The
pursuit of Constitutionally grounded governance, free markets and individual
liberty
"There is but one straight
course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily." --George Washington
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Justice Scalia: The
Constitution is Dead by Michael Minkoff
I know what Scalia means, but part of me
couldn’t help but think there was a little irony in the Justice’s recent
pronouncement: “[The Constiution’s] not
a living document. It’s dead, dead, dead!” Speaking to a group at Southern Methodist University, Scalia was
promoting what he considers a “strict
constructionist” interpretation of the Constitution. The debate on how
to interpret the Constitution is older than the Constitution. Most of the Founding Fathers were strict
constructionists (as you would imagine… since they drafted the document. Of
course they wanted it interpreted as it was written). Over time, as high technology and low morals altered the nature of
American society and politics, the question started to arise more and more:
“Isn’t this document a little outdated? But rather than re-write it, why not
just interpret it freshly for our modern circumstances?” Which basically meant, “Why not just ignore the
clear intent of the Founding Fathers and just draw from the Constitution
whatever we want it to say…” The question of how to interpret the Constitution
is similar to the question of how to translate a book out of one language into
another. There are really two basic approaches: metaphrase (concerned only with
the literal words) or paraphrase (concerned with intent or overall effect).
Both methods are problematic for one reason or another. The problem with
literal translations (which we can liken to strict constructionist models of
interpretation) is that sometimes they render the original ridiculous or
meaningless to a modern reader. Idioms and ideas may not mean the same thing
today as they once did, or as they do in other languages. The problem with
paraphrase is obvious: unless the translator is extremely careful,
knowledgeable, and conscientious, he might twist the original meaning of a text
in an attempt to make it accessible.
The
Constitution has been abused by both strict constructionists and loose
constructionists. Take, for example, the discussion of
gun control and gun rights. On one hand, a strict constructionist could say
that since the Founding Fathers were protecting the right to muskets, it is
only the right to muskets that is currently protected. Not modern muskets
(think AR-15 or M-16), mind you. Literal muskets. This is why Scalia, a
purported strict constructionist, has not been the greatest champion of your
gun rights. He doesn’t think the Constitution allows you to have whatever arms
you can afford. Of course, loose constructionists make the Constitution say
whatever is convenient. They pretend, in contradiction to all reason and
evidence, that the Founding Fathers wanted to protect only their right to
hunting rifles. Both approaches fall into error because Justices and Executors
have a vested interest in reading the Constitution in their own way.
Probably
the most insightful thing Scalia said was, “The judge who always likes the
results he reaches is a bad judge.” This is like
saying, “A translator should not correct the text he’s translating even if he
doesn’t like how the original was written.” Unfortunately, that one’s also up
for interpretation, and Scalia spoke more truly than he knew when he said the
Constitution was “dead.” All we can hope for is that the Constitution writes in
to the Supreme Court: “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
~~~~~~
WI Sheriff Tells Residents “You Have A Duty To Protect Yourself & Your Family” by Tim Brown
Finally, sheriffs
from around the country are coming out vocally against potential gun grabs and
gun control legislation by the Obama administration and Congress. One of the latest to not only come out in
support of the Second Amendment, but in support of the residents of his county
to protect themselves and their families is Milwaukee County Sheriff David
Clarke. After all, Clarke says that calling 911 is not your
best option when facing a violent criminal. In a radio ad, Clarke tells the residents of his county that
their personal safety is not a “spectator sport.” He said, “I need you in the game.” “With officers
laid off and furloughed, simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best
option,” Clarke declared. “You could beg
for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back.” Clarke
urges listeners to take a firearm safety course and handle a firearm “so you can defend yourself until we get
there.” “You have a duty to protect yourself and your family,” Clarke exhorted.
“We’re partners now. Can I count on you?” The Journal Sentinel reports,
~~~~~~
Father of 6-Year-Old Sandy Hook Victim In Tears: ‘The
Problem Is Not Gun Laws’
~~~~~~
How does the left
win on such issues as gun control?
For those that have
not been paying attention, in order to rouse the public, one has to have a
"villain". Think about the
villains of the past. Remember anyone of them that were a single person? Not, it was a group. Think "Tea Party"; aspersed to be racist, bigots, violent and haters. That, while not one "person" was
able to be described as such. We have
been socialized to "hate" the villain. As well we should. Villains are the enemy. Those that intend us harm. Marvel comics has made a fortune with super
hero's fighting villains. Many of us
were raised on this. The modern version
is the video game. But, villain hating
is the motivator for many. So, in order
to "win" the left has turned to the NRA. Every story you read about "...we must
have gun control, but....the NRA". The NRA is now the villain that is making
your life and your children less safe.
