Friday, July 22, 2011
“States Rights are for sissies, give me County Rights”
County Rights: the ideal of freedom in government
The basic premise of localism, of this project to Restore America One County at a Time—and therefore, the basic premise of what I casually call “County Rights”—is that civil government power should be a decentralized as possible. This article is part 1 of the issue of localism: the ideal of freedom and how we once had it in America.
We need to acknowledge that States’ Rights—though much better than all power being centralized in a large national government—is not a good enough answer to national tyranny. “States’ Rights are for sissies,” as a friend of mine says. Give me “County Rights.” That’s decentralized power. But lest my libertarian friends needle me by pointing out that Counties can cajole and extort too, I prefer to argue that civil government power should be as decentralized as possible. If it is possible to get to the level of family and individual sovereignty in terms of civil government, then we should welcome it in society.
As we shall see here, localism and decentralized power is the best expression of freedom in government, and it was the way America was originally founded. This is the way it used to be in America, and it worked. So I would like to discuss, briefly, localism or “County Rights” in both principle and practice.
In principle, limited and localized government is an outgrowth of specifically Christian thinking; particularly the demands that 1) rulers are not divine, but themselves subject to a higher law, 2) private property is to be protected and conferred with its own governmental powers under law, and 3) social relationships are based on legally binding contracts, 4) power tends to allow for corruption and should therefore be limited, checked, and safeguarded. In short, we have a society based on religious faith, property rights, honoring of contracts, and individual responsibility—all fundamental things derived directly from the Ten Commandments. And of course, with all of these things is assumed the right to life and the protection of life.
To understand these things properly, we need a little background. What is a “county”? Where did such a name come from? The answer to that question is found in the medieval feudal system of government (“feudalism” is not a bad word, despite many modern liberal scholars). A “county” was the area of land governed by that member of the hierarchy of nobility called a “Count.” A “count” owned and governed a “county,” just as a “duke” did a “duchy.” This was the French name for the rank. In England, the equivalent division of land was a “shire”—a name coming from the Latin word scire, meaning “to cut” or “to divide” (we get our words “scissors,” “shears,” “schism” and others from this same word, including our word “share,” as in “shareholder”). It was a division of land apportioned to a particular property owner (usually as granted by the King or other higher property owner). After the Norman invasion of 1066, the English usage of “shire” gradually fell out and was replaced by “county.” Later, in the American colonies, there were only six divisions ever called “shires” and this was in Virginia in 1634. A couple years later these were renamed as “counties” and that name stuck throughout America ever since. Regardless of the name, however, the point stands that our most basic units of government are derived from the original basic units of property ownership. The basic premise is of government is one of private property, and that each owner of property is the governor of what he owns. And of course, under the Christian society, this owner’s government was not according to his own law, but to God’s.
Obama Throws Temper Tantrum on TV
Well, it appears if you are watching the TV about now, that Boehner walked out of the debt ceiling talks after President Obama apparently sprung a $400 billion tax increase "surprise" on the discussions at the last minute.
The problem is that we were told the numbers were somewhere around 2:1 or even higher on tax cuts .vs. tax increases. History, however, says that the tax increases come immediately and the spending reductions never. With the "surprise" it was close to 1.3:1 - essentially, trying to get rid of the spending reductions by increasing taxes instead.
But let's be straight on this: Even if that deal was negotiated, it still wouldn't matter as it amounts to less than $300 billion in change to the deficit annually and is thus less than ONE FIFTH of the size it must be to close the gap.
$3 trillion over 10 years also won't prevent a downgrade, if you believe S&P. Of course if you don't believe their threat is real then none of this matters.
I, incidentally, believe it's real but not because S&P will downgrade - if they don't the market will, and that's just as bad at the end of the day if not worse.
Next week is going to be very interesting, and the "interesting" is likely to start Sunday night when the futures reopen for trading. I don't expect a big drop at the open absent something ugly out of Europe over the weekend, but clearly the pressure will ratchet up all week, since next week is pretty much "do it or don't" time.
Incidentally, while many will say that "don't" is not an option, it most-certainly is. Doing nothing would force an immediate 40% spending reduction. This would, in turn, result in a roughly 12-15% GDP contraction (and maybe as much as 17-18%.)
