If you want to open a can of worms all you need to do is bring up the subject of reasonable identification. If you’re at the polling place, your Wal-Mart card might be just fine depending on the color of your skin; asking for government issued identification might be considered racism. If you pull over a car load of Hispanic individuals and none of them have identification it’s racist to even consider the possibility of them being illegal aliens; but if you want to purchase cigarettes or alcohol you better have a valid driver’s license.
In the locksmith business, at least in Texas, we’re required by law to verify potential customer’s identification by obtaining a valid driver’s license, passport or other government issued picture ID. For a while that driver’s license number had to be recorded on each and every sale; at least until they found another law specifically prohibiting the recording of that driver’s license number. Don’t you just love government meddling into areas they have no business meddling?
I was on the phone a while ago setting up a job to replace a lost car key for an employee of a small company. It was a lease vehicle and I mentioned how he’d need to provide a copy of the lease agreement or an insurance card with that vehicle listed to meet the requirements of the law. I then extended the mandate to include DNA samples; but explained I was set up to obtain those samples on site. We both laughed; all the same we were laughing at the ridiculous measures being imposed by government when in reality these issues should be left to the individuals involved.
On the other side of that coin, a couple of months back I had a fellow in a company vehicle drive over to my office after I explained that I could replace his worn out key for a very reasonable price; no more wiggling and jiggling the ignition key to start the van. He asked if he could sign for it send the bill to his company, Ista North America out of Jacksonville, Florida, and I agreed since it wasn’t a huge amount of money but more than most folks carry in their billfold.
A month went by with no payment so I called Ista North America out of Jacksonville, Florida, accounts receivables department only to be told no check would be sent because we were not listed on their payment sheet as having submitted a W-9 form. They acknowledged the debt; but withheld payment because of, “company policy”. It’s just my opinion; but it would appear Ista North America out of Jacksonville, Florida has manipulated company policy in order to keep from paying a just debt, some might call that dishonest.
Can you imagine what would happen if every time a customer came into the shop and we had to fill in a W-9 form prior to cutting a simple key? What’s reasonable becomes a can of worms depending on whose asking or whose presenting.
That all leads up to an ugly piece of legislation being pushed by President Barack Obama, Lindsey Graham (RINO-SC) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY). They want to include mandated national biometric ID cards as part of the “comprehensive immigration reform” package. Anyone seeking employment would naturally be required to present their national ID card; but what about illegal aliens who work for cash under the table? Who, in reality, will be the target of such a national ID program?
This new national ID card would include a “unique biometric identifier”; like fingerprints, retinal scans or even a scan of the veins on the back of your hand. It will allow bureaucrats to watch your every move as the Federal Biometric ID cards will almost certainly be produced with RFID tracking technology. There will be a magnetic strip containing virtually unlimited amounts of personal information about you, like what guns you own, prescription medicines you take and other sensitive data.
Let’s push the envelope a little; what other personal information might be included? Is it conceivable political party membership could be included as our government becomes more totalitarian by the day? Imagine checking your boarding pass as you’re at the airport and being told you’re listed as a “domestic extremist” and are either turned away, or worse, detained as an actual threat because of your pro-gun or pro- constitutional leanings. You think it can’t happen…think again.
Back on April 16, 2009, Janet Napolitano defended the Department of Homeland Security report , a report forwarded as a warning to law enforcement officials on “rightwing extremism” which may include groups or individuals opposed to abortion and immigration or that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority.
If the Department of Homeland Security did a simple Google search on my name they’d find all manner of articles written in opposition to the current regime’s take over of America. I proud to say I’m already listed as a suspected terrorist and have my certificate issued by the Department of Homeland Security and signed by Napolitano. Would my political leanings ever become a valid reason to deny getting on an airplane or my purchase of a firearm in the future?
So, what’s reasonable when it comes to asking for identification? Should voters present some form of valid government issued ID prior to stepping into the polls? The same folks who are pressing for Biometric ID for all citizens seem to think it’s racist to even ask such a question. Hypocrites and liars, that’s my opinion; at least we’ve identified a few more hypocrites and liars.
This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal , a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.
Candidates who’ve lost elections have been told by voters that it’s time to sit back and let someone else represent them. Isn’t that the purpose of an election, to determine who moves forward and who stays behind? Apparently accepting defeat isn’t part of the electoral process anymore ; at least that’s the message from a handful of recently defeated candidates. Instead of standing behind the rightful winner, these losers (and I use the word loser in every sense of the word), these losers would rather continue on as if to ignore what voter’s have already decided.
“Whether they are sore losers or never-say-die patriots, third-party candidates threaten to tip a handful of congressional and gubernatorial races to contenders who otherwise might have lost this fall.”
There have been several articles posted by various outlets regarding the impact of third party candidates influencing the outcome of major races; but the issue which comes to mind goes beyond who gets elected, who wields power over the masses and who gets all the perks. Character and integrity are what makes America strong and those who seek public office need to act accordingly. Ignoring the results of a primary is nothing more than sour grapes.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and Delaware Representative Mike Castle have all shown a decided lack of character by considering a “write in” campaign or switching parties after having been snubbed in favor of Tea Party backed candidates in the Republican Party. Call it arrogance or pride; either is unbefitting a servant of the people.
