On February 25, 2011 · Comments Off
Something tells me I won’t be serving on a jury anytime soon, or maybe I won’t be selected for a jury anytime soon in spite of being in the pool. Why you might ask? Well, I’m blogging and I’m all over Facebook as well… And cartooning… So, my opinions are out there, and with my views on the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Rule of Law I know some District Attorney (or even Public Defender/Defense Attorney) will likely seek to disqualify me from selection. From what I’ve read here in Network World News and the link to the Wall Street Journal its apparently the latest trend. Not only has the jury become rigged with Jury Consultants running around town looking at where potential jurors work, live, and even shop; now they go further by using the hacking technique called ‘social engineering’ (one of the oldest tricks in the book, predating computers by being around since the beginning of time).
You really can’t hammer these lawyers too badly, as some people (myself included, namely because I have a public blog where I post my opinions quite openly) don’t give a darn about privacy at all. Their Facebook and MySpace pages are open to the world. Lawyers, jury consultants, and even judges tend to exploit this in various ways (do read the articles…). I can’t say I’m too terribly depressed about not being hit with jury duty, and likely never going to get selected due to my views… But I’m also angry because of the manner in which these attorneys have found a loophole around the Constitution and the manner specified for jury selection that has been used for centuries. But then, they are attorneys, and folks post without thinking on Facebook (or they just don’t know about privacy settings and carefully picking their friends). I still find the idea of jury consultants disgusting, this doesn’t even allow for a truly random jury pool from the start in my opinion. Get rid of the consultants, let the attorneys dig on the Internet when they question the jurors in the courtroom!
Then we have states like Maryland (east coast Liberals, what else do you expect?!) which allowed their Department of Corrections to demand user names and passwords in order to keep a job?! While I don’t believe the ACLU really to have American Liberty at the heart of their organization, sometimes they do get things right in some cases (even a blind squirrel gets the nut sometimes…); especially in the case this case. Its one thing for an agency to have specific guidelines for social media (perhaps restricting access to it on State or Federal computer systems…), but its absolutely another to require that personnel turn over PRIVATE user names and passwords over for months at a time. Thats just pure exploitation. Thats just Big Brother Big Government right there for you (no matter the party name!).
On February 22, 2011 · Comments Off
The TSA continues its invasive pat-downs and body scans under the direction of Big Sister Janet Napolitiano and the Dept. of Homeland Security! One of our Democratic State Representatives, Sharon Cissna (D-Anchorage) was returning home from Seattle when the body scan showed details of her scars from her mastectomy… So they wanted to touch her ‘prosthetic device’ in one of their wonderful ‘enhanced patdown’ searches that have no probable cause beyond your desire to fly. So, she was force to return to Alaska by sea instead because she decided to refuse to submit, AGAIN. This was her second trip through a TSA checkpoint in which the body scan still lead to an enhanced pat down. How sick can the TSA get? But then, there is no communication, or safety, in what they do.
Why no safety? Well in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, an undercover TSA agent was able to bring in a handgun on her person in her undergarments EVERY TIME she went through the checkpoints in spite of the ‘enhanced pat downs’ and body scanners. So, flag breast cancer survivors, yet miss firearms. Good to go TSA! Time for Napolitano to be FIRED. Two EPIC FAILURES in the same week, and its only MONDAY!
You can check the National News or Francona to see the best analysis of the latest Middle East violence, protests, and counter protests… I’m going to focus a bit on Wisconsin a bit here. What disturbs me isn’t the mass protest of Government workers; this is the unelected bureaucracy protesting the actions of the democratically elected State Legislature, an elected body acting on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Tax Payer. Its almost funny, as this is the polar opposite of the TEA Parties who represent Mr. and Mrs. Tax Payer… Really, I think is great that the Unions are shutting down education and kicking Mr. and Mrs. Tax Payer’s kids out the curb because they can’t get the retirement pension and health plan they want for nothing anymore… Let them show their true faces, and how ugly they can be and how much they really care about the public they claim to serve. What galls me is the spineless Democratic State Senators who are working for this special interest group (SEIU, Government Employees Unions, National Educators Association, etc.) by subverting the democracy they claim to so cherish by jumping state lines and going to Illinois instead of doing their SWORN duty of representing Mr. and Mrs. Tax Payer and voting ‘No’ to the Governors budget. Instead, since they are hopelessly out numbered, they run. They hide, they derail the democratic process by not even showing up to vote and do their sworn duty to their constituency. Honestly, I wonder why Wisconsin puts up with this and just doesn’t tell them not to come back. I personally believe this type of action should be grounds for removal of said legislators… This is nothing short of dereliction of duty.