But despite what people are trying to BS you with in this regard, the fact remains that we're in this reality right now, whether the government is covering it up or not - and they are.
Mint Juleps & General Buckner
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"30 March 1937=======
My Dear General Conner:
Your letter requesting my formula for mixing mint juleps leaves me in the same position in which Captain Barber found himself when asked how he was able to carve the image of an elephant from a block of wood. He said that it was a simple process consisting merely of whittling off the part that didn't look like an elephant!
The preparation of the quintessence of gentlemanly beverages can be described only in like terms. A mint julep is not a product of a formula. It is a ceremony and must be performed by a gentleman possessing a true sense of the artistic; a deep reverence for the ingredients and a proper appreciation of the occasion. It is a rite that must not be entrusted to a novice, a statistician nor a Yankee! It is a heritage of the Old South; an emblem of hospitality and a vehicle in which noble minds can travel together upon the flower-strewn paths of a happy and congenial thought.
So far as the mere mechanics of the operation are concerned, the procedure, stripped of its ceremonial embellishments, can be described as follows:
Go to a spring where cool, crystal-clear water bubbles from under a bank of dew-washed ferns; in a consecrated vessel, dip up a little water at the source. Follow the stream through its banks of green moss and wild flowers until it broadens and trickles through beds of mint growing in aromatic profusion and waving softly in the summer breeze. Gather the sweetest and tenderest shoots and gently carry them home. Go to the sideboard and select a decanter of Kentucky Bourbon distilled by a master hand, mellowed with age, yet still vigourous and inspiring. An ancestral sugar bowl, a row of silver goblets, some spoons and some ice and you are ready to start.
Into a canvas bag, pound twice as much ice as you think you will need. Make it fine as snow, keep it dry and do not allow it to degenerate into slush.
Into each goblet, put a slightly heaping teaspoonful of granulated sugar, barely cover this with spring water and slightly bruise one mint leaf into this, leaving the spoon in the goblet. Then pour elixir from the decanter until the goblets are about one-fourth full. Fill the goblets with snowy ice, sprinkling in a small amount of sugar as you fill. Wipe the outside of the goblets dry, and embellish copiously with mint.
Then comes the delicate and important operation of frosting. By proper manipulation of the spoons, the ingredients are circulated and blended until nature, wishing to take a further hand and add another of its beautiful phenomena, encrusts the whole in a glistening coat of white frost; thus, harmoniously blended by the deft touches of a skilled hand, you have a beverage eminently appropriate for honourable men and beautiful women.
When all is ready, assemble your guests on the porch or in the garden where the aroma of the juleps will rise heavenward and make the birds sing. Propose a worthy toast, raise the goblets to your lips, bury your nose in the mint, inhale a deep breath of its fragrance and sip the nectar of the gods!
Being overcome with thirst, I can write no further.
Sincerely,
Lt. Gen. S.B. Buckner, Jr.
VMI Class of 1906"
Mint Juleps & General Buckner
Boehner pushing to neutralize two key Obama liabilities for 2012
A pledge? Stick a fork in Boehner
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There are three issues heavily weighing President Obama down as he heads into reelection in 2012: 1) the economy; 2) the debt; and 3) Obamacare. The deal Obama is crafting with Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, would appear to completely neutralize issues two and three.
According to The New York Times, Boehner is in negotiations with Obama on a long-term debt deal that would include a trigger for an automatic tax hike in exchange for a repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate.
This would be a tremendous deal for the White House on both issues. Obamacare is already law. It does not matter if its estimated costs go up now. By losing the mandate now, Obama jettisons the most unpopular part of Obamacare and kills off a potential Supreme Court ruling against the law. Plus Obama would be able to campaign on a bipartisan deal to reduce the debt, thus neutralizing that issue. Meanwhile, nothing would be done to tackle our nation’s real deficit problems: fundamental Medicare reform. Oh, and taxes would be hiked by trillions of dollars, too.
Its obvious why the White House would love every aspect of such a deal. How it helps Boehner, or the nation’s bottom line, is a complete mystery.
