For the past three years the United States Senate, under the leadership of Obama toady Harry Reid, has been an embarrassment for the United States. Now the so-called “Upper Body” has merely kicked the can down the road for two months on an extension of the payroll tax cut, and the House has rightly rejected the Senate’s maneuver.

Americans need to kick the Harry Reid Senate down the road not for a period of months, but for a lifetime. We have a clear message for Harry Reid and his utter failure to lead the Senate: The nation is angry and our anger is directed at a legislative body that under Reid’s leadership can’t do its job.

Reid seems to think that his job is to force the Senate to follow Barack Obama’s agenda. That would mean the Senate is obliged to put a rubber stamp on the president’s destructive fiscal policies.

He’s wrong. The U.S. Senate is not Obama’s footstool. The Upper Body needs to do what the late Bill Buckley once counseled the nation — put up a red flag and yell “Stop!”

The United States is so drowning in red ink that the monstrous debt this administration and our spendthrift Congress have amassed cannot be repaid even if America survives another century. Washington has saddled not only our children with a horrific debt, they have put it on the shoulders of several generations yet to be born.

As we have just witnessed in Greece, the days of reckoning inevitably arrive for all spendthrifts. The piper must be paid, and he won’t wait forever to collect his monetary due.

Not long ago somebody asked a group of female Obama supporters how they think the United States can run up huge debts without going bankrupt. They replied that President Obama would see to it that the debts would be paid. Asked where the money would come from, they replied that Obama would come up with the money. Asked where he would find the money they replied that he would pay out of his “stash.”

They don’t seem to understand that Obama hasn’t got a “stash.” What money he controls is our money — our tax dollars — and that kitty, thanks to Washington’s squander-mania, is just about empty.

Such widespread ignorance of the facts of financial life seems to be widespread. Americans appear to have bought into the idea that Uncle Sam merely has to print more and more money to keep us afloat on the financial seas. It has not seemed to have occurred to such people that the government printing presses cannot keep turning out paper money with nothing like silver or gold behind it without participating in a Ponzi scheme to end all Ponzi schemes. Paper money is exactly that: paper. And that’s how the world sees it even if Americans don’t.

In the past our excursions into fiscal insanity have survived became Washington kept kicking the can down the road. That’s over. We’re reaching the end of that road. Our sole hope of survival is to deny Obama and his toadies in the Congress another four years; otherwise we’ll make Greece look like the world’s most fiscally solvent nation.

It’s time to wave the red flag and yell “stop” as loudly as we can.

©2011 Mike Reagan. Mike’s column is distributed exclusively by: Cagle Cartoons, Inc., newspaper syndicate. For info contact Cari Dawson Bartley. E-mail [email protected], (800) 696-7561.

They say they are all Reaganites and that they want my father to return — my father, who lived by his so-called 11th Commandment that no Republican should speak ill of another Republican.

What makes them think he would want to return to any party whose members use hatchets on their fellow Republicans? And do it in public? Ronald Reagan didn’t pick up his toys and go home like a spoiled brat when things didn’t go his way, even after a hard-fought loss in 1976. He supported the winning candidate as he would support today’s nominee, no matter who might be chosen.

He understood that Republicans can always win when they are united. They have a message the voters understand and support. We can beat Barack Hussein Obama and his socialist message if we are unified, but if we are divided and broadcasting a confusing message — which is what Obama craves — it will help him win another four years in the White House.

He’ll get it, and America will suffer if Republicans spend their time attacking each other. Republicans must understand that the American people are tired of all the intraparty bickering. They want a party that offers solutions, not cat fights.

The don’t need a conservative voice such as that of Michael Savage, attacking a top conservative such as Newt Gingrich by offering him $1 million to bow out of the race. Or conservative hero Glenn Beck publicly announcing he’ll back a third-party candidate such as Ron Paul if Newt is the GOP candidate. That’s called political suicide.

Like it or not, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is the overwhelming favorite among Republican voters, and among many Democrat voters as well. They like the cut of his jib. He leaves no doubt where he stands on the issues, and he’ll fight like the dickens to defend his stands.

