A Nation Divided

Liberals claimed Obama would bring us together.  I think he made those same claims.  With his record before the election, today’s reality should surprise only the gullible.  America is more divided on race, the economy, health care, foreign relations and on nearly every issue.  Pick one and tell me it’s better now than under Bush or Clinton?  We just looked at Ferguson and the race/violence issue.  How about a look at foreign affairs.

First, what is Obama’s policy?  Damned if I Know?  Our military announced a shift to Asia, meaning possible confrontations with China.  Meanwhile things are going to “ell in the Middle East & with Russia.  At the same time, defense spending has been cut while entitlement spending is increased.. 

 

http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/08/hillary_clintons_foreign_policy_failures.html

 

The new immigrants being distributed throughout the US are claiming benefits in what should be a surprising manner.  Register & go to school.  Tell them you are 16 or 17.  SO what if you have gray hair & wrinkles & no one will believe you are a teenager.  It doesn’t matter how old you are if the federal government say’s you get to go to school & collect, just take the money and welcome to America….

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/382483/adult-illegal-immigrants-posing-children-enroll-high-school-ryan-lovelace

Speaking the UnSpeakable

I do try to not make judgements on issues until the smoke clears & a clear picture emerges.  I mostly ignored the Zimmerman story for a couple of days.  I have tried to do so on Ferguson until enough facts emerged to form an intelligent opinion.  First fact, the MO Govern is a total tool & should be recalled, impeached or just shipped to Iraq to directly head negotiations with ISIS.  (OK, not a fact, just a strongly expressed opinion)

On Tuesday, August 19, Governor Jay Nixon (D-Mo.) called for the “vigorous prosecution” of Darren Wilson, the Missouri police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown last week. 

Despite the highly charged rhetoric by the state’s Democratic governor, NBC’s Today was the only network morning show to acknowledge Nixon’s comments, giving it a mere 41 seconds on its Wednesday morning broadcast.

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/#ixzz3B24u8XPJ

So what do you think?  Calling for vigorous prosecution before even determining if he committed a crime?  I have a different perspective.  Officer Darren Wilson should be awarded the highest awards available to a law enforcement officer for his actions.  By several accounts, Michael Brown & another male were walking down the middle of a city street, disrupting traffic.  (This was soon after the report of a robbery in that area.)  Officer Wilson yelled at them to get out of the street.  (this is a LEGAL order!  The ideal that this is a free country does not mean there are not laws such as those that restrict the streets to vehicles, not pedestrians.  Police also have the authority to enforce those laws thru tickets, arrest or whatever level of force is required)  Brown walking down the middle of the street after committing a strong arm robbery (battery) shows he was intent on violence, on provoking a confrontation. 

Officer Wilson ordered him out of the street.  Brown ignored him.  Officer Wilson started to exit his vehicle but was stopped by Brown & his accomplice, who shoved him back into the police car.  Brown then punched officer Wilson several times resulting in significant to severe injuries.  There are reports the struggled for Wilson’s gun.  Brown stepped away & Wilson exited the car.  Brown then taunted Wilson, “What you gonna do, shoot me”?  Brown then began an aggressive run at Wilson, who then shot Brown six times.

Reports indicate Wilson suffered a fractured eye socket from Browns attack.  A few days ago, I criticized Wilson’s marksmanship.  I was wrong.   While Brown was struck four times in the right arm, two went thru and struck the upper body.  Wilson was aiming center mass, exactly as police officers are trained.  That he was this accurate after a brutal beating, impaired vision and possible concussion or concussion like symptoms shows focus, restraint and professionalism of the highest order.  Brown had shown himself intent on violence and unwilling to submit to arrest.  Had Wilson allowed him to escape, who would have been his next victim?  Wilson, as a police officer, is entrusted with authority & powers not shared with the general public.  He is expected to protect the general public from violence.  Had Brown continued to walk away, Wilson would still be expected to stop Brown.  Compare that to you or I.  If we had been beaten & they walk away, we cannot legally shoot them or use lethal force.  Once the threat to our or others safety passes, we cannot legally engage even a violent criminal.  But in this encounter, we & officer Wilson have the clear right to self defense.  Brown reversed direction and began a fast approach toward Wilson.  He died an aggressor.  He died because he choose to attack others.  Wilson was injured doing his job stopping people like Brown.

