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The recent hullabaloo over health care has created an enormous opportunity for proponents of various social, economic and political theories to spread their particular flavors of propaganda. Media outlets of all flavors and levels of influence have been dominated by these purveyors of disinformation as the conflicting “facts” and “studies” have produced a dizzying array of “must-be-true” pronouncements the likes of which haven’t been seen since the immovable object and the irresistible force.

Ultimately, what has become clear is that while health care is the hot potato being tossed around, the real battle here is one over control. And the “left vs. right” fallacy has served up yet another sideshow to distract us from the real issues at stake: personal freedoms. Both of the two major political parties in the US are waging the same war on liberty, regardless of their platitudes. This becomes clearer by the day, as we are bombarded with hour after hour of what can most politely be described as political horse manure.

What many seem to have forgotten is that we have, in this nation and elsewhere, made health care a nearly impossible puzzle due to the notion that somehow someone other than the patient should pay for it. The origins of this ridiculous idea can be traced back to labor unions who lobbied corporate interests for better conditions for the masses of indentured servants who were forced to appeal to their corporate taskmasters for any and everything. It could arguably be further traced back to more obvious forms of slavery, but that’s probably a discussion for a different day.

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The Kool-Aid is flowing in Washington, D.C.

Sadly, lawmakers are actually batting around the notion of passing what is currently being estimated as an $800 Billion “stimulus” package.

First let me say that if we actually had $800 Billion “in the bank,” as it were, my opinion on this might be different. But the fact of the matter is that we are talking about borrowing this money… on top of all of the money we’ve already borrowed.

And before you write off my opinion as somehow “partisan” or otherwise neatly in support of one “side” or the other in this debate, let me hit you with a bit of common sense:

You can’t borrow your way out of debt.

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The 2008 Presidential election is, without doubt, the most significant election in my lifetime. And, most likely, in yours too. Never before has there been a situation in which neither of our two parties has had a clearly defined nominee. There has always either been an incumbent President or a Vice Presidential candidate who was seeking the Presidency from one party or another. You would have to be in your 70s now to have voted in the last election like this one.Consequently, this year we have the opportunity to have more of an impact than perhaps ever before with our votes - and particularly right now, in January and February. It is during this time that votes cast will speak the loudest regarding what is important to us - the people of, by, and for whom governing in this great land is done.

I want to challenge those who call themselves Christians in this time to apply some critical thinking before running out to cast a vote for the candidate who seems most obviously the “right” one.

The Machinery of the “Religious Right”

Growing up in Evangelical circles, I know all too well the machinery that works to influence our vote. It doesn’t require us to think. It encourages us not to debate the issues. It simply hands out voter guides that focus on a handful of issues that are our major “hot buttons,” not the least of which is abortion.

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FOX News Blackballs GOP Candidates

…Giulani Involvement Points to a Conspiracy

“Bias has to do with the elimination of points of view, not presenting a point of view.”
Roger Ailes, President
Fox News

With those words, Roger Ailes once expressed the reason that so many viewers turned to Fox News. In a time when Ted Turner and NBC dominated cable news, Fox News rode onto the scene like a proverbial knight in shining armor. These days, the armor is tarnished and the white horse is muddied - it appears that Mr. Ailes’ understanding of how media outlets most effectively exploit their influence to promote a bias is, in fact, company policy.

In an unparalleled move, Fox has chosen to silence the only Republican candidate who could truly be classified as a traditional limited-government conservative who has demonstrated a strict commitment to the U.S. Constitution - based upon the nearly 4 decades of voting records available for review. The network, consistently #1 among cable news networks in Nielsen ratings, excluded Dr. Ron Paul from its Republican presidential debate Sunday, January 6^th.

Instead, Fox has persistently pushed the names of Paul’s opponents into the limelight - names like Giuliani, whom Paul soundly beat in last Thursday’s Iowa Caucus, capturing nearly three times as many votes. Giuliani was invited to the Sunday debate sponsored by the network, as was Fred Thompson, whose poll numbers in New Hampshire - the state in which the debate was held - have been consistently lower than Ron Paul’s.Fox has repeatedly refused to state its reasons for relegating Ron Paul - long seen as a significant contender for the Republican nomination - to the “need-not-appear” category. It seems that the network’s policy is very specifically to eliminate his point of view.

Mr. Ailes? Is this your policy, or does it come from Mr. Murdoch?

The Giuliani Connection

According to the Columbia Journalism Review, during the first New York City mayoral term of Rudy Giuliani, News Corp (the parent company of Fox News) received a $20.7 million tax break for the building in Manhattan that serves as the home of Fox News, as well as News Corp’s New York Post, and various other News Corp media holdings, including TV Guide.
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