Make-A-Statement Commentary Blog

This morning while I was sitting in my deer stand, I began thinking about our future as Americans.  We are entering a transitional period as one president prepares to leave office while a new one prepares to lead the nation for the next four years.  I must admit that I never thought the American people would elect a Socialist president but apparently I was wrong. I am not sure the American people are ready for what is coming down the road.

 

One of the things our next president is in favor of is limiting our Second Amendment Right to bear arms.  As an avid hunter, this disturbs me a great deal.  How long will I be able to enjoy the simple pleasure of a morning hunt or for that matter, an afternoon target shooting?  From what I understand our next president plans to place huge taxes on the ammunition we buy, I am not talking about a 10 to 20 percent tax hike but a tax as high as 300 to 500 percent.  On top of this oppressive tax on ammunition, he plans to remove many of the guns now available from the market.  Mark my word folks, this attack on our Constitutional Rights will begin shortly after January 20^th 2009 when Mr. Obama takes control. 

 

If you are one of those who enjoy hunting or target shooting, be prepared to voice your opinion when the changes start happening.  The only thing that can stop this removal of our Constitutional Rights will be the voice of people like you and me. I will be one of those people screaming at the top of my lungs when this happens and I hope to find you screaming along side of me.

 

David Hill

Athens, TX

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Two weeks ago, when the election was over, I was in Germany and have to tell you what I read and heard hacked me off.

 

No, it was not the outcome of the election that made me mad, even though my candidate didn’t get elected; I was fine with the voice of the people. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens now.  Putting your campaign promises into the real world takes a lot of doing and I’m anxious to see if the current president elect has what it takes to get the job done for all of us.

 

What ticked me about the Europeans was the fact that they were gloating over the fact that in their minds after 154 years, the Civil War was finally over. As if it had been going on all these years. Where have these people been?

 

I think it’s a great testimony to this country to have elected Barack Obama to the highest office in the land. I don’t agree with his philosophy or the concepts he has put forth, but as I said, once reality sets in, we’ll see if everything he has promised will or can come to fruition.

 

However, having said that it surprises me that the Europeans seem to have a low opinion of us as a country and that somehow we would never be able to elect a minority to the office of President; I don’t see France or Germany rushing to elect anyone who appears to be a minority. In fact all I hear from the folks in those countries is complaining about all of the people moving in from other places.

 

I grew up in the south in a segregated society. As a kid I remember seeing the signs for different water fountains, restrooms and entrances into movie theaters. I can remember the first time I ever saw a black man sit down in a restaurant and order something to eat. Personally I thought segregation was stupid. The first black person I ever got to know on a first hand basis roomed with me when I was in the Army. It didn’t bother either of us. Both of us drank beer, liked the same kinds of food and music and wanted to go home. Nothing wrong with that in my book.

 

After I became a plain clothes cop in Houston , Texas I can honestly say we enforced the law equally among all races and weren’t partial to anyone. When you get birthday cards and Christmas cards from people you have put in jail, then you have this feeling in your heart that you must be pretty fair to all concerned. I can remember many Christmas eves when we would round up all of the ladies of the night and turn them loose and tell them to go home and stay off the streets. These were not all white women. My impartially to doing my job led to many a discussion with some of my supervisors who didn’t always agree with our methods of policing. We didn’t care, as far as we were concerned the law was the law, regardless of anyone’s color.  I also know that many a police officer was allowed to go into back rooms of black restaurants and eat some of the best barbeque and pork chops I have ever had in my life. We never felt out of place or that we were treated any different from anyone else. It was just the way it was. If you wanted good food, this is what you did.

 

All of us were just trying to make a living for our families. That’s what this country is all about and how we got here in the first place.

 

Life isn’t easy and it certainly isn’t fair. I cannot say to someone of another race… “I know how you feel” because I don’t. Being a male Caucasian in this country certainly has had advantages, but do I feel that I am better than others? Not hardly. I also feel that we as a country have made great strides in leveling the playing field for all of our citizens and to make up for injustices made in the past. We have along way to go, but so does the world. We’re not perfect, we’re just humans.