And while I am happy to praise Officer Wilson, I think it should be contrasted with some criticism.  A few years back there was a shooting in Time Square.  I am still waiting for reports on what happened to the officers who shot innocent bystanders.  In California, during the Dorner manhunt, police twice fired on mistakenly identified vehicles, shooting one man & injuring two others.  Two separate incidents where two different police organizations violated the law & their legally recognized procedures.  If shoot on sight orders had been issued, they would have to have identified the suspect.  The first incident involved two women.  The second a small build white male.  Dorner was a large, black male.  NY could be excused, that they had to stop a threat to the public at large, even if it meant injuring innocent bystanders present at that time.  (I don’t agree with this, but acknowledge a case can be made)  But no such defense can be offered for the illegal actions in California.  One thing shared by both is the lack of accountability.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/justice/times-square-police-shooting/index.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/07/lapd-shooting-at-innocent-people_n_2638701.html

 

And like many, I share a distrust over the militarization of our police forces and that displayed in Ferguson, I also see a disconnect.  Violent rioters are nightly looting and attacking.  A large, civil disturbance that was the justification for acquiring such equipment.  The real question should be, why isn’t it being used?  Why are the violent people still one the streets?  Why haven’t they arrested dozens or hundreds?  Why aren’t they protecting the innocent citizens of Ferguson and their property?  It can only be politics.  The politics of Eric Holder, who ordered the Ferguson police to not release the video of Brown’s attacking a man in a store minutes before being shot.  The police chief defied Holder and obeyed the law, releasing the video as required by a freedom of information request.  And again, compare this to Zimmerman, where a firearm was used legally to defend against a violent attack.  Is this what Holder, Obama & the liberal press are trying to smear?  The right to self defense?

Just a Number

“To teachers I’m just another child”.  Can anyone not relate to that thought?  Seger has a gift for taking thoughts we’ve all had, putting them to paper & music and somehow they become profound.  An article on school bullying got my attention.  The CDC has done another study & there are dots we can connect.  Is that reporter speak for, I’ll tell you what I think this all means, don’t bother to read or research it for yourself (or to have an independent thought)  Unkind & maybe undeserved, but my read on this is a shift & emphasis on guns & school shootings.  “Bullying victims are sneaking hundreds of thousands of firearms, knives and clubs into U.S. high schools”.

 Direct from the CDC study:

School associated violent deaths are rare.1

• 17 homicides of school-age youth ages 5 to 18 years occurred at school during the 2009-2010 school year.

• Of all youth homicides, less than 2% occur at school, and this percentage has been stable for the past decade.

In 2010, there were about 828,000 nonfatal victimizations at school among students 12 to 18 years of age.1

Approximately 7% of teachers report that they have been threatened with injury or physically attacked by a student from their school.1

In 2009, about 20% of students ages 12–18 reported that gangs were present at their school during the school year.1

In a 2011 nationally representative sample of youth in grades 9-12:2

• 12% reported being in a physical fight on school property in the 12 months before the survey.

• 5.9% reported that they did not go to school on one or more days in the 30 days before the survey because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to or from school.

• 5.4% reported carrying a weapon (gun, knife or club) on school property on one or more days in the 30 days before the survey.

• 7.4% reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property one or more times in the 12 months before the survey.

• 20% reported being bullied on school property and 16% reported being bullied electronically during the 12 months before the survey.

OK, it’s not the reporters fault.  I am an @ss, quick to judge & frequently wrong.  I seem to remember President Obama assigning the CDC to study school shootings/violence.  It’s hard for me to look at this “study” where a

gun=knife=club.  In what world are they equal?  The CDC wants to talk about mass/school shootings.  Problem, the numbers do not help their cause.  My guess only, since they didn’t publish numbers of guns, knives or clubs separately.  I think they lump them together to inflate their hype on guns in schools.  According to the CDC, there are around 50 million students in K thru college.  There were 828,ooo instances of reported victimizations, ages 12-18.  Statistically, any school student is very safe.  Reality, as always, is not the same.

