A commencement speaker with a difference: Robert Frost, 1956
May 22, 2014 Leave a comment
A commencement speaker with a difference: Robert Frost, 1956.
Filibusters – Serendipitous Teaching Times –Nuked By The Dems
November 29, 2013 Leave a comment
Below are some significant Constitutional concerns broached by Sen. Rand Paul during his 13-hour filibuster speech. Excerpts from a Cato Institute Commentary by Nat Hentoff, the article appeared on Cato.org on March 19, 2013:
“And despite the tremendous national impact of Sen. Rand Paul’s 13-hour filibuster speech, how much of its startling details even registered for long? Meanwhile, the Republican from Kentucky was teaching many of us what we never realized — on just how subservient we are becoming to the state.
As I wrote last week, Paul said he was concerned that Americans targeted for suspected terrorist ties would be destroyed in America itself. He revealed in an editorial in The Washington Times: “The president said, ‘I haven’t killed anyone yet, and I have no intention of killing Americans. But I might’ ” (“Rising in defense of the Constitution,” Rand Paul, Washington Times, March 8).
I have a complete transcript of Paul’s 13-hour speech, including his follow-up to this presidential contempt for the separation of powers: “What if the president were to say, ‘I haven’t broken the First Amendment yet; I intend to follow it, but I might break it.’
”Later, Paul said: “Presidents, Republican and Democrats, believing in some sort of inherent power that’s not listed anywhere … For a hundred years or so, power’s been gravitating to the president — and the executive branch.”
And dig this from Rand Paul: “One of the complaints that you hear a lot of times in the media is about there is no bipartisanship in Congress. (But) if you look at people who don’t really believe in much restraint of government as far as civil liberties, it really is on both sides.”
Regarding Obamacare, a huge thorn in our side:
“When we passed Obamacare, it was 2,000-some-odd pages. There have been 9,000 pages of regulations written since. Obamacare had 1,800 references that the Secretary of Health shall decide at a later date. We (the people) gave up that power. We gave up power that should have been ours, that should have been written into the legislation. We gave up that power to the executive branch … many of whom we call bureaucrats, unelected.”
Perhaps you remember this from a congressman to Paul during his 13-hour speech: “They say the United States is the battlefield (against terrorism) now … This battlefield being here at home means you don’t get due process at home … Is that what we’re moving toward?”
Paul got more penetratingly specific: “The question is, if the government is going to decide who are sympathizers (with terrorists), and people who are politicians with no checks and balances are to decide who is a sympathizer, is there a danger really that people who have political dissent could be included in this?” (emphasis mine)
With the help (?) of the IRS’ Lois Lerner we now know the answer to this question.
You can hear more of Rand’s Consititutional concerns, including Obama’s flippant attitude to the droning of Americans, for yourself:
What is the point of our democracy if one person ramrods arbitrary laws and rules with demagoguery down the throats of Americans? And, Obama has told us that he is doing so at the whim of “fundamentally transforming the nation.” Shouldn’t “we the people” be involved in deciding what “transformation” takes place?
Obama’s antinomianism is a characteristic of the moral relativists of the Left who pronounce “the ends justify the means.” The ends do NOT justify the means and especially when the means and the ends are tyrannically enforced on unknowing and unwilling Americans.
Moreover, Obama knows that he has no fully justifiable legal, moral and intellectual grounds for doing what he does apart from Congress and “we the people.” He is a maverick greater than any McCain. He is a loose cannon. (from my comment to Legal Insurrection’s post “An increasingly dangerous presidency” by William A. Jacobson)
Added 12-1-2013:
Vox Populi, Vox Dei Silenced Under Jack Boots
June 4, 2013 Leave a comment
Your Obamacare will be under the control of the IRS. You voted for Obama and the Democrats. Now be prepared to live under the jack boots of tyranny. And tyranny doesn’t care if you are a Tea Party member or a card-carrying union member. The IRS has got your number.
One glaring example of the IRS’ power to coerce an individual or group:
Karen Kenney of the San Fernando Valley Patriots testifies before Congress on the mistreatment of Tea Party affiliated groups by the IRS.
