Frogburger's Answers #4 and #5 in our continuing series...

Here are the FOURTH AND FIFTH ANSWERS in our continuing series with Frogburger. Thanks for your previous support and amazing comments! For those of you who didn't see the first three answers or what prompted this interview series, please click HERE and HERE, make sure you read the excellent comments there and then come back and read these two....I know you'll appreciate this French new- American's insights:

4. Did you actually like McCain enough to vote for him or disliked Obama's policies so much you couldn't vote for him? And, when did you become a citizen?

I became a US citizen in 2006 so I was able to vote for the primary and presidential elections.

In the primary, I voted for Ron Paul because of my libertarian streak and my beliefs in Austrian economic theories.

For my first presidential election, I voted for McCain but made my final choice while in line at the polling place. I was not very enthusiastic about him and was very disappointed when he decided to vote for the bank bailout and created all that drama about going back to Washington to save the day! He missed a major opportunity to inform the citizens about the content of the bill, which is anti-democratic in nature.

Unlike my wife, I was also not convinced by Sarah Palin, despite her executive experience in Alaska. Obama and her were rookies and the criticisms for lack of experience were justified on both sides.

There was no way I could vote for Obama because of his Marxist ideas. When I learned he may have once belonged to the Socialist New Party that was it. (Just use Google!)

In general, I cannot vote for people whose sole message is to defend the oppressed, the poor, the minorities and the victims, even though it sounds wonderful and generous. The reason is simple: people who get elected with those message have no interest in getting people out of their situation. Indeed, they would shoot themselves in the foot and lose their electorate.

Do you think the Socialist Party has improved people’s lives in France when it got elected in the 80s? Poverty hasn’t improved in France despite the welfare state. Yet the Socialist Party still blames globalization and free market for creating poverty. Why would they change the message? Their “market shares “depend on maintaining the lower and lower-middle classes. At least it seems as though the French citizens are not getting fooled anymore. The Socialist Party is in disarray and may not get 20% of votes at the European election.


5. You told me your American wife was a liberal but has changed. What do
you think really convinced her to think more like you do? Was there one
issue which finally persuaded her or did just opening her eyes to various
things make an impact more?

My wife used to be registered as a Democrat but I don’t think she ever was a Liberal. She switched side when she realized how extreme the Democratic Party leadership was getting.

Since I met her she has gotten very informed about various topics she had never studied in school, especially economics. I also briefed her many times on the subject as I studied it for 4 years in high school and college. She’s realized – through facts – that lefty ideas, as generous as they seem, don’t work (debt, unemployment rates, brain drain). I highly recommend Thomas Sowell’s books in this regard. The shallow thinking of the left as understanding economic principles is demolished in those books, and I wish pseudo-journalists on big networks would actually know a lot more about economics before emitting their opinion.

She’s also very independent and cannot imagine a French-like system in which people would give their freedom away for some economic security provided by the government. Even though her parents were middle lower class, her upbringing was typical about America. It was about making a better life for oneself through hard work without government intervening in your life.

As someone from a modest family, she has also realized the hypocrisy of the anti-bourgeois left that want to control CEOs’ salaries while behaving like aristocrats who despise Middle America.

When we met, one of the first things I mentioned in my attempt to explain my dislike for the left was the hypocrisy of the socialist leaders in France. They would raise taxes but, very much like Geithner, would try not to pay theirs. Fabius, who was Minister of the Economy under Mitterrand in the 80s, actually passed a law to give tax breaks to antiques dealers because his father was one. She now realizes this hypocrisy is also typical of the American left.

But I’m not the only one who convinced her. Things really changed for her when Ron Paul ran in the primary. His message really resonated in her and she’s the one who actually made me interested in him. She read his books and started getting even more informed on issues when the GOP Primary started. For the first time in her life, she really paid attention.

And by just paying attention, reading and getting knowledgeable, she turned into a Conservative.

Z: Thanks, Frogburger, and thank Mrs. Frogburger for us. Please, readers, leave a comment for our French friend. I hope you're finding it as interesting as I am. I gave him 18 questions and I'm reading the answers as he sends them back, only just before you do.
z

Frogburger; Third in the Continuing Series....

Thanks for your great support of this series! Here is the THIRD ANSWER in our continuing series with Frogburger. For those of you who didn't see the first two answers or what prompted this interview series, please click HERE , make sure you read the excellent comments there and then come back and read this one....I know you'll appreciate this French new- American's insights:

3. When did you first start to get a feeling something was changing for the worse in America?

I don’t have a specific event or date in mind. Obviously 9/11 was a terrible moment to live through, especially because I was in DC and worked close to the Pentagon. However, I did not realize at the time that this event would trigger so many real changes.