Let's take an historical look at the NRA and YOU decide who is the
villain; those that want your guns or the NRA?
After being granted
a charter by the state of New York on November 17, 1871, the NRA was founded.
Civil War Gen. Ambrose Burnside, who was also the former governor of Rhode
Island and a U.S. Senator, became the fledgling NRA's first president. The
NRA's interest in promoting the shooting sports among America's youth began in
1903 when NRA Secretary Albert S. Jones urged the establishment of rifle clubs
at all major colleges, universities and military academies. By 1906, NRA's
youth program was in full swing with more than 200 boys competing in matches at
Sea Girt that summer. Today, youth
programs are still a cornerstone of the NRA, with more than one million
youth participating in NRA shooting sports events and affiliated programs with
groups such as 4-H, the Boy Scouts of America, the American Legion, U.S.
Jaycees and others.
NRA continues its leadership role in hunting today with
the Youth
Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC), a program that allows youngsters to
build on the skills they learned in basic hunter education courses. YHECs are
now held in 43 states and three Canadian provinces, involving an estimated
40,000 young hunters.
Law enforcement training was
next on the priority list for program development. Although a special police
school had been reinstated at Camp Perry in 1956, NRA became the only national trainer of law enforcement officers with
the introduction of its NRA Police Firearms Instructor certification program in 1960.
Today, there are more than 10,000 NRA-certified police and security firearms
instructors. Additionally, top law
enforcement shooters compete each year in eight different pistol and shotgun
matches at the National Police Shooting Championships held in Jackson,
Mississippi.
In civilian training, the NRA continues to be the leader
in firearms education. Over 50,000 Certified Instructors now train about
750,000 gun owners a year. Courses
are available in basic rifle, pistol, shotgun, muzzleloading firearms, personal
protection, and even ammunition reloading. Additionally, nearly 1,000 Certified
Coaches are specially trained to work with young competitive shooters. Since
the establishment of the lifesaving Eddie Eagle® Gun Safety
Program in 1988, more than 12
million pre-kindergarten to sixth grade children have learned that if they see
a firearm in an unsupervised situation, they should "STOP. DON'T TOUCH.
LEAVE THE AREA. TELL AN ADULT." Over the past seven years, Refuse To Be A Victim®
seminars have helped more than 15,000
men and women develop their own personal safety plan using common sense
strategies.
While widely
recognized today as a major political force and as America's foremost defender
of Second Amendment rights, the NRA has, since its inception, been the premier
firearms education organization in the world. But their successes would not be
possible without the tireless efforts and countless hours of service our nearly
four million members have given to champion Second Amendment rights and support
NRA programs. As former Clinton
spokesman George Stephanopoulos said, "Let me make one small vote for the
NRA. They're good citizens.
So,
who is the villain in this unfolding story.
I would say the NRA is a national treasure and should be protected. Don't be fooled! Have you heard one single member of the NRA
to be made out a villain? Likely, you
will not.
~~~~~~
59% Favor Stricter Regulation of Companies Mostly
Dependent on Gov't
Voters strongly
believe that companies that generate most of their income from the government
should face more oversight than those that don’t. But voters tend to oppose the
government’s involvement in the management of companies it does that much
business with. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds
that 59% of Likely U.S. Voters think a company that earns most of its revenue
from the government should be more strictly regulated than companies who earn
most of their money by serving consumers. Twenty-two percent (22%) disagree,
and 19% more are not sure.
~~~~~~
Marines, Army
shrinking force size under budgetary restraints BY:
Adam Kredo
The United States Marine Corps is set to shed more than 20,000 active duty positions in the coming years and have already commenced a process meant to force some senior officers into an early retirement. The Marines are on course to cut around 4,000 positions a year through 2017, decreasing the total number of Marines to 182,100 from its peak last year of 202,100, according to a major scale-down order that was quietly issued last year. The reduction in forces could leave the elite fighting force underprepared to battle multiple regional threats, particularly those in the Middle East, according to military experts. The impending cuts are independent of the $1.2 trillion in mandatory cuts, otherwise known as sequestration, which will take place next month if Congress fails to reach a preventative deal. “The effect will be that there will not be sufficient Marines available to both be ‘America’s 9-1-1 force’ and to be ready for sustained ground combat,” said Steven Bucci, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense who warned that the decreased number of Marines will leave the force overstretched. “Right now, the Marines are trying to go back to the role of floating about on the three ship Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG) missions forward deployed around the world,” Bucci said, referring to a joint Navy and Marine unit that performs sea-to-shore missions. “There was no ARG available to respond to Benghazi [terror attacks] because the Marines have had so many combat units fighting elsewhere.” “Cuts will prohibit [the Marines] from returning to this key role,” said Bucci, director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation.
