My wife and IFiled under: Culture, Politics | Tags: 1st Amendment, Constitution, politics, Rights
Amendment 1 – Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of
the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances.
I had said a while ago that I was going to do some blogging on the Amendments to the Constitution and so I wrote yesterday on the 2nd Amendment, now today I want to go back to the 1st Amendment. This amendment restricts the Federal Government, Legislative branch from establishing a National religion. Now at the time this was written this country was a Christian nation, true there were Jewish synagogues, but the nation was made up of people who were Christian. The founders remembered what it was like in European nations, mostly in England and France. In England when a new king or queen ascended to the throne, whatever faith group they belonged to become the dominant religion. So they actually had wars between the Catholic and Protestant groups. Henry the VIII (8th) established the Anglican or Church of England as the Church, and it was beholden to the crown for its subsistence.
In other European countries the same type of thing happened, in France the Huguenots were almost completely wiped out, in Germany it was the Lutherans and the Catholics. In Spain there was a terrible time of persecution and many were killed. So from those countries came immigrants to the New World and settled in the different states, wanting only the freedom to worship God in their own way.
So with that historical reality behind them and a future free from oppression they wrote a wonderful Constitution, and then the Bill of Rights was set out as Amendments to the Constitution to make sure there would not be any doubt in anyones mind about the Unalienable rights granted to all men by God, not government. The problem happens though that as time goes on, we forget our history and we want to make changes to our founding documents. We don’t like the idea that the Constitution says, Congress cannot make any law that goes against the first amendment.
Let’s look at this First Amendment, what does it really say? “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” It seems pretty clear, the Federal Legislature may not make any one denomination a national denomination, like what happened in Europe. You see along with declaring this or that denomination as the only one to be legal, the others became dissenters, while the one that was favored received compensation from the State, while the dissenters got no money from the state and had to fend for themselves. So in the United States, there would be no national church, the country was still heavily Christian, but all denominations were treated equally. In addition to restricting the right of Congress to establishment of religion, they also said that Congress could not restrict the free exercise of each of the different denominations. Oh and nowhere in the Constitution does it say anything about a wall of separation, a term we hear a lot about these days, but it doesn’t exist in the Constitution.
The very next thing it says in this First Amendment, is: “or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;” Wow, that means that you or I can say things like, the Government is really pushing hard to take away our rights, and we are free to say that. In the time when this was written, Preachers would preach against what they saw as wrongs being perpetrated by the government, it was a freedom of speech issue and the founders were perfectly alright with that too. Then there is Freedom of the Press, now I don’t like a lot of the stuff I see on the nightly news, or in the newspapers, but then a Democratic Republic which is what this nation is, is not always going to be the way you or I like it or want it. That is also why we have lasted so long as a free and sovereign people.
Now for that last part of the First Amendment: “or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Remember when Obamacare was still out there and people were complaining loudly about it, that was the time when our politicians held town hall meetings and caught all sorts of grief from their constituents, they still voted it into law, but they knew that people were really angry about it. Remember the huge rallies that the Tea Party held, that was the right of the people to peaceably to assemble. They were peaceful and they cleaned up after themselves too. We do have the right to come together to talk and even to petition our Government looking for them to hear our grievance and do something about that problem.
Now that is the First Amendment to the Constitution, it gives us rights, and restricts the Federal Government from messing with those rights. The problem I see is that our right to practice our religion in public has been greatly infringed, not only by government, but by our schools, and by the courts. What do you think about this, what is it we should be doing to stop the erosion of our rights as citizens of this nation? We are a free and sovereign people, we are not serfs of the Federal Government, it is, in my estimation, time that our elected representatives began to represent us instead of their own pocketbooks. What do you think?
Filed under: Culture, Happening Now, Politics | Tags: bear arms, Guns, hunting, Politicians, Self Defense
A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
In Daniel Websters 1828 Dictionary this is the meaning of Infringe:
INFRINGE, v.t. infrinj’. [L. infringo; in and frango,to break. See Break.]1. To break, as contracts; to violate, either positively by contravention, or negatively by non-fulfillment or neglect of performance. A prince or a private person infringes an agreement or covenant by neglecting to perform its conditions, as well as by doing what is stipulated not to be done.
