It has come to our attention that in recent days, the division between the people of this country is growing wider at an alarming rate. It is no longer a disagreement about ideas and ideals. It is no longer political opinion and polite disagreement discussed among neighbors. It has spilled over from the figurative to the literal.

Across the nation, the divide between parties has become physically violent:

• Orlando: Republican HQ Manager’s Home Shot Up Over McCain Signs
• Ohio: Man charged with threatening Ohio elections chief
• St. Paul: Senator’s garage vandalized
• San Jose: SUV denouncing family’s support for Prop 8 is moved
• New York City: Obama Supporter Assaults Female McCain Volunteer
• Denver: Political signs targeted by vandals
• Cuyahoga Falls: Poll workers clash at Falls nursing home
• Nationwide: Police prepare for unrest

It should be noted that the two major political parties are using the magician’s trick of distraction to achieve and maintain power. While they’re distracting us with one hand, the other hand is performing the behind the scenes trickery, and none of it good. While they have set the pieces in place for us to be at war with each other, bickering over which side is right and which side is wrong, both parties are using our distraction as an opportunity to enhance the power of the federal government, through the ever-increasing largesse of the government.

While we bicker about who is to blame for the economic crisis, they load up the “bailout bill” with pork for pet projects.

While we argue about who was to blame for the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, they prepare for another post-election power-grab under the disguise of another “stimulus bill”, which they already admit will raise our taxes.

While we worry about vandals and intimidation for displaying a political sign or bumper sticker, they want to increase government spending again with a “New Deal II”. (As if the Government largesse created by The New Deal and The Great Society haven’t bankrupted this country enough, we should have more?)

As Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” And we are on the precipice of falling.

And so long as the Government is handing out money, every industry has its hand out asking for some of the “free” money. And the more the Government buys in, the more the Government controls the industries. First, the bailout bill for Bear Stearns. Then Fannie & Freddie. Then AIG wanted an $85 billion piece of the handout pie. In the middle of the $700 billion bailout package bru-ha-ha, Congress quietly passed a $25 billion bailout bill to Detroit automakers. Shortly thereafter, the US Treasury committed $250 billion to invest in U.S. banks. So on Friday, PNC Financial wanted in on the action, selling the Government $7.7 billion of preferred stock so it could take over ailing National City Bank. And it’s not ending there.

MetLife and Prudential are now looking at selling equity stakes in their companies to the Government. The state of California has made cries for federal help, as have other state and local governments. Before long, other “beleaguered” industries that made bad decisions will want their piece of the pie. And as long as the Government continues to relieve people (and companies) from being responsible for their decisions, people (and companies) will continue to make poor decisions. After all, the Government can help me out, right?

As we have stated numerous times in the past: true freedom is the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail. If you no longer have the freedom to fail, then you are enslaved by whoever is taking that responsibility for you, because it is in their best interest for you to not fail. As a result, they prevent you from taking the necessary risks that are a required component of great success. In the end, if you no longer have the ability to fail, then you no longer have the ability to truly succeed.

Long-time readers of this site will remember that we warned of this decent into socialism. Back in April, we posted a list of 7 steps we envisioned would occur as this nation marched toward socialism. We are currently between #4 and #5, and it is entirely possible that within a year’s time we will wake up in a socialist nation, and wonder how we got there so quickly.

Do not be fooled by the magician’s hand. As both parties march us ever-faster toward the tyranny that is socialism, as the vast majority of the people in this country foolishly believe that it can never happen here, prepare yourself. Prepare your families. Warn your friends and your neighbors. Read the words of the Founding Fathers, and others who believe in the greatness of this nation. Read Yale economist William Grahm Sumner’s essay “The Forgotten Man“, then the book about the Great Depression with the same name and understand how the Government is turning us all into Forgotten Men. Read about the marvelous history of this great nation, and wonder how we strayed so far from what was good and right.

All it will take from this point is one national catastrophe that would jeopardize our food supply for us to be plunged fully into tyranny overnight. 

So prepare.

For we will need liberty-minded Patriots to rebuild this great republic after we fall. Lest the government Of the People, By the People, and For the People perish from the earth.

As we have reported before, Barack Obama believes in the Marxist-Socialist principle of redistribution of wealth. On Sunday, Obama told Joe Wurzelbacher — a plumber in Toledo, Ohio, who is working 10 and 12 hour days to buy the plumbing company he works for — that he believes that spreading the wealth around “is a good thing.”

Mr. Wurzelbacher represents many people in America, and in many respects he represents the American Dream: to be successful, to own a company, and to build something great. “Joe the Plumber” doesn’t have to be Mr. Wurzelbacher… it can be anyone in this country who wants to buy a company, put his name on the side of a truck, and run his business without government interference. “Joe the Plumber” has a vision of how a good company should run, and his goal is to build that company, hire more workers, and get more trucks out on the road because he believes that he can do it better. In his success, “Joe the Plumber” creates jobs because to realize his vision, he needs to hire more people. He stimulates the economy because he needs to buy more trucks and supplies, business cards, maybe some radio or print ads or a website, and let’s not forget he needs to put gas in those trucks. By Joe’s success, other people succeed. Maybe some of them look at Joe and are inspired to start their own business because “If Joe can do it, so can I.” Maybe they work for Joe and think they can do it better, so they do what Joe’s doing and work 10 and 12 hour days to raise the money to start their own business. It’s the American way. It’s the American Dream. And Barack Obama wants to tax it.

In stark contrast of Joe the Plumber, Barack Obama believes that he can do a better job of creating jobs (government jobs, of course) and do a better job of redistributing the wealth of Joe the Plumber than Joe can. In Mr. Obama’s eyes, Joe is “rich”, and believes as running mate Senator Biden does, that “paying taxes is patriotic.”

In a phone interview with ABC News, Mr. Wurzelbacher said:

To be honest with you, that infuriates me,” plumber Joe Wurzelbacher told Nightline’s Terry Moran. “It’s not right for someone to decide you made too much—that you’ve done too good and now we’re going to take some of it back.”

“That’s just completely wrong,” he added.

[...]

“I don’t like it,” said Wurzelbacher. “You know, me or — you know, Bill Gates, I don’t care who you are. If you worked for it, if it was your idea, and you implemented it, it’s not right for someone to decide you made too much.”

The demonization of business and the “rich” began with FDR. President Roosevelt was the first to believe in special interest group politics, and set the course of the Democrat party for the next 80 years. He decided to buy votes by giving government goodies to farmers, labor unions, and the poor under the pretense of “raising up the working class.” Like a lever, to raise one group up, you need to push another group down, so rich people and greedy corporations became his target. Many New Deal policies penalized businesses for engaging in business.

And like every Democrat since FDR, Mr. Obama is picking an arbitrary number to determine who is “rich”, when there is no true definition of how much money defines “rich.” In Barack Obama’s world, he decides who is rich. He decides who is poor. He decides how much money is too much. He decides how much is too little. He decides how to redistribute the wealth. He sees himself as Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, and all the townsfolk love and adore him for it.

There’s only one problem with Obama’s Robin Hood vision of spreading around the wealth:

Robin Hood stole from the Sheriff on Nottingham, because the Sheriff was taxing the people too much. Robin Hood stole from the government and returned the money to the people.

Mr. Obama, Robin Hood, you are not. But a socialist you certainly are.

why were you against the bailout?  I definitely think it’s going to create major problems in the long run, but has our government ever looked down the road?  Not usually.  They look for the quick fix, then leave the mess for the next generation to clean up.