Without leadership we are going in wrong direction

The much talked about government shutdown is upon us. In the talking points being used by the so-called main stream media there is little doubt the group that will get the most severe whipping for the shutdown is the Republican Party. Little is said about the fact of going for years (6 with no budget) without a budget a time comes when a decision must be made. There is always a time when the bills must be paid. There comes a time to pay up. The bigger government crowd wants to continue to increase the size and scope of government knowing that one day someone somewhere will have to pay the bills. The easy route is to go as deeply in debt as possible and blame the circumstances or some other group for not paying the bills. At least, that seems to be the easy route because it is the route most often taken by the big media and the bigger government crowd. There is no way this could ever be seen as being believable or having credibility, yet, the current climate being what it is in our country, it has become an easy concept to use when looking for someone else to blame rather that sitting back and realizing the blame rests with those who refuse to listen to the citizens when they let it be known they see a major economic mess ahead and that something must be done before the train runs entirely off the track. There is no question that the insiders of big government do believe the best route is to continue to grow government bigger and increase the entitlements and boast the revenues in the federal treasury by increasing taxes to pay some of the bills for the larger government. At certain points in this process, this could have been slowed or even stopped but for whatever reason, members of the congress chose to look the other way and put off making the decision until it is now too late to make the right decision. With an election year coming up many citizens are calling for people to step forward who will promise to make things right and stand up for the people instead of being aligned with the bigger government crowd. It remains to be seen if there can be enough candidates with enough votes to replace some who are in office and send people to Washington with the courage to speak up and stand up for the American taxpayers. Emotions run very high for change, but it is unclear what the change will mean for our government. We have been promised change before and found out it meant higher taxes and more government dole to the entitlement crowd. We need only look at the countries in Europe that have found they cannot continue to make promises of more government funding for personal projects without one day having to pay up and continue to cause the taxes to go higher than any person could have ever imagined. Seeing that happening in our country and watching the other nations that have already gone down this same road cannot help but bring fear to any person who is awake enough to realize what is taking place all around us. To affix blame regarding this issue, we must look to the American people who allowed this malaise to continue without bringing it to a halt. We must bring a stop to this nonsense. We must know what the person we vote for really believes and where they really plan to take this country. We cannot just vote from emotions, but from an informed position that will demand accountability from those for whom we cast our ballot at every level of government. It is not enough to throw one set of elected office holders out of office and replace them with new people. We must know what we are doing and must have in mind the exact issues that will propel us forward or cause us to rise up or protest because we do not like the direction we see we are going. Long ago I became aware that without leadership we are going in wrong direction. The direction our nation is going is not best for us and we must be willing to stand up, speak up and never back up or shut up until we get the attention of more people who will stand up and speak up to change the direction of our country once again. Ray Newman Column first published in Barrow County News Wednesday October 2, 2013 Winder, GA.

