Looming Risk of Regional War Reflects Reckless and Poor Leadership

Boulder, CO -Ten years after the disastrous Iraq invasion, two years after U.S. air strikes in Libya precipitated the fall of the Gaddafi regime, and in the midst of widespread turmoil unleashed by the "Arab spring," the Obama administration and many Capitol Hill leaders persist in utopian efforts to reshape the Middle East, thereby risking igniting wider regional conflict, and possibly armed conflict with Russia and its allies.

While our sympathy and prayers go out to the people of Syria, use of U.S. military power there seems likely to do more harm than good, an appraisal shared by many desperate civilians in that war-ravaged nation. Indeed, if this assessment is true, initiating strikes on Syria would be gravely immoral. Will we replicate the results of immoral and unconstitutional attacks on Libya and Iraq, by leaving a largely lawless state behind, causing Christians and other religious minorities to flee, and creating yet another haven for Islamic extremists?

Oaths of office notwithstanding, the simple policy solution of following our founders' constitutional blueprint seems off the radar of most leaders on Capitol Hill. Under truly constitutional praxis, the U.S. military should never be seriously considered for any combat role not in the service of U.S. national defense. Since we have left that prudent outlook behind long ago, we can expect more chaos in foreign affairs, and God forbid, perhaps another world war.

AFP National Secretary John Pittman Hey commented, "This is Syria's civil war, not ours. Let's not take our cue from extremists in Washington D.C., who seem to care little about the consequences of their actions, both for our country and on people far away."

"Reversing today's dangerous foreign policy trends," states AFP Chairman Jonathan Hill, "requires electing people who are both competent and decent. Given the moral implications of the oath of office, this goes hand in hand with electing people who respect basic constitutional principles."


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Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society presents: "The Character and Legacy of Thomas Jefferson and its Meaning for Americans Today”

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - The Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society will host a panel of distinguished authors, researchers and nationally acclaimed scholars to explore topics which provide greater illumination of the moral, spiritual and political character, ideals and essential truths of Thomas Jefferson. The seminar will examine "The Character and Legacy of Thomas Jefferson and its Meaning for Americans Today," and promises to provide participants with a deeper understanding and insight into the immense character and legacy of this extraordinary Virginian, American Founder, Author of the Declaration of Independence, Author of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and third U.S. President. The seminar will be held on Saturday, November 9, 2013, in Charlottesville, Virginia at the University of Virginia Jefferson Scholars Foundation, located at 112 Clarke Court, Charlottesville, Virginia, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Admission to this special event is free and open to the public.

The program will begin at 8:30 a.m., with morning welcome, conviviality and refreshments for all participants; and will include periodic breaks with a 12:00 Noon lunch hour for fellowship and dining at several popular local restaurants within a few minutes’ walk of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation facility. A public question-and-answer, panel discussion will be held following the afternoon lecture sessions. The day will conclude with refreshments and author book signings of The Jefferson-Hemings Controversy: Report of the Scholars Commission; In Defense of Thomas Jefferson; Long Journey with Mr. Jefferson: The Life of Dumas Malone; Jefferson Vindicated; and Rethinking the American Union for the 21st Century.

The Morning Session will be moderated by Dr. White M. Wallenborn, M.D., Past-President of the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society and former Monticello Guide:

9:00 a.m. - Dr. Donald W. Livingston, “Jefferson, Republicanism and the Problem of Size and Scale”

The republican tradition for two thousand years taught that the liberty and virtue of republics could not exist unless the republic was small. It also taught that large territory and great populations inevitably lead to centralized monarchy. These two propositions posed a problem for Americans. How could such a vast territory with an expanding population ever be "republicanized?" Jefferson presented the best solution to this problem. And America followed that pattern until the Civil War. Since then America has become the centralized "monarchy" Jefferson feared it would be. The way back to republican government is to rediscover Jefferson's solution and ask how it can be appropriated today.

Donald W. Livingston, Ph.D., is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Emory University and a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh. He has written numerous articles and books on political philosophy, the most recent being Rethinking the American Union for the 21st Century. He founded the Hume Society, and co-founded the Adam Smith Society, the Eighteenth Century Scottish Studies Society, and the Ciceronian Society. He has published two books on the British philosopher David Hume and has been described as "the greatest Hume scholar of the twentieth century." He is president of the Abbeville Institute, an association of scholars in higher education devoted to a critical study of what is true and valuable in the Southern tradition. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society.

10:00 a.m. - Dr. William M. Wilson, “Jefferson the Theist”

In recent decades, many misconceptions abound throughout academia and the literature with regard to the spiritual dimensions and beliefs of Thomas Jefferson. Dr. William Wilson of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation and distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia, will illuminate the life-long spiritual journey of Thomas Jefferson, providing not only a window into his soul, but also revealing the moral compass for all of his labors as the “Inventor of America” and author of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom.

