The Reason for the Season

First off, Merry Christmas!! It’s now that wonderful season where we celebrate Christ’s birth and memorialize that event through the giving of gifts to one another, just as God gave us the gift of Christ Jesus. Oh Crap!! What a politically incorrect thing to say! Like it or not, the celebration of Christmas (or Hanukkah for that matter) is inexorably tied to religion. It is impossible to separate the two, although our society has engaged in a Herculean effort to disassociate Christmas with Christianity. Much to the chagrin of atheists and secular humanists such an effort will never be completely successful because Christmas is a fundamentally Christian Holliday and as long as inquiring minds exist to ask “Why do we celebrate Christmas?” their efforts to eradicate Christ from Christmas will never be completely successful.

In light of the season (CHRISTmas), and in the spirit of giving (like GOD did), I have a suggestion for a new holiday (a modern word derived from HOLY DAY) that atheists may celebrate without fear of violating their core principles. I give you “FESTIVESS”!! (Thank you Gerry Seinfeld). Since we are creating a new day of celebration (careful, don’t use the word holiday) we can celebrate it anytime we desire. I suggest the date of Chuck Darwin’s birth but feel free to pick your own meaningful day of the year. During the celebration of Festivess families (defined as two or more people of any sex that love each other and who may or may not live together) and/or close friends can gather together and have a large meal. This will foster a sense of closeness and trust that will be very important in surviving the next phase of celebration. At the conclusion of the meal participants can then engage in an “Airing of the grievances” during which they can air out all the dirty laundry and bad feelings that have accumulated during the previous year. This will foster a sense of openness and honesty among participants as well as provide an opportunity for conflict resolution leading to a stronger community. Upon conclusion of the Airing of the Grievances partiers can then transition into the final phase of celebration, which is quite naturally the “Feats of Strength”. The Feats of Strength portion of the evening is the ULTIMATE in conflict resolution. Both males and females may participate, however, if males and females wish to compete against one another it is suggested that the physically larger party be handicapped with several stiff drinks to stymie their coordination and balance thereby allowing the smaller party an equal chance at successful conflict resolution. Actually, upon further reflection, this handicap should be extended to include all parties because admitting any difference in the sexes might offend militant feminists, bisexuals, and other attendees. At the conclusion of the celebration revelers should feel a deeper sense of community and be excitedly anticipating next year’s Festivess Celebration.

In all seriousness, Merry Christmas and may God bless you richly in the upcoming year. If you find that offensive, Merry Christmas anyway and I still hope that God blesses you richly in the upcoming year. Jesus is still the reason for the season and Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the lost. This is why we celebrate Christmas. It is a day set aside to mark the ultimate gift from God to humanity; redemption, salvation, forgiveness, and life.

Ft. Hood Tragedy

I am sure you are all aware of the horrific act of terrorism that occurred earlier this week at Ft. Hood, Texas. My thoughts and prayers are with the wounded and the families of the fallen. I’ve have been most appalled at our President’s reaction and the reaction and coverage of the mainstream news media.

When are these fools going to recognize the threat posed by militant Islam? How many 9-11’s, embassy bombings, and Ft. Hood massacres must occur before the politically correct left in this country pull their collective head out of a dark, smelly orifice? The simple fact is that Islamic extremists are in no way interested in dialogue, compromise, or peace!! In fact, as I understand their brand of Islam, to bury the hatched anywhere other than an infidel’s head is displeasing to allah (no Microsoft word, I will NOT capitalize the name of a god that demands the blood of the innocent!!). Not all Muslims are killers, in fact most are reasonable people that simply want to live their lives in peace. Unfortunately there exists a sinister brand of Islam that calls for the conversion or destruction of all unbelievers by whatever means necessary. Failure to recognize and react to this threat in the vain hope that it will resolve itself is childish, unrealistic, and frankly pure foolishness. The only way to stop an enemy who will not negotiate or agree to peaceful coexistence is to ruthlessly exterminate them. (What a politically incorrect thing to think, much less say!!) Like it or not we are locked in a death match with a minority of the Muslim population that have whole heartedly embraced a belief system that calls for the conversion or eradication of ALL who do not believe as they do. Main stream Muslims are foolish to believe that when the extremists are done with us that they will be spared.

From what I can learn, it appears that the soldier responsible for this act of treachery and murder was a practicing Muslim. It also appears that he displayed several warning signs of potential violent action. Finally, there are witness accounts that seconds before he started shooting he yelled “Allah Akbar!!” which is Arabic for “God is Great!!” Now if it swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is probably a duck. If a murderer worships like a terrorist and talks like a terrorist, and finally acts like a terrorist, then he is probably a terrorist and should be labeled as such!!

I have one final observation. Bullets stopped this act of mass murder. Think about that for a minute. This killer was stopped with hot lead. His victims were unarmed and incapable of neutralizing the threat that faced them. If just one of the soldiers in that room had been armed there might not be a body count to report. Law enforcement responded in a very timely manner (they were on the scene and engaging the terrorist in about 4 minutes) but in that short time he was able to end the lives of all too many people. Guns in responsible hands saved lives. If there had been more guns in responsible hands there might not have been any lives lost! Victims cease to be victims when they have the capability to defend themselves. Contrary to the picture the left in this country paints, guns can and do save lives! This may be the saddest, best argument for the right to keep and bear arms that I have ever seen.

And so we are betrayed....

With the passage of the health care bill by the house the democrats in congress have made it absolutely clear what it is that they seek. The seek nothing short of absolute control of each and every American life. I have read as much of that travesty of a bill as my limited time would allow and from my reading and what I have gathered in the media about the bill it is NOT going to positively affect the health care of a majority of Americans. That leads me to one disturbing conclusion. Many of our leaders are seeking the swiftest way to gain as much control over our lives as possible. Nearly every facet of your life can be construed as to have an effect on your health. If the government is paying the bills for your health care you can be DAMN SURE that they are going to be peering into every nook and cranny of your life to insure that you are living in the healthiest manner possible so as to keep their costs down. They will do all of this while loudly proclaiming that they only have your well being at heart. What happened to rugged individualism and self reliance?? What happened to being master of your own destiny? WHAT HAPPENED TO PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY?!?!! If they truly wanted increased competition to drive down costs they would have torn down the artificial barriers that keep health insurance companies from selling their products across state lines. If they had done this one thing it would have radically increased competition and not cost the tax payers a dime.

No, this can only be about power. Power over your personal choices, over your possessions, over your life. We can only hope that the Senate will find the will to do the right thing and deny the House and President the current legislation.

