Why This Matters

With all the fluff that passes for news these days (see Kanye West at the VMAs), often issues of real impact either get a cursory glance or get downplayed so their significance is obscured to the average media consumer. I hope to change that with a new feature I'll be rolling out called "Why This Matters." The purpose of this is to give these overlooked or downplayed issues the attention they deserve.

And since there have been more than a few stories like this recently, this edition will be packed.

- ACORN. Most of the media won't tell you this, but the ACORN scandal goes far deeper than just a few "bad apples" that make the organization look bad. The corruption within ACORN is more widespread and complete. Remember the "ACORN 8"? These folks are the ones who are exposing the purely political dealings that have transformed an organization with arguably good goals into a monster that is little more than an arm of the DNC. The more people like Glenn Beck look at ACORN, the more we see the reach and potential reach of the organization, including possible direct connections with the Obama White House. When a corrupt organization like ACORN has this much reach and power in government, it has the potential to transform the country in a way that will ultimately damage it.

- Removing the missile defense from Europe. Some would say that our missile defense in Europe is a relic of the Cold War, but that's the wrong approach. The missile defense shield being removed is a betrayal of Eastern Europe and of America. For those who don't know, Eastern Europe has some of the most pro-American people in the world. The EU doesn't have the military force to protect Eastern Europe from their former master, Russia, and given the EU's apparent ideological bent, there may not be the desire to protect them. In short, they need us to go to bat for them, and thanks to President Obama, they're without a batter. How this betrays America is that Obama is taking his cues from Vladimir Putin, a world leader that really doesn't like America. Given Obama's utter lack of knowledge of world affairs, having the President give in so easily to Russia's demands is not a surprise. Let's not forget George W. Bush trusted Putin and Putin had utter disdain for him. Don't be surprised if Putin holds Obama in the same low regard, especially after being able to get the latter to capitulate to Russia's demands.

- Obama's Czars. The DNC is starting to strike back at Glenn Beck and others who have raised concerns about the number of czars President Obama has, pointing out that George W. Bush allegedly had more. However, this doesn't negate the heart of the argument: having czars in the first place usurps the power of the Cabinet. Look at some of the czars under Obama. You'll notice that a number of those jobs would normally fall under the auspices of a pre-existing Cabinet post. The Left is also trying to downplay the significance of this by saying that some of the czars were approved by the Senate. But not all have, but they're still doing the work and still exercising the power granted to them by the President. And, yes, I'm against the concept of czars under any circumstances. If you need a czar to do something that a Cabinet post should be doing, either you have no faith in your Cabinet or you're trying to circumvent the process and get your agenda put into place.

- Net neutrality. On the surface, "net neutrality" is a good idea because it prevents Internet service providers from putting priority on some Internet traffic or suppressing other traffic. Where the idea goes awry is in the potential for government abuse. Let's face it, the federal government doesn't have a great track record when it comes to only taking as much power as it needs to run something, so allowing them the power to force private industries to change the way they do business will not end well. This is a first step towards government control of the Internet, which will control the flow of information getting to people. And when you consider most people today get their information from the Internet, what better way to further control what people see, hear, and believe.