Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Handwriting on the Wall

The account the handwriting on the wall in the Book of Daniel is well known.

For the purpose of this post, I will refrain from treating the historical discrepancies of names and titles in the account.

During the period of the Babylonian exile, a hand (Fingers) is/are seen writing on a wall while a royal feast in being enjoyed. The intellectuals are brought to determine the meaning of the writing, but are unable to make anything out of it. Desperate for an interpretation, the king has Daniel, one of the exiles, brought forward to try to make heads or tails of the inscriptions:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel+5&version=RSVCE

24 “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. 25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: mene, mene, tekel, and parsin. 26 This is the interpretation of the matter: mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting;28 peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”


Today, the situation is almost reversed; all of us not only are able to see the handwriting on the wall and understand its meaning, we just refuse to acknowledge that either the hand or the writing exists.

The nation is being undermined from every angle, but we either ignore this fact or tell ourselves that, somehow, the message will be changed to something more palatable.

The following samples are from a single three-day period in the United States:

-The teacher apparently considered Don Quixote, Cantar de mio Cid, or Cien aƱos de soledad  as not good enough for this Spanish class:


-The ultra- irreverent comedy series South Park made fun of a bizarre liberal teacher for doing this:


-Maxine Waters claims that sequestration (Obama's work) will cause the loss of several million more jobs than there are actual jobs to lose:


-In our schools, still more totalitarian-like praise for Obama:


-A famous, respected (Involved in taking down Nixon), and veteran journalist gets a warning from the White House:


-A student that committed fraud by officially identifying himself as a female sues for facing the consequences for his actions:


-The parents of an admittedly unfortunate six-year old boy not only want him to be allowed to use the girl's restroom at school, but have repeatedly used the word "her" to describe him:

*For the record I have a son with very severe cognitive disabilities, so I know how it is to experience anguish.



Pastors and Ministers who have fallen into Atheism but don't have the guts to leave the pulpit and get a job that may require physical exertions have a support network:



There are of course many more, but now I leave you with the words of Dirty Harry; let's all pretend that the government has the authority to create rights and rule on timeless human institutions:


http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/28/confirmed-clint-eastwood-urges-supreme-court-to-overturn-gay-marriage-ban/

As long as we remain idle, more of this will follow. The trend is only picking up speed. 

We have abandoned our dignity, culture, legacy, responsibilities, and our God.

-A statement from from Thomas Jefferson, who like all of us was not perfect, but was all-too-aware that we are pushing the envelope by our inaction and apathy:

"Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever . . . ."

We cannot simply pray and tell ourselves that we have done our part. Our nation was founded by tough decisions and personal sacrifice as well as by the grace of God.

For some thoughts on what we can do, type "secession" in the search bar on the upper right-hand side of this blog. 

We will be held to account for doing nothing just as easily as we will for doing wrong.














Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Revised-North Carolina Mountain Man's School Shut Down


Revised 3/21/13- In addition to the seized four year-old's lunch, Leftists running the universities, and Agenda 21 running rampant, North Carolina now dropped its plan to give striped drivers licences to illegals.
At first, I was thinking 'About time they stopped giving drivers licenses to people who can't legally be here', then I kept on reading-

-Now they will just give them regular drivers licenses:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/21/nc-abandons-plan-to-give-pink-striped-driver-licenses-to-some-illegal/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/12/07/3713079/watauga-county-mountain-man-fighting.html

http://myfox8.com/2013/02/25/mountain-man-vs-the-government/

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/27/history-channels-north-carolina-mountain-man-fights-govt-for-control-of-his-property/

Hat tip to The Blaze:

I was stationed in Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune  in the mid - 80's. Having been born and raised in New Jersey, I quickly learned to appreciate the slower pace of life, the conservative nature of the people, and especially the beaches and coastal towns of the area.

For most people, the impression of North Carolina is one of a very conservative state. Sure, the liquor laws are strangely restricted - a holdover from the days of enforced temperance and Prohibition, but it is hard to imagine this state turning into a place in which governmental intrusions are fast becoming commonplace.

North Carolina was the scene of the infamous case of the the government official seizing 4 year-old's lunch that had been packed by her mother:

http://thehotgates480bc.blogspot.com/2012/02/damage-control-mode-for-north-carolina.html

The University of North Carolina, with its now-sadly ironic name of "Tarheels", is an example of the inmates running the asylum:

http://michellemalkin.com/2009/04/17/update-the-fiasco-at-unc-chapel-hill/

http://www.popecenter.org/commentaries/article.html?id=1459

http://thehotgates480bc.blogspot.com/2012/10/unc-reduced-tuition-for-illegals-not.html


Agenda 21 is close to thriving in the Tarheel State:

http://www.beaufortobserver.net/Articles-NEWS-and-COMMENTARY-c-2012-03-29-259530.112112-Commentary-on-Agenda-21.html

http://brendabowers.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/north-carolina-patriots-present-an-explanation-of-agenda-21/


And now, in reference to the links at top, we have the case of a man who runs a naturalist camp/school being forced to shut down because, well, his buildings are not built to code:


"After graduating from Appalachian State University more than two decades ago, Eustace Conway decided to take a crack at Henry Thoreau’s philosophy of getting back to nature – that is, of living “deliberately.”

“I live in a much different way and I’m glad for it,” Conway told Fox 8 WGHP-TV.

He purchased some land outside Boone, N.C., built up his property, and has been using his “nature school” to teach hundreds of people how to live closer to nature ever since.......

But in 2012, citing safety regulations, county officials decided they need to shut down the noted naturalist’s school.

“Basically, I’m living like the American heritage pattern of all of our ancestors and the modern world isn’t. They don’t know how to accept me,” Conway said.

The county issued Conway a cease and desist order, saying his property wasn’t up to code.

“This is supposed to be the land of the free,” he said, “government is supposed to help people [and] protect their individual liberties and freedom. That’s not what’s happening here.”

“My gosh,” he added, “This is the country that I pledge allegiance to?”

Problem is, to meet said standards, Conway’s “nature school” would cease to be, well, natural. Also, the county’s demands are a little strange considering that after all this time (26 years) and several inspections, it has suddenly decided his property is a hazard."


There are such things as releases of liability. If the county was truly that concerned for the safety of the students/customers, it could arrange for a requirement that Mr. Conway have all attendees sign a waiver that confirms that they are aware of the potential hazards of eating, drinking, and staying at the facilities. The building/health departments could ensure the releases note that their agencies have not approved the types of structures and method of food/water prep on the property.

This is all about control. There is clearly no reason why someone cannot teach people to live primitively by housing and feeding them in a primitive manner. That's why people go to Mr. Conway's school.







Mexicans Protecting Themselves Deemed Vigilantes

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/02/26/in-mexico-spread-vigilante-groups-sparks-debate/

The situation in the narco-state on our southern border is just plain ugly.

Kidnappings, mass-beheadings, rapes by armed gangs, assassinations of public officials and brave journalists, corruption, and a government barely able to slow the cartels down are the norm in Mexico.

Who gets negative press?

"MEXICO CITY – The rapid spread of vigilante-style community "self-defense" groups is drawing debate in Mexico, after the latest group popped up with suspiciously sophisticated weapons, printed T-shirts and clothing that doesn't reflect the usual mix of participants.