 “20% reported being bullied on school property ”  One/fifth of students are bullied in the survey year?  And this is after years of increasing anti-bullying laws, rules and soap box promises that politicians would END bullying & school violence once & for all!  But they haven’t fixed it, after all these years and studies and money spent.  Why can that be?  How can this keep happening?

Maybe because they don’t actually want to “fix” the problem.  The Obama administration/CDC is interested in promoting gun control.  This does not mean they want or support school shootings, but consider their efforts on bullying and compare it to energy spent on gun control.  Seems oblivious they only want to treat the symptom, not “cure” the cold.  There could and likely are other factors.

They have done studies on gun violence that discredit nearly every liberal talking point.  When the numbers are displayed broken down by neighborhood, not state, an overwhelming fact emerges.  There are no violent states, just small, violent area’s.  A correlation  between low income/gangs can be indicated, but again, who would want to cure a cold if they made their living off repeatedly treating that illness.

By the same token, are all schools violent?  Are all failing to stop bullying?  Or are some inner city schools overwhelmed?  What are the chances of a school in any of those violent neighborhoods being an oasis from gangs and violence?  Are those same schools heavily unionized?  Those are topics this administration does not want discussed.  Hence a “study” that leads to their desired conclusion, or at least, talking points.

Some personal experiences.

I attended a concert years ago.  The show was ruined for me & hundreds by three obnoxious drunks shouting over the music.  Several of us complained to several city police officers.  They nodded and did nothing.  I was sorely tempter to attack and fight them.  Frustrated beyond belief that the police would not do their job, but had I acted, I would be arrested, possibly sued by the drunks.

A friend was called by the school years ago.  His son was hurt & needed to be taken to a doctor.  His son had a broken jaw.  Broken by a bully he had been complaining about for a while.  The bully sucker punched him outside the gym.  The bully was suspended for ten days.  The school did not call the police or an ambulance.  My friend did call the police, who were reluctant.  He ended up having to sue in civil court for damages.  Bullies are not expelled because of the thousands of dollars in funding they bring to the school.  Expel them & another school gets that funding.

Three or four years ago, the high school my kids are now attending had a bullying incident.  Three, black, Sr high girls severely beat a black, Jr high girl.  We were very interested in how the school would handle this incident.  We were considering switching to a private school.  We never could find out what was done.  Must protect a child’s privacy, we are told.  But then, college’s are very secretive when it comes to campus violence.  I understand no school wants a reputation for violence, but what about the public’s right to know?

Would you knowingly send your daughter to a school with a high number of rapes over the years?  How can colleges keep such secrets for so many years?  It seems to me there is a lot of money spent on education.  We hear tuition costs are jumping at headline making rates.  And all school loans now go thru the federal government and are exempt from bankruptcy protections…..

My how I’ve jumped around….but there is a concise thought & conclusion.  Schools are an artificial environment created for educating our young in a group of similar age.  Since this environment has been taken over by central government control it has been on a path to failure only staved off by diminishing results, standards and accountability.  Government does not cause this, but creates the environment where failure thrives.

Pity the students trapped in public schools being bullied and ignored.  Can any of the bureaucrats presiding make them or us believe they aren’t just numbers….

 

Feel Like A Number
Words and music by bob seger

I take my card and i stand in line
To make a buck i work overtime
Dear sir letters keep coming in the mail
I work my back till it’s racked with pain
The boss can’t even recall my name
I show up late and i’m docked
It never fails
I feel like just another
Spoke in a great big wheel
Like a tiny blade of grass
In a great big field
To workers i’m just another drone
To ma bell i’m just another phone
I’m just another statistic on a sheet
To teachers i’m just another child
To irs i’m just another file
I’m just another consensus on the street
Gonna cruise out of this city
Head down to the sea
Gonna shout out at the ocean
Hey it’s me
And i feel like a number
Feel like a number
Feel like a stranger
A stranger in this land
I feel like a number
I’m not a number
I’m not a number
Dammit i’m a man
I said i’m a man

 

And this is a decent article with links.  My main gripe is him going along with the CDC narrative without question.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/bullied-students-sneak-thousands-guns-schools-n95781

 

A Different Vision

As I go through all the different news and opinion articles, it’s hard to not see just how bad things have become in our nation. We no longer control our government. There are two voices of government, as you all know. The Democrats (known as Liberals for some reason) and the Republicans (known as conservatives for some reason). We, as a people who are politically in tune, follow one or the other. The Democrats are considered left of center, the Republicans are right of center on the fantasy political scale.  I stand on the right of center, but I do not consider myself a Republican.  I attack those on the left, because I disagree with them.  It’s quite simple, really.  My beliefs really aren’t in agreement with the Right, either.  This is what will try and focus on in this article.  The Republicans are just as much the enemy as the Democrats in the United States of America!  This is my best attempt to prove that, so pay attention and open your minds!