The reality of the problem goes back to a combination of several factors. We haven’t seen this kind of government debt since the end of WWII! But what else can you expect?! Post WWII we had a generation of Veterans enter college and the labor force, have LOTS of kids (future Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayers…), and exit a couple decades of lean times (Great Depression and a World War…). Between the kids, and the end of real hard times, its no wonder we saw the deficit shrink during the 1950′s (in spite of increased government spending on things like Defense and the Space Program). Now, we have that generation of Baby Boomers retiring in droves sucking up all the wonderful pensions and Social Security that was set aside, and designed for the sustained population growth of the 1940′s, and boosted incredibly by the Post War Baby Boom. Instead, all the kids of the Boomers fell for the Population Bomb myth, quit having kids; and now have left the next generation of kids not even born yet on the hook for untold billions of our national debt… Which leaves painful cuts to pensions, medical benefits, and yes even government jobs necessary if we are to continue to even have basic functioning governments at the local, state, and especially national level. We shouldn’t wonder why the Constitution limited the Federal Government; the Liberty aspect is painfully obvious with the TSA situation, but it goes beyond that. Governments have been the biggest booming employers, those who pay taxes have become fewer and fewer; pensions got bigger and bigger with more benefits along with growing recipients, but the population of tax payers to fund such programs shrinks and shrinks.
Public employees, like their private sector counterparts, are going to have to learn to invest privately with their meager base pay or not retire at all. Cut now, or lose your job later. Your choice.
Personally, I’m trying to plan for my future, and already at 28 I know I’m going to HAVE to work past 65 just to survive. There is no Social Security for me, there will be no one I can work for who will be able pay me a pension. Thats just life, and its time for other people, especially teachers and other government employees to accept this as their reality also. Go ahead, hold that the government responsible for your unfunded liabilities, just ignore your union bosses and the 125% over funded pension plans they receive while they keep your pension only 75% funded… Just don’t cry when the government you want to hold accountable slams the door shut and vanishes leaving chaos and anarchy in its wake (I won’t shed a tear when you get swept away in it either, after all looking at your union rave in the Madison WI capitol, it looks like thats just what you want after all…).
On February 15, 2011 · Comments Off
…or MRARANOD (pronounced Murrrahh-NOD)!
15FEB2011
Yet another reason to follow El Al’s example of screening from the moment people show up at the airport and observing their actions up until they board instead of the screening we currently have in place now with the DHS TSA. Corruption was certainly bound to happen, and did in New Jersey.
“Michael Arato, 41, of Ewing also admitted Monday in federal court in Newark that he regularly stole from passengers who went through his checkpoint in Terminal B.
Prosecutors say Arato permitted a worker he supervised to steal between $10,000 and $30,000 in cash from travelers’ bags over a 13-month period. In exchange, the subordinate would give a portion of the money to Arato. The subordinate, who was not named, cooperated with the federal investigation that led to Arato’s arrest in October.”
The Middle East is definitely in the spotlight as of late with Egypt’s coup d’etat. Interesting how when Egypt has turned over the reigns of power to the Military and they suspend both parliament and the Constitution nobody on the Left in this country is screaming foul (like they did in Honduras back in 2009 when the military arrested the President after he attempted to be able to become President for life… parliament actually requested the Honduran military remove him from the country if I recall). However, there is indeed good signs coming out of some of the actions of Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, largely the Parliament was run by Mubarak supporters, and parts of the Constitution worked for Mubarak to rig elections… However, its still a situation to observe closely and skeptically based on historical precedent.
