What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts and reproach of the nations, our enemies? I, my brethren, and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us stop this forbidden interest! Return this very day to them their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, and also a hundredth of all the money, grain, new wine, and oil that you have exacted from them. Then they said, We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say. Then I called the priests and took an oath of the lenders that they would do according to this promise. Nehemiah 5:1-12 (AMP)

What a contrast between the Diamond Jubilee Celebration of Queen Elizabeth II and the jubilee declared by the then Governor Nehemiah. He noticed that his fellow citizens where being bought and sold like slaves because the nobles and officials thought it proper to exact a heavy tax upon them. These were all the same flesh, yet those in positions of authority were able to relegate those less fortunate than themselves to a lower class. They became SUBJECTED to these rulers who were using the economic downturn to enrich themselves at the cost of their fellow citizens.

Nehemiah was right in rebuking these wicked overlords for doing to their own people what they complained about while being subjected to Egyptian bondage and servitude. Nehemiah reminded them that they too were servants and subject to a higher authority, God, and if they wish to be treated mercifully by God then they ought to treat their fellow-man just as mercifully.

And make us free of our debts, as we have made those free who are in debt to us. Matthew 6:12 (BBE)

Jesus taught his disciples to pray to be released from the burden of indebtedness just as they should release others from that same burden. God takes no delight in exacting heavy taxation upon a free people. In fact it was because of the inhumane treatment Pharoah placed upon the Israelites held in Egyptian bondage that brought about the wrath of God upon that land.

Isn’t it funny how those who live off the livelihoods of others consider themselves worthy of such high praise and adulation? Jesus on the other hand came to GIVE to others and not take anything in return and for that he was vilified, mocked, scorned and ultimately crucified.

Should the crowds throng the streets to honor and praise Queen Elizabeth II? Was this celebration in honor of her majesty the Queen or was it an occasion to honor and thank the people for making her life possible by their sacrifices? A good and righteous ruler would take no more than that which was needed to allow the people as much freedom and wealth as possible.

I fed 150 Jewish leaders and their people who came to us from the surrounding nations. Preparing one ox and six choice sheep was necessary every day. Poultry was prepared for me. Once every ten days a supply of wine was ordered. Yet, in spite of all this, I never demanded anything from the governor’s food allowance, because these people were already carrying a heavy load. Nehemiah 5:17-18 (GW)

Can this same be said of today’s political leaders? Is there anything that can be learned from this? Whom do you suppose God would look favorably upon? The ruler who has mercy upon his fellow-man or the one who only thinks about enriching himself by the sweat of the brow of his fellow-man?

I do not know about you but I do not plan on dancing in the streets to honor another year of the service of our present leadership class? I will however be dancing in the street when all of them have been removed from their ivory towers and reduced to common man status. I will be rejoicing when my neighbor is released from the burden placed upon him by the government taxation and regulation. I will rejoice and celebrate when America is once again the land of the free and the hope of the nations. I will celebrate when the burden of government debt has been removed from the backs of our children and our children’s children. I shall not rejoice in the servitude of a tyrant.

And that is the way I see it. What say you?

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

For Freedom We Have Been Set Free

Allen Frederick 1 Comment

Christ has freed us so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. Therefore, be firm {in this freedom}, and don’t become slaves again. Galatians 5:1 (GW)

An article in the Patriot Post read:

David M. Walker (U.S. Comptroller General)

Image via Wikipedia

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported this week that virtually no progress has been made in the past year toward cutting duplicate government programs. Shocking, we know. Last February, government bean counters identified 81 areas in which redundant programs run by multiple agencies are wasting billions of dollars. Barack Obama and Congress have acted to eliminate just four in the past year while 60 other areas have undergone some undefined early steps, and 17 haven’t been acted upon at all. Last year, when talk about cutting spending was all the rage in Washington, Obama tried to convince the public that the government would save some real money by eliminating this waste. Such actions are welcome, but they wouldn’t have much of an impact on the overall deficit picture.

The GAO report certainly indicates that there was no impact at all because the president and Congress only paid lip service to the effort. The report’s findings identified some of the biggest culprits in budget redundancies, and none of them should come as a surprise. The Justice Department spent $30 billion in overlapping crime-prevention and victim-service grants since 2005. There are currently 23 agencies involved in 160 different programs to support homeowners and renters in some capacity. Fully two-thirds of all “green” building initiatives don’t have goals or performance measures, making them completely unaccountable to Congress or the public. Meanwhile, members of Congress are still drumming up ideas for new programs that duplicate existing ones.

The Cause

Knock, knock is anybody home? Is there any intelligent life in D.C.? Answer: No! There is never any effort or desire on the part of elected leaders to cut anything in Washington instead they keep finding new ways to rape the American economy with new taxes and regulations. As a nation we are bankrupt. Our Nation’s leaders have led us into bankruptcy morally, spiritually, financially, intellectually, and in leadership. Over several decades, the ever-increasing size and encroachment of the Federal government as come with a continued downward slide into the bankrupt state we now find ourselves.