Frankly, if this legislation does become the law of the land and you voted for Obama and all his stooges in Congress, don't you dare come crying to me when you get sick and the uncaring, unwieldy bureaucracy can't react fast enough to get you the care and treatment you need to recover. Don't you ever complain about taxes, waiting to see a doctor, or you grandma dying to me. As you have sown, so shall you reap. My only regret and fear is that I and my family will be taken down with your ship. When you cead the responsibility of managing your own affairs to others, don't whine to me when they don't give them the same priority and attention that you would. In a government run system you are a number, not a person. You become something less than human when you allow others control over your life. I am so angry and saddened that it is almost a palpable emotion. Don't complain to me or any of the millions of others who warned of the dire consequences of this legislation.

I hope and pray that we can stop this before it is too late, however my hopes aren't high. The democrats in the Senate are perhaps even less receptive to public outcry that their counterparts in the House.

Don't worry, I won't give up the fight. To quote John Paul Jones, "I have not yet begun to fight!!" I will write and call and campaign to stop this and failing that I will write and call and educate and campaign to roll it back!!! If you haven't yet made your voice heard, NOW IS THE TIME!! We nearly defeated this in the House, let us see if we can't beat this piece of socialism back in the Senate. DO NOT GIVE UP!! I feel like I've been kicked in the gut and I'm not going to quit!! You shouldn't either!!

EVIL FLOURISHES WHEN GOOD MEN REMAIN SILENT, AND IN REMAINING SILENT THEY BECOME COMPLICIT IN ACTS THEY WOULD NOT OTHERWISE CONDONE!!

DO NOT BE SILENT!!!

Updates

I apologize for not adding any new posts lately. I work in the ag industry and fall is our busiest time of the year. I also purchased a house in September that requires extensive remodeling, so between work and working on my new home, time has been in short supply. I have a new post in the works, however it needs a little tweaking before its worthy to be published.

I would be remiss if I didn't urge you to call your congressmen and tell them to vote "no" on the current health care reform bills. I'm currently wading through the 1900+ pages of the house bill and taking notes on it, however, I don't think I'll make it all the way through that sorry excuse of a bill before the House votes. 72 hours simply isn't enough time for the average working person to read what is essentially a 2000 page bill.

Finally, I leave you with this: All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to remain silent, and in remaining silent they become complicit in acts they would not otherwise condone.

The Cult of Obama

I was perusing the Drudge Report yesterday and I stumbled across a story that really grabbed my attention. Apparently, in a New Jersey grade school, children were taught a song praising B. Hussein Obama and then performed the song. If this isn’t brainwashing, then I’m a card carrying communist. While I find it morally reprehensible for teachers to indoctrinate students rather than teach them reading, writing, and arithmetic, what really disturbs me is the flagrant violation of liberal’s dearly held separation of church and state.

As an academic exercise, let’s compare and contrast the Bible’s claims about Jesus Christ and the media’s claims about B. Hussein Obama. The Bible claims that Christ had control over the weather and the physical world around him. The media claims that Obama will stop global warming and heal the environment. The Bible claims that Jesus came with a new message of hope and change. The media, and Obama himself, claim that he has a new message of hope and change. The Bible claims that Christ is ruler of all. The media, and the president in his recent speech to the U.N., is making the case that HE is the leading citizen of the world. The Bible says that Christ came to save people. The media claims that Obama is here to save us all. Finally, the Bible claims that following Jesus’ teachings are the only way to be saved. The media claims that following Obama’s policies are the only way to save this country and possibly the world.

Whether or not you believe the Bible is irrelevant to the fact that both Jesus Christ and Barrack Obama are entities that are portrayed in a God-like fashion. If students are not allowed to publicly praise and worship Christ in school, they certainly should not be allowed to publicly praise and worship the “deity” that is Obama. This is how cults are started and perpetuated. Impressionable minds are repeatedly assaulted with a belief, while all facts to the contrary are downplayed or out right denied. Teachers should not be complicit in perpetuating the religion of hope and change, rather they should be teaching their students that the president is a man, subject to the constitution, elected by the people of this great nation, who has ideas and opinions that we are free to agree or disagree with as we see fit. This story and the media’s continued fawning over the President is disgusting and falls in the same category of teaching and reporting that you find in third world nations run by pot-bellied, geriatric dictators!!

The Founder's View of the National Government

Thomas Jefferson – “The way to have good and safe government is not to trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many, distributing to everyone exactly the functions he is competent to. Let the national government be entrusted with the defense of the nation, and its foreign and federal relations; the state governments with the civil right, laws, police, and administration of what concerns the state generally; the counties with the local concerns of the counties; and each ward direct the interests within itself. It is by dividing and subdividing these republics from the great national one down through all its subordinations until it ends in the administration of every man’s farm by himself, by placing under everyone what his own eye may superintend, that all will be done for the best. It is not by the consolidation or concentration of powers, but by their distribution that good government is effected.”

James Madison – “ It is objected to this system, that under it there is no sovereignty left in the state governments…I should be very glad to know at what period the state governments become possessed of the supreme power. On the principle… of this Constitution…the supreme power resides in the people. If they choose to indulge a part of their sovereign power to be exercised by the state governments, they may. If they have done it, the states were right in exercising it; but if they (the people) think it no longer safe or convenient, they will resume it, or make a new distribution, more likely to be productive of that good which ought to be our constant aim. The powers both of the general government and the state governments, under this system, are acknowledged to be so many emanations of power from the people.”

Alexander Hamilton – “The great leading objects of the federal government, in which revenue is concerned, are to maintain domestic peace, and provide for the common defense. In these are comprehended the regulation of commerce, the support of armies and navies, and of the civil administration. This principle assented to, let us inquire what are the objects of the state governments. Have they to provide against foreign invasion? Have they to maintain fleets and armies? Have they any concern in the regulation of commerce, the procuring alliances, or forming treaties of peace? No. Their objects are merely civil and domestic – to support the legislative establishment, and to provide for the administration of the laws.”

James Madison – “The powers of the general (federal) government relate to external objects and are but few. But the powers in the states relate to those great objects which immediately concern the prosperity of the people.”

Alexander Hamilton – “The plan of the convention declares that the power of Congress, or, in other words, of the national legislature, shall extend to certain enumerated cases. This specification of particulars evidently excludes all pretension to a general legislative authority, because an affirmative grant of special powers would be absurd as well as useless if a general authority was intended.”

In these quotes it is quite plain that our founders intended that the federal government be primarily concerned with entities and events beyond our national borders. It is also self evident that the powers delegated to the national authority were to be quite limited and strictly defined. The grossly engorged bureaucracy we currently have in Washington contrasts sharply with our forefather’s view of what the federal government should look like. I close with the words of Thomas Jefferson:

“When all government, domestic and foreign, in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated.”