Weak Leadership leads to confusion

Among the conversations I had recently in Washington, the most prominent was the discussion related to the foreign policy failures of the Obama Administration. Talking with my friends who work on Capitol Hill in Washington, they all used the same words: “convoluted,” “crazy,” “incompetent,” “delusional,” “feckless” were among a few of the words I can share. Before jumping too quickly to the wrong conclusion, please understand that all these people with whom I spoke are not registered Republicans. The general thinking among many on Capitol Hill is that “confused” is the best word to use when talking about the foreign policy being demonstrated to this point from the Obama Administration. As I sat in my hotel room watching the President’s speech last Tuesday night, “confused” is the word that came to my mind. There seemed to be a moment in the speech when the President wanted the world to know he had determined he was going to make the decision to release the military for an attack on Syria because of his moral concerns in the use of nerve gas on the innocent children of Syria. Almost in the same breath, however, he seemed to back off the idea that dropping bombs on Syria would be the moral response to what he saw as an immoral decision. I admit to being more confused than ever after listening to the speech. The events continuing to unfold since last Tuesday night’s speech have further muddied the issue. One of my friends had opined earlier on Tuesday afternoon that if Russia and her leaders could embarrass the US they would and if they could develop concepts that would make them look like winners and the US losers they would come forward with something that would confuse the issue even more. The prediction came to light quickly when the New York Times ran the Op-ed column written by Russian leader, Putin. In the New York Times column, Putin lectured our country and called out our President for his lack of leadership and confusion in his foreign policy. Putin, by offering the idea of working out a solution that would force the Syrian government to turn over the nerve gas to the international community with oversight by the United Nations was immediately seen as a winning solution to the issue. There has been much written in the various media sources since Putin’s letter appeared in the New York Times. Some have suggested that by offering the solution that will be agreed to by all governments in the region, including the US, that Putin has further established his regime as the power player on these international issues. Time will tell if that conclusion is true. Historians always track the events of a second term in office for a President of the United States as the time to set the legacy of the administration in power. That being true, we are seeing developed before our eyes the legacy of the Obama administration to be one of failure in foreign and international policy. This failed legacy did not just suddenly appear. It began in the first moments of the first term President Obama was in office. Quickly after taking office in the first term, President Obama took off on a world tour to apologize to all the other countries of the world for the success we have in our nation. That tour set the tone for and set in motion the failed policies of this administration regarding how other nations view us and how we no longer have a position of power in the world. We must come to understand that the conflict in the Middle East goes back for centuries. Finding a lasting solution to those deep seated issues has proven to be almost impossible. There are many who believe only the end of time will signal an end to those lasting conflicts. We must also understand that there are nations that will never like America. We can apologize for former leaders and decisions that have been made, but doing so will not make those who hate us like us. Instead of changing their minds to move them to like us (in those nations that hate us) they only see us as weak and unable to deal with the issues when we always go around saying we are “sorry.” The way this issue in Syria is being dealt with supports the idea that our leadership is weak. Ray Newman This column first published in The Barrow County News, Winder, GA.

All Respect is gone

It would seem the best way to have your name mentioned in all the entertainment media sources these days is to have a major malfunction of clothing to occur while entertaining on a stage in front of viewers or to simulate a sex act. Few people are left who have not heard about the scandalous behavior of Miley Cyrus while performing for the video music awards sponsored by MTV. The lack of decency in young Cyrus’ behavior was topped by a routine including twerking. This newly discovered act of twisting a body while performing as if one is simulating the actions of sexual intercourse has become a popular way to have the performer’s name remembered. The video of the event has been shown to millions of people who supposedly fain disgust once the video is viewed. I admit, I did not see the original performance and only saw parts of the video when it was played on a news show the next morning. Though several people have insisted I need to watch the entire video, I have not and have no plans to watch it. Just the small part of what I saw of the performance was enough for me to assure that I would not be watching all of it. Several people have come forward to try and determine how this behavior has become such a sensation. Some people are looking to find fault or blame for the behavior and determine what could have gone wrong in a culture lusting after public display of the human body. We could blame parents. We could blame the culture. We could blame youth and inexperience making wrong choices and decisions. We could blame the entertainment culture currently sweeping the nation. We could write long and boring statements regarding how such actions could cause as much discussion as this one has brought out. The simple matter is that we are living in a culture that has lost respect. There is total loss of respect for oneself when a person will display their body in such a way as Miley Cyrus. There is evidence of the fullness of the cultural shift that has occurred when we see women and their body parts held up as objects to be lusted after rather than seeing a person that is due respect and is to be treated correctly. There is something about the rebellious nature of a generation drawn to belittling the female body that is put on display or is placed on exhibition such as took place in the performance by young Miss Cyrus. The excuse of only trying to reach an audience with shocking behavior does not fully explain why any person would feel they should perform in such a way as was seen on the stage of the video music awards. The question that arises is: “What can be done to reclaim respect in a culture that seems to have lost respect?” There is no easy answer to that question. There is no simple way to turn the tide of cultural misbehavior without taking on the entire issue of what is considered to be correct behavior. When a nation has turned, as this nation has, away from generally agreed to rules of personal conduct, one must come to understand this change did not happen overnight, and the correction to the path we are on will not happen quickly. To restore respect for right behavior and to elevate, once again, personal respect and value will take another cultural shift. The way of thinking that has found us in this condition did not happen quickly. To turn the culture back to restoring personal respect and seeing people for their real value and worth will take more than a generation. The change back to having respect for other people must begin with personal respect. When a person is respected they learn to respect others and to reward correct behavior rather than to indulge and reward misbehavior. When misbehavior is held up as the action to indulge and to allow, then the result will always be the type of scandalous behavior that was seen being carried out by Miley Cyrus. When misbehavior is the goal and the action that is rewarded, then we can expect that the misbehavior becomes the norm. We might have reached a point of no return to where we find that the new normal in behavior is to demonstrate total lack of personal and corporate respect. Ray Newman This column appeared first in The Barrow County News, Winder GA September 4, 2013

