Pour Yourself A Glass

You know, it occurs to me that with all the partisan, party-first, politics that we see everywhere, it is easy for some people to forget whence some organizations have come. Republicans beat up on Democrats and vice-versa. The bad economy is blamed on each by the other. Civil rights violations are blamed on each by the other. Etc., etc., etc!

But does anyone actually take the time to determine who is really to blame? Does anyone really care? I mean if you were to have to admit that it was "your guy"  or "your people" who screwed things up, would you do it? Would you accept that it was your guy and hold him responsible? Both sides do it, so don't come back at me with some sorry excuse about how your guy/party is exempt.

I have noted on my "Issues" page that the usual partisan suspects from the left are quick to jump on any perceived, or real, affront to their messiah and his confederates made by me. No attempt to discern the truth is made, just an ad hominem attack upon yours truly, in an effort to defend their idol or their party. In effect they are stating that I am the same as them. In other words, they seem to think that because I hold his eminence accountable for his transgressions that I must also be one of those partisan hacks who ignores my party's bad behavior and only points out that of the "other party." Isn't that called transference? Anyway, that is what I have to deal with from time to time. Yes, it is frustrating. Frustrating simply because it shows that grown adults are not capable of, or willing to, use rational, cogent thought processes and come to logical conclusions. Oh well, I knew that could happen, so I deal with it.

But for those of you who bother to read my posts, ESPECIALLY if you are a Democrat/liberal, you should know this: I do not think like you. I do not think along party lines. I think for myself and I measure all government/political actions against the standard set by the U.S. Constitution. Want proof? You no doubt have heard of the Tea Party, right? It's in the news about every day. Have you actually talked to anyone who is a member of a Tea Party chapter? Seriously, have you? Have you asked me why I got involved with the Tea Party, why I call myself a Tea Party person, why I attended the first Tea Party Rally in Richmond, VA back in 2009? Of course not. Then you might find out that I/we are not what the media has painted us as. But I digress.

Do you want to know what the catalyst for moving toward the Tea Party was for me and many others I have spoken to? Do you really want to know when it happened and what it was that pushed me in that direction? Or does the possibility of destroying your current world view scare you too much? Too bad, I'm going to tell you anyway. I can explain it in just four capital letters - T A R P! That's right, TARP. remember that? It was 2008 and then president, George W. Bush, a Republican, by the way, pushed for, got, and signed into law a huge government bailout for private sector businesses. And my Congressman, one Eric Ivan Cantor, also a Republican, voted for it twice. That was the thing that just pushed me over the edge.

I recall how when Obama wanted his "stimulus package" passed (read bailout), Republicans were up in arms about the unconstitutionality of government bailouts. TARP seemed to have faded into the ancient past for them. Now I, too, was against Obama's stimulus spending, just as I had been against Bush's. You see, I at least make an effort to be intellectually consistent. So, the next time you Democrats want to paint me as being a party hack, like yourself, give pause, think it through, do a little research into my past posts and my Blog page, and then go out to the kitchen, open the refrigerator, and pour yourself a nice tall glass of shut the hell up!

Why the Hypocrisy?

   I hate double-standards. I abhor hypocrisy. I am sure that when I was growing up I actually exhibited both of those negative qualities from time to time, and for that I will simply have to claim ignorance and/or childishness. However, as I grew up and started to use my brain more, I came to see those behaviors in myself that I abhorred in others. The lies I told as a child and yes, as a teen would always come back to bite me. I quickly realized that not only did they hurt me, in that they affected how people saw and reacted to me, but it was just so much easier to tell the truth in the first place. The truth is so much easier to remember and if people are going to hate me for what I think or believe anyway, then let them hate me for what I really believe.

   We all see this every day in others and it does affect how we think of them. It paints a picture for us of the kind of person we believe them to be. Sadly, all too often, those people think that we don't see it in them. They know they are doing it, but they keep on doing it, as if we are too blind to see it. Even worse are those who don't even realize that they are doing it. They truly don't see that they are espousing for themselves and their friends behaviors and beliefs that they despise in others. Sort of like the guy who hates gay people, but loves to watch two beautiful women making out. You know what I mean. This same thinking is prevalent and obvious in so much of our political world as well. We see it in party politics, we see it in the news coverage we are subjected to, and in myriad ways too numerous to mention. Now I realize that it is sometimes difficult to set aside our personal prejudices, many of which we have grown up with, but if you are capable of rational, cogent thought, then surely you are capable of rectifying this in yourself.

