By CARL MUMPOWER

We can now all breathe a sigh of relief.  The fiscal cliff has been avoided.  That it was more a curb than a cliff and that disaster has been postponed, not averted, is conversation for another time. Today we’re going to look at a pattern among most serving Republicans – the embarrassing exchange of principles for practicalities.  It happened again with this deal. Our elephants put aside their promises and surrendered to political opportunism for the – quote – “good of the country.”  Remember, this cliff was the result of a 2011 surrender to postponement temptations.  It’s all just a marketing game being used to distract us from the real issues – including the need to live within our means, quit expanding unfunded entitlements, reform our tax code, and step away from misguided military adventurism.  Washington Republicans surrendered again in early January and thus exchanged one cliff for another. 

Shooting our liberties

In the coming year, the tragic misuse of stolen weaponry in Connecticut will transform more schools into prisons, gun phobics into hysterics, and politicians into tyrants. More Constitutional liberties will be impaired, lost, or stolen in the name of safety and liberal and pretend conservative politicians will continue busting their lips on “get the guns” microphones. Assault weapons and large capacity handguns will be targeted as “unnecessary evils.” The quality of unnecessary, like art, is found in the eye of the beholder. 99.9% of those who purchase these weapons have one ultimate mission – personal defense.  Is there anything in the 2nd Amendment about the right to bear second-rate arms shall not be infringed? Funny how the right to abort 55 million children is liberally heralded as a necessary choice – while the right to protect one’s self is liberally condemned as an unnecessary danger.

Arming teachers? No

 One of the proposals coming out of Connecticut’s school tragedy is the idea of arming teachers.  That’s would be a mistake for the same reason arming internal prison guards is a mistake. Doing so risks giving students access to those same guns. The fact 10% of the 50 U.S. police officers shot each year are killed by their own gun further illuminates the possibilities. Trained security – yes.  Gun toting teachers with today’s teens – nope. Still, the absurdity of gun free zones should be reconsidered. That goofy concept impairs honest citizens while encouraging would be assassins. A common thread exists in most mass shootings. The killer is white, mentally ill, male, and medicated. He’s also a coward who picks places where he can be sure no one will shoot back.  Thankfully, it remains that school shootings are very rare.  Unfortunately, hysterical gunphobics, cultural immaturity, and bad advice are not. 

Taking it easy .…

 It’s a tough but important time to be a conservative. Everywhere you turn the left’s message has center stage. There’s a simple reason for their temporary ascendance – being a liberal is easy and people like easy. It’s easy to spend money you don’t have, borrow money you can’t pay back, and take money belonging to others. It’s easy to visualize someone else having the responsibility for paying for your healthcare, lifestyle related disability, and retirement. It’s easy to advocate drugs, kill unborn children, and champion sex as a sport. It’s easy to dismiss the idea of a higher spiritual power that holds us accountable and to creatively dismiss those who say morality matters. It’s easy to be indifferent to the freedoms, rights, and opportunities of others – including those believing guns are a source of self-protection. No wonder our culture continues to drift left. But as nature declares persistently– easy always has a price. Take it easy conservatives – your hard way is the right way.  

An American king .…

This November, America elected a monarch, not a president.  There are important differences between the two models. In a monarchy, one person, through title, power, birth, or other special privilege is placed in control as a central authority.  Obama has been treated as special since day one by his party, most media outlets, and a whole lot of hypnotized mascots. His arrogance of position before, during, and after any leadership action, regardless of outcome, further reveals his sense of specialness.  His czars, his deficit spending, and his propensity for ultra-expensive vacations reveal more of the Emperor and his new clothes. The brightest point of light is found in one – his indifference to America’s historical governance model.  If you ignore our courts – if you ignore our Congress – if you ignore the will of the people, you’re not a president, you’re a king. And you’re very dangerous.

Defacing the dollar…

 The other day I was handed a dollar bill stamped with the words “Abolish the Federal Reserve.” It’s against the law to deface money, but more power to the creative mind who took the time to send that message. In truth the Federal Reserve’s unimpaired ability to print green ink is defacing our currency with remarkable efficiency. If you trust the Fed, then you must be watching ABC, CBS, NBC or one of the other mainstream media outlets playing “at-a-boy” with government. In truth the Fed has been wrong about almost everything. They did not anticipate any of the crashes we’ve undergone, missed the mark on bank response to money infusions, and miscalled our economic recovery consistently. Worse, the Fed’s printing press is helping Congress and the President avoid action on tax policy, spending, and other problems. Like a patient with cancer, the Fed’s painkillers should not be confused with a cure for what ails us.

Changing classes .…

 During the recent election, both sides pretended to champion the middle class. Obama persistently pulled the middle-class trump card and Romney went so far as to promise a middle-class tax break. Neither candidate was honest or realistic. The middle-class has been losing ground for decades and most of our leaders have been asleep. Up until the sixties, one income was enough to support most families with a good life.  Not a two cars and lap of luxury life, but a good life. Try that now and you’ll wind up in Obama’s food-stamp camp. There are a million reasons we’re slipping, but the solutions are clear.  We must excel and better the competition at producing products, services, food, materials, and other things the world needs.  That’s it – it’s that simple.  All the political jockeying, social reengineering, and whooping and wailing is simply a distraction.  Smartly getting to work at being the best is the key to living best.

Government self-interest…

 America is a war with itself. A house divided is certainly at risk for a fall. One of many bogus foundations for this division is the myth of government benevolence. The Obama-Biden team is masterful in selling the compassionate government versus corrupt capitalist argument.  They’re half right.  Crony capitalism is not the same thing as an honest free market economy, but facts do not remotely support government as a contrasting good. Check stats on the wealth created, power abused, and standards ignored by most politicos. Deficit spending, hyper-regulation, unfunded entitlements, and rules for everybody but themselves protect their jobs – not ours.  Putting it simply, government creates more demands than it satisfies. Growing government, and there is no other kind, assures shrinking people. Today’s political class follows the model of a typical child molester – strong on pretense, imagery, and seduction – exceedingly weak on morality, sincerity, and, yes, benevolence…

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Carl Mumpower, a former member of Asheville City Council, may be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it