William M. Wilson, Ph.D., is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia, and currently serves as the Director of the Graduate Fellowship Program of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation. He served as Dean of the Echols Scholars Program from 2005-2012, and is the recipient of one of the University's highest distinctions, the Algernon Sidney Sullivan Award for teaching and selfless service. Professor Wilson is the author of many articles pertaining to religion, literature, philosophical theology and three volumes of Lectura Dantes Virginiana, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Abbeville Institute for the Study of Southern Culture and the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society.

11:00 a.m. – Dr. Clyde N. Wilson, “Looking for Mr. Jefferson”

Generation after generation, misinterpretations of Thomas Jefferson, both positive and negative, have been piled up by people wishing to use his name for their own agendas. When traced to their sources, such ideas reveal more about their perpetrators than they do about Jefferson. For the real Thomas Jefferson, Virginian and American statesman, to be seen many distortions must be exposed.

Clyde N. Wilson, Ph.D., is Historian Emeritus of the University of South Carolina. He is a recipient of the Bostick Prize for Contributions to South Carolina Letters, and the first annual Randolph Society Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also the M.E. Bradford distinguished chair of the Abbeville Institute and founder of the Stephen D. Lee Institute. He is an adjunct faculty member of the Ludwig von Mises Institute; and a long-time contributing editor for Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture, and Southern Partisan magazine. Professor Wilson is best known for his expertise on the life and writings of John C. Calhoun, and is the editor of Volumes 10 through 28 of The Papers of John C. Calhoun. Professor Wilson is also the author of hundreds of articles, and the author or editor of over 30 books including, The Essential Calhoun; From Union to Empire: Essays in the Jeffersonian Tradition; Chronicles of the South; Defending Dixie: Essays in Southern History and Culture; and Forgotten Conservatives in American History.

12: 00 Noon - Lunch Break

The Afternoon Session will be moderated by Mr. Richard E. Dixon, President of the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society:

1:00 p.m. - Ms. Cynthia H. Burton, “Myths and Scholarship”

Serious flaws have been documented in the scholarship of certain Jefferson scholars. Evidence has been overlooked, ignored, and/or distorted. Enormous gaps have been filled with imagination. However, speculation is not evidence. Has poor scholarship by leading scholars perpetuated myths affecting the character and legacy of Jefferson? Cynthia Burton is interviewed by Patricia Early. New evidence is introduced, myths are debunked, and poor scholarship is revealed.

Cynthia H. Burton is a professional researcher, veteran genealogist, and she is an authority on Jefferson's private life, his brother Randolph Jefferson, and the enslaved community at Monticello. She has more than 35 years’ experience studying the historic neighborhood and its inhabitants, and she has worked closely with several authors writing about the Hemings controversy. Mrs. Burton is also the author of Jefferson Vindicated - Fallacies, Omissions, and Contradictions in the Hemings Genealogical Search.

2:00 p.m. - Mr. William G. Hyland, Esq., "Long Journey with Mr. Jefferson: The Life of Dumas Malone"

The magisterial “collaboration” over half a lifetime between historian Dumas Malone and his subject, Thomas Jefferson, is the basis for William G. Hyland Jr.’s compelling biography Long Journey with Mr. Jefferson. Malone, the courtly and genteel historian from Mississippi, spent thirty-eight years researching and writing the definitive biography of the man who “invented the United States of America.”

William G. Hyland, Esq., Professor of Law, Stetson College of Law and attorney, is the author of In Defense of Thomas Jefferson: The Sally Hemings Sex Scandal (St. Martins) and the biography Long Journey with Mr. Jefferson: The Life of Dumas Malone (Potomac Books).

3:00 p.m. - Dr. Robert F. Turner, "Parsing the Paradox: Understanding Thomas Jefferson and Slavery"

Modern scholars struggle in vain to reconcile Jefferson's enlightened rhetoric that "all men are created equal" and his early efforts in opposition to slavery with his lifelong ownership of other human beings and refusal, even in his will, to grant freedom to more than a small number of his servants. Words like "sphinx," "hypocrite," and even "monster" have been employed in describing perceived contradictions between Jefferson's beliefs and behavior. This presentation will argue that Jefferson's behavior is less enigmatic than most modern scholars perceive. He was morally opposed to slavery throughout his life, and what set him apart from most of his Virginia contemporaries was his willingness to speak and act publicly against slavery.