Sure, in the past he’s done a lot of stupid things, But just who hasn’t? He willingly admits he’s often been wrong. At the moment, however, he’s right as rain.

The GOP establishment doesn’t like Newt. He’s too outspoken. They like wishy-washy candidates. Their problem is that the majority of Republicans in the real world prefer candidates who hold strong convictions and speak out forcefully and clearly. Every time the GOP picks a candidate with weak Republican convictions, the Republican party loses. And lose they should. A party that will not defend its principles doesn’t deserve to win.

If Republicans turn their guns on Newt instead of on Obama, Obama will be our president for another four years. Is that what they want?

©2011 Mike Reagan. Mike’s column is distributed exclusively by: Cagle Cartoons, Inc., newspaper syndicate. For info contact Cari Dawson Bartley. E-mail [email protected], (800) 696-7561.

Tom Brokaw has written a book about the Greatest Generation, a generation that grew up with fathers in the home who saw it as their duty to instill in their sons a work ethic. The Greatest Generation went on to win World War II. Newt Gingrich is right when he warns that the newest generation does not understand or appreciate the value of good, hard work.

Tragically, 40 million children will go to bed tonight without a father in the home to teach them the economic facts of life. One wonders how exactly these children will ever learn any kind of work ethic. While in some cases there is a fine mother like mine who can instill it in them, more often than not it’s simply not possible.

When I was 10 years old I wanted an expensive, new 10-speed Schwinn bike. I asked my mother — the late Hollywood actress Jane Wyman, who could easily afford it — if she would simply buy the bike for me. She said she would loan me the money if I signed a note acknowledging the debt. I said, “Mom, I am only 10 years old. What can I possibly do to make enough money to pay you back?” She told me I could earn money by selling newspapers. I signed the note, and every Sunday until I fully paid for that bike I sold papers in front of Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills. Later I asked Mom why she made me work for that bike when the other kids’ parents simply gave them their bikes.

I’ll never forget what she told me. She said, “I build men, not boys, and if you don’t learn to work for what you want now, you will end up as a 40-year-old boy. I want a man.” I pray that that’s what she got in her only son. At least that’s what I try to be.
On that issue alone, Mom would have voted for Newt Gingrich, who holds the same convictions she did.

World War II was followed by incredible economic growth, which gave the false impression that prosperity was no longer just around the corner, but guaranteed by the power and majesty of the Federal government as here and forever present.

What we have now is what has been called “the entitlement generation,” Americans who believe that by merely existing they are entitled to a host of unearned benefits paid for by money extracted from their fellow Americans’ tax payments.

That the pockets of those American tax payers are not bottomless — and sooner or later will no longer be available to the tax and spend crowd that infests Washington, D.C. — has not reached into the minds of this spoiled generation. They really believe that money somehow grows on trees, or at least on printing presses.

We are fast approaching the time when the Feds will no longer be able to print enough paper dollars to finance their multiple programs which are designed to buy the votes of the nation’s tax payers.

Hard work gave birth to the Greatest Generation; we are giving birth to the neediest.

©2011 Mike Reagan. Mike’s column is distributed exclusively by: Cagle Cartoons, Inc., newspaper syndicate. For info contact Cari Dawson Bartley. E-mail [email protected], (800) 696-7561.

To listen to the “elite” media you’d think that a renowned statesman was regrettably planning to leave the political scene.

As Jason Mattera of Human Events has noted, “After his announcement that he won’t seek reelection, the Washington Post heralded the disheveled congressman Barney Frank as leaving a ‘legacy that crosses from legislative cornerstones to political confrontations to a historic place as the nation’s most prominent gay lawmaker.’ “

Paul Kane of the Post continued to slobber: “On the left, Frank was a hero both for his effort to rein in the nation’s largest banks and for his role in promoting gay rights, having been the first member of Congress to declare his sexual orientation while in office.”

