Category: National Politics

2nd Amendment, 4th Amendment, 5th Amendment, 6th Amendment, Bill of Rights, Gun Control, Immigration, National News, National Politics, Socialism

“Hell Yes We’re Going To Take Your AR-15”

In the recent debate among the Democratic Primary candidates Beto O”Rourke made clear his intentions concerning gun control, intentions I believe that reflect the Democrat Party as a whole. He is the one candidate that has made it abundantly clear that if allowed he will confiscate guns. Maybe the others haven’t explicitly expressed this opinion, but we can be sure that behind closed doors they all feel the same way. O’Rourke only mentioned AR-15s and AK-47s but you can be sure that this would only be the first step in the long road to disarming the American public.

I don’t believe that gun confiscation will work quite the way O’Rourke would like it to happen, it will take place in small increments. First will be national Red Flag Laws, laws that are a violation of the first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth amendments. These types of laws which unfortunately seem to be supported by politicians on both sides of the aisle as well as President Trump will do nothing to deter mass shootings. Even if they were somewhat effective in stopping this type of crime it still violates our Constitution.

After red flag legislation is passed and I do fear that within the next year we will see some form of these laws taking effect on a national level, the next step will be universal background checks which in turn will lead to national gun registration.

Once there is a national data base for registering guns, confiscation then becomes very easy. Once the guns are out of the hands of the citizens, tyranny begins. One only must look at what has happened over the last century. In Eastern Europe the Soviet Union and their satellite states of Hungary, Bulgaria and East Germany fell to the hands of totalitarianism once their citizens were disarmed. Hitler’s Germany disarmed the Jews which resulted in over six million deaths. More recently and closer to home we have Castro’s Cuba were most of the citizens were disarmed after the revolution and of course there is modern day Venezuela whose citizens lost the chance to defend themselves and are now starving under the socialist government.

Our Second Amendment was written into the Bill of Rights for a reason and that reason was not to support our right to hunt but to protect us from tyranny. Rest assured that the politicians that support “gun control” have one concern and one concern only. They want a population that cannot resist whatever plans they may have for our future.

2nd Amendment, Bill of Rights, Economy, Gun Control, Immigration, International Issues, National Politics, Socialism, Taxes

Freedom For Sale
“Freedom is never more than one generation from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream.  It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same.” Ronald Reagan

Anyone who has been paying attention to the Democrat Party’s 2020 platform and watched the debates must be wondering if we are entering that generation in which we lose our freedom. Listening to the different candidates it is hard to tell which one is the farthest to the left. We are being promised free healthcare, increased social security benefits, thousand dollar a month living stipends, a pristine environment, free higher education, unlimited immigration and security from those people who would perpetrate evil with assault weapons. The only thing we must do as citizens is give up more of our God given rights as well as more of our hard-earned money.

Upon visiting numerous Democrat Presidential primary websites I have come to the conclusion that if anyone of these candidates were to be elected and if their party takes control of both houses of congress, we will be part of that generation that loses the rest of our freedoms. But, if you are to believe the propaganda that they publish on their campaign sites it will be well worth it because we will be living in a perfect world where everything will be given to us and according to Elizabeth Warren gun violence will be reduced by 80%. Who wouldn’t mind giving up their freedom for both financial and physical security, i.e. socialism?

I am hoping the answer to that question is most freedom loving people. We must only look at other countries that have followed this path that the Democrats want us to go down and see where they have ended up. This type of socialist agenda has never worked in the past and will not work now. America is on the verge of bankruptcy as it is without adding trillions of dollars of debt to an already overburdened economy. Unfortunately, because of our public education system many of the current generation believe that this failed system will somehow be the answer to all our country’s ills. This is what happens when the liberals from the sixties are allowed to take over our education system, Karl Marx would be proud.

I believe that these Democrats know exactly what they are doing and where they plan on taking this country. Because of this they know they need to disarm the public. At some point the people will wake up to what is being done to them, just look at the unrest in Venezuela. Therefore most if not all candidates have talked about gun reform/confiscation. It is not about safety for the citizens but about safety for those who wish to rule us. After all it is all about the power.

