Should bring my poles.
Should have taken a picture of the Christmas Tree which was to the right of this.
Self-explanatory. :)
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Well said: The GOP Is Dying Because The Liberty Movement Is Thriving
Via NC Renegade
To the point of causing intestinal convulsions, there has been no
shortage of analysis on the elections of 2012. Every no-name mop-head
mainstream media hack with a niche audience has put in his or her two
cents on the finale of perhaps the biggest non-event of the decade and
almost every single one of them has been depressingly wrong or
completely disingenuous - but perhaps this was to be expected. The word
“journalist” has today become synonymous with “whore”, simply because
success in the field makes whoredom essential. The job of news outlets
is not to report on the facts, but to fashion an illusory world out of
manure bricks and glossy paint, and this is exactly what they have done
in their musing on the fate of the GOP.
For any saucer-eyed skeptic who still believes that all disinformation is mere coincidence or personal bias rather than an engineered and coordinated conspiracy, I would like to point out the sudden, similar and simultaneous conclusions of MSM pundits in the wake of Barack Obama’s “victory” in November. You would think that there would be hundreds if not thousands of conflicting ideas about what really happened this year, but instead, Americans are being presented with a chorus of identical viewpoints.
One meme that is being spread widely in the mainstream that I do actually agree with is that the Republican Party is “dying”. Oh yes, this is undoubtedly true. The GOP is on the fast track to the stew pot (or maybe another pot), but what the mainstream fails to mention is that this is something that alternative analysts in the Liberty Movement have been predicting for years, long before the name “Barack Obama” ever haunted the dreams of average Republicans, and this raises an important question; what did the alternative media see that the mainstream media missed?
The primary root of all the dysfunctional observations of the GOP is that most people today have no clue what conservatism is, and therefore, they have no idea how to diagnose problems in the Republican Party (an institution which is supposed to represent conservative values). You don’t send a lawnmower repairman to examine a cancer ridden human being, you send a doctor who knows what a healthy body is supposed to look like. You also don’t send a hardcore liberal or a Neo-Con flunky to comment on the failings of the GOP; you send a true conservative who knows how a healthy conservative organization is supposed to function. And, the only people left in this country who actually understand what conservatism really is are Liberty Movement activists.
Ironically, those of us in the movement who have deeply considered the election aftermath have predominantly concluded that it is WE who have taken the mojo out of the GOP, and frankly, we’re happy to do so…
The GOP is dying because it no longer supports or nurtures the progress of true and traditional conservative values or the people who hold them. The GOP is fading into the bowels of political history because real conservatives are LEAVING it behind, and searching for other more legitimate avenues. These are the cold hard facts which the establishment and those who aid in its dominance have tried to keep out of the mainstream limelight post election. They have concocted a swarm of unsupported and absurd talking points which have been unleashed shotgun-style on the unsuspecting American populace. Their goal? To hide the fact that the Liberty Movement has gained enough momentum to bury the Neo-Con led GOP and even swing state contests at will, simply by not participating in the farce.
During the 2010 mid-term elections, there was a mass resurgence in conservative voting based almost entirely on Tea Party optimism. Some might argue that the Tea Party was a sham, and I would have to agree…to a point. The Tea Party didn’t start out that way (I know because I was involved during its inception). In the beginning it was a legitimate force for reduced government power and spending, and increased protection for civil liberties revolving mainly around the campaign of Ron Paul. That changed, though, when Neo-Con elites began weaseling their way into the club, gushing about how they loved freedom.
What these vermin do not understand, though. is that it takes more than rhetoric to hold onto Liberty Movement voters; you also have to back your words with action, and this is exactly why some career Republicans were shown the door in 2012. Not because the Democrats were a better choice, but because the Republicans had not lived up to the promises they made two years ago. Neo-Con toadies would, of course, sneer at my observations, and tell a completely different story on why they are losers…
Let’s take a look at just a few of the mainstream media and GOP leadership arguments and propaganda initiatives and why they are shameless fabrications meant to hide Liberty Movement influence….....
For any saucer-eyed skeptic who still believes that all disinformation is mere coincidence or personal bias rather than an engineered and coordinated conspiracy, I would like to point out the sudden, similar and simultaneous conclusions of MSM pundits in the wake of Barack Obama’s “victory” in November. You would think that there would be hundreds if not thousands of conflicting ideas about what really happened this year, but instead, Americans are being presented with a chorus of identical viewpoints.
One meme that is being spread widely in the mainstream that I do actually agree with is that the Republican Party is “dying”. Oh yes, this is undoubtedly true. The GOP is on the fast track to the stew pot (or maybe another pot), but what the mainstream fails to mention is that this is something that alternative analysts in the Liberty Movement have been predicting for years, long before the name “Barack Obama” ever haunted the dreams of average Republicans, and this raises an important question; what did the alternative media see that the mainstream media missed?