Cap and Trade; or The Great Money Grab of '09

Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution cheap energy has been the life’s blood of society. In America we are especially dependant upon cheap, reliable energy. Virtually every facet of life in America relies on coal and petroleum products. Most of our electricity is produced using coal and natural gas. Almost every product on the shelves in retail stores was transported there using diesel power. Most of us rely of gasoline-powered cars for daily transportation. Even the food we eat is largely produced using diesel powered equipment and fertilizers whose production is dependant upon cheap natural gas. For example, when the price of gasoline rose steeply last summer, the price of nitrogen fertilizers (fertilizers essential to crop production) tripled! ANY MEASURE THAT ARTIFICIALLY INCREASES THE PRICE OF ENERGY WILL INCREASE THE COST OF VIRTUALLY EVERY FACET OF AMERICAN LIFE!!!

The Waxman-Markey Climate Bill, also known as Cap and Trade, will drastically increase the price of energy for every American. I know I sound alarmist, however I have read large portions of the bill and every analysis of it that I can find, and if passed Cap and Trade will raise not only the price of electricity but also the price of nearly every consumable product on the market. Since this bill is unilateral, American products will become far less competitive in the world market place resulting in a reduction in trade. Increased prices here at home, coupled with a drastic reduction in trade will lead to business failures and additional economic hardship for all Americans. Cap and Trade will virtually destroy our economy.

While those effects are reason enough to oppose the Waxman-Markey bill, I ask you this: Why is the Federal Government trying to enact legislation that will have such an earth shattering impact on the economy? The proposed reason is to combat global warming, however even the proponents of the bill admit that at the end of the century it will only reduce global temperatures by 2 TENTHS of a degree! And that according to the most generous of available projections!! Clearly the immediate detrimental effects on our way of life outweigh the proposed environmental benefits.

I believe if we are to truly understand the reasons behind Cap and Trade we must examine the money trail. Essentially Cap and Trade first mandates that businesses must have a license to emit carbon dioxide and then establishes a market place for pollution licenses to be traded like stocks. This market is regulated and run by the Federal Government with the taxes going directly into government’s coffers. Ostensibly the tax revenue collected will be used to assist poor (by the government’s definition) consumers in offsetting the increased costs caused by Cap and Trade. However, we all know that Washington is notoriously inefficient, corrupt, and rife with narcissistic politicians intent on expanding their power bases and I find it ludicrous to believe that our leaders want this program for anything other than lining their own pockets!!! Upon examination the Waxman-Markey Climate Change Bill amounts to nothing more than an enormous power and money grab by the Federal Government.

Call your congressmen and tell them to be content with their own rather large salaries. Tell them to oppose Cap and Trade. Call, write, and e-mail until this massive tax increase is six feet under in a padlocked concrete vault. Make your voice heard today!

Big Brother is Watching

I recently finished reading George Orwell’s 1984. I must admit, I found it riveting. Rarely does one find such a plain spoken, straightforward discussion of the ultimate, if unconscious, aims of totalitarianism in the guise of socialism. It truly is a must read book. In light of 1984 I present you with the following article:

“The year is 2020 and the gasoline tax is history. In its place you get a monthly tax bill based on each mile you drove — tracked by a Global Positioning System device in your car and uploaded to a billing center.
What once was science fiction is being field-tested by the University of Iowa to iron out the wrinkles should a by-the-mile road tax ever be enacted.
Besides the technological advances making such a tax possible, the idea is getting a hard push from a growing number of transportation experts and officials. That is because the traditional by-the-gallon fuel tax, struggling to keep up with road building and maintenance demands, could fall even farther behind as vehicles’ gas mileage rises and more alternative-fuel vehicles come on line.”

By STEVE EVERLY
The Kansas City Star

The interesting thing that is not mentioned in this article is that with the huge Cap and Tax bill recently passed the effective tax on a gallon of gasoline will skyrocket and people will drive even less, further decreasing the revenues raised by fuel taxes. This is simply another case of the government killing the goose that lays the golden egg and then realizing that, “Oh Crap!! No more golden eggs!!”

The thing I find most insidious though, and the reason for the 1984 reference, is that, if enacted, the government will be tracking the comings and goings of every vehicle owner in these United States. Can you say “Big Brother is watching”? The proposition of a road usage tax, tracked by a GPS beacon on your car, is a massive invasion of privacy and effectively allows the government to know where you go, who you visit, and at what times you venture anywhere outside the four walls of you castle. If you thought the Patriot Act was a travesty because of its implications for personal privacy, then you should be truly horrified at the prospect of a GPS based road usage tax. It takes little imagination to concoct a scenario in which innocent people are added to watch lists simply because they made a wrong turn and wound up driving past a KKK meeting.

The idea of a GPS based road usage tax is nothing more than a round about method for the federal government to spy on each and every citizen of these United States. Another objection to this concept is that I am almost certain that our legislators will not substitute a road usage tax for the current fuel tax but will implement it in addition to the fuel tax providing a double hit to all American drivers.

This is simply another example of why the citizens of a free nation must be ever vigilant in regards to their freedom. Liberty is rarely lost in one fell swoop; rather it is taken little by little and slowly eroded over time. Keep a sharp eye on your elected representative or they will keep a sharp eye on you. Remember, Big Brother is Watching.

A Perversion of Justice - Hate Crimes Statutes

What is a hate crime? According to the Department of Justice and the FBI a hate crime “is a criminal offense committed against a person, property, or society which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin.” In essence a hate crime is defined as a crime in which the motivation is one of bigotry.

I postulate that hate crimes statutes are a perversion of justice that elevate a class of victims over others and lifts the blindfold from lady justice’s eyes. Hate crimes statutes also implicitly state that all humans are not equal and certain members of the human race are more valuable than others. Finally, and possibly most perversely, hate crimes statutes are designed to punish the privately held thoughts and beliefs of the perpetrator of the crime.

Before you walk away let me explain the preceding paragraph. The Declaration of Independence starts by laying out the First Principles of this nation. It states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” This country is founded on the belief that all men are created equal. Logically then, all men are equal before the law. To enact harsher penalties for crimes committed against a certain subset of the population is to deny this principle of equality and declare that certain people have greater inherent value than others. This is no different than saying kings have a hereditary right to rule or white people have a natural right to keep slaves. All are equally offensive when viewed through the prism of “all men are created equal.” I believe that all humans are unique, precious, and of inestimable value. All human life should be rigorously defended, regardless of skin color, personal beliefs, gender, age, or any other way you wish to group people. All are created equal and all are equally precious. We owe it to each and every member of the human family to vigorously defend their unalienable rights. Hate crime statutes fly in the face of that belief by declaring that certain people are more valuable in the eyes of the law than others, and for that reason alone hate crimes statutes should be abolished.

Secondly hate crimes statues should be abolished because they lift the blindfold from lady justice’s eyes. When an individual is charged with a hate crime, the victim of the crime is not viewed as a person, but rather as member of a group. The machinery of justice then attempts to punish the perpetrator not for the crime committed against the victim, but for the crime committed against the group. This denies the real victim justice because lady justice is no longer hearing his case, but is looking at the group the victim represents. Crimes are not committed against groups. Crimes are committed against individuals. Crimes are violations of an INDIVIDUAL’S rights. To treat the crime as anything other than that is to deny justice to the victim.