The Post glossed over the fact that Barney Frank’s homosexual roommate and lover had once used the congressman’s residence almost as a brothel. That, I assume, comes under the heading of “promoting gay rights.”

For all his sexual deviancy, Barney Frank’s greatest offense had more to do with his ultra-left wing policies. During his 16 terms in Congress Barney Frank was ultra-liberalism’s poster boy — witty and quotable, but fundamentally wrong on so many issues.

Called by Britain’s Telegraph newspaper “one of the most strident liberal voices” among the Democrat members of Congress, Frank championed scores of far-left policies over his 30-plus years on Capitol Hill.

Frank said that running for re-election in his newly redrawn Congressional district would prove too strenuous and that he had chosen to step down rather than engage in a tough re-election fight.

The damage Frank caused to the economic health of this nation — especially in the housing scandal, where his meddling with the industry brought the United States to the brink of a national banking disaster — is unforgivable.

The facts are familiar but worth reviewing. Frank worked to expand the reach of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 and opposed oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for many years during both Democrat and Republican administrations.

In 1991, Frank fought to loosen lending regulations for two- and three-family homes, even though the default rate in that sector was much higher than the single-family sector. He later blocked a Clinton administration plan to pull the reins on Fannie Mae.
During that period, Frank’s sexual partner was a Fannie Mae executive, Herb Moses. Shockingly, the revelation didn’t prevent Frank’s re-election and he went on to do more damage to the economy.

As ranking minority member of the House Financial Services Committee starting in 2003, Frank strenuously opposed tighter regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac even as the warning signs of risky management and impending disaster became strong, and Republicans tried to take action. He accused his opponents of exaggerating the facts, the Republican reforms lost steam, and the result was the great recession we are still trying to shake off.

Not allowing a crisis go to waste, the disingenuous Frank then tried to cover up his mistakes with the Dodd-Frank “reforms” of 2010, which are nothing more than a Democrat wish list of ways to stifle economic recovery. Higher bank fees and layoffs are just a couple of inevitable consequences.

Like a sexually transmitted disease, Barney Frank was the gift that kept on giving. He will not be missed.

©2011 Mike Reagan. Mike’s column is distributed exclusively by: Cagle Cartoons, Inc., newspaper syndicate. For info contact Cari Dawson Bartley. E-mail [email protected], (800) 696-7561.

Child rape is an unforgivable offense and should be severely punished. It should be a capital crime.

Unfortunately and unwisely, the U.S. Supreme Court in 2008 struck down a Louisiana law that provided for the death penalty in cases of child rape. Part of the court’s rationale was that only a few states had such laws at the time, and they saw no national consensus even though there were several proposed laws in additional states and the movement was growing.

I am calling on Congress to pass bipartisan legislation against this horrific crime without delay. The Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994 should be updated to include child rape. Perhaps then the Supreme Court will get a clue about how the American people really feel.

I write as a victim of this crime when I was very young, and I can testify that it is an experience that forever scars its victims. We might think of child rape as an “unspeakable” crime, but the fact is we need to speak up for the sake of our children.

The recent scandal at Penn State once again shows that there are adults among us who prey on the very young. As far as I am concerned, such adults should be punished as severely as the law allows. It is an offense against the most vulnerable among us.

That this latest incident occurred at a center of learning, famed among other things for its stellar athletic programs, shows that no place is immune from episodes of sexual abuse of the young. Where there are youngsters in abundance, as at a college campus or a school yard, there is a strong possibility that there will also be predators lurking about and scheming to abuse them sexually.

The thing about the Penn State case that most shocks me is the absolute failure of some of the college’s authorities to deal with a crime on their campus that could not have escaped their notice. Long-famed for winning football teams managed by one of the nation’s top coaches, Penn State will now be remembered as the site of dismal failure in protecting children

Parents need to be aware of this problem and should see to it that their youngsters are given appropriate guidance that they must be careful to avoid situations where they might be victimized by adult child abusers, and that they must promptly report any attempt by adults to abuse them sexually.