Sequestration Weekend Chat

It’s finally here! The formulated crisis known as Sequestration is to occur today at Midnight. I will be looking out the window waiting with bated breath, watching the sky fall! OH!, You mean it won’t fall? It was never really going to fall? Please don’t tell me that our illustrious President and members of his Administration have not been telling the truth! 

A Government Lost

Trying to formulate an idea for an article here at SUFA is no easy task. It seems we have talked almost everything to death, we don’t need to keep shooting the dead horse anymore. That means it’s time to tackle some tougher issues that many people either want to ignore, are completely blind to this, or don’t want to talk about such a troubling subject.  I’m not going to hide the fact that I do not like Obama and what he stands for.  Many people may read what I’m going to write and look at this as just another Obama bashing.  But, it is far from it.  It is also about the next President and the next one after that and so on.  This is all based on facts, not a dislike for Liberals or any one person.  This is about our Federal Government, as a whole.  Both sides of the political spectrum, everyone included.  Our form of Federal Government is derived by the people.  WE THE PEOPLE are supposed to be in charge.  That’s the problem, we are not in charge of  “A Government Lost”.

A Very “Sandy” Reality Check

I saw a few comments here from the discussions around Hurricane Sandy, the efforts to help afterward, and the apparent previous discussions around what should or should not be done for those in need. Allow me to admit up front that I have not had the time to go back and read all that was written in the back and forth comments here at SUFA regarding this issue. But I saw enough that I felt like I wanted to weigh in and offer my thoughts on what I am seeing and what I think the proper role of the government is in this situation.

Let me first say that I do not believe that the answer to this situation is “people should have better prepared and if they didn’t, then screw them.” As most of you know I am a strong proponent of personal responsibility. That does not mean that I believe everyone should rely on themselves only at all times. Extreme circumstances call for a different way of looking at things. When I talk personal responsibility, I am talking about pulling up the bootstraps, working to improve your life, and not waiting on government to fix things for you. YOU are ultimately responsible for your own success or failure. I absolutely believe that. I think that overall most people do believe that.

The Sad American

As I write this today, I can’t help but feel sad about the country that I love so much and how it’s moral values have gone in the gutter so quickly. There was a time when we were a land of laws and moral values that exceeded anything in history. Now, we are simply becoming another empire that will fail from within, as history will tell it. Anwar al-Awlaki was killed by an American missile. He was said to be a TERRORIST! Another American, Samir Khan, was also reported to have been killed in the drone hit. Both of these men, claimed to have been part of the Al Qaeda terrorist organization are reported as dead. Interestingly, Awlaki has been killed 4 times now, as reported by the media. He was killed a few times in 2009, but that didn’t seem to be enough, so they killed him again. So what is exactly wrong with all of this?

Let’s Start With the Department of Education

I am baffled daily with the ridiculousness that masquerades as the United States Federal Government. I mean, really, is there a better example of elitist ass clowns who bleat on about fixing this and changing that all while completely ignoring all the obvious fixes and changes that need to happen? The debt debate has been a perfect example of the hopelessness that exists when one thinks that any of these fools are in the slightest bit interested in doing what needs to be done in Washington DC. The only thing that is more ridiculous than a DC politicians are the millions of Americans who play along with the charade, believing that this party or that party is really the one trying to fix things and the “other side” is a group of godless heathens intent on ruining the American way of life.

Crushing the Second Amendment

One small incident at a time. I was reading through the news today and stumbled upon a story about a man in Philadelphia that found out first hand that obeying the law isn’t good enough when dealing with the government representatives that we call the “police department”. The story struck me, but not because of the way that the man was, and continues to be, treated by the police officers. No, the story instead struck me because of the stance that the police department has taken in the months since the incident. They not only blatantly refuse to apologize for the way this man was treated, they have gone a step further. They issued a warning that anyone who undertakes a specific legal activity “will be inconvenienced” by the police officers going forward.  A prime example of government trampling our rights yet again.

