Occupy America: Finding a Way to Free Citizens of the 99% from the “Mastery of the Ignoble elite.”

The hand-cranked memographers failure at the mighty propaganda mill - Mackinac Center for Public Policy - to do "the right thing" has caused it to lose all claim to pro-active philosophy, a sustainable fairness and renewal direction for Michigan.

This is profoundly sad and frightening.

It is the Mackinac Center incessant pounding of the legislature with proto-lobbying and the hectoring of the public to achieve their privatization and for-profit goals (while destroying and undermining the necessary order of Michigan and the everyday lives of its working people) that is creating ugly Michissippi - a newly decimated state pushed to be run over by TeaPublicans "gone wild" under the tutelage and direction of the Koch Bros., Amway, big oil, American Legislative Exchange Council put-and-take legislation and other mega corporations. These have put their demands well before the needs of Michigan's struggling populace.

The Mackinac Center is not conservative. The Mackinac Center is not moral. The Mackinac Center has lost all sense of religious mores. The Mackinac Center is a blight on traditional conservatism as led by Michigan's own Dean of Conservatism, the late Russell Kirk. The 'ignoble' mega-wealthy who back and propel Mackinac Center are not worthy of statesmanship and honor. They and their goals are ignoble.

Read this assessment of Russell Kirk's impact as relates to TRUE CONSERVATISM:

"First among the concerns of modern conservatives is the regeneration of spirit and character, by which Kirk means the renewal of religious ideals, the one sure foundation for a life worth living.

"Kirk cautions that political Christianity, in which God is a means to an end, will not suffice. Rather, spiritual renewal must be done for its own sake.

"The conservative is also concerned, as Kirk has mentioned before, with the PROBLEM OF LEADERSHIP, which has two aspects: the preservation of reverence, order, discipline, and class and the cleansing of our system of education, so that it can become liberal in the best sense of that word.

Stated Kirk "ONLY JUST LEADERSHIP CAN REDEEM SOCIETY FROM THE MASTERY OF THE IGNOBLE ELITE."
(emphasis added)

Excerpted from "Russell Kirk: The Conservative Mind".

America Faces Coming Judgment for Its Unbridled Worship of Pagan Mammonism

The Mackinac Center stands squarely with the Godless paganism of Ayn Rand, Friedman, Greenspan and others who exult the individual above the community and the congregation of the righteous, and still too, the common good, must be seen for what it actually is, a pagan libertarianism: Mammon whose fixation on "freedom" has degenerated into a raid on the foundations of our Republic; its banking and investment services, and yes, upon the distinctly religious basis given American life by the Framers of the Constitution.

Occupy America with righteousness and restore probity to the government and its institutions; stand with those who demand that business abide by moral standards. Too many of the "smartest men in the room" would have us believe that in America, if something has the force of law - a proposal is made into legal statues it bears the impress of morality, not so. All that is called 'legal' is not all moral. Legal is not necessarily 'moral.'

Americans suffer under many laws and corporate designer regulations that are anything but moral and righteous; beneficial to the common welfare.

Join Kirk's fight against twisted ideology and the corruption of real conservatism by the greedy usurpers mentioned above. Be genuinely 'Conservative.'
________

It is said that mankind faces judgment by God in the afterlife. Nations, however, receive their judgment and punishment in this life. America stands to face harsh judgment from God in the here-and-now. Repent.

Will repentance now be too late to save our fair land?

For more on the 1% follow the "Mega-Wealthy" and "Wealthy Elites" tags on the Gazette.

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A mighty Meeting of the Minds: Judis & Kirk & Lofgren

In willful disunion sanctified by TeaPublicans, can a sovereign government survive? Are there no limits to endless their rebellion against the proper role and functions of government?

Russell Kirk laid down this the 6th of his Canons of Conservatism: "...innovation must be tied to existing traditions and customs, which entails a respect for the political value of prudence."