Not long ago in another article I expressed my views regarding the difference between the Tea Party and the Tea Party movement. There are many within the ranks of the GOP who fail to grasp the importance of acting along conservative lines in a consistent manner. They also fail to acknowledge the expressed desires of registered Republicans who attend and make up the Tea Party movement.
“We The People” are tired of politics as usual. We’re tired of empty promises to restore financial responsibility, moral decency and free market principles followed by reckless abandon to those principles which are required under our constitutional form of government. We should be grateful these losers; Christ, Murkowski and Castle, exposed their lack of character; it should make it much easier to ignore them come November.
This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal , a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.
Can you imagine the advantage of having twenty three thousand votes for your slate of candidates or referendums from voters who don’t even exist? Did I mention those twenty three thousand votes would be from a single community? It could happen in Houston according to an investigation by a watchdog group called “True the Vote” who have turned up some alarming irregularities according to an article by Ed Barnes on the Fox website.
The investigation began when volunteer poll workers observed blatant violations such as votes being cast by judges when people asked for help; but what really stood out were sheer numbers based on registered voters supposedly living in the same house.
“The first thing we started to do was look at houses with more than six voters in them” Engelbrecht said, because those houses were the most likely to have fraudulent registrations attached to them. “Most voting districts had 1,800 if they were Republican and 2,400 of these houses if they were Democratic . . .
“But we came across one with 24,000, and that was where we started looking.”
It was Houston’s poorest and predominantly black district, which has led some to accuse the group of targeting poor black areas. But Engelbrecht rejects that, saying, “It had nothing to do with politics. It was just the numbers.”’
“Well there ya’ go”, as Marshall McCloud would have said, the whole investigation is based on racism; a bunch of white bigots can’t handle having a black president so they go after the black community. If that’s true then mathematics is racist.
“Most of the findings focused on a group called Houston Votes, a voter registration group headed by Steve Caddle, who also works for the Service Employees International Union. Among the findings were that only 1,793 of the 25,000 registrations the group submitted appeared to be valid. The other registrations included one of a woman who registered six times in the same day; registrations of non-citizens; so many applications from one Houston Voters collector in one day that it was deemed to be beyond human capability; and 1,597 registrations that named the same person multiple times, often with different signatures.”
Draw your own conclusion; but when I see SEIU in the same sentence as voter registration fraud I’m no longer surprised. A pattern has developed, much as the one which triggered this particular investigation; corruption and fraud related to SEIU.
‘“The integrity of the voting rolls in Harris County, Texas, appears to be under an organized and systematic attack by the group operating under the name Houston Votes,” the Harris voter registrar, Leo Vasquez, charged as he passed on the documentation to the district attorney. A spokesman for the DA's office declined to discuss the case. And a spokesman for Vasquez said that the DA has asked them to refrain from commenting on the case.”
In a case of pure repression and intimidation the Texas Democrat Party filed suit against the voter registrar “As it did in 2008, the Texas Democratic Party has sued the Harris County voter registrar in federal district court for what it says are violations of voter registration laws, political favoritism and violations of voter privacy.”
It’s just my opinion; but people who don’t exist don’t have privacy rights. Taking it a step further, folks who are registered to vote multiple times and claim to live at several addresses are supposed to be exposed for the liars and frauds they are. If Harris County Voter Registrar Leo Vasquez hadn’t brought this to the attention of the District Attorney’s office he’d be an accomplice to voter fraud.
Here’s another question, who is fighting against laws requiring a valid photo ID prior to casting a vote? Could it be…Democrats? Give that man a prize! America needs people of integrity to survive; there aren’t enough poll watchers and policemen. I leave you with a line from John Adams.
“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.”
This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal , a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.
Have you ever wondered why Islam is at war with the rest of the world? What else describes the state of constant turmoil wherein jihad has been declared and the only solution is total subjugation or annihilation of its enemies? The answer may surprise you; but not those who’ve been reading the scriptures.
A friend of mine pointed to the answer, why Islam is at war with everyone; it’s found in the Bible of all places. Those unfamiliar with the notion that our Creator knows the end from the beginning might want to consider the implications of an all knowing God; He sure pegged this one.
Abraham was without an heir in his older years. Sarai, his wife and unable to bear him a child, explained it would be acceptable for him to conceive with Hagar, her Egyptian hand maid; the rest is history. Two nations sprang from Abraham’s loins, the offspring of Hagar followed closely by the offspring of Sarai. Their descendants are two distinct nations; we know them as Islam and Israel.
But why is Islam the way it is, in a constant state of war with everyone? The answer is found in the book of Genesis 16:12; it marks the lineage of Ishmael, son of Hagar.
“And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
I looked up the reference to “wild man”: “HEB wild ass (metaphorical here for freedom-loving; probably a nomad)”. The term seems to apply to much of Islam, a nomadic people who either subjugate or annihilate those around them in order to posses lands; no intent to do anything except make an historical observation.