As I wrote above, as a youngster I was abused by an adult. Because I was very young and not aware that I was a victim and not a willing participant in this crime, I failed to report this abuse to my parents or to the authorities. I fear that today’s victims might share this fear and unknowingly allow their abusers to avoid the harsh punishments they deserve to experience. That exposes other youngsters to victimization, so our children need encouragement to speak up as well.

Let it never be forgotten that child abuse, especially by sexual predators, is a widespread crime. Let all parents remain alert to any signs that their youngsters are victims of sex abuse by adults. Your children need you.

©2011 Mike Reagan. Mike’s column is distributed exclusively by: Cagle Cartoons, Inc., newspaper syndicate. For info contact Cari Dawson Bartley. E-mail [email protected], (800) 696-7561.

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno released a statement on Wednesday in which he said, “With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.” How lame is that, Coach?

Would you have accepted that excuse from one of your players? “With the benefit of hindsight, Coach, I wish I had run the route we rehearsed a thousand times in practice.” See how stupid that sounds? It doesn’t take “hindsight” to know that when some monster is raping children in your locker room, you call the police.

Coach, you knew back in 2002 that Jerry Sandusky had anally raped a ten-year-old boy in the Lasch Football Building. You handled the matter quietly with your athletic director, Tim Curley. You took away the rapist’s keys and barred him from the facility — but you didn’t call the police. You didn’t lift a finger to help the victim. No hindsight needed, Coach. You screwed up.

Yes, we all know about your 61-year career at Penn State. But, when you allow children to be victimized right under your nose, you wipe out 61 years of achievement. The Jerry Sandusky scandal is your legacy now.

This scandal has also indelibly stained the reputation of The Second Mile, the charity Jerry Sandusky founded in 1977 as a foster-care program for at-risk kids. Turns out the kids were most at-risk from Sandusky himself.

The Second Mile was one of George Bush Sr.’s Thousand Points of Light and probably did some good work. But the grand jury says Sandusky met his victims through The Second Mile. So even if the program survives this scandal, it will always be remembered as Jerry Sandusky’s private sandbox for recruiting rape victims.

As for the child rapist himself (do I have to say “alleged,” given what we know?), you have to stand amazed at his gall. He actually had the brass to title his autobiography “Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story.” What is that, the punchline of a sick joke?

I don’t want to hear any more “benefit of hindsight” excuses. So let’s be clear about what you should do if you learn that a child is being sexually abused. Print this out, post it on your bulletin board, and make sure everyone in your family, company, or organization knows how to respond to child sexual abuse.

1. If you see an act of child abuse in progress, step in and STOP IT. I have to wonder why the grad assistant who witnessed the rape felt he only had to report it to someone. Why didn’t he jump in, knock Sandusky on his butt, and protect the child? If you see a child being raped by an adult, please have the guts and good sense to intervene.

2. If a child tells you he or she is being abused, don’t panic, don’t act shocked. Make sure the child feels supported and protected. Say, “You did the right thing in telling me.”

3. Believe the child. Even if the offender is “good old Uncle Charlie,” tell the child, “I believe you.” It takes courage for kids to speak up because they fear they won’t be believed. Kids need to know you’re on their side, and they almost never imagine sex acts unless they’ve experienced them.

4. Tell the child that he or she is not bad. Say, “He knew better; you didn’t know. We’ll make sure he can’t touch you again.”

5. Focus on the child’s needs. Don’t think about the reputation of any individual or organization. The moment you shift your focus off of what’s best for the child, you’re on the wrong side of the issue. We as a people need to stop protecting our institutions over our children; whether it is the church, the university, or the institution of the family it is time for us to put our children first not last.

6. Don’t confront the offender in front of the child. Keep adult discussions away from the child. Kids need to feel protected. They don’t need to be upset, disturbed, and frightened.

7. Report the crime to the police. Law enforcement agencies in your area have trained investigators who will talk with you and the child, and who know exactly how best to handle the situation. And don’t you dare tell me that you don’t have the heart to have “good old Uncle Charlie” arrested. If Uncle Charlie is molesting a child, protect that child!