While Rick Francona doesn’t see the same religious undertones he saw in the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the possibility still remains for the Muslim Brotherhood to turn Egypt into an Islamic Republic. So far people are pretty positive about the Muslim Brotherhoods sincerity in creating, and allowing, other political parties; however many of us who have read about the Muslim Brotherhood and their history in the region remain skeptical. While they are all about democracy and the ballot box today, when they gain control tomorrow that remains to be seen. Democracy in its truest form is mob rule, whoever has the most votes DICTATES just as much as an autocratic dictator; this is why our country is a Constitutional Republic with a form of Representative Democracy with safeguards to protect minorities. Seeing how Islamic Republics like Iran, or the Taliban, ‘respect’ minorities such as Christians, Jews, tribal sects, and women; I’m remaining cautiously skeptical. Good things can certainly happen within Egypt, so long as the Muslim Brotherhoods dream of an Islamic Republic of Egypt is NOT realized. One of the primary concerns here is the Muslim Brotherhoods demands that the treaty with Israel is not recognized by any new regime… This to me is very telling that the party of reform in Egypt is also the party of war; that is the Muslim Brotherhood. I highly, highly, recommend folks read “The Looming Tower” by Lawrence Wright; the history of modern radical Islam in that book is enlightening (especially the relationship of the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda).
This movement has indeed emboldened many across the Middle East to do the same kinds of protests, and its fascinating to see whats going on in Iran. To me the silence of the American media and our current Administration is deafening. On the one hand, they covered Iran’s regimes mass demonstration in support of the Egyptian protests that toppled Mubarak (because Mubarak was an American supporter), yet on the other hand when the ‘chickens come to roost’ in Iran the Iranian government is seeking to crush them completely? Irony. Of course, you never saw the same level of support from Obama and the American Left for Irans protesters back in 2009, nor are we going to see the same level of support they gave Egypt this time as well. I believe that the current Administration needs to come out much more strongly in favor of the protesters in Iran, and do so publicly as a clear message that we aren’t going to play Iran’s nuclear game any more, nor are we going to accept their actions in the form of Hizbollah. We need to send a clear message that the current Islamic Regime is unacceptable and needs to be toppled. But that would require our government to grow a pair and wield the big stick that goes with talking softly. What ever happened to the idea of a war of liberation, or at least the threat of force to ensure liberation? If we do nothing, many more are going to die soon if we do little or nothing.
Got to love Doomsday scenarios… We are now an apocalyptic people, we all see apocalypse around us in our media; be it the zombie apocalypse (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Return of the Living Dead, and a whole host of clones and remakes), post nuclear apocalypse (Mad Max, Fallout 3, etc.), or biblical apocalypse (Left Behind, End of Days, etc..). New York has finally gone ahead and published a Doomsday ‘manual’! Really, its just a Public Health Legal Manual, a guide for Judges, Attorneys, and Public Health Professionals. What should be done is perhaps teaching their people how to be somewhat self sufficient… Or else when disaster hits the hordes of barbarians will raid and pillage those who have prepared and leave everyone starving. Its likely going to be a bloody mess of mobs and the Judges, Attorneys, and Public Health Professionals will likely be able to do too little to stop the chaos. It’ll be up to the people outside NYC to clean up the mess, most likely a disproportionate amount of American resources will be wasted trying to recover a dead NYC should an event of apocalyptic proportions affect NYC, thats the cost of most of the population not having to leave a three mile radius most of they’re lives (not to mention the proportion of welfare recipients who will suddenly cease to get any of it rather suddenly).
Perhaps what makes my head explode more is the fact that Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) wants to end the practice of US Representatives living in their Congressional offices… Apparently, 33 Representatives who don’t leave the House when they are in Washington DC is ‘un-ethical’. They equate it being dorm rooms and frat houses? Apparently they believe it violates House Rules and and is an unreported tax benefit?! What planet are they on? I’m happy to see Representatives practicing some fiscal sense and not paying $2,000 a month to the Watergate Hotel for a one room suite! How much you want to bet Watergate is behind CREWs investigation?
On a more positive note, Soldiers love the XM-25 25mm ‘smart’ grenade launcher! Nothing like ‘smart’ grenades that explode overhead at specific distances needed by the soldier over the heads of stupid terrorists! Ballistic trajectories just got a heck of a lot more interesting!
On February 7, 2011 · Comments Off
The Communist/Socialist/Islamo-Fascist Connection!
Well, I guess Glenn Beck isn’t so crazy after all!
On February 1, 2011 · Comments Off
A simple analysis would be to compare the Obama Administrations reaction to Egypts crisis right now to Carters response to Iran in the late 1970′s… There are some rather interesting comparisons. Namely a dictator who was supported by the West (namely the United States) for a time who became too inconvenient to support anymore (and honestly didn’t warrant much support in the first place…); and a revolt lead by Islamo-fascists hardliners. Neither are really desirable to support. Democratic revolts in the face of dictators are certainly something very satisfying to see happen as the will of the people is certainly what needs to be the mandate for a government to exist. However, certain organizations, in spite of democratic covers and front organizations, can swiftly destroy such mandates. They essentially become the very evil they overthrew. We’ve seen this during the French Revolution, and in every Communist Revolution from Russia to Cuba.