Finally hate crimes statutes should be abolished because they put the defendant’s personal beliefs on trial. In theory this is a country where you are free to believe and think whatever you wish to believe or think, regardless of how that aligns with societal norms. When a defendant is charged with a hate crime, his private beliefs and ideas are put on trial and if he is found guilty, then he is punished for those beliefs and ideas. Crimes, by their very nature, require conscious action on the part of the perpetrator. To put someone on trial for their thoughts is not only absurd, it is unconstitutional. Thinking about robbing a bank is not a crime; walking into a bank with a weapon and committing a robbery is. In a free society, based on the rule of law, you may believe whatever you chose, no matter how offensive those beliefs may be. What you are not allowed to do is to act in such a way as to violate the rights of others. Hate crimes statutes violate this principle by putting the defendant’s private beliefs on trial.

For these reasons I disagree with the notion of “hate crimes”. All crimes are filled with hate and disregard for the victim. Justice should not be denied to the victims of any crime. Victims are individuals and are entitled to see justice served on an individual basis. We, as a society based on the rule of law, owe them no less. Likewise, defendants deserve a speedy and fair trial of their actions and not their personal beliefs. All men are created equal and all men are equally entitled to be fairly judged for their actions by the law.

Thank You Patriots of WWII

Today marks the 65th anniversery of D-Day. I am posting a letter that I wrote to my Grandfather to thank him for his service in World War II. He served in the Navy in the Pacific during the war after leaving college and enlisting at 17 years old. He is an American Hero, as are all the Americans who answered the call and took up arms in that dark hour. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude. Take a moment today and tell a World War II vet, "Thank You."



Grandpa,

I have the deepest respect for you, both as a Godly man and example to me, and as a man who answered the call of duty in his country’s hour of need. I am grateful beyond words for what you and those you served with achieved. Your generation of fighting men guaranteed the freedom and security of Americans as well as countless others around the globe. My debt of gratitude and the debt of gratitude owed you by your country cannot be measured. Thank you; from the bottom of my heart…Thank you.

Memorials and ceremonies are wonderful. They are a fitting honor for the enormity of the task you faced. However, in the end they are passing mementos that time will erase. Your lasting legacy is one not memorialized in statues or holidays; it is a legacy that is memorialized and lived everyday by Americans that go about their lives in freedom, peace, and security. That is legacy that time cannot erase and ultimately it is the most fitting memorial of your dedication to duty and your personal sacrifice.

I am thankful that I have you for a roll model; both as a roll model for firmness of faith and as a roll model for service to country. I hope that I, and those that I served with, have helped pass on your legacy to following generations. I hope and pray that history will not find us wanting in carrying on the torch of liberty that you and your generation bore so well.

Thank you so much for your service and unwavering commitment. I hope that the monument in Washington, along with this letter, conveys the gratitude of a grateful nation and my own personal gratitude for your service. It is an honor to have you for a grandfather and I treasure all that I have learned from you.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

An Assault on the First Amendment

Courtesy of Fox News:

“Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary have been told that they cannot invite friends to their San Diego, Calif. home for a Bible study — unless they are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to San Diego County.
"On Good Friday we had an employee from San Diego County come to our house, and inform us that the Bible study that we were having was a religious assembly, and in violation of the code in the county." David Jones told FOX News.
"We told them this is not really a religious assembly — this is just a Bible study with friends. We have a meal, we pray, that was all," Jones said.
A few days later, the couple received a written warning that cited "unlawful use of land," ordering them to either "stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit," the couple's attorney Dean Broyles told San Diego news station 10News.
But the major use permit could cost the Jones' thousands of dollars just to have a few friends over.
For David and Mary Jones, it's about more than a question of money.
"The government may not prohibit the free exercise of religion," Broyles told FOX News. "I believe that our Founding Fathers would roll over in their grave if they saw that here in the year 2009, a pastor and his wife are being told that they cannot hold a simple Bible study in their own home."
"The implications are great because it’s not only us that’s involved," Mary Jones said. "There are thousands and thousands of Bible studies that are held all across the country. What we’re interested in is setting a precedent here — before it goes any further — and that we have it settled for the future."
The couple is planning to dispute the county's order this week.
If San Diego County refuses to allow the pastor and his wife to continue gathering without acquiring a permit, they will consider a lawsuit in federal court.”

If this story is true, and I have no reason to believe that it is not, then we have entered a new era in the assault on Christianity in this country as well as the assault on the First Amendment to the Constitution. For your edification, dear reader, here is the first Amendment:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

To my mind, it seems that San Diego County is clearly in violation of the second and fifth clauses of the first Amendmant. I am sure that if this goes to court then the county will be forced to reverse their position, however this won’t be the last time that action such as this is attempted to stop people from peaceably assembling to worship. I hold that it is in no way under the government’s perview, at any level, to dictate what people may or may not do in their own homes so long as those actions do not willfuly or negligently endanger others. Now San Diego County may argue that they are not trying to prohibit peaceful gatherings of Christians in private homes, they are simply attempting to insure public safety by requiring the proper permits; however requiring permits for small peaceful gatherings in a PRIVATE citizens homes goes well beyond reasonable and is an undue impediement to the excersise of First Amendment rights. If they are going to require permits for Bible studies in homes, then they also should reqire permits for Labor Day barbecues, Super Bowl Parties, and your first grader’s birthday party. Do you see the absurdity? My thoughts and prayers are with that pastor in this fight. This should serve as a warning to us all. It should be a wake up call to the fact that our most precious liberties are under assault and that it is time to make a stand. If we don’t, the free country that we have known will die with a wimper, and the beacon of hope that is America will fade quielty into the night.
Note: Please excuse any misspellings, my spell check died….again.

The Russian Perspective

This link goes to an article in the Russian periodical Pravda. It is interesting and enlightening to read the views of observers who have lived under and then thrown off the tyranny of socialism. Please take the time to read the article and head the warning that it is. We MUST stop this march towards Marxism before the stooges in Washington lead beyond the point of no return.

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/107459-0/

I will not live on my knees. I will not sacrifice liberty for government promised security. I will not meekly accept the chains of bureaucratic control for ANYTHING! I will defend my natural rights and inherent human dignity as well as the rights and dignity of others with every resource available to me. This is my pledge and my purpose. I urge you to take it for your own.