I’ve heard too many horror stories of people who protected “good old Uncle Charlie” or “good old Coach Sandusky” instead of protecting children. You must have absolute moral clarity: Child molesters belong in jail where they can’t hurt children. If you don’t call the police, then you are an accomplice and no better than a molester yourself.

8. If the molester is a member of the clergy, DO NOT report the abuse to church officials. If the molester is a coach or teacher, DO NOT report the abuse to the school authorities. Some churches and organizations worry more about lawsuits and bad publicity than about kids. Just call the police.

9. Don’t call Child Protective Services — investigating crimes is not the function of CPS. If the police determine that CPS should be involved, they will make that decision. Don’t let the predator talk you out calling the police. Most predators are amazingly persuasive — that’s how they entice their victims, and that’s how they get people to cover for them instead of reporting them. Don’t be taken in by a charming predator.

10. After you call the police, call the ChildHelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4ACHILD (1-800-422-4453). The ChildHelp counselor will listen to your concerns, answer your questions, and direct you to local support services for the child.

Finally, don’t you ever use the “benefit of hindsight” excuse! I’ve armed you with the foresight to do the right thing to protect a child—and that child is counting on you.

©2011 Mike Reagan. Mike’s column is distributed exclusively by: Cagle Cartoons, Inc., newspaper syndicate. For info contact Cari Dawson Bartley. E-mail [email protected], (800) 696-7561.

My Dad would be beaming with pride over the behavior of Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain in Saturday’s debate, where there were polite discussions over the issues that concern us all. Moreover, the candidates offered their genuine solutions to the nation’s problems without the personal attacks that would have violated Dad’s 11th Commandment. The winner in the Gingrich-Cain debate was this nation and its people.

In the campaign itself, Herman Cain’s recently soaring campaign is threatened by charges that he had sexually harassed several women when he was president of the National Restaurant Association. As of now the unproven charges have failed to damage his numbers but that still may happen as a result of the media’s relentless coverage of the charges, which Cain vehemently denies have any merit. Unfortunately for Cain the story has legs, and the media will not let up the pressure.

It’s far too early to write Cain off. The charges have failed to dent his high standing in the polls, where he’s been on top in some. He has genuine appeal, a winning sense of humor, and a relentless determination to win. It’s hard to ignore the suspicion that the media attacks on Cain are meant to drive out of the race a black candidate who is a serious threat to Barack Obama’s chances of hanging on to the White House.

Like most of his rivals, Cain has a plan — he calls it the 9-9-9 Plan — to restore our economy. He’s emerging as a tough and determined fighter — qualities the American people admire.

Most dramatic has been the sudden rise in the fortunes of Newt Gingrich, who is cutting into the support of his rivals in the key Iowa primary. One new poll even shows that Newt, who has been around forever, has all of a sudden soared into double digits nationally. Some voters don’t recall his speakership of the House of Representatives, so he almost seems to be a newcomer as a candidate in national politics.

Few would deny that Gingrich, a renowned historian, author and political star, is one of the nation’s most thoughtful and brilliant statesmen.

The fact that Gingrich has published a new Civil War book, “The Crater,” is a real plus because it gives him added opportunities to appear on television to push the book and, by inference, his candidacy. “The Crater” deals with one of the waning Civil War’s more bizarre episodes and is certain to be widely read.

The media have all but anointed Mitt Romney as the certain GOP nominee. He has been the front-runner for the nomination and continues to have that distinction. Romney, however, has a serious problem. He is unacceptable to some GOP voters, many of who say they would not vote for him in the race against President Obama. A large segment of the GOP electorate considers him and his policies as far too liberal.

He is, however, a skilled and cogent candidate and has proven to be a genuine pro during recent debates. He continues to be the front-runner but he is vulnerable because the grass roots and tea party voters view him with suspicion.

Keep in mind that Election Day 2012 is a long way off, and in American politics only one thing is certain — that nothing is certain.

