welcome to the People's Republic of north america

A man doesn't have to explicitly say things about himself in order to be revealing. Often, it's what a person allows others to go unchecked in saying that is the most telling. This is especially the case in politics. A politician must so closely monitor what he or she says directly, because anything coming straight from the source will inevitably be turned into a sound bite which will circulate endlessly. But as a special wink and nod to their more radical followers, politicians can simply allow those who are not organizationally attached to them to say that they give him their stamp of approval, and simply not deny it. That's the exact point when it becomes visible to the public eye, if only for a second. In that moment when we are expecting to hear a rebuttal or a denial, but instead hear silence and a change of subject, we find out a politician's true colors. In that moment, we find out the more radical views they have which they don't publicly admit, in order to play up the middle.

Such is the case with the likely winner of the presidential race this coming fall, Barack Obama. This fringe group is so close to him though, that this happened on his very own website. On barackobama.com, a group has been started, entitled " Marxists/Socialists/Communists for Obama." Whether or not Obama admits it himself, the company he keeps is quite revealing. His campaign has made a nominal attempt to address concerns like mine, by putting a phrase, in small type at the bottom of the page, near all of that stuff you never look at when you go to websites, which reads

"Content on blogs in My.BarackObama represents the opinions of community members and in no way should be interpreted as endorsed or approved by the campaign."

Nice. Really slick. Well, I'm convinced! I mean, seriously, do they think they're fooling anyone? As if they don't monitor the content closely. I dare you to start a "Capitalists Who Want Obama to Oppose Socialism" group, and see how long it lasts, or if it even will get published. Don't get me wrong, I understand that it's a campaign website, and it's a totally normal thing to do that. But when one pretends like he doesn't, that's an insult to my intelligence. His campaign won't admit it, but there isn't gonna be a thing on that website that he doesn't - at least secretly - endorse.

Cut the bullcrap, Barry. You're a Marxist. Just come out of the closet and admit it. That way, those that vote for you can vote for you with a full knowledge on their conscience and I can point my finger at them when you run this country into the ground and I can say "I told you so, you socialist morons!"

To put it in perspective why Communists are in such general favor of Obama's presidency, a friend of mine - whose blog can be found here - did research on Obama's platform, using only Obama's official website as a guide. As a back-of-the-envelope figure, his research concludes that Obama's about 90% Marxist. Now, I know that figure is irrelevant, so I'll leave you with excerpts of some of his findings, with his explanations and commentary, which he sent me in a recent email:

"Barack Obama will require that employers provide seven paid sick days per year."

Where does the Constitution give him this privilege? How does he take it upon himself to say how many sick days an employer must allow? This is a loss of liberty for employers. Yes, I agree employers should do this; but where does that give me, as a citizen, the right to force him to? VIOLATION of 10th amendment. VIOLATION of personal liberty.

"Obama will provide a $1.5 billion fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help states offset the costs for employees and employers."

Unconstitutional use of tax money. States fund themselves, or at least should do so. The Federal Government should collect only those taxes it requires for its constitutional activities; whatever the states decide to do should be funded by state taxes. Once again, VIOLATION of 10th amendment. Also, Benson condemns this behavior.

"Barack Obama will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children."

VIOLATION of 10th amendment. Also, do you really believe the Federal government should pay for our children's activities? State-funded public schools are bad enough, are we going to turn the government into a daycare provider? Remember, whatever the government funds, it controls.

"Workers with family obligations often are discriminated against in the workplace. Barack Obama will commit the government to enforcing recently-enacted Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines on caregiver discrimination."

Once again, if an employer doesn't want to hire someone with children, that should be his liberty. The Federal government has no right to tell employers who they must hire. VIOLATION of personal liberty. Again, I agree that employers should not discriminate; but do I have a right to force them not to? Good idea, but wrong way to enforce it.

"Obama has introduced a comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan to provide critical supports to young children and their parents by investing $10 billion per year to create: Early Learning Challenge Grants to stimulate and help fund state "zero to five" efforts; quadruple the number of eligible children for Early Head Start and increase Head Start funding and improve quality for both; work to ensure all children have access to pre-school; provide affordable and high-quality child care that will promote child development and ease the burden on working families."

Again, what is the motivation behind this? The sooner the government gets it hand on our children, the worse off they are. Again, nobody wants the burden of raising their own children, so the government will do it for them. I do not want a president who considers child raising to be a burden. Also, VIOLATION of 10th amendment.

"Barack Obama will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university."

Obama wants to pay for everyone's college. How is this a proper use of tax-money? This is one step to turning universities into government funded schools. What the government funds, it controls. People should pay for their own education. Nobody in their right mind believes that the government should pay for everything we do. Again, this is also a Marxist philosophy; Obama believes that the price of attending universities is what creates class differences, and that it should be fixed through government legislation and funding. Also VIOLATION of 10th amendment.

"Barack Obama is committed to signing universal health legislation by the end of his first term in office that ensures all Americans have high-quality, affordable health care coverage."

VIOLATION of 10th amendment. Also, a VERY VERY bad idea. More about this later.

"Barack Obama will ensure that anyone with a mortgage, not just the well-off, can take advantage of this tax incentive for homeownership by creating a universal mortgage credit. This 10 percent credit will benefit an additional 10 million homeowners, the majority of whom earn less than $50,000 per year."

When people go into debt, it is not the government's job to help them out. That is a citizen's responsibility.