Pearls Before Swine

Senator Durbin,

You have missed my point entirely. I hold that it is not the place of the Federal Government, or ANY government for that matter, to regulate how a private company disposes of its monies. How a private individual, company, or corporation manages their assets is entirely up to them and NOT the government. If you implement laws and regulations that direct private entities how to dispose of their income you have essentially declared property rights null and void and proclaimed that the Federal Government is the supreme authority with regards to property. This runs counter to the Constitution of these United States which clearly declares that private individuals or entities have supreme authority with regards to their own property. Please confine your activities and legislation to that which falls within your purview as a Senator. Leave private business to private entities and focus on your primary responsibility which is the defense of this nation's people and their Constitution. Good intentions are wonderful, however good intentions do not excuse one from following principle. The principle you took an oath to uphold is the principle of personal liberty and limited government as set forth in the Constitution.

Thank you,
Veritas Curator

Original Message:

Dear Mr. ________:

Thank for contacting me to share your concerns about efforts to restrict executive compensation. I appreciate hearing from you.

In recent months, public anger has grown as troubled financial institutions continue to provide large compensation packages to executive employees - particularly in companies receiving government assistance.

Supporters of limiting executive compensation note that the difference between worker pay and executive compensation has grown exponentially. In 1965, the CEOs of major U.S. companies earned an average of 24 times the compensation of the typical worker. By 2007 the difference in compensation had grown to the point where CEOs earned an astonishing 275 times the typical worker's pay. Even in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and as people are losing their jobs, their homes, and their savings, executives have continued to award themselves lavish bonus packages.

Opponents of government limitation of executive pay argue that this form of regulation could prompt valued executives to leave troubled financial institutions when their talents are most needed.

I believe that we must address this ever-widening gap between employee and executive compensation. I have introduced legislation that would continue to allow companies to provide large packages but require shareholder approval before a company allows executives to receive more than one hundred times the average pay of the rest of the company's workforce. This approval would respond to taxpayers' legitimate concerns about bonuses paid by companies receiving taxpayer assistance, while leaving the ultimate decisions about bonuses in the hands of the shareholders, where it belongs.

Thank you again for writing.

Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator

RJD/ms

My First Oath

"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God." (Title 10, US Code; Act of 5 May 1960 replacing the wording first adopted in 1789, with amendment effective 5 October 1962).

And with those words I entered the military. I enlisted in the Army National Guard when I was 19. In the six years I spent in that “reserve force” (about 2 years on active duty) I had quite a lot of time to contemplate that first oath I swore. The first thing I noticed about the oath was that it is a lifetime commitment. There is no time horizon specified, therefore even at termination of service it is still binding. This is critical for all servicemen to understand, duty does not end with discharge papers! If you have ever served in the armed forces you have taken a lifetime commitment to ‘support and defend the Constitution of the United States…”.

The next thing that struck me is the order of precedence of duty. First and foremost I swore to defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies. Second I swore to be true to the principles espoused in the Constitution. Lastly I swore to obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of officers appointed over me in accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The final clause is the only clause that is conditional. The UCMJ goes into great detail defining what lawful orders are. In the end it boils down to this: If an order is given that violates either the first or second clause of The Oath, then that order is not lawful and it is the soldier’s duty to DISOBEY the unlawful order.

So why bring this up? Why should this be a topic for discussion specifically among soldiers, sailors, marines and veterans and more generally the population at large? I chose to discuss this because much of the legislation and policies enacted recently appear to run counter to the Constitution as I understand it. Since I have sworn to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, this raises a serious dilemma. Defending the Constitution in these circumstances puts soldiers, sailors, marines, and veterans on a crash course with the Federal Government. So what are we to do? Fortunately we have provisions in place to facilitate peaceful revolutions, otherwise known as elections. The first step for anyone defending the Constitution is to lobby their elected officials at ALL LEVELS and tell them to reject further assaults on the United States Constitution and to reverse standing laws that are in conflict with it. If that fails to effect change, then it is our DUTY to vote those traitors to the Constitution out of office.

I end with a word of caution to our elected officials. The Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Veterans of these United States have all sworn an oath to defend the Constitution regardless of personal cost. For many of us, it was the first oath we swore, and as such it is our first duty. End your assaults on the Constitution of these United States or you will find yourself without employment when you are voted out of office for subverting the principles that you are supposed to defend.

When Something Goes Bump in the Night

THE TIME HAS COME!!! (Followed by gleeful, if somewhat maniacal, laughter.) I have written about politics, policy, and my worldview thus far, but this time I’m going to write a post just for fun. I am going to write about one of my favorite topics of discussion – firearms (more gleeful laughter)! Specifically I’m going to write about home defense firearms.

There are about as many different views on this topic as there are lobbyists in Washington. What type of firearm? What caliber? How many rounds should the weapon hold? Where should the firearm be kept? Who will be the primary user? All of these are valid questions, but unfortunately there are a host of different answers depending on whom you ask. I will attempt to address these questions in this post and give my two cents on the best home defense firearm at the end of this diatribe.

What type of firearm should I use for home defense? First, the answer to that question depends on where you live. Do you live in an apartment in the city, a house in the suburbs, or on a homestead out in the middle of nowhere? (I am going to assume that there are no statutes precluding ownership of certain types of firearms where you live, sorry California and certain major cities). If you live in a densely populated environment, such as an apartment complex, you have to be very concerned about over penetration of errant projectiles. That effectively rules out all rifles shooting reasonably priced, reliable ammunition and leaves you with handguns and shotguns. While both handguns and shotguns still run the risk of penetrating walls and ventilating innocent neighbors, ammunition is readily available for both that drastically reduces this possibility. This same line of reasoning also holds true for houses in the suburbs, while individuals living on a homestead in the country can safely choose rifles without very much fear of endangering their neighbors.

So back to what type of firearm should I use? I would strongly discourage anyone from using a rifle of any type for home defense, regardless of living arrangement. Rifles capable of routinely stopping a human have a significant amount of recoil. Engaging a target effectively in a lethal force situation with a rifle requires a level of training rarely seen outside of the military. So unless you want to invest in a significant amount of range time with a close quarters battle (CQB) instructor I would steer clear of rifles as home defense weapons. That brings us back to handguns and shotguns. Handguns have some clear advantages over shotguns. They are compact. They are easy to store in the nightstand. There are a myriad of calibers in various models and it’s usually easy to find a range to practice. Their compact size makes them easy to maneuver in the close environment of the home. If you use a double action revolver, a handgun is dead reliable. The drawbacks to a handgun are inherent inaccuracy when compared to their longer barreled cousins and the amount of training necessary to effectively neutralize a lethal threat in the low-light, adrenaline charged event of a home invasion.

The shotgun has its advantages and disadvantages as well. The biggest advantage of a shotgun is that it shoots a pattern as opposed to a single bullet. This makes precise aiming a bit less critical. Pump action shotguns also have the benefit of being extremely reliable and there is a wide range of shotgun ammunition available for various applications including home defense. The major disadvantage to the shotgun is size. Its longer overall length can make it difficult to maneuver in the tight confines of the home. It also is at a disadvantage compared to the pistol in the number of rounds it can hold. Most stock shotguns have a magazine capacity of 4 shells in the magazine plus one in the chamber while a handgun may hold anywhere from 6 to 15 rounds.

