Thomas Sowell has a way of getting to the point and driving home a message. In this recent essay, he points out yet another reason why Obama should not be President. It's food for thought.

OM

An Old Newness
By Thomas Sowell
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Many years ago, a great hitter named Paul Waner was nearing the end of his long career. He entered a ballgame with 2,999 hits -- one hit away from the landmark total of 3,000, which so many hitters want to reach, but which relatively few actually do reach.

Waner hit a ball that the fielder did not handle cleanly but the official scorer called it a hit, making it Waner's 3,000th. Paul Waner then sent word to the official scorer that he did not want that questionable hit to be the one that put him over the top.

The official scorer reversed himself and called it an error. Later Paul Waner got a clean hit for number 3,000.

What reminded me of this is the great fervor that many seem to feel over the prospect of the first black President of the United States. No doubt it is only a matter of time before there is a black president, just as it was only a matter of time before Paul Waner got his 3,000th hit. The issue is whether we want to reach that landmark so badly that we are willing to overlook how questionably that landmark is reached.

Paul Waner had too much pride to accept a scratch hit. Choosing a President of the United States is a lot more momentous than a baseball record. We the voters need to have far more concern about who we put in that office that holds the destiny of a nation and of generations yet unborn.

There is no reason why someone as arrogant, foolishly clever and ultimately dangerous as Barack Obama should become president -- especially not at a time when the threat of international terrorists with nuclear weapons looms over 300 million Americans. Many people seem to regard elections as occasions for venting
emotions, like cheering for your favorite team or choosing a Homecoming Queen.

The three leading candidates for their party's nomination are being discussed in terms of their demographics -- race, sex and age -- as if that is what the job is about.

One of the painful aspects of studying great catastrophes of the past is discovering how many times people were preoccupied with trivialities when they were teetering on the edge of doom. The demographics of the presidency are far less important than the momentous weight of responsibility that office carries. Just the power to nominate federal judges to trial courts and appellate courts across the country, including the Supreme Court, can have an enormous impact for decades to come.

There is no point feeling outraged by things done by federal judges, if you vote on the basis of emotion for those who appoint them. Barack Obama has already indicated that he wants judges who make social policy instead of just applying the law. He has already tried to stop young violent criminals from being tried as adults.

Although Senator Obama has presented himself as the candidate of new things -- using the mantra of "change" endlessly -- the cold fact is that virtually everything has says about domestic policy is straight out of the 1960s and virtually everything he says about foreign policy is straight out of the 1930s. Protecting criminals, attacking business, increasing government spending, promoting a sense of envy and grievance, raising taxes on people who are productive and subsidizing those who are not -- all this is a re-run of the 1960s. We paid a terrible price for such 1960s notions in the years that followed, in the form of soaring crime rates, double-digit inflation and double-digit unemployment. During the 1960s, ghettoes across the countries were ravaged by riots from which many have not fully recovered to this day. The violence and destruction were concentrated not where there was the greatest
poverty or injustice but where there were the most liberal politicians, promoting grievances and hamstringing the police.

Internationally, the approach that Senator Obama proposes -- including the media magic of meetings between heads of state -- was tried during the 1930s. That approach, in the name of peace, is what led to the most catastrophic war in human history. Everything seems new to those too young to remember the old and too ignorant of history to have heard about it.

Here is some timely information from our award-winning Republican Tax Assessor Cheryl Johnson. Cheryl is doing her part to help you keep more of your hard-earned tax money.

If you believe the value of your property as determined by the Appraisal District (CAD) exceeds the market value, you have the right to protest. Cheryl has been providing these free classes since 2005 helping property owners understand the process, decide whether they should protest, and how to prepare in order to be more effective.

Protesting your property's value is the most immediate form of tax relief. This is a reappraisal year and, assuming sales information is available, it is likely we will see property values increase. Whether the value increases or not, there are numerous things that you can do that may save you some money come tax time later this year.

The award winning class, "Effectively Protesting Your Property's Appraised Value for Taxes," will be taught throughout the County during the months of April and May. As additional classes are offered, the information will be released to the media and posted at each Tax Office and on the website. Groups interested in hosting classes should contact the Tax Assessor's office at 1-877-766-2284 to schedule a program.

2008 Schedule of Classes

Date Time Location
4/2 5:30 pm Friendswood Public Library, 412 S Friendswood Dr., Friendswood
4/9 Noon Dickinson Rotary, First United Methodist Church, 200 FM 517, Dickinson
4/10 5:30 pm Nessler Center (Wings of Heritage Rm), 2010 5th Street, Texas City
4/23 6:30 pm Bayou Vista Recreation Center , Marlin at Neptune Dr., Bayou Vista
4/24 5:30 pm Hitchcock Library, 8005 Barry Street, Hitchcock
4/26 3:00 pm Bayshore VFW Post 8566, 1401 Grand Avenue (646), Bacliff
4/29 5:30 pm Amegy Bank Community Room, 2401 Termini Street, Dickinson
5/1 5:30 pm North County Annex, 174 Calder Drive, League City
5/6 5:30 pm City of La Marque Community Rm, 1109 Bayou Road, La Marque
5/12 6:00 pm Tiki Island Public Safety Building, Tiki Drive, Village of Tiki Island
5/13 6:00 pm Joe Faggard Community Center, 1750 Highway 87, Crystal Beach
5/14 7:30 am Galveston Kiwanis Meeting, 2228 Seawall Blvd, Galveston
5/19 5:30 pm University Area Association, 427 Market Street, Galveston
5/28 5:30 pm Rosenberg Library, 2310 Rosenberg, Galveston
6/21 9:00 am WGIPOA, Galveston County Club, 14228 Stewart Road, Galveston