It is doubtful that Jesus will return to Michigan anytime soon. Yet in the meanwhile, Russell Kirk, the guardian of all things conservative has spoken, he said that Christianity and Western Civilization are "unimaginable apart from one another." and that "all culture arises out of religion. When religious faith decays, culture must decline, though often seeming to flourish for a space after the religion which has nourished it has sunk into disbelief."

Quotes from Russell Kirk Conservative, Michigan's own master philosopher and laureate: 1.) The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot, 2.) The Portable Conservative Reader 1982.

Kirk's Six Conservative Canons

1. A belief in a transcendent order, which Kirk described variously as based in tradition, divine revelation, or natural law;
2. An affection for the "variety and mystery" of human existence;
3. A conviction that society requires orders and classes that emphasize "natural" distinctions;
4. A belief that property and freedom are closely linked;
5. A faith in custom, convention, and prescription, and
6. A recognition that innovation must be tied to existing traditions and customs, which entails a respect for the political value of prudence.

John Judis reflects on the total lack of "political value" ascribed to "prudence."  He writes:

"Over the last four decades, the Republican Party has transformed from a loyal opposition into an insurrectionary party that flouts the law when it is in the majority and threatens disorder when it is the minority. It is the party of Watergate and Iran-Contra, but also of the government shutdown in 1995 and the impeachment trial of 1999. If there is an earlier American precedent for today's Republican Party, it is the antebellum Southern Democrats of John Calhoun who threatened to nullify, or disregard, federal legislation they objected to and who later led the fight to secede from the union over slavery."

The TeaPublican lack of civility and "prudence", respect for historic traditions and the role of honest advice and consent has raised the question of the sincerity of their religious faith. Or as Russell Kirk proclaims: "...all culture arises out of religion. When religious faith decays, culture must decline, though often seeming to flourish for a space after the religion which has nourished it has sunk into disbelief."

What has happened in Washington is a breakdown of culture, a disrespect for religion, and a terrible "iron hatred" that seems to permeate every GOP partisan act of obfuscation.

Writes Veteran Republican Washington insider, Mike Lofgen has just left the party after near 30 years of service:

"It should have been evident to clear-eyed observers that the Republican Party is becoming less and less like a traditional political party in a representative democracy and becoming more like an apocalyptic cult, or one of the intensely ideological authoritarian parties of 20th century Europe. This trend has several implications, none of them pleasant."

Here, in part, is Lofgren's analysis of the great danger- present and future - being brought on by the TeaPublican rebellion and it's anti-government putsch which has decimated the party of Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower and now threatens the sovereign success and stability of our nation. Lofgren writes that in his "Manual of Parliamentary Practice," Thomas Jefferson wrote that it is less important that every rule and custom of a legislature be absolutely justifiable in a theoretical sense, than that they should be generally acknowledged and honored by all parties. These include unwritten rules, customs and courtesies that lubricate the legislative machinery and keep governance a relatively civilized procedure. The US Senate has more complex procedural rules than any other legislative body in the world; many of these rules are contradictory, and on any given day, the Senate parliamentarian may issue a ruling that contradicts earlier rulings on analogous cases.

Lofgren:

"The only thing that can keep the Senate functioning is collegiality and good faith. During periods of political consensus, for instance, the World War II and early post-war eras, the Senate was a "high functioning" institution: filibusters were rare and the body was legislatively productive. Now, one can no more picture the current Senate producing the original Medicare "Act than the old Supreme Soviet having legislated the Bill of Rights.

Far from being a rarity, virtually every bill, every nominee for Senate confirmation and every routine procedural motion is now subject to a Republican filibuster. Under the circumstances, it is no wonder that Washington is gridlocked: legislating has now become war minus the shooting, something one could have observed 80 years ago in the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. As Hannah Arendt observed, a disciplined minority of totalitarians can use the instruments of democratic government to undermine democracy itself."

This disorder and brinkmanship in Washington has not derailed the wealth sucking multinationals from having a record, banner year in extreme profits.

What is wrong with this picture?

Ask any A.L.E.C. member why so many unfairly loaded and corporate benefiting legislative proposals (prepackaged Pro-Corporate designed legislation) are getting fast tracked in the midst of our slide into the Great Bush Depression. God forbid.