 

Since countries are comprised of human beings, it seems only natural that they must grow as the country matures. Young nations as well as children make mistakes as we all have in the past. We learn from those mistakes and move forward. Not backward.

 

Last week, an African American lady in our hometown wrote an article in our local paper expressing her pleasure at having been in a supermarket and having a white cashier smile at her while she was checking out. I felt sad when I read this. Obviously this lady had never met me, I smile at everyone and the majority smile back.

 

Yes, the war is over, it has been for a long time, we need to move on and show the world that we are a bigger people than they seem to think we are. I don’t think they have been looking as well.

 

Comments go to pperry@austin.rr.com

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November 10, 2008

Bill Ryan

We have somehow gotten to the idea that life is supposed to be painless, and when the unpredictable throws a rock or two, or a boulder, in our path someone, other than ourselves, is supposed to remove the obstacle and smooth the path. 

Over the past 75 years of so, that someone has been the government.       

President-elect Obama, as did President Bush, wants to help the America through the current difficult economic times, but is that appropriate considering the natural fluctuations of the market place?  Such aid is described as “compassionate” and “needed,” and has been provided before, but is that the role of government, and does it in fact help, prolong, or actually do more harm than good? 

Scholarly analysis of the New Deal programs has determined that many, if not all of the efforts to correct the market actually exacerbated the financial malaise, thus extending both the impact and the duration of the depression.  In addition, not often mentioned in history books, is that the government actually punished certain segments of the population, like black southern farmers, by their market management policies.  In summary, the depression would have ended sooner and with less financial disruption had FDR just let the market work.     

In a free market, economic movement happens because of decisions made by individual participants.  The producers decide what and how much to produce as well as the market price.  The buyers, which number in the hundreds of millions, in turn, then decide if the product and asking price meets their needs.  In each case the decision is based on their respective best interest. 

This simple arrangement has been the underlying basis of the market since the first unknown exchange, and has withstood the test of time, not because it is the perfect system, but because it is the most efficient to evolve.  There have been those who have, and will in the future, feel they could improve upon the free market’s efficiency and achieve a more perfect market by employing concepts that range from minor tinkering, such as what our “Fed” does with changes interest rates, to the more extreme nationalization of all business activity and instituting central planning. 

Each, however, is doomed to failure because they impede, in varying degrees, the market’s efficiency; its ability to respond to genuine market factors and correct itself in a timely manner.  By introducing artificial factors into the market, the markets dynamics are changed, thus are the market’s responses.  This approach tends to mask the genuine dynamics of the market generating responses that do not provide the necessary corrections that the market is calling for.        

Because of its simplicity, the free market is hard to improve upon.  If it were a machine it would be described as having only two moving parts; buyer and seller.  In its purest form it is nothing more than the free exchange between those two parts.  Any additional considerations, such as price controls or tariffs, become impediments to the free flow of goods and services and alter the market’s efficiency.  Some alterations may have desirable benefits, i.e., sanitation requirements and health regulations, but there is always a trade in loss of efficiency for the presumption of benefit.  

Regardless of what kind of society is in place, the market always exists in spite of efforts that run counter to it.  Even in the old Soviet Union the market existed although it was seriously limited by government action and ineptitude.     

An important characteristic, but seemingly overlooked as natural, is that the market is seldom, if ever, in balance.  The natural state of the market is a constant pull between positive and negative demand.  This means that virtually at no time do the demands of the buyers match the production of the sellers; if they did we would never see sales.  Consequently, the market place is constantly in flux with adjustments being made in quantity and price that are reflected as either inflation (price increase) or deflation (price reduction).   