2. To break; to violate; to transgress; to neglect to fulfill or obey; as, to infringe a law.
The 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is quite clear, it specifically states: “shall not be infringed.” the folks who wrote it knew that it meant you were not to break, or violate, or any of the other ways in which you could negate this right. Without going into all of the ramifications of what is going on in our country right now, other than to state that the actions of some states have broken the covenant between the people and the government. The laws that the Federal politicians are trying to pass are also breaking the covenant they have with the people of this great land.
The 10th Amendment to this same Constitution states:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Since the 2nd Amendment does not grant any power to either the Federal Government, or to the State Governments, that indicates that neither the individual States, nor the Federal Government many “INFRINGE” upon the right of the people to keep and bear arms, only the people have that choice. They can choose not to carry arms, but they also cannot infringe upon the right of other people, who are equally sovereign persons, to carry.
I agree with laws that are aimed at keeping guns from the hands of convicted felons, and from persons who are mentally unstable, as witnessed to by a Doctor. I disagree with any law that attempts to take away my right as a law-abiding citizen of this nation to own and carry a gun. I live in a dangerous part of the country and believe that I need to be prepared to defend myself, my family and perhaps even those around me as neighbors and friends.
In addition to this of course is the rifle that I use for hunting, and that depends on what I am hunting. If I am after wild pig or deer, it is one rifle, if varmints it is another, snakes it is going to be a different one, usually a shotgun. So, my wife and I, each are hunters and when we are on the ranch to work animals we both like to carry a rifle and shotgun plus a handgun, because you never know what you might run into out there. All this is to say, don’t infringe on my right to be prepared to carry (bear) and use my guns.
It appears that the Obama administration doesn’t give a fig about your security, since illegals are already being released, because Homeland Security Chief Napolitano says they can’t afford to keep the 34,000 beds mandated by Congress, so they have to release prisoners who are known illegal aliens. The so-called cuts to the budget will not hit until next month, but they are releasing these criminals now because they need the money.
The local sheriff Paul Babeu is not very happy with this turn of events. Five Hundred of these criminals have already been released in Pinal County. The sheriff says that this endangers the citizens of the county, because these released prisoners are also criminals. “President Obama would never release 500 criminal illegals to the streets of his hometown, yet he has no problem with releasing them in Arizona. The safety of the public is threatened and the rule of law discarded as a political tactic in this sequester battle,” he said.
Politics can get really nasty, but it seems to me that this is beyond the pale. Our President should be working to protect our citizens, but he doesn’t have to worry since he can’t run again, what are the voters going to be able to do? He is practicing the worst political hate campaign I’ve seen in 68 years, and I don’t look for him to move to the center anytime soon. I think we are going to see him move further to the left, he will also continue to ignore the Constitution, ruling like a king, proclaiming laws and rules by executive order, bypassing Congress which needs to get some backbone, and stand up to this President and tell him enough.
Meanwhile, we the people are the ones paying the price. We pay it at the grocery store, the hardware store, we pay it at the gas pump, and in our paychecks. Taxes go up, spending goes up, and the people are the ones filling the bills. When government taxes business, business raises prices for the products that you and I buy, we pay on both ends of the equation. I don’t understand why y’all re-elected this president, but you did and now we all have to pay the piper. Please, take a good look at what is happening, stop blaming the “rich”, the “republicans” and anyone else, look in the mirror, if you voted for this man, or if you simply stayed home because you couldn’t vote for either candidate, you and you alone are responsible for the situation we the people are now in.
Filed under: Happening Now, Politics | Tags: Daily Caller Interview, Juan Williams, Political Correctness
Juan Williams talks about the problems with silencing voices that are opposed to what the Liberal line is in regard to the Black Community.
The Daily Caller interviews Juan Williams as a leader in Journalism.
Juan Williams himself was ostracized for speaking truth, lost his job at NPR because he did not tow the line in regard to Islamic Extremists. I don’t always agree with Juan but he is at least one to speak to power in ways that are not Politically Correct.
If you want to know what he thinks about the PC crowd click on the above link.
Filed under: Politics
Bernie Goldberg hits this dead center, hope you will read his blog.
Obama has his eyes set on 2014.