The TeaPublican dysfunction and lack of "prudence" have greatly abetted and benefited the "takers" who apparently live in a world removed from those of us who work, teach or serve our fellow community members.

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Michissippi (Michigan) as Gone from Conservative, Headlong Into Brazen Corporatocracy

Michissippi as Gone from Conservative, Headlong Into Brazen Corporatocracy: “Good institutions neglected and ancient moral principles ignored, the evil in us tends to predominate.”

"Change and reform, conservatives are convinced, are not identical: moral and political innovation can be destructive as well as beneficial..." "Mere unthinking negative opposition to the current of events, clutching in despair at what we still retain, will not suffice in this age."

-- Russell Kirk (Michigan Conservative and role model claimed by John Engler)

Intemperance in the pursuit of Corporate Supermacy, Corporatocracy, is no virtue. 

More from Russel Kirk:

"Men and women are not perfectible, conservatives know; and neither are political institutions."

"We cannot make a heaven on earth, though we may make a hell. We all are creatures of mingled good and evil; and, good institutions neglected and ancient moral principles ignored, the evil in us tends to predominate."

"Therefore the conservative is suspicious of all utopian schemes."

"He does not believe that, by power of positive law, we can solve all the problems of humanity."

"We can hope to make our world tolerable, but we cannot make it perfect. When progress is achieved, it is through prudent recognition of the limitations of human nature."

Unfortunately we so soon forget the greatness of Kirk's integrity, art, and brilliance extolling the virtues of true and lasting Conservatism.

Shamefully, the TeaPublican Super Majority has ignored and degraded Kirk's wisdom in their willful slide from the ideals of a real Conservatives into the near Anarchy of a godless Corporatocracy.

Corporatocracy is a direct threat to everything GENUINELY Conservative.

Michigan is being sold out for pennies on the dollar! We are being propelled well on the way into being legislatively and morally bankrupt; as well as economically stillborn.

CORPORATOCRACY: A social theory that focus on conflicts and opposing interests within society, denotes "a system of government that serves the interest of, and may be run by, corporations and involves ties between government and business. Where corporations, conglomerates, and/or government entities with private components, control the direction and governance of a country, including carrying out economic planning notwithstanding the 'free market' label."

Change and reform, conservatives are convinced, are not identical: moral and political innovation can be destructive as well as beneficial; and if innovation is undertaken in a spirit of presumption and enthusiasm, probably it will be disastrous. 

 

 - All human institutions alter to some extent from age to age, for slow change is the means of conserving society, just as it is the means for renewing the human body.
- American conservatives endeavor to reconcile the growth and alteration essential to our life with the strength of our social and moral traditions. With Lord Falkland, they say, "When it is not necessary to change, it is necessary not to change."
- (Conservatives) understand that men and women are best content when they can feel that they live in A STABLE WORLD OF ENDURING VALUES.

Conservatism, then, is not simply: - the concern of the people who have much property and influence;
- it is not simply the defense of privilege and status.

Most conservatives are neither rich nor powerful;
- But they do, even the most humble of them, derive great benefits from our established Republic.
- They have liberty, security of person and home, equal protection of the laws,
- The right to the fruits of their industry, and opportunity to do the best that is in them.
- They have a right to personality in life, and a right to consolation in death.

Conservative principles shelter the hopes of everyone in society. And CONSERVATISM IS A SOCIAL CONCEPT IMPORTANT TO EVERYONE WHO DESIRES EQUAL JUSTICE AND PERSONAL FREEDOM AND ALL THE LOVABLE OLD WAYS OF HUMANITY. 

Conservatism is not simply a defense of "capitalism."

"Capitalism," indeed, is a word coined by Karl Marx, intended from the beginning to imply that the only thing conservatives defend is vast accumulations of private capital.) But the true conservative does stoutly defend private property and a free economy, both for their own sake and because these are means to great ends.

What are these "Great Ends"? 

