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Margaret Sanchez's Blog


 
Rights are a moral concept—the concept that provides a logical transition from the principles guiding an individual's actions to the principles guiding his relationship with others—the concept that preserves and protects individual morality in a social context—the link between the moral code of a man and the legal code of a society, between ethics and politics. Individual rights are the means of subordinating society to moral law. 
 
      Ayn Rand

Last Updated April 2, 2010

Coercion Is Not Healthy - Richard Winkler
Health-care is a basic right.  Think about that statement...a right? To be provided by whom? If it is a right, what then is the status of the health-care providers - doctors, nurses, researchers, insurance companies etc.?....more...

The 9-trillion dollar deficit is my fault - Richard Winkler
The cause and solution to our problems is as close as the nearest mirror. The kind of politicians we have are not principled, they are mainly pragmatic opportunists going where the votes are, and the votes are going to those who can deliver the bucks....more...

Just A Little Regulation - Richard Winkler
The best "regulation" would be to let those institutions and individuals who made the bad decisions fail. What better teacher than reality? ...more...

Obama’s Moral Ideal - Richard Winkler
He is unmasked…a socialist…a man who has failed to learn the history screaming at him from the wreckage of all the twentieth century attempts to built socialism.  His moral ideal is out in the open now.  We glimpsed it during the elections but did not want to believe it, or we granted him the benefit of the doubt of his good intentions.
His moral ideal is a world of economic equality. ...more...


The politics of self-Interest - Richard Winkler  - October 10, 2008
Recently, both Barack Obama and John McCain were
interviewed by mega-evangelist Rick Warren.   Each man responded in a similar vein to two different questions.  Their answers contain a confusion that they, and most Americans, have about an idea that most people unthinkingly accept and that is the cause of all the suffering now going on in the world. ...more...

Whose rights are being violated here? - Richard Winkler
The Seattle times, in a recent editorial, titled "FCC warns Comcast: Keep the Internet open", supported the FCC action against Comcast for blocking a certain file-sharing program.  The Times goes even further, it supports passage of a "net-neutrality" law that would supposedly prohibit large internet service providers like Comcast from discriminating in the type and quantity of content it provides to its users. ...more...

Environmentalists of the World Unite! - Richard Winkler
In an article entitled, “Greening the Globe: a time for Action”, columnist Neal Peirce praises “The Bridge at the Edge of the World", a book by James Gustave Speth which envisions a grand coalition of environmentalists, old line leftists, and ordinary Americans who are turning “green” in droves as a result of the endless “green” propaganda permeating the culture.   He waxes enthusiastic over the approach of a critical mass of the population which will buy less, eat less, and use fewer resources and thereby achieve the environmentalists’ goal of saving the earth from humans.  ...more...


There is no Islamist Threat - Richard Winkler
In an op-ed entitled “Paranoia Harming out way of Life”, syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts equates the furor caused by a popular anchor host wearing an Arab looking scarf in a television ad with the detention of a student who downloaded an Al-Qaida training manual.   Both incidents had apparently innocent causes, but they are not equivalent – should we not be concerned about someone who downloads a manual with instructions on how to murder innocent people? ...more...

How to Win a War - Richard Winkler
Recently, Colombia launched a bold raid into Ecuador killing a leader of a leftist guerilla group that has been bedeviling Colombia for years.  For this, Colombia’s president, Alvaro Uribe was roundly denounced by Venezuelan socialist strongman Hugo Chavez and his ideological allies running Ecuador and Peru - but his already huge popularity with the Colombian people only soared higher.  ...more...

“McCain-omics”: a Strange Brew of Statism and Liberty - Richard Winkler
McCain’s honor politics and anti-intellectualism make him a moralizer without a consistent framework of ideas within which to moralize effectively, which means his actions are driven at least in part by his emotions.  ...more...

 

An Open Letter to President Bollinger at Columbia University - Richard Winkler
He comes to your university and smiles and talks nicely; he cares to make himself liked, just like Hitler did, until he can re-arm and achieve his aims.  The only difference is that Hitler did not have the atom bomb.  He will "like" you, just as long as you submit to his demands. ...more...


Knower: Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Richard Winkler
Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s journey from Islamism to secular Individualism is a tribute to a mind always seeking the “why” of things, never satisfied with superficial answers and lies.  It is a tribute to placing knowing over believing.  ...more...