Bitter Clingers Have More Fun!
May 12, 2013 Leave a comment
Today I attended a local Illinois gun show. It was my first gun show.
I found out about the show when I went over to Gander to buy some ammo. The Gander guy said they didn’t have 9mm ammo: “It came in last Thursday and it was gone as soon as it came in.” He said that I had to be at the store at 8:30 am on Thursday mornings to even have a chance at purchasing some 9mm ammo.
The guy the store clerk was helping said that here was a gun show down the road. So, I took off like a flash and ended up there for the afternoon.
I didn’t take any photos inside. You already know what guns ~ rifles, handguns ~ look like. I did see a lot of fathers with daughters and mothers with daughters at the show.
It was a Sportsmans’ Show so there was a lot of hunting rifles besides all varieties of pistols and knives. I was able to purchase a large quantity of 9mm ammo after showing my FOID card. I also bought a 9mm bullet magnet for my refrigerator door and a sign that says “Gun Control Means Using Both Hands.” Hah! Bitter Clingers have more fun!
Protect the 2nd Amendment. It protects you.
“Diversity” IS Suppression!
May 10, 2013 Leave a comment
This is messed up!
From LegalInsurrection: The FIRE: “The government has mandated speech codes on all campuses”
Closing the American Mind: Censorship
Clinging to my Guns and My Religion…
April 28, 2013 Leave a comment
…But Never to Obama
Yesterday I had the opportunity to shoot my new handgun at a gun range.
Wearing “ears” and safety glasses I shot my Sig Sauer P250 at a paper target. From the photos you can tell that I need the practice. I had two “hits” out of twenty shots taken. I wanted to shoot off more rounds but there is a shortage of 9mm ammo ~ at least until this summer.
As a kid I had fired .22 gauge rifles so I was somewhat ready for this experience. Being as this is the first time I shot a handgun I did OK. The owner of the range asked me how I did when walked out to the front counter. I showed him the target (see below). He smiled. He said that I tended to pull the gun because I anticipated the explosive force ~ the POP! ~ that snaps from the gun. I just needed to relax, take a deep breath and try not to jerk the trigger. I was overwhelmed at first by the explosive sounds of guns going off all around me but I became used to it. I also got used to my bullet casings flying back at me. There was a lot to take in but I handled my fears.
I purchased a hand gun because I live alone. I need protection. The Second Amendment gives me the right to own a gun to protect myself. This protection includes protection from the tyranny of government, the tyranny of overreach.
Ownership of a gun demands self-control. It demands that the owner respect the lethal weapon and use it only when life is threatened or for sport. I wish people would use their First Amendment right with self-discipline as well.
People generally dislike or hate what they do know. I wanted to know what it means to fire a gun. I do not want to live waiting for Obama’s government to save me. This was a good learning experience for me that will go on adding a sober dimension to my life.
Obama and Democrats mock and demonize people like me ~ people who own guns and believe in God. I went to church again today because I continue to miss the mark of Christ~likeness. In fact the word for sin in the Bible is harmartia ~ missing the mark.
Others hate because it is in their nature to revile. Here is Obama, the Divider-In-Chief, talking down his nose with disdain at everyday Americans who own guns and go to church:
Dan Bongino, Guns Across America
March 1, 2013 Leave a comment
Chicago’s Top Cop Whines, Blames Sarah Palin
February 19, 2013 2 Comments
More of the same. That’s what Chicago’s top cop Garry McCarthy wants ~ more gun control laws in the city that already has the most onerous gun laws in the nation, laws that do nothing to mitigate violence.
McCarthy must be a Democrat. Democrats do the same thing over and over and expect a different result. Well, isn’t that special?
He is also a Democrat because he blames others ~ in this case, Sarah Palin and gun-lobbyists ~ for not giving him his way, the Chicago Democrat Way. Poor, poor baby. McCarthy’s not doing his job and has to blame others for his lack of results.
What a whuss!