The new group of vigilantes is armed with some assault rifles, in addition to the mix of shotguns and single-shot rifles used by other similar groups that have appeared recently.

The group appeared this week in Tepalcatepec, in the western state of Michoacan.

A stubborn crime wave has caused groups of farmers in other towns to set up patrols and checkpoints, but they are usually raggedly-dressed farmers, unlike the better-dressed Tepalcatepec vigilantes.

Assistant Interior Secretary Eduardo Sanchez said Tuesday that the government was seeking to negotiate with the vigilante groups."


What could Mr. Sanchez possible want from these people? Have them turn in their weapons and take whatever the cartels elect to dish out?

When the people, far past being wearied of living in fear and living without hope of any appreciable protection from their own government, take action to protect themselves, they get tabled as vigilantes.

Although most societies have the resources to provide for a military  a national guard-type organization  and police, the existence of these bodies does not mean that the people are not obligated to protect their communities.

This is the basic concept of the militia; all citizens are obligated to be prepared and willing to stand in defense of their lives (and of the young, old and infirm) and property. No sane person will deny that having professionals available to fight crime is a good thing, nor will an honest person claim that the fact that having these bodies means that the rights and obligation of the people have been nullified.

If the Mexican authorities cannot protect the citizens, then the latter do not become vigilantes for stepping into the void.







Monday, February 25, 2013

Ann Coulter Rips Libertarians

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/22/ann-coulter-battles-room-full-of-libertarians-this-is-why-people-think-youre-puies/

Ms. Coulter, in her typically diplomatic fashion, called out Libertarians for their failure to see the forest for the trees.

Too many Libertarians get wound up with peripheral issues, such as legalized marijuana. They fail to see that the Left will generally be more than willing to throw them a bone (pun intended) as long as the establishment does not experience any serious opposition to their quest for control.

When people who affect to be advocates for very limited government support moves such as gay marriage and/or physician-assisted suicide*, they play right into the hands of those who are pushing for an ever-more authoritative state. While some will be content whiling away the hours, days, and months, in clouds of smoke, statists will be gaining one foothold after another.

*In fairness, not all Libertarians support these positions.

Supporting legislation that allows doctors to kill people opens a Pandora's box. Once you have a "right" (Governments can dole out privileges - not rights) to pay someone to kill you, the next step is that, if you can no longer support yourself, you should pay a doctor to kill you. The logical conclusion will ultimately be that you are obligated to submit to this "procedure" if you are incapable of supporting yourself.

Abortion was merely the first step for this agenda.

John Locke, in his Treatises on Government, noted that people are not born with the right to end their own lives. He used this truth to argue that, since this type of act violated the natural law, one also has no right to submit to slavery or tyranny. Although we are denied any education that includes such works, the Left is fully aware of his assertions. To get us painted into a corner in which we are no longer free to refuse to submit to an all-powerful state, they first need us to agree that our lives are not sacred and that ending life is a routine matter.

From The Blaze:

"But then things became a little more heated when Stossel decided to shift gears and brought up legalizing drugs.

“Libertarians and pot,” Coulter laughed. “This is why people think libertarians are pu**ies.”

Now although Fox censored the word, Mediaite’s Andrew Kirell was on the scene and can testify to Coulter’s language.

She continued:

'We’re living in a country that is 70-percent socialist, the government takes 60 percent of your money. They are taking care of your health care, of your pensions. They’re telling you who you can hire, what the regulations will be. And you want to suck up to your little liberal friends and say, “Oh, but we want to legalize pot.”

You know, if you’re a little more manly you would tell them what your position on employment discrimination is. How about that? But it’s always “We want to legalize pot.”

Stossel went all in Libertarian versus Social Conservatism: “Why can’t gays get married?”

“Well, they can,” she answered. “They have to marry a member of the opposite sex.”
-The following is an excerpt from a post on a baker who may be in trouble for refusing to make a wedding cake with two brides.

http://thehotgates480bc.blogspot.com/2013/02/baker-refuses-cake-for-fake-wedding.html

One must keep in mind that governments do not have creative powers. They cannot bring rights into existence. The State is given the power to regulate and protect institutions such as marriage to prevent abuses. These would include underage brides, one spouse who is still legally married to another, etc.

Marriage existed long before any government; therefore a government cannot,despite any legislative hoop-jumping, create the legality of a marriage that, by its very nature, cannot exist. Any law that presents itself as such is nothing more than play-acting by the State.

I once believed that the primary reason for using statutory powers to pretend that same-sex marriages exist was to destroy the family While I still believe that this is the primary purpose for some, I have come to think that others have a more insidious purpose for this.

-The purpose is to establish full governmental control of society and all of its people.

Think about it. If the State can force people to act as if a government can bring the impossible into existence, and force everyone to go along with it, then what is it incapable of doing or forcing? If a society accepts that the State can conjure up institutions by going through the motions of making laws, what can stop them from removing rights or creating others that infringe on the Liberties of the rest of the people?

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Wyoming Lawmaker - "By all means, Leave"

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/24/by-all-means-leave-the-amazingly-blunt-response-one-state-rep-gave-a-citizen-who-wrote-him-opposing-concealed-carry-in-schools/

Liberals are quite fond of fleeing places that their own polices have wrecked. The problem is that,once they arrive in a stable place, they promptly begin demanding that their new home be run in the same manner as their old one.

One lawmaker's response to the letter? "By all means, leave."

"That was one Wyoming state representative’s message to a resident who contacted him recently stating her opposition to a bill that would have allowed people with concealed carry permits to carry guns in public schools, colleges and sporting events.

Rev. Audette Fulbright had emailed all state legislators, including Republican Rep. Hans Hunt, earlier this month to say she and her husband had just moved to Wyoming and were “seriously reconsidering” their decision amid the proposed expansion of gun laws.

“Ample evidence has shown that schools and guns do not mix, and in particular, guns in the hands of amateurs/non-professionals is extremely dangerous, especially in any highly-charged situation,” Fulbright wrote. “To expose our children to greater risk in their schools by encouraging more guns on campuses is something that we cannot allow."

She also complains about fracking.

While Representative Hunt's letter unfortunately  does not contain any refutation of the  false claims of Ms. Fulbright in regards to firearms,  he is quite clear that he does not take kindly to people moving into his state and begin to order Wyomingites about:

Rev. Fulbright,

I’ll be blunt. If you don’t like the political atmosphere of Wyoming, then by all means, leave. We, who have been here a very long time (I am proudly 4th generation) are quite proud of our independent heritage. I don’t expect a “mass exodus” from our state just because we’re standing up for our rights. As to your comments on fracking, I would point out that you’re basing your statement on “dangers” that have not been scientifically founded or proved as of yet.

It offends me to no end when liberal out-of-staters such as yourself move into Wyoming, trying to get away from where they came from, and then pompously demand that Wyoming conform to their way of thinking. We are, and will continue to be, a state which stands a head above the rest in terms of economic security. Our ability to do that is, in large part, to our “live and let live” mentality when it comes to allowing economic development, and limiting government oversight. So, to conclude, if you’re so worried about what our legislature is working on, then go back home.