The United States Marine Corps is set to shed more than 20,000 active duty positions in the coming years and have already commenced a process meant to force some senior officers into an early retirement. The Marines are on course to cut around 4,000 positions a year through 2017, decreasing the total number of Marines to 182,100 from its peak last year of 202,100, according to a major scale-down order that was quietly issued last year. The reduction in forces could leave the elite fighting force underprepared to battle multiple regional threats, particularly those in the Middle East, according to military experts. The impending cuts are independent of the $1.2 trillion in mandatory cuts, otherwise known as sequestration, which will take place next month if Congress fails to reach a preventative deal. “The effect will be that there will not be sufficient Marines available to both be ‘America’s 9-1-1 force’ and to be ready for sustained ground combat,” said Steven Bucci, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense who warned that the decreased number of Marines will leave the force overstretched. “Right now, the Marines are trying to go back to the role of floating about on the three ship Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG) missions forward deployed around the world,” Bucci said, referring to a joint Navy and Marine unit that performs sea-to-shore missions. “There was no ARG available to respond to Benghazi [terror attacks] because the Marines have had so many combat units fighting elsewhere.” “Cuts will prohibit [the Marines] from returning to this key role,” said Bucci, director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation.
~~~~~~~~
How about more of the same, America?
As the media focuses on Beyoncé’s lip syncing and First
Lady Michelle Obama’s bangs, the national unemployment rate now stands at 7.8
percent—where it was when Obama first took office in 2009. Even rosy forecasts
don’t see the unemployment rate dropping to pre-recession levels until 2016 at
the very earliest. Millions of workers have fled the job market, so a return to George W. Bush-era
work force numbers would take years under the best economic circumstances.
Circumstances we aren’t enjoying. The Obama economy is only expected to grow at
a meager 1 percent to 2 percent rate for the foreseeable future. Fannie Mae, the mortgage-finance company,
recently called the sluggish pace of the recovery the “new normal.” Setting
aside the real-life consequences of rotten growth, it also means weak revenue
will persist, and without any genuine spending or tax reform in our future, the
dynamics that have dominated Washington will continue to do so.
~~~~~~~
The 12Ds of “Progressivism”: Liberals at Their Worst by Sean Aland
In 1832 Noah Webster stated “[I]f the citizens neglect
their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be
corrupted”.
The Democratic
Party—the so-called progressive party—is
not only corrupt but is wedded to what I call the 12 D’s of progressivism:
Deny, Defy, Distort, Deceive, Discredit, Demonize, Distract, Discourage,
Destroy, Do, Disagree, Disclose. In this day and age, as politics becomes
more and more corrupt, the political
tactics recommended by Saul Alinsky have been perfected by today’s progressive
democrats. Not only that, they are now widely used by our liberals throughout
our celebrity society. We have gone
from civil discourse, to uncivil, to corrupt in just three administrations.
One can pinpoint when the new tactics started: in the early 90’s during the
Clinton’s first presidential campaign as they established a “bimbo eruptions
team”. Hillary Clinton, who was the brains of the outfit, used her expertise
gained from Saul Alinski’s book “Rules
for Radicals” to usher in a whole new strategy on how to deal with opposing
individuals and ideas. No doubt her expertise revealed in her college
thesis was put to good use as she rewrote the rule book for the Clinton camp. Take any politician today, especially a
democrat, who gets in trouble and see how many of the 12 D’s they employ.
To enable the strategy you need to have a news media that is no longer
objective, and panders to those in power, while pushing their own agenda in
concert with the politicians. No doubt the mainstream media has sold its soul
to the DNC. The media has become the de
facto Public Relations arm of the Democrat Party, Obama Whitehouse, and
liberals in general. Pravda would be proud. With the media’s assistance,
anytime liberals find themselves in an embarrassing or compromising situation,
they simply employ the “12D’s of progressivism.
1. DENY. Deny the facts while claiming
that the issue in question has nothing to do with the evidence at hand. Common
weasel wording includes such lines as: there is an “on-going investigation and
I cannot comment on it”. Also deny being part of what has taken place. Bill
Clinton’s famous denial ‘I did not have sex with that woman…” is an example of
this tactic. Obama’s denials concerning the attack on the consulate in
Benghazi, Libya is another example.