   Having said that, I would like to point out the double-standard and hypocrisy we see on the news every day. The lies we are told and are expected to just accept at face value. The politicians who can look us right square in the eyes and lie to us without even breaking a sweat. And they all think that we are too stupid to know we are being lied to. Now certainly, if we believed only what we see on TV or read in the print media, why we'd all think everything was just hunky-dory and that Obama and his administration is the best thing that ever happened to this country. But we have other sources for our news, chief among them, the Internet. Why do you think Congress and Obama are so dead set on passing a SOPA or CISPA bill that will allow them/him to shut down the Internet "if they deem it necessary?" Think about it!

   Back to the lies and hypocrisy; Anyone, besides me, remember how the press and the Democrats (But I repeat myself) tore Bush a new one for every misstep he made? And yes, he made more than a few. Remember? Let's just look at one incident - 9/11/2001. After being told what was happening in New York Bush made for Air Force One and took to the skies. For a brief time the press could not get word of Bush's exact location. Remember? Even though our nation was under attack, and it was reasonable to believe that the president might be a target, the press felt that they should have been told of Bush's whereabouts every second of that day. Remember? Fast forward to 9/11/2012 and a little pinpoint on the world map called Benghazi. Americans were under attack and their lives in jeopardy. The Obama administration was advised in time to effect a rescue, had Obama or Hillary chosen to do so. Yet, we still don't know where Obama was that day. He's not saying, Hillary has suffered another of her memory loses, and the media? The media is showing none of the skepticism and demanding none of the facts that they so vociferously demanded of George Bush. Why?

   Anyone remember a guy named Richard Nixon? Remember how the press absolutely hounded him? Remember how the Democrats wanted his head on a pike? All for covering up a break-in at Democrat Party Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Now he certainly should have been held accountable for his actions in that debacle, but compare the reaction of the Democrats and the press (I repeat myself again) then to their reaction to Obama and his IRS scandal. Yes, I said HIS IRS scandal. Like it or not Democrats, Obama is in charge. Just as the IRS was Nixon's IRS when he used it to go after his "enemies," so too is this current manifestation Obama's IRS. So where is the media in demanding answers of Obama and his minions? Where are the investigative journalists, who will climb any mountain, swim any sea, or crawl under any rock to get the goods on a Republican? Hmm? Why are Democrat voters and the media (I keep repeating myself) being so quiet about the lies and deceit of the Obama administration?

   I remember the 2008 presidential campaign. I remember how the media just painted such glowing pictures of the new messiah. The stories about how he was the smartest man to ever run for the position. How, when elected, the world would love us again, truth would come to Washington, D.C., and the Cubs would win the pennant (OK, I made up that last one). Do you remember any of those stories? So we're supposed to believe that Obama is the smartest man to ever sit in the Oval Office, but he has no idea what his administration is doing?! Come on Democrats, REALLY?! You can't have it both ways. Either he knows and is ultimately responsible or he's a blithering idiot being controlled by others and he has no business in the White House.

   With all of the points I have made and questions I have asked the answer is really quite simple - Obama gets away with this stuff because of the hypocrisy of the media and Democrat voters. People who are more concerned with their party and their handouts than they are about the country. They just cannot bring themselves to admit that the guy they voted for is a lying scoundrel. But boy you let a Republican tell a lie and Katy bar the door. My contention is now, as it has always been, Democrat or Republican, if you care more for your political party than you do for your country, then you are part of the problem. A pox on all your houses.

Political Theater

I know it gives many of you a quick, visceral thrill to see a Congressman or two giving the IRS or Holder or any other political crook (Too many too count) an earful. You're thinking, finally, someone is telling them what filthy pieces of trash they are. Finally, someone is telling them that we, the American people, are not happy, and that we will not put up with this anymore. I understand, I enjoy it as much as you do.