Shame on US for jumping to wrong conclusion

Shame on us for jumping to the wrong conclusion and thinking we have scandals to worry about. We are duly warned by President Obama there are no scandals about which to be concerned. President Obama wants us to know that what has distracted our nation from moving forward economically and to restore the confidence in the free market to begin seeing jobs created rather than continuing to see the unemployment numbers go up is something known as ”phony scandals.” According to President Obama these phony scandals have been placed in the media and in the minds of the American people with the intended consequence of derailing the plans to complete the planned agenda of his administration in Washington. Well, all that can be said about this is “Shame on us!” We should know the difference in a media made up story and real life events that have unfolded before our eyes. We should know that the failed plan to get guns in the hands of international thugs, drug lords, and criminals is not a scandal. Anyone with an aware eye could see the plan was to track down where the guns were sent once they left our country. It is not a scandal that the guns once given to thugs, drug lords, and alleged international criminals then fell into the wrong hands and at least one of them was used to kill an American citizen who was guarding our border. When we believe President Obama, we will know that the killing of four American citizens assigned to work for the State Department in Libya was not a scandal but the work of a band of roving thugs who were bent on making the current Administration in Washington look as if they have no clue how to protect American citizens from international thugs. The President wants us to know, however,” there is no scandal to see in Benghazi.” Shame on us for thinking that the over zealous work of a few IRS agents in a small office somewhere in the Midwest held up the applications of conservative groups waiting to receive their requested tax exempt status is a scandal. Shame on us for thinking that the Department of Justice did not have the full right to spy on American reporters while they were doing their job in reporting the news and for our conclusion that what happened is a scandal of great concern. Shame on us for thinking that it is not right for the government to spy on citizens, collecting as much data as is possible from cell phone use, emails, and other means that are used to transmit communication from one citizen to another without letting the citizens know they are being spied on by the government. There is no scandal (if we believe the current talking points from this administration) to see here, move along, and wake up to understand these are just events planned to distract from the real work of government. Several years ago, a promise was made to drain the swamp of corruption and make everything ethical and legal coming from Washington. Nancy Pelosi promised that with her party in power in Washington, the American people would begin to see dignity and integrity restored. Taking what we have been promised from the current party in power we can conclude then that it is no scandal when former ten term congressman, now mayor of San Diego, Bob Filner, refuses to resign from his position as Mayor of the sixth largest city in America over a little thing like being accused of groping women, forcing them to kiss him, and to insist they wear no underwear while at work. There is nothing to see here, move along. There is no scandal, if we believe the current talking points from this administration. There are many reports of the corruption and dysfunction in the thinking and actions of disgraced congressman Anthony Weiner (candidate for mayor of New York City) as his actions of sending lewd pictures of himself to women via social media are not to be labeled a scandal. With the redefinition of terrorism, scandals, marriage, taxes (called revenue stream), honor, integrity, and dignity we must conclude with this administration there is nothing to see here. No leadership is seen. No acceptance of responsibility is seen in all of these events. With one scandal after the other, the American people should be ashamed for letting this culture of corruption continue. Ray Newman This column first appeared in the Barrow County News Wednesday July 31, 2013

