Obama Voted Against Allowing Citizens to Protect Themselves with a Gun During Home Invasion

The White House is set to propose new gun legislation next week to capitalize on the emotion caused by the horrific Sandy Hook massacre.  With that in mind, let’s look back to 2004 when Barack Obama was an Illinois State Senator to find out if we will likely see bipartisan legislation next week.   

Back then, a Chicago man shot an intruder to his home to protect himself and his home.  He was later fined $750 for violating the handgun ban. Most thought this was wrong and the government overwhelmingly and with bipartisan support passed legislation creating an exception to the handgun ban in order to defend one’s home. 

Regrettably, State Senator Obama was not part of the overwhelming bipartisan support for this bill that would allow people to protect their home from an intruder.  So in that light, what do you think the new gun control proposals coming from the White House next week will be like?

The Push for Gun Control Begins

Here it comes, the big push to ban guns or limit access to guns.  Even though this will only keep guns from law abiding citizens; and even though evidence shows  banning guns can lead to more violent crimes, Vice President Joe Biden said today the White House is committed to speedy action in response to the Newtown, Conn., shooting.   Biden also said "This is a problem that requires immediate attention.

Even though New Gun Laws Won’t prevent mass shootings, VP Biden insists, "The president and I are determined to take action," and "I want to make clear that we're not going to get caught up in the notion that, unless we can do everything, we're going to do nothing," according to the report.

Law Abiding Citizens have been shown to Prevent or Reduce Deaths with Guns yet the White House also spoke about its "willingness to use executive action where that is appropriate" to forward their agenda of gun control.  I heard someone say, it’s like blaming airplanes because of September 11^th. 

They don’t have the support of the people, although the media will do their best to make you think they do.  I believe the majority of citizens still favor the second amendment.  Since the media went into gear to push the liberal agenda after Sandy Hook, gun permit requests have skyrocketed nationally.  But it will not matter unless we let our voices be heard.   Here it comes, let’s be ready this time! Here we go!!

Game show legend Chuck Woolery on Assault Weapons

Game show legend Chuck Woolery discusses the need for Americans to have the right to carry assault weapons.  He makes sense, no doubt about it.  Unfortunately, our politicians are not as smart as he is.  They should listen and learn:

This Is What A Feminist Looks Like from Chicks on the Right

I saw this today on the right scoop blog and thought I would share.  It is originally from Chicks on the Right called: This Is What A Feminist Looks Like.

History Repeating Itself?

Once there was a great nation – "founded by pilgrims who decided to leave their own country which didn’t encourage freedom of religion. They migrated to an uncivilized land inhabited only by savages. The rock where they landed was to become a national shrine.

They drove off the natives, built rude shelters and houses of worship, setting aside a special day to give thanks.

 

These pilgrims believed in their God and they also believed in work. They established schools that in a way became the first public, free education in the world. 

Other colonists came and established other communities. And some of the noblest words ever written began to surface. Facades of our modern buildings bear some of them, ‘liberty,’ ‘justice,’ ‘freedom of worship.’

Then an older nation sent tax agents to exploit the colonists. The colonists sent their greatest men as representatives to a general assembly, choosing a gentleman farmer as their leader. He united them and won the war against the ‘old world.’ That farmer is known as the ‘father of his country.’ Today a famous U.S. city is named after him.

Ultimately, a civil war divided the fledgling country. Its leader who tried to keep the Republic united was assassinated. His murder has been immortalized by one of the greatest playwrights of all time. After the wounds of the bloody civil war healed, the nation became a world power. 

Next the citizens began to think of security paid for by tax money. Farmers petitioned for price supports. The government bought up crops and stored them in warehouses. Industrialists were next to ask for tax benefits. The middle class declined under the added tax burden. Crime became so commonplace it was dangerous to walk the streets at night.

 

A crippled man led the nation into a war and foreign entanglements.

A general who had been victimized by government pleaded with the nation to return to the principles of the founding fathers. He died bitterly thinking his anguished thoughts.

An honest senator dared to speak out for a halt to foreign aid and foreign subversion. He was branded a reactionary.

The nation fell deeper into debt. It joined a league of the world. Increased taxes to send wheat to its enemies, devalued its currency, substituting base materials for silver in its coins." 


That nation's name? Ancient Rome. I skipped a couple of lines to tell you that, lines that are facts of history. Mr. Rekstad had summed up that the nation – Rome was totally corrupt, its middle class dead. The barbarians moved in and destroyed civilization.   

The parallel to our own history is almost eerie, so much so one wonders if we can avoid those last couple of sentences. The rock where those first Romans landed is called the pilgrim’s rock – foundation of the Temple of Jupiter. The gentleman farmer was Cincinnatus; the assassinated leader Julius Caesar; the crippled leader – Caligula; the general Mark Anthony and the honest Senator Cicero. Shakespeare of course the playwright who immortalized the death of Caesar.

How will we finish our story – the story of another great nation?      

