Monday, April 16, 2012

Johnston, 22 a transgender man & partner McCloskey, 56 a transgender woman.........

Nothing more I can say.

Via Soylent Green

Transgender man linked to Pitt bomb-threat investigation claims discrimination

A transgender man expelled in January from the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown for defying the school's edict not to use the men's locker room filed a complaint today with the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations, charging the school and its top officials with discriminating against him.

The complaint is the latest volley in Seamus Johnston's ongoing battle with Pitt over its transgender policy, one that has drawn the attention of FBI agents investigating bomb threats that have crippled daily life at the Oakland campus. Mr. Johnston's complaint was filed with the city commission because Pitt's main campus and top administrators are in Pittsburgh.

Mr. Johnston, 22, and his partner, Katherine Anne McCloskey, 56, a transgender woman, were interviewed by agents Wednesday at their apartment in Jackson Township, Cambria County.

A Southern Republic and a Northern Democracy (1863)

Via Occidental Dissent

Frank A. Alfriend’s A Southern Republic and a Northern Democracy appeared in the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond in May 1863:

“It is no disparagement of the wisdom and patriotism of our forefathers, for us who have survived the wreck of the government of their creation, to ascribe its destruction to certain radical errors of principle, which escaping their penetration are revealed in the calamities which afflict posterity. It is no ungrateful denial of their merited fame, to avail ourselves of the lights which experience has given us, while reading the philosophy of the failure of the Union, in the events which marked its career, and culminated in its downfall.

The Revolution, through who bloodstained paths we are now treading our way to independence, is but the natural sequence, with all its coincident features of misery and desolation, of those causes, whose operation began with the existence of the late Union, and have steadily increased in force and directness with each stage in our national development.

John Randolph, when a youth of sixteen, with that sagacity which so eminently distinguished his later years, clearly detected that insidious germ of consolidation which he afterwards so aptly characterized as “the poison under the wing of the Federal Constitution.” But this alarming evil against which even the forecaste of Mason, and the inspired prophecy of Henry, warned their countrymen as the source of contention and strife, if not the instrument of destruction to which all rights and powers of State Sovereignty, which was not the only cause for apprehension, nor indeed the most formidable. Later events have proven that the most powerful cause for the severance of the bonds of Union between the North and South, was far beyond the reach of legislative remedy, and far superior to the statesmanship of the wisest framers of the Federal Constitution.

We advance no new theory in the interpretation of the philosophy of this revolution, when we ascribe the necessity of separation to the irreconcilable antithesis and utter incompatibility of the civilization of the two sections. That Cavalier element predominating in Southern civilization, and giving tone to Southern society, and character to Southern politics, had its representatives in the early days of the Union in those who opposed the surrender of the liberties of the States to a necessary inimical, centralized power. That Puritan element which underlies the fabric of Northern civilization, clearly manifested its antagonism to the other, by seeking in the very incipiency of the government, to deprive the States of all their power, and to establish with an irresponsible supremacy, a monster consolidated empire, which like that of Augustus, should have the name of Republic, but the character of an unmitigated despotism. The former, in later periods of our history, had a worthy champion in Carolina’s great son, who on all occasions nobly sustained the eminence of his mother State, as the most vigilant of all the vessels in her jealously of Federal encroachment. The later found an early and powerful advocate in Webster, who despite that professed comprehensive patriotism, embracing equally all sections of his common country, and despite the concealed splendour of his eloquence and statesmanship, was yet an appropriate representative of New England selfishness, and descends to history as the author of the ablest and most elaborate vindication of that policy now applied to the extinguishment of the liberties of a free people.

But apart from the considerations of an essential difference of origin and race, there are other evidences of widely distinct and conflicting social establishment. These conflicting elements are not only of harmonious cooperation in the old Union, but have never been harmoniously blended under any system of government; and will ever stand as two irreconcilably hostile systems, until the established wisdom of one shall secure the universal repudiation of the other.

It will not be denied that the two Confederacies, as they now confront the world, represent, approximately at least, essentially different establishments – the one a Democracy, with a redeeming feature of regulated liberty, the other, in its social character, eminently Patrician, and utterly opposed to a system thoroughly popular.

