Excerpts from the July 6, 2012 Letter to Editor by Derek Dieter, South Bend Common Council member at-large:
“ . . . I am beginning to wonder what is happening to our personal freedoms and our liberty.”
Derek, you need to have a chat with Butch Morgan. You have lost your way. The whole concept of the Socialism that your political party advocates is subjugation of the person, for the perceived benefit of society. Socialism – the path your party has us on – is the slow road to Communism. For orthodox Marxists, socialism is the lower stage of Communism. Socialismis a stage of economic development in Marxist theory. Do your historical actions betray that you really have little regard for “personal freedoms” ?
“ . . . we as the Common Council are supposed to decide whether or not to take some of that freedom and liberty from the Americans living in South Bend.”
As good Democrats, taking freedoms and liberty are standard fare. Recommended reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism
“ . . . people have the right to choose how they want to live their own lives.”
Your proclamation looks good on the pages of the newspaper, but goes against what Democrats like you believe. Citizens capable of skepticism see this as “posturing”. The Socialism that is the hallmark of the party you profess is all about control of people’s lives by forcing their dependency upon the state. The rise in poverty in South Bend originates from that forcing of dependency, and therefore is no accident.
“ . . . Government has many roles . . . “
The government under the United States Constitution has few roles. But the government under the Socialism that you advocate has many roles, as you reveal here. As a Democrat, you believe in big government. The house of cards that is Socialism is propped up by taking from those who produce, and giving to those who do not want to work. You subscribe to: “from each according to his ability; to each according to his need”, a philosophy shared by Socialism, Communism, and Marxism. Socialism transitions to Communism when other people’s money is exhausted.
“ . . . people need to make their own decisions.”
This looks really nice on the pages of the newspaper. This is great PR. Too bad you feel the need to voice this in a willing Liberal newspaper, to dupe ignorant citizens. A people making their own decisions is not permitted under the Socialism your party endorses. Individuals who make their own decisions cannot be subjugated, as Socialism seeks.
“ . . . need to stick to those issues that we were elected to govern over.”
More grandstanding, with the help of a Liberal newspaper.
“ . . . This is a blatant attempt to overstep our boundaries and I am against it.”
More grandstanding, courtesy of a Liberal newspaper.
Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. (Milton Friedman quotation) “Friedman is 100 percent correct.”
Capitalism has its roots in free market; Socialism is rooted in controlled economy. It’s nice for you to applaud freedom on the pages of a public newspaper. Too bad that as a Liberal Democrat, you endorse the control of Socialism over the freedom of Capitalism. Your and South Bend’s hostility to Capitalistic industry is a major contributor to driving manufacturing companies out of South Bend. You say one thing for public consumption, but believe in a paradigm opposite of the one you publicly profess.
Grandstanding.
You brag about job creation, but the preponderance of new jobs that hope to replace the high-paying manufacturing jobs you work to drive out of town are temporary, part-time, or cannot provide “living incomes”.
You intone racial diversity, while choosing a Fabian Socialist to lead the city.
You express empathy for poverty, while working to increase dependency upon government. Your motto is, “We love poor people, and we want to keep them that way”, because the poverty-ridden are easy to subdue under your control. Dramatic increase in poverty in South Bend under the last 50 years of Democrat control is progressing according to plan.
You masquerade behind the false façade of law-and-order, while you find corruption more profitable than honest government. Corruption is not free. The surrounding outer county has deep pockets to fund the corruption of South Bend. The crook, B. Patrick Bauer, could not permit any consideration of replacement of abusive property taxes with other forms of government funding because if there were any interruption in property tax funding, South Bend corruption would come to a grinding halt. Taxpayer funding is the mother’s milk of corrupt government that characterizes South Bend.
This is a case of fiddling while Rome burns. You and the other local government officials argue about whether smoking should be allowed at a handful of business establishments, while South Bend continues to sink as it hemorrhages the historical source of its prosperity. Perhaps majoring on the minor is a purposeful diversion, as you and your crowd seek to turn attention away from your pathetic performance.
You all are clueless.
How can shoddy and corrupt government be “successfully” continued into the future ? Is it reasonable to expect that South Bend residents will remain ignorant forever ? How long will South Bend residents remain satisfied with substandard government ?
Grandstanding buys time.
Practicing lying and deceit to preclude transparency buys time.
Holding out a nanotechnology bonanza hope that will certainly disappoint buys time.
Escalating county option taxes to fund sloppy government and corruption buys time.
Running around on the deck of the Titanic to replace a corrupt General Assembly minority leader with another disastrous “leader” buys time.
And the house of cards grows . . .
Will you arrive at your intended destination on Easy Street in Arizona or Southern Florida – out of the reach of unhappy constituents – before the house you are building collapses ?
