The pursuit of Constitutionally grounded governance, freedom
and individual liberty
"There is but
one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily." --George Washington
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What do the states
get that the Federal government and left wing nuts don't?
Illinois
was the only state in the U.S. to have an outright prohibition on concealed
carry. Residents could own guns but only keep them in their house. They weren’t
even allowed to carry an unloaded gun in public. A couple years ago, a Democrat
state Representative Brandon Phelps sponsored a bill that would have allowed
concealed carry, albeit with many limitations. The Governor and Rahm Emanuel
both lobbied against the bill, and it eventually failed 65 – 32. However, their
prohibition against concealed weapons in public is a thing of the past, because
a U.S. Appeals Court struck down Illinois’ ban as unconstitutional last year.
The court instructed Illinois to enact legislation in the next 180 days that
allows concealed carry. Their initial deadline was June 9th, but
then they got a one-month extension. And at the last minute on Tuesday,
Illinois legislators enacted their own concealed carry law:
“The law
as approved by the Legislature permits anyone with a Firearm Owner's
Identification card who has passed a background check and undergone gun-safety
training of 16 hours — longest of any state — to obtain a concealed-carry
permit for $150. The Illinois State Police would have six months to set up a
system to start accepting applications. Spokeswoman Monique Bond said police
expect 300,000 applications in the first year.”
It’s
not at all surprising that they have so many restrictions and regulations
surrounding Illinoisans’ right to protect themselves and their families with
firearms. It is however much better than what they had before. It’ll be
interesting to see what effect this will have on Chicago violence. Over
the Independence Day weekend, 74 people were shot and 12 were killed there. The
violence is so bad in Chicago that some Illinois reps are calling for the National
Guard and state police to step in to try to stem it. Just what they would need.
Military and police patrolling their streets. A lot of that could be prevented
by having a well-armed populace. The states understand that if you wait on the
police through 911, you will likely die.
~~~~~~
An Unbiased Definitions of “Pro-Choice” and “Pro-Life”
by Chris Graham
I
took it upon myself to come up with definitions of both "pro-life"
and "pro-choice,” definitions that, it can be agreed upon by both sides
when they’re in a levelheaded state, are objective and accurate. Here they are,
the fundamental differences between pro-life and pro-choice:
Pro-life
is the view that all human life forms, be they zygote, teenager, or
septuagenarian in a coma, are of equal value, and, further, that it is never a
moral choice, nor should it ever be a legal choice, to terminate the life of an
innocent one (although most pro-lifers give exception for cases of the mother's
own survival).
Pro-choice
is the view that certain human life forms are less valuable than other
human life forms, and that it should be legal for a higher-value human to
choose to terminate the life of a lower-value human (as long as the lower-value
human is in a certain location called the womb) for whatever reason the
higher-value human chooses, which reasons range from convenience to survival,
but neither of which reasons is less valid than the other.
That's
about as objective and fair a definition as you will ever read. I see no reason
for pro-lifers or pro-choicers to disagree with how I've defined
"pro-life," and no reason for pro-lifers or pro-choicers to disagree
with how I've defined "pro-choice."
If
my definition of the pro-choice movement sounds controversial, let me point out
that those in the movement affirm my definition by almost unanimously
agreeing, "Yes, of course the fetus is alive and of course it's human, but it's not a person." The issue for them,
they will tell you, is granting what they call personhood to fetuses, which, they
usually acknowledge freely, are living humans. Granting "personhood"
to a fetus would take away their, the higher-value human's, right to do
whatever they please to that lower-value human, including turning it from a
living human to a no-longer-living human.
This
is what the pro-choicers happily, proudly acknowledge.