However, when the soundbite is over, when the chairman of this committee or that committee moves on to the next witness or Congressman, what comes next? No, seriously, what comes next. Maybe......MAYBE, there are one or two Republicans with the stones to call a spade a spade, but how much influence do they have? What can they really accomplish? Where is the party leadership during all of this? Anyone remember Boehner a couple of months back talking about how he wasn't going to pursue the Benghazi hearings? I posted a couple of articles about it on this page. Where was Boehner on the IRS debacle, before other Republicans started getting some press for complaining about the issue? Leadership? Really?

And just where the hell has Eric Cantor been during all of this? Has anyone heard anything from him? Where is the passion?! Where is the principled stance for liberty and the Constitution? Why are Boehner and Cantor not using their respective bully pulpits to rail against the abuses of our Bill of Rights and our Constitution on a daily basis? I realize that many of you, especially the staunch Republicans among you, just grind your teeth when I ask such questions, but seriously, where the hell has the Republican LEADERSHIP been on any of these issues?

It's all political theater. It means nothing. It will accomplish nothing more than maybe getting a few Republicans a few more votes in the coming elections, but when the elections are over it will be back to business as usual. Nothing these guys do, NOTHING, is based on principle. If it were they would be consistent about it, but you and I both know that they are not. It's all about, "How can I fool them now?" You think I'm wrong? You think I'm just venting? OK, so watch. Watch and see what happens. If these guys are serious, if the Republican leadership actually has a pair, then let's all wait for the indictments to come out.

That's right, the indictments, the warrants, the arrests. You think the Republican Party gives a damn about you, your liberty, the Bill of Rights? Then let's see someone go to jail. Let's see someone get impeached. Let's see the laws of the land enforced in Washington, D.C. just as they would against you or me. Because until I see that, until I see that there is a serious and principled effort to hold law-breakers accountable, it's all just more of the same old political BS we see every year.

Still think I'm wrong? You want to bet any money on it?

Good Cop, Bad Cop - Abuse of Power?

Thanks to the Internet and social networking we see far too many stories about cops who abuse their authority. This is a good thing, because we sure as hell don't see these stories on the evening news. And when I say abuse I'm not just talking about making a traffic stop to flirt with a cute girl. I mean assault, murder, arresting people for nothing more than video-taping the police officer's actions, lying in court under oath, violating their oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, and many other such incidences. You have seen the videos, you know what I am talking about.

Now before you go off a a "Floyd hates cops rant," you should know that I was going to be a Richmond Police officer many years ago, but the city's residency requirement squelched that. I have worked with cops in various capacities, I have many friends who are cops, I play hockey with some of them, I have known many outstanding police officers, who understood what it meant to "serve and protect." However, I have also known some real pieces of work. You know the ones. The cops who think that their badge and gun mean that the laws that apply to you and me do not apply to them. They think they can do whatever the hell they please and excuse it by pointing to their badge. Sorry, but it's true.

So, given what we have seen and what we know, what should happen to these rouge cops when they abuse their authority and unjustly arrest someone or hurt someone, "just because they can?" Should they face the same criminal charges/penalties that you and I would face? Or should they just get some time off with pay, while their very own department "looks into it?" If we can't trust the men/women in uniform, who have sworn an oath, to obey the laws and do the right thing, then who do we turn to? Who do we place our trust in?

As for the "good cops," I have lost a lot of respect for them as well, because they seem to be OK with the actions of these bad cops. Why do I say that? Well, what are they doing about it? I hear many of you complain that the "moderate Muslims" among us are as guilty as the radical/terrorist Muslims, because they won't stand up to the bad ones. They just shrug and wink and ignore it. Well, why is it OK when good cops do that regarding the bad cops among them? I do not like the way I have come to feel about our judicial system and those who enforce the laws. I want to respect them, as I have done similar work and I know what they are up against. But when they abuse and ignore the law, when they attack people for little or no justification, when they think that the laws don't apply to them, because they have a badge, when the good ones ignore the bad ones and do nothing to put a stop to their abuses, then I cannot offer such people my respect.

Simply wearing a badge and a uniform is not enough. You want respect, you have to earn it.