The primary root of all the dysfunctional observations of the GOP is that most people today have no clue what conservatism is, and therefore, they have no idea how to diagnose problems in the Republican Party (an institution which is supposed to represent conservative values). You don’t send a lawnmower repairman to examine a cancer ridden human being, you send a doctor who knows what a healthy body is supposed to look like. You also don’t send a hardcore liberal or a Neo-Con flunky to comment on the failings of the GOP; you send a true conservative who knows how a healthy conservative organization is supposed to function. And, the only people left in this country who actually understand what conservatism really is are Liberty Movement activists.
Ironically, those of us in the movement who have deeply considered the election aftermath have predominantly concluded that it is WE who have taken the mojo out of the GOP, and frankly, we’re happy to do so…
The GOP is dying because it no longer supports or nurtures the progress of true and traditional conservative values or the people who hold them. The GOP is fading into the bowels of political history because real conservatives are LEAVING it behind, and searching for other more legitimate avenues. These are the cold hard facts which the establishment and those who aid in its dominance have tried to keep out of the mainstream limelight post election. They have concocted a swarm of unsupported and absurd talking points which have been unleashed shotgun-style on the unsuspecting American populace. Their goal? To hide the fact that the Liberty Movement has gained enough momentum to bury the Neo-Con led GOP and even swing state contests at will, simply by not participating in the farce.
During the 2010 mid-term elections, there was a mass resurgence in conservative voting based almost entirely on Tea Party optimism. Some might argue that the Tea Party was a sham, and I would have to agree…to a point. The Tea Party didn’t start out that way (I know because I was involved during its inception). In the beginning it was a legitimate force for reduced government power and spending, and increased protection for civil liberties revolving mainly around the campaign of Ron Paul. That changed, though, when Neo-Con elites began weaseling their way into the club, gushing about how they loved freedom.
What these vermin do not understand, though. is that it takes more than rhetoric to hold onto Liberty Movement voters; you also have to back your words with action, and this is exactly why some career Republicans were shown the door in 2012. Not because the Democrats were a better choice, but because the Republicans had not lived up to the promises they made two years ago. Neo-Con toadies would, of course, sneer at my observations, and tell a completely different story on why they are losers…
Let’s take a look at just a few of the mainstream media and GOP leadership arguments and propaganda initiatives and why they are shameless fabrications meant to hide Liberty Movement influence….....
More @ Alt-Market
Mosby & Lincoln
Doing the same favor for the Sioux that he was performing for the South, on 6 December 1862 Abraham Lincoln ordered 39 Indians hanged who had participated in the Sioux Uprising in Minnesota.
Handcuffed student shoots himself in the head in the back of a police car after officers took him into custody to prevent him hurting himself
Via Don
A high school student has shot himself in the back of the head while inside a police car - after officers took him into custody to prevent him hurting himself.
The unidentified teenager from North Shore High School in Houston, Texas survived the shooting and was conscious when he arrived at hospital.
Officers said he became depressed after breaking up with a girlfriend in September, and on Wednesday morning, he texted a fellow student, indicating he intended to hurt himself.
The fellow student alerted campus officials, and they found the troubled teenager in a restroom at the high school, Click2Houston reported.
He appeared to be mentally unstable, and it took two deputy constables to remove him from the restroom, officials said.
He was taken into custody for his own safety and a deputy constable searched and handcuffed the student and put him into the back of a patrol car.
While handcuffed in the moving car, the student retrieved a gun that had been hidden beneath his t-shirt and shot himself in the back of the head.
A high school student has shot himself in the back of the head while inside a police car - after officers took him into custody to prevent him hurting himself.
The unidentified teenager from North Shore High School in Houston, Texas survived the shooting and was conscious when he arrived at hospital.
Officers said he became depressed after breaking up with a girlfriend in September, and on Wednesday morning, he texted a fellow student, indicating he intended to hurt himself.
The fellow student alerted campus officials, and they found the troubled teenager in a restroom at the high school, Click2Houston reported.
He appeared to be mentally unstable, and it took two deputy constables to remove him from the restroom, officials said.
He was taken into custody for his own safety and a deputy constable searched and handcuffed the student and put him into the back of a patrol car.
While handcuffed in the moving car, the student retrieved a gun that had been hidden beneath his t-shirt and shot himself in the back of the head.
More @ Mail Online
Republicans for Big Government
Via midnightrider
Do you know anyone who voted Republican this past election in order to further President Obama’s big government agenda? Or is it more likely that Republican voters sought to advance a smaller version of the federal government? And if they did, why are Republican congressional leaders offering to help the president spend us into oblivion?
