10 things you should know about Barack Obama

Knowledge, as they say, is power. Well, if you still lack enough information to decide which of the candidates for President will do the most damage to your values, prepare to be empowered.

Consider the following€¦

Unbridled liberalism: With Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in charge of the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate, Americans will be riding in the equivalent of a car with three gas pedals and no brake. Not a recipe for a safe ride. The only way to stop is to get into a crash.

And, to whatever degree you may feel Obama to be more moderate than the current Democrat leadership, (however you got that idea), make no mistake about who will be calling the shots the newly empowered Democrat leadership. And there's no way Barry will buck his own party's base so soon after them having given him the White House. For all the bi-partisan blather, Obama has no record whatsoever of "reaching across the aisle" and working with Republicans€¦much less conservatives.

Obama's relationships: He spent years working side by side with William Ayers, a former domestic terrorist who regrets that he didn't "do more" back in the good ol' days; and he spent over twenty years listening to the "sermons" of Jeremiah Wright condemning his country and the white people in general. Remember what you've always heard about running with dogs and coming home with fleas?

The Supreme Court: Obama voted against the confirmation of both Justices Roberts and Alito, and said that he thinks Clarence Thomas is the worst of the current Supremes. The next President is likely to appoint at least two justices to the high court, to say nothing of dozens of appointments to the circuit and district courts. A lifetime of liberalism on the bench. In a country where the judiciary continues to assume greater control over our culture and how we live our lives, (witness: gay marriage), any hope of overturning Roe v. Wade will be lost.

Unbridled abortion: For decades the pro-life movement has worked to change abortion laws at the national and state levels with a good degree of success, especially on issues such as clinic regulation, parental notification, partial birth abortion and mandating health care for infants surviving abortions. Obama has promised that his "first act as President" will be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), which would have the practical effect of overturning all such laws with the stroke of a pen. He's also likely to support attempts to eliminate the "Hyde Amendment" and other government policies preventing taxpayers from having to subsidize abortion via Medicaid. In fact, abortion, as a "reproductive service", would likely be covered under any proposed Obama reform of our health care system.

Endorsements: Obama has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood, EMILY"s List, the Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgender Caucus, the National Abortion Rights Action League, the National Organization of Women, ACORN (of course), and the liberal teacher's union, the NEA. Then there's George Soros, Jane Fonda, William Ayers (worth mentioning twice), Jesse Jackson and Rossie O'Donnell. Not exactly a representative sample of traditional American values. What do they know that you don't?

Taxes: The Obama campaign's definition of "rich" keeps changing. First, anyone making less than the magic figure of $250,000 (net or gross, no-one really knew) was going to get a tax cut€¦then, in a few speeches, it was $200,000€¦and now VP nominee Joe Biden has said it will be $150,000. Who will be "rich" by the time they pass their first tax bill? To say nothing of the insanity of raising taxes going into a recession€¦or that the people they'll raise taxes on create the jobs for everyone else. Aside from the games he's playing with talk about income taxes, what has been less talked about is his plan to raise the tax rate on capital gains from the current 15% to 25%...and dividends taxes from 15% to 39%. Oh, and don't forget the Death Tax, which currently falls to zero in 2010, that he wants to raise as high as 55%.

Sex-Ed: As a state senator in Illinois, Obama vote to extend compulsory sex education from the twelfth grade all the way down to kindergarten. When defending himself on the issue he said it was "absolutely the right thing to do".

Free speech: He, and the Democrat leadership, want to revisit the "Fairness Doctrine", (which was removed in the mid 80's), that requires broadcast radio and TV stations to "balance" all opinions and be accountable to the government's notion of equal time for opposing views. The point? To eviscerate the one place where conservatives have dominance talk radio.

Guns: Obama supported the recently overturned DC gun ban before he was worried about scaring voters who like their guns and he had to be against.

Gay rights: He supports adoption of children by homosexuals; supports allowing homosexuals to openly serve in the military; supports the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, (which defines marriage, for federal purposes, as the union of one man and one woman), and he opposes amendments to state constitutions and the federal constitution that would do the same.

Official English: Obama opposes making English the official language of the United States, saying, "Understand this: instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English€¦you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish".

An abbreviated list to be sure, but enough to give you pause. Consider yourself empowered. What you do with that power is up to you.