James Taranto@WSJ Explaining Obama’s Ressentiment: Unearned success is the central theme of his life story.
Michelle Malkin TSA: Training Sky-bound Illegal Aliens
Townhall:
Fox News 2 Seattle men stopped at border for having illegal chocolate eggs
We have a DOJ and BATFE sending guns to drug cartels in Mexico, a DHS that won’t secure our borders, and we’re worried about chocolate eggs?
Responses to, “You didn’t build that.”
Doug Powers@MichelleMalkin Latest O’Keefe video: Seeking advice from unions on obtaining government funding for hole digging and re-filling service
And unions wonder why America is turning against them?
WSJ Staples vs. Solyndra: Mitt Romney needs to make a better argument for Bain capitalism.
TSA Nonsense:
Remind me again why we’re wasting our tax dollars on the TSA.
WSJ The Incredible Bain Jobs Machine
Washington Examiner Obama has investments in companies that ship jobs overseas
Hypocrisy, thy name is Obama.
Townhall:
Michelle Malkin Your guide to sleazy Democratic Party-backed banks
Oh how I wish I’d had President Obama as an advisor during my formative years. I was raised with the horrible misunderstanding that success and failure are direct consequences of the choices we make. How unbelievably foolish my mentors were!
If only someone as wise and insightful as he had been there to tell me that my future success wouldn’t be the result of studying long hours in high school, college, and grad school, working hard, getting married before having children, spending less than I earn, trying to keep my life and family centered on a relationship with God—all that not-fun, responsible adult stuff—I’d have had so much more time to goof off. Heck, I might’ve even lit up a doob with our current POTUS—just buzzing on his bong-besotted brilliance.
All those years of effort wasted now that I know I was just lucky. How terribly sad for me.
Who needs Congress?
That, apparently, is the attitude of the current administration. In a truly unprecedented move, Health and Human Services queen Secretary Sebelius quietly announced this week that states can apply for waivers to the federal welfare work requirements.
Under whose authority? Congress enacted the current welfare regulations with a very explicit work requirement—and did not designate any waiver authority to HHS or any other agency.
So now Obama and his minions have decided the legislative branch is wholly unnecessary and they can not only ignore duly enacted laws, but amend them at will. Where in the Constitution does the supposed Constitutional expert find such an executive power?
Unless he is removed from office, Obama will certainly fulfill one of his campaign promises: to fundamentally transform America. He is very swiftly changing the Executive from a coequal branch—checked by Congress and the Supreme Court—into a kingship.
Didn’t we fight a revolution to avoid just such despotism?
James Taranto@WSJ The Politics of Cognitive Dissonance: Why closed-mindedness is an imperative for the left.
Twitchy Surprise! Little Debbie Wasserman Schultz had a Swiss bankroll
Walter Williams@Richmond Register Difficult economics lessons
Townhall:
Washington Times CBO: The wealthy pay 70 percent of taxes
Michelle Malkin In defense of Brad Pitt’s mom
Ann Coulter@IBD ‘Fast And Furious’ Shows GOP’s Big Weakness
Doug Powers@MichelleMalkin Poll: Obama sure did follow through on that ‘Change™’ pledge
Townhall:
Michael Tanner@National Review The States Resist Obamacare
Andrew Coulson@WSJ America Has Too Many Teachers
Investors Business Daily Disability Ranks Outpace New Jobs In Obama Recovery
Let’s see…80,000 new jobs and 85,000 new disability recipients. Yes, Mr. President, that sure seems like a step in the right direction to me.
Jack Cashill@WND Obama’s Social Security Number Challenged
Townhall:
Kimberley A. Strassel@WSJ Obama’s Imperial Presidency: When Congress won’t do what he wants, he ignores it and acts anyway.
Townhall:
WSJ:
Fox News Do not disturb: Oregon town cancels fireworks to spare sea birds
Seriously?
On this day 236 years ago, a group of men—leaders of the American colonies—gathered in Philadelphia to affix their signatures to what has become one of the most important documents in history. By signing our Declaration of Independence, they risked their fortunes and lives in affirmation of what were to become the foundational and distinctive principles of our nation. Three of these are so fundamental that we find them imprinted on every coin in circulation today. Having come under continuous attack for many years, we must revisit them periodically to remind ourselves of their importance and centrality to our country.
Liberty
Millions of desperate souls have come to America for one significant reason: freedom! Here life is what you choose to make it. You are free to succeed—or to fail—as a result of your own choices rather than the dictates of government. Over the last century we have seen our federal government grow and assume increasing authority. Americans have an instinctive distrust of centralized power. This distrust is justified, as every increase in the government’s power and authority diminishes our individual liberty—one of the most commonly cherished traits of American life. Freedom must be guarded by every generation, for once lost it is very difficult to regain.
E Pluribus Unum
“Out of many, one.” For well over a century, successive waves of immigrants have arrived on our shores, bringing with them their own unique cultures and traditions but learning our common language and assimilating into our society—becoming Americans. Try though you may, you will find no other nation which has openly welcomed a more disparate variety of peoples. The multicultural movement of recent years is at direct odds with this principle, creating enclaves of “hyphenated Americans” rather than a united people. America has always embraced the newcomer, and must continue to do so, making each one a valued member of the whole.
In God We Trust
Finally, and most importantly, Americans do not put their trust in human institutions—not even in the government we choose for ourselves. Our founders acknowledged from the beginning that our rights and freedoms come not from a fallible human institution, but are granted by God. As John Adams put it, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Trust in God is the linchpin of our nation, without which freedom is merely bestowed at the whim of the current ruling party, and unity an impossible illusion. We must fight at every turn the attempt to minimize the importance of religious faith in American history and to our nation today.
Liberty. E Pluribus Unum. In God We Trust. Not a Trinity to be worshipped, but one to cherish and defend on this, our Independence Day.
[An enormous, “Thank you,” to Dennis Prager, who made me aware of the American trinity and, to my knowledge, formulated the concept.]