I suspected that those questions might be asked when Mitt Romney was nominated to oppose Obama. My view of his campaign then and now has been that he presented a choice to the voters of big government versus bigger government, and bigger government prevailed. Romney argued during the campaign that he was at a disadvantage because the president had distributed federal tax dollars to persons and groups critical to his re-election. He has since argued that he lost the election because nearly half of Americans – some by chance, some by choice and some by force – are dependent on government for much of their income or subsistence.
His argument sounds harsh, but it’s true. A formerly working and now retired couple in their mid-80s who are receiving monthly payments from the Social Security Administration into which they were forced to make payments while they were working can hardly be considered slackers. But they can be considered dupes. All of us who have fallen for the government’s nonsense about it holding our money for our future use have been duped. The government doesn’t hold anyone’s money for him. It spends whatever it collects as soon as it receives it. When its entitlement bills come due, it uses current tax revenue, or it borrows money in order to acquire the cash to make the payments.
The president
knows this. Congress knows it. The courts have endorsed it.
In endorsing it, the courts have held that the government’s decision to pay entitlements is a political, not a legal, one. Stated differently, the federal government has no legal obligation to pay any money to any Social Security or Medicare or Medicaid applicant. That’s why those who have relied on the political wisdom of politicians, rather than their own prudential judgment, are dupes. Let me rephrase that: Those who have permitted politicians to use the force of law to compel us all to contribute our hard-earned income to a bankrupt government Ponzi scheme are dupes if they think this can work without end.
Do you know anyone who voted Republican this past election in order to further President Obama’s big government agenda? Or is it more likely that Republican voters sought to advance a smaller version of the federal government? And if they did, why are Republican congressional leaders offering to help the president spend us into oblivion?
I suspected that those questions might be asked when Mitt Romney was nominated to oppose Obama. My view of his campaign then and now has been that he presented a choice to the voters of big government versus bigger government, and bigger government prevailed. Romney argued during the campaign that he was at a disadvantage because the president had distributed federal tax dollars to persons and groups critical to his re-election. He has since argued that he lost the election because nearly half of Americans – some by chance, some by choice and some by force – are dependent on government for much of their income or subsistence.
His argument sounds harsh, but it’s true. A formerly working and now retired couple in their mid-80s who are receiving monthly payments from the Social Security Administration into which they were forced to make payments while they were working can hardly be considered slackers. But they can be considered dupes. All of us who have fallen for the government’s nonsense about it holding our money for our future use have been duped. The government doesn’t hold anyone’s money for him. It spends whatever it collects as soon as it receives it. When its entitlement bills come due, it uses current tax revenue, or it borrows money in order to acquire the cash to make the payments.
|
|
In endorsing it, the courts have held that the government’s decision to pay entitlements is a political, not a legal, one. Stated differently, the federal government has no legal obligation to pay any money to any Social Security or Medicare or Medicaid applicant. That’s why those who have relied on the political wisdom of politicians, rather than their own prudential judgment, are dupes. Let me rephrase that: Those who have permitted politicians to use the force of law to compel us all to contribute our hard-earned income to a bankrupt government Ponzi scheme are dupes if they think this can work without end.
More @ LRC
Remember those SHOT Show arrests?
Via Don
In 2010, the SHOT Show was roiled by the news of almost two dozen
executives arrested in a massive bribery sting. The case has just
concluded two years of falling apart with an interesting result: the 22
executives arrested are free and clear, and the FBI's ace informant, who
seems to be a shockingly bad bloke even as CIs go, is going up the
river on the charges that they were holding over his head.
The taxpayers are out many millions (tens of millions?) on a political prosecution led by a familiar name -- Lanny Breuer -- to besmirch the shooting industry's main annual event, and there's nothing to show for it but gigantic lawyers' bills for the framed defendants (including a SWHC VP) and a major hit to the FBI's reputation for professionalism and probity.
We really can't improve on The Firearm Blog's analysis of this, so we'll just send you over there, although we're unable to resist providing a couple of comments after their lede below, to add a smidgen of perspective.
The taxpayers are out many millions (tens of millions?) on a political prosecution led by a familiar name -- Lanny Breuer -- to besmirch the shooting industry's main annual event, and there's nothing to show for it but gigantic lawyers' bills for the framed defendants (including a SWHC VP) and a major hit to the FBI's reputation for professionalism and probity.
We really can't improve on The Firearm Blog's analysis of this, so we'll just send you over there, although we're unable to resist providing a couple of comments after their lede below, to add a smidgen of perspective.
More @ Weapons Man
Club for Growth's Chocola: Obama Has 'Perverted Sense of Fairness'
Club for Growth President Chris Chocola tells Newsmax that President Obama has a “perverted sense of fairness” when it comes to negotiations on the fiscal cliff, and may in fact want to drive the nation over that cliff.