It is mostly by talking to friends -- who are mostly Democrats or Liberals since I have lived on the coasts – that I felt socialist ideas may take place in this country. The healthcare issue has made people confused. They confused healthcare with welfare and think they go hand in hand. That is why a lot of people think the European model is wonderful without making the intellectual effort of looking at what it really entails.

But beyond socialism I fear a greater danger is looming: fascism coming from the left, which some people on the right could very well join at some point because they are either opportunistic (big businesses like GE) or do not believe strongly in individual liberties.

History has shown fascistic ideas, wrongly associated to the right, are rooted in Marxists and populist ideologies and are far from advocating free market, globalization and personal freedom. Hitler was a national-socialist. Mussolini started his political journey as a Marxist and even the French revolution, revered by the French left, established years of bloody dictatorship.

The French revolution cannot be compared to the American Revolution, for it was fascistic in nature and replaced a monarchy with State terror. I personally despise what the French revolution did past 1789. It was one thing to freed people from aristocracy, it was another to commit genocide against its own citizens (Vendee) and cut the heads of many moderate opponents (Robespierre’s Jacobins vs. Danton’s Girondins) in the name of enlightment.

Mitterrand is another example of how the fascistic and leftist ideas are intertwined. Mitterrand was the most celebrated man in France when he got elected as president in 1981. After years of a bad economy due to the two oil crises, France wanted hope and change and elected the leader of the Socialist Party (Parti Socialist or PS). But the interesting thing to know is that the first French Socialist Party was created by the founder of a very far-right nationalist movement called Croix-de-Feu, which Mitterrand joined in his youth.

Even the current National Front in France and its leaders like Jean-Marie Le Pen or Bruno Gollnisch, defined as right extremists, are for big government and support a strong welfare state for the “true French.” Their electoral success in the 80s and 90s was actually due to their ability to take votes on the left, especially amongst the working class folks used to vote for the French Communist Party (PCF).

You’re getting my point: fascistic ideas are not a right-left thing. It actually blurs the lines created by political parties. When our two party system is becoming pretty much one party, when Specter becomes a Democrat for his career, I think there increasingly are signs we may very well be on our way to fascism. Here are signs that make me think that way:

• Willingness to not only control the economy but also human behavior (anti-tobacco laws, tax on transfats, etc…) to purify society from unhealthy behaviors that are costly to the State. (That is why nationalized healthcare is not a good thing.)
• Increasing criticism of true free-market as a model on the left and the right.
• Anti-CEO or “anti-bourgeois” sentiment helped by rare episodes like the Enron and Maddoff. (Another common trait about extreme ideologues, fascists and the left: they transform rare situations into generalities.)
• Corrupted officials who disrespect the Constitution and think it’s a living document. It would be very convenient to some if freedom of speech was a living concept, wouldn't it? In that case the Fairness Doctrine would be respectful of the Constitution, n'est-ce-pas?
• Increased corporatism of the past and current administration with the banks bailout, the “Goldman Sachs connection”, car makers and GE.
• Fascination and admiration for strong leaders like Chavez and Ahmadinejad, and veneration of Obama
• Increased anti-Israel stance on the left evolving into European anti-Semitism
• Fight to eliminate religions in our society and replace it with State morality, very much like the French revolution and Hitler tried with either the Cult of Reason or Paganism. (I’ll try to address the separation of Church and State through the other questions because I have a lot to say about this.)

Doesn’t it feel like the 1930s and what happened in Europe when fascistic movements in France, Italy and Germany were getting stronger? I may be ultra pessimistic but if the world community decides to change the global currency because of the money printing business devaluating the dollar, and if the economy worsens, it may very well feel like the Weimar Republic.

I hope I am flat out wrong. But when Liberals and Obama sympathize with gangsters like Chavez, organize parties for Ahmadinejad, bow to a Saudi king but don’t show much respect for Western allies or Israel, I think it shows our leaders don’t have much concern for Freedom or have their “rationality” pretty messed up. Europeans thought Hitler was a clown in 1938 or actually liked his socialistic ideas and we know what came next.

Am I saying Obama is Mussolini or Hitler? Obviously not. But some of his policies are fascistic. Firing a CEO is an Il Duce-like decision. Having GE serve your purpose and your economic policies to later reward them is fascistic. Even the bank bailout started with Bush and the fact that no citizen can have a say or sue the government for legalized robbery is corporatism, which is of fascistic nature.