Guest Commentary – Truth’s Paladin

A great day for all of us today as we have a guest commentary offered by a writer who has not given us a guest commentary in the past. Black Order contacted me about doing this piece a few weeks ago. He had an idea about featuring a person who has had an impact in many ways on our government. After reading up on her, I was really excited about bringing her story to the readers at SUFA. I contacted her and we discussed the article posting. She has taken the time to come over to SUFA and read along a bit and was impressed with the discussions that come from our articles. She has agreed to do her best to stop by over the next two days and answer any questions and add to the discussion. So without any further intro madness from me, I am pleased to turn the floor over to Black Order who will introduce us to someone who deserves our support, and who I hope will one day have to change the tagline of her post to “Home of the Irate Majority“…

Political Reality

This morning you wake up to the first in a two-part series. Which is ironic, because as you wake up to this article you are doing the exact opposite of what the majority of US citizens are doing. This part One is a bit longer than I would have preferred. But that was necessary. There are a ton of political realities that just screamed out to be highlighted. And before we can get to part two, we have to recognize and understand these political realities. Many of you may wish to deny what you read here today. But don’t waste your time trying. Instead, give some serious thought to what you are reading. Because while it may not be happening with the active readers that come to SUFA to exercise their brain each day, the reality is…….

Are Tough Questions Out of the Question?

I once found myself at the crossroads of rational decision-making. Oh, it wasn’t some insane moment where life and death were being decided (well, perhaps my life and death). It wasn’t some moment where a major earth shattering event was unfolding. Nope…. I was in a bar. It just so happened that it was a biker bar. I used to frequent those when I was younger and thought myself a whole lot tougher than I am in my forties. There were buckets of testosterone on each table. Boxes of manhood and muscle were stacked behind the bar. The lighting was dim, the place was filthy, and the steady pounding of hard rock music was only broken every now and then by a selection from one of the superbands of the 70s. There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of value placed on intelligence in that bar. They dealt in respect and feats of strength. It was the kind of place you didn’t walk into unless you were part of the regular scene or you really did believe that you were a pretty tough hombre. I sat at a table with a group from a well known national biker gang, and the discussion turned to racism, and it weren’t good (bad grammar intentional!).

Guest Commentary – The Fake Dichotomy

Thursday night really snuck up on me this week! My first week back at work after being out of the store for a while is always a challenge. In this case, getting caught back up on all the paperwork, training of new employees, and issues that came up while I was gone for two weeks is a quite daunting task. It is made even more daunting by an upcoming product launch that will be revolutionary in the industry and will also require a ton of my time for the next 8 weeks (work time not blog time!). I am pretty excited about some of my upcoming topics as well. I have some good discussion topics coming up, starting with Sunday night’s article in a few days. Tonight’s guest commentary comes to us from a tried and true contributor. I have a couple to choose from but I really wanted to run another one from Jon Smith. I always enjoy his topics because they are pretty thought out and well written. Jon has a knack for using that grey matter inside his skull to flesh out good discussions. Tonight’s contribution will be no different.

Tim Geithner Gives Us More Lies…

The article that I was working on for tonight still is not finished. Vacation is more taxing than one might think, what with all the beach sitting, ocean swimming, and food eating. But I absolutely did not want to go another night without an article to discuss so I figured that I would find something interesting out there on the blogosphere and offer it up for consumption here. I went to my trusty standby for articles that would garner interest, The Huffington Post. They, of course, did not disappoint. I had my choice of several different interesting articles over there to think about. What I decided on was the article below that discussed the Secretary of the Treasury’s much maligned Op-Ed from last week. I have to admit that I was a bit stunned when I read the article when it was originally run over at the New York Times. After all, it was thoughts from Timothy Geithner under the title of “Welcome to the Recovery.” I don’t want to sound jaded, but I had to wonder whether Mr. Geithner had actually smoked some crack before offering up such a ludicrous statement. First the article from HuffPo and then my quick thoughts to get the discussion going…