2. DEFY. Display artificial indignation
and claim to be a victim, even when the opposition has photos, video,
recordings and witnesses proving their story to be factual. Then play the
beleaguered victim while hurling accusations at the accusers.
3. DISTORT. Cloud the facts, bend the
truth, and blame everything on someone else (e.g. the previous administration).
With this tactic it is important to use some facts, but not the whole truth and
to bend the truth in the desired direction. Mainstream media surrogates make
this easier.
4. DECEIVE. When necessary, lie. Go on the
attack with the most offensive story possible. Offer up counter accusations to
throw the opposition off balance. According to Alinski, if your enemy is
spending his time defending himself, he can’t pursue accusations against you.
5. DISCREDIT. Create doubt about the
opposition’s integrity, honor, character, proof, witnesses, video, or photos
through lies, distortions, and counter-accusations—preferably aided by the
mainstream media. Get the media on message with talking points and “Key
phrases”.
6. DEMONIZE. Accuse and label the
opposition. Use the old “they want …” line and fill in the blank from the
following menu: They want… to starve kids, to take medicine away from old
people, pollute the water and air, live large while others starve, keep it all
for themselves, let people to die while they profit, etc. Over the past four
years the Obama administration has used the following terms to describe the
opposition: “malicious”, “insensitive”, “evil”, “hostile”, “threatening, “the
enemy”, and “flat earthers” to name just a few. Class warfare is an effective
aspect of this tactic.
7. DISTRACT. Create another crisis such
as the fiscal cliff debacle, to distract people from the real story (e.g.
Benghazi, etc.). Create a “war on…” women, children, the poor or blame it all
on something else such as a video or anything else that will distract observers
from the real issue.
8. DISCOURAGE. Threaten the opposition
with dire consequences. Get the media to join in by echoing the threat. To see
firsthand this tactic in practice watch CNBC or MSNBC.
9. DESTROY. Engage in character
assassination. Go after any aspect of their life that might be
vulnerable—nothing is off limits—and use maximum intimidation while claiming
the opposition is “mean spirited” and engages in the “politics of personal
destruction.” Divide and conquer the opposition by pitting them against each
other.
10. DO. Press you agenda while the
opposition is distracted by your tactics. As the media adds to the distraction
by covering your distortions and misdirection, make as much progress advancing
your agenda as possible.
11. DISAGREE. Continue to disagree about
the facts no matter what happens. Disagree vehemently and loudly with anyone in
the opposition no matter how obvious the validity of their claims may be.
Follow Hillary Clinton lead in giving testimony on the Benghazi debacle: pound
the table in indignation. Look directly at the camera and with all of the
artificial sincerity you can muster, claim your innocence.
12. DISCLOSE. Acknowledge the facts of the
case but only when the trial is over, the election is won, statute of
limitations has passed, you don’t think it will matter anymore, or the book
deal payoff is big enough. Finally, admit the truth but make light of it as if
the matter is of little importance—after all it happened so long ago. Do not
admit to any responsibility, and show no remorse.
These are the
tactics that make up the grand strategy of today’s so-called progressive
democrats. Observe liberal democrats during Obama’s second term and I believe
you will find that Noah Webster was right!
~~~~~
Los Angeles County 'Birth Tourism' Complaints Spike By
ALYSSA NEWCOMB
Complaints have
spiked over
"birth tourism" in Los Angeles County, with 60 alleged maternity hotels being reported in the past month,
according to a report by the county planning department.
Authorities have
found it difficult to gain access to the alleged maternity hotels and verify
suspicions. So far, they have been able to inspect only seven, and found that three
of them were in violation of zoning codes. The surge in complaints comes after
a high-profile campaign was waged to shut down a "maternity mansion"
in neighboring San Bernadino County. Previously, the commission had reported 15
complaints over a period of five years, according to the Jan. 14 report.
Nestled in residential neighborhoods,
the so-called maternity
hotels are overwhelmingly advertised to women from Asia, as evidenced from
various websites, offering expectant mothers the chance to give birth to an
American citizen. The practice isn't
illegal, according to federal immigration law. The 14th Amendment guarantees
citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States.
"This is the sort of thing the government winks at," said David
North, a researcher with the non-partisan Center for Immigration Studies.
"It's just one more of the elements
in which the American immigration policy is an open door situation."
~~~~~~