National Police Misconduct NewsFeed Daily Recap 07-21-11
Injustice Everywhere
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Here are the 21 reports of police misconduct tracked in our National Police Misconduct News Feed for this Thursday, July 21, 2011:
- Philadelphia PA police are being sued by a man claiming cops used excessive force when they left son in coma after beating and tasering him in an incident that witnesses indicated didn’t seem necessary [3] http://bit.ly/ne9uNd
- 2 Tulsa OK cops indicted for allegedly using excessive force on one man & pepperspraying genitals of another while serving a search warrant [1] http://bit.ly/n3Mlvq
- Oakland CA police are being sued by the family of a barber who was unarmed when fatally shot by cops responding to a dispute call [0] http://bit.ly/pH3xOr
- At least one Edmonton AB cop is under investigation for “grave assault” after a judge found it suspicious that cops didn’t recall if a man they left with severe facial injuries was bleeding despite blood being everywhere and saturating his shirt. [4] http://bit.ly/pQ0L1a
- Santa Rosa Co FL deputy sentenced to 2-life terms for sexually abusing 2 girls, he’s already serving time in another case [0] http://bit.ly/mXv2UL
- Mount Vernon NY settles suit for $90k to innocent man who suffered a 3 minute-long attack when police released a police dog [0] http://bit.ly/oGzslO
- Elmhurst IL gives secret settlement deal for $25k to woman who was injured in unspecified incident w/cop at station [4] http://bit.ly/raufe1
- New Orleans LA deputy superintendent retires a day before internal hearing for neglect of duty involving the Glover shooting and cover-up case. [0] http://bit.ly/qVy06U
- Canton OH cop caught on video threatening to kill & falsely arrest a man after that man repeatedly tried to inform the cop that he legally had a CCW license and gun on him during a traffic stop. [3] http://bit.ly/nwwQWK
- Granby CT police capt pleads to fed child porn charges for trading thousands of pics & videos of boys as young as 8yrs-old, some of which described as disturbingly sadistic [0] http://cour.at/qUzUCL
- The first of up to 400 New York NY cops admitted to fixing tickets and was suspended for 5 days. By admitting to it he avoids charges but the union has hired high powered movie star lawyers (literally a movie star lawyer) in fears it may signal a RICO probe. [0] http://bit.ly/oec6Th
- San Rafael CA police sued by family alleging they were wrongly arrested & abused on false road rage allegations [3] http://bit.ly/oS0D8X
- DeWitt Co TX chief deputy suspended 2wks w/o pay for his role in the false arrest of a man on drug charges. [0] http://bit.ly/pPadvi
- Denver CO cop charged w/assault on allegations he & his pal punched 2 men at golf club in dispute over game on tv [0] http://bit.ly/pPFBU1
- Bridgeton MO cop sentenced to 2yrs in plea to obstruction & bribery for accepting cash to launder money and protect a drug trafficker [0] http://bit.ly/qjyY6A
- Jackson Co MO deputy charged w/theft & forgery for writing false citations to fake overtime while sitting at home [0] http://bit.ly/pAaXOI
- Lexington KY cop takes plea deal to get probation for his role in a $2mil federal mortgage fraud case [0] http://bit.ly/pfTjaC
- Sumner Co TN deputy charged w/improper euthanasia after caught injecting dogs in the heart against proper procedure while working in animal control [0] http://bit.ly/pI995c
- Johnson Co NE now-former sheriff sentenced to probation in plea to DV charge, 2nd alcohol-related conviction [0] http://bit.ly/nxJv1D
- Appleton WI police apologize for shutting down a 9 and 10yr-old’s lemonade stand, say it won’t happen again [0] http://bit.ly/pNHjKc
- 4 Richland MS cops suspended over video that allegedly shows them drunk in public & shows one urinating in public [0] http://bit.ly/pAvS0h
Firefox ShowIP
Show the IP address(es) of the current page in the status bar. It also allows querying custom information services by IP (right click) and hostname (left click), like whois, netcraft, etc. Additionally you can copy the IP address to the clipboard.
Out of control cop's info and more
This PIG's** name is Daniel Harless according to a local newspaper the "Canton Republican" -- Article
I'd recommend ALL do what they can to push this - the paper also indicates he's been investigated by his IAD 16 times since 2000 - which makes me wonder how many times between 1996 and 2000.