What
pro-choicers tend not to be proud of is their general belief that fetuses with
defects are even less valuable than average fetuses. Logically, this same
belief should extend to post-birth humans—that the mentally handicapped are
less valuable than members of MENSA—but that's just an application of logic on
my part, and no official study has been done. A study has been done on my original
assertion, however. The research, reviewed by Dr. Brian Skotko, a
pediatric geneticist at the Children's Hospital in Boston, found that
roughly 92 percent of fetuses diagnosed prenatally with Down's
syndrome are terminated. The mothers of these fetuses believe that
these extra-chomosomed, pre-born, living humans are less worthy of life than a
mentally mature fetus (which is, of course, less worthy of life than a
post-birth baby), especially in their presence.
We
see this perfectly exemplified in the recent case of the young couple
who, upon learning that their fetus, or pre-born baby, was diagnosed with
Down's syndrome, decided it would be best not to have a sub-par baby around,
and so opted to terminate the life of their co-created small human. For those
of you reading this who are undecided on his or her stance on the issue, a good
way to determine your position is to ask yourselves: Do I believe that some living
humans are less valuable than others and that it is therefore acceptable to end
their lives? Or do I believe that all human life is valuable, and that even the
smallest, most defenseless, and truly most innocent among us need people to
stand up for them?
~~~~~~
Mob beats man on his own front porch “for Trayvon”…press
ignores
One
would hope our society had come a long way FROM this. This
is pretty sick and we’re probably going to see a lot more of this when
Zimmerman is found innocent. On
Saturday night, Matthew Owens told a group of kids to stop playing in the
middle of street, only to have them return with a group of adults who dished
out a beating that landed him in the Intensive Care Unit, according to police. Police
say that the group of 20 assailants used chairs, pipes and paint cans to waylay
Owens on his own front porch. The victim’s sister, Ashley Parker, told News 5:
“It was the scariest thing I have ever witnessed.” She said the attackers used
“brass buckles, paint cans and anything they could get their hands on.” Parker
added that as her brother lie on the ground bleeding, one of the assailants
looked back and shouted: “Now that’s
justice for Trayvon!” Owens is still listed in critical condition at
the University of South Alabama Medical Center.
~~~~~~
House
Panel: We Need Answers from Treasury on Decision to Suspend Obamacare's
Employer Mandate By Susan
Jones
Following
an "eye-opening" subcommittee hearing Wednesday on the Obama
administration's decision to postpone the employer health care mandate, Rep.
Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said lawmakers need to hear directly from the Treasury
Department, which surprised most people when it announced the one-year delay in
a July 2 blog. "Clearly we need to get real
answers also from the Treasury Department, and we will do so next week,"
Brady said at the conclusion of the hearing of the House Ways and Means Health
Subcommittee. Brady said his
subcommittee has "serious questions" about how and why such an
"alarming decision" was made -- and the effect that the year-long
delay granted to businesses will have on other provisions of the law, including
the requirement for individuals to purchase health insurance or else pay a tax:
"There are also questions about the unprecedented manner in which it was
announced on an obscure Treasury blog site just two days before the 4th of July
holiday. We invited Treasury officials to testify today to explain to the
American people the rationale for the delay and how they announced this major
setback. However, they declined to appear."
Brady called the Treasury Department's announcement "strangely-timed."
Brady called the Treasury Department's announcement "strangely-timed."
"For
the last several months, we've heard the White House repeatedly pledge to
Congress and the American people that the president's Affordable Care Act will
be ready on schedule," Brady, the subcommittee chair, said in his opening
statement. "In fact, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently insisted before
this very committee that the White House would not miss another Obamacare
deadline. Not one, not again.
~~~~~~
Obama Cronies Prepare for Zimmerman Verdict Riots
On
Wednesday, Sanford Chief of Police Cecil Smith told Breitbart News exclusively
that there is “nothing out there” suggesting civil unrest will take place in
the city following the George Zimmerman verdict. He did state, however, that
the Police Department had been coordinating with federal authorities, including
the Department
of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. More
specifically, Smith stated that the Sanford PD had been coordinating with Community
Relations Service regional director Thomas Battles at the DOJ. Battles
is currently under fire for his involvement in the CRS’ work with regard to
“marches, demonstrations, and rallies” related to Trayvon Martin, as well as
providing support for protest deployment in Florida, and onsite mediation and
conciliation during demonstrations.