Bill of Rights, National Politics, Socialism, Taxes

Freedom for Safety

The Road to Serfdom

It is more than a little scary how over the decades we have forfeited our freedom for what we assume is safety. Ever since the founding of our nation the people have slowly given up the freedoms that our founders fought for just to gain a little security. As evidenced in this short video the people have handed over their hard-earned treasure to the several hundred politicians who have used the threat of a mob like institution, the IRS, to steal from the citizens of this country.

As much as we want to kid ourselves we own nothing, our possessions are only on loan to us even though we used our own resources to acquire them. You may think that you own your home, your car or other personal belongings but fail to pay your taxes and see how long it is before the government, either federal or state, comes and take them away from you.  We are no longer a free people; we are all slaves to those we elected to represent us.

How has this come about? We continue to elect representatives that look out for one thing and one thing only and that is power and wealth. The only way they achieve these is to take from others. Why do we allow this, because we think that we as a people are incapable of providing for our own security? We have become a nation of cowards that are willing to forgo our freedom for temporary safety. Whether you are white, black, yellow, straight or gay, you are a slave to those who are in power. Until the citizens of this country decide otherwise, we will continue to head down the road to serfdom. Wake up America before it is too late.

Bill of Rights, Gun Control, National Politics

The Real Logic Behind Gun Control

This morning I got together with a good friend and neighbor for coffee and as usual we starting discussing what is going on in our country. Our talk covered a wide range of current issues and eventually turned to gun control. Both of us are very conservative as well as avid 2nd Amendment supporters so you can pretty much guess what our thoughts were on this issue.

As we were talking my friend brought up a very good point when he mentioned that people keep saying that the gun control proponents are not using logic when it comes to new gun laws and regulations. What he mentioned was that there is logical reasoning behind their ideas, unfortunately most people believe that the goal of the left is to make our society safer when their real goal is to disarm the pubic in order to solidify their control over the populous.

I must agree with this assessment because I don’t believe for a second that these leftist politicians are so ignorant that they think that more failed policy will make us safer.  To believe otherwise is a dire mistake that conservatives are making. People need to start realizing that the left is interested in one thing only and that is gaining and keeping as much power as possible. It is way past time for conservatives to call the left out on their real agenda. Our so-called conservative politicians need to point out the real reasoning behind this gun control agenda. Of course, the liberals will deny this, and the media will push the same denials but none the less we must push for the truth.

There is just a little over a year before we go to the polls to vote for president and everyone of the Democrat candidates are stating what they will do to promote gun control if elected. If necessary, they are even willing to by-pass congress and issue executive orders to get their policies in place. When our countries’ founders wrote the second amendment the single most important reason for this amendment was to give the citizens the ability to protect themselves from an oppressive government.  

How many times over the last half century have we seen governments first strip their citizens of their means of self-protection and then the rest of their freedoms. Here in the United States we are fortunate to have a Constitution which guarantees our God given rights to protect ourselves from an overbearing government. The 2nd Amendment is the only thing that prevents us from losing our other rights. If the 2nd is revoked how will we protect our other freedoms?

Bill of Rights, Gun Control, National Politics

The Four Liberty Boxes

There are four major liberties inscribed in the United States Constitution: our rights as citizens to vote for those persons we want to represent us in government, the guarantee of free speech along with the right to petition, the rule of law with the guarantee of our ability to challenge injustices in the courts and failing all these the right to protect ourselves and families from an oppressive government. These rights are essential for the preservation of a free society.

In a Republic such as ours every citizen not only has a right but a duty to vote for their representatives. Unfortunately, on average close to 40% of eligible voters stay away from the ballot box in every presidential election, much more in off year elections. This is a sad fact that a small majority of the electorate decide who will represent the American people. Just over one hundred years ago roughly 80% of eligible voters voted in presidential elections. For some reason even though over the years we have made voting easier then it has ever been with absentee ballots, early voting and dozens of organizations that will shuttle people to the voting booth, voter participation has declined.