Sincerely,

Hans Hunt

Representative Hans Hunt

House District 02

Classic.







Saturday, February 23, 2013

"No Sales to Firearms-Restrictive States" List Grows


http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/23/gaining-momentum-now-42-gun-companies-have-stopped-selling-to-law-enforcement-in-anti-2nd-amendment-states/

Not only have more firearms manufacturers joined with their colleagues in refusing to sell firearms to law enforcement agencies in states that have jumped on the anti-gun bandwagon, but vendors have also stepped up to the plate:

"The list of companies that have stopped selling firearms and ammunition to law enforcement agencies in states that are restricting the Second Amendment has more than doubled since Wednesday and is more than five times larger than just one week ago. There are 44 companies on our list, with more being added as we receive notification. Here are the additions since Wednesday:

The post on the top link provides the list of these companies. The names are hyper-linked to the company websites and/or the page with their official statements.

The law enforcement community in the US has unfortunately come to see itself as being far more separate from the people than it actually is. I am a retired law county-level enforcement officer and have seen this development firsthand. References to "civilians" by law enforcement  members underscore this sad phenomena. Cops, be they local, state or federal (read-national) are in fact civilians; they are not members of the military. The main difference of civilian law enforcement personnel from the people in general is their official charge, or commission, of enforcing the law, investigating crimes, and their powers of arrest. Due to the fact that our society is affluent enough to afford to train and pay these individuals, we have the luxury of their service. Their existence in no way replaces the right and obligation of the people to assist society in suppressing crime or to protect themselves and the community. Their very existence is due to the artificial construct of a stable government(s), which is a good thing to have, but nothing can guarantee that such a thing will always exist.

-From a previous post on this subject:


In response to the bombastic, bullying, and mafioso-like Governor Cuomo of New York, a number of firearm manufacturer have notified the State of New York that they will no longer sell firearms to law enforcement agencies of that state.

This is a tremendously brave and selfless move. The easy way out would have been to offset their losses from private sales by selling firearms to these state and local organizations, which have been increasingly culturally isolated from the people by a methodical process of militarization.

This movement has the ring of a revolt of the people and I am glad to see it.

Our nation has a beginning that is defined by the defiance of wrongful acts of government. The protests of, and physical opposition to, writs of assistance and wrongful taxes are just two examples of how the American people risked jail, fines, and loss of livelihood in order to secure their inalienable rights. The loss of profits that these manufacturers are willing to incur should not be underestimated; in this economy, any loss of sales is significant. As some manufacturers will no doubt step in and sell out the people for the sake of profit, the stand being taken by these companies is all the more noble.....





Friday, February 22, 2013

Obama and Cronies Eye Seizing 401K's , etc.


http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/02/the_feds_want_your_retirement_accounts.html

One key concept of Marx was the prohibition on inheritances. Wealth can not be allowed to accumulate and all that one had at the time of death should go to the state (Or whatever followed the end of the state in his sick mind).

Leftists, such as Theresa Ghilarducci, of course would love to see this happen, but what they really want first is your money while you are still live.

The way they explain it is this; the rich (whatever that is to the Left) and some middle-class folk were wrongfully allowed to put money into retirement accounts before it was taxed. Even though they will pay taxes on it when they retire and are earning less money, this was a mistake as it deprived the government of revenue. The government should have been able to get more revenue when the workers were earning more and being taxed at a higher rate. This system is also not fair as some people cannot afford to invest money in this manner.

The Left enslaves the poor by handouts, and the workers by national debt and seizures of their assets.

What Ghilarducci and her comrades want is to get their mitts on your 401Ks, IRA's, Deferred Compensation Plans, etc. (I don't have one of these but if I did I would not want it stolen), comfort you with a pittance of an annuity, and have all of the earned, invested and appreciated private assets under their control.
Now that I think about it, they will probably go after public pension funds also - which would wreck my police pension. Man, I contributed a whole lot of money to that fund (Most at the end when I made more). It hurt especially badly when I was a new officer and making little money.

You had no right to keep any significant amount of money to yourself, and you most certainly have no right to bequeath it  to your kids or anyone else of your choice.

Apply Obama's anti- private business rant "you didn't build that, somebody else made that happen" to your retirement savings - I'll bet that Obama does. It's the same thing; no matter that you paid a college or a college loan for an education, worked long (often grueling) hours, weekends and nights, missed your kids baseball games or birthday parties and after school-time in the evenings, put off buying things that you desired so that you could (gasp) save some money, etc., these were the work of someone other than yourself. None of that matters, your "excess" is wrongfully possessed and should be spread around.

http://www.wnd.com/2010/01/123024/
"Professor Ghilarducci repeated the proposal on Oct. 17, 2008, in testimony before the House Committee on Education and Labor. She testified that the current system “exacerbates income and wealth inequalities,” and told an interviewer later: “I’m just rearranging the tax breaks that are available now for 401(k)s and spreading … spreading the wealth.”

Excerpt from American Thinker:

".........2) What will the CFPB do with your money? The CFPB incursion into individual personal savings, in order to control how you invest your money, isn't a new idea. Current proposals grew from a policy analysis as disclosed by Roger Hedgecock.


On Nov. 20, 2007, Theresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, presented a paper proposing that the feds eliminate the tax deferral for private retirement accounts, confiscate the balance of those accounts, give each worker a $600 annual "contribution," assess a mandatory savings tax on every worker and guarantee a 3 percent rate of return on the newly titled "Guaranteed Retirement Accounts," or GRAs.

How would that be accomplished? The Carolina Journal reported Ghilarducci's 2008 testimony to Nancy Pelosi's House.

'Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers' personal retirement accounts "including 401(k)s and IRAs" and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration.'

Your Government universal GRA investment savings account is an annuity managed by Social Security. Hedgecock noted '[m]ake no mistake here: Obama is after your retirement money. The "annuities" will "invest" not in the familiar packages of bond and stock mutual funds but in the Treasury debt!'

By 2010 Bloomberg published an article titled "US Government Takes Two More Steps Toward Nationalization of Private Retirement Account Assets." In that article Patrick Heller observed that, with Democrat control of Congress and the Presidency

[I]n mid-September 2010 the Departments of Labor and Treasury held hearings on the next step toward achieving Ghilarducci's goals. The stated purpose was to require all private plans to offer retirees an option to elect an annuity. The "behind-the-scenes" purpose for this step was to get people used to the idea that the retirement assets they had accumulated would no longer be part of their estate when they died.

So the Government would get the money, not the estate or family of the people who saved the money during a lifetime of work. That's a one hundred percent death tax on savings. Worse, the most responsible and poorest families will be penalized........"

