Delegate Nick Freitas is running for U.S. Senate against Tim Kaine.
Concealed carry permits rose 215 percent between 2007 and 2015, and the murder rate dropped 14 percent during that same time period.
In other words, more guns being carried for self-defense correlated with fewer murders.
On May 22, Breitbart News reported that the demand for concealed carry permits witnessed its greatest surge ever between May 2016 and May 2017. Fox News referenced Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) data showing there were 14.5 million permit holders in May 2016 and approximately 15.7 million in May 2017.
Now the NRA is tweeting data which shows that the bigger picture is not just the one-year surge but a 215 percent jump in concealed carry permits between 2007 and 2015.
It is interesting to note that the murder rate dropped by 14 percent while concealed carry permits surged. And “the overall violent crime rate” dropped by 21 percent. This is not what the left tells us will happen if concealed carry expands.
In fact, national reciprocity for concealed carry has been introduced in Congress, and Gabby Giffords, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, and many other gun control proponents have come out against national recognition of concealed carry for law-abiding citizens. They all suggest national reciprocity would undermine gun control and make Americans less safe.
Here is the problem with their claims — concealed carry surged by 215 percent between 2007 and 2015 and the murder rate fell and the violent crime rate fell with it.
On December 4, 2013, Breitbart