This PIG** belongs in PRISON - and should NEVER have ANY job with ANY sort of authority over ANYONE, EVER AGAIN!
DD
**Peace Officers ain't PIGS - if you don't know the difference, you're probably a PIG TOO!
Oh -- more info HERE
DD
Tough Questions for Candidates
-- Thomas Paine
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Mike Scruggs
Several weeks ago reporters asked presidential candidate Herman Cain if he would appoint a Muslim to an important position in his administration. To that question, he expressed strong reservations about including anyone who was an advocate of Sharia (Islamic Law) in a Cain administration. This was a courageous answer given the prevailing ignorance of Islam in America today, and especially the truth suppressing political correctness that dominates the influential broadcast and print media.
The three most recent American presidents have subscribed to the fictional version of Islam financed and propagated by the Muslim Brotherhood and enforced by media lynch mobs whose politically correct multiculturalism is unsupportable by facts or logic. Their blind and deaf litany has been: “Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance.” This naïve litany could prove fatal to political and religious freedom in America and Europe.
The truth is that the basic doctrinal standards of Islam—the Koran and the teachings and example of Muhammad—are filled with a totalitarian ideology that permits and even encourages violence and economic and political suppression of other religions. Sharia Law reflects, endorses, and strictly enforces this ideology in minute detail, often exacting brutal mandatory punishments that violate Western sensibilities and U.S. Constitutional rights. All this is not only prominent in Islam’s doctrinal standards, it is strongly reflected in the history of Islam and its proclivity to violence in the modern world.
Winston Churchill observed:
“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries…The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property—either as a child, a wife, or a concubine—must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.”
“Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen; all know how to die. But the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith.”
Cain knows enough about Islam to know that Sharia, including its slow and stealthy acceptance, is a serious threat to the Western system of law embedded in the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. All men and women are not equal under the law of Islam.
As I pointed out in an earlier article, however, Cain later said that he might appoint a Muslim who promised to support the U.S. Constitution. This would be a dangerously loose criterion for appointment given the Islamic doctrine of Taqiyya, which allows Muslims to lie to and deceive non-Muslims to defend or advance Islam.
Many disturbing doctrines of Islam have been kept under cover by the heavy chains of political correctness that dominate American media and academia. The doctrine of Islamic Supremacism, based on many Koranic passages, is the belief that Islam is superior to all other faiths, cultures, and forms of society and government. Most importantly, under that doctrine Allah ordains that Islam should conquer and dominate them. Omar Ahmad, a co-founder of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), admitted that:
“Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on the Earth.”
Our political leaders are more familiar with the doctrine of Jihad (Holy War), but many do not seem to realize that this war is against all who reject or oppose Islam. Jihad is so prevalent in the Koran and the history of the Muslim world that it is impossible to deny that it is a major and distinctive doctrine of Islam. Many academic apologists for Islam—influenced by CAIR and its prodigious Muslim Brotherhood financing—assert that Jihad is an individual and internal spiritual struggle. There is a grain of truth to this based on a few Koranic verses, but there is a mountain of Koranic verses and statements by Muhammad that prove otherwise. Muhammad made it perfectly clear that the sword is the basic and most revered way of spreading Islam.
These worrisome facts about Islam have much deeper ramifications than the selection of Muslims for political appointments. What are the implications to our already disgracefully loose immigration policies so far as national security and public safety are concerned? What are the ultimate social, cultural, and political consequences of immigration policies that ignore the danger of militant Muslim doctrines deeply embedded in the Koran and the teachings of Muhammad? The examples of Britain, Sweden, and France—where free speech, Christian expression, and the ability to resist further Islamization are being crushed—should serve as an eye-opening warning to us.
We must require of our political leaders not only intellectual competence and a vision of America compatible with our heritage of liberty and freedom, but also character, conviction, and courage. Our national character and convictions must be based on truth, or we are destined to lose our liberty and freedoms. Without courage, no other virtues of character can survive. Without political courage, nations cannot prosper, but will inevitably decline and see their heritage and freedoms lost. Truth and courage must once again be among the foremost standards for American leadership.