Chocola is also critical of House Speaker John Boehner’s fiscal cliff proposal, saying it increases the tax burden without spurring economic growth.
And he warns that many people will be “very upset” if Republicans vote for tax increases and those lawmakers could face a primary challenge as a result.
Club for Growth is a fiscally conservative political organization that supports a low-tax and limited-government agenda. Chocola became president of the group in 2009. Before that he served two terms as a U.S. congressman from Indiana.
President Obama insists on raising taxes on wealthier Americans, but now says he is willing to consider cuts to entitlement programs. In an exclusive interview with Newsmax TV on Wednesday, Chocola was asked if he believes Obama really wants to compromise or is intent on taking the country over the fiscal cliff of tax hikes and mandatory spending cuts.
“The president has a perverted sense of fairness. He wants to raise taxes on the top 2 percent or those earning over $250,000 even though the math doesn’t work,” he says.
“If we do what the president wants us to do, we’d solve less than 8 percent of our annual deficit.
“I’m not convinced that the president doesn’t want to go off the cliff. If he’s wedded to the political point of raising taxes just to say he did, he’s not living up to his responsibility to address the debt and the deficit.
“I hope someone in Washington does and I hope it’s the Republicans that stand firm and not compromise to the point where they’re just simply engaging in a political act rather than a policy position that actually starts to get us down the road to fiscal sanity.”
More @ Newsmax
Vocabulary Test Results Show Top U.S. Students Losing Ground, Others Stagnate
Via Kelli
If you can identify the meaning of the word "prospered" within a passage, chances are you know more vocabulary than most American high school seniors.
The results of the national standardized vocabulary tests are in, and the scores are troubling -- but not unexpected -- experts say. Average performance on the U.S. Education Department's national exams was mostly stagnant at low levels between 2009 and 2011, and the highest performers lost ground during that time.
"We should be worried about this," said Cornelia Orr, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board. "It's not any more of a crisis than we've been seeing in reading."
On Thursday, the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Education Department's research arm, released the vocabulary scores for fourth- and eighth-grade students on the 2009 and 2011 reading comprehension exams administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. This is the first time the results of a separate scale for vocabulary questions on the national reading comprehension test have been released. NAEP is considered the "gold standard" of standardized testing, since stakes are low for children and since the tests are designed by the federal government, which has no skin in the game in terms of how states perform. (The release also included 12th grade scores for only 2009, since that exam is only given every four years).
On average, fourth-graders scored 218 out of a total of 500 points, and eighth-graders scored 265. The top-performing fourth-graders (in the 90th percentile) only netted a 266; in eighth-grade, these students got a 311; and in 12th grade, they scored at 334.
"There is the expectation that students would know all of the words that were assessed," Orr said. "The lower the percentage of students who get these questions correct means they do not know enough."
If you can identify the meaning of the word "prospered" within a passage, chances are you know more vocabulary than most American high school seniors.
The results of the national standardized vocabulary tests are in, and the scores are troubling -- but not unexpected -- experts say. Average performance on the U.S. Education Department's national exams was mostly stagnant at low levels between 2009 and 2011, and the highest performers lost ground during that time.
"We should be worried about this," said Cornelia Orr, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board. "It's not any more of a crisis than we've been seeing in reading."
On Thursday, the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Education Department's research arm, released the vocabulary scores for fourth- and eighth-grade students on the 2009 and 2011 reading comprehension exams administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. This is the first time the results of a separate scale for vocabulary questions on the national reading comprehension test have been released. NAEP is considered the "gold standard" of standardized testing, since stakes are low for children and since the tests are designed by the federal government, which has no skin in the game in terms of how states perform. (The release also included 12th grade scores for only 2009, since that exam is only given every four years).
On average, fourth-graders scored 218 out of a total of 500 points, and eighth-graders scored 265. The top-performing fourth-graders (in the 90th percentile) only netted a 266; in eighth-grade, these students got a 311; and in 12th grade, they scored at 334.
"There is the expectation that students would know all of the words that were assessed," Orr said. "The lower the percentage of students who get these questions correct means they do not know enough."
More @ Huff Post
Fmr. Thatcher advisor Lord Monckton evicted from UN climate summit after challenging global warming -- 'Escorted from the hall and security officers stripped him of his UN credentials'
Via Don
![[image]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uIzV8z5c-REEYs1BZAMlsdz4u7jeMhK6LHa36Mr-lJvTzGFAJGVvCyJmdgye4iFusOsAaTBlWCjZoDR-vXU9cbOzZDaoJFP2-kpNhFTMwR0FB-0DBzjZFg7PRHxY4E0SoLf6jjO-CYaXUt=s0-d "[image]")
Monckton to UN: 'In the 16 years we have been coming to these conferences, there has been no global warming'
Calls to 'deport Monckton' from UN conference in Qatar
Calls to 'deport Monckton' from UN conference in Qatar
After the news
conference, and as diplomats gathered for the climate conference
president's assessment of how close countries are to agreement, Monckton
quietly slipped into the seat reserved for the delegation of Myanmar
and clicked the button to speak.