Inflation and deflation, natural byproducts of a free market, take place daily in the market, but seldom is it a consideration until it happens on wide scale.  Then, however, it is considered by many as a flaw of the market, and, according to some, proof of the necessity of government to intervene to “correct” the imperfection in the free market concept.     

What is overlooked is that inflation (positive demand) and deflation (negative demand) are indications that the market is working to correct itself, and such efforts by government regulators to “bring inflation under control” actually interfere with the market’s correction process.  Such efforts by the government seldom do more than bring temporary, or coincidental, relief.  These actions, however, have a downside in that such relief usually impedes the market’s natural correction process thus forestalling necessary corrections that would have taken place and are essential to market efficiency.         

Such action not only interferes with the market’s natural ability to correct itself, but actually encourages irresponsibility on the part of the buyers and sellers. With what precision would producers schedule their production if the government indemnifies their losses?  The same holds true for buyers as well. 

The recent melt-down in the financial markets is a case in point.  The meltdown is a direct response to government interference in the market place.  The government, by mandating factors that in a free market would not have been present, caused the market to abandon its normal disciplines and respond recklessly in ways it would not normally do.  Unfortunately, this calamity will be presented as a reason to add more government control of the market rather than as an indictment of government interference, which is where the fault really belongs.  

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For the true American Patriot, the results of this election are nothing to celebrate.  The election of Barack Hussein Obama may very well mark the end of the Greatest Nation our planet has ever witnessed.  I am not saying this because he is black but because of his position or lack of position on many of the most important issues we as Americans face.  One of the issues our future President is against is our 2nd Amendment right to bear arms.  Since the inception of this great nation, the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms has protected and fed our families.  In this modern age, the right to bear arms is as important as it was 200 years ago but now we depend on this right more to protect our families than to feed them.  If the economic situation follows the path it is currently on, the need to protect our family will increase as the fire of the failing economy is fueled by Democratic Social manipulation in the form of programs designed to take from those who are successful and give to those who are not. Desperation leads to violence and violence must be countered with force.  Our 2nd Amendment insures that we as individuals have the ability to defend ourselves against violence directed at us.  Following are 4 statements by our Founding Fathers.

 

"I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
George Mason
Co-author of the Second Amendment

"What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms."
Thomas Jefferson
to James Madison

"Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and under our direction and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?"
Patrick Henry

"Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence … from the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurrences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable … the very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil interference — they deserve a place of honor with all that's good."
George Washington
First President of the United States

It does not require a Supreme Court interpretation to understand these statements; in fact, the founders of this great nation had something to say about their interference.

"And that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the Press, or the rights of Conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms; …"
Samuel Adams

I think you have a pretty good idea on how I feel on the 2nd Amendment. 


Another one of the Issues I have a real problem with is Socialism.  Barack Obama in his own words spoke about redistributing the wealth.  Wake up Folks! Redistribution of the Wealth IS Socialism!
During our Radio Show a few weeks back, General Jim Cash spoke to us about the three steps America must take to become a Socialist country.
1)    Elect a Socialist Congress.
2)    Nationalize the nations Credit and Banking.
3)    Elect a Socialist leaning President.
With these three steps in place, the United States could see European style Socialism in place within four (4) years.

Does this sound familiar?  Oh by the way, you can hear the entire interview here:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/make-a-statement/2008/10/17/Make-A-Statement-Radio

Unfortunately, the move towards Socialism has already begun.  A few weeks ago, my wife Melissa Hill, interviewed US Congressman Louie Gohmert.  They were talking about the Economy when Melissa asked:
Will the taxpayers recoup any of the money given to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? 

