"They’re Poisoning Our Children and Starving Our Elderly!"

May 19, 2001

by Tom Barrett, Editor@ConservativeTruth.org

"THEY’RE POISONING OUR CHILDREN AND STARVING OUR ELDERLY!" Who are these terrible people? Middle East terrorists? Depraved Balkan dictators? No, the culprits are the Conservative Republicans, if you believe the Liberal Democrats. Listen to the attack ads paid for by the DNC (Democrat National Committee), and you will hear some pretty outrageous stuff. One recent ad has cute children asking their parents, "Could I have some more poison in my water?" and "More salmonella on my hamburger, please."

During the 2000 election, agents of Al Gore called my 86 year-old mother and thousands of other elderly South Floridians and frightened them with the terrifying "news" that if Bush was elected he would take away their Social Security, and they would soon be starving in the streets. And of course we all remember the despicable ad run by the Democrats, which in effect blamed then-Governor Bush for the death of a black man who was dragged behind a pickup truck by racists in Texas.

What has happened to our political process that has caused some to stoop so low? What ever happened to intelligent debate? When did we lose our focus on the issues, and decide that attacking the person rather than his or her ideas was the way to make our points?

I started with examples of the sins of the liberals in this regard, but that doesn’t mean conservatives haven’t been guilty of this behavior. They have, but to a much lesser degree. And I believe that most Republican attack ads have been in "self-defense" against unfair Democrat ads. But that is no excuse. If there was ever a situation that called for "turning the other cheek," it is this one. When one person or group attacks with lies and faulty logic, the group which was attacked lowers itself when it returns the favor.

Am I too idealistic, a "Pollyanna", when I suggest that conservatives ignore the hateful invective, the outright lies the liberals sling at them? I don’t think so. The liberals really believe the American people are stupid, and therefore will believe anything if it’s said often enough. To be a liberal means that you think you know what is best for others. By definition, that means that you are smarter than those you presume to lead. By and large, liberals believe they are a special upper class with a God-given mandate to run everything, because of their superior intellects and leadership abilities. The Kennedy clan is a good example of this mind set.

By contrast, conservative leaders tend to be humble enough to realize that they have been entrusted with enormous responsibility, and that no man or woman is strong enough or good enough to bear that responsibility alone. That’s why you tend to see a high percentage of religious people among conservatives. Whether they talk about it publicly or not, they realize they need God’s help if they are to meet the task. They know that they are not better than those they serve. They understand the concept of public service.

My advice to the Republican Party and to conservatives everywhere is to observe President Bush and follow his example. I think he made some mistakes in his campaign in the way he responded to Democratic attacks. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he received bad advice from his campaign people. But he showed remarkable restraint and moral character in the way he conducted himself in the 36 days following the election, and has continued in that vein since he has been in office.

The American people are not stupid. Some are politically illiterate. That is demonstrated by the fact that only about half of us vote. But we’re smart enough to see through ads motivated by hate and desperation. The liberal left is desperate because they are bereft of ideas, so they use slogans. They lack a moral base, so they try to stir up class hatred. If conservatives realize this, and stop responding to liberal attacks, a wonderful thing will happen. The citizens of this great nation will see the attackers for the bullies that they are, and will reject them.

THANK YOU, ADELPHIA CABLE AND OMNI HOTELS! Dr. James Dobson recently commended two corporations for establishing policies against pornography. On his nationally syndicated Focus on the Family radio broadcast, Dr. Dobson praised the two companies for establishing and standing by their policies against pornography. Adelphia Communications Corporation is the only major cable operation in the country with a policy against pornography, because its president believes it undermines family values. Omni Hotels, an upscale hotel company, has taken a courageous stand by maintaining a policy for the last few years not to offer pornographic movies in its hotel rooms. FOR THE COMPLETE STORY, VISIT:  www.family.org/cforum/feature/a0015737.html

CONSERVATIVE TRUTH’S EDITORIAL BOARD. As our readership has grown from a few hundred each week to well over 20,000, so has our Editorial Board. All volunteers (like your loyal Editor), they come from a variety of backgrounds. Their one common denominator is that they care enough about offering an alternative to the biased liberal major media that they are willing to donate their time to help oversee the editorial process of Conservative Truth. I thought you might be interested in knowing a little about these  very interesting people, so, as space permits, I will profile one member in each issue.