Are We Safe yet?

So, another attack against innocent civilians, this time using bombs. How could this happen? Why would someone do this? You and I try our best to make some sense of such things, but no sense can be made of such madness. Our efforts to do so prove, as they always do, fruitless. I feel sympathy for my fellow Americans in Boston, who have suffered needlessly from this attack. I feel anger toward those who would perpetrate such attacks. I also feel frustration, because I know that no matter what we do, how many laws are passed, or how many cameras are placed around us, or how many of our human rights are stripped away from us, there will always be nut-jobs who will do such things.

The recent events in Boston, while angering Americans across our country, also should raise some questions. I hope to explore some of those questions here and you may think of others you wish to add in the comments section. Let us begin.

How could this have happened? We have seen the news stories, ad nauseum, about the actions being taken by our Department of Homeland Security to make us safer. We have all seen the news reports of the millions of rounds of ammunition that the DHS is purchasing, ostensibly to use for our protection (wink, wink). We have seen the photos of the tank-like trucks that the DHS has procured (over 2,000 I believe) for our protection. A quick Google search will bring up more stories than you will have time to read, about the DHS efforts to increase its size and scope. How did any of that help in Boston? Maybe if there had been a few hundred of those tank-trucks parked along the route they could have blocked some of the shrapnel from the blasts?

And let us go back to the beginning; Why do we even have a Department of Homeland Security? Remember the days following the attacks on 9/11? In existence at that time were the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, the DEA, and a whole host of alphabet soup agencies, whose jobs are/were to gather information, share that information, and provide for the protection of the United States and its citizens. Right? But we were told, post-9/11, that these agencies failed in their responsibilities. Each of them had gathered certain information about the attackers, but had failed to coalesce that information, to share with other agencies, and so the attackers and their plan slipped through the bureaucratic cracks. How best to fix this, so it wouldn't happen again? Why, we create another bureaucracy, of course. And so was born the Department of Homeland Security. We were to believe that these other government agencies, who would not share with each other before, were now going to share with the new kid on the block. Among the potential threats that have been missed since the formation of the DHS was the "underwear bomber." Remember the guy who tried to blow up an airliner by igniting a bomb in his underwear? He got past airport security, was on a no-fly list, but managed to get past that as well, and the only thing that saved the passengers on that plane was the fact that his bomb literally fizzled. Thank you DHS and TSA.

Also trying to do everything possible to save us (<sarcasm) is our United States Congress. Need I even begin to go over all the liberty-killing laws they have passed and seek to pass under the guise of "protecting us?" The idea, I suppose, among these paragons of rational thinking, is that we can legislate away madness and crazy people. By the mere stroke of a pen on a piece of parchment we will all be safer, because the criminals among us will heed the new law and begin to respect the rights of others. Can we? Is it possible to legislate away the desire to murder one's fellow human-beings? Certainly we should have laws in place to punish those who do, but is there such a thing as a law that can prevent such acts? Will more cameras spying on us help? Would granting the government and its agents ever more power over us, its ability to spy on us, its ability to ignore the Bill of Rights and our liberties, help make us safer? How far is far enough?

After the murders at Sandy Hook last December, the cry was far and wide for more gun control. Again, rational thought was thrown out the window and the emotional cry to DO SOMETHING was the basis for all subsequent proposed legislation. Just do something. It doesn't really matter if it works or even if it makes sense, just DO SOMETHING! Yet guns had nothing to do with the murders and injuries in Boston. Bombs, bombs made from pressure cookers, the kind of pressure cookers you and I can buy at any Target or Wal Mart store, were used. In those pressure cookers were ball-bearings and nails, along with the materials used to make the explosive. So, if we are to do something, anything, as our liberal/progressive friends are so apt to scream, then when will the bills restricting the purchase of pressure cookers, nails, ball-bearings, etc., come about? No, I'm not trying to be funny, I am as serious as I can be. Using the logic(?) of the left and carrying it to its logical conclusion, shouldn't we now demand that our heroes in Congress restrict our access to these materials? If not, why? Don't they demand the same be done regarding guns? Can we have just a little, just a little, intellectual consistency from the left on this matter?