In Egypt, we have Mubarak instead of the Shah, and the Muslim Brotherhood instead of Islamic Revolution under Kohmeini. While the comparisons are largely superficial in regard to the exact circumstances, we shouldn’t under estimate the ramifications that this will bring between the US and Egypt, and indeed the view of Middle East toward the US. I can’t help but agree with Rick Francona that this isn’t going to end well for us no matter whom we support. This judgment is based on his experience in the Middle East with the DoD, DIA, and State Department; and his extensive background in understanding the Middle Eastern culture in all its various forms (Egyptian culture isn’t Saudi culture isn’t Persian culture…).
Once again, blood will pour out while our diplomats eat caviar and drink champaign thinking they are doing a wonderful job talking to other ‘diplomats’ who are charged with buying time for such killing to occur more efficiently for their masters. Lets not let history repeat itself… Mark my words, our lack of backbone in the Middle East and the idea that ‘engagement’ is best will do more harm than good in the next couple of years!
On January 28, 2011 · Comments Off
There is a lot about public schools that indicates some serious faults. We see teachers complain that they don’t get enough resources in the classroom, which translates into the local school districts turning to the local, state, and federal government asking for more money (a lot of times through the NEA). Then we see the money get collected through our taxes at even greater amounts (here in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, over 50% of my property tax goes to pay for the schools… that doesn’t include what the Federal Government funds using my Income Tax; nor does the FNSB school district like to talk about how much they get from that source…). However, what is staggering is the fact that students end up not seeing much of this cash flow in the form of learning materials. Here is one example of why (in another state): Terry Thompson is retiring to a golden parachute of well over the tun of $1,000,000 in Indiana! Its no wonder folks like myself don’t trust our school districts.
Its amazing that private schools can do better with less money. A lot of that is when you see your paycheck go toward an education, you are going to care more about it than you are if its just someone else income tax/property tax dollars (after all, maybe 30% or less pay 90% of all the Federal income tax that Dept. of Education partakes of…). Maybe its time to change Public School funding dramatically… Time to charge ‘tuition’?! Maybe that’ll light the fire under the butts of both lazy parents and lazy students. After all, when you see a significant amount of your income wasted…
…that, and if we don’t have a welfare system for drop-outs to fall back on, they might just graduate as a diploma and a job would be better than nothing and starvation. But to re-establish this kind of system, we’d also have to send illegals back to their country of origin (be it Mexico or anywhere else); and get over this ridiculous notion that they do jobs Americans don’t want to. Once we as a society see ourselves as above cleaning toilets, we are in the toilet! My father raised me with the notion of “If you can’t clean toilets and mop floors, you can starve.” Don’t tell me I’m not willing to do so (which I’m moon-lighting as a janitor right now on top of my normal job…).
Well, when we see school administrators making bank, while the teachers and students get shafted, I guess there is a good reason why folks like me don’t trust the NEA and school districts (should I mention colleges as well? Board of Regents members getting millions while professors get peanuts and tuition shoots through the roof for the student…).
On January 22, 2011 · Comments Off
Its been a couple weeks since the tragedy of the Tuscon Arizona shootings by Jared Loughler. Since then we have seen loads of fallout, and a lot of this has to do with the instant speculation and jumping around that occurred in the ours after the incident.
I don’t even think the bodies were cold and dead by the time NY Congresswoman Cynthia McCarthy announced that she would be filing her standard response to any shooting, more gun control legislation. Its morbid, yes; but whats worse, that comment or the fact that somewhere in McCarthy’s office and the office of the Brady Campaign that there is a Standard Operating Procedure and Operations Plan setup for whenever a mass public shooting happens? I can see it now, a shooting happens, and both McCarthy and the Brady Campaign pull out a file that matches the event… “Well gee, if we just passed this law NONE of this would have happened!” Because we all know that the laws are what prevents crime!