Faced with such a bleak outlook what do our elected leaders choose to do? More of the same failed policies that have led us to where we are today. All the problems we face in America can be laid squarely at the feet of government. The more things the government gets involved in the worse those things get.

The solution

We fought a great war in this nation to FREE US from tyrannical government. We, as a nation, were established as free. We were all granted unalienable rights under our declaration of independence. We were all declared an independent and a free people. We do not need government granting rights or freedoms! We have been granted those by God. What we need is for the Government to be restrained by the ropes of the Constitution. The constitution was written to RESTRICT government intervention into the lives of a FREE PEOPLE not to interfere in every aspect and nature of the people.

The Constitution, as ratified by the states, is supposed to be the supreme law of the land. It restricts the government and it was amended to insure the rights of the individual would not be infringed upon. The Constitution established the government in subjection to the people and not to subject the people to the government.

“It is, Sir, the people’s government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people. The people of the United States have declared that this Constitution shall be the supreme law.”  Daniel Webster (1782-1852)

Since we have been granted freedom and are guaranteed those freedoms by God, why would we so willing allow ourselves to become enslaved again? We fought off King George with the help of King Jesus, for what another king? Really? Is that why our forefathers fought a revolution? I think not?

Election day is coming. No single candidate can, nor is able to undo years of abuse by government, however as a people we can hold each elected official accountable to us for the actions they take. we must choose wisely and with great care. The status quo is no longer good enough. We must demand Constitutional representation. We must insist that each leader upholds his oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of these United States of America. We must, as a nation, return to a Constitutional republic or as a nation we are doomed.

This is a view from the nest. What say you?

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)

Along for the journey

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Lessons Learned from Singapore

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

What We Can Learn from Singapore

The Singapore Skyline v3Along with Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan, Singapore is one of the original Four Asian Tigers. The Singaporean economy is known as one of the freest, most innovative, most competitive, and most business-friendly. The 2011 Index of Economic Freedom ranks Singapore as the second freest economy in the world, behind Hong Kong. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, Singapore is consistently ranked as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, along with New Zealand and the Scandinavian countries. . . .

The percentage of unemployed economically active people above age 15 is about 2%. Singapore has the world’s highest percentage of millionaire households, with 15.5 percent of all households owning at least one million US dollars. Despite its relative economic success, Singapore does not have a minimum wage, believing that it would lower its competitiveness.

Here’s what I found most interesting about Singapore’s economic philosophy. “The government has rejected the idea of a generous welfare system, stating that each generation must earn and save enough for its entire life cycle.” Even so, there are a number of “means-tested ‘assistance schemes’ provided by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports in Singapore for the needy.”

If there’s one thing we in the United States can learn from Singapore is its emphasis on self-government, planning for the future for ourselves and families and not to depend on money confiscated from other people.

Now I ask all thinking American’s to answer this one question. Should the United States copy the failed policies of Greece and Spain and Portugal, or would we be better to adapt the Singapore model for economic freedom and prosperity? Now if you selected Singapore I must remind you that Singapore got their economic model from the United States of old. While our liberal leaders keep running fast toward European socialism, more economically advanced cultures are moving toward the ‘free market’ system that American once held dear.

Related articles, courtesy of Zemanta:

Enhanced by Zemanta

Fairness My Asterisk: Op Ed on the SOTU Speech

Allen Frederick 1 Comment

English: Seal of the President of the United S...

Image via Wikipedia

President Obama’s State of the Union address revealed his plan for a new American economy that he claims must be “built to last” through government and financial systems that will ensure “everyone does their fair share.”

“We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share,” Obama is slated to say.

Fairness, class warfare, and social justice are bandied about as reasons for mandated wealth redistribution. There has always been wealth disparity in the United States. The Bible even says that the poor will always be with us. But how poor is poor?

“Compare the vision of the poor as presented in the Bible – men without homes, their bodies full of sores, hungry, owning only one tunic – to the circumstances of many poor people in the United States, and the social skewing of the definitions of poverty becomes clear. To be poor in America often means ‘having less than one’s neighbor’ instead of ‘lacking resources necessary for life.

Obama said much the same months ago in a speech delivered in Osawatomie, Kansas, the same city where a century ago, former President Teddy Roosevelt delivered a speech calling for a “New Nationalism.” Roosevelt’s speech extolled the government’s role in promoting social justice and regulating the economy to help the underprivileged, and he criticized some fellow Republicans for refusing to tackle the economic power of the wealthy, which is simply code for more taxes on the rich so that government can continue to give select groups of people goodies from the confiscated goods of others.

What is fair about forcing America to pay for his failed bail-outs that we told him we did not want? What is fair about forcing taxpayers who pay their bills to have to bail-out states and unions who do not? What is fair about increasing our taxes just to pay for wasted government stimulus plans which threw billions if not trillions away on so-called “green jobs”.

Obama calls for the elimination of corporate loop holes in the tax code which he says are not fair but I ask what is fair about the stimulus loop-hole he gave to the teacher’s unions and the Public Employees Unions? What about the loop-hole of giving tax-rebates to people who do not even pay any taxes? How is that fair? I mean how can someone who owes no taxes and pays zero taxes get a rebate check in the mail?