With all that said my weapon of choice to defend my castle is a Remington 870 shotgun loaded with #3 buckshot. I keep the shotgun close at hand because having been in a few lethal force encounters I appreciate the negative impact of adrenaline, darkness, and surprise on the ability to precisely aim a weapon. The barrel on my 870 is 18” long with a modified choke so at the limited ranges within my four walls it is a truly devastating weapon. The limited magazine capacity doesn’t really bother me because a solid hit with that weapon will drop a man in his tracks and in all likelihood keep him down. My Remington is a 20ga although I’ll likely upgrade it to a 12ga in the near future. Additionally, the added length and weight of the weapon isn’t really a detriment to navigating about my house in the dead of night while seeing what went “bump”.

I would recommend that most people use a pump action shotgun with a short barrel for home defense. It is a very simple weapon to learn to handle effectively and ammunition is cheap and easy to come by thus making practice more likely. At close range it has devastating effect and in most homes the reduced range isn’t really a factor. For those reasons I strongly advise anyone who asks to get a shotgun for home defense and it never hurts to have a back up, so go ahead and by that sexy pistol in the glass case too. You’ll be able to afford it because most pump action shotguns have the advantage of being relatively cheap.

The Swine Flu and Public Policy

We all know that the current administration hates to waste a crisis. Time and again different members of President Obama’s cabinet have gone on record stating that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste because it allows legislation and policies to be implemented that otherwise would not stand up to careful, public scrutiny. We have seen how they exploited fears over our financial institutions and auto manufacturers to facilitate nationalization of those two industries all the while stoking the fires of public hysteria by claiming that those institutions were “too big to fail”. This template has proven effective for them and I find myself wondering, “What next?”

Indeed, what next? I believe that our president and his handlers will fan the fires of public fear using their lackeys in the network news media to exploit the current swine flu scare to push for nationalization of our health care system. After all, a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. Following the established template, the current administration will correctly conclude that a flu epidemic is a threat to the national welfare, however they will come to the erroneous conclusion that our current system is ill equipped to deal with a flu epidemic and a comprehensive, nationalized health care system is the only answer to the problem. This ignores the fact that there are already contingency plans in place at the CDC for dealing with a virulent public health threat and that our PRIVATE health care system is clearly superior to the nationalized health care systems used by Canada and Mexico. In fact, I suspect that the reason the mortality rate for this flu in Mexico is so high is due to their inferior health care system.

I urge you all the be highly critical of a solution this administration offers for the flu; especially if that solution is radically different from normal policy or if that solution entails radically expanding the Federal Government’s power over our personal lives. Few things are more personal than your own health care. We should all be highly suspicious of any program or policy that will involve more people in those very private decisions especially if the people being brought in are bureaucrats.

An Explanation

I apologize for not posting anything for the last two weeks, but between being sick and being insanely busy at work I have had difficulty getting anything written that meets my standards of content and quality. I have a couple of posts in the works, unfortunately they aren't quite ready yet. So instead of a full length post I'll just throw out a couple of thoughts about the news of the day.

From the news I have gathered, it appears that the ideas of secession and Texas' sovereignty are not dead as once thought and more surprisingly they seem to be gaining some wider ranging support.

When B. Hussein Obama starts talking about how home owners in jeopardy of losing their homes can visit a government website and possibly get their mortgage payment lowered, he really sounds like late night paid programming.

My mother met an 18 year old American girl who proudly wore a bright red shirt with the Soviet hammer and sickle on it. When my mother questioned her about it, the young women stated that she wanted to live in a socialist country. When my mother asked "Why don't you move to Cuba?" the young woman wasn't enthused. Why is it that American socialists can't move to Cuba or China or Sweden etc, etc, and let those of us who love freedom and Independence have America?

More Somali pirates need to be introduced to Navy Snipers.

Historically pirates have been treated like rabid dogs; excellent to avoid, but if you run into one kill it. By following that assumption, piracy was driven from the oceans, but now that we are going to be treating them as mere criminals I think we'll win this war on piracy about as well as we've won the war on drugs.

The movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still" is an annoying propaganda piece about how we are all destroying the planet. At the end of the movie I had to laugh though. The aliens destroyed all electronics. I guess people will just go back to burning wood and coal to heat and cook with and how big a carbon foot print will 6 billion coal cooking fires make every day?

Ok, enough random thoughts for now. I will try and get a proper post up in the next day or two. Sorry about the delay.

Paranioa Strikes Deep...

I have always been slightly amused by paranoid people. Being a rational individual, I KNOW that most perceived threats and fears are illogical and therefore not worthy to be considered for further serious thought; unfortunately it has recently come to my attention that the paranoid fear of being watched MAY ACTUALLY BE JUSTIFIED (at least in Missouri)! Apparently the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) recently released a confidential strategic report that was distributed to State Troopers that dealt with the threat posed by the modern militia movement. The document reads like a standard threat assessment dealing with the history, training, organization, and general capabilities of modern militias. It becomes very interesting when it starts discussing identification of militia members. For instance the document singles out supporters of Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin, and Ron Paul as potentially dangerous militia members. Additionally, if you display bumper stickers or cartoons that depict the “IRS, FBI, CIA, UN, Law Enforcement, and ‘The New World Order’” in a derogatory manner you just might be a dangerous militia member. If you happen to be a Christian and/or Pro-life and vocal about either of those things you risk being identified as a militia member as well.
There is some good news though; one of the State Trooper recipients of this report found it disturbing and turned it over to the media. In the last month the public backlash has been so great that the report has since been pulled, so I guess that’s a victory for free speech and privacy.
The bad news is that MIAC is still up and running and the people responsible for the report are most likely still analyzing data and profiling their fellow citizens. In other bad news MIAC is only one of many (estimates vary from 58 to the high 70’s) “Fusion Centers” around the United States. Fusion Centers? What are those?
AND NOW WE COME TO THE MEAT AND POTATOES OF THIS POST!! Fusion Centers are information nexus that allow information sharing between various levels and branches of government. They analyze information and intelligence from law enforcement agencies, “public safety agencies, such as fire, health, and transportation; and the private sector. Fusion centers bring all the relevant partners together to maximize the ability to prevent and respond to terrorism and criminal acts. By embracing this
concept, these entities will be able to effectively and efficiently safeguard our homeland and maximize anticrime efforts (emphasis added).” – Fusion Center Guidelines, U.S. Dept of Justice. I am completely in favor of defending our nation from enemies who would do us serious harm. However this concept of a centralized information clearing house that can conduct extraordinarily wide ranging intelligence gathering with limited oversight and apparently few restrictions on what they can and cannot do gives me great cause for concern. The case of MIAC, the Missouri fusion center, is an excellent example of the dangers posed by intelligence gathering on our own soil. They painted potential militia members with such broad strokes that Missouri State Troopers were effectively told to view anyone with political leanings to the right of a moderate democrat as an armed and dangerous commando. My writings on this site would most certainly put me on their radar if the policy had been allowed to stand.
Another item that really bothers me in the quote above is the phrase “anticrime efforts”. Serving in the military gave me some limited insight into what is required for pre-emptive measures such as anticrime efforts or antiterrorism efforts. Pre-emptive measures require intelligence gathering, more commonly called “spying”. These fusion centers are apparently required as part of their operations to conduct or at least analyze domestic surveillance. This is most certainly a breach of our right to the security of our persons and property as well as a gross invasion of privacy. It also flies in the face of the concept of innocent until proven guilty. The term “Police State” is tugging at the corner of my mind, however that just smacks of paranoia so I’ll hold off on that for a while....maybe.
I really wish I were making all of this up. Sadly, though, that does not appear to be the case. I have done a little research into this and the more I learn, the more disturbed I become. I will attempt to put some of the supporting documentation up on the website so you will be able to draw your own conclusions. I fear that The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave is becoming The Land of the Bound and the Home of the Fearful. Unjust entities and governments cannot exist where good men stay educated and involved. Educate yourself and get involved.