Know Before You Vote

I am sitting in a room in East Alabama as I write this column. Speaking engagements have me in two states where I have the chance to converse with people from all walks of life. I have spoken with teachers, business owners, farmers, and many voters during this trip. The interesting part of what I am allowed to do when I go out to speak is the time to hear from citizens as they ask questions about their various concerns in regard to what is taking place in our culture. In Alabama and Georgia, the people are very aware of what is taking place in the political world and verbally express great concern about recent decisions that the Supreme Court announced. Their questions inform me as to their understanding of what they see happening in our culture. The concerns and deep worry fit into several categories. One of the concerns is the “overreach” of government regulations. Another issue that always comes up during these question and answer sessions is education and how it has changed. The real fear is that more government regulations and mandates being forced on school systems will continue to harm the advancement of quality education in our country. In the Georgia counties where I have spoken, the issue of Common Core is always raised by an active teacher or a retired teacher. I have yet to hear from any teachers, retired or active, who think the Common Core concept is good for education. A teacher who will be returning to her beloved profession this fall told of leaving the classroom several years ago because of all the government regulations that were being forced on the classroom teachers. She also said as she returns to the classroom this fall to teach once again, she has talked with many of her friends who have continued to teach and each of them expressed their fear that with Common Core there is going to be a stripping away of local control of the education of the students and it will be replaced with indoctrination instead of teaching the students how to think, thus giving away a chance for a good education for the students. Her direct quote to me was: “Teachers are fearful they will no longer be allowed to teach students how to think but will be required to tell them what to think and how to respond only as if they are trained animals rather than people with a brain to think for themselves.” The sobering expression of the worry of this teacher quoted above brings even more fear to me as I think of government control using brain washing techniques to produce only the desired results sought by the government. We can all agree that a mind is a terrible thing to waste and with control being taken away from parents and classroom teachers, we can only expect the next step is behavior controlled by government edicts and mandates. In the various conversations I had with the people asking the questions, the issue of marriage and the definition of marriage being defined completely by government and judicial edict were always discussed. The family and the establishment of marriage predate government. The first institution and the first founding stone of society is the family as clearly defined in the Bible. Before we had government, business, or the church there was family. We have come to this point in the 21st century where the Supreme Court has made a political decision in ruling, as they did, against the Defense of Marriage Act and declaring the vote of the citizens of California to have an amendment to their state constitution as being not valid to define marriage as they so desired. Following that ruling, several people have expressed to me their grave worry that the vote of the citizens on any given subject can be declared not valid by five people sitting as the majority opinion on the Supreme Court. That should be a worry and matter of concern for each citizen and every person living in our nation. From the many questions, worries, and concerns presented to me over the last several weeks, I have discovered a glaring issue that must be addressed. The issue of people voting without knowledge of the positions of the candidates for which they cast a vote has surfaced during these discussions. I urge each voter to know before you vote. Ray Newman

When we lose Religious Liberty we lose all our Freedoms

As the merry-go-round of scandals continues in Washington, the events of the world outside of our country indicate unrest and trouble in many countries.  There is much unrest in England, Turkey, and Iran. Finding a clear understanding of what is taking place is hard. Should we take the space to list the places where there is growing distrust of governing powers and rebellion against authority all we would have space for is to include a list of the nations. The growing distrust in our country is almost to the point of alarm. Surveys of the mood of citizens in our country let us know there is much concern about our freedoms and with every new revelation of what we have come to know as the government spying on the citizens, there is increased concern growing as to how trust can be restored and what it will take to bring our nation to a point of unity. There are people who want to define every point of concern as if it is rooted in racial feelings. Other people like to paint every question from one side or the other as if it is only political and is rooted in ideological differences. It is true that we can see a great divide taking place in our world and especially in our nation as we seek to move forward as a country. Surveys continue to reveal there is little trust in the national media to be able to produce a newscast that will reveal facts without commentary one way or the other to make the story being presented in a good or bad light. 

Being a freedom of speech and freedom of the press advocate, I watch with interest those who seek to control both in our time. Stories in the media continue to report the way some in positions of power in the government abuse that power by overreaching and then cover up their actions only to pretend they know nothing when they are questioned by members of Congress in a congressional hearing. This type behavior is enough to continue the impression that power abusers are out of control and they are picking off our freedoms one at the time. To be able to govern from a position of trust, the government leaders must have the trust of those being governed.