Cities Searching for New Ways to Take Your Money

I thought I would take a night and talk about the local level decisions and their impact on the members of their society. We often focus on the bigger picture here at SUFA, with discussions on National and State level politics. This certainly makes sense as discussing local politics really only matters to those who are, well, local. The readers here obviously come from all over the country, and in some cases even outside the country! But I felt like a discussion around local politics was warranted as the disease of deficit spending has spread to many local municipalities and towns. In the end, SUFA faithful, all politics are local. And the only place that most of us are able to make a difference are in our local spectrums. Unfortunately, while many of us follow the political scene, there are very few who are involved at a local level. That must change if we are going to start to find ways to survive the inevitable crash that we are racing towards. When things get bad, it is the local level of politics that are going to matter to you. The federal and state governments are going to be limited in the ways that they can help. Simply put, the higher you go, the more partisan bullshit gets in the way of helping. Likewise the bigger the city, the more difficult it is to have a serious impact. But we must try.

New Era of Financial Responsibility: Day Two

I am going to be trying this particular tactic out for a couple of weeks and see how it works out. As it typically has worked out these days, I write my article, fully hoping to engage in discussion, only to go to work the next day and not be able to discuss the topic that I wrote about! For example the only comment I got in today was a response to Charlie during my lunch break. So what I am going to do is take two days for the discussion from Monday morning. As it stands I have been posting an article Monday morning around 2:00am and then allowing discussion for two days and doing open mic Wednesday morning. Rather than post no article on Monday night / Tuesday morning, I am going to write a follow up that answers some of the comments from the discussion of that day. Since the Monday morning article is usually the “heavy” one for the week, it will help to ensure that I continue to follow up on my thoughts and engage those of you that take the time to comment on my articles. Plus I can take a bit more time and answer a thought or two more thoroughly. I will start tonight with the idea of de-regulation.

A New Era of Financial Responsibility

Whew… A long week for me last week. Traveling, working, and spending time with my son. It left me little time to pursue my passion of writing here at SUFA. But now I am back to work on the site for a couple weeks until I have to travel again for two weeks. Tonight I want to talk about something that I have been wanting to talk about all week. I want to tread into the realm of financial reform and financial responsibility as put forth by our federal government. This article is going to address some things, mostly done by the Obama administration, but really simply pertains to our federal government in general. To be honest, the words fiscal and responsibility should not even be allowed to be used in the same sentence with federal government, unless it is done to point out a lack of it. The sheer magnitude of fiscal ineptitude displayed by the federal government is staggering, and it has now pushed us both to the edge of financial disaster and to the brink of full government control over the private industry in the United States. This is both infuriating and scary as hell. And I have to say that I have taken one step closer to believing a rebellion is the only answer.

Why We are Failing Miserably to Fix America

I had been planning to do this article last week, but simply didn’t find the time to do it the way that I wanted to do it, so it got pushed to tonight. I have found myself increasingly frustrated as I watch the goings on in Washington DC. It isn’t simply because the Dems are in charge and I don’t like what they are doing, although that certainly does play into my frustrations. The GOP is every bit as bad at getting us back to where we need to be. I found that the frustration I was feeling was because what I feel is breaking the back of the American economy is the progressive movement’s continued moves to increase the size and scope of government. The bottom line, no matter what it is that you believe politically, is that we simply cannot afford to do all the things that we are attempting to do. Health care, welfare, extended unemployment benefits, more regulations on top of the regulations that were already not being enforced, two wars that we should no longer be in, stimulus, and pork, pork, and more pork. Our federal government has gotten to the point where they are spending money like Britney Spears. And there doesn’t seem to be a psychotic father to step in and take over control of the finances.

When Do States Tell Feds to Piss Off?

I was reading an article this evening about the fact that the Governors of several states getting together to ask the federal government for help financially, even if it means that we increase the national debt to do so. It got me thinking about how we have gotten to this point, and consequently what should the federal government be required to do because of it. And make no mistake, there is no single right answer, because the situation varies from state to state. It causes me to ask a few distinct questions around state and federal relationships. First, at what point should states be telling the federal government to piss off in terms of required social programs or costly legislation? At what point should the federal government be returning the favor for states that do not hold themselves fiscally responsible? And finally, when is the point that some states should be withholding help to the federal government that is passed on to states that acted fiscally irresponsible? I will explain all of these questions a little further below. But the fact is that we have found ourselves in a situation where it seems like the vast majority of states lack the ability to fiscally sustain themselves, some through reckless spending and others through forced spending from the federal government mandates.