The Federal Constitution, the government of our common creation, from the moment of its adoption, has presented an open question, which has finally sought its solution in the arbitrament of war, as to the rightful interpretation of its design whether Confederate or Democratic, Republican or Consolidated …”

Sobbing Woman Suffers Obama TSA Patdown

Sickening. These perverts and the government who pays them should be tarred and feathered to begin with.

Via NC Renegade


The Ft. Worth Tea Party President, Santorum supporter, goes to a Ron Paul Rally: There is hope!

Via Jaded Haven

COULD I BE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE?

Sometimes I think this whole world
Is one big prison yard
Some of us are prisoners
Some of us are guards

Bob Dylan

Having lost my preferred choice for a presidential candidate on Tuesday, I determined that after a suitable period of mourning and reflection the only viable option was to shake it off and begin the search anew, the presumptive, media-anointed frontrunner not being desirable or acceptable.

Last night, as part of this Quixote-like quest, I ventured into the heretofore unexplored dimension of a Ron Paul rally and was witness to something that can only be described as all parts exhilarating, befuddling, encouraging, depressing, moving, maddening and, ultimately, inspiring. More on all that later.

Over the years I have been to more political rallies, events, forums, roundtables, discussion groups, debates and whatever than I care to remember. While a whole range of adjectives from boring to thrilling could be used to describe these events, I have never before been moved to use contradictory metaphors for the same event. Attending a Ron Paul campaign rally is a singularly unique experience. I have never seen anything like it before. Perhaps phenomenal is the word that comes closest in accuracy, not in the ordinary “awesome” sense, but in the other-worldly, spatiotemporal sense.

A little truth in advertising first: I come from an old school of conservatism, a hodgepodge of Strauss, Kirk, Buckley, Reagan and a smattering of other modern day conservative thinkers who shaped my thinking while coming of age in the midst of a persistent nuclear threat during the so-called Cold War, replete with duck and cover, fallout shelters and a young girl sitting in a meadow picking the petals off a daisy. One is shaped by the world one is raised in and then, if playing the game right, uses those experiences to shape the world for those who will inherit it.

The purpose of this piece is not to analyze Mr. Paul’s specific policies, although my worldview does not coalesce with his on many fronts. I do not write this piece from the point of view of a longtime Paul devotee, many of whom (and you know who you are) I have exasperatingly debated over the fallacies I see in some (not all) of his positions. Over the years, though, I have learned (much to my surprise and dismay) that not everyone will agree with my positions on all things and I often frustratingly find myself having internal disagreements with my own stated beliefs. Such is the nature of evolving thought.

I have spoken before a lot of groups in the last several years as we have all grappled with the seeming dissolution of our country. I have half-jokingly said on many of these occasions that the other side doesn’t really have to defeat us politically, they just have to wait for us all to die off so they can implement their plans. My point has been that the greatest issue facing the conservative cause is a demographical one, a lack of diversity that will shortly render the conservative message irrelevant. Where are the youth? I and others have asked. Where are the people of color? Why doesn’t the conservative message resonate?

The answer to where they are could be found last night at the Will Rogers Auditorium. Often at political events there is a sense of excitement, anticipation, a certain buzz in the audience while waiting for the main event. Excitement, anticipation and buzz are weak and inadequate words to describe the pre-rally crowd last night. Energy is even inadequate. What undulated through the thousands who thronged outside before the doors opened last night was a kinetic power, the power of hope, the power of liberation, the power of anger at a system turned upside down, the power of liberation and, yes, the ultimate and emancipating power of freedom. You had to be there to understand it.

Once inside, for the only time in my politically active life, I was transported to a world I had not seen before. There was enough energy in that room to power a skyscraper. Teenagers, college students, whites, Hispanics, African Americans, Asians, middle-aged, elderly, every racial, ethnic, socio-economic, cross cultural ingredient of the American melting pot was there. The auditorium was a cauldron of American citizens who understand and have grasped the true nature of the tyranny which has befallen this nation, a conflagration, if you will, of passion and anger and joy and determination. This is where the fire starts this time. The eruption when Mr. Paul took the stage was deafening.