~~~~~~
Obama To Use $8 Billion Of Taxpayer’s Money To Wage War
On Coal, Leaving Thousands Unemployed
by Suzanne Hamner
In
Obama’s War on Coal is a War on America, the American Coalition for Clean Coal
Electricity (ACCCE) President Mike Duncan indicated 280 coal-fired generated units
could close in the coming years due to strict environmental regulations already
in place. Obama’s war on coal has claimed two victims. According to the Daily Caller:
High costs associated with stricter
federal environmental regulations and increased competition for low-priced
natural gas have shut down two coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania. FirstEnergy
Corp. will close the coal plants by October 9, according to Reuters, due to
weak power prices. Another factor is the high cost of complying with the
Environmental Protection agency’s Mercury Air Toxin Standards or MATS, which
would require the company to spend $275 million at the two plants.
Reuters
indicated FirstEnergy, in a federal filing, said it would recognize an impairment
charge of about $488 million ($321 million after tax) in the second quarter of
2013 for the shutdowns. In a release by FirstEnergy, the plants scheduled to
shutdown are Hatfields Ferry in Masontown and Mitchell in Courtney. The
shutdown of these two plants will affect about 380 employees. The report by Reuters continues:
Together, the company said the plants
could generate 2,080 megawatts, about 10 percent of its total capacity. One
megawatt can power about 1,000 homes. Since President
Barack Obama took office in 2009, about 15,000 MW of coal-fired power plants
have closed as low electricity and natural gas prices have made it uneconomical
for generating companies to upgrade those facilities to keep up with the
government’s stricter environmental rules. Those generating companies
have also announced plans to shut more than 37,000 MW of coal-fired units over
the next 10 years or so. FirstEnergy said it expected to invest about $650
million in mercury-related control technology to enhance or modify existing air
quality equipment or install new equipment on its remaining facilities. After these upgrades, FirstEnergy said it
expected to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by 84 percent, sulfur dioxide
by 95 percent and mercury by 91 percent below 1990 levels. In addition, the
company expects to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 20 percent to 30 percent
below 1990 levels by 2020.
According
to Kentucky Republican Rep. Ed Whitfield, “[Obama] is personally responsible for the
loss of thousands of jobs. He obviously does not have much interest in states
like Kentucky, Tennessee, and Wyoming, where the coal industry is so vitally
important and we are losing jobs dramatically.” Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told
Reuters the president “expects fossil fuels, and coal specifically to remain a
contributor for some time. Moniz indicated the way the US administration is
“looking at it is: what does it take for us to do to make coal part of a low
carbon future” adding this would include higher efficiency plants and new ways
or utilizing coal. Moniz said he didn’t believe it was a war on coal, but that
in fact, it was all about having coal as part of that future. Reuters reports:
An $8 billion loan guarantee program
for projects to develop new technologies that help cut emissions of fossil
fuels would include carbon capture and storage technology (CCS) as “one of a
number of options,” he said. “It will also include some advanced technologies
for using coal very different from today’s technologies that will enable much less
expensive carbon capture in future,” Moniz said.CCS is a relatively new,
expensive and unproven technology that captures carbon dioxide and buries it.
Based
on statements by the administration’s advisers, coal supporters allege the new
global warming push is part of a larger effort to cripple the industry. In previous articles, the global warming
crisis was reported to be scientifically inconclusive and possibly a myth.
Now, the Obama administration will implement an $8 billion loan guarantee
program for projects that include carbon capture and storage technology (CCS),
which is relatively new, expensive and unproven, for projects that help cut
emissions of fossil fuels. Can you say “money pit?” Didn’t Solyndra
receive funding for “green energy” development and then go bankrupt?
