A Commandment Revisited

When did the 8th commandment, ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor,’ disappear from the Decalogue? To whom does this moral rule of the road not apply? Apparently the Obama administration. Let’s begin with the recent rebirth of the ‘birther’ argument questioning Obama’s birthplace. In 1991, Obama’s publisher, anticipating and advertising a book Obama was asked to write, said that he was born in Kenya. Obama must have contributed to or at least read his own bio blurb. Yes? This statement, however, was not eliminated from promotional materials until 2007, just as Obama’s presidential bid was forming. Further, when the real book finally appeared in 1995, called “Dreams from my Father,” ( ironically not the book contracted), the place of Obama’s birth was unspecified. Obama has never commented on this discrepancy. My point here is that either a lie, a truth or deliberate dishonesty applies. With our transformational President, truth usually has an expiration date. Obama told Reverend Wright in a private moment, that other people must tell the truth but as a politician he was exempt. So when is this administration sincere? Why is the “biological influence” of Mormonism on Romney an important issue to liberals supporting Obama, but his own “biological influences”of a polygamist father or Marxist and revolutionary friends overlooked? Why can researchers and the media find scandalous facts about private citizens and never any about Obama? Are Americans really as handicapped as public service announcements would have us believe? We are sick, dying or poisoned from student loans, autism, concussions, PTSD, road rage, diabetes, food, obesity, poverty, hunger, Wall Street greed, corporate malfeasance, disabilities or drug addiction. Who is left to toddle off to work? Will green energy free us from dependence upon foreign oil? “Cute energy”sources, as described by Bill Gates, are only for the rich and represent insignificant amounts and thus require subsidies. So why mandate what is not cost effective? Also, they represent money-making opportunities for special interests. Who actually carry racist signs? The tea party is described as racist but Occupy protesters carried the hate-filled and racist signs and perpetrated actual violence. Who actually funds Obama causes? George Soros, for example, a wealthy ‘world order’ enthusiast, funds liberal organizations but he made his fortune manipulating national currencies, a process Obama continues to decry. How bad is Bain Capital? Obama badmouths private equity groups, like Bain who invest monies for most private pension funds. Retirement accounts suffer if investment companies did not achieve financial success. How can you both bully the rich and take their money? Obama depends upon support from bundlers and private equity groups. He held a $36,000 a plate fund raiser with private equity Blackstone which he previously bashed under the Bush administration. Speaking of Bush, Obama blames him for virtually every current ill, yet he has continued many of Bush’s policies. He was against the Bush tax cut before campaigning for its extension. He claimed that risky bets by banks began with the Bush administration. (They already were encouraged and mandated by previous administrations). After bailing out banks, however, Obama now punishes and regulates them hindering their future success. Drone strikes were anathema under Bush, but now they are back with a vengeance justified by their low collateral damage. Obama railed against overspending (cutting out waste ‘line by line’) but he added trillions to our nation’s debt. Bush’s war in Iraq was a failure but Afghanistan makes Obama a successful war President. He brags about withdrawing our troops but will indefinitely leave many behind to stabilize the country. Is home ownership a right? Apparently, even if a mortgage holder defaults. Who absorbs the cost if unaffordable loans (that never should have been issued) are re-structured or forgiven? Has your interpretation of morality evolved? Obama’s evolution on gay marriage is rooted in pure political expediency - ‘gays for pay.’ Of course, if men and women have a right to choose their lovers, why not legalize the exchange of vows with a beloved cat or dog? Where is the evil 1%? 99% includes the ill-defined but changing middle class, the 50% of citizens do not pay any income taxes and the10% who pay the bulk of the taxes. Is it a baby or a fetus? When it’s convenient to file murder charges, a woman carries a baby; otherwise it is a collection of cells for scientific purposes or an obstacle to free choice as part of a woman’s lifestyle. Is contraception or conception a right for Obama supporters? Here are ten Pinnochios from Obama’s ministry of information. 1. American-made products are better. Actually they cost more due to union rules. Ironically, imported parts are cheaper. 2. Manufacturing jobs are the answer to securing the American dream. Times have changed due to information and technology revolutions. 3. Locally grown and organic foods especially fruits and vegetables are healthier and support local communities. Does anyone really believe they can provide year-round family needs? Actually organic products have mostly been responsible for the outbreaks of salmonella and represent no health benefit. 4. Low interest rates encourage investors. Savings and retirement accounts suffer from them because investors are forced to take on more risk to stabilize or grow their money which is now earning no money. 5. Government should ban unhealthy (junk) foods. There are no unhealthy foods. All food is designed to keep a human being alive. Overindulgence is unhealthy. 6. High school graduates need a college education. Massive student debt does not guarantee a successful career. It is up to an individual to acquire skills or knowledge ( not just athletic prowess) for a productive life. The forgiveness of student loans is on the horizon now that the ‘problem’ of illegal aliens has been solved. 7. According to a radio ad from the Dept. of Energy, you can save enough money using energy saving light bulbs to buy a flat screen TV. In how many decades you ask? 8. Elizabeth Warren’s 1/32 Native American heritage justifies affirmative action because it is “correct in a mythical sense.” Does this not sound like 1984 double speak or Indian shamanism? 9. We must stop sending jobs overseas. Since before Columbus discovered America, trade on a global scale, exchanging goods and services, advanced civilization. 10. We can spend our way out of a recession. Not even if we continue to fight our present war. Not an imaginary war on women or on the middle class, but the real war between two contradictory visions of America, liberal and conservative. It’s one thing to cherry-pick facts for political gain, but it’s wrong to distort reality with shameless dishonesty. The way I see it, the 8th commandment needs a revisiting. It’s wrong to bear false witness to each other and to reality. Moses would agree. Come November, my vote will symbolize a vote against great dissembling from this administration and for a revisiting of the 8th commandment.