©2011 Mike Reagan. Mike’s column is distributed exclusively by: Cagle Cartoons, Inc., newspaper syndicate. For info contact Cari Dawson Bartley. E-mail [email protected], (800) 696-7561.

Reporter: ‘We’re Not Going To Get Into Details Of Exactly What Happened’…

Fmr. Secy: Not the Cain I know…

CAIN FLASHBACK: ‘I’M READY FOR HIGH-TECH LYNCHING’…

Coulter: ‘They Are Terrified Of Strong, Conservative Black Men’…

RUSH: ‘Unconscionable Racially Charged Attack’…

‘Occupy Politico’…

The stories behind these headlines illustrate why good people no longer want to run for the presidency of the United States. They immediately become targets of the left, which almost always pulls the race card or the sexual harassment card when they have nothing legitimate to say against the people they fear.

In Herman Cain’s case they use both disgusting smear tactics. They have no shame!

The website Politico has dredged up a couple of items which they claim show that Herman Cain has a background that includes sexual harassment of two former employees of a group he once headed. The exact nature of the alleged offenses is left obscure, filed under the heading of sexual harassment. The women were given financial settlements by the restaurant association on the grounds that the allegations should be settled even if meritless.

The women are left unidentified and Cain heatedly denies both allegations. But the damage is done and regardless of the fact that they are baseless, as he insists, they are out there.

Ask yourself: If similar accusations were aimed at any liberal candidate would the mainstream media, aside from condemning the charges, give them much publicity? Ask Paula Jones, harassed by the media for daring to accuse President Clinton of sexually abusing her. They smeared her mercilessly. Mr. Clinton got off unscathed. Miss Jones is left with Mr. Clinton’s advice to “put some ice” on her lips after he had allegedly bruised them when forcing himself upon her.

Not so with Herman Cain. He’s a conservative Republican who is ahead in the polls for the GOP presidential nomination and enjoys widespread support from the public. As far as the media are concerned, he’s guilty of sexually harassing two unidentified women, known only to Politico, whether or not the accusations are true.

A lot is known about Herman Cain. And what is known is that he has proven himself to be an honest and decent man who is obviously not capable of the behavior with which he is charged. To the left wing-dominated media that’s inconsequential. What matters is that as a conservative Republican leading his rivals in the GOP presidential sweepstakes he is a menace to their socialistic agenda and must be destroyed.

The media’s double standard is once again exposed inasmuch as President Obama’s clouded background is carefully ignored.

Mr. Cain, who is obviously qualified for the office, is challenged on what appear to be the most specious of grounds. Given his superb background as a good, decent and honest man, the accusations ring hollow — except to the Stalinist segment of the media which insists that conservative politicians are always guilty regardless of the merits of the charges.

It’s no wonder decent men and women avoid getting involved in elective politics. It’s not worth the trouble.

©2011 Mike Reagan. Mike’s column is distributed exclusively by: Cagle Cartoons, Inc., newspaper syndicate. For info contact Cari Dawson Bartley. E-mail [email protected], (800) 696-7561.

Despite the recent chatter about a flat income tax — a tax that every income earner pays regardless of their level of income — the idea is dead unless its supporters figure out a way to get together and support the idea that a flat tax is a fair tax. I believe we can unite.

In a system of flat taxation there is only one level of taxation. Everybody pays the same rate no matter how much money they earn. Taxpayers are not punished for having succeeded by being taxed at rates higher than that paid by the lowest earners of income.

It’s not a new idea. My dad was a supporter of the flat tax proposal, but he recognized the problems inherent in passing it into law.

One problem has to do with uncertainty and political opportunism. There’s an old adage that decrees that only two things in life are certain: death and taxes. And just as likely is the fact that any proposal to change the tax code — even change for the better — is bound to create uncertainty as people examine proposals in light of their own finances. This creates a wedge for Democrats to use against us.