The following two links provide more detail:

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/11/29/democrats_are_after_your_401_k

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/11/29/details_the_plan_to_steal_your_401_k

Again, I have to assert that we have no choice but to split our nation into two countries, one Progressive and one a Republic. The Left wants it all, they are growing by expanding the ranks of the welfare-enslaved and by churning out more leftists in our schools. They force, or try to force you, to accept fake marriages, cheapen your life by granting the privilege of paying a doctor to kill you (and denying cancer treatment if you are too old), and give up your firearms (or leave you with hunting rifles/shotguns only). They ignore or demean your cultural inheritance in schools, insist that you live in a town in which any religious symbol (particularly those of our Judeo-Christian heritage) are prohibited, be enslaved by national debt and rampant welfare, and acquiesce to massive immigration, the rates of which are guaranteed to prevent any assimilation.

http://thehotgates480bc.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-consideration-of-secession-part-i.html

If States that traditionally vote for Conservative candidates take steps towards secession, the outcome in no way has to be bad. Those who live in "Red States" but prefer the Progressive )Read -Leftist) outlook can move to "Blue States" if they so desire . Blue-Staters would similarly have the right to relocate to a Red State.

This is not an impossible feat - The USSR, which was a far larger nation, did the same things a mere twenty years ago. It took a while for things to get back on track but it worked. The back and forth migration of people to also has an historical background. In the wake of the Protestant Reformation, Catholics left the United Provinces) Modern Netherlands) and moved to what today is Belgium. Protestants left the latter to live in the Netherlands. The exact same thing happened in Germany; Protestants often moved from Catholic German States to Lutheran ones and vice-versa.

The hateful and thuggish behavior can also go away. Elections signs and bumper stickers would no longer be cause for vandalism or assaults. Both sides get the manage their governments in the manner that they please.

The National debt could be evenly divided, and both sides can service their debt shares.All revenues, including income taxes, will remain within their respective nations.

We must allow that their can be, like the European Union (Not that I am a fan of that group), a measure of cooperation between the two bodies. This would include the possibility of jointly-administered armed forces.

This would entail the stepping down of the US as a world leader, but we cannot keep that role going anyway. We don't have the money, and the world will survive without us.




Most well-known conservative thinkers and commentators have avoided the "S" word like the plague. They seem to be under the impression that, if we can just get our point across, people will turn back to voting for conservative candidates like we were back in the early 80's.

Things have changed since then. To the electorate has been added people who, in those halcyon days and since then, were in college where they were subjected to Marxist and anti-western propaganda, vast amount of people from nations that had no experience with effective representative republican-type governments have been imported. The welfare rolls have been bolstered due to the ongoing efforts of Progressives.

Sean Hannity made a bold move for someone who has to answer to his bosses. The latter are under enormous pressure to avoid political attacks and boycotts of station sponsors.

What made Hannity's statement stand out is the fact that, instead of merely arguing whether or not secession is legal, he noted that our Declaration of Independence was a radical document. In doing so, he recognized that most political breaks and assertions of sovereignty start out as illegal moves. Our nation was born with a political move that was clearly contrary to British Law.

Here lies the argument that pathetically few supporters of secession bring up; the Declaration was not designed to be a legal move, but as an acknowledgment that a break had already been made by the Crown and Parliament. Those who signed that document noted that all of their efforts to reconcile with the mother country had yielded negative results. They specifically applied the concepts advance by writers such as John Locke, who insisted that, when governments cease to be protectors of rights and property and become oppressors,.it is the right and obligation of a people to alter or abolish it. Locke noted that people are born free and have no right to allow themselves to be subjugated.

This is where we are right now. Our system has become something altogether unrecognizable from that which was crafted at the Constitutional Convention. Washington is dominated by Progressives and submissive Republicans. We have protested time and again to no avail, and things will probably only get much worse in the next few months and years.

So the question is not about the legality or illegality of secession, but whether or not our national government has already effected a break with its own people, abandoned our Constitutional system, and subjugated the law-abiding taxpayers to a lifetime of servitude and control.

My answer to all three is yes.


Even if no permanent break is desired, a temporary secession of a group of states may be the only hope to force significant changes both to our direction and to roll back abusive and oppressive laws and regulations.




Thursday, February 21, 2013

Orthodox Patriarch Opposes Hagia Sophia Returning to Mosque Status

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/02/orthodox-patriarch-opposes-plan-to-make-hagia-sophia-a-mosque.html

Hat tip to JihadWatch.

The Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church has spoken out about the proposals of formerly secular Turkey to return Hagia Sophia to Mosque status. To protect their flock from  violence and other acts of oppression, those who have held this office traditionally held their tongues to avoid stoking the anger of Muslims. During one of the periods when Greeks fought for independence from the Ottomans, a Patriarch was hung on Easter as punishment for the acts of the freedom fighters.

Quoted in Jihad Watch:
"Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople has staked out his opposition to convert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

Once the patriarchal basilica of Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque when Muslims conquered the city. In 1935, Turkey’s government made the building a museum, as part of the secularizing campaign under the leadership of Kemal Ataturk. But today Turkey’s government, while professing the same secular principles, has supported a campaign to build new mosques and convert some historic buildings into mosques. A proposal to make the Hagia Sophia a mosque is now under consideration in the Turkish parliament. ''We want Santa Sofia to remain a museum,” said Patriarch Bartholomew. The Orthodox prelate said that if the museum is converted to any religious use, it should become a Christian church, since it was built for that purpose."

This was a brave move. The West has conveniently swept the memory of the Eastern Churches and the Byzantine Empire under the rug. Leftists are quite fond of extolling the virtues of the "tolerant" Ottomans. It was they who stole from Christian communities both girls to serve as sex slaves in harems and boys to be, Stockholm syndrome-style, forcibly converted to Islam and to serve as shock troops for the Sultan. These slaves (Janissaries) were employed against their own people and (Former) coreligionists in the wars of Ottoman conquest. As is common with brainwashed children, they grew up to display a vicious attitude in war against those of the faith into which they were born. 

The Left detests national sovereignty, so they like massive empires. As Leftists can't stand Christianity, the Eastern (Byzantine)  Empire is naturally out of the question; that leaves the Ottoman Empire was their prime example of a well-run operation.
From a previous post of mine on this subject: 


After over 900 years as a Orthodox Christian Cathedral and seat of the Patriarchs of the Eastern Church, the grand work of Justinian and his master architects and builders was turned into a mosque following the sack of Constantinople. Few are aware of the pillaging, looting, rapine, and slave-taking that went on in Hagia Sophia once the walls of the city were breached. Mehmet, or Mahomet, is often referred to as allowing for the "customary" three-day period of looting upon the final failure of the city's defenses. Let's not ignore custom and tradition, now. Their sack probably made that of the Fourth Crusade look like high school kids having a night of mailbox baseball.

Picked clean of its gold, silver, people, and anything else of value to the Ottomans, the Icons, statuary, and anything that depicted a living creature were either removed and plastered over (after being severely scored to ensure a good bond for the plaster). The Church of the Holy Wisdom was now a Mosque. The building was to take on the look with which we are familiar - the four minarets surrounding it from which the the sound the American president referred to as "The sweetest sound in the world" would be heard until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the founding of the nation of Turkey by Kemal Ataturk. Graciously, seemingly almost as an act of charity (sincere or not) the shell of Hagia Sophia became a museum.

The policies of Islamist Turkish Prime Minister's Tayyip Erdogan's party (And man! I was raised on how 'Western" and secular Turkey was - was of course being the operative word), like the Arab Spring praised by the left, are now also bearing fruit. Hagia Sophia is to again be a mosque.