"Obama introduced the STOP FRAUD Act, which would increase funding for federal law enforcement programs, create new criminal penalties for mortgage professionals found guilty of fraud, and require industry insiders to report suspicious activity."

YAY! This, I believe, is allowed by the Constitution. Finally, something that is actually LEGAL.

"Obama will create a fund to help people refinance their mortgages and provide comprehensive supports to innocent homeowners. The fund will also assist individuals who purchased homes that are simply too expensive for their income levels by helping to sell their homes."

In other words, when we purchase a home that we can't afford, the government will swoop in to bail us out. BAD IDEA. This rewards irresponsible spending and debt. The is an irresponsible use of tax money. Also, VIOLATION of 10th amendment. SOCIALISM.

"As president, Obama will work to eliminate the federal bankruptcy law's Chapter 13 provision that prevents bankruptcy courts from modifying an individual's mortgage payments."

In other words, borrowers will not be required to keep their end of a contract; lenders will be able to have the terms of their contracts changed by the U.S. courts. In other words, if I lend money to someone, and they sign a contract committing to pay, that contract is not binding. This is a very unwise maneuver. Let's hold people accountable for their actions, and not bail out those in debt whenever they can't deliver.

Many of these promises Obama makes show that he sees people in debt as victims, rather than as making a willing participants in an economic transaction. Certainly some people are in debt through no fault of their own; however, their are ways to help without the government intervening every time someone cries, "help!"

"Barack Obama's retirement security plan will automatically enroll workers in a workplace pension plan. Under his plan, employers who do not currently offer a retirement plan, will be required to enroll their employees in a direct-deposit IRA account that is compatible to existing direct-deposit payroll systems."

Since when is the Federal government a retirement fund? VIOLATION of 10th amendment. SOCIALISM, and a VIOLATION of personal liberty.

"Obama will raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation to make sure that full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing."

VIOLATION of 10th amendment. Minimum wage is reserved to the states. The Federal government has no power to tell employers how much they can pay; if necessary, it can be done by the states, but not the Federal government.

"Obama will invest in rural small businesses and fight to expand high-speed Internet access."

Ok now, since when is the government an internet provider?

"Obama will increase funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) which helps low-income citizens — many of them seniors — pay their winter heating and summer cooling bills."

Since when do the tax-payers pay for people's heating bills? VIOLATION of 10th amendment, and a VERY bad idea. This will increase even more our nation's dependence on the government. SOCIALISM.

"In the midst of the 2005 debate over Social Security privatization, Obama gave a major speech at the National Press Club forcefully arguing against privatization. He also repeatedly voted against Republican amendments that aimed to privatize Social Security or cut benefits."

Social security is one of the biggest violations of the 10th amendment and also a VERY bad idea. It creates a nation of dependents, and is an immoral socialist program. In other words, "You give your income to the government, and we'll give some of it back if you need it." SOCIALISM.

"As a result of climate change, glaciers are melting faster; the polar ice caps are shrinking; trees are blooming earlier; more people are dying in heat waves; species are migrating, and eventually many will become extinct."

Utter bogus, not based on science. One study showed that the ice caps have more ice than ever before.

"Obama supports implementation of a market-based cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions by the amount scientists say is necessary: 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Obama's cap-and-trade system will require all pollution credits to be auctioned."

Not only do I have to buy my car, but after this I will have to pay the government to use it; the scientists will tell us how far we can drive etc. etc.. This is immoral legislation, increasing government control on our actions as nothing has ever before. I will have to purchase not only the gas in my car, but I will also have to purchase the right to use it. VIOLATION of personal liberty, 10th amendment, and ALL the principles of proper government.

"Obama will invest federal resources, including tax incentives, cash prizes and government contracts into developing the most promising technologies with the goal of getting the first two billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol into the system by 2013."

Ethanol is causing food shortages and starvation around the world. It is actually killing people. Burning our food is a VERY bad idea. The idea was started by corn farmers, and by getting the government to fund massive amounts of ethanol production, corn farmers' profits have gone through the roof. It is entirely a special interest issue. By burning our nation's food supply, the nation has now had to IMPORT wheat for the FIRST time in American history, just to keep our stores stocked. It is not helping our energy dependence on foreign countries; it is also making us dependent on other nations for our FOOD.

"Barack Obama will establish a goal of making all new buildings carbon neutral, or produce zero emissions, by 2030."

Good idea, but VERY bad way to do it. Government needs to get out of our business, not into it.

"The UNFCCC process is the main international forum dedicated to addressing the climate problem and an Obama administration will work constructively within it."

The UN committee on climate change has shown itself to be dishonest and untrustworthy.

"Obama will make available a new national health plan to all Americans, including the self-employed and small businesses, to buy affordable health coverage that is similar to the plan available to members of Congress."

This entire program simply a ploy by pharmeceutical companies to get their products funded and endorsed by the Federal government. VIOLATION of 10th amendment. SOCIALIST to the very core.

"Obama will launch the most aggressive diplomatic effort in recent American history to reach a new compact on the stability of Iraq and the Middle East. This effort will include all of Iraq's neighbors – including Iran and Syria"

Good intentions, but a little naive. Terrorists and evil men ought to be killed, not bargained with. However, maybe we ought to just butt out of the middle east completely.

"Obama will embrace the Millennium Development Goal of cutting extreme poverty around the world in half by 2015, and he will double our foreign assistance to $50 billion to achieve that goal."

This is important: WE GAVE the government that money. It is unconstitutional for the government to send our tax money overseas for any reason.