As
a recap, the White House is closed for tours, fireworks were canceled at
several military bases, sequestration of government employees were implemented,
and Obamacare implementation has faced difficulties all due to lack of funding.
However,
there is funding to initiate an $8 billion loan guarantee program for advanced
technologies for decreasing emissions from fossil fuels. Let us not
forget either that our government has difficulty securing our border into
Mexico due to budget restraints and the IRS parties hearty on the hard earned
money of taxpayers who comprise only 47% of the population.
The
sheer irresponsibility of this administration in mismanaging taxpayer money is
astounding and disgraceful. What is almost as bad are the sheeple who nod,
cheer and almost worship in an idolatrous fashion the man who literally throws
money into curbing global warming – an unproven theory. What’s worse is the voice of reason
from the public and other scientific sources are drowned out: smothered by the
left’s tactics of discrediting, labeling and name calling. Mob rule has
arrived; the mob has demonstrated unruliness. If the left can’t drown the voice
of reason, Obama usurps power, ignoring information not conducive to his plan,
by assuming a dictatorial, tyrannical stance then issues executive orders to
continue to pound America into the ground. He cares not if jobs are lost or if
an entire industry is affected as long as his narcissism is satisfied. America
can no longer feed this narcissism. Obama is eating us out of house and home.
~~~~~~
Hamas-CAIR Attacks Florida Professor’s Exposing Connections Between Islam & Terrorism by Tim Brown
The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has launched an attack (no pun intended) on University of Central Florida (UCF) associate professor Jonathan Matusitz for stating his view that these is a connection between Islamism and terrorism. The 36 year old professor, according to his bio on the UCF website, came to the U.S. from Belgium in 2000. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in 2006. He has 95 academic publications and more than 100 conference presentations to his credit and taught at a NATO-affiliated military base in Belgium. He also won an award for outstanding performance form the university, teaches several communication classes. One of those classes is Terrorism and Communication while another is on intercultural communication. He also wrote a book titled Terrorism & Communication: A Critical Introduction that was published last year.
CAIR points to a YouTube video of Professor Matusitz, who was speaking off campus, claiming that he has an anti-Muslim viewpoint. Now, this should be enough for people to recognize that there are many of us out here who have an anti-Muslim viewpoint. It’s called freedom of speech. What CAIR doesn’t point out is their anti-Christian stance. Matusitz actually presents reasoning for why countries should resist the global spread of Islam as he stresses the link between Islamic culture and terrorism. “Why do so many Muslims, relative to other religions, want to kill us?” he asks in the video. “The answer is easy, very easy. It is seven letters –culture.” “How can you change a movement in which you have 1.5 billion members? It’s impossible,” he says. “We just have to resist it and just elect people who are willing just to resist it and just be true American. That’s the only answer. We’re not going to change Islam.”
CAIR, touts itself as a Muslim civil rights group, but found themselves named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a plot to fund the terrorist group Hamas more than a dozen CAIR leaders have been charged or convicted of terrorism-related crimes. Art Moore, points out CAIR’s response:
CAIR’s
chief national spokesman, Ibrahim Hooper, told the Orlando paper he does not
understand how a publicly funded university could allow a professor to promote
hatred toward Muslims.
“What
he is teaching his students at UCF is just raw, anti-Muslim hate,” Hooper said.
“If somebody suddenly decided they were very fond of the KKK and they were
tenured and decided they were going to teach KKK ideologies to the students, I
don’t think that would be permitted.” However, UCF spokesman Grant Heston
appears to basically tell CAIR to go where Islamists will find themselves in
eternity. Since he was not speaking on behalf of UCF when he made his remarks,
Heston said “Dr. Matusitz expressed his opinion, which is his right.” Perhaps
Islamists should learn this lesson or move to a country that wants to be
oppressed in what they think and say and just leave us alone. For
Matusitz’s part, he refuses to be “politically correct just to please everybody.” I
like that; a man with some backbone! Perhaps he should consider elected office.