The politicians of the world can set up negotiations and claim that peace is at hand; but they are only fooling themselves. Islam is incapable of settling the rift which began all because Abraham slept with an Egyptian hand maiden, a hand maiden who knew from the get go her son would always be less favored in the eyes of the Lord.
This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal , a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.
Dan Pfeiffer, White House Communications Director, posted an article on the White House Blog entitled, America has spoken, will the GOP listen? listing what he believed to be shining moments in the Obama administration. Most of what I read were lame attacks on the Republican Party which had voted against the road to socialism and ruin; but in the eyes of a true leftist these programs will save America.
Pfeiffer started trumpeting Obama’s accomplishments and promises with a line that begs to be answered, “The President’s record on these issues speaks for itself”. Pardon me while I gather my composure. He then followed with a wonderful invitation by Obama, an invitation for everyone; Democrats, Republicans and independents to come together as if the agenda being pushed made such an invitation workable.
“We need to decide whether we’re willing to do what’s necessary to keep this economy moving in the right direction. Whether we’re willing to rise above the election-time games and come together, all of us -- Democrats and Republicans and independents -- all of us coming together not just to pass a jobs bill that is going to help small businesses like this one hire and grow, but also to secure a clean energy future, and accelerate our recovery, and rebuild our economy around three simple words -- Made in America. That is what I’m committed to doing, and that’s what I hope members of both parties will join me in doing in the days ahead and beyond.”
Let’s look at the direction our nation has taken since Obama took the Oval Office.
Obama has doubled the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate and has proposed to double the debt again within 10 years.
“The President’s record on these issues speaks for itself”, Dan Pfeiffer.
Obama criticized a state law that he admitted he never even read then joined the country of Mexico and sued a state in the United States to force that state to continue to allow illegal immigration.
“The President’s record on these issues speaks for itself”.
Obama put 87000 workers out of work by arbitrarily placing a moratorium on offshore oil drilling on companies that have one of the best safety records of any industry because one company had an accident; would you have agreed? Obama used a forged document as the basis of the moratorium.
“The President’s record on these issues speaks for itself”.
Obama filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved?
“The President’s record on these issues speaks for itself”.
Obama burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day and
okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic.
“The President’s record on these issues speaks for itself”.
Obama failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans, would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?
“The President’s record on these issues speaks for itself”.
Obama created the position of 32 Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate.
Obama is pushing amnesty for illegal aliens, cap & trade legislation which would further destroy American industry by raising the cost of energy, not to mention the cost of energy for individual consumers. Obama is pushing for unilateral nuclear disarmament as part of the United Nation’s agenda along with a secondary agenda to disarm individuals in direct conflict with the 2nd Amendment in the Bill of Rights. The list could go on and on; but Obama would rather listen to his own ego than the American public.
This past week Obama gave a speech in which he was unable to properly acknowledge our inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; he failed to acknowledge that these rights come from our Creator rather than government.
“The President’s record on these issues speaks for itself”, it certainly does!
Dan, pardon my observations; but any one of these issues, had they been undertaken by former President George W. Bush, would have been highly criticized to the point of impeachment; he’d have been run out of town on a rail. The news media outlets would have been justified in roasting Bush for these clearly un-American actions; but as you said, “The President’s record on these issues speaks for itself”.
The American people really do deserve a president willing to follow the constitution rather than destroy it. The American people have been holding town hall meetings; but Obama has turned a deaf ear to them. The American people are tired of being marginalized and, yes, “The President’s record on these issues speaks for itself”.
This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal , a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.
What started out as a Defense Budget bill, many called it Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’s defeat; what ever you call the quagmire piece of legislation, the Senate Bill didn’t pass due to a “procedural hurdle”. According to an article posted on the Fox website the “bill failed in a 56-43 vote”.
“The routine bill authorizing $726 billion in defense spending had turned into a political football in recent days as lawmakers feuded over add-ons that dealt with cultural hot buttons ranging from immigration to abortion to gays in the military.”
“The vote Tuesday was a blow to gay rights advocates who saw the defense authorization bill as the only vehicle through which to repeal the law before the election.”
“Democrats had also intended to offer the DREAM Act, a proposal giving young illegal immigrants who attend college or join the military a path to citizenship, as an amendment -- a move that injected a heightened level of controversy into the debate over the past week…”
I thought it was a defense budget bill; so what kind of clown ( Senator ) shoves amnesty for illegal aliens into a defense budget bill? I forgot, Harry Reid wanted to do something nice for young illegal immigrants so he used his position to foist this off on the public under cover of a defense bill; Dream Act, more like Nightmare Act for anyone paying attention. The public wants no part of illegal alien amnesty so the Democrats keep trying to repackage it, hoping it will somehow get passed before they get swept out of town this November.
The article never mentioned exactly what “procedural hurdle” caused the bill to fail. It did mention that even Harry Reid voted against it; must have been something to do with spending money on the military because it sure didn’t have anything to do with shoving amnesty for illegal aliens down the public’s throat.
“Democrats pledged to find another way to bring back the DREAM Act. Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he would do “everything in my power” to pass it.”