"In the 16 years
we have been coming to these conferences, there has been no global
warming," Monckton said as confused murmurs filled the hall and then
turned into a chorus of boos.
The stunt
infuriated negotiators and activists here who gather every year to
address what they believe is one of the world's top threats, the steady
rise of man-made global warming.
As Monckton was
escorted from the hall and security officers stripped him of his U.N.
credentials, several people noted that just a few hours earlier a group
of young activists had been thrown out of the convention center and
deported. Their crime: unfurling an unauthorized banner calling for the
Qatari hosts to lead the negotiations to a strong conclusion.
By late today, several activists attending the conference had posted calls to "deport Monckton" on their Twitter feeds.
More @ Climate Depot
Stunt? Not much prejudice there........Facts are so inconvenient to liberals
Poll Shows Hispanics Agree With GOP, But Vote Democratic
VERBATIM
Mike McKeon in President of McKeon and Associates. According to their website:
“McKeon & Associates, formed in 1973, is a global public opinion research and strategic marketing firm.”
“Michael McKeon, president of McKeon & Associates, has distinguished himself by accurately interpreting results to predict significant societal trends. The firm conducts research and designs successful winning strategies for Democrats, Independents and Republicans. The research and analysis is designed to give our clients the best opportunity to succeed without partisan or ideological agendas. Successful strategies are based on what people think not on what is hoped or suggested they think in surveys.”In one of their recent polls of Hispanics in the state of Illinois, McKeon discovered that many of them actually sided with Republicans on many key issues.
On gay marriage, 51% opposed the legalization of same-sex marriages and only 40% approved of legalizing them.
On the issue of abortion and the right to choose, 56% said they were pro-life and only 33% said they were pro-choice.
On views in general, 56% said they were moderates, 27% claimed to be conservative and only 14% identified themselves as liberals.
But when it came to political affiliation, 54% said they were Democrats, 31% claimed to be Independents and only 15% said they were Republican.
Their ideology is closer to the Republicans, but they vote Democratic. The only reason I can see is the immigration issue. In 2008, Obama promised them sweeping immigration reform in his first year in office, but he has never kept his promise. This year, he used his executive powers to illegally bypass Congress and give partial amnesty to nearly a million illegal Hispanics. Then he again promised them sweeping immigration reform and they voted for him again, although the rest of their ideology was closer to that of Mitt Romney.
If Republicans want to stand a chance of winning in 2014 and 2016, they need to take this information and structure their ideology to address the one factor that made all the difference to the Hispanics.
The Republicans need to initiate immigration reform in Congress before the Democrats do. I’m not in favor of giving them blanket amnesty or citizenship, but I would not oppose a way to expedite the path to legal immigration status, providing that they pay taxes and abide by the laws that everyone else does. Any criminal conviction would result in the loss of their immigration status and a return to their homeland. I would also take away all of the free benefits that they currently get that US citizens do not get.
If the Republicans would get their act together, they could effectively wrestle this growing block of voters away from the Democratic Party, especially since they already identify with Republicans on most key issues, except immigration.
Online sales tax to be added to defense authorization bill
Via Bill
This may be the last Christmas of online shopping without paying sales tax.
A proposed online sales tax has been offered as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, much to the ire of opponents.
The Computer and Communications Industry Association, a group that opposes this move, says that an online sales tax will burden small businesses, “some of the most promising candidates for future economic growth.”
This may be the last Christmas of online shopping without paying sales tax.
A proposed online sales tax has been offered as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, much to the ire of opponents.
The Computer and Communications Industry Association, a group that opposes this move, says that an online sales tax will burden small businesses, “some of the most promising candidates for future economic growth.”
More @ The Daily Caller
Treason?
Via SHNV
VERBATIM
To the Editor:
It is apparent that history is still being written and revised by the victors and their descendants. I read this past week a letter that attempted to describe the ancestors of many Haywood County residents as “traitors” and said that honoring them is disgraceful. That is very far from the truth.
Let me first offer some historical context to answer the charge of treason. Treason is defined as “the betrayal of one’s own country by waging war against it or by consciously or purposely acting to aid its enemies.” That definition would certainly include the actions of men like Thomas Jefferson, George Mason and others in their defiance to King George and the reprehensible actions of the Crown against her “citizens” in the forms of unfair taxes and levies. These “patriots” chose to dissolve their ties with England and form their own country.
The sectional crisis that existed between the industrial North and agricultural South came to its eventual head: war. Failing to have their grievances addressed by the federal government, Southern leaders felt no choice but to dissolve the Union.