Alan Grayson… Idiot Child of the Left

I didn’t have a ton of time to write again tonight. I had actually decided that I was going to skip the night and try to get some other stuff I have been procrastinating on done. But then I stumbled across this article, another of the open letters Representative Alan Grayson seems so fond of writing over there at the Huffington Post (one of the few places that will give a voice to fruit cakes like Grayson). As you all know, I have no beef with HuffPo. They have some interesting articles and some good ideas that come from a very intelligent group of writers. Unfortunately, they also have become a place where hatemongers such as Bob Cesca and Fools such as Grayson are given a podium from which to spew their nonsense. What they will not do, however, is allow for any dissenting opinions to be offered to counter folks like Cesca and Grayson. And that is a shame, because the surest way to ensure that your writers won’t be taken seriously by anyone other than those who already agree with your ideas is to limit the ability to to offer rational responses.

No Spades Games Allowed… Chester’s Lockdown

I know that many of you read that headline and thought, “perhaps the old Weapon has finally lost his mind.” Come to think of that some of you may have begun thinking that the first day you checked in at SUFA. Spades? Chester? Who in the hell is Chester and why do we care if he is allowed to play spades? The Chester that I am referring to is a “where”, not a “who.” Chester, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, is where. And Chester has some big problems at the moment. It seems that there have been four murders in Chester in the last eight days. In their panic, they have locked down the city. The Mayor declared a state of emergency for Chester, and as a result, it is now unlawful for gatherings of more than three people. A game of Spades takes four people. Thus, there will be no spades played in Chester in the immediate future. That is too much like a hate group plotting a murder, I suppose. What is going on in Chester? And what of this madness they are calling a “state of emergency, which sounds a lot like martial law to me?

And Next…. The FCC Will Pass a Drug Trafficking Tax

I know, that headline got your brain moving in a really weird way first thing in the morning. The words in the sentence simply don’t fit together. I mean, what the hell does the Federal Communications Commission have to do with Drug Trafficking regulation or taxing? The answer: Absolutely nothing. But it would be a heck of a revenue generator for the organization. Can’t happen, right? I would normally say no. But in light of what I am about to share I am beginning to question that premise. I used to think that an organization couldn’t simply randomly decide to tax or regulate something that it has nothing to do with. Then I ran across an article tonight on Fox News with the headline, “World Health Organization Moving Ahead on Billions in Internet and Other Taxes.” You read it right. I am not making this up. The World Health Organization, in an effort to both raise revenue and further redistribute wealth from countries like the US to poor countries, has decided to move ahead with an internet tax. What?

Does Miranda Help or Hurt Us?

Over the last couple of years, we have seen a ton of clamoring from both sides of the political spectrum over the fact that those who have committed alleged terrorist acts have been read their Miranda rights upon capture. Those on the right tend to lean towards their actions falling under an act of war, and therefore, the defendant should not be treated as a criminal, but instead as a war criminal (where no Miranda is necessary, but informing of a right to counsel is under some circumstances). Those on the left tend to feel that those who commit acts of terror are criminals just like any other, and therefore, they should be read their Miranda rights as required. I want to first state that I personally don’t think that the reading of Miranda rights to these terrorist suspects means a single thing. After all, it certainly doesn’t seem to stop us from getting the information that we are after….

Why The Michigan Trip was Dumb, but not Wrong

I don’t have a new guest commentary ready to go (in fact I don’t think I have any at all to even get ready!). So I decided I would quickly put together an article that explored an article that caught my attention today. There seems to be a fair amount of hype going on around the story coming out that a Michigan elementary school teacher organized a class field trip that intentionally did not allow white children to attend. When I first heard the sound bytes, I was a little bit angry. After all, I do not approve of children, or anyone else, being discriminated against because of the color of their skin. However, after reading a bit more to the story, hearing the explanation from the principal in question, and reading the note that he sent out to parents, I have come to the conclusion that the decision to have this “black children only” field trip was incredibly stupid. But I do not feel that it was wrong. In fact, I would completely support this principal if he came to me with this idea, if only I lived in a less quirky and touchy society.