Don’t take your eyes off the folks in Washington. Believe them when they say they don’t care what the public thinks about the direction our nation is headed. They really could care less about right or wrong as long as their agenda moves forward, an agenda which includes adding up to 20 million illegal aliens as future voters. If you believe getting young illegal aliens amnesty is all these hustlers want; Dream On, they want all 20 million, a perpetual poverty class dependent on government handouts.
This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal , a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.
Meet “Puddin’ Head” (foreground) and her twin “Cat With No Name”. I had some fun with a program called Photo Impression 6; you didn’t need to see how cluttered my garage was. I erased a couple of water jugs that were in front of the kittens, more that were behind them, several boxes off to the right and in general cleaned the garage without having to throw out anything; neat trick.
I got home from running a couple of jobs in the heat of the day and wondered where all the Hobo Kitties were hiding. Looking into the shadows of the garage led me to find two of them cuddled up on top of a cardboard box. They remained that way long enough for me to run inside and grab the camera.
The slender female black kitten is named Lightning. The dark tortoise shell colored female, twin sister to Puddin’ Head, is the only Hobo Kitten we haven’t been able to come up with a name so, temporarily we hung it with “Cat with No Name”.
Dewey Bunnell, who wrote the song, A Horse With No Name, made popular by the group America, might not be thrilled to have a Hobo Kitty hung with such a famous…; what do you call it since it really isn’t a name? At least these little fur balls have a nice dry place to get out of the rain, or heat. As the months push on by they will be glad to have a warm place; it’s tough being a Hobo Kitty around the Stern’s house.
A couple of small steps have been made to bring about a working website for our newly established locksmith association. I would have said, bring to pass; but that kind of wording sounded biblical and I don’t think Moses had a laptop with internet connectivity when he got the Ten Commandments. Even so, the ability to get our simple message to so many people; the internet for good or bad is nothing less than a miracle.
When I first came up with the idea for a new locksmith organization one of the first thoughts was to reserve a place on the internet, something with FILOA in its name for search engines to find. I purchased the “rights” to http://www.filoa.org and http://www.filoa.net, figuring one or both would eventually become our “home” address; that seems to be partially true.
The lady at Digital Monkey Web Design working on “making it happen” has explained ways to save money while at the same time accomplishing the many technical requirements I listed for our website. Since I already had a working website for my business she “extended”, that’s a magician’s term to explain away something which goes beyond my ability to understand, she extended my original URL to permit the inclusion of FILOA’s website.
She further explained how, through yet another miracle, the previously purchased URL’s could be “auto-linked”; no different than having a telephone line “push” to a cell phone for when you’re away from the office.
None of this has to make sense to me as long as it works. Right now I can review the work performed, as can anyone, by visiting the “work in progress” . The next project she’s working on right now is the Members Only section which will have password protection.
The Membership Application link functions properly and permits anyone to download a PDF copy to their printer. Take a look at the professional design of the application form; logo and lettering were all enhanced from my original design. I will have to ask her to add instructions to “Attach a copy of your business card” in the blank space near the bottom of the form. That way we can obtain a modicum of validation that the person applying is involved in some way with locksmith work. I’ll have her add a few lines for mailing address, phone number and email address at the same time.
I’ve been promoted to Website Administrator, a new hat to wear. I’ll have to learn my duties, all technical in nature, to avoid crashing the site or doing irreparable damage to it. These duties and responsibilities will happen about the same time the website goes on line as a working entity.
We’ve received inquiries from locksmiths outside the local Houston area, folks who’ve expressed an interest. Just this morning I opened an email from a locksmith in Alabama, (Thank You, Andy) who stumbled across us on a Google search; he too finds government encroachment on the locksmith industry an important issue.
We look forward to having others share in building this organization; especially the financial support which until now has been coming from my petty cash envelope. One fellow from Great Britain sent me a congratulations note for starting up this new locksmith association; sorry, you must be an American citizen to join. Yesterday H.L. Flake Security Hardware became our first paying advertiser; another means of paying for our website.
T.F. Stern, GSP
Several years ago I heard the word paradigm for the first time and hadn’t a clue what it meant; glad I took the time to learn this one. A friend explained how he’d observed a woman and her out of control children on a train while on his way to work. The woman seemed oblivious to the fact that her children were misbehaving and, by appearance, were unkempt to say the least. My friend came to the opinion that the woman needed to do more than simply sit staring off into space, her children making everyone on the train miserable.
He was about to give the woman a piece of his mind when something from within told him to hold his tongue, approaching her and noticing that tears were dripping down her cheek. He asked if he could help, not knowing what may have happened to cause her to break down in public.
She handed him her toddler to hold without looking up, wiping away her tears. It was then she explained how her husband had been in an accident earlier in the morning. She’d rushed to the hospital, taking the children without having time to give them a bath or feed them properly. She wondered aloud, unintelligibly most of the time, how to cope with all of it; figure a way to support the family until he got out of the hospital, take care of the children and everything else that had come crashing down on her.
It was at that moment he saw life from her perspective. He found it in his heart to gather the other children and have them sit close to their mother, all the while continuing to hold the toddler and reassure the mother that everything would work out. He reached into his wallet and handed her his business card and enough money to buy groceries. He’d had a change of attitude, a paradigm shift. He no longer saw her as negligent; rather she was someone who needed help and compassion.