Filed under: Happening Now, Politics | Tags: House, obama, Recession, Senate, Sequester, Taxes
The Congressional Budget Office keeps saying one thing and the White House – President Obama and his propaganda team saying the opposite. The Daily Caller has an article today in regard to the latest propaganda push by the White House. According to the President, if the sequester is allowed to stand, the country will suffer greatly. First on his list is that he will cut one aircraft carrier from the middle east battle group.
Unless you pay more taxes, of course he is referring to the top earners in our society, which he already upped taxes on in December. Of course he neglects to admit that you are also paying higher taxes, since your payroll tax has been put back in place, so you have less money in your pocket. Oh but did the President not say that if you make less than $250,000.00 you would not have higher taxes? This president will screw you again if you continue to listen to his rhetoric, the tax hikes will go to fund his programs not to bring down the deficit. It will mean even more tax hikes when we get to the next CRISIS that the White House can manufacture.
I was really impressed when the President stood in front of a bunch of first responders and said that the sequester was going to hurt them, that police officers and firemen would not get the equipment they need, some would be laid off so there would be less help in times of need. Now he is in the process of getting the nations governors on board by saying that states would not get funding if the sequester goes into effect.
Let us look at reality for a change. 1. There is no budget, so there is no way to stop spending. 2. We are already half way through the Fiscal Year, you will not be able to cut what has already been spent. 3. Much of the spending that is supposed to be cut is not even going to be paid out for several years.
The truth is that although a line item in an expense report for this fiscal year shows money being paid out this year, much of these things are paid out over several years, but Federal Accounting practices, which are not real world by any stretch of the imagination, show it all going out now. Of course the other truth is that since we are half way through the fiscal year, we actually can only reduce spending by about 42 billion dollars instead of the 87 billion that they keep talking about.
Bob Woodward wrote an article in the Washington Post on 24 Feb. in which he says: “When the president asks that a substitute for the sequester include not just spending cuts but also new revenue, he is moving the goal posts.” This is very true, when Obama requested that the sequester be put in, as an exchange with the GOP to raise the Federal Debt Ceiling to 16 Trillion, (so he could put off the deficit talk until after the 2012 election), he wanted to have a club to hold over the Congress (read GOP) for cuts of 1.2 Trillion dollars over 10 years.
Yes, both Democrats and Republicans voted for this draconian measure, however, Mr. Obama who now says it is a terrible thing, signed it into law. The original idea was to force cuts to the budget (which does not exist), but now the President wants more REVENUE which is another way of saying MORE TAXES and of course cuts in spending. The only problem with this idea of cuts in spending is that it really means SLOWING THE GROWTH IN SPENDING! That is why I say that Federal Accounting Practices are not real world. Where else could you say that instead of spending 10% more this year we will only spend 9% more, and say that is a cut in spending.
By the way, that is exactly what we are talking about here a cut in the growth in spending of 1% of the entire spending that has been approved. Now there is still no budget, and there probably won’t be one. The President keeps blaming the Republicans for there not being spending cuts to actually trim the budget, that doesn’t exist, when in reality, the Republicans in the House have passed budgets, that cut spending, and the Senate Majority Leader (Harry Reid) tabled them. They never came to the floor, nor to committee to be talked about to be worked on to be amended by Senators. No one on the Senate side ever had to deal with what the Republican House had passed. The President is in full campaign mode again, he wants to scare you into forcing your Senators and Representatives to give him what he wants.
As long as he can keep the people of this country scared about what Congress is or is not doing, he wins. Don’t allow that to happen to you, do not panic, a 1% cut in the rate of growth is not a cut in the budget, it is just a slowing of the growth of spending. The Government will still increase spending by 9% over last year, and if the President gets what he wants, there will be more taxes, more brakes on an already hurting economy, and more chance for the recession to deepening into something no one wants to see but will become a reality if we continue on this path to destruction.
Find out the facts, become an informed people, stop the madness, stop the class warfare.
Filed under: Democratic, Happening Now, Politics, Republican | Tags: children, Fiscal Policy, Posturing, Sequester
It is probably the only way we will get any negative movement in the spending frenzy in D. C.. Of course everyone says that the sequester is cutting the budget, when in reality all it means is that the spending will be slowed down. You see in Washington, when they say they are cutting spending what they really are doing is slowing the growth in spending. The sequester is only a measure that will cut into the amount to be spent, not an actual cut in spending.