I believe that part of the problem for voter apathy is that many people feel that our elected officials are not representing the people but are beholding to special interests. There are numerous polls that indicate that most people believe their representatives vote against the will of the people and answer to those that fund their campaigns.

Fortunately, because of the 1st Amendment’s guarantee of free speech we can bring attention to areas of the government that we feel are ignoring the will of the people. In this country we can use many different forms of social media as well as radio, television and editorials to bring attention to what we feel are unjust laws and regulations that our representatives have passed. We live in one of only a handful of countries where this can happen.

Another great aspect of our country is that we as individuals or groups can challenge what we feel are unjust or unconstitutional laws in the courts. If a person or entity feels that their freedoms are being violated, they have the right according to the Constitution to challenge their oppressor in court. To see just how important this ability to challenge oppressive laws and rulings just look at the Colorado Baker whose case went all the way to the Supreme Court.

The last box of liberty which may be the most important one is the box that represents our 2nd Amendment and that is “the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed”. If you were to read some of the founder’s thoughts on this amendment you will realize that this was put into the Constitution because they wanted the citizens to have the ability to defend themselves against an oppressive government. Remember this quote from our Declaration of Independence:

“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of 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 shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

One of the early skirmishes of the Revolutionary War was the Battle of Lexington and Concord when the British were sent to confiscate guns from the colonists. I am sure that when the 2nd Amendment was added to the Constitution that this was still in the minds of the founders. Besides we only have to look at recent history to see what happens to a people that are not allowed to defend themselves against oppressive governments.

Without our 2nd Amendment it would be easy for our other freedoms to be chipped away at, if not completely taken. We remain free not by the good graces of our government but because for now the people still have the power to defend their freedoms. If we give up the right to defend those freedoms they will disappear very quickly.

Economy, Gun Control, National News, National Politics, Socialism

Eliminate The Electoral College; Prepare For Civil War

I recently read an interesting opinion piece from the American Thinker written by William L. Gensert titled “America’s Second Civil War Has Already Begun”. This article was written several months ago but it is becoming more pertinent every day. I find this piece very depressing because there is little that l can disagree with in his assessment. I don’t believe that this civil war will happen tomorrow or next month or even next year, but I do believe that it is inevitable considering how divided our country has become. It may be in a decade or two, but it will happen.

There are many factors that are contributing to the great political divide in this country. There is abortion, gun control, racial tensions, sexual diversity, all of which the left is using to further divide this country. Of course, first and foremost is the 2016 presidential election that was “stolen” when the popular vote went to Hillary but President Trump won the electoral vote.

Ever since the election the progressives have been trying to do whatever they can to nullify it, first by claiming Russian collusion and with that failing trying to find some way to impeach the President. However next to the Russians the electoral college has become the other target of their obsession. With virtually every Democrat primary candidate obsessed with eliminating the electoral college we could be facing the straw that breaks the camels back when it comes to civil war.

In this article from Hillsdale College, “The Danger Of The Attacks On The Electoral College” the importance of this system is made clear. If for any reason this system of representation is changed it will mean that only the most populated areas of the country will have a say in who is our chief executive. Of course, the more populated areas tend to be the most progressive and with the Executive Branch continuously gaining more power with each election this will have a dire effect on the rural areas who tend to be more conservative.

I do foresee the electoral college eventually going the way of the dinosaur because most Americans are illiterate when it comes to civics and our Constitution. Our education system no longer places importance on the ideals that made this country great but places the emphasis on how horrible our founders were. Has this country made mistakes, of course it has, but show me one country that has done more for the benefit of the people on this planet? You can’t because there is not one. Unfortunately, within a short period of time the United States as we know it will come to a brutal and chaotic end.

If the progressives with their love of socialism become even more powerful, we can look forward to being the North American equivalent of Venezuela with the exception that most gun owing Americans will not give up their weapons. That is when things will get very messy.