When Courage Upholds Truth  - Richard Winkler
I have agonized a bit about how to write about Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the brave ex-Dutch legislator, originally from Mogadishu who was forced to flee Holland for America due to her uncompromising stand against Islam.  I have not read her latest book “Infidel”, so I will temper my remarks by a caveat that consists of the thought “she can’t be for real, can she?”  I have called her a modern day Jeffersonian Individualist and a true child of the Western Enlightenment.  I will let her speak for herself in these quotes culled from the Wall Street Journal article about her:
“Muslims must choose to follow their rational capacities as humans and to follow reason instead of Quranic commands. At that point Islam will be reformed." ...more...

Fear of Dying and Love of Living - Richard Winkler
Diplomacy can and should be engaged in when nations have conflicting interests, but not when those interests primarily include murdering or enslaving you.  What kind of compromise can we offer the Mullah’s: submit and become subservient?  They will accept no less, does anyone doubt it?  Where is the wiggle room here, what kind of give-and-take can we engage in?  Allow us to live for ten more years?  Make it a painless death?  Don’t put the shackles on so tight? ...more...

Iran's Intentions - Richard Winkler
The jaw dropping kicker in the book is in the epilogue “The price of Failure” where Timmerman relates in the form of a fiction story how a non-descript civilian cargo ship could sail up to the U.S. east coast, mingle undetected with hundreds of other ships that ply those waters every day, and in minutes aim and fire a nuclear missile that would obliterate the capital in a matter of seconds...more...

Spreading the Word about the "Religion of Peace - Richard Winkler
The "Religion of Peace", has Dutch lawmakers hiding in army barracks watching their backs, and worrying about their loved ones.  An article in the Wall Street Journal entitled "An Ordinary Dutch Life" highlights the plight of Geert Wilders whose "...life is in danger because of his criticism of radical, or, as he calls it, 'mainstream Islam'".  In Mr. Wilder's view, Islam hasn't been "hijacked" by radicals.  Rather, radicalism is embedded in the faith.  "It's a violent religion, an intolerant religion," he said matter-of-factly in an interview". ..more...

Reason Without Religion - Richard Winkler
When the Koran or a Mullah asks followers to subjugate or kill those who do not uphold the ideas of Islam, the line from civilized dialogue to rule by force is crossed.   Someone who is required to "accept" Islam at the point of a gun has not made a moral choice.  ..more...

Democrat's, What's your Solution? - Richard Winkler
The moderate Democrats remind me of that campy movie "Mars Attacks!"  Where politicians, with doves symbolizing peace flying around, approach the aliens offering friendship and get laughed at and then vaporized for their trouble. ...more...


Islamic-Fascism Finds a Home In Iran - Richard Winkler

We are not fighting just Al-Qaida, we are fighting a set of ideas that has swept the Muslim world.  Those ideas can best be characterized as Islamic-fascism or Islamo-fascism.  Iran is dangerous because it is a state whose guiding principle is fascism, and, being a state, can muster all the resources of a geographic area without much internal opposition.   It is suicidal to negotiate with those whose avowed purpose is to kill or subjugate you.  We should immediately seek to remove the Iranian regime by military means while we can. ...more...


Islamic Opinion Be Damned! - Richard Winkler
When a person is physically threatened for expressing an opinion the police should be called in to arrest those issuing the threat.  When a nation or group threatens another nation or group with physical violence for having expressed an opinion, then the very principle of freedom of speech is threatened. ...more...

 


Attack Iran - Richard Winkler
Rogues can wax eloquent with speeches that include words like “freedom” and “rights”.  I remember hearing Saddam’s UN representative sounding almost like Thomas Jefferson.  Fools and cowards expose their hypocrisy when their actions don’t match their words. So  regardless of Bush’s stated motives, the real question, for anyone who considers freedom the highest of political values, is: has he actually started spreading freedom throughout the world and will freedom prevail? ....more...


Going Nuclear - Destroying Middle Eastern sourced Terrorism - Margaret Sanchez

Nuclear power is now being touted as the clean, secure and steady source of energy needed for our Internet age. Finland has just built its fifth plant and the protestors were marching with signs declaring "Greenpeace go home!" Amazing. Forty seven power plants have started up or are under construction since 2000 in Asia alone. China has plans for 100 new power plants and India for eight. Russia is also considering nuclear power. ...more...


Moral Self Confidence – Have We Lost It? - Margaret Sanchez
Right now President Bush and Prime Minister Blair are the men in the middle.  They are blanking out the truth that we are fighting rabid religious terrorists and they mean what they say and aim to get what they want:  A paradise of Islamic fundamentalism on earth. 

The Dangers of Agnosticism - Richard Winkler
In the case of pope John Paul we were lucky that he indeed had many fine qualities and did in fact uphold liberty for the eastern Europeans, but he also believes that the unborn (a fetus) should have more rights over the born (the mother), and considers happiness on earth secondary to some pie in the sky heaven.  So agnosticism is certainly not a "safe" route to take. ...more...

