"Idle Thoughts On The Road To Understanding" -- Charley Reese

[scarletwoman]

http://reese.king-online.com/Reese_20030808/index.php

(I don't know how many of you are familiar with Charley Reese, he is basically a conservative columnist of the old, non-wingnut type. I find myself agreeing with him, more often than not -- acknowledging of course that there are specific issues with which I will habitually disagree.)

<snip>

The U.S. dollar is backed up by nothing and is convertible to nothing. It is a medium of exchange, and compared with the Euro, the currency of the European Union, it has lost 30 percent of its value since 2001. This is bad news for those of us whose investments, savings and life insurance are denominated in dollars. These dollars are exchangeable for less and less in goods and services. If the value of the dollar completely collapses, we will all be ruined.

<snip>

There are 30,000 to 40,000 lobbyists and representatives of special-interest groups in Washington, compared with 435 members of the House, 100 senators, one president and one vice president. Ever wonder why it's so hard for your voice to be heard?

<snip>

The real question is not whether we are conservative or liberal, but whether we favor a small government with defined and limited powers or a large government with unlimited power. Whether they call themselves "conservatives" or "liberals," a majority in both parties favors a large government with unlimited powers. The correct term for such people is, in my opinion, "Jacobins." The name derives from the radical democrats of the French Revolution. Today's presidential candidates debate details of the same policies rather than principles or different policies. We have, in effect, one-party rule. "Republican" or "Democrat" is a mere label for factions of the Jacobins. Both are going to give you big government with unrestrained power domestically and imperialism as a foreign policy. They differ only on the details, the competence of their administrators and the people to whom they owe patronage.

I don't foresee much improvement until more Americans learn that being a patriot means more than being willing to kill a foreigner.

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Worth reading, imho -- and while you're at his page, it's interesting to read a few of his other columns as well.

sw

[JewelDigger]

1. Thanks for posting this

This is a very good/important article - especially for us folks at DU to read. I wish this were posted in GD though. I think more people would see it there.