Paradigm - the generally accepted perspective of a particular discipline at a given time…
Applications of the term in other contexts show that it can sometimes be used more loosely to mean “the prevailing view of things.”
FoxNews had a headline story on their website this afternoon, House May Bolt Early, Abandoning Work Schedule to Campaign Season . The opening line read:
“Just days after returning from a five-week break and with a mere 16 days before a new budget year begins, House lawmakers are mulling whether to bolt Washington a week earlier than planned so they can work on saving their own jobs.”
That, my friends, is “the prevailing view of things” in Washington; our Congressmen are more concerned with keeping their cushy jobs than in serving the public. I shouldn’t complain too loudly, we’re probably better off when Congress is out of session and they aren’t destroying what’s left of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Compare “the prevailing view of things” inside the Beltway today with sentiments expressed by George Washington in his Farewell Address to the nation in 1796. I was tempted to copy and paste the entire text; it being difficult to exclude any part of Washington’s carefully worded admonitions and concerns for this newly created union of states.
“Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all-important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion.”
Washington didn’t see elected office as a job with a matching salary; it was his sacred duty, service to his fellow citizens which came with a tremendous weight of worthiness, an eternal bond having been forged with liberty loving people. Washington was torn between his knowledge that much needed to be done while at the same time recognizing someone other than himself should perform that service as he addressed his fellow citizens.
Can you picture George Washington abandoning his duties and responsibilities just to get re-elected? The idea is nearly as preposterous as believing our current crop of elected representatives would lay down their lives to preserve our constitutional protections, to insure inalienable God given rights uniformly and without exception for all individuals. How many of our current Congressmen would stand up for virtue and morality with their last mortal breath, their sacred honor tested in service to their country?
Now you have a better understanding of “the prevailing view of things”. Please make your vote count this next time around; who knows, maybe there are still a few folks willing to turn the paradigm around to where it ought to be. At one time I’d have given you my two cents worth; but inflation has raised the stakes, now it will cost you a pair of dimes.
This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal , a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.
Police officers are charged with enforcing the law without favor, the law of gravity being no exception. A story on FoxNews courtesy of the Whittier Daily News explained how officers were searching for a burglary suspect in Pico Rivera, California.
“A man fell through the ceiling of a Pico Rivera shop on Saturday, landing in the arms of sheriff's deputies who were searching for the suspected burglar of three businesses.”
The suspect had a Hispanic name, (shouldn’t that read, an Hispanic name?; sounds better with “an” but grammar checker indicated “a”), no matter. The article didn’t specify whether or not he was an illegal alien or not. Pardon my jumping to conclusions; but Jose Parada sounded Hispanic to me, didn’t want to be accused of racism. All the same, Jose fell through the ceiling and the law of gravity was enforced.
My opening statement contained an interesting prevarication, at the very least a double standard; police officers are charged with enforcing the law without favor, unless the suspect happens to be an illegal alien. Isn’t that a major issue across the country; some areas enforce the law while other areas have become “sanctuary cities”?
Bits and pieces of the illegal alien enforcement issue have been making their way into the headlines; none more controversial than Arizona’s attempts to safeguard their southern border from drug smuggling and human trafficking. Citizens clamoring for assistance from the federal government to seal the border and deport illegal aliens, the job they were hired to do, have been met with considerable resistance.
The Obama administration not only refuses to enforce immigration laws; but has taken steps to prevent local law enforcement from providing that same basic protection. A recent law suit filed against Arizona is further proof the Obama administration has no intention of enforcing immigration laws, laws intended to safeguard American citizens.
Jessica Vaughan brought to light an ICE internal department memo intended to stop or at least impede apprehension and deportation of illegal aliens. That’s interesting, isn’t apprehension and deportation of illegal aliens their job?
“ICE chief John Morton intends to prohibit not only his officers, but also local officers with 287(g) immigration authority, from busting illegal aliens who are discovered as a result of traffic violations”.
Apparently being an illegal alien isn’t a good enough reason to detain and deport; think about that for a moment, being an illegal alien isn’t reason enough to detain or deport now. I thought the purpose of the border fence was to keep illegal aliens out, that when folks were spotted crossing that border illegally law enforcement officers were supposed to stop them (another word for detain) and then hand them over to ICE to ensure these illegal aliens were not permitted to stay in our country (another way of saying deport).
This next line came directly off the internal memo:
“As a general matter, immigration officers should not issue detainers against an alien charged only with a traffic-related misdemeanor unless or until the alien is convicted.”
The public has been demanding a substantial fence be built along our southern border for long enough for me to have forgotten what year such a mandate was issued or which president was in office. The public has been employing law enforcement officers; local, state and federal to apprehend and deport illegal aliens all these years. The directive from the public had no stipulation other than “apprehend and deport illegal aliens”; no requirement was included for having broken a traffic law or any other law to enhance the reason for detaining and deporting illegal aliens, being here illegally was enough reason.