Not that the West did not have its chances; the nations of Western Europe did pretty much all that they could to ensure the survival of the Ottoman state. Far from the Muslim victimisation-type claims (the old story of Europe ganging up on the poor declining Sultanate), Europe's far-sighted rulers happily encouraged them to attack other Christian nations like France did with Austria during the 1683 siege of Vienna. The British even brought the French into the Crimean War because, well, we can't have the Russians gaining full control of the Black Sea or taking Constantinople, that would give them an unfair advantage in the "Great Game". Catherine the Great had high hopes for John Paul Jones when the naturalized American was given a Rear Admiral's command - "He will get to Constantinople". But Russian selfishness iand intrigue among top officers caused him to be withdrawn from the Black Sea.

And today, we see more of the results of the Islamist resurgence that has pushed the secular Turkish army commanders aside. Muslims tend to be quite gleeful about taking over Christian houses of worship. In this case, Erdogan's boys get to act in the manner of "Well, you know that it was a great shame that Kemal remove so much of Islamic culture from our country, especially taking away our crowning achievement of the Aya Sofia (Hagia Sophia) Mosque. We will right that wrong and reestablish our rightful place as leaders in the Muslim world"

This time I would be surprised if the icons and other representations that did survive through the years and may have been brought back to public view (Lots of plaster would have had to be removed) during the museum period are not going to removed completely. If, to Erdogan, the Mosques are their barracks, then he is more than likely planning to ensure that the greatest of Turkey's barracks is not defiled by all of that horrendous Byzantine art.*

* I happen to love Byzantine art.


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Biden Lies About Shotguns for Home Defense

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/20/biden-encourages-americans-to-use-shotguns-to-scare-off-intruders/

Not all stupid statements are mistakes - some are outright lies.

Biden claimed that shotguns are easier to aim* than an AR-15 or a firearm with a similar platform. The AR-15 is universally recognized to be a firearm that allows the shooter to acquire a target almost instantly. In fact, this feature is what provides its main advantage over an AK-47, which although a very well-designed weapon, takes more work to aim accurately.

Biden's second lie was that a victim should take a double-barrel shotgun, walk onto the balcony (Outside of the house!) and fire two (both and only) rounds into the yard. Not only does this act empty the shotgun of ammunition (Since he noted using double-barrel types) and renders the victim powerless, but it also leaves the victim open to criminal prosecution. Some states (Like NJ, believe it or not) do not require a retreat inside one's home and thus allow the victim to shoot upon an illegal entry, and some states require that the victim make an attempt to back up, such as against a wall. Shooting outside, especially when the shooter is actually no longer standing inside a house, creates a host of legal problems both criminal and civil. The disgrace of a VP apparently has no problem with an innocent (Even if another victim is sitting in the bad guy's vehicle) or a kid on a bicycle being shot.Warning shots are also illegal in most states.

 [2/21/13 - I forgot to add that multiple projectile cartridges (shot)  are the most common ammunition for shotguns. These projectile "spread out" in a semi-circular pattern. This can also present a problem for someone who may have to shoot with innocents in the area.When I was a K9 officer, we alternated the duties of working with one's own dog and backing up the other dog handler when he used his dog (Following behind K9/handler team but watching on front of them). For years we had used shotguns for this task. At one point, an officer explained why he was supporting changing over to carbines for backup purposes  Although I personally like shotguns, I had no choice but to admit that being able to place a shot where I wanted was a big advantage over sending a cloud of projectiles in the same general direction of a partner and his dog.]

The recoil (kick) from a 12 gauge (Most common cartridge size) shotgun is quite powerful and often too much for smaller and less experienced shooters. Many a young person has developed a fear of recoil (And the resulting flinch -terrible for aiming- that is hard to excise by further training once it starts) and the consequent pain by being introduced to shotguns before they were ready.

The following excerpt is from an previous post of mine on the types of firearms the are best for home defense. Shotguns are covered in detail:

http://thehotgates480bc.blogspot.com/2013/01/assault-weapon-can-prevent-attacks-and.html

"Rifles and shotguns can be unwieldy in the hands of a teenager or a woman with a smaller frame. A criminal can approach victim prior to a shot and turn the barrel (Pointy end) away from him. The most common type of sight on a shotgun is the "bead" type, which is simply a sphere-shaped object towards the top of the muzzle. Mastering the acquiring of a target while using a firearm with a bead sight takes a long time. The most common mistake less experienced shooters make with these sights is to raise the barrel up high enough so that the entire bead is in view. This tends to bring the plane (top) of the barrel into view also. When this occurs, the weapon will fire (very) high. Some trainers teach shooters to aim low with a shotgun to get around this problem, but it this does not address the issue. The best advice (For self-defense) that I ever gleaned from a trainer was to peer over the plane of the shotgun until only the top half of the bead was in view. While this technique works very well, it is not easy for a less experienced shooter.

The length of these weapons also makes in difficult to move around corners, which abound in homes. Unless the victim can position himself safely at the end of a hallway, the criminal can again seize control of the weapon as the victim approaches a corner or moves into another room.

Handguns take far more training to use safely and effectively than do long arms. The manner in which a handgun must be gripped is much more exact to ensure that the targeted, and not an innocent, is hit.

The following has terms designed for the lay reader:
The recoil of a handgun is substantial for a person with smaller hands. It can cause a victim to miss the target. If the handgun is a semi-auto, the recoil in smaller hand can cause the victim's hands to be thrown back. The energy of the recoil is then absorbed by the hands and wrists, rather than the weapon. When this occurs, the slide (Top part) does not have enough "oomph" or energy, to be thrown back against the lower receiver (Handle portion) The result is a spent (Shot) casing from the first round that is not ejected from the weapon and is stuck between the ejection port and the feedramp/barrel chamber when to slide returns to the front of the pistol (This is called a stovepipe). The malfunction needs to be cleared immediately and takes too much time for a shooter who has not done it many times previously.
I was a pistol and shotgun instructor in my agency for many years. I watched smaller-handed officers experience this time after time. I would not recommend this to any shooter that has not has extensive training, but, to demonstrate to the officers what was happening, I would hold their pistols just loosely enough to absorb some recoil in my hands as opposed to providing a solid base against which the recoil could do its job to cycle the weapon. The result was a stovepipe. Until this is cleared and a new round is chambered, the gun will not fire.

The shorter barrels of handguns also pose another problem for the untrained or nervous victim. If a criminal is able to get his hands on the weapon, the hands/wrist of the victim may be turned. This could cause the barrel to be pointing towards the victim or another innocent while a finger is inside the trigger guard.

For many people, the best weapons that can be employed in the event of a home invasion is either a short weapon such as a semiautomatic pistol-caliber carbine* (Chambered for 9mm, .40 cal., or .45 cal.), or a AR-15 or other civilian-legal rifle. Both types are easy to handle and with which to move. The pistol-caliber carbines are especially useful for home defense as they have a much quieter report (Important in a confined space - especially for a shooter who is not an expert) and the bullets are less likely to penetrate a wall and go into another room. They are not very long and make it more difficult for a criminal to approach closely enough to grab. Due to the longer (But not loo long) plane of the weapon and the type of sights on these, they can be accurately aimed in a instant. Unlike common shotguns and rifles, the semiautomatic actions (Lever/Bolt/Pump-type) do not need to be worked after each shot. As most of these types of weapons are external magazine-fed, they can be safely kept in an unloaded condition but loaded quickly with several rounds. This is far better than fumbling with hand-loading one round at a time into an internal magazine.