4th Amendment, Bill of Rights, Gun Control, National Politics, Virginia Politics

Northam Calls Special Session To Promote Gun Control
Governor Northam what is it about “shall not be infringed” that you don’t understand?

Governor Ralph “Infanticide” Northam has called a special session of the Virginia General Assembly to address gun control legislation. This comes less than a week after the tragic mass shooting in Virginia Beach. A couple of bill’s that he is hoping to have brought up are restrictions on high capacity magazines,  a ban on silencers ( which already take a special license to purchase), mandating universal background checks, limiting handgun purchases to one gun a month and what I feel is the worse violation of not only our 2nd Amendment rights but also those rights covered by the 4th  and 5th Amendments and that is the introduction of Red Flag Laws.

None of these proposed laws would have altered the outcome of this tragedy in Virginia Beach. DeWayne Craddock had purchased the two handguns he used on separate occasions months apart. So, a one handgun a month law would not have made a difference. He also had to pass an FBI and Virginia State Police background check both times so a universal background check would not have made a difference. The silencer he used on the handgun as far as I know was purchased legally and requires an even more extensive background check that can take up to 6 months to process and is expensive, and as far as I can tell this is the first time a silencer has been used in a mass shooting in recent history. To ban high capacity magazines which seems to mean anything over ten rounds would also make little difference to anyone who has any experience with semi-auto handguns. It just takes one or two seconds to change out an empty magazine. However a ban on these magazines would negatively affect anyone relying on a gun for self-defense. Most people I know who carry concealed cannot always carry extra magazines and therefore rely on a weapon that has a higher capacity.

Finally, the biggest problem I have with Northam’s proposals is the one for Red Flag Laws, instituting these laws would be the equivalent of legalized swatting. It is supposed to allow people to report someone who they believe may do harm to others or themselves and without any reliable proof the authorities can seize the persons weapons without so much as a court order or allowing the accused to confront his accuser. In most cases the accused does not even know there is a problem until the police or in some cases the swat team is banging on their door. (Here is a previous post were I discuss the similarities of Red Flag Laws and swatting).

To summarize none of these new laws could have prevented the Virginia Beach shooting. The guns were legally purchased, and background checks were done. Magazines with 10 rounds or less would not have made this man decide against going on a shooting spree. The use of a silencer did not make the gun more deadly. The weapons were purchased months apart so the one gun a month law would not have been effective, and the Red Flag Law would not have made any difference since this man gave no sign of being a danger to others or himself. So, what we are looking at from our Governor is just another excuse to push his gun control agenda that he failed to get through during the last legislative session.

Economy, Local Issues, Virginia Politics

White Elephant In Greene County Part 3

To all the citizens in Greene County Virginia it is time to get off your couches and come out and let your so-called county representatives know that you are tired of having your tax dollars being wasted.  This coming Tuesday, June 4th at 7 PM the EDA will be having a public presentation on their purposed investment of almost ONE MILLION DOLLARS for a new Greene County Visitor Center. This meeting will be held in Stanardsville at the county administration building.  However, if you are okay with the SIX MILLION DOLLAR short fall in the current county budget and have no problem adding another million dollars to that deficit then by all means stay home. But if you don’t want your taxes going up again next year then come out and let the EDA know that this purchase will not fly.

One must ask themselves how is spending this amount of money beneficial to the citizens of Greene. The county is struggling to put on a July 4th event and can’t afford to have a county fair, two things that are definite tourist attractions, yet they are considering a purchase of this size that will not only cost big dollars up front but will be a drain on our resources for years to come. Another question we must ask ourselves is who does benefit from this purchase if not the local citizens? For more background on this see my previous posts here and here.