Then we had the endless speculation about the motives of the shooter within hours of the shooting. First we had speculation that the shooter was an Afghanistan Veteran with PTSD (http://www.burnpit.us/2011/01/arizona-shootings-when-speculation-is-acceptable%E2%80%A6/) who went haywire fulfilling the wet dream of Janet Napolitano and DHS’s report on Domestic Terrorist threats from War Veterans based on the erroneous Vietnam Era Tripwire Veteran profile. New Mexico State Senator Linda Lopez (http://www.blackfive.net/main/2011/01/veterans-demand-an-apology-congresswoman.html) was one of the first to spout off about how Loughler was a war veteran… Once again, the anti-war Left shows its true feelings about this nations Veterans (yet another reason I continue to NOT trust the Left whenever they make claims about supporting Vets) by going to the old fall back of the Vietnam War; war vets are just cold killers. But then, in the next day or so, we learn Loughler couldn’t even pass the piss test to get into the Army in the first place! HE NEVER MADE IT PAST THE FIRST OBSTACLE, the Recruiter’s office. Yet, in spite of this, various news organizations and politicians continue to have credibility and have yet to issue any official appology.
Next bit of speculation involves loads of cheap political shots. Most of which (if not ALL of them) were directed by Liberal Democrats at the TEA Party, Republicans, Conservatives, and the even drew in Sarah Palin somehow… It all seemed to be started by Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupik said: “The kind of rhetoric that flows from people like Rush Limbaugh, in my judgment he is irresponsible, uses partial information, sometimes wrong information,” beginning the blame game. Yet the more we find out about the shooter, the more we find this kind of speculation so soon after the shooting to be nothing more than absolutely unprofessional political bias from the top law enforcement officer in Pima County. Currently, he faces a recall movement (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/20/outspoken-tucson-sheriff-faces-recall-bid/), and while he has won eight strait elections, this might end his career… Honestly, based on this kind of speculation, its a well earned fate for him… I know I’d have lost my job in the military with similar talking out of my anus!
Speaking of learning more about the shooter, there is a lack of transparency from Pima County, and Pima Community College where Loughler went to school. Instead of releasing information required by Arizona State Law, both agencies have been dragging their feet about releasing information about Loughler’s past dealing with each (http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/01/12/20110112gabrielle-giffords-arizona-shooting-pima-county-wont-release-jared-loughner-records.html)… Meanwhile the speculation has led the usual suspects to question Arizona’s Gun Culture (http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/01/11/20110111gabrielle-giffords-arizona-shooting-arizona-gun-law.html).
Once we found what a nut (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/01/10/2011-01-10_chilling_shrine_in_madmans_yard.html) Loughler was, the Left continued to spout the supposed fact that political ‘vitriol’ would continue to foment violence across the country… “Whether [political rhetoric] caused what happened in Tucson or not, it’ll cause the next tragedy,” Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) predicts on FOX News. Never mind what these people were saying over the last decade prior to the election of President Obama when President Bush was in office… That all wasn’t ‘vitriol’ or ‘inflammatory’ one bit because they were ones using such language. Once again, speculation is rampant, and clearly isn’t about the shooting at all but silencing all dissent against their agenda to radically change the United States forever into their socialist utopia. Its easy to spot once you find out Loughler rarely watched the news or cared about politics (http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/jared-loughners-friend-says-suspect-did-not-watch-tv-disliked-the-news_b48040) (http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/01/jared_loughner_alleged_shooter.php).
Because of the McCarthy/Brady Gun Control rhetoric, and especially with local gun control groups in full campaign mode in Arizona, Glock and extended magazine sales are up in Arizona (http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/jared-loughners-friend-says-suspect-did-not-watch-tv-disliked-the-news_b48040) which leads me to believe, based on the NOV08 rush on fireams and ammo sales, that crime will drop for a time in Arizona as there are more armed citizens running around who will shoot back (this is seen in the 2009 FBI Uniform Crime Reports (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr) that show a drop in violent crime (http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/offenses/violent_crime/index.html) across the states with fewer gun restrictions…).
I should also mention, that during this ‘debate’ about firearms, I am going to ignore any moron who calls the high capacity box magazine Loughler used a ‘clip’. If you use the term ‘clip’ in reference to a ‘magazine’ you clearly have no reason to debate about guns at all as you have no background knowledge at all in the subject you speaking about. If you did, you’d know the difference between a ‘magazine’ and ‘clip’ and know enough not to mistake them as you sound like an ignorant moron if you do make the mistake. Especially if you have a college degree in Journalism or Political Science; and if you are Veteran making that mistake just start knocking them out (by the four count!).