When I figure my budget for next year, I don’t start from where I ended last year, but rather I start from zero and then begin to look at how much money I have coming in and what my goals are for the coming year, then I allocate my funds accordingly. The Government says; we have this much from last year, we will add 10% to that figure and then look at what we want to accomplish in the next fiscal year. So where my figure starts at zero, their figure will start at say 10 billion, then add 10% to that so they actually start at 11 billion then add the figures for the next year to that amount. So in truth there is an automatic hike in spending even though they say they will cut 85 billion in the fiscal year, oh and by the way, since they are already into this fiscal year, won’t the sequester actually take effect in October 2013 for the 2014 Fiscal year? Since they don’t even have a budget, how do they know what to cut and where since they are just spending money like it was water anyway, what do they know as far as what needs to be cut and how to cut it?
I think that all this hype about sequester is just a bunch of bs that needs to be cut out and these supposed grown men and women need to start acting as if they really are grown-ups and not little children throwing a temper tantrum. The original idea came from President Obama, it was passed by both houses (a pox on them all) of congress and signed by this president. They are all equally to blame and yet they want to put it all on the Republicans. It is time for the posturing to end, for this narcissist in chief to stop being a bully and get to work on fixing the stupid mess he has gotten us into. Lead stupid or get out-of-the-way!
Filed under: Culture, Happening Now, Politics | Tags: 10 Round Magazine, 10th Amendment, 1st Amendment, 2nd Amendment, current-events, Lost rights, Persecution
There is a news story that really bothers me. A wounded Staff Sergeant with 10 years in the military, medically discharged and now working at Ft. Drum in New York State is arrested for possession of 5 magazines for his AR15 which he legally owned, but in New York State, under their old law, you could not have a magazine that would hold more than 10 rounds. Now if you did it was a FELONY now a magazine, that is empty, is just a magazine. Even if it was full of bullets it was still not going to hurt anyone, so, how could this be a felony?
Of course I left New York State in 1976 and have never looked back, it is a haven for leftists and socialists, and being a conservative it was hard to get work in that state. The only time I went back, I did so to bury my Dad and left as soon as possible after the funeral. New York is a depressing place, it is all gray and dingy, where I grew up is now all apartments and parking lots. Cement all over the place, even where we used to play stick ball is gone. The Church I used to attend as a kid growing up, now has an 8 foot high chain link fence around it and a locked gate. Why would anyone want to live in a place where even a church has to be locked behind a fence?
Now at the same time we have this “News” anchor, David Gregory, who knew he was breaking the law in Washington D. C. when he flashed a 30 round magazine on national TV. Of course they will not prosecute him, he is a “Star” and a “Newsman” so he is exempt from prosecution. A wounded veteran, a man who has had his license to carry taken away from him, even though he has not been convicted of any crime as of yet. The sheriff confiscated his handguns, he has sold everything he could so he could pay his legal bills, and they want to put this man in prison for having in his possession 5 magazines with no bullets. Now if he had those magazines on Ft. Drum, he would have been legal, but they arrested him with them as he tried to sell them. It doesn’t say how they knew he was doing that, or where it was that he was trying to sell them.
So, a war hero, wounded in action, and working for the Dept. of Defense as a civilian, is arrested and faces prison time, and if convicted will lose his job even if he doesn’t go to prison, but the suit the “Newsman” who sits behind a desk and reads the news, he can do as he pleases, even break the law and nothing will be done to him. So, isn’t it nice to live in the Socialist Republic of New York? Thank heavens I live in Texas where people are still free to pursue happiness, to carry (concealed of course) and to be able to protect themselves and their property. Of course we do have the Socialist City of Austin, but, we don’t have to go there so I guess it is OK as long as it stays there.
You would think that people would wake up and smell the coffee, that they would begin to see that the government is taking away their rights to be a free people. The Feds are constantly attacking the First Amendment, and ignoring the 10th. They want to put drones in our skies so they can track the movements of people to make sure we aren’t going to do something they don’t like. Our President acts more like a dictator ignoring the congress and ruling by executive orders. Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security Chief has stated that terrorists are those people who are veterans (military), or those who disagree with the government, and those who join the militia. Not only that but these people are stock piling ammunition they have ordered 1.6 billion rounds of hollow point bullets. Hello? What is that all about, WAKE UP AMERICA.