Those great ends are more than economic and more than political. (Great ends) involve:
- Human dignity
- Human personality
- Human happiness
- The relationship between God and man

(T)he radical collectivism of our age is fiercely hostile to any other authority: modern radicalism detests religious faith, private virtue, traditional personality, and the life of simple satisfactions. EVERYTHING WORTH CONSERVING IS MENACED IN OUR GENERATION.

Mere unthinking negative opposition to the current of events, clutching in despair at what we still retain, will not suffice in this age.

A conservatism of instinct must be reinforced by a conservatism of thought and imagination.

Note: This is an outline of conservatism by Russel Kirk.

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Corporate Supremacy - The Road To Ruin

Corporate Supremacy is a direct threat to democracy and the broad road to a devastating Second National Economic Depression. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis D. Brandeis was author of stellar quote in yesterday's post.

Brandeis further stated with blistering truth:

"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both."

These are very serious times. Conservatives are serious people, with steady, substantive objective wisdom and a real commitment to the survival of our democracy and way of life.

Where is Michigan's Russell Kirk when we need him?

"The twentieth-century conservative is concerned, first of all, with the regeneration of the spirit and character-with the perennial problem of the inner order of the soul, the restoration of the ethical understanding, and the religious sanction upon which any life worth living is founded. This is conservatism at the highest." 

-- Russell Kirk

From one expert on the history and development of American Conservatism:

"Laissez-faire Conservatives, in contrast, view the world through the lens of liberty, particularly the economic liberty of the free market and the political liberty of the minimal state."

"All of human history is seen as either the inhibition or progression of liberty. America is lauded as the cradle of liberty, created out of the spirit of self-reliance. The American Revolution is seen as a revolt against despotism, a milestone in the achievement of human liberty. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are revered as sacred symbols of limited government and individual rights."

"The concept of liberty is inextricably bound to the concepts of the individual. As the primary element of society, the individual is seen as an autonomous, rational, self-interested actor. Laissez-faire conservatives view humans as endowed with free will, initiative, and self-reliance. Left on their own, individuals will be creative and productive. The aim of a good society is to elevate the potential of humans by bringing this nature to fruition. This is best accomplished by protecting the economic liberty of the free market and the political liberty of the limited state."

"In stark contrast, then, to the ideal world of social conservatism, in which moral authority restricts self-interest and thereby integrates individuals into a community, the laissez-faire ideal poses a society in which natural harmony exists through the very pursuit of self-interest. It is the marketplace, rather than God or moral authority, that creates social harmony out of individual interest." 

-- Insights from Rebecca Klatch, author.

Somewhere common sense and a sprit of unity-the need to pull together in crisis-has been lost on those who play games with politics and blindly serve the goals of the Wall Street Speculators and the corrupt Bankers who have taken us down in this low and ultra-dangerous vortex.

Snyder's Michigan Dictator Law-known euphemistically as the EMF legislation-is one clearly serious aspect of a troubling "business best knows how to govern" illustrates a TeaPublican dive toward an impoverished Michissippi and a failed state. This dangerous mechanism is being used to strip community for the profit, enhancement, and monopoly interests of corporations. Michigan's Dictator Law is a gigantic and frightening step toward the collapse of democratic government and the common good in Michigan.

As one commentator has expressed it there's a third group of conservatives, the Conservative Rebels: The "rebellious" expression of the radical right is a strange form of "conservatism" that fits nowhere in the order of conservatism as most of us have known it historically.

Bashing and melodramatic pronouncements, name calling and red herrings abound, but none of this is "classical conservatism" nor is it Laissez-faire Conservatism or Social Conservatism in their common expressions.

"It is the "payday" book writing, radical radio, lecturing-for-a-fee kind. Radical foment is what is needed to make the "almighty buck", not much more.

Actually these provocateurs aren't that far from anarchists.

The country comes up last against following these rebellious "pseudo-conservatives" who have little constructive to add to our present woes--except more woe and wailing.

What they have become good at is evoking fear. This is not the time for economic fear mongering if the economy is to be put back on track.


More  from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis D. Brandeis.

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