On January 22, 2011 · Comments Off
My wife has downloaded the Grand Jury Report of the Philadelphia murder case of Dr. Gosnell I ranted about yesterday… Needless to say, my wife is absolutely shocked.
Go ahead, read the Grand Jury Report with your own eyes. If you cannot see the corruption in the system of both the city of Philadelphia or the state of Pennsylvania (and indeed across this entire country) regarding the excessive legal protections abortion clinics receive you truly are naive. PA Dept. of Health did not inspect Womens Medical Society (the entity Dr. Gosnell ran) from 1993 through 2010 in spite of numerous complaints… Why? Because its an abortion clinic, a political minefield viciously guarded by Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and in Dr. Gosnell’s case likely the NAACP and other minority protection groups because of his ‘concern’ for minorities…
Here are the results:
If my wife’s Veterinary clinic pulled this stunt, the city of Fairbanks and state of Alaska would have their hide; or what was left after the people of Fairbanks, ALF, ELF, and PETA got done with them…
…Its a crying shame that there is more protection, government regulation, and government for cattle at a slaughter house than for unborn children in our society. Not to mention more outrage, just think of what happens when PETA infiltrates a hen house or a slaughter house and shows how brutal humans are to animals. Yet, this shouldn’t surprise us much, as most of PETAs supporters support the idea of ignoring the Dr. Gosnell’s of this world and the brutal murder of our own species prior to birth…
…So while restaurants, slaughter houses, plastic surgeons, and yes the beauty parlor go through annual Health inspections (along with random inspections) Dr. Gosnell was never once inspected for over 16 years!
Thank you Planned Parenthood and American ‘Civil Liberties’ Union! You have done so much good for this country! Thank you all you Progressive Liberal Socialist Lawyers! Look at the wonderful fruits of all your hard work in the way of Civil Rights and the Reproductive Rights! What and advancement in society you have brought about! What were we backwards hillbilly Christian Right Wingers ever thinking about how humans should treat each other!
(originally published 20JAN11 on Sudsy’s personal blog)
On January 5, 2011 · Comments Off
Today, Rush Limbaugh discussed an interview Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia did with California Lawyer [magazine] recently.
Here is the key part of the transcript:
RUSH: I heard about this when I was gone. “Scalia to Talk About Constitution to House Members,” and the Democrats are livid! This is a Michele Bachmann idea. This from the LA Times: “The decision by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to accept an invitation from Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), the founder of the House’s Tea Party Caucus, to speak to incoming House members about the Constitution is drawing fire from some who worry the court is injecting itself into partisan politics. The meeting ‘suggests an alliance between the conservative members of the court and the conservative members of Congress,’ said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, who said Scalia had shown ‘exceedingly poor judgment’” by accepting the invitation.
“He said the association of Scalia, an outspoken conservative, with the bombastic Bachmann…” (pause) Bombastic? She’s just passionate. Anyway, it “could contribute to the high court becoming overly politicized.” I have to laugh at that. So it’s Scalia that makes the court “overly politicized;” not a bunch of liberal hacks that are on the court, but Scalia who does nothing but interpret the original intent of the Constitution when he issues opinions. That’s all he does! He does not impose his agenda, whatever it is. He interprets the Constitution as best he can according to its original intent — and that, the left hates. He’s an originalist.
“But Bachmann’s office said that Democrats and Republicans were welcome to attend the Jan. 24 speech. Also, it is not unprecedented for a sitting Supreme Court justice to confer with the legislative branch. Several justices have met in off-the-record sessions with the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on the Judicial Branch.” Separation of powers, by the way, is the topic. She went to see Scalia. He accepted the invitation. His topic is separation of powers. Yeah, that’s really a threat. Wow! Can you imagine that, a Supreme Court justice accepting an invitation from a member of Congress — legislative branch — to talk about separation of powers?
Well, we can’t have that. No, no, no! Let’s get a Marxist professor in there to talk about it and balance it out. Is that what we should do? Again, this is from the Washington Post by Emi Kolawole: “Justice Antonin Scalia has weighed in on the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, leaving women’s rights activists seething.” I love it when women’s rights activists “seethe.” The thing is it’s their constant state of existence. “Women’s rights activists” (i.e., feminazis) are constantly seething. They are perpetually ticked off, constantly angry, as are most liberals. “In an interview with California Lawyer [magazine], Scalia said the Constitution…” This is why they hate the guy. What did I just say? He searches for the original intent.