As I speak across our state in various events, the question and answer time has increasingly become tense. People are expressing their frustration and wanting to know someone is listening to them and their concerns about loss of freedom. The frustration of elected officials is being seen as a number of them are choosing not to seek reelection because of what they see as the gridlock in being able to have questions answered correctly and to reach solutions to the issues. There is a group of citizens who are sure that the answer is to throw out of office any and all who are serving now. Others want to target certain legislators to have them voted out of office and replaced with those who promise they will address the issues and reach solutions to the malaise that is keeping anything from being done in Washington. There seems to be no real answer or real long term solution to the mess we have today.

One of the recurring questions I am asked in these various venues is: “What do you see as the greatest threat in our nation?” With a follow up question stated thusly: “What do you see as the freedom that is most likely to be abolished in our nation?” My answer to both questions is the same. I believe the greatest threat, and freedom we are most likely to see abolished in our nation is religious liberty. As we study history and see the way other nations have been taken over from inside or out, one of the first freedoms lost is the freedom to choose ones religion and to be able to assemble with others of that faith to worship as personal convictions so dictate. Once the freedom of religion is lost, the other freedoms fall quickly.  There is no government that should be allowed to control the personal decision making of the citizens to force them to worship as the government leaders determine. Religious Liberty must be cherished and kept alive.

Ray Newman

Is Credibility Lost?

This will send shock waves through the minds of my readers. I want President Obama to be a success. Wait; don’t rush the stage! During the campaign and since being sworn into office, candidate Obama, now President Obama promised the American people he would have the most transparent administration ever. He also promised the American people he would insist that the rule of law be obeyed to the letter and spirit of the law. I am waiting for the time when we can celebrate as a nation of freedom loving people that President Obama is successful in obtaining those two promised goals.

We have to wonder how many more scandals will be “breaking news” as we awaken to face a new day. The “in-your-face” attitudes coming from the members of President Obama’s administration demonstrates the exact opposite of openness and transparency. When members of this administration are called to testify before congressional committees and show up to admit they know nothing or they react with an attitude of disdain for the process to the point they give answers that can be called ridiculous at best and contemptible at worst. The rule of law requires congressional oversight of policy and actions of areas of our Federal government. To have complete transparency from the government, it is required that correct answers be given to members of the committees when they ask questions. In our country, the law is broken when someone willingly lies under oath. The current administration is not the first to try these types of responses in order to skirt the law or regulations requiring total disclosure. This administration, however, promised the American people while running for office and since being in office, this type of atmosphere would not be allowed or tolerated. Thus, my statement that I am in full agreement with President Obama and support his promise to have the most transparent and open administration ever is made to point to the fact that fulfillment of his promise has not occurred up to this point in his administration.

Some people reading this column might think I am not serious and that I really do not want to see President Obama be a success. Nothing could be further from the truth or my intent in writing this column. I want to believe President Obama. I want to see the fulfilling of his promise to have an open and transparent administration that respects and keeps the law by letter and spirit.

With each new revelation of overreach and abuse of power coming from this administration, we are further from what has been promised and moving on a path directly opposite from the promises made. The bigger-government-control-crowd is certainly in place and flexing their muscle and using their power to the point of shopping around to find judges who will sign the court orders that on their appearance are subject to question and congressional review. We have reached the point in our nation where trust has been pushed out the door and believability of administration officials have fallen to the bottom of the scale.  Last week, the New York Times admitted this administration had lost credibility. When partisans on both sides of the aisle begin to call for a halt to certain actions and send out warnings of abuse of power and overreach by an administration, it is time for the advisors to the president and members of the departments of government to fess up and to come clean with truthful answers to the questions the American people are asking.

The lack of transparency on the provision of guns across the border into Mexico, known as the operation of “Fast and Furious,” the lack of full disclosure regarding what happened in Libya, the revelation of snooping on reporters, spying on the American people, and the overreach and abuse of power by the IRS against what can only be called an “enemies list” all add up to government secrecy, not openness or transparency. 

 When the Obama administration begins to live up to the promise of complete government transparency and follows the rule of law to the letter and spirit, we will all benefit as a nation. Trust can be restored; honesty can become the legacy of this administration when the decision is made to truly live up to the promises made. Until then, I agree with the New York Times, “All credibility is lost,”

Ray Newman