[Added 1/19/13- I realized that I had forgotten to note one very important point; that shoulder-fired weapons such as rifles and shotguns offer the advantage of distributing the recoil onto the shoulder as opposed to the hands. When one uses a AR-15 or another magazine-fed rifle, the operation of extracting, ejecting of spent rounds and loading of new rounds uses energy (To move the bolt/bolt carrier). This use of energy reduces the amount of "kick" against the shoulder. So not only do these types of weapons offer easier handling and moving, better pointing on target, but also a platform that does not cause pain or discomfort to the shooter. This allows the shooter to be confident that the weapon can be fired without the shock of a hard recoil and makes it much easier to keep the weapon on target after the first shot]".............



Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Sheep and Media Got Pit Bulls Prohibited in Ontario

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/19/big-time-major-league-pitcher-refuses-to-move-family-to-canada-after-traded-to-toronto-blue-jays-because-ontario-has-banned-his-dog/

There are innumerable news reports on bigger topics than this, such as the new Democratic politician's claim that women will, if armed, shoot innocent men on campus if they are too afraid of being sexually assaulted*, but the topic in the top link is big for me for more than one reason.

"DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Mark Buehrle [Pitched a perfect game when with the Chicago White Sox] won’t be experiencing the dog days of summer.

While the pitcher is headed to Toronto, his family will split the season between Broward County in Florida and their home in St. Louis. One of their four dogs, Slater, is a mix of bulldog and American Staffordshire Terrier – which is of pit bull lineage. Pit bulls are banned in the province of Ontario.

“He’s an awesome dog,” Buehrle said Saturday. “That’s what’s a shame; just the way he looks is why we have to get separated.”

Sent to Toronto as part of the Miami Marlins’ payroll purge, Buehrle had a few options. He could have left Slater with friends or placed him in a kennel. The Buehrle family also could have moved to Buffalo or somewhere else on the U.S. side of the border, forcing the pitcher to commute 90 minutes each way to Toronto....."

The Pit Bull hysteria, which pops up periodically, is a prime example of the people being desirous of needing the government to protect us from indefensible fears. The media, which make its living promoting this sense of helplessness, has long avoided reporting any serious injuries or deaths that were from dogs that were not of the Pit Bull types (There are several that are in the Pit Bull category).

There are few, and I mean very few, dogs that demonstrate less aggression towards people than Pit Bulls. They are the most playful, attention-seeking, family-oriented (And they really feel as if they are a member of the family), and submissive dogs that can be found. Not that anyone should approach a strange dog without consulting the owner, but these dogs are far and away the best choice if one wants to do so without being bitten.

When a conversation turns towards Pits, the train is set in motion- the willfully ignorant will parrot what he has heard on the news or read in the paper, the person that knows Pit Bulls will provide a nice Pit Bull 101, and, about half way through the explanation, the first person will interrupt, prefacing his opposition with "I'm sorry,.......". The next words will be "but", "I've read", or "those dogs", followed but the same thing that he said in the first place.

"I'm sorry..." has become a way of letting someone know that you are perfectly happy with your ignorance and fear, that you have every intention of clinging to these, and saying ""Don't confuse me with the facts".

New York City was one of the first (Yes, shocking) cities to ban these animals. People of Western societies, long known for their curiosity and desire for facts, proved their wholesale abandonment of these attributes by accepting moves like that of NYC as proof positive that these dogs were a problem that needed to be solved.

We were told that their jaws, (as if it is not even actually dog) separate and lock down on a bite, that they are inherently aggressive, and that they have no place with people. All of these are blatant lies designed to keep the sheep of our society fearful of the bogeyman.

The Left wants control, and they will spare no effort to make people as fearful as possible in order for them to (Forget accept), desire as much governmental control of their lives as possible.

The following post does a great job of setting the record straight on these fine and unfairly maligned dogs.

http://rumson.patch.com/articles/pit-bull-what-happened-to-americas-dog?ncid=txtlnkuspatc00000003




Monday, February 18, 2013

Islamic UK Hate Preacher - Take Welfare From The Kuffar

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4799159/Anjem-Choudary-urges-fanatics-to-scrounge-for-holy-war.html

Hat tip to Answering Muslims.

Anjem Choudary has long advocated and predicted the takeover of the UK by Muslims. Virtually unchecked Muslim immigration, which brings rape gangs, sharia zones (No joke), female genital mutilation, significant increases in violent crimes, and riots, has also brought upon our mother country the specter of being bankrupted by a methodical campaign of intentional welfare abuse.

Choudary has been the prime mover in more than one organization that was shut down by British authorities  for ties to terrorism. His main Modus Operadi, though, is to work for the eventual takeover of Britain by Islam through demographics; by massive increases in their numbers, they seek to dominate the vote by Democratic means.

What Islam was stopped from doing by Charles Martel at Tours (Poitiers), by the Austrians at Vienna (More than once), and by the Christian fleet at Lepanto, they are being enabled to do by the governments of the Western European nations.

Like the Americans experience in their own way, the workers of Europe are being enslaved by the Left.

The British government has allowed the Muslim population in the UK to increase exponentially. A tremendous amount of these newcomers make no secret of the fact that they do not plan to assimilate, nor integrate, - ever.

Muslims in the UK are allowed to obtain welfare for not only their legal wives, but also for their children by other women (Unofficial wives).

The following excerpts are from the linked article at top:


"Father-of-four Choudary, who has praised terrorist outrages, pockets more than £25,000 a year in benefits — £8,000 more than the take-home pay of some soldiers fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan........

“But the normal situation is for you to take money from the kuffar. (Kuffar are unbelievers)

“So we take Jihad Seeker’s Allowance. You need to get support.”

Figures obtained by The Sun in 2010 showed the extremist cleric received £15,600 a year in housing benefit to keep him in a £320,000 house in Leytonstone, East London.

He also got £1,820 council tax allowance, £5,200 income support and £3,120 child benefits — equivalent to a taxed salary of £32,500................

“All should be obedience to Allah, or you have no right to call yourself Muslim.” At a three-hour meeting in a community centre in Bethnal Green, East London, he insisted it was wrong to deny any aspect of Islam — including jihad or ultra-strict sharia law..........

He told a 30-strong crowd: “We are going to take England — the Muslims are coming.”

At the third meeting we infiltrated, again in Slough, he insisted Islam was taking over Europe.

He said: “Now we are taking over Birmingham and populating it.

“Brussels is 30 per cent, 40 per cent Muslim and Amsterdam. Bradford is 17 per cent Muslim.".......

He then goes on to work the old line about Jihad being an inner struggle but can't resist attacking the Prime Minister and royal family:“The word Jihad means struggle. It does not necessarily mean fighting. I have never said to anyone to kill anyone in this country.

“Cameron is doing satanic actions but I am not asking for anyone to be killed. We want everyone to worship Islam. I invite Cameron and the Queen to worship Islam. That would be an ideal situation.