A Line in the Sand

I agree with The AnarchAngel on this point. The following is a portion of his blog from Monday, March 23rd, 2009:

"The United States House of Representatives recently passed a blatantly unconstitutional bill, placing confiscatory tax burdens on anyone making more than $250,000 and working for an institution that received more than 5 billion of TARP funds.The bill was in theory specifically addressed at the false outrage over retention bonuses paid to AIG executives; and is targeted only to their bonuses.
In theory.
Of course, this would be an unconstitutional bill of attainder, which wouldn't pass even the most cursory constitutional challenge; so it was re-written to be broader.Broader of course means more people would be affected, and congress would be given more power to steal more money.In fact, if you read into the implications of the bill; it could be used to levy a 90% tax on any income over $250,000, earned by any family making more than $250,000 per year, where either spouse is employed by an institution that received federal "bailout" funds.It appears that the Senate, and the Obama administration are cold on the bill and that it will not pass, or be signed into law if it did.
I do not earn that much money; nor do my wife and I earn that much together (though in the next few years it is entirely possible that we will).However, I have something important to say.If congress should pass any such bill, and the president sign any such law, I WILL NOT OBEY IT.I will not allow congress to tell me how much I can earn. I will not allow them to take my income because of the actions of others. If they attempt to make me do so by force, I will resist with force.I will most likely die in the process, which I regret; but at some point a line must be drawn. The constitution must be respected, or it is meaningless."


Ultimately, it is our responsibility as citizens of a free country to insure and guarantee our own liberty. A line must be drawn. A point must be set where we say, "We will retreat no farther. We will take no more. Here we will stand!" Each and every one of us must search our hearts and evaluate our priorities and determine where we will make our stand.

You can view The AnarchAngels full post at http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/.

Who's Afraid Liberty?

Freedom is only for responsible people. “Wait a minute!” you say, “I thought all men were created equal?” True enough, all men are created equal, but not all men are equally gifted, or equally competent, or are willing to man-up and claim ownership of their own destinies.
When I say that freedom is only for responsible people, I mean exactly that. People who are responsible take ownership of their own actions. They do not try and make excuses for poor behavior or poor performance on their part. They chart their course, make their decisions, and reap the consequences of their actions for good or ill. Responsible people are comfortable with the boundlessness of freedom and are confident in their ability to exercise it appropriately.
Irresponsible people fear freedom. They know that if given a large degree of liberty they will abuse it to their own detriment and possibly to the detriment of others. This fear of their own irresponsibility drives them to assume that all men are irresponsible and prone to excess and therefore all men’s freedoms should be constrained by government. Men like this crave security and loathe the uncertainty that true liberty offers. Men such as this hold that “experts” and “well-meaning politicians” should be entrusted with guaranteeing security at the expense of liberty because they are incapable of accepting the responsibility that freedom requires. Men like this are weak, sniveling cowards and I pity them because they will never know the true definition of success or accomplishment nor will they ever experience the satisfaction of being masters of their own destinies.
The logical inconsistency in the irresponsible man’s ideology is that he assumes with enough formal training and a healthy dose of good intentions another man can overcome his natural irresponsibility and fear and govern fairly and justly. Unfortunately this country is currently being run by irresponsible men who are fearful of other irresponsible men. Being fearful, they resort to fear to sway their constituents. How many times in the last 65 days have we heard “If we don’t take drastic measures the country will fail!”? Obama, Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi, Dick Durbin, ad nauseam: all of these people are guilty of fear mongering and none of these people are fit to operate in a free society, much less attempt to lead one. It is absolutely imperative that these people and others of their ilk be removed from positions of authority as quickly as possible! I have serious doubts whether this country can endure four years of their bumbling, socialist, power-grabbing policies.So how do we combat the irresponsible men? First, teach your children to be responsible and take ownership of their actions! Parents do their children a huge disservice by not teaching them that actions have consequences. Second, elect responsible, ethical, courageous men who can stand on their own two feet and take ownership of their words and actions. Third, eliminate welfare. If you don’t work, you deserve to starve! Hunger and self-preservation are excellent teachers of responsibility. Fourth, reform the civil court system so that the loser pays. This would go a very long way to eliminating frivolous lawsuits and all the freeloaders that like to jump on those band wagons. Fifth, eliminate union wage controls. In a union, collective bargaining means that all workers receive the same wage regardless of merit. This eliminates bonuses for excellence and penalties for laziness or incompetence. I could keep going, but getting these five items accomplished will keep the responsible men of this country busy for the foreseeable future.

Sanctioned Blackmail

Who owns your home?