While I didn’t find much to cheer about on the foreign policy portion of his speech, it is on domestic policy that I find much agreement with Ron Paul. In fact, he could have lifted whole tracks of his speech from my book, Common Ground America. Foreign policy, while a crucial element of any president’s agenda, has slowly shifted from my center of attention to domestic policy, I having long come to the conclusion that the greatest threat to American freedom comes not from foreign governments, but from our own. Sadly, America has become one of the least free nations on earth. Increasingly, everything in our lives is being regulated by a faceless bureaucracy, to a degree that neither Orwell nor Huxley could have imagined. Want to add a room onto your house? Get permission. Want to get married? Get permission. Want to open a business? Get permission. Want to fly a flag in your front yard? Get permission. Want to own a gun? Get permission. Want to open a lemonade stand? Get permission. Want to play Frisbee on the beach? Get fined. Want to preach politics from the pulpit? Get fined. Want to protest your government without permission? Get arrested.

We have become a nation of regulations and licenses and permits, fines and punishment and intimidation by a remorseless, uncaring government. We have become, as Dylan sang in 1971, “One big prison yard”, in which our guards are always watching, always monitoring, always snooping, always threatening, always ready to swoop in with a fine or a cuff or a taser or a bullet should we wander outside the boundaries of what is allowed. The IRS can now revoke your passport should you owe too much on your taxes, making you not just a literal prisoner but a figurative one as well. It has been so long since we were truly free that we don’t even recognize it anymore. Freedom is slowly being snuffed out in American.

Obamacare is only the latest affront to freedom. While lawyers and pundits debate the constitutionality of this provision or that, what goes unstated is the insidious evil of the bill itself. Your very body, your existence, you own life will now belong to the state should Obamacare stand. If your physical body belongs to the state, how then is American freedom defined?

What exactly is our national security securing? Certainly not our liberty. We have been sacrificing ever larger chucks of our liberty to the gods of security for decades now and in the interests of securing our liberty have given it all away. Go to an airport if you want to witness the loss of liberty in all its glorious humiliation. One wonders if we actually were taken over by another power and our Constitution dismantled what exactly could they do to restrict our movements, monitor our activities and control our actions that would be any worse or oppressive than what our own government is doing right now?

This part of Mr. Paul’s message, if I have interpreted it correctly, is what resonates with me. All the other things pale in contrast to our becoming a nation of slaves.

Can Mr. Paul become the next president of the United States? At the risk of inflaming his supporters, I must say I doubt it. The media’s message is that he no longer exists, the question is settled and Mr. Romney is the Republican nominee. It is true Mr. Paul’s most ardent supporters are strenuously working at the precinct level to tilt the delegate count at the Republican convention in his favor. Do they have the numbers to pull that off? I don’t know. But knowing the ones involved locally I would guess their chances are better than 50/50. Will that type of organized effort be successful in enough states nationwide to put Mr. Paul over the top? Your guess is as good as mine. I’m not even going there.

So what did I come away with last night? It can be captured in one picture. Before Mr. Paul was introduced, part of his family took the stage: his wife, one of his sons, a smattering of cousins, nieces and nephews. That picture tells us all we need to know. They are us. They weren’t pulled from central casting, exquisitely coifed and finely tailored, prepped and ready for the cameras. No. They are a family. They are us.

Where personally do I go now? As I said, I have more internal debates than an outwardly sane person should admit. For over three years now I have been looking for an army – an army to take on the anti-Americans, the Communists, the statists, the outright criminals running our government. An army of citizens fiercely devoted to liberty and the founding principles of America. One rose up three years ago but slowly faded away. As I looked around the room last night, I saw a lot of faces I recognized from the past, from the ghost army that either became dispirited or no longer believed in the message. So this is where you all went….

The flame of liberty’s torch is no longer just slowly being extinguished. Each day brings new Executive Orders, new laws, new regulations, each more ominous than the last. Corruption in our government and our financial markets is rampant. The disease of dependency is infecting every layer of society. America is dying. We need an army of citizens, motivated and committed, to restore liberty in America, to breathe new life, new vibrancy into a nation on life support. We will not return our nation’s vitality with lawyers. We will not be prescribed the cures for our ailments by opportunistic politicians pedaling the latest edition of What Will It Take to Buy Your Vote. We simply will not. America is on the brink of flatlining.

Which logically only leads to one question:

Is there a doctor in the house?

Which logically only leads to one answer:

Ron Paul 2012

Adrian Murray

Will Justice Be Served in Zimmerman’s Trial?

The attempt to repeal Stand Your Ground is just another attempt to empower the police state, which is not nearly as reluctant to arrest and jail people as many well-meaning Americans concerned about racist police practices think.

