Legendary ? Thomas Sowell thinks the BP victims fund proves that Obama is ?

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Swiffness!
Swiffness! Members Posts: 10,128 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited June 2010 in The Social Lounge
Is U.S. Now On Slippery Slope To Tyranny?

By THOMAS SOWELL

When Adolf ? was building up the ? movement in the 1920s, leading up to his taking power in the 1930s, he deliberately sought to activate people who did not normally pay much attention to politics.

Such people were a valuable addition to his political base, since they were particularly susceptible to ? 's rhetoric and had far less basis for questioning his assumptions or his conclusions.

"Useful idiots" was the term supposedly coined by V.I. Lenin to describe similarly unthinking supporters of his dictatorship in the Soviet Union.

Put differently, a democracy needs informed citizens if it is to thrive, or ultimately even survive.

In our times, American democracy is being dismantled, piece by piece, before our very eyes by the current administration in Washington, and few people seem to be concerned about it.

The president's poll numbers are going down because increasing numbers of people disagree with particular policies of his, but the damage being done to the fundamental structure of this nation goes far beyond particular counterproductive policies.

Just where in the Constitution of the United States does it say that a president has the authority to extract vast sums of money from a private enterprise and distribute it as he sees fit to whomever he deems worthy of compensation? Nowhere.

And yet that is precisely what is happening with a $20 billion fund to be provided by BP to compensate people harmed by their oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Many among the public and in the media may think that the issue is simply whether BP's oil spill has damaged many people, who ought to be compensated.

But our government is supposed to be "a government of laws and not of men."

If our laws and our institutions determine that BP ought to pay $20 billion — or $50 billion or $100 billion — then so be it.

But the Constitution says that private property is not to be confiscated by the government without "due process of law."

Technically, it has not been confiscated by Barack Obama, but that is a distinction without a difference.

With vastly expanded powers of government available at the discretion of politicians and bureaucrats, private individuals and organizations can be forced into accepting the imposition of powers that were never granted to the government by the Constitution.

If you believe that the end justifies the means, then you don't believe in constitutional government.


http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/537967/201006211813/Is-US-Now-On-Slippery-Slope-To-Tyranny-.aspx


I hear Sowell will be at Alan Keyes annual Uncle Ruckus BBQ this year

Comments

  • shootemwon
    shootemwon Members Posts: 4,635 ✭✭
    edited June 2010
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    For the sake of tradition, I'm going to reply to this like I reply to every thread quoting Thomas Sowell from every politics forum I've ever posted on:

    Thomas Sowell is an idiot. No comment on the article.
  • shootemwon
    shootemwon Members Posts: 4,635 ✭✭
    edited June 2010
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    Now I have to actually comment because I read this article this morning and it's one of the biggest nonsense pieces of a ? I've every read. Thomas Sowell has always been an idiot, but now I think he might actually be going insane.
    thomas-sowell.jpeg
  • busayo
    busayo Members Posts: 857
    edited June 2010
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    When Adolf ? was building up the ? movement in the 1920s, leading up to his taking power in the 1930s, he deliberately sought to activate people who did not normally pay much attention to politics.

    aren't the tea party folks doing this too?
  • politicalthug202
    politicalthug202 Members Posts: 3,098 ✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2010
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    lok thomas sowell is not an idiot him and guys like paul krugman are quite brilliant. just becasue you disagree
    politically with some one does not mean there dumb

    but I have to disagree if BP didnt wanna hand over the money. they could have refused,and just handled the whole situation in court
    they did this as a good PR move nothing more nothing less
  • TX_Made713
    TX_Made713 Members Posts: 3,954 ✭✭
    edited June 2010
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    man seriously, what the ? does Obama have to do with the Oil well malfunctioning? Have you guys seen the BP CEO getting verbally ? by the congress over his ? decisions?
  • shootemwon
    shootemwon Members Posts: 4,635 ✭✭
    edited June 2010
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    lok thomas sowell is not an idiot

    politicalthug is a ?
  • The Jackal
    The Jackal Members Posts: 1,897 ✭✭✭
    edited June 2010
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    thomas sowell opinion doesn't matter at all. Just ignore him. But lol @ legendary ?
  • GeneBadAzz
    GeneBadAzz Members Posts: 19
    edited June 2010
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    If the tea party and republicans wants the government out of their businesses why are they mad at Obama? BP is a british company, so if their business if failing because of the oil spill they need to get a BP instead of asking why our President hasn't been to the gulf yet.