“We may ridicule the Queen. She is engaged in war, her family are engaged in war in Afghanistan — also the Prime Minister. So they are the subject of being mocked and ridiculed. There is nothing wrong with that.”












Sunday, February 17, 2013

Education Is no More for Many - "Ph.D Illiteracy"

http://www.improve-education.org/id2.html

We have all witnessed these at one time or another:

The high school English teacher that does not know when to use "he" in a comparative sentence and insists that one should say or write "Johnny is taller than him" or teaches students to say "between you and I".

Your friend who has a master's degree in history or theology but knows next to nothing about the Roman Republic nor the Church Fathers of the 1st-3rd centuries A.D. To the former, the Celts were not the product of waves of Chalcolithic and Bronze age migrants but diverse groups of people who just happened to develop virtually the same language in different places without having so much as met each other (Or that they just absorbed another group's language lock, stock, and barrel because it sounded cool*). The theology graduate knows about as much of Christian doctrine and its history as I know about the Hadron Particle Collider, but he knows that the German Emperor Henry IV had to stand in the snow in Canossa because the mean old pope would not let him be the sole appointing authority for German bishops. If the pope had acquiesced to the Emperor, he would have been a a toady. But since he stood up for an independent church, he was a jerk.

*We are told that all of this happened over three thousand years ago but even with TV, computers and other devices, we can't get Americans to speak somewhat uniformly today.

Our current graduates of higher education in the US are, excepting those who studied the hard sciences, far and away the most ignorant and unlearned group of people that have ever been produced.

Again, if one has not taken up mathematics, geology, chemistry, engineering, etc., odds are that a lot of money and time was spent, not on being educated, but on being indoctrinated and filled with truckloads of flowery phrasing with less actual content than an answer from Alexander Haig.

The following excerpts are from the link at top. I have an enormous amount of respect for the work of Mr. Dietrich Price. It was from a post of his that I learned that "sight-words" (Which I detest and have written about) that are shoveled at out first graders, were the product of Leftists** who, even in the beginning, made it clear that they were perfectly fine with creating a people who are largely illiterate. Those who cannot read past the level of a newspaper, pamphlet, etc., never develop their own ability to put their own thoughts into words. Once one has given up trying to express his thoughts on a social or cultural issue, he generally ceases to do much thinking at all and tends to accept what he is being told to think.

** http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/05/reading_the_contempt_of_socialists.html

http://thehotgates480bc.blogspot.com/2012/01/common-probably-all-too-common-theme-of.html


-From the top link:

"Besides being ugly and artificial, Ph.D. illiteracy is also dishonest. The intent is to deceive, to make the simple seem complex, to make the obvious seem brilliantly and even arduously discovered, to make the tautological seem like a giant leap forward for mankind. The writer’s first priority is to impress or trick you. Conveying information rates only second priority. The more that tricking outweighs telling, the more language is deformed—that is the essential dynamic of Ph.D. illiteracy.

Jacques Barzun has stated our predicament best: “Today it is the educated who lead the way in destruction”—the destruction of what we fondly call American civilization. The crime is (if you'll indulge the coinage) culturecide. The murder weapon is debased language. The murderer, as we’ll see, is debased education.


PROFESSORIAL PERPETRATORS:

To be fair, I’d like to take a moment to put our professors in perspective. Even professors of English can be Ph.D. illiterates, though they rarely are. Biologists likewise are seldom Ph.D. illiterates—unless they happen to be working for the Pentagon or seeking a grant from the National Science Foundation. As for anthropologists and accountants, however, they are plummeting to new depths. And when you come to social scientists and educators, you find that Ph.D. illiteracy is practically the norm. Here is an educator describing what he is going to teach to anyone silly enough to show up:

"Learning System Design I: Introduction to development learning system design concepts is provided with practical applications of the systems approach in human learning. Concepts in topics such as needs assessment, task analysis, goal formulation, and process and product evaluation are explored emphasizing relevance in the learning process."

Perhaps you don’t object to high-toned dissimulation, and you’re now asking yourself, “So what’s the big deal if social scientists play their little games?” The problem, to quote Barzun again, is that “the condition is progressive; loose language first makes analysis difficult, then absence of thought is hidden by technical discourse.” In short: no Beauty, no Truth.

Furthermore, our Ph.D. illiterates are vastly influential. They are, of course, often nomadic, foraging about from academia to business to government. With their advanced degrees and presumed learning, they have clout. In consequence, they have been able to sabotage American English. Their deceitful language has washed like a dark tide through all the groves of academia, even muddying the once-lucid physical sciences, and then flooding out into the larger society. Here’s a marketing executive making the obvious opaque:

"Target emphasis based on speciality productivity is presently being applied almost universally in the journal selection process. The concept is a simple one: the more productive the doctor on a per-man basis, the greater his potential return per ad dollar spent. Therefore, the promotion spend is apportioned according to the relative productivity of each target physician."

An important aspect of the problem is that Ph.D. illiterates tend to be shameless. These are the “barbarian” specialists that Ortega y Gasset warned us about. Too many will defend their imagined right to speak in private codes—and to hell with the rest of us. In sum, Ph.D. illiterates have exerted a pervasive and near-irresistible influence in favor of wordiness, murkiness, and pseudo-scientific language in even the most commonplace circumstances....



SOMETHING'S ROTTEN:

Some might say that my laments are merely esthetic, like objecting to a surfeit of garish signs along a highway. My answer is that these phenomena are not esthetic at all, but are signs of pathology. Ph.D. illiteracy diminishes the nation’s intellect and vitality. Signs along the highway may well be an indication of vitality, as may many other eyesores. But Ph.D. illiteracy and the detached language of the New Class are decay made visible.

The inestimable George Steiner has written a pertinent analysis of the relationship between the decline of the German language and the decline of the German nation. He contends that German, starting before 1870, was debased by a combined assault from the academic community, the government, and the military. He feels that two things happened as a result: the nation’s literary output in the years since has been less than it was before; and more dramatically, the debasement of the German language made Naziism possible. German’s fall helped Hitler to rise. The language became chunky and imprecise and fat with emotionalism. Literature wasn’t possible. Truth wasn’t possible. The Third Reich was possible. Orwell explains the synergistic, downward spiral in this way:

An effect can become a cause, reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form, and so on indefinitely. A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language."


There is much more in the linked post at top.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Best Single-Source Firearms/Crime Essay

http://gatesofvienna.net/2013/02/massacres-gun-control-studies-and-social-change/#more-27071

Hat tip to Gates of Vienna.

The link at top has the best summary of the facts about gun ownership, gun control and crime rates that I have ever read.

Included are a number of hyperlinks to sources that are referred to in the post. Among these are Dr. John Lott's work More Guns, Less Crime.




Friday, February 15, 2013

Firearm Manufacturers Strike Back at Cuomo

This is big-


In  response to the bombastic, bullying, and mafioso-like Governor Cuomo of New York, a number of firearm manufacturer have notified the State of New York that they will no longer sell firearms to law enforcement agencies of that state.

This is a tremendously brave and selfless move. The easy way out would have been to offset their losses from private sales by selling firearms to these state and local organizations, which have been increasingly culturally isolated from the people by a methodical process of militarization.