The South and the citizens of the region chose to exercise what they felt was their right. Even Abraham Lincoln, before he became president, stated in 1848 on the floor of Congress: “Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government and to form one that suits them better.” This statement holds true for the people of the South.
In 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Gen. U.S. Grant. He did not surrender the entire Confederate States of America or its resources at that point. Several other Confederate armies surrendered later. The federal government later gave equal veteran status to Confederate soldiers and offered them the same benefits as their Union counterparts (Veteran’s Benefits US Title Code 38) and recognized them as “Civil War” veterans. Why would we do this for traitors?
The state of North Carolina in 1961 (HR Resolution 1058) does allow a flag of the Confederacy to be flown over the State Capitol on certain days as long as a U.S. flag is flown in equal display. Flying a flag of the Confederacy on county property does not violate this policy as long as the U.S. flag is flown in connection with this action. The state constitution does not prohibit the flying of a Confederate flag. And in the context of the State’s Historic Sites flag policy, these flags can be designated as historical in meaning.
This issue is bigger than the symbol of a Confederate flag flying on county property. It is a test of upholding our nation’s founding principles. Do we respect the right of individuals to express themselves regardless of how we view their form of expression, or do we allow censorship to happen? County property should reflect the opinions of all citizens and not just a select few. Censoring the Confederate flag or other displays does just that.
H. Kip Rollins
Waynesville
It is apparent that history is still being written and revised by the victors and their descendants. I read this past week a letter that attempted to describe the ancestors of many Haywood County residents as “traitors” and said that honoring them is disgraceful. That is very far from the truth.
Let me first offer some historical context to answer the charge of treason. Treason is defined as “the betrayal of one’s own country by waging war against it or by consciously or purposely acting to aid its enemies.” That definition would certainly include the actions of men like Thomas Jefferson, George Mason and others in their defiance to King George and the reprehensible actions of the Crown against her “citizens” in the forms of unfair taxes and levies. These “patriots” chose to dissolve their ties with England and form their own country.
The sectional crisis that existed between the industrial North and agricultural South came to its eventual head: war. Failing to have their grievances addressed by the federal government, Southern leaders felt no choice but to dissolve the Union.
The South and the citizens of the region chose to exercise what they felt was their right. Even Abraham Lincoln, before he became president, stated in 1848 on the floor of Congress: “Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government and to form one that suits them better.” This statement holds true for the people of the South.
In 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Gen. U.S. Grant. He did not surrender the entire Confederate States of America or its resources at that point. Several other Confederate armies surrendered later. The federal government later gave equal veteran status to Confederate soldiers and offered them the same benefits as their Union counterparts (Veteran’s Benefits US Title Code 38) and recognized them as “Civil War” veterans. Why would we do this for traitors?
The state of North Carolina in 1961 (HR Resolution 1058) does allow a flag of the Confederacy to be flown over the State Capitol on certain days as long as a U.S. flag is flown in equal display. Flying a flag of the Confederacy on county property does not violate this policy as long as the U.S. flag is flown in connection with this action. The state constitution does not prohibit the flying of a Confederate flag. And in the context of the State’s Historic Sites flag policy, these flags can be designated as historical in meaning.
This issue is bigger than the symbol of a Confederate flag flying on county property. It is a test of upholding our nation’s founding principles. Do we respect the right of individuals to express themselves regardless of how we view their form of expression, or do we allow censorship to happen? County property should reflect the opinions of all citizens and not just a select few. Censoring the Confederate flag or other displays does just that.
H. Kip Rollins
Waynesville
Shovels & Rope - Kemba's Got The Cabbage Moth Blues
Via SHNV
Editor's Picks with host Jerad Walker in the studios of WAMU's Bluegrass Country in Washington, DC.[Live on WAMU's Bluegrass Country]
Family decorating Christmas tree robbed by three men
Via Tom
Three men are facing charges after reportedly robbing an Horry County family who were decorating their home for the holidays.
The Horry County Police Department charged 19-year-old K'Shawn Aldontay Morris with armed robbery, burglary, resisting arrest, unlawful carrying of a pistol and six counts of kidnapping.
Investigators also charged 21-year-old Maurice Alexander Morris and 21-year-old Troy Tereal Gibson with armed robbery and resisting arrest.
The victims said they were decorating the family Christmas tree Saturday night when three masked, armed men entered their Loris home on Camp Swamp Road Saturday night.
According to the victims, the three suspects held them at gunpoint and forced them to get on the ground while they ransacked their home. A police report states that the suspects separated the parents from the children before robbing them and stealing one of their vehicles.
Authorities say the suspects also stole an Xbox 360, Kinect, two jewelry boxes with jewelry, two men's watches, a portable DVD player, medicines, and cell phones.