Are we supposed sit back and take it; are we to smile and put up with folks hired to enforce our laws without favor, folks who believe they can tell “We The People” which laws will be enforced and which laws will be ignored?
Many years ago I got suspended from the Houston Police Department for writing parking tickets to “favored folk’s vehicles” after being told by my supervisors not to issue parking tickets at a particular fire zone in front of the Lamar Hotel. Actually I was suspended for insubordination; telling each and every supervisor where they could shove it, seemed like a good idea at the time. I was guilty of insubordination so I really had no room to grumble. Was it worth a 40 day suspension to remind my supervisors those laws needed to be enforced without favor; you’re damn right! Is this a raw nerve after all these years; you’re damn right!
Let me put that in a different light. When shopping at Wal-Mart or other stores one of the first things I notice is how many shopping carts are strewn about the parking lot. If the parking lot is well maintained young men go about the task of collecting shopping carts creating parking spaces for customer’s vehicles and, in general, doing their job. What bothers me is when I see shopping carts cluttering the parking areas to such an extent as to make it impossible to navigate or find an open spot close to the store. I have to wonder why the manager of the store hasn’t instructed the outside employees to collect those carts, to do their job. Do you see a connection?
ICE chief John Morton apparently has instructed his employees to ignore the public’s directive; a directive intended to safeguard us from illegal aliens. That directive carries with it several levels of concern. Many illegal aliens don’t share our appreciation for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; having little if any regard for laws which protect each and every citizen equally. Burdens placed on taxpayers because of illegal aliens sapping our resources is hardly mentioned even though a huge portion of funds is spent on entitlements granted to illegal aliens, entitlements which have no strings attached.
I suppose we could ignorantly assume that ICE chief John Morton came up with the idea to turn a blind eye to illegal aliens on his own; but being a reasonable and prudent citizen the correct response would be, “Get real”. Nothing happens in the Obama administration without Obama having given his input or approval, nothing!
Each citizen should have a copy of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights in a desk drawer or on their book shelf close enough to have easy access to the information provided within those documents. I’ll add one more to that list; Ezra Taft Benson’s talk, The Proper Role of Government . These important documents explain that government leaders, appointed or elected, are employed by the people and whenever they forget or refuse to do their job the public has the right and the power to remove them from the payroll.
Ezra Taft Benson correctly pointed out, “…government is nothing more or less than a relatively small group of citizens who have been hired, in a sense, by the rest of us to perform certain functions and discharge certain responsibilities which have been authorized.”
As citizens we should demand a reasonable return on money spent paying government employees. These employees, from the president down to border patrol officers, have been given a job, a very specific job to safeguard our border, detain and deport illegal aliens and yet these folks ignore their responsibilities; that is unacceptable. Not only are they making a living off the taxpayers, they are thumbing their noses at us to boot.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”
No, I’m not advocating we toss out our form of government; far from it, the foundation upon which our nation was set is divine and should remain in tact. If properly acknowledged and implemented our republican form of government would be pleasing, even to God; however, those we employ in any position of government should be held accountable and either do their job or hit the unemployment line. We have folks in office, elected and appointed, who refuse to do the job they were hired to do; safeguard our borders, detain and deport illegal aliens. It is our responsibility and our duty as citizens to remove them from office. Sweet November is just around the corner.
I started out today’s rant with the line, “Police officers are charged with enforcing the law without favor, the law of gravity being no exception.” Isaac Newton would be shaking his head wondering if any other natural laws had been ignored were he to observe the Obama administration’s handling of border security and illegal immigration.
This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal , a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.
I was trying to put my finger on why some Americans have forgotten, or discounted to a certain degree, that we are at war with radical Islam; more accurately, radical Islam is at war with us. Former President Bush called it a War on Terror and resolved to make those who attacked America accountable regardless of where they hid or who helped them hide.
President Obama changed the national perspective with a simple alteration of terms; from “terrorist attack” to “man-caused disaster” and “global war on terror” was downgraded to “Overseas Contingency Operation”. Snap your fingers and just like that the war was over; that simple? War, what war? Had we known all we had to do was change the classification or terminology and, with the snap of our fingers, think how many lives would have been saved during that Overseas Contingency Operation with Japan.
There are reminders of the ongoing conflict; just go to the airport and pass through security set up to stop potential terrorists. Perhaps airport security is a poor choice since most travelers consider these measures invasive government policies, our government declaring war on its own citizens rather than preventative measures in time of war. Even the video clip on the side of my blog has become “invisible” over the years. I mentally ignore the Twin Towers being attacked with smoke billowing across the skyline as they crumble to the ground; why is that?
Do you remember the eerie silence in the skies above us following 9/11, when you looked up and noticed there weren’t any commercial aircraft transporting folks from city to city? Our awareness of being attacked was fresh on our minds and in our hearts; we knew we were at war. Life goes on and many of us hardly remember how still the skies were. See, there goes another flight headed for the airport; all is well.
Our fire fighters and police officers go about their business each day and go home to their families. Every now and then a serious issue takes the life of one; but nothing like that horrible day so long ago when the Twin Towers came crashing down on brave individuals trying to evacuate hundreds of terrified workers. War; what war?