The Clarion Project also adds:
“I
think that in academia, I’m sure a lot of people don’t share my views,” he
said. “But I also think that a lot of people share my views, but they’re not as
open as I am.”
In
another YouTube video, Matusitz cites a statistic that indicates the vast
majority of victims of terrorism were victims of Islamic terrorism. “So when my colleagues tell me that Islam
is a religion of peace, I tell them that Islam is a religion of pieces: Piece
of body here, piece of body there,” he says in the video. CAIR
is merely demonstrating the kind of bullying tactics Islamists use to try and
get their way. I’m glad Matusitz isn’t claiming Islam has been hijacked or that
it is some “radical Muslims” engaged in these things, but is part of Islamic
culture. I’m also encouraged that the university is standing behind
right to free speech. Good for them! I hope Professor Matusitz continues
helping people understand the truth about Islam in the face of those who want
to silence freedom of speech.
~~~~~~
Carney Can't Name What Gives Obama Authority to Delay
Health Care Mandate
ABC’S
JON KARL: And then on
the healthcare, the issue of the employer mandate being delayed a year, under
what authority did the White House decide to implement that law, a year later
than the law itself calls for?
CARNEY: John, there are experts aplenty who
can provide the specifics for you on this, both inside and outside the
government
((CROSS
TALK))
KARL: Chairman of the Democratic…
CARNEY: I highly recommend picking up any
issue of the Federal Register and finding it in examples of rules and waivers
and that sort of thing, this is not an unusual process, and uh, you know this
is reflex and effort that the hue and cry, you know the clematis hollering you
hear is reflective of a political and partisan effort to undermine.
KARL: I’m talking about Tom Harkin, are
you saying that he’s…((CROSS TALK))
CARNEY: You’re not talking about Tom Harkin
KARL: Tom Harkin said you had no authority
to do this
CARNEY: You’re talking about the Republican
effort to complain about the…listening to business, to postpone a deadline that
effects 4% of businesses with 50 or more employees, when they’ve done
everything they can to undermine the law from day one. They don’t want to see
it implemented. They’ve made that clear..
((CROSS
TALK))
CARNEY: John you can pretend this is
about Tom Harkin, but you know it’s not and you know the fact is this
is…we have demonstrated since the passage of the Affordable Care Act that we
will make improvements where improvements make sense. We will be flexible
in its implementation where being flexible makes sense. I mean everybody
recently to their credit who’s written about it has noted the comparison here
to the passage of Medicare Part D which was an initiative of…a top priority of
President George W. Bush when it came to domestic policy. And it passed
but a lot of Democrats opposed it, but it passed and Democrats did not, once it
passed, engaged in efforts to undermine it every step of the way. Instead they,
now once it became law, engaged in an effort to make sure that the American
people, the people they represented, enjoyed the benefits of the law and I
expect that most constituents who potentially would get insurance for the first
time in their lives or their first time in a long time, if they are made aware
of the possibility of enrolling in these marketplaces would except that their representatives,
their senators, whether they are democratic or republican, would help them in
that process rather than doing everything they can to prevent their
constituents from enjoying the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.
KARL: What do you say to the Republicans
that say on the issue of immigration, if the White House can decide to delay
implementation of certain aspects of bills that passed to then just delay
implementation of border security..
CARNEY: People who suggest that there is
anything unusual about the delaying of a deadline and the
implementation of a complex and comprehensive law are deliberately sticking
their heads in the sand or are just willfully ignorant about past precedent. It’s
not serious and we are going about the business of implementing this law and
we’re going about the business of implementing it in a way that maximizes the
benefits available to the American people and that minimizes the difficulties
in implementation process for businesses as well as individuals, and we’re going
to keep at it.
~~~~~~~
"Who are the militia? Are they
not ourselves? It is feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man against
his own bosom. Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and
every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an
American... [T]he unlimited power of the sword
is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I
trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people." --Tench
Coxe, The Pennsylvania Gazette, 1788
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