If you thought that you own your home you, my friend, are sadly mistaken. In the first place, if your home is mortgaged a bank actually owns your home and you are slowy buying it from them. In addition to this, your mortgage was probably repackaged and sold to a third party, likely a third party that has recieved a government bailout/buy-out. This means that there is a high probability that the government owns a certain percentage of your mortgage and therefore a certain percentage of your home.
"But Veritas," you say, "I've paid off my mortgage. I really do own my home!"
NO YOU DON'T!!! Do you pay property taxes? If you pay property taxes you have implicitly agreed that the government owns your property and you pay them rent for it. I will go so far as to say that there is no private property in this country any longer. With the states use of eminant (sp?) domain and implementation of property taxes private ownership of land is a joke! This is a serious infraction of our personal liberty! I fully understand that the government needs money to function and the primary way for it to raise funding is through taxation, however that taxation should, as much as possible, respect the rights of the individual. The large scale, state sanctioned blackmail of property owners needs to be reigned in if we are to have any hope re-establishing personal liberty in this nation.
Which leads me to my second point. THE SUREST WAY TO REFORM THIS COUNTRY IS TO REFORM THE TAX CODE. At this point I am not entirely certain what a proper federal tax code should look like, however I do know some things that need to be included. First: abolish the income tax. Second: abolish capital gains taxes. Third: Cap the size of the budget at 10% of the GDP. Fourth: Never allow the federal govenment to operate at a deficit in times of peace. Fifth: Eliminate ALL forms of wealth redistribution (i.e.- Federal support of state welfare programs, corporate bailouts, government subsidies to favored products like ethanol or wind energy).
So, how can the process of reforming the tax code be started? I believe the easiest way to start this process is to discontinue witholding income taxes. Aside from being unconstitutional, witholding taxes on incomes keeps people ignorant of how much money the governemtn is confiscating from them. An additional problem with the current system is that the government often overcharges people and then keeps the money for a year without paying interest on it. The tax rebates then paid out to the overcharged persons tends to engender a sense of gratitude to the government for cutting them a check. If the witholdings system of taxation were revoked and people had to pay their taxes by writing a check on April 15th, the dissatisfaction and outright anger would be so great that our officials would be forced to change the tax code.
Mission: Call your congressman and tell them to abolish the policy of witholding in-come taxes!

Note: My word processing software ceased opperations and I lost my spell check. Please forgive my typos and other such mistakes.

Let Free Speech Continue to Ring

Recently many of our elected officials have gone on the record calling for a reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine. This idea essentially calls for equal coverage of both sides of political issues on the radio and the television. They justify this breach of the First Amendment by stating that radio and television signals are public property, and therefore subject to regulation of content by the federal government. Proponents of the Fairness Doctrine ignore the fact that radio and television stations are privately owned businesses with the right to express any opinion they choose.
The truth of the matter is, is that our elected officials are trying to silence the voices of criticism that exist on these medias. Privately owned entities are subject to the rules of the market place. They exist to fulfill a consumer desire. If consumers desired radio and television programs of the type that our elected officials desire, then those types of shows would already be the dominant feature of the industry. However, we all know that Rush Limbaugh and others like him virtually own the talk radio market. They are wildly successful because the market demands conservative radio hosts. Reinstatement of the fairness doctrine is nothing more than government sanctioned suppression of free speech targeted at the critics of the current administration and the majority political party. I am outraged that many of our elected officials are even considering this idea and you should be as well. I urge you to call your elected officials in Washington and tell them to stand against any attempt to regulate the content of politically oriented radio and television programming. If we do not stand up for our rights today we will surely lose them tomorrow.

A Forward

Why start a blog? I mean there must be another hundred million people out there like me who think they have something important to say. Wait a minute, make that about 6 billion people who think they have something important to say. So why write a blog? Why post my writings and opinions on the internet where they have to compete with so many others?

I write because above all I am disturbed about the direction the United States is taking politically and socially. We were a free country, however I question if we still are a free nation. And if we still can be considered a free nation, how much longer will we enjoy that blessing if current political and social trends continue? I write to share those concerns with others and hopefully get them to at least consider where their country is and where they want it to go.
I also write to try and win people over to my point of view. I am libertarian in my ideas about government, I am Christian in my morallity, and I am a strict constructionist in regards to the constitution.

I must speak up and speak out. I cannot let the policies and ideologies espoused by our current president and his cronies go unchallenged.

With that in mind, please enjoy the material presented here. If you get nothing else out of these essays, rants, and ramblings, please get this: Think for yourself and consider all arguments. Make informed decision based upon the truth and be willing to stand by your convictions.

Welcome to the USSA

Welcome to the United Socialist States of America! With the Federal Governments bailout of the financial machinery of this country and now what appears to be the NATIONALIZATION of the auto industry we are solidly in the camp of socialist countries. We should be ashamed that we have allowed this to happen on our watch. I’m sure that our Founding Fathers are outraged at this bastardization of the free society they established. And while I find the legislation responsible for this offensive, what is far more offensive to me and frightening to me is the ideology behind it.
In effect, these acts have established the precedent that the needs and desires of the many (read the UAW and financial institutions of Wall Street) supercede individual property rights. If these companies and institutions made poor business decisions or are no longer viable in a capitalist economy then they should FAIL! I understand that this has larger ramifications, however it is not government’s role to insure the happiness and comfort of the employees of these businesses.
Government has one purpose and one purpose only: to insure that a person’s native rights are not infringed upon by external forces. To that end, we allow the government a monopoly on the use of force so that criminals are punished and reparations made to the injured party, and our borders are defended. (A short note here: A criminal is an individual who willingly uses force or threat of force to infringe on the rights of others). Lawful government has no other function except possibly facilitating interstate commerce through the construction and maintenance of the Interstate System.
Given that definition of lawful government it is clear that the system we now find ourselves under overstepped its bounds several decades ago. I understand that no system is perfect, however I believe we have reached a critical point. Our nation is about to shed any acknowledgement of individual liberty in favor of collectivism. This idea of collectivism hypothesizes that the needs of the many supercede the rights of the individual and it MUST BE STOPPED! AT ALL COSTS IT MUST BE STOPPED!
If we take a moment and consider other collectivist societies that have been tried we can see where this road will lead. The USSR struggled for years to make collectivism work and millions died. China instituted collectivist ideology and millions died. Cuba tried to work off the same template and they stifled progress and forced many of their citizens to flee to America. The common thread through all of these is that collectivism resulted in oppressive regimes that killed any and all voices of dissention. Why do American politicians have the audacity to think that the results will be any different here?
When individual liberty is denied in favor of collective “good” then anyone not marching in lockstep with the ideology suffers. The many persecute the few because they cannot tolerate questioning of their treasured ideology. All restraint for the majority is removed and anything that the majority deems as necessary, beneficial, or good is acceptable and consequently if a few suffer at the expense of the majority then so be it. This kind of thinking led to Nazi Germany. The majority deemed the Jews a threat and took steps to eliminate them. It was deemed right and proper to execute Jews and it became a crime to disagree with that position. A short aside here; Nazi Germany had Adolph Hitler urging them on, however Hitler would not have risen to power if collectivist ideology had not already been firmly in place.
We have ample lessons from history that demonstrate the failure of socialism and collectivism. It is only through willful blindness and gross belief in their own infallibility that our leaders assume they can take that path and avoid the pitfalls that have doomed other societies that experimented with collectivism. It is imperative that the people of this country take a stand against this type of thinking and politics. There is no time left to sit on the sidelines and blindly hope that our leaders will “do the right thing”. They have made it obvious what they believe “the right thing” is and those beliefs are incompatible with a free society. Take a stand and make your voice heard before it is too late. If we do not take action NOW, then this generation will bear the responsibility of leaving their children a country that is a shadow of it’s former self.
“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it!”