There are all kinds of cycles; the most familiar is where Summer follows Spring, followed by Autumn and then Winter. Little children know day follows night and night follows day; the sun in the morning and the moon at night .
Then there are long term cycles which explain generational shifts; one of these is called the Prosperity Cycle. M. Russell Ballard explained it in plain language during a talk he gave at General Conference, Learning the Lessons of the Past , printed in the Ensign, May 2009.
“There is a famous saying attributed to George Santayana. You’ve probably heard it: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”… There are great lessons to be learned from the past, and you ought to learn them so that you don’t exhaust your spiritual strength repeating past mistakes and bad choices.”
“You don’t have to be a Latter-day Saint—you don’t even have to be religious—to see the repeating pattern of history in the lives of God’s children as recorded in the Old Testament. Time and again we see the cycle of righteousness followed by wickedness. Similarly, the Book of Mormon records that ancient civilizations of this continent followed exactly the same pattern: righteousness followed by prosperity, followed by material comforts, followed by greed, followed by pride, followed by wickedness and a collapse of morality until the people brought calamities upon themselves sufficient to stir them up to humility, repentance, and change.”
There are others who’ve shared similar observations. Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at The University of Edinburgh, remarked regarding the Fall of the Athenian Republic:
“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship.”
“The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
From Bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage.”
Many of our “non-participating” citizens are hooked on government entitlements and have lost the vision of our founders. I call them non-participating because they would rather have someone else do the work or someone else earn their keep rather than put forth the required effort afforded free men and women. They spend treasured votes making sure to elect representatives who provide a continuation of those entitlements, a self imposed form of bondage. These folks, long since departed from the American “can do spirit”, aren’t interested in whether or not radical Islam intends to eradicate our way of life as long as their dependency check arrives on time each month.
In my own irrepressible form of optimism, I believe America has at its core a sufficient number of citizens filled with great faith and courage as demonstrated by the Tea Party movement. We have it within ourselves to press forward with the fight for liberty and to restart the engines of industry which have been languishing in despair. Radical Islam can never have power over a righteous America built on correct principles of self government as long as we acknowledge where our strength comes from; our obedience to God.
Maybe I shouldn’t have tested my bum knee, climbing carefully up the extension ladder as I hung the American Flag; it’s barking at me now. That singular effort, making sure the American Flag was placed across the entrance to my house has become a necessary reminder, not only to me; but a proclamation to anyone passing by that I haven’t forgotten what happened on 9/11. The displayed American Flag represents our resolve to stand for all that is right and honorable.
We don’t need to be burning the Koran as a symbolic gesture against radical Islam; no, all we need is the American spirit burning in our hearts. We stand for a nation, established by God and the inalienable individual rights He offers all our citizens; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. May we honor our commitment to freedom through our obedience to the commandments God has given us is my prayer this sacred day, in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal , a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.
Last Friday an Orthopedic doctor (little d) spent a few minutes examining X-rays of my knee and telling me most of the pain was caused by arthritis. He twisted my good knee and then my bad one for almost a full minute. He then did a fine job of injecting my knee full of steroids; never felt the needle, so he was good at something. The steroid shot was supposed to alleviate pain for “up to three or four months”; try two, maybe three days.
He spent the rest of the time ridiculing and belittling me for not having regular medical check-ups as if I were a school boy sent to the office for disciplinary action. I wanted to give him a piece of my mind; the arrogant prick ( I softened my tone by calling him an arrogant prick; imagine what my original thought was). I know enough to keep my mouth shut; never argue with a fellow who has a needle.
I’m not complaining; this is what I’ve come to expect from the medical profession. Most of the time they get it right by the second or third attempt; why else would they call it a practice? Is it any wonder I haven’t scheduled regular examinations, a chance to fork over hard earned money and be insulted by mediocre medical practitioners; the heck with that!
There’s a down side to all this; getting old requires more frequent trips to patch things up as they fall apart. I’ll have no choice but to listen patiently to some doctor wearing a white lab jacket explaining how I should have taken better care of my self.
Okay, now you can wish me a Happy Birthday. Sitting here with my knee iced down is getting to be the norm; if it doesn’t get better soon I’ll miss Spring Training with the Astros, again.
If you want to spend a few hours reading nonsense then I highly recommend the “UN Position Papers” , a set of documents intended to prepare the nations of the Earth for world wide governance with equal security of energy, food, quality of life for every human on the planet with a heavy emphasis on man made global warming consequences. The common theme throughout the papers was the need to do away with sovereign national borders, particularly among wealthy nations so the UN can redistribute wealth more efficiently.
Most of the ramblings of the latest United Nations agenda reminded me of letters from my brother, essays and platitudes explaining how money exacted from wealthy corporations or nations would be used to elevate the plight of the downtrodden, full of lofty goals; but all with one common thread, to fleece the wealthy and redistribute the bounties of the earth among all its inhabitants. Here’s the opening paragraph of one such agenda item:
Plenary Section 6 (pg 28)
Achieving Peace, Justice and Human Rights Without Compromising:
Rule of Law and Peacekeeping
“Together with justice, peace and security, respect for human rights anchors the imperatives which lie at the heart of the rule of law. Human rights advocacy efforts of the past six decades and the political dynamics that marked the end of the Cold War have helped to set an agenda that also extends to sustainable development and eradication of poverty, good governance, democracy and the protection of the environment…”
Not to be overly concerned with grammatical structure; but that last sentence could be interpreted more than one way. “…eradication of poverty, good governance, democracy…”. Yes, I believe the UN plans to eradicate poverty through forced redistribution of wealth along with the eradication of good governance and democracy.