Does the county need to do something to encourage tourists and businesses to come to Greene, of course it does? There are so many ways that our tax dollars can be spent more wisely then by taking a prime piece of real estate off the market to put a county building on it. This prime lot on Rt. 29 in front of Lowe’s would be a perfect spot for a restaurant, with its great visibility and road frontage it would even be a great spot for a Chic-Fil-A, a much better prospect than a visitor center. So if you don’t want your taxes to increase more then they already have and like the idea of a new place to eat in the county like a Chick-Fil-A, then show up Tuesday night and let your voice be heard. After all who wouldn’t want a Chic-Fil-A in Greene?

Bill of Rights, Gun Control, National Politics

Has A No Handgun Sign Ever Stopped a Crime?
Progressive Crime Prevention

I visit the local ABC store here in Virginia on almost a weekly basis for wholesale purchases for my employer. I am intrigued by the no handgun sign posted on the door and have been tempted to ask the employee who waits on me if that sign means they never have to be worried about an armed robbery. If that’s the case, then all convenience stores and banks need to put these signs on their doors. As a matter of fact, the Bank of America that is located about a mile from me should put one on their door since they have been robbed twice in the last two years. Of course they know that this wouldn’t work and therefore on occasion have an armed security guard standing outside the bank, a much better deterrent to would be robbers.

However if one was to think rationally, it is obvious that criminals really don’t care about gun free zones, in fact they feel safer. To be truthful it boggles my mind that people think that signs and laws banning firearms in areas such as stores, places of worship, movie theaters and schools will prevent someone with bad intentions from committing crimes or atrocities in these locations.

To many times we see mass shootings in gun free zones and yet the typical response is for more laws even though multiple laws were already broken. But according to the gun grabbing crowd new laws are the answer. The whole logic behind restricting law-abiding citizens from purchasing the firearms and accessories that they feel they need for proper protection of themselves and their loved ones is completely absurd. This kind of irrational thought just puts more people in danger.

As someone who lawfully carries concealed I do obey these signs and laws but I do feel it puts me in greater danger. I am a responsible citizen and gun owner who practices with my firearms on an almost weekly basis. I would hope that if ever needed I would be able to stop a bad guy, but if I happen to be in a gun free zone I will be doing what everyone else is doing and hope the police arrive in time.

I believe that carrying a concealed weapon is like wearing a seat belt, it’s there if I need it but I hope to never have to use it.

National Politics, Socialism, Virginia Politics

Game Of Thrones

A Great Example of What Becomes of a Benevolent Dictator

What people want.
What people get.

In the second to last episode of Game of Thrones we saw what a benevolent dictator can become. People are raising hell about how the writers turned the beloved Daenerys Targaryen into a monster willing to kill thousands of innocents to gain her throne. These people were obviously not paying attention to the previous episodes in which she was slowly turning away from the benevolent Queen who wanted to free the people from tyranny and into someone so focused on gaining power that she would do anything to achieve her goal.

Unfortunately, this is a pretty accurate reflection of what happens in real life. How many times throughout the past have we seen this happen? We can look back through history at revolutions that were brought about to end oppression but ended up in a different form of tyranny. We have Lenin’s Russian Revolution, Mao’s Cultural Revolution, Castro’s Cuban Revolution and so many more. These leaders were going to make the world a better place for their citizens but just the opposite happened. Millions of innocents have died over the last century and a half as a result of people following a charismatic leader that promised them a better world.

In a previous post Our Republic Is Dying of Cancer, I address the issue of politicians that enjoy the benefits of office as well as the power. We may not have one tyrannical despot ruling our country, but we are facing the issue of a soft tyranny that at every turn is taking away our God given rights. We have not one dictator, but we do have hundreds, these are the elected officials and non-elected bureaucrats that want to dictate every aspect of our life. Unless something is done the future of our Republic is in serious jeopardy.

The only way to a better world is for individuals to work together to make change and not to rely on one person or group to make that happen. Because of human nature the more power a person acquires the more susceptible to corruption they become. There is much truth in the adage “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

Note: I cannot stress enough how important it is for we the people to wrest power from our corrupt representatives and the only no-violent way is to institute a Convention of States.