Written by Ronald Reagan for his Daily Radio Program on  August 7, 1978

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Text source: STORIES IN HIS OWN HAND–The Everyday Wisdom of Ronald Reagan, edited by Kiron K. Skinner, Annelise Anderson, and Martin Anderson. Published by The Free Press, New York, 2001. Pages 49-53. A collection of stories Ronald Reagan wrote for his daily national radio program.

Eliminate Baseline Budgeting

We must change the law to end so-called baseline budgeting if we are ever to have a prayer to get this Countries fiscal house in order.  Since the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was passed, our Federal Government automatically increases spending every year even if Congress and the Senate do nothing. The spending is "based on the continuation of existing level of government services."  If that wasn’t enough, in 1985, the Deficit Control Act ensured spending would keep pace with inflation. The baseline also includes automatic adjustments for anticipated increases in program participation.

Now, every item in the budget increases, many items increase by up to 10% or more every year, and it does not matter if there is money to pay for the increases.  The only thing these agencies need to do now to get more money is to just keep spending. When new budget programs are created, they become part of the baseline resulting in more money next year without any formal action by Congress.  This is why Congress can go since 2009 without a budget yet spending continues to explode.

Here is an example of how baseline budgeting works.  An agency spends $1 billion, so their budget for the next year automatically increases by $100 million.  This increase is considered 0% growth by Washington budgeting standards.  So if Congress tries to get responsible and they only authorize a $75 million increase, according to baseline budgeting they cut the program by $25 million.  More importantly, the media will portray this increase as a draconian cut.  Those proposing these “cuts” get vilified.  Can you imagine if someone proposes a real cut? 

Since “baseline” budgeting has been implemented, spending has gotten out of control. In the last few years, it has gotten even worse.  Federal spending increased from $2.7 trillion in fiscal year 2007 to $3.6 trillion in Fiscal Year 2011, a 33% increase. 

Baseline budgeting has no relation to the amount of income available to spend, like every other serious budget, so how can we be serious about getting spending under control without eliminating baseline budgeting?

What Can We Do to Change the Country's Course

by JJC & JJC

Happy New Year! 

To start the New Year, I wanted to talk about a new resolution and the thoughts that inspired it. A few days ago someone commented, “Your posts make sense but at this point what can be done to change the course we are on?” 

To begin, let's look at where we are and how we got here.

Today, we are a nation burdened by debt, weakened economically, and increasingly dependent on government assistance.  How did we get here? Part of the problem is the way politicians create crises for themselves to solve, at our expense.

Look at the fiscal cliff talks. The Congress and President created the problem by overspending, but spending cuts are virtually off the table.  Their solution of raising taxes doesn’t solve the problem.

Or look at the political reaction to the Sandy Hook shootings.  Politicians immediately sought to gain power by connecting the tragedy to their desire for gun control.  They seek to play on our emotions to infringe on our rights, and increase their own power.  If their motive was to reduce mass violence, they wouldn't continue pushing "solutions" that do not work. 

These two examples are only a small sample of what has been going on.  Going forward, the government will revisit these issues and others created by the government, like the farm bill.  And here’s why:   

Politicians don't really intend to solve these problems; they’re better served by creating temporary fixes that give themselves more power but prolong the problems.

They can do this because demagogue politicians have made an effort to keep us uninformed.  Over the last Century our schools have stopped teaching the philosophy behind the Constitution and why strict limits to power are necessary. The media has been used to dispirit us, to make us believe that our national problems are too complex to be solved by us common folk; only experts can be trusted.  Our fast-paced culture has lent credibility to the legislators’ calls for quick action - often at the expense of understanding legislation.

Recognizing this problem is half the battle.  The rest of the work comes in finding the way out. The solution we can affect is one touched on by our founding fathers, many years ago. 

Early Americans learned the principles behind the development of our Constitution.  The Founders believed people who could understand those ideas were necessary for preserving liberty and they would be able to foresee approaching threats to their freedom.

“Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people,” said John Adams. And Thomas Jefferson reminded: "Whenever the people are well-informed they can be trusted with their own government.”

With our busy lives, it is easy for us to be diverted from the real issues and problems we face as a Country.  This is especially true with a complicit media that inundate our lives from television, radio, and the internet.  Just the other day I heard President Obama, Senator Harry Reid and Senator Diane Feinstein all say they already cut over a trillion dollars in spending last year.  How could this possibly be since we still have deficits of over a trillion dollars; the same size deficit we’ve had for the last 4 years even though tax revenues have been relatively steady?  The answer is, their statements are not true, yet they get away with it with help from the media and a public that does not pay attention as they should.

Our resolution for this year should be to become better citizens.  We can pay more attention and inform ourselves about the policies being proposed and considered.  We can consider if these policy proposals are in line with our founding principles, and we can work to inform others.

As President of the Massachusetts Congress, Dr. Joseph Warren, said in 1775 to his fellow Americans, “Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of.... On you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important questions upon which rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves.”

That should be all of our resolutions.  Happy New Year!