What if we did see efforts to restrict the purchase of nails, ball-bearings, and pressure cookers? What if we did place more cameras on every light pole, every building, every traffic light? What if we gave the DHS and other government agencies, carte blanche to do whatever they wanted/needed to do to stop such attacks? Would it really make any difference? Aside from turning the United States of America into just another third-world police-state, would we really be any safer? Are we willing to allow ourselves to become a police-state in order to be safer? My opinion is that no amount of laws, no increase in government bureaucracies, no abdication of our human rights, is going to make us safer. Changing human hearts and minds is a more effective way of providing for long-tern safety. Now we can have the debate about how best to accomplish that goal and in the meantime we should continue to remain vigilant and prepared to defend ourselves against attacks from all sources, including our own government, but we delude ourselves if we think that more laws and bigger government agencies are the answer.

At the end of the day, after all the wailing and gnashing of teeth, after all the demands that we do something, after all the proposed/enacted laws, insane people are going to do insane things. I know that sounds overly simplistic, but I challenge you to refute it. You cannot legislate away madness. No law, no new government agency, no amount of tanks and ammunition will keep a madman from carrying out his plans. Punishing those of us who have committed no crimes, by abolishing our Bill of Rights, and with it our human rights, only creates an animosity between the citizenry and the government that need not and should not exist. I hope that those who perpetrated the evil in Boston are caught and are subjected to the punishments provided for by the full extent of the law. In the meantime we must acknowledge the reality that there are madmen among us and we must be prepared to deal with them accordingly, but we do not do that by punishing the law-abiding or by abolishing our liberties and freedom as Americans.

When is Enough, Enough?

            

            Are we closer to a second civil war in the United States? Maybe civil unrest? American patriots of all stripes taking to the streets under arms? Even in Washington, D.C.? Sound scary, provocative, even crazy? Would our Founding Fathers, if presented with the current state of affairs in this country, still be sitting idly by? Why do I ask such questions, you wonder?

            Maybe you have seen/heard the news that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has now stated that the government can indeed use drones to kill United States citizens on United States soil. I will repeat that – The government of the United States of America may use unmanned flying drones, among other methods, to kill/assassinate United States citizens on United States soil. Got it? We’re not talking about enemy combatants from a foreign nation. We’re not talking about casualties of war on some far away battlefield. We are talking about ignoring the Constitution of the United States of America, ignoring due process, ignoring the rights afforded us by that Constitution and the Bill or Rights, for the mere expediency of the government.

            Is it possible that a U.S. citizen could turn against their own country (like the current administration has) and seek to destroy America from within? Certainly that is possible. But, as an American citizen even the most repugnant among us still must be afforded the due process set forth in our laws. To ignore those laws for the sake of expediency, in an effort to make the government’s job easier, only makes it easier to ignore the next guy’s rights, and the next guy, and the next: until no one has any rights if the government deems it so. Is that the kind of country you want to live in?  Not me.

            I know that there are those of you out there who are right now thinking, “But, Floyd, this doesn’t concern me, I am not a terrorist or an enemy of the state.” You better think again. Must I really take up space here reminding you of all the laws that have been passed since 2001, which have trampled on the Bill of Rights and your liberty? Do I really need to go over the Patriot Act, NDAA, FAA Reauthorization Act, and the plethora of other such laws that have clearly ignored any constitutional law and have created a whole new class of “enemies of the state?” Have you forgotten the Department of Homeland Security memorandum to all law enforcement agencies stating who might be a terrorist? If you are a member of a Tea Party, a gun owner, a veteran, or a person who calls themselves a “patriot,” you are considered a potential terrorist. If you have written letters to your elected representatives and spoken of things like the Constitution, limited government, the Bill of Rights, or any similar language, you may be a terrorist. If you write a blog or post on your FaceBook page or other social network site and talk about standing up for your rights, demanding that the government respect its own limitations, or talk about Natural Rights, you may be a terrorist. If you are ignorant of any of this then you are part of the problem, but it’s not too late to fix that. Just take the time, do some work, and look it up. You’ll be doing yourself and your nation a favor.