Congressman Gohmert’s response was:

“Well, that’s something I think is really a fraud upon the American people.  The government can recoup some of the money that they’ve spent on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  It can recoup some of the money that the government will spend in buying some of these mortgage backed securities because they do have value.  That’s possible but the problem is, that’s called socialism.  When anyone in the government says ‘We’re going to make you money with your taxpayer money then they have just told you they believe in socialism because the government’s role is to not try to make money with your money.  The private sector always, always, always does a better job of making money with their money than the government can.  Having done outside counsel work for the RTC and the FDIC in a prior life I have seen when people know that the government’s buying something they demand more money so the government never gets as good a deal as the private sector could.  When people know that it’s the government selling something they never pay as much as they would to buy it from the government ‘cause they know they can get it for less.  If the government can make money with the taxpayer money then the taxpayers could make a great deal more.  There is no reason to do that and so it means they’ve got to take your tax dollars and gamble that the government is going to be able to make money when the private sector, if you invested in a private firm that was buying these mortgage backed securities you could make a ton of money doing that.  As it is the government may break even at the very best but they’re not going to really make money with your money.  So, that bothers me, every time I hear that and people need to understand that is somebody saying I’m going to make, the government’s going to make you money with your tax dollars that is someone telling you socialism works.  And they’re a liar. “

This bailout is just one of many symptoms of this disease known as Socialism.  Many Americans do not see this, I don’t know if this is from not paying attention or simply not caring. What ever the cause, these people need to wake up and take a deep breath of what our government is shoveling at us.  America has been fighting against Communism and Socialism since World War Two.  Countless lives have been lost in this mission and now “We the People” have elected a president who subscribes to this Utopian Philosophy.  It just doesn’t make sense.

I am reminded of the song Bill Engvall performed called “Here’s Your Sign”.  Here you go America, “Here’s Your Sign”! 

Here are a few quotes I feel are relevant to our subject. You might recognize some of the names.

“We cannot expect Americans to jump from Capitalism to Communism,
but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans doses of Socialism,
until they suddenly awake to find out they have Communism.''
-Nikita Khrushchev

"All fingers are not alike, If you cut bigger ones to make all equal it is communism, If you stretch smaller ones to make all equal it is socialism, If you do nothing to make all equal it is capitalism."
B.J. Gupta

"From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need."
Karl Marx

"In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up."
Martin Niemoeller

The last one by Martin Niemoeller really hit a nerve with me.  It is hard to miss the “look the other way” mentality many Americans have.  This mindset allows many things to go unnoticed until they have their roots strongly planted and are next to impossible to get rid of.  What worries me is, there may soon come a time when looking the other way could cost you your Freedom.

Wake up America!  Start paying attention to what is happening around you; our way of life is under attack.  While we enjoy the freedoms our Founding Fathers gave to us, the very foundation they were built on is being destroyed.  Even a child knows that if you tear the foundation out from under anything, it will fall.  This is a basic law of the Universe that can not be ignored. 

Just think about this for a little while then ask yourself: Am I Awake?

David Hill

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The long night is finally over. After nearly two years we have selected the leader of our country for at least another four years. At the time I’m writing this column, I am sitting in a hotel in Berlin. I woke at five this morning to see what CNN had to say about yesterdays election. By the time I got the television on… it was all over but the shouting.

At breakfast this morning, the English papers were reporting the event. Now the long knives start to come out. Not much of a honeymoon if you ask me. No, the papers in this part of the world, who had previously been so pro-Obama now are starting to question what effect his election will have upon the European community. Will his election and his lack of experience work for or against the other nations in the world? Questions were raised concerning the amount of money Senator Obama had raised for his campaign. How could a junior first term senator raise over 600 million dollars in such a short time? An unprecedented amount. Where did this money come from and who will Senator Obama be beholden to as a result? Where do any of these candidates of any election come up with the huge sums they need to get into office? You and I both know the answer to that question.



The Americans at this conference were being asked many questions. The European’s
 attraction to Obama had quickly translated into a growing fear that his promises cannot or might not be fulfilled without major changes to the United States economy. There can no argument that our economy has a direct effect on the world.  It’s fairly easy to identify those of us from the States, and at least ten Europeans have advised me that they are certainly glad that the race is finally over. They seem to be as tired of it as most of are.

