On this anniversary of the September 11 attacks, let us reflect upon the current state of affairs in this country.

There is still talk in Washington about prosecuting the very people who were trying to protect us all from terrorists as well as calls for investigations into whether or not they may have been too mean to those that were caught.

After years of complaining that George Bush was too stupid to find Osama Bin Laden, (as if the President is the guy who goes and looks for people) those same finger-pointers must realize that it is 8 months into the Obama administration and we still have no progress with that. Maybe this guy is pretty tough to find!

After years of calling our troops “baby killers” and our former President “evil” regarding the War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, what has changed – other than the name “War on Terror?” Thankfully, it appears that despite campaign promises otherwise, President Obama now seems to realize the importance of this ongoing war on terror despite a record number of U.S. soldiers being killed in Afghanistan last month. It is interesting to note however, that there were no calls for the  impeachment of President Obama over the record losses or claims that he is evil.

Now that gasoline is over $3.00 per gallon once again, there are those who may now realize – but won’t admit – that the President does not set gasoline prices after all. Unless maybe President Obama has cronies in the oil industry too!

After another one of the coolest summers on record, those that have tried so hard to start the religion of Global Warming are gnashing their teeth in frustration. After all, the belief that Big Government can control every problem- even alleged weather phenomena – is less convincing when it may appear that there is not a problem that needs solving.

After complaining that he “inherited a record budget deficit” from the former President, President Obama broke another deficit record with his mass spending frenzy. The strategy of Not My Fault has become cliche – and that just in less than 8 months in office. Seizing money from successful businesses and employed people to pay for failing businesses and unemployed people is disastrous and the long term effects have yet to be seen. Rushing to push the “stimulus” through before the perceived problem had a chance to solve itself was reckless.

The latest crisis of the day that apparently needs to be solved by Big Government is health care. Although it is claimed that “everybody knows” that there is a problem, there is actually no one that can specifically say just what the problem is – and why Big Government should be involved at all. Each day from each speech-giver, we hear different numbers of millions of people who are said to be lacking in some area of health care, but no one can say just what they mean by “health care” anyway. Words like “waste” and “fraud” are in fact, not specific but they are used as if they were. It is unrealistic to believe that a new Big Government run socialised bureaucracy will cut down on either waste or fraud. Most preposterous are the claims that we must act quickly because, it is cried, people are dying each day that we wait. Preposterous – because it is said that if passed today, this law would not take effect until 2013(!)(?)

Even more preposterous is the fact that no one really knows just what it is that is being proposed anyway. There is a Senate version, a House version, drafts from various committees, and the President’s own version – which seems to still be ever evolving as the political winds ebb and flow around Washington. It is amazing to see people supporting a bill that by some accounts is over 1000 pages long. Those that are for the bill and those that are against it do not even know what they are fighting for (or against).

So much for the “most transparent administration in history.” So much for the “new era of government” that we could expect from the Senate and the House. If people have questions about your proposal to spend their money, do not call them “stupid” – because you work for them. And they work to earn the money that you are going to seize from them to pay for your political goals. What we have heard is people being called Nazis, evil, greedy, nuts, extremists, terrorists, racists, homophobes, a##holes, mad, unruly, rude, loud and all various names and adjectives. We have heard this in speeches as well as at town hall meetings. If this is all you can come up with when someone asks a question, then either your proposal is worthless or else you need to do more homework in preparation for these questions. If you seek serious debate, realize that a debate is not won by calling people names. But never mind debate, at least be able to answer questions and explain why your proposal is a good idea. Acting offended and lashing out at people is not the patway to their hearts – and to their support.

And finally, if you are going to call people names, be prepared to be called names yourselves. At the moment when Congressman Joe Wilson described what the President was saying as a “lie”, the camera happened to be on the very people who have been describing their critics with the very same word all along. (I suppose it was one of those cases where even if everybody knows it, people are shocked because you’re just not supposed to say it out loud.) Acting indignant, offended and surprised was what was most surprising. Going into discussions later about breaches of etiquette and protocol was not surprising though – it cleverly avoided the actual issue that had been called a lie by Congressman Wilson and many other Americans in the first place. Let’s get back to that issue again shall we?

May God bless the United States of America.

C.R.