An Indecent Bill - Margaret Sanchez

Since I am a reasoning person in my own right, I don't need a nanny government to watch out for my moral state. ...more...


Is “The Little Guy” better Off As A Slave? - Richard Winkler

Someone who, due to unfortunate circumstances or through sheer laziness, is unable or unwilling to take care of himself is much easier to rule.  Politicians do not produce wealth they only pass laws.   When politicians are given control over the economic life of the country through laws and regulations such as the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill they are given the opportunity to gain a huge constituency of the dependent. ...more...


America Exists Despite Christianity Not Because Of It

In an excellent article entitled Judeo-Christian Philosophy and the Founding of America  on www.capitalismmagizine.com, Michael Marriott  argues that religion is not the cornerstone of America's unique political philosophy.  Here is an excerpt from the article:

"A curious notion is mushrooming lately on programs such as “The O’Reilly Factor” and other current events shows. Certain commentators claim that the United States of America owes its existence to what is termed “Judeo-Christian” philosophy. Now I will not dispute that such a philosophy exists or that it has proved influential for the past two millennia. I will further stipulate that many persons subscribe to this philosophy’s doctrines, both now and back in the 1700s. What cannot be accepted, either on a philosophical or historical basis, is that such a philosophy could, or in fact did, lead to the creation of the United States. This is because the political theory underpinning the creation of America is contradictory to every religious philosophy on earth. Thus Judeo-Christian philosophy is incapable of creating a country such as the United States. America exists in spite of Judeo-Christian philosophy, not because of it."

Read the entire article at: capitalismmagazine.com

 


The Only Way to Solve the Rise in Anti-Semitism    Margaret Sanchez
The fact that an important, democratic nation in Western Europe can be so quickly and so thoroughly undermined by anti-Semitism should also be matter of concern-and a warning-for all Western nations, including America. ...more...>

Environmentalism - Code Word for Death   Margaret Sanchez
The fact that [the pesticide] Paraquat protects 40% of global food output, is benign to the environment and without it people in certain parts of the world are likely to die from starvation does not phase the eco-imperialists.  Their supposed concern is for eggshell density, mice, and fish.

Not Pressure Groups but Individual Rights for Iraq  Richard Winkler
The original plan for a constitutional assembly was to elect delegates from the different regions in Iraq - this, apparently, in an attempt to balance the claims of the different factions and tribes.  What is needed though is not a balancing of tribal claims, and pressure groups, but the upholding of the claims of only one segment of Iraqi society – The Individual – yes, Individual Rights.

Multilateralism vs. The Facts   Richard Winkler
Multilateralism is an attempt to sneak altruism into American foreign policy.  If morality consists of satisfying the wishes of others then intellectually, one should always consider the arguments of others before those of oneself.  After all isn’t the mind and one’s own thoughts the most selfish and personal aspect of a person?
 

American PC Wimps    Margaret Sanchez
Instead of writing a constitution for Iraq ourselves as General Douglas MacArthur did for Japan we are asking help from the United Nations?  Is this a joke? 
 

Hatred of the Good   Margaret Sanchez
Total American foreign aid including corporations, foundations, individuals and other official sources totals an "astonishing" $60 billion a year.
 

Why is the US Such a Rich Country?   Margaret Sanchez
Compare the GDP of Los Angeles of $374 billion to the combined GDP of $358 billion of Iran, Pakistan, Algeria, Kuwait, Syria, Tunisia, Libya and Lebanon!
 

The Wall   Margaret Sanchez
We place society's criminals behind walls to protect ourselves. Why shouldn't Israel build a wall to protect themselves.
 

We  Are Witnesses To The Rise Of A Tyrant   Margaret Sanchez
If you have never understood how a man like Hitler, who was voted into power, could rise to dictator in a 'democratic' country we now have history repeating itself with the rise of Chavez in Venezuela.
 

The Language Police   Margaret Sanchez
Voters must demand that the government get out of the business of destroying our young. The only way for this madness to stop is to privatize the education system and allow every parent to spend his dollar in the school of his choosing.
 

The Moral Case For Preemptive War   Richard Winkler
Iran and countries like it are already damned as criminal by the very nature of their governments. Just as we do not have to tolerate a known criminal just because he has not committed a crime lately or in our neighborhood so we should not tolerate these rogue states. They should be taken out now.
 