From the FOX News article Chicago’s top cop likens gun lobby’s influence to corruption:
“Facing a surging homicide rate and several headline-grabbing murders, Chicago’s top cop is taking aim at lobbyists who he says prevent politicians from implementing more gun control measures.”
and
“Garry McCarthy’s understanding of our Constitution barely qualifies him as a meter maid, never mind the chief of the nation’s third largest police department,” Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson said.
and
McCarthy told FoxNews.com he never advocated “getting rid of the Second Amendment.” He said he was making the point that there is popular support for new gun control laws and that lobbyists are stopping elected officials from reflecting the will of the people.
“How is it [special interests] are controlling politicians?” he said. “How are they controlling elected officials? It’s not by popular vote
McCarthy in the past has blamed “government-sponsored racism” and Sarah Palin for Chicago’s gun violence. He has been outspoken in his opposition to handgun proliferation, telling a radio panel last month he equates fewer guns with improved public safety.
How is it that the ongoing popular support for owning guns and protecting oneself is not the will of the people? In fact, the will of the people is expressly stated in the Second Amendment.
God commanded: “Thou shall not kill. Yet, people still kill each other.
One would think that since the almighty God ‘passed’ an absolute law that people would harken to it and obey. But no. People are people. If you want to change people then you must change people’s hearts. Passing stricter laws is ineffective. Nothing can supersede “Thou shall not kill.”
And besides, this belief that government is the answer to a problem comes with its own caveat to hand over more power so as to fix the problem. Chicago’s gun laws prove that government is not the answer and that power corrupts and/or makes one a whiner as the case may be.
None of the gun laws enacted by Chicago politicians have done anything to stop the violence. None of the pressure from anti-gun lobbyists has stopped the violence. The same people will go on marching in the streets demanding an answer and the same people will vote for Democrats. And, it is the Democrats who pass more and more laws that do nothing except to raise your taxes. Keep voting for stupid. Keep marching on behalf of stupid.
“How is it [special interests] are controlling politicians?” Garry, do you mean special interest groups like the Black Panthers? Like Think Progress? Like environmental groups? Like Chicago’s own Jesse Jackson Jr? Like the Fraternal Order of Police lobbying in the media for a pay raise? Is this what you mean?
Man up McCarthy. Do your job. Stop whining. If you want to make a difference in people’s lives then be a leader not a whiner who hides behind a woman’s skirt.
Say “NO” to Law Happy Legislators
January 27, 2013 Leave a comment
These days people are so used to having government involved in their lives that when government wants to intrude even more they don’t even blink. They acquiesce.
Some may think that government is altruistic ~ a beneficent provider and protector, an all-wise overseer. But where does that thinking come from? Naiveté perhaps? False hope?
Why would the government – Sen. Dianne Feinstein and others of her ilk ~ want to ban assault weapons when only a handful of mentally ill people have somehow received access to these weapons and used them to kill?
Millions of law-abiding gun owners of pistols and assault weapons do not kill.
The gun control laws sound so “righteous” but are only more knee-jerk legislative overreach of the government. And, the government by its coercive power will not stop its overreaching ways unless we say “No more.”
Listen to this recent debate between Piers Morgan and Newt Gingrich. The Second Amendment is under attack because a handful of mentally ill individuals have used assault weapons to kill. There is, as Newt points out, no mention of the vast majority of law-abiding people who own assault weapons and do not kill:
As mentioned by Gingrich in this video, wrongful access to assault weapons by the mentally ill, violent video games and the constant stream of violent media all contribute to the isolated individual’s mental “breakdown.” Gun control laws would do nothing to stop a mentally ill person from doing what he “must do.” Gun control laws would take away liberties of the law-abiding individuals.
Regarding Newt’s comment about the government “permitting” us to do this and that David Mamet the playwright has written an exceptional article discussing the troubling overreach of government ~ Mamet: Hands Off My Gun.
“The police do not exist to protect the individual. They exist to cordon off the crime scene and attempt to apprehend the criminal. We individuals are guaranteed by the Constitution the right to self-defense. This right is not the Government’s to “award” us. They have never been granted it.”
Cindy Wity 