“Scalia said that the Constitution itself does not protect women and gay men and lesbians from discrimination.” (Gasp!) The horror! The horror! He’s a bigot, he’s a racist, he’s a sexist, he’s a homophobe! “Scalia said that the Constitution itself does not protect women and gay men and lesbians from discrimination. Such protections are up to the legislative branch, he said.” He’s got a mature idea on the restraints of his branch. Here’s what he said. This is the question to Scalia: “In 1868, when the 39th Congress was debating and ultimately proposing the 14th Amendment, I don’t think anybody would have thought that equal protection applied to sex discrimination, or certainly not to sexual orientation. So does that mean that we’ve gone off in error by applying the 14th Amendment to both?”
Scalia: “Yes, yes. Sorry, to tell you that. … But, you know, if indeed the current society has come to different views, that’s fine. You do not need the Constitution to reflect the wishes of the current society.” That’s key: “You do not need the Constitution to reflect the wishes of the current society. Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn’t. Nobody ever thought that that’s what it meant,” the Fourteenth Amendment. “Nobody ever voted for that.” Sex discrimination, sex-orientation discrimination, nobody even thought of that when this amendment was being proposed, debated and voted on. “Nobody voted for that. If the current society wants to outlaw discrimination by sex, hey we have things called legislatures, and they enact things called laws.
“You don’t need a constitution to keep things up-to-date. All you need is a legislature and a ballot box. You don’t like the death penalty anymore, that’s fine. You want a right to abortion? There’s nothing in the Constitution about that. But that doesn’t mean you cannot prohibit it. Persuade your fellow citizens it’s a good idea and pass a law. That’s what democracy is all about. It’s not about nine superannuated judges who have been there too long, imposing these demands on society.” That’s why they hate him, because that’s precisely what judges are for: Imposing their view, imposing their personal policy preferences, imposing their ideology on society. That’s how the left does it because they cannot win those votes, because they represent 20% of the thinking in this country. No matter what anybody else tells you.
This is exactly how all laws should be interpreted, especially Constitutional Law.
On November 16, 2010 · Comments Off
When you think you start to deserve your blessings, you don’t.
Remember people, when you start to feel that you deserve the blessings that have been bestowed upon you, you need to step back and realize that you don’t. It is the expectation of being recoginized for everything that is leading to an attitude of entitlement. You and I are entitled to nothing more than what we have truly earned. Not everyone deserves a trophy/ribbon, but yet, we’re making sure every kid gets one just for walking out onto the field. A child, and even adults, will never learn to appreciate their victories when they are not earned. When everyone gets the same reward, why try? When contests are no longer about skill or effort, but tweeted popularity campaigns, what is the point?
****************INCOMING RANT**************************
I did something today. I decided to hit a few different politician websites for fun. One thing that I saw on one in particular really bothered me. Whenever this politician mentioned a person they disagreed with/disliked, they came up with a “cute” name for them. The name was something that would not immediately draw attention, as a person reading it would not equate it with an insult or an attempt to tear them down, but that is the purpose the name serves.
By referring to a person as something else, you are trying to remove the human element from them. When you remove the human element, you remove the humanity of the person, thus allowing you to attack an item, not a person, without fear. It is scary that we as a people have no problem seeing the evil of attacking a person, but when we can itemize that person, we no longer harbor the same feelings and appear to attack at will.
Day after day, I hear people complain about “backstabbing politicians, corrupt officials, lieing Republicans/Democrats”. When we lump them into an itemized group, and remove the human element, we loose site as to what is really going on. It’s not a party or group that in itself is causing the problems. It’s an individual. We need to stop walking on the eggshells of political correctness. If you have a problem with a person, use their name. Referring to a person as “the perky one” devalues who they are as well as their experience. Would people be as willing to accept this behavior if we referred to President Obama as “That Oreo in charge” or Sarah Palin as “that mom of the whore”? See, I even dehumanized two people there.
Look, we are not always going to agree on things. We can’t, because not everyone has the same belief system or values, but walking on eggshells or dehumanizing an opponent is not the way to solve the issue. Face it head on, and don’t be afraid of pissing off a person or two along the way. We have Freedom of Speech, not Freedom to not be offended.
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