Filed under: Culture, Happening Now | Tags: cia drone, civil liberties concerns, Drones, Government Control, Privacy, US Towns
Hey Montgomery County check this out: “According to the ACLU, US law enforcement will, in the next few years, begin expanding its use of domestic drones for surveillance. ABC reports that the sheriff’s department in Montgomery County, Texas, for instance, already has a 50-pound ShadowHawk helicopter drone to back up its SWAT team. Although the department has not armed its drone, it can be equipped with a 40 mm grenade launcher and a 12-gauge shotgun. The prospect of armed drones patrolling the skies alarms Americans.
Obama has signed a new law to allow for drones to be used across the country. Many cities and colleges as well as law enforcement are signing up for the chance to use the civilian version of the military/CIA Drone in the United States. The FAA has been tasked to make up new rules understand that the use of these drones will impact every citizen in the country: “…drone use in the United States implicates serious privacy and civil liberties concerns. Although drones can be used for neutral, or even for positive purposes, drones are also capable of highly advanced and, in some cases, almost constant surveillance, and they can amass large amounts of data. Even the smallest drones can carry a host of surveillance equipment, from video cameras and thermal imaging to GPS tracking and cellphone eavesdropping tools. They can also be equipped with advanced forms of radar detection, license plate cameras, and facial recognition… surveillance tools, like the military’s… gigapixel technology capable of ‘tracking people and vehicles across an entire city.'”
Some folks are concerned enough to get up and out to protest the possible use of drones in their cities. The Homeland Security folks are already using drones on our border too, it wouldn’t take much to move them further into the country. They are talking about thousands of these drones flying around the country, and, I don’t know about you, but if we get an administration that decides they want to have control of the population, it wouldn’t take much to arm these things. Not my idea of good news. What do you think about all of this, are we fixing to turn the USA into a Police State?
Read more: Leave a comment if you think this is something you too are worried about, or concerned about. Or maybe you think it is a good thing, love to hear from y’all. I sure would appreciate you rating my musings as well.
Filed under: Self Protection | Tags: Concealed Carry, government interference, Guns, political control
In Colorado, students have been able to carry guns on campus since 2012 so, there has been no bloodbath, as a matter of fact, no one really knew except the young people who were carrying. Now, however, the Democrats want to take that right away, and they have made some really BAD, one might even say STUPID arguments for taking this right away. Since there has been no outcry against these young women and men carrying guns on campus, and there has not been any evidence of negligence on the part of anyone why is it that Democrats want to take away this right?
One Democrat made the comment that a woman might think that she was in danger of being raped, and pull her gun out and shoot an innocent person. Why has this not happened before now? There are many situations where a woman may feel threatened, yet no one has been shot yet. How about this thought from Wisconsin; “University of Wisconsin Oshkosh police department posts “Tips for Preventing Sexual Assault” on its website. The “tips” include “passive resistance” strategies when faced with an attacker, like making yourself vomit or urinate, or faking an epileptic seizure.” Like a rapist is going to be put off by a woman peeing her pants, it will probably turn him on even more. Please people this is absolutely idiotic.
With 1 in 5 women college students suffering rape every year, which one of these people are going to be there to stop the rapist. Let’s be real, the cops can’t be everywhere there are not enough police to be able to do that, why is it that Democrats don’t want to allow women to protect themselves? Why can’t women have the RIGHT TO CHOOSE in this case like they can in other parts of their lives. It seems that the government wants to control every aspect of our lives, and they seem to think that they know better than you or I what is the best thing for us. They seem to want to micro manage your life and mine, and I don’t like it very much. No matter what they do, good people, law-abiding people will do what we have always done, we will try to work within the law. Bad people, criminals, don’t care about the law, they will continue to be criminals and that is where the government has NO CONTROL.
I like to be able to make my own decisions about my life and protection of myself and my wife. I think other people should have the same right to make decisions for themselves. The government needs to get the blazes out of our lives and let us live our lives as we want to.
texasjq2 