The issue at it now stands is whether or not the new administration will actually get anything done. One of the more watched you-tube videos this past month was of an Obama supporter claiming that she hoped he was elected as she believed if this happened she would not have to pay her mortgage or ever buy any gas for her car.

Bunkie, this isn’t going to happen. I hate to disappoint her, but she shouldn’t be looking for this kind of new deal anytime soon. If it does happen, we’re all in bigger trouble than I thought. I hate to burst this woman’s balloon but in case she didn’t know it, the government is not a for-profit entity. In spite of what we see on television, they do not ‘make’ or ‘create’ any money. Oh sure, they ‘print’ money, but they don’t actually earn any money. We, the taxpayers and business owners are the ones who actually create the wealth in this country which is then passed along to the government as required. Contrary to what a lot of people believe the word ‘profit’ is not a four letter word. If there was no profit in being in business, very few of us would do so for any length of time and more of us would go to work for the government in some form or fashion.  The basic laws of economics suggest that unless you have more revenue coming in than you have payments going out, you will go broke. We’ve all been in the situation at the grocery store where we had to take something back as we didn’t have enough cash or credit to pay for everything we had in our baskets. Now, multiply that concept millions of times over and see if we give our more than we bring in, the shortfall has to come from somewhere. This somewhere is either through inflation (printing more money) or increased taxation. In business we would either increase the revenue by attracting more customers or reduce our cost by becoming more efficient. When was the last time you heard of any governmental program becoming efficient?   

We should admit that the election does show that the United States has made a great deal of progress along racial lines. I have always contended that racial issues in our country were blown out of proportion by those who could benefit from continual conflict. Be that as it may, the Europeans took the position that a change from the previous 43 presidents would indeed be a good thing. We will all have to wait and see if looks and charisma can achieve anything of major significance.

For our sake as well as the rest of the world, I certainly hope that it does.

Comments and suggestions go to www.pearyperry.com

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I was raised in a middle class family. I knew we weren’t rich, but I didn’t think we were poor either. We always had a roof over our heads, heat, and food on the table. I had several pairs of shoes and got new blue jeans (I hated those) each year when school started. Most of my friends were in the same situation.

But, that’s where the similarity stops. I grew up in a school district with rich kids. I’ve often said it was like growing up in a vacant lot next to the bank. These kids were really wealthy. These were trust fund babies, mailbox money kids. I knew our family was different when I was working in a grocery store after school and one of the girls in my class came in with her mother. As I was sacking their groceries I heard the mother announce that she had forgotten to bring the coke bottles for the deposit. Her daughter didn’t know what a bottle deposit was.

Right then I knew there were people living in this world unlike myself. I cherished those bottles. You got two cents for cokes and a nickel for Canada Dry bottles. I cleaned out garages for free, if they would give me the bottles for payment.


Our high school was so exclusive; they had fraternities and sororities just as they do in colleges. I was not a member as the costs were more than my family could afford. I didn’t really miss anything, I liked my friends and the things we did. Besides who actually owned a tuxedo?

Last week, I wrote a column which compared Barack Obama to a socialist. I think I made my case and heard from a number of readers who were in agreement. This column also went out to a number of my former high school friends, most of whom I have not seen in many years.

The reactions were very strange. Those high school friends who grew up like me and who worked hard all of these years for their money were in total agreement with me. The trust funds kids, for the most part, were exactly the opposite. Several became very angry at me and sent back some pretty harsh language. I was very surprised since I would have thought these folks would be the first to oppose socialism and the redistribution of wealth.

This got me to thinking. I looked back and thought about the rich kids in my class. Very few of them did anything that equaled or surpassed the achievements of their fathers and grandfathers. You would think that with all of their advantages to capital, resources and family experience that they would have gone on to bigger and better things, but in our class that was not the norm. Out of a graduating class of over six hundred, there are but a handful of standouts that have made a name for themselves. It makes you wonder why that happened.