These magnanimous world leaders can do nothing save it involves stripping wealth from those who have it and redistributing that wealth to the poor; keeping a small handling fee for themselves to support a lifestyle befitting their elevated status. Their interpretation of the Rule of Law is just as interesting; the Rule of Law is what ever they want it to mean as it suits their agenda; in other words, there is no Rule of Law.
Ezra Taft Benson expressed quite well my view on governance in his talk, The Proper Role of Government .
“That the sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and when the government assumes other functions it is usurpation and oppression.” (Art. 1, Sec. 35)”
The United Nations idea of governance essentially bypasses the proper role of government as it provides mechanisms whereby individual God given rights are replaced with entitlements via wealth redistribution and well intended gestures. These small minded “do-gooders” believe that good intentions, along with proper funding from wealthy benefactors will lift the impoverished to marginal sustainable levels without consideration of natural laws which apply to property rights.
The UN has chosen to ignore basic principles which apply to the human race, principles which dictate the Rule of Law and have been in force ever since mankind has seen the need for government.
“In a primitive state, there is no doubt that each man would be justified in using force, if necessary, to defend himself against physical harm, against theft of the fruits of his labor, and against enslavement of another. This principle was clearly explained by Bastiat: “Each of us has a natural right – from God – to defend his person, his liberty, and his property. These are the three basic requirements of life, and the preservation of any one of them is completely dependent upon the preservation of the other two. For what are our faculties but the extension of our individuality? And what is property but and extension of our faculties?” (The Law, p.6)
And yet the UN claims redistribution of wealth doesn’t violate the Rule of Law, that forcibly extracting wealth from individuals, corporations or nations in order to satisfy the needs of the many justifies an infringement of property rights. Their argument basically claims that making things more fair is part of the Rule of Law; hogwash!
Is it any wonder the UN has, as part of its agenda, a provision to disarm individuals all over the world, make it impossible to use firearms in a violent manner. Such a policy also makes it impossible for those with wealth to defend against those who would appropriate that wealth and impossible to defend against tyranny.
Even more frightening, at least from the standpoint of an American citizen, is the acknowledgement within the United Nations that at no time in history has there been a more sympathetic American President and Congress toward the United Nations’ agenda.
“The world of key actors in climate change has been changing. The emerging developing countries ( Brazil, South Africa, India, China – the BASIC ) have now become key players. Their current and future emissions are large, and increasing. They are also emerging as major economic, political and military powers to be reckoned with. The present US administration is more sympathetic to climate change issues than any other previous administration – yet it has been unable to deliver domestic legislation on climate change. Yet this is key to moving forward the intergovernmental negotiations.”
Isn’t it comforting to know the Obama administration would rather cite Arizona as an example of American human rights violations in its report to the UN? The Obama administration also claims, in that same UN report, the inability of certain public service employees to participate in forming or participating in labor unions is also a human rights violation; as if to equate America with the atrocities carried out by third world countries over the past decades.
This past week a friend of mine sent a reminder of what real human rights violations are and they had nothing to do with making a decent wage as compared to union scale. These were photographic evidence of the Holocaust because General Eisenhower knew the day would come when some folks would claim these atrocities never happened.
Somehow I find it extremely difficult to compare the hardships of working as a non-union public servant here in America with the millions of individuals starved to death as slave labor in concentration camps or simply gassed to make room for others. No, human rights violations are considerably more substantial than asking a suspected illegal alien for his/her papers.
The Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights established the most perfect form of government to ever grace this spinning planet. Why would any American citizen settle for less? To hitch our wagon to the United Nations agenda, believing even for a moment that such a band of thieves and scoundrels would or could impart a governing body to rival that established by God is incredibly naive.
There’s a children’s story about a dog with a nice chunk of steak in its mouth standing on a bridge above a clear pond. In the reflection the dog sees a huge piece of meat, an illusion of something even better than it already has. Letting go of his steak it drops into the water and disappears along with the illusion that never was real.
Americans need to remember the lessons of history. We already have the best form of government of all nations on earth. If we would elect honest men and women, folks of character who will follow the Rule of Law America will continue to be the shining light on the hill for the rest of the world to emulate or envy.
The United Nations has built its agenda on the lie of man made global warming and climate change fear mongering. They promise wealth redistribution to third world dictators more than willing to partake of the spoils. President Obama and our leftist leaning Congress are more than willing to implement the Marxist lie in favor a world wide governance agenda, an agenda which can only be advanced by stealing from the productive and rewarding the less fortunate through forced wealth redistribution.
This article has been cross posted to The Moral Liberal , a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government, & The American Constitution”.