            So, we now know that our federal government feels it has the right to forgo due process, ignore the Constitution, and once it has decided that you might be an enemy of the state, they can simply kill you. How do you feel about that? Are you angry? Frustrated? Tired of continually trying to be patient and work through the system? Do you vote each election and hope that you have made a good choice? And what have those whom we have elected been doing? Given who the current administration is, we are not surprised that Democrats are either outright ecstatic about these things or they remain noticeably silent about the loss of our rights. The Republicans tell us that they are our saviors and will right the wrongs that the evil Obama administration has heaped upon us. Yet, using the drone killing law as just one example, they are either complicit, silent, or have voted for these laws as well. My own representative, Eric Cantor, not only voted for the Patriot Act and the NDAA, but also voted for the FAA Reauthorization Act, which allows for the unmanned drones being used on U.S, soil. He, and the Republican Party, have helped Obama to gather unto himself the power to do this. And they have the nerve to act as if they are staunch opponents of Obama and the Democrats. Please, with friends like Cantor and the Republican Party who needs Democrats?

            I know that there are those out there who will continue to make excuses for Cantor and the Republican Party. They will bend over backward to pretend it didn’t happen or that their vote(s) didn’t really mean what we think they mean. They will try to paint you and me as the crazy ones and tell us that the Republicans are still our only best hope to fix the problems. But I ask you, have you heard anything from the Republican Party on this issue? Has the party leadership stepped up and demanded redress? On the economy, has the party done anything, ANYTHING that has reduced the size and scope of the federal government? And please do not insult my intelligence by talking about sequestration. That is a mere drop in the bucket and more game-playing designed to give the Republicans something to glom onto for the next election – “See, we did something!” Of course the spending goes on and the Republican Party’s favorites continue to get their money.

            So, how much more of this are we supposed to take? Do you vote each election? Do you do so in the hope that maybe this time they’ll finally get it? How many more elections will it take? Is it already to late? Are we so far gone, economically and on the civil rights front, that elections simply will not fix it? If the Democrats in Washington, D.C. continue their assault on us and our rights, and if the Republicans are complicit or simply will not stand on principle and fight tooth and nail to stop it, what other options do we have? It is obvious that our federal government considers you and me enemies. We do not toe the administration’s line and thus we are potential terrorists. If we are considered enemies and terrorists is it then logical to assume that war has been declared on us? If that is so then do we have the right to defend ourselves? I realize that these questions are difficult to ask and even more difficult to answer, but they must be asked and we must be prepared to answer them.

            It saddens me that I find myself thinking these things. I did not pick this fight. I have not threatened anyone or determined to take away anyone’s rights. I hope that I am wrong and that we can fix these problems soon and through the system. But I will not stand idly by and watch my nation destroyed and my liberty stripped away from me. There can be no doubt, in any rational mind, how our government views us. Isn’t about time we acknowledged that and prepared ourselves for any and all eventualities?

Tell your legislators to vote NO on Virginia HB 2313 Tax Hike Bill

Virginia has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

The 109-page conference report on HB 2313 wasn't released to legislators until last evening and we are told it's even worse than we originally thought.

  

Delegate Ben Cline called it a "Frankenstein Monster" of a bill.  

HB2313 raises the state sales tax, regional sales tax, vehicle and tangible personal property taxes, vending machine tax, heavy equipment tax, recordation tax on commercial, industrial and residential real property sales, hotel tax, hybrid vehicle tax, and diesel fuel tax.

They call this a transportation bill but not all of the raised revenues will go to roads. Much of it will go to Metro and some to the General Fund.

To make matters worse, the NEW Regional Transportation Funding Authorities, an unelected governing board, in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads will decide how the transportation funding is spent. If they get it wrong, they are not vulnerable to the electorate.

The vote on HB 2313 will be today, despite the fact that few will have been able to read the Conference Report.

Please contact your legislators and tell them to vote "no" to the HB2313 conference report.

Tell them an increase in taxes will further weaken the economy.

Tell them they need to cut spending, not raise taxes.

Please contact your legislators without delay and demand that they vote "NO" to the HB2313 conference report.

Yours in liberty,

Donna Holt

Executive Director

Virginia Campaign for Liberty