Robert F. Turner, SJD, is a cofounder of the Center for National Security Law (1981) at the University of Virginia School of Law. Professor Turner holds both professional and academic doctorates from the University of Virginia School of Law, and is a former Charles H. Stockton Professor of International Law at the U.S. Naval War College and a Distinguished Lecturer at West Point. He has taught both in Virginia's Department of Government and Foreign Affairs and the Law School, and is the author or editor of more than a dozen books. Dr. Turner served as Chairman of the independent Jefferson-Hemings Scholars Commission, and he is editor of The Jefferson-Hemings Controversy: Report of the Scholars Commission.

4:00 p.m. - Panel Discussion, Farewell and Book Signings

About the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society:

The Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society ( http://www.tjheritage.org ) is a Charlottesville, Virginia-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization which has a four-fold purpose: to further the honor and integrity of Thomas Jefferson, and to promote his vision and ideas, and their application in our times and in the future; to pursue truth in all matters that touch upon the legacy of Thomas Jefferson; to promote the principles of freedom, patriotism and truth, which were hallmarks of Thomas Jefferson's life; and to sponsor and perform research in matters pertaining to the private and public life of Thomas Jefferson. Additional detailed facts documenting the work of the independent Scholars Commission and other distinguished scholars can be referenced at the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society web site.

Directions to the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, 112 Clarke Court, Charlottesville, VA 22903

From Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport:
• Exit the airport and proceed approximately ¾ mile on Airport Road towards US Route 29.
• Turn right onto US Route 29 towards Charlottesville.
• Proceed 6.0 miles. At the intersection with the US 29/250 Bypass, go straight, following the signs for Emmet Street.
• Proceed another 1.9 miles on Emmet Street.
• When the road splits, bear right onto Stadium Road, passing Scott Stadium.
• Turn left at the stop sign onto Maury Avenue.
• Take the first left onto Clarke Court. Destination will be on the left. Visitor parking is provided in the main lot, and passes can be obtained at the front desk.
• Total distance from Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport to the Jefferson Fellows Center is approximately 9.8 miles.

From points east and west via I-64:
• From I-64, take Exit 118-B (US Route 29 North).
• Proceed north on US Route 29. Take the first exit and turn right at the bottom of the ramp onto Fontaine Avenue.
• Make a left turn at the first light onto Maury Avenue.
• Take the first right onto Clarke Court. Destination will be on the left. Visitor parking is provided in the main lot, and passes can be obtained at the front desk.

From Washington, D.C. and points north:
• Take US Route 29 to Charlottesville. At the intersection with the US 29/250 Bypass, go straight, following the signs for Emmet Street. Proceed another 1.9 miles on Emmet Street.
• When the road splits, bear right onto Stadium Road, passing Scott Stadium.
• Turn left at the stop sign onto Maury Avenue.
• Take the first left onto Clarke Court. Destination will be on the left. Visitor parking is provided in the main lot, and passes can be obtained at the front desk.

From Lynchburg and points south:
• Take US Route 29 to Charlottesville. After crossing under I-64, take the first exit and turn right at the bottom of the ramp onto Fontaine Avenue
• Make a left turn at the first light onto Maury Avenue.
• Take the first right onto Clarke Court. Destination will be on the left. Visitor parking is provided in the main lot, and passes can be obtained at the front desk.

Keynes, Orwell, and Multi-Culturalism

Nelson Hultberg

I spent an afternoon the other day strolling through the Valley View Shopping Center in Dallas. Its once fine stores are slowly closing one by one. In their place, quaint Mexican vendors with amateurishly painted signs and sparse stores now hawk their wares as they would in a seedy swap meet.

Valley View was never upscale like ritzy Highland Park, but 18 years ago when I arrived in town, Valley View was a place where one could wander among big name stores and professional marketers. Clothes were always top fashion. The restaurants were havens of delectable eating. One could spend a day there and feel like he was immersed in value. It was an uplifting experience. Today it is Death Valley. Today it is tamales and rap music, velvet paintings of Christ and plump Latina women chattering like magpies. South of the border culture is slowly snaking its way into Dallas. How long will it be before it is encroaching on Yankee environs?

Sure, there are still many pockets of high class and taste throughout Dallas and the country. But the writing is on the wall. A lower culture has invaded a higher culture, and all the pitiful political correctness of our establishment is not going to be able to cover it up if our Republican quislings in Washington grant amnesty to the 15 million illegals spearheading the invasion. With amnesty will come the next wave, which will be 30 million, then 60 million, then death of the America that the Founders envisioned.

Keynesian economics and liberal multi-culturalism have done this to us, and not one in a hundred of our pundits grasps the connection these two ideological perversions have to the death throes such as Valley View. These death throes maculate America like a cultural psoriasis, yet our statist intelligentsia repeatedly conjure up embarrassing justifications for continuation of the economic and social policies that spawn them.