Why START II is a Waste of Debate Time

As we enter a new week, I don’t want to take away too much from attempting to finish the Corporate taxes conversations because I haven’t gotten much of a response from the left yet, and I figure that will happen more today. But I do want to have a new topic, and thus wanted to address something that wasn’t too massive a topic to handle at the same time. This weekend has flown by for me, with a lot of yard work with Mrs. Weapon, which was nice. Added to that was some good time spent out on Saturday, hitting the farmers market here, and while there having a fried catfish sandwich at the North Carolina Seafood market. I must tell you it doesn’t get much better than that. Overall I have had a very busy, but awesome weekend with Mrs. Weapon, something that doesn’t get to happen too often (I usually work the weekends). Add in some time with legendary couch slayer, Canine Weapon, and the weekend was complete. But when I had time, I read up on the START II treaty negotiations and found myself thinking, “who cares?”

Corporations Don’t Pay Taxes… Part Deux

Some good discussions happening yesterday around this subject. I wasn’t as able to be a part of the conversation as I would have liked, so I am going to address some of the comments from others here. I will copy the comments from yesterday into the comments today in order to answer those I wanted to answer. I figured starting with a fresh thread would be a good thing as well. By the end of the weekend, it might have been a bit overwhelming to have to scroll through 500 comments to find if someone answered you. So the article from yesterday still stands, with a few additions today! I did, however, answer many posts in yesterday’s article late last night so don’t ignore that thread now that it has re-started here. The major point that I was making in the article seems to have slipped past a few folks, as the discussion took a decisive turn towards moral justification of taxes on the wealthy being raised. The point of the article, boys and girls, is that ECONOMICALLY the idea of increasing the taxes on the wealthy and corporations is a bad idea.

Quick Hit: Union Secret Ballots

After watching the National Championship game tonight (and along with it watching Duke once again show the country why the ACC is still the best basketball conference in America, I went to PSU before the military, and to the University of Maryland after I got out), I find myself with little time to write this evening. But I wanted to get the pulse on this subject. I mentioned it the other night when I was talking about the recess appointments that were made by Obama. The President appointed radical union lawyer Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board, and has it set up that there is a 3-1 Progressive majority on the board. Becker is a big supporter of the idea of eliminating the secret ballot for union voting (Card Check), along with the Employee Free Choice Act (yet another bill where the name is the opposite of what it does). It seems to me that the progressive camp is firmly in the elimination of the secret ballot camp. I warned folks that this would be a move that the progressives would make. I now see the move beginning to take shape, so I want to get some opinions.

Guest Commentary – Open Border with Mexico

Thursday Night comes (well actually Friday morning, but who is keeping track?) and with it comes the ever popular guest commentary article for the week. As was alluded to earlier, this week’s submission comes to us from D13, and deals with the problems we are facing on our southern border. I have not talked a lot about the problems with illegal immigration in the United States thus far. I imagine that this will start some of that. I will weigh in with an article discussing the issue form my perspective soon. What the good Colonel offers us for tonight is a wealth of information that he has collected on the border problems. This is part one. Part Two will instead have more of a focus on what he has actually witnessed and found in his work on the border. You can expect the second part to this article within a week or two as another guest commentary. I have to say that I have been looking forward to this article ever since D13 told me that he was working on it.

Tuesday Night Open Mic for March 30, 2010

Alas, I already find myself at the Tuesday Night Open Mic. It has been a quick start to the week. The conversations thus far have been interesting. The individual liberty discussions were especially good, but we didn’t get to the core of the issues quite yet. We danced around some of them. I will be bringing that article forward in a couple days instead of posting another article so that the discussions can go further. Open mic brings a host of different topics, from global warming taking a larger international hit to the President attempting to mischaracterize the tea party movement. Sprinkled in there we have Arriana Huffington completely missing on her reasoning for the decline of innovation in America and the courts issuing a stupid verdict in the case of the hatemongers from Westbor Baptist (it is not a) Church. We also have a little bit of government claiming that fearing the government is a good thing and a good old politician playing a politician’s game, and sucking at it. As an added bonus I brought over a Black Flag offering from late Tuesday that many may have missed.