Kotchebi - The Fluttering Swallows of North Korea   Margaret Sanchez
Some people appear not to know about the horrors that go on in Cuba, North Korea or pre-liberation Iraq, some don't care and others equate the United States with Nazism and Bush to Hitler. While Americans live a life of ease and freedom we may have become intellectually lazy or cowardly regarding our defense of that life
 

Why I will Not Vacation In Cuba   Margaret Sanchez
Americans should abhor all totalitarian governments but especially when there is one 40 miles from our shores. Lovely beaches and rum and Coca-Cola can be had in many other exotic places as well as in our own Florida. To travel for the purpose of a tan and some fun to a country whose leader crushes the life and liberties of his own citizens is not the action of a people who are steeped in the knowledge of their past and a love and realization of the place where they are so lucky to live.
 

While Science roars in the West It Squeaks in Islam   Margaret Sanchez
So why is Islam ‘backward’? Why has science been squeaking in Islam and roaring in the West? Why is there stagnation, totalitarianism and suicide bombers in Islam and freedom, ever more progress and life in the West? The answer lies in an examination of the ideas a culture holds
 

America, The Empire of Freedom   Margaret Sanchez
The antiwar protesters give many ‘reasons’ for their stance but one in particular irritates me to no end. It goes something like this: Well, the US wants a war with Iraq because it wants to expand its empire. The empire of the United States? Huh? Where is our empire? We can’t even get Puerto Rico to join the union
 

Peta and Islamic Terrorists   Margaret Sanchez
A terrorist is a terrorist wherever or whatever his professed ideology because the fundamental principle uniting all terrorists is sacrifice. Middle Eastern Islamists want to destroy the West in order to dominate with their fundamentalist religion. PETA, ELF and other such terrorist animal rights groups want to sacrifice humans to the alleged “rights” of animals
 

Independence is not Unilateralism   Richard Winkler
The most courageous acts by men and nations have always been the loneliest because most people welcome the safety of following “multilaterally”. A nation may consult with others that share its values, but democracies have no obligation, in fact it is obscene for them to take into account the wishes of sundry dictatorships such as those that populate the United Nations
 

How American Leftists live in the Land of Oz   Margaret Sanchez
While Charen exposes one appeaser of tyranny after another and sheds a bright light on the moral confusion of the Vietnam era or the dangerous Carter administration, she also shows how few people had the courage to defy the leftists. One courageous person, however, was President Reagan who staunchly defended freedom and fought tyrannical incipient revolutions in Central America
 

The Peaceniks Fantasy World   Margaret Sanchez
We don’t live in a fantasy La-La land and we never will no matter how much wishing you do till you’re blue in the face. We live in a world of human beings who have to use their minds in order to figure out how to live their lives. Many of these people are irrational, either all of the time or part of the time. From these ranks come the murderers and terrorists. It is up to the rational people to recognize this fact.
 

Does America Deserve My Patriotism?   Margaret Sanchez
In America our modus operandi is reason not faith. In a world filled with nations run by evil dictators, I am an American patriot because the goodness and benevolence of Americans is a consequence of the morality of our system of government.
 

News Media has no Idea what Capitalism Is   Margaret Sanchez
Some members of the media, politicians and fellow citizens have a serious misunderstanding of what capitalism is. I feel I must clear up this misconception since concepts such as these are not taught in our government schools.
 

Let Senator Kennedy Set The Wealth Redistribution Example   Richard Winkler
Since the rich pay most of the taxes in this country, they deserve the greater share of the tax rebate.
 

Muslims! Fight for the Principle of Separation of Church and State   Richard Winkler
University professors in this country use moral relativism to portray Islam as a benign religion. Whether or not it is benign in its doctrines is another issue. When religion rules politics totalitarianism is inevitable. The principle of separation of church and state must prevail over Islamism.
 

Unites States Government:  Modern Day Press Gangs   Margaret Sanchez  
Well today we do not have to worry about being clobbered over the head and dragged to a foul smelling ship and ordered to work for a few years for a pittance. Today, we have the spectacle of our politicians from the President to the Secretary of State calling for volunteerism. President Bush has called for all Americans to serve the nation for 2 years or 4000 hours over a lifetime.
 

Sacrificing Man on the Alter of Environmentalism  Margaret Sanchez
Come on America where are your common sense priorities? Greater than 99% of the world’s population has never been to ANWR. What’s more, around existing Alaskan oil fields the population of caribou has increased dramatically!
 

What We Should Do About Black Tuesday   Richard Winkler
The terrorist actions of last Tuesday and the past fifty years have been precipitated by a culture that never accepted the enlightenment and never experienced the renaissance brought about in 16th century Europe and America by the discovery of Reason and the ideas of the ancient Greek thinkers like Aristotle.