But what else are we to expect when intellectuals have spent their adult lives espousing the dogmas of fiat money printing and open border multi-culturalism as "rational policies" to pursue for America? They will not be eager to face up to the actual denouement of such policies 40 years later when that denouement is the transformation of a great nation into a rash of Death Valleys. They will instead flee from the resultant realities into the house-of-mirrors sophistry that makes up statist apologetics today. Unfortunately there is no lack of herd mentalities among our pundit class who are more than willing to endorse liberal academia's view of the transformation. Where patriots see amateurishly painted signs and an illiterate dumbing down swallowing us up, liberal pundits see "democratic culture" and "egalitarian justice." The squalid decadence and economic tumult of life with open borders and fiat money malfeasance escape them.

Big Brother Obama

Our puppet President chimes in with his contribution to all the tumult and depression by making George Orwell look amazingly prescient. "Perpetual war for perpetual peace" is a major theme of Nineteen Eighty-Four in which its three regional governments of Oceania, Eurasia, and East Asia are constantly at war while claiming peace to be their goal. Have not our wars of Korea, Vietnam, Iraq I, Bosnia, Iraq II, Afghanistan, The Lybian and threatening Syrian interventions validated Orwell's prescience? Have not Big Brother's ruthless spy agencies in the novel manifested in our own NSA and IRS to further validate that prescience?

Winston Smith's job at the Ministry of Truth was to rewrite (i.e., fabricate) the economic statistics so they were more favorable to Big Brother's regime. And our own BLS, the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington, is doing the same thing today with massaged "hedonic calculations" for jobs, GDP, inflation, etc. Only rubes and leftist apparatchiks believe their sanitized numbers.

Obama and Bush have turned out to be criminal brothers; but then savvy patriots saw that coming before the Community Organizer took office. Insidious authoritarianism has guided both of their administrations, like it guided the smarmy Clintons and Senior Bush before them. Like it guided the obsequious Carter, the Machiavellian Nixon, the psychopathic LBJ, the amoral Kennedy, and the imperious Roosevelt. Only Reagan avoided capitulation to Orwellian artifice; but even he was more promise than performance. His eloquence covered the tracks of his statism.

What our pundits (and as a result, our people) don't see is that Keynesianism is one of the primary sources of Orwell's "perpetual war for perpetual peace." Ever since 1936, war has been used by American presidents as a means to escape the down cycle of the Keynesian boom-bust economy, or at least mollify its intensity. Why? Because war does three things for a president that is suffering a serious economic downturn, and thus in danger of losing the next election to the opposition and his reputation to the historians.

1) It diverts the people's attention from their economic misery. 2) It unites the unthinking masses with lots of votes behind the president. And 3) it allows his administration to inflate the money supply in spendable currency that circulates easily from war manufacturers to wage earners, to supermarkets, clothing stores, gas stations, bars, and movie houses. It creates a resurgence of the boom, temporary and false though it may be.

Just as the drug addict resorts to more injections of "heroin" in his down cycle to reignite the high he experienced previously (temporary and false though it may be), so also do modern presidents and politicians resort to injections of "liquidity," i.e., money printing, to bring about an attempt at recovery. One is physiological stimulation of the individual's body, and the other is financial stimulation of the nation's economy. But they are both the same in principle and governed by the same natural laws. Keynesians are merely "liquidity junkies" instead of "drug junkies." When Lawrence Kudlow bellows out on his nightly show that the Fed needs to do its job and inject more liquidity, he's playing the pusher to Wall Street and Main street junkies.

The Fabian Source

So Keynes and Orwell were ideological brothers, both Fabian socialists in England during the early twentieth century. Keynes preceded Orwell by 20 years, but each were powerfully swayed by the Communist Revolution and its aftermath, and fell victim to the Marxist misunderstanding of capitalism. Both realized the totalitarian nature of the Marxist-Leninist paradigm and wrote in opposition to it, but did not write in defense of freedom. They wrote in defense of the Fabian form of socialism that was to replace freedom and capitalism with gradual collectivist statism.

Their ideological works have now materialized to saturate all modern societies. Keynesianism dominates mega-state economic policies, and Orwellianism dominates mega-state political structures. Tyrannical collectivism has taken over the world via Keynes' monetary counterfeiting and Orwell's ruthless thought police.

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Nelson Hultberg is a freelance writer in Dallas, TX and the Director of Americans for a Free Republic www.AFR.org. His articles have appeared in such publications as the Dallas Morning News, San Antonio Express-News, American Conservative, Insight, The Freeman, Liberty, and The Social Critic, as well as on numerous Internet sites. He is the author of The Golden Mean: Libertarian Politics, Conservative Values. Email him at: nelshultberg@aol.com