How is it that Obama wants to raise taxes on people who actually pay taxes and ignores all his democrat buddies who refuse to pay taxes like tax cheats Tim Geithner, Charlie Rangel, Jeff Imelt of GE, and Warren Buffet, who owes billions?

What is fair about giving a special tax credit to people with children while those who do not have children have to pay for it? What is fair about taking money from senior citizen’s retirement funds and then turn around and tell them we have to raise the retirement age because there is no money to pay their Social Security benefits? Had the person actually taken the almost 14% of their wages and put it in an interest earning account they would actually have money when they retire as opposed to this “FAIR” plan Obama and the democrats like to promote.

There is nothing fair about Social Security where a system forces producers to pay for non-producers. But the biggest injustice of all was telling our seniors that the money that was being taken from their paychecks was going into a “lock-box” and was an “insurance policy” for their retirement when all along the government knew it was nothing more than a tax and a revenue stream for the government to squander on worthless programs and to buy constituent votes.

Tell me what is fair about almost 50% of the population who take from the system but do not contribute one thin dime for the same system? Why should less than 50% of the population have to pay all the taxes and almost 50% pay nothing? You call that fair? What would be fair is if EVERYONE paid something.

What would be fair would be to cut all tax rebates and subsidies of any kind and begin a flat tax. Eliminate the IRS and the current tax code which is only used to garner political favors and punish producers. If you end all these special tax breaks and rebates and make everyone pay something that would be fair and then the government must be forced to live within its means. Pass a balanced budget amendment which would mandate that congress could not spend more money then they have. Families and businesses must work within a budget so too should Congress. Now that would be fair.

What is fair about forbidding the drilling for oil in the Gulf but subsidizing the drilling for OIL in the Gulf by China and Brazil and Cuba? What is fair about handicapping our industries with onerous EPA regulations and blocking the opening of a Boeing plant by the NLRB or raiding a guitar company just because they are the only non-union shop? What is fair about giving unions huge tax-payer bail-outs at the expense of the average working man? Why should taxpayers be forced to pay for their retirements and benefits just because they refused to do so?

What is fair about having to pay for public employee retirement plans because they were made promises by some politician? Let those politicians who lied to them pay the freight. What is fair about always asking the American people to pony up and the federal Government ever does with less? No matter what, the federal budget grows year after year, in good times and bad. While the rest of the economy struggles the federal government continues to spend, spend and spend.

You want fairness Mr President then how about you and your crooked pals retire and let someone else with integrity take your place? You want fairness Mr President how about you stop beating up the American business person and calling patriotic Americans derogatory names.

You want fairness Mr President how about you stop the flood of illegal activity along our Southern border and instead of suing an American State how about you prosecute those who are breaking and entering our country illegally? You want fairness Mr President how about you call off your NLRB and EPA dogs and allow businesses to run free of onerous government intervention.

And that is my view from the nest. What say you?

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)

Along for the journey

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

The Emperor has No Clothes

Allen Frederick 2 Comments

“When Congress refuses to act, and as a result hurts our economy and puts our people at risk, then I have an obligation as president to do what I can without them. I’ve got an obligation to act on behalf of the American people. I will not stand by while a minority in the Senate puts party ideology ahead of the people they were elected to serve. Not when so much is at stake. Not at this make-or-break moment for the middle class. I refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer.” –Chairman Obama

Everyone who has pride in his heart is disgusting to the Lord: he will certainly not go free from punishment. Proverbs 16:5 (BBE)

Have you met a person who thinks he is wise? There is more hope for a fool than for him. Proverbs 26:12 (GW)

The wicked person arrogantly pursues oppressed people. He will be caught in the schemes that he planned. The wicked person boasts about his selfish desires. He blesses robbers, but he curses the Lord. He turns up his nose {and says}, “God doesn’t care.” His every thought {concludes}, “There is no God.” Psalms 10:2-4 (GW)

His mouth is full of cursing, deception, and oppression. Trouble and wrongdoing are on the tip of his tongue. Psalms 10:7 (GW)

He waits in ambush in the villages. From his hiding places he kills innocent people. His eyes are on the lookout for victims. He lies in his hiding place like a lion in his den. He hides there to catch oppressed people. He catches oppressed people when he draws them into his net. {His} victims are crushed. They collapse, and they fall under {the weight of} his power. Psalms 10:8-10 (GW)

Your arrogance has deceived you. You live on rocky cliffs. You make your home up high. You say to yourself, ‘No one can bring me down to earth.’ Even though you fly high like an eagle and build your nest among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” declares the Lord. Obadiah 1:3-4 (GW)

Pride precedes a disaster, and an arrogant attitude precedes a fall. Proverbs 16:18 (GW)

I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their wrongdoing. I will put an end to arrogant people and humble the pride of tyrants. Isaiah 13:11 (GW)

Whoever honors himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be honored. Matthew 23:12 (GW)

But when he became so arrogant and conceited that he became overconfident, he was removed from the royal throne. His honor was taken away from him. Daniel 5:20 (GW) 

I think it could it be said that those of us who vote against Obama will be doing the Lord’s will come November 2012.

Enhanced by Zemanta