Classes Courtesy of Cheryl E. Johnson, Galveston County Tax Assessor Collector

Our very own SREC member Kathy Haigler is term limited from serving us again on the State Republican Executive Committee. The current committeeman Dennis Paul is from Harris County just as Kathy was.

It would be great if there was a solid conservative woman from Galveston or Brazoria county who wanted to step up to the challenge of running for the SREC committeewoman spot at the state Republican Party convention from June 12 - June 14th in Houston. If you are in Senate District 11 which is Senator Jackson's part of Galveston/Brazoria/Harris County then you can serve.

The SREC serves as the board of directors for the Republican Party of Texas and the 62 SREC members are the voice of the grassroots of the party.

If you know of any woman who has the time, energy, and interest to serve they can contact me for details.

And don't forget to attend your respective County/Senatorial District Conventions on March 29th.

Early voting has started and the polls are open today until 7p and tomorrow, Sunday, until 6p. Early voting ends on Friday Feb 29th. Turnout has almost doubled in the Republican primary due to increased attention from the presidential candidates.

There are several contested races on the ballot and now is the time for us to select our Republican nominees for November. We should not settle and we should not hold our nose and vote for the lesser of two evils. We need to elect Republicans to office who share our conservative values.

That being said, I recommend the following candidates to you for your consideration when you go to the polls, the most important thing being that you vote:

U.S President

Alan Keyes

U.S. Congress

CD 14 - Chris Peden - (All of Galveston County except Santa Fe/Hitchcock, all of Brazoria County except Pearland)


CD 22 - Robert Talton - (Santa Fe, Hitchcock, The sections of League city north of the creek, Pearland, Clear Lake, Sugar Land)
This race has 10 candidates and there will probably be a runoff in April.

Galveston County Sheriff

Chief J.L. Campbell

State Representative

#129 - Jon Keeney - Clear Lake

#29 - Randy Weber - Brazoria/Matagorda Counties

Brazoria County Sheriff

Chief Mike Merkel

Don't miss the opportunity to hear Pro-life leader, former U.N. Ambassador, and Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes, Ph.D speak about The Moral Crisis in America.

Dr. Keyes will be at the Shrine of the True Cross Catholic Church
300 FM 517 Rd. E in Dickinson on Friday, Feb 15th from 8:30p - 9:15p.

This is an excellent chance to hear an in-depth discussion of the cause of the moral crisis and how to fight it.

The public is invited.

Dr. Keyes will also be speaking at the Galveston County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner on Friday, February 22nd at 6p at the South Shore Harbour Hotel. For information and tickets you can go to: www.galvestoncountygop.com

Many conservatives are wrestling with the question of who to back in the Republican primary now that Fred Thompson and Tancredo have bowed out. This may well be the most important presidential primary election in 50 years so we must choose wisely for our children's sake's.

The Pro-Family movement has been blessed by Pastor Scarborough and his group Vision America; they have created a voters guide to help Christians and other values voters to sift through the mainstream meda and give us an accurate indication of where the candidates stand on the issues important to Pro-Family conservatives like the reversal of Roe V. Wade and the passage of the Federal Marriage Amendment.

You can download a PDF file of the Values Voter Guide here.

Review it and make an informed choice in the Texas primary on March 4th. Early voting starts on Feb 19th.

And please see this special message from Pastor Scarborough about an event in Houston on March 1st that you wont want to miss:

LaHaye Tribute Vision America Special Event

Thank you for your prayers and support of Vision America. I am excited to invite you to a very special event that is taking place on the first day of March at the Westin Galleria Hotel in Houston, Texas.

Please help support us as we honor Tim and Beverly LaHaye even if you are not able to attend. Select Here to contribute to LaHaye special event.

On that evening we are going to honor a couple that I view as Christian royalty, Dr. and Mrs. Tim LaHaye. I know of no two people in America who have made a greater contribution to the cause of Christ over the past 50 years. He is a renowned preacher, theologian, public speaker and author. Mrs. LaHaye is the founder of the largest women’s organization in America, Concerned Women of America, based in Washington D.C.

Dr. LaHaye was among the founding members of the Advisory Board of Vision America. He was a pioneer in mobilizing pastors to engage in the political arena. He is a prolific author with more than 30 published works including the best selling Left Behind series. Please join us for this life changing event where Dr. LaHaye will deliver a prophetic message entitled “The Final Chapter” focusing on the world events. To see more select here.