Democrats and the liberal media are now trying to turn uncertainty into chaos as they highlight every situation that might affect somebody in some obscure way as the result of the various Republican proposals. But we should not lose sight of the fact that their agenda has nothing to do with fairness, and has everything to do with punishing Americans for the “crimes” of earning money, providing jobs, and not wanting to be dependent on the state.

As my dad saw it, the entire federal tax system needed to be revised. I agree that’s still the case. But there is work to be done, and we must not allow ourselves to feed the liberal narrative that Republicans will be unable to unite behind a candidate or a tax plan.

One place to start is to reconcile the Flat Taxers and the Fair Taxers, those who support some sort of national sales tax as in Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 Plan. If neither side will support the other, we will be exactly where the IRS and the administration want us to be — split on an important issue. If we don’t come together on this issue Washington and the IRS can sit back and laugh, and keep their hands in our pockets. And they’ll be laughing at us.

Just remember that a flat tax is a fair tax. Nobody gets penalized for earning more than the average wage earner. No matter how much money one earns, one pays the same rate of taxation everybody else pays. That doesn’t mean they pay the same amount of taxes everybody else pays — merely that they pay the same percentage of their income everybody else pays. Nobody gets punished for making more than the average wage earner.

Unfortunately, there is a segment of our population that recoils in horror at the sight of somebody who, by dint of their efforts, earns more than the average worker or even aspires to do so. Democrats believe that people must be penalized for their success by being forced to pay ever-increasing taxes. In their eyes, success breeds contempt.

This is the group that opposes a flat tax, and they must be defeated in 2012. I have no doubt that Republicans can unite to make sure that happens.

©2011 Mike Reagan. Mike’s column is distributed exclusively by: Cagle Cartoons, Inc., newspaper syndicate. For info contact Cari Dawson Bartley. E-mail [email protected], (800) 696-7561.

In his new book, “Suicide of a Superpower,” Pat Buchanan writes that the politics of race, culture and tribalism will be the largest problem civilization will face.

This item on FoxNews.com proves his point. Here’s where today’s politics of culture are leading this once-great nation.

“A lesbian couple in California who say their 11-year-old son Tommy who wants to be a girl named Tammy are giving their child hormone blockers that delay the onset of puberty — so that he can have more time to decide if he wants to change his gender.

“The couple’s supporters say the Hormone Blocking Therapy has only minor side effects and is appropriate for a child who is unsure of his gender. ‘This is definitely a changing landscape for transgender youth,’ said Joel Baum, director of education and training for Gender Spectrum, a California-based non-profit group. ‘This is about giving kids and their families the opportunity to make the right decision.’”

The right decision? Are they crazy? How can a child born as a male choose to be a female? Who determines if he is “unsure of his gender”? He can determine that simply by taking a quick look at his body. No amount of surgery and training can permit a child to choose to become what he is not. Born male, he’ll always be a male regardless of his weird wishes, those of his “parents,” or the results of a misguided surgeon’s scalpel.

To begin with, Tommy is an adoptee, and I wonder if his real parents had any idea their offspring would become a poster boy for this kind of weirdness.

I also wonder how his so-called “parents” can legally obtain Hormone Blocking Therapy to prevent nature from taking its course. If a child is born male, he’s a male. Period.

The whole affair boggles the mind. How in the world can the state of California justify allowing a so-called “lesbian couple” to adopt a child who will be raised in an unnatural setting by two people who cannot possibly be seen as “parents” — roles for men and women, not for women and women or men and men?

In a saner world, this episode would provoke equal amounts of scorn and hilarity over the extent to which the roles of men and women have become so distorted as to obliterate the differences between males and females in the sovereign state of California.

Finally, gay couples should be outraged by this!! This will bolster the Christian argument against gays adopting and therefore leave more children in a broken foster-care system. Children are children, they are not for experimentation.

Except, of course, in California.

©2011 Mike Reagan. Mike’s column is distributed exclusively by: Cagle Cartoons, Inc., newspaper syndicate. For info contact Cari Dawson Bartley. E-mail [email protected], (800) 696-7561.