To make our neighborhoods safer and Americans less suspicious of one another, the government has plenty of options, almost all of them involving pulling back from the virtual warzone it has created with its drug and victim disarmament laws, stopping its erosion of public morality though the school system and welfare state, ending the massive wealth destruction it unleashes upon the poor through regulations and labor restrictions, and refraining from being such a terrible bad example morally in its foreign and domestic policies.

Complete article @ The Beacon

Old Nash Brandy Still

Via Bernhard

Two men are seen below operating a brandy still deep in the woods on Nash County --man is masked for obvious reasons. “Old Nash” was already an intoxicating beverage legend by 1850. Along with other precious items, a quart of Nash brandy is said to repose in the cornerstone of the courthouse at Nashville. In addition to achieving fame for its quality and potency – said by John Horne to range up to 200 proof…”

(A New Geography, Nash County, Bill Sharpe, Sharpe Publishing Company, 1954, pp. 300-301)



Comment on : We Are All George Zimmerman

We Are All George Zimmerman

As usual a passionate and well reasoned article, but the money quote for me is:

"The very randomness of choosing Zimmerman, the contempt for the basic facts of the case, has become part of the message. The message is the same. The facts don't matter. The decision making process doesn't matter."

At the risk of sounding a bit preachy here, I wonder if you really understand the implications of the reality embodied within that statement and why it is true? Fanatical acolytes of modern Liberalism (aka Socialism, Communism, ad nauseum) have absolutely NO compunction about lying, cheating, stealing, or enabling/running cover for murderers, thieves and the most vile human activities if they believe said actions will help "break" the imperfect system they fanatically wish to destroy.

The faithful adherents who believe that heaven (the perfect world) will come to earth in some vague, nebulous process they can't quite fathom themselves - but it WILL happen! - are only too happy to jump on board the bandwagon of the needed meme, and without any pesky problems of conscience or guilt. They are "saving" the world don't cha know! The evil unleashed by the fanatics who believe in the coming perfect world will do almost anything to facilitate that worlds emergence. That perfectly describes most of the media today, at least the 96% of the media that are Leftist acolytes.

Your logic and reason are like Lilliputian arrows against the giant, hulking monstrosity of their fanatical faith in themselves and the coming "perfect" world they will supposedly help bring about. They, the chosen, will not be deterred by anything other than the cold harshness of reality itself.

Deo Volente.

Mr ED

Hope in Wisconsin

Legal Insurrection
VERBATIM POST

A PPP poll for Daily Kos shows Gov. Scott Walker in a good position:

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker leads all of his Democratic challengers in the Wisconsin recall election, per a new Public Policy Polling poll out this afternoon.

Walker, the incumbent governor, has a 5-point lead against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, 50 percent to 45 percent, and a 7-point lead — 50 percent to 43 percent — against Kathleen Falk. Walker has more than 10-point leads over Doug La Follette and Kathleen Vinehout.

Both Democrats have seen their support slide since the last time PPP polled there, which pollster Tom Jensen attributes to the shift in independents back toward Walker…

More good news, the collective bargaining bill is lowering proptery taxes:

On Monday Mr. Walker’s office released new data that show the property tax bill for the median home fell by 0.4% in 2011, as reported by Wisconsin’s municipalities. Property taxes, which are the state’s largest revenue source and mainly fund K-12 schools, have risen every year since 1998—by 43% overall. The state budget office estimates that the typical homeowner’s bill would be some $700 higher without Mr. Walker’s collective-bargaining overhaul and budget cuts.

(added) But of course, you already knew about the property tax drop from my December post, The photo that could defeat the Wisconsin recall.

One possible shoe to drop is the so-called “John Doe” investigation, and whether the Democratic D.A. will bring charges against former Walker staffers which could embarrass Walker. Forty-three employees in that office signed the recall petition, so you know where their political sympathies lie.

For now, I’ll take any good news.

Memorials to North Carolina’s Patriots of ’61 – Reidsville, Rockingham County

Via Bernhard


www.ncwbts150.com

Reidsville’s Confederate Monument, in the center of Main Street, [and] 26 feet high was carved in Italy. In 1860, Rockingham [County]

had 1,581 voters. But it sent 11 companies to the Confederacy, totaling over 1,700 men. Many more, of course, went as individuals

in other companies. (A New Geography, Rockingham County, Bill Sharpe, Sharpe Publishing, 1954, page 423)