The Rational Argumentator

A Journal for Western Man

Issue CXCIX

July 5, 2009

Culture
Uncharitable Attack on Charity:
Edward Hudgins
July 5, 2009
Americans historically are a generous people. Thus it’s shocking to see the National Committee for Responsible Philanthropy undermining the valid foundations of charity in the name of charity. A major report from that organization asserts that “Philanthropy at its Best must serve the public good by contributing to strong, participatory democracy that engages all communities.” It then asserts that any charitable organization that properly promotes this value must do two things:  First, “Provide at least 50 percent of its grant dollars to benefit low-income communities, communities of color and other marginal groups…” And second, “Provide at least 25 percent of its dollars for advocacy, organizing and civic engagement to promote equality, opportunity and justice in our society.” Dr. Edward Hudgins is outraged that the National Committee for Responsible Philanthropy would attack so many excellent charitable initiatives with its ridiculous standards.

Economics
Why on Earth Did We Mortgage Our Future?:
Bradley Doucet
July 5, 2009
“Neither a borrower, nor a lender be,” Polonius cautions his son Laertes in Act I of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. “For loan oft loses both itself and friend,” he explains, “And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.” Does Shakespeare mean for us to understand that no one should ever lend or borrow money? Surely, this is too timid by half, but the ongoing financial crisis does demonstrate that the business of credit and debt is a risky one. Many people borrowed more than they could repay, and many lent too carelessly. Overall savings rates have plummeted, too. The savings rate in America, for instance, has hovered in the 0-3 percent range for over a decade. As the recession deepens and American icon General Motors files for bankruptcy restructuring this week, Bradley Doucet writes that it is worth reflecting again upon how we got to this point. Why, exactly, did so many of us throw caution to the wind in recent years?

History
An Endangered America:
Alan Caruba
July 5, 2009
Present-day Americans take for granted the story of the American Revolution, but few consider what a fearful undertaking that was when the Declaration was published on July 4, 1776. Thirteen colonies of the greatest power on Earth at that time, Great Britain, determined to establish a free and independent nation. Alan Caruba discusses some of the challenges America's founders faced in establishing a new free country.

Politics
America, the Silly Nation:
Alan Caruba
July 5, 2009
Alan Caruba writes that future generations will look back on today's America and wonder how such a great nation became such a silly nation, the object of scorn and ridicule around the world, challenged by every gangster nation that shares the planet; attacked by Al Qaeda, threatened by North Korea, mocked by Venezuela, insulted by Iran, and sustained by the wealth of China and other lenders. What other republic is governed by fools who voted without reading “climate” legislation whose 1,200 pages of rules and regulations will enrich a few and leave the rest scrambling to pay the light bill? That is, if the light turns on. If passed by the Senate, it will be the largest tax increase in the history of the nation. It exists to “save the planet” from a “global warming” that is not happening.

The U. S. is Committing National Suicide:
Alan Caruba
July 5, 2009
Alan Caruba argues that reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the midst of a historic economic crisis, at a time when such emissions will continue in other nations around the world, and when such emissions are known to have no effect whatever on a totally bogus “global warming” or “climate change,” is a program for national suicide.

Weather Malarkey:
Alan Caruba
July 5, 2009
Alan Caruba has never been able to figure out why people who know that the forecast for the local weather is likely to be wrong by the afternoon of the same day or within 48 hours still believe that the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change can accurately predict what it will be ten, twenty or fifty years from now.

Gods Come Cheap These Days:
Chuck Baldwin
July 5, 2009
Chuck Baldwin argues that, just as the majority of the American Right treated George W. Bush as a near-divinity and were more than willing to overlook the major flaws of his administration, the same phenomenon is happening on the American Left today with regard to Barack Obama. The de facto deification of both Bush and Obama is unjustified and permits colossal abuses of power.

The Madness of a Total Surveillance Society:
Tom DeWeese
July 5, 2009
Tom DeWeese heard it all -- the cries, the pleas, the whines, the doublespeak and the lies. "We need the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to protect us from terrorists." "We must have Real ID to protect us from illegal immigration." "We must have E-Verify to protect American jobs." "Traffic light cameras are necessary to make the streets safer." "Security cameras on street corners make our neighborhoods safer." "I'm glad the TSA is there at the airport - I feel so much safer getting on an airplane." And my favorite lie of them all - "If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear."   Take note: every single one of these issues results in bigger, more invasive government, and not a single one will do anything to solve the intended problem.

Iran and Obama's Hollow Moral Core:
Edward Hudgins
July 5, 2009
When Iranian protesters took to the streets in opposition to the theocratic tyrants who rule their country, the best President Obama could muster at first was, “It would be unproductive, given the history of U.S.-Iran relations, for us to be seen to be meddling.” Dr. Edward Hudgins believes that right-thinking Americans are disgusted by the moral poverty of this president’s approach, a combination of kowtowing to his left-wing supporters, and his plain naiveté about the ways of the world.

Pelosi's Eco-Totalitarianism:
Edward Hudgins
July 5, 2009
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently met with Beijing officials to secure international agreement about tighter restrictions on economic activity in order to deal with perceived global warming. Happily, China’s regime over the past three decades has been moving away from its Maoist cult and totalitarian communism and towards more freedom, most notably in its economy. Thus Beijing officials are reluctant to strangle economic freedom and, as a result, slow economic growth with such restrictions. Sadly, writes Dr. Edward Hudgins, it looks like Pelosi has picked up the totalitarian sword and is bringing it back with her to wield against Americans in the name of what can only be called an environmentalist cult.

"Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure." 
~ Benjamin Franklin