This week’s profiled Editorial Board Member is one of the first people I asked to serve. This is his profile in his own words: "Ken Butdorf is a husband of 20 yrs and a father to two great teenagers, Ben (16) and Jamie (13). He and his wife LaVon live in southeast Missouri, where LaVon grew up. Ken has served as a pastor and still holds his credentials. He has also been an exterminator (of bugs), a salesman, company administrator, computer hack, and corporate writer. He is Libertarian in his political beliefs and charismatic evangelical in his spiritual leanings. Plays drums ok too."

CONSERVATIVETRUTH.ORG. You have seen this domain name as part of our email address for several months. Now there is actually a web site at that address. It’s just a beginning, but we’re glad it is finally up. Folks have been asking why we didn’t have a web site. The simple truth is that I’ve been so busy writing the newsletter, in addition to working full-time, that I just haven’t had time to do it. Well, I took the time, and now we have a basic web page that explains the concept of Conservative Truth, and invites people to request a free subscription. Eventually we will post the entire newsletter there where it will be easier to read. We will also have links to other conservative sites and articles. And we’ll have room to post things that don’t fit in the newsletter, including artwork and cartoons. In the meantime, it’s a good introduction to what we’re doing, so tell your friends about the site. Check it out at: www.ConservativeTruth.org . (Your email program should allow you to just click on any link I provide in the newsletter. As long as your Internet browser is up and running, it should take you directly to the site you clicked on. If that doesn’t work, either cut and paste the link, or type it on the address bar of your browser.)

HILLARY IS SHOCKED, SHOCKED SHOCKED! In a very witty column, the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd notices the irony of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s comment on the FBI’s misplaced Oklahoma City bombing records. "How could this have happened?!?!" Hillary of the Rose Law Firm billing records is the last person you’d expect to carp about missing documents. "She’s trying to metamorphose from someone who likes to bend the rules to someone who wants to crack down on those who bend the rules," writes Dowd. READ THE COLUMN: www.nytimes.com/2001/05/16/opinion/16DOWD.html

YA GOTTA LOVE JESSE HELMS. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America have every right to exclude homosexual scoutmasters from their organization. That didn’t please the liberal left, so they have used every unfair, unethical and even illegal means to try to destroy the Scouts. Their most effective effort so far has been to force public schools to evict Boy Scout troops from property that belongs to all of us, even though they allow homosexual groups and groups that promote witchcraft to use the schools. Enter Jesse Helms.

Helms, the conscience of the Senate, stands up for the First Amendment rights of the Boy Scouts. The North Carolina Republican has introduced an amendment that would deny federal education funding to any public school or school district that denies equal access to the Boy Scouts or any youth group because of its "leadership criteria" or whether or not it has an "oath of allegiance to God and country." FoxNews.com reports on Helms’ move, a response to an increasing number of school districts restricting the Scouts’ access to schools because of the group’s constitutionally protected ban on open homosexuals. READ THE COMPLETE STORY: www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,24831,00.html

MOTHER’S DAY BANNED! Political correctness (always absurd) has reached a pinnacle of absurdity. The New York Post reports that parents whose children attend an expensive private school in New York City are outraged over a policy designed to protect the feelings of homosexual couples that have adopted children. Students at Rodeph Sholom Day School, affiliated with a Reform Jewish synagogue, brought home this letter from a school administrator, Cindi Samson. "I am writing this letter to inform you that after much thought and discussion this past year, we will not be celebrating Mother’s Day...Families in our society are now diverse and varied. We are a school with many different family makeups, and we need to recognize the emotional well-being of all the children in our school...The recognition of these holidays in a social setting may not be a positive experience for all children."

This begs the question: When did the Biblical injunction to "Honor thy father and thy mother" become a threat to children’s emotional well-being? I can’t decide which is more stupid- trying to stop children from honoring their mothers, or believing that the ban will somehow help kids who don’t have mothers.

"This is an inappropriate and politically correct response," said one mom, who asked not to be identified. Some parents feared their children might not be welcome at the school if they publicly criticized the school. The ban came about after a homosexual couple that adopted a boy boasted that they had forced the school to remove Mother’s Day from the holiday list.

On a humorous note, a New York radio talk-show host, WABC’s Steve Malzberg, is urging listeners to send Mother’s Day cards to Cindi Sampson, the Rodeph Sholom administrator who banned Mother’s Day.

FROM THE EMAIL BOX:

"Really enjoyed your very thought provoking article which was 100% right on. The NEA needs to have its wings clipped!!!! Keep up the good work and be blessed at home, at church, and at work! Myron Slabaugh."
(Editor’s note: The NEA is the National Education Association, an extremely liberal teacher’s union.)