Officers were then notified to be on the lookout for a stolen 2007 Toyota Yaris in connection to the home invasion. Police say a car matching the description was spotted running a stop sign as it turned onto Freemont Road from Pine Needle Estates.
Three men are facing charges after reportedly robbing an Horry County family who were decorating their home for the holidays.
The Horry County Police Department charged 19-year-old K'Shawn Aldontay Morris with armed robbery, burglary, resisting arrest, unlawful carrying of a pistol and six counts of kidnapping.
Investigators also charged 21-year-old Maurice Alexander Morris and 21-year-old Troy Tereal Gibson with armed robbery and resisting arrest.
The victims said they were decorating the family Christmas tree Saturday night when three masked, armed men entered their Loris home on Camp Swamp Road Saturday night.
According to the victims, the three suspects held them at gunpoint and forced them to get on the ground while they ransacked their home. A police report states that the suspects separated the parents from the children before robbing them and stealing one of their vehicles.
Authorities say the suspects also stole an Xbox 360, Kinect, two jewelry boxes with jewelry, two men's watches, a portable DVD player, medicines, and cell phones.
Officers were then notified to be on the lookout for a stolen 2007 Toyota Yaris in connection to the home invasion. Police say a car matching the description was spotted running a stop sign as it turned onto Freemont Road from Pine Needle Estates.
More @ WCSC
Fire Boehner: We Only Need 16 Votes to Depose Boehner
If conservatives want to keep the House and win the Senate, we need to fire John Boehner as speaker of the House. We only need 16 House votes to do it.
As most conservatives know, Boehner and the House GOP Steering Committee decided to purge four conservative House members from their committee. Congressmen Justin Amash and Tim Huelskamp were removed from the House Budget Committee, and Congressmen David Schweikert and Walter Jones were cut from the Financial Services Committee.
Amash, Huelskamp, and Schweikert were targeted because they were too fiscally conservative—all three have voted against Boehner’s debt ceiling hikes. Amash and Huelskamp were the only two GOP votes against House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s budget.
Amash explained that vote at yesterday’s Bloggers’ Briefing at the Heritage Foundation, “It’s unacceptable to have unbalanced budgets until 2040.”
For anyone outside of DC, this statement seems obvious. Only in Washington is balancing the budget radical.
Many conservatives voted for the Ryan budget because they didn’t want to “let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” I understand that, but we shouldn’t criticize those who actually understand the depth of our debt problem and plan to propose real answers.
If Speaker Boehner wants to purge independent, bold conservatives—I think it’s time he gets fired as Speaker. Not only for the purge. He has failed to effectively win negotiations with President Obama and appointed moderate committee chairs. To the public, Boehner may appear radical but in reality he proposes milquetoast policies, like the tax-hikes he proposed this week.
More @ Red State
Company Fires Employee For Fending Off Armed Robber with Gun
When an armed robber entered a Virginia AutoZone store demanding that the manager unlock the store’s safe, employee and Air Force veteran Devin McClean snuck out of the store to grab his legally-owned gun from his vehicle. When he returned with his weapon, he was able to scare the robber away, thereby saving his manager’s life and the company $2,000. How was McClean rewarded for carrying out such a heroic act? Because he violated company policy by bringing a personal weapon into the store-- he was fired. The Blaze has more:
But although the store’s manager was grateful for his employee’s bravery, McClean was fired two days later — right before Thanksgiving
“It’s pretty much getting slapped in the face doing something that you feel was right everybody else around you feels you were right,” says McClean.
Other than to reiterate the company’s zero tolerance policy on weapons inside stores, AutoZone representatives refuse to comment on McClean’s firing.
And being laid off couldn’t have come at a worse time for McClean: He’s about to be a father.
“We’re having a little boy,” he said. “I remember when the guy came in with that gun. My initial thought was I want to make it home to my family. I want to have the opportunity to meet my son and for my son to meet his dad. And for someone to come in and shove a gun in your face?”
The former AutoZone employee explains that his decision to go back into the store and rescue his co-workers was informed by lessons he learned in the U.S. Air Force.
“Never leave a man behind,” he said. “I’m not going to leave my brother in a room with a guy with a gun — that’s threatening his life.”
“If I can save somebody’s life, I put that way above a store policy,” he adds.
More @ Townhall
Surprise: McConnell Offers Vote on Obama/Geithner Fiscal Cliff Plan, Reid Objects
I've been critical of Republican tactics and messaging this week, so let's give credit where it's due: Moments ago, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took to the floor and offered an immediate vote on President Obama's fiscal cliff plan, which shocked the Beltway late last week. (In case you're keeping score at home, this was the surreal proposal that induced McConnell to laugh out loud as it was outlined by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner). Harry Reid quickly objected and shut the whole thing down, labeling the suggestion a "stunt."