I haven’t done any research on this subject, but I intend to do so when I get the time. I wonder their underachievement and socialist viewpoint has anything to with a sense of collective guilt? Do those who inherited their wealth harbor a sense of loss because they did not have to work at acquiring their wealth? Are they ashamed of their given advantages?

Don’t get me wrong, I am not putting them down for being able to live well, more power to them, I ‘m not envious, well, perhaps a bit. But, I just wonder if giving them wealth and privilege destroys the incentive to succeed and or achieve more than your parents?
I haven’t any proof of this, but I think it does. I would like to be proved wrong on this, but I don’t think I will be.

 I feel certain the wealthy individuals who espouse socialistic concepts have their personal fortunes secured by untouchable trusts and other legal entities created by large law firms. As a result these individuals aren’t likely to see any wealth distribution of those assets, no matter who got elected. This may explain why this class of people has an “I’ve got mine, look to the government for yours” attitude. They can afford to be magnanimous since they are basically insulated from any encroachment upon their personal wealth and well being. If you are wealthy it’s easy to be a liberal and espouse your feelings of wanting to help the world. The problem is do your actions match up with your words? In looking at Obama’s donations to charity, for example, one sees a noticeable shortfall. He did set up several trusts and retirement accounts for himself and his family after he started making the big bucks. His money isn’t going away. Neither are the accumulated riches of the far left entertainment darlings such as Streisand, Redford and Jolie.

No, you can be assured that the trust fund babies as well as the ‘play at real life actors and actresses’ will stop at nothing to solve the ills of the world (a noble gesture, if there ever was one) while living in the lap of luxury. When was the last time you saw Entertainment Tonight interviewing Brad Pitt or George Clooney in a Holiday Inn Express?

I’m probably being too hard on the entertainment folks who may have come to their wealth by working their way up the ladder. I applaud their efforts and success, but why frown on the rest of us looking for our place in the sun? As for those who inherited great wealth and position, all I can say is perhaps working with Joe the Plumber for a few weeks might help you to understand what I’m talking about.

Oh, if you do, don’t chew your nails or shake hands. If this makes no sense to you, then you probably fall into the group I’ve been discussing.   

Comments and suggestions go to www.pearyperry.com

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The unthinkable has happened.  The United States of America has elected a Socialist President.

 It is time for Real Americans to prepare for the coming storm.  The following is from an article I found this afternoon that makes sense in a surrealistic sort of way. The title of the article is "Surviving an Obama Presidency" from Giovanni's World.

 

The Boy Scouts get credit for this one. The best advice I can give right now is…”Be Prepared”!

If, and this is a very big if, Obama wins on Nov 4, we will need to plan ahead. So, I thought it would be a good idea to write something of a practical guide to surviving a Socialist/Communist leaning White House.

First and foremost… Buy guns, lot’s of them. When you study Obama’s ideas concerning gun ownership you start to notice a pattern. He says he believes in the right to legally own guns used for Sport, but start asking him about guns for protection and he starts to twist in the wind. I would expect him to push new sweeping laws concerning gun ownership to exclude any firearm deemed to be used for protection. Once that’s accomplished that Government would start a program whereby you will have to turn in all of your personal firearms. This is when the crap hits the fan! So, my idea is this… buy some guns of all makes a models, and plenty of ammunition to go with each (your gonna need it). Then hide as many as you can, while only leaving a Shotgun or two laying around the house. When the Feds come to get your guns let them have the shotguns. When they say…”we know you own a lot of registered weapons and we need those also”, just tell them they got stolen. When they ask if you reported them stolen you just say…”No, I didn’t”. And then drop it. Are you getting the idea here? Read more here.

The only thing I need to add to his article is that Americans need to set aside a good supply of non perishable food.  Store enough to feed your family for at least a year, 3 if you can.

God Bless and God Bless America,

David Hill

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