If we as citizens don’t react to all of this, this can only get worse. The government will think it can do anything. Socialism, communism or fascism only lead to greater corruption and less freedom. That’s my #1 concern for this country right now.

A French Perspective by Frogburger

Frogburger is a Frenchman we met about 2 weeks ago. As we lived in Paris and we're all conservatives, we had a lot in common. Our caring for America as much as we do gives us a lot more in common. So, I've asked him 18 questions, two of which he's answered here, the start of the FROGBURGER CONTINUING SERIES: We hope you enjoy it.

1. What prompted you to leave France in the first place and how old were you then?

I left France in 1999. I was in my twenties and was blessed with a gift from God, for I won the Green Card Lottery in 1998. I then followed the process and passed the final interview at the U.S. Embassy in Paris where I got the precious residency visa.

That day, a dream had come true after years of longing as a teenager who was in love with American sports, including football, and as a young adult who had not much hope for a better future because of the poor economic and social conditions of France. I was getting extremely tired of the pervasiveness of government in my private life, whether it was through extremely high taxes and what we call “social changes”, or through regulations such as the 35-hour workweek.

Since my youth, unemployment has been around 10% on average. When the economy would get better, unemployment numbers would barely improve. Work regulations were so strict that hiring young people was the last thing on any company’s mind—it was too risky since they could not lay them off if necessary. Note that I’m using the past tense but it hasn’t changed since my leaving the country.

You have to understand how inflexible the French job market is and why so many companies have moved their headquarters or offices to countries like Ireland. On average, a worker costs a company 3 times the salary it is paying to him. So for every euro paid, the company must pay 2 additional euros in various taxes and insurances to finance the welfare system. Likewise, the worker has to give between 20 and 25% of his paycheck to the government in healthcare insurance, unemployment insurance and other fees. Those charges, detailed on a 3-page long paycheck, are not the income tax, which comes later. So for every euro paid, the company must pay 2 additional euros. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that all this plagues the economy and prevents companies from hiring people. If they hire them, they usually pay low salaries, likely just above the minimum wage for young graduates. Or they use some contracts with a set duration sending people back to the unemployment line when the contract has expired.

So, in addition to being in love with the American way of life, I wanted to feel free and flee socialism. I could go on and on but this is a blog, right? So it has to be short.

2. What were your first impressions of America?

I moved to DC first and loved it right away even though my first two weeks were very challenging. I had to find a place and the dotcom boom was making it very difficult since all the apartments in DC were rented and I had no credit history or social security number yet.

My first impression was the goodness of the people. Everyone was extremely friendly, positive, accepting and ready to help. Then, once I started working, I definitely loved my environment. The work ethic here is incredible, especially on the East Coast.

Through these last 10 years, I’ve been able to get a better grasp of America. One thing that really struck me is the pioneer mindset. Symbolic of this is the famous “You need to move on” phrase people like to use. To someone coming from France, the past is an important part of our psyche. Moving on doesn’t happen that quickly. So when people got laid off around me and everyone had a positive attitude, including the ones who lost their job, I found that remarkable. In France, people would have likely complained, gone on strike, become aggressive or violent or undermined the company and management. I have never been like that nor have I protested with the leftists or unions in France, but I still had to work on this mental switch. The demise of the dotcoms made me realize the strength of Americans as well as how tough, for a European used to a comfortable welfare system, the American society could be.

Despite this lack of comfort, I noticed how much compassion and decency American people have. I've seen more decency here than in France in relationships at work or between people. Since life is not as easy, people give second and third changes, or are less black and white in their judgment. There's also more generosity here than in France, where the government takes care of everything. I would even say the Frenchman is selfish while the American is individualistic. To me, being individualistic means taking care of oneself or one's family. Being selfish simply means satisfying your needs by taking from others without having to give. The heat wave that killed so many people in France a few summers ago perfectly highlighted this. Instead of worrying for their elders and family members, the French blamed the government for failing at preventing the deaths while they were vacationing in August. I also personally give more money to charities here than in France, not only because I have a lot more disposable income but because this is part of the American spirit of helping the community and choosing the charities you want to help. I’m actually a Big Brother with Big Brothers Big Sisters of L.A, something that I would have never done in France. That is why I get really upset when Obama lectures people or wants to use the government to force people to give back. Because this will eventually backlash.

So my impressions were great. I love the American spirit because it makes people focused on creating a better place for themselves or their loved ones. By having the government take care of everything, on top of destroying the religious aspect of society -- whatever the religion is -- I can safely predict this aspect of America will be destroyed. And my dream will definitely be shattered.

Z: Comments, folks?