This movement has the ring of a revolt of the people and I am glad to see it.

Our nation has a beginning that is defined by the defiance of wrongful acts of government. The protests of,  and physical opposition to, writs of assistance and wrongful taxes are just two examples of how the American people risked jail, fines, and loss of livelihood in order to secure their inalienable rights. The loss of profits that these manufacturers are willing to incur should not be underestimated; in this economy, any loss of sales is significant. As some manufacturers will no doubt step in and sell out the people for the sake of profit, the stand being taken by these companies is all the more noble.

Some of the statements are incredibly powerful and awe-inspiring:



Excepts from the The Blaze article linked at top.

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Olympic Arms is a staunch believer in and defender of the Constitution of the United States, and with special attention paid to the Bill of Rights that succinctly enumerates the security of our Divinely given Rights. One of those Rights is that to Keep and Bear Arms.

Legislation recently passed in the State of New York outlaws the AR15 and many other firearms, and will make it illegal for the good and free citizens of New York to own a large selection of legal and safe firearms and magazines. We feel as though the passage of this legislation exceeds the authority granted to the government of New York by its citizens, and violates the Constitution of the United States, ignoring such SCOTUS rulings as District of Columbia v. Heller – 554, U.S. 570 of 2008, McDonald v. Chicago – 561 U.S. 3025 of 2010, and specifically the case of United States v. Miller – 307 U.S. 174 of 1939.

Due (to) the passing of this legislation, Olympic Arms would like to announce that the State of New York, any Law Enforcement Departments, Law Enforcement Officers, First Responders within the State of New York, or any New York State government entity or employee of such an entity – will no longer be served as customers."

"EFI, LLC has a long-standing policy of not selling to law enforcement in states that restrict private gun ownership. TheBlaze interviewed EFI’s President Melinda Meador on the subject. Her statement was quite succinct:

“We [EFI] refuse to recognize law enforcement exemptions on gun control. If a product that we manufacture is not legal for a private citizen to own in a jurisdiction, we will not sell that product to a law-enforcement agency in that jurisdiction.”

This last line of the York Arms statement is the blaster:

"The York Arms website is one that did not mince words on the company’s policy as it relates to gun sales for New York."

"Based on the recent legislation in New York, we are prohibited from selling rifles and receivers to residents of New York. We have chosen to extend that prohibition to all governmental agencies associated with or located within New York. As a result we have halted sales of rifles, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns, machine guns, and silencers to New York governmental agencies.

For “civilian” customers residing in New York: 
At your choice, we will:
complete your order and ship to a dealer of your choice outside of NY
refund your payment in full
hold your items here for up to 6 months, at no charge – if you are in the process of leaving NY and taking residence in another state.

For LE/Govt customers in New York:

Your orders have been cancelled.
Ooofah!


"Texas-based La Rue Tactical also posted their new policy on Facebook on February 8th:

Effective today, in an effort to see that no legal mistakes are made by LaRue Tactical and/or its employees, we will apply all current State and Local Laws (as applied to civilians) to state and local law enforcement / government agencies. In other words, LaRue Tactical will limit all sales to what law-abiding citizens residing in their districts can purchase or possess."


"Templar Custom of North Carolina is a North Carolina-based maker of precision rifles. CEO Bob Reynolds spoke with TheBlaze on Friday and reinforced the company’s position as posted on Facebook."

Looks like the good people at Templar Custom have read George Orwell's Animal Farm-
"We will not sell arms to agents of the state of New York that hold themselves to be “more equal” than their citizens.

As long as the legislators of New York think they have the power to limit the rights of their citizens, in defiance of the Constitution, we at Templar will not sell them firearms to enforce their edicts"

I am at an utter loss for words. God bless all of them.


I will do all that I can to purchase my firearms, ammunition, and equipment from these companies.















Thursday, February 14, 2013

Texas Parents Seek to Force Abortion for Daughter

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/02/13/texas-teen-sues-parents-to-stop-them-from-forcing-her-abortion/

"A pregnant Texas teenager is suing her parents to stop them from forcing her to abort her unborn child.

Click2Houston reports a judge issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the abortion while the case is ongoing.

The 16-year-old, who is identified only by the initials R.E.K. because she is a minor, claims in the lawsuit her parents are coercing her to abort her 9-week-old fetus through both verbal and physical threats and harassment.

"(The father) stated he was going to take her to have an abortion and that the decision was his, end of story," a copy of the lawsuit obtained by Click2Houston says.
The lawsuit claims R.E.K.'s parents kept her home from school, took her phone and car and that she, the father of her child and the child's paternal grandmother have been harassed by her father. It also claims R.E.K.'s mother suggested she was going to slip her daughter the abortion pill......"

For the moment, let's put aside the realities that far too many young people have allowed themselves to be persuaded that being sexually active is a normal part of teenage life and that boys are not receiving adequate supervision from their parents, especially fathers.

The actions of the girl's parents are another example of how our society is declining.

Parents have taken the easy route. Applying the infamous cop-out "They are going to do it if they want", American Moms and Dads have falsely concluded that, because we can't watch them 24/7, we must throw caution to the wind and abandon all efforts to supervise dating.

They won't be authority figures day-to-day, when it is the hardest, but they will most assuredly do so when they can erase a result of that lack of supervision.

When a pregnancy occurs, we then apply the "make the problem go away" technique. To avoid the feeling of embarrassment in front of other parents, the possible (temporary) suspension of education of the youth, and the grind of having to assist in child care, we take the easy way out. That way we can get back to our trouble-free lives.

The life of the child and the possible emotional trauma to the mother-to-be* are conveniently ignored.

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*Although the Left has worked with a vengeance in doctoring studies to create contrary conclusions, the reality is that abortion is by no means a emotional trauma-free experience:
http://afterabortion.org/2001/detrimental-effects-of-adolescent-abortion/

http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/dr-warren-throckmorton/norwegian-study-finds-abortion-depression-link-11580240.html

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive//ldn/2010/sep/10092712

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We have deluded ourselves into thinking that we can make all the bad and discomfiting things disappear and that the result will be as if nothing happened in the first place.

What we want is a a society utterly free of consequences. We want to be able to bury our heads in the sand, ignore what our kids are doing, and be free of any unpleasant outcome.

At some point, the American people decided to hold to the position that nothing can occur that we do not like, and that if something that puts a dent in our bliss arises, we can take care of it by a short car trip and paying a bill. We demand that our lives be easy, full of recreational time, and free of roadblocks and anything about which we would not boast. When we are faced with the possibility that we failed as parents, we don't want to admit it to ourselves, so we ask for a redo.

I am reminded of  the idea that we can create laws that will ensure that mass-slaughters will end. We are not happy or even somewhat content with the knowledge that (thankfully)our society is an extraordinarily safe one, with a violent crime rate that is markedly lower than that of the UK, a nation with severe firearms restrictions. In this case, we ask the State to be the parents of the parents and make laws for us that will make us feel good. When, after the (hypothetical years) of door-to-door warrant-less searches, another slaughter happens, we are left with no option but to submit to future violence with no means to help ourselves.















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