Think about that.
The President of the United States, a Democrat, crafted a fiscal cliff package that would give him everything he wants. It has tax hikes on the rich. It has huge tax hikes on investments and estates. It has more stimulus spending. It has no meaningful, specific, or guaranteed spending cuts. And it compels Congress to cede control of the debt ceiling to him. This is "fairness" on steroids. The Senate's top Republican proposed an up-or-down vote on everything the president wants, yet Democrats, who control the upper chamber, instantly blocked it. By what definition is it a "stunt" to hold a vote on the president's full, public plan? The White House has insisted it's a serious document, yet Hill Democrats don't want it to see the light of day.
More @ Townhall
Health Info Collected To “Protect The President”
Via Billy'
Whether you are at the doctor’s office, hospital, or clinic awaiting treatment for you or your loved one, how many of you read the fine print on those multi-page legal notices pertaining to privacy practices? I suspect not many, yet you sign them anyway, especially when you are at your most vulnerable. But, have you read them recently?
Whether you are at the doctor’s office, hospital, or clinic awaiting treatment for you or your loved one, how many of you read the fine print on those multi-page legal notices pertaining to privacy practices? I suspect not many, yet you sign them anyway, especially when you are at your most vulnerable. But, have you read them recently?
A
caller to The Hagmann & Hagmann Report said that she took her
daughter to a medical facility for treatment of an illness on December
4, 2012. Among the forms she was handed was a two-page privacy notice
that she was given pursuant to state and federal law. Upon arriving back
home and after things settled down, she decided to review the paperwork
she received from the medical facility – despite not having a
magnifying glass that would have helped get through the tiny, 8 point
font.
Buried in the middle of page two of this finely typed legal notice
oriented in landscape format, located between the subheadings of
“military” and “inmates” is an interesting addition to at least one
hospital’s privacy disclosure statement. Under the heading of “National
Security,” the notice states that the treating medical facility may
disclose your health information to federal officials “in order to protect the President, other officials or foreign heads of state.”
Please stop here and carefully consider that statement. It is critical to point out that this statement is an addition
to the typical national security warning seemingly ubiquitous in post
9-11 disclosure statements in America. It specifically identifies the
President [of the United States], other officials or foreign heads of
state. Again, please contemplate the meaning of these words, their
intent and the context in which they are written.
Changes of terminology
More @ Before Its News
Be Patriotic Become a Secessionist
Via Nancy
Abraham Lincoln, his administration, and members of the U.S. Congress committed treason when they levied war against the Southern states in 1861-1865. This fact is clearly proven by the plain words of Article 3, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution that defines treason as follows:
"Throughout the South are Lamentations and tears; in every country on the globe where there are lovers of liberty there is mourning; wherever there are men who love heroic patriotism, dauntless resolution, fortitude or intellectual power, there is an sincere sorrowing. The beloved of our land, the unfaltering upholder of constitutional liberty, the typical hero and sage, is no more; the fearless heart that beats with sympathy for all mankind is stilled forever, a great light is gone----Jefferson Davis is dead!"
Abraham Lincoln, his administration, and members of the U.S. Congress committed treason when they levied war against the Southern states in 1861-1865. This fact is clearly proven by the plain words of Article 3, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution that defines treason as follows:
"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them , or in adhering to their enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort" (emphasis added).
More @ LRC
DeMint Resigning from Senate to Head Heritage Foundation
The Senate is set to lose one of its most influential conservative voices after South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint announced on Thursday that he will step down.
DeMint will take over the Heritage Foundation, and will leave the Senate on December 31.
DeMint, seen as a “kingmaker” with Republican congressional candidates due to his prodigious fundraising abilities, has long said he would not seek a third term in the Senate when his current one runs out in 2016.
But now the Palmetto State’s Republican Gov. Nikki Haley will be faced with appointing a senator who will serve nearly two years in the Upper Chamber before a 2014 election.
Only this week DeMint made headlines when he said House Speaker John Boehner's offer for $800 billion of increased tax revenues would "destroy jobs and allow Washington politicians" to swell, not reduce, federal deficits.
Boehner made the bid in negotiations with Democratic President Barack Obama to avert the $600 billion in taxes and spending cuts that will start to take effect in January if no deal is reached.
DeMint, 61, will take charge of the conservative Washington think tank, which has an annual budget of $80 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. He will replace Ed Feulner as president of the foundation.
He told the Journal he sees the foundation as a way to connect conservative ideas with the general public. "This is an urgent time because we saw in the last election we were not able to communicate conservative ideas that win elections," he said.
"We want to figure out what works at the local and state level," he added, saying he would then try to adapt them for national elections.
He said no group is “better equipped” than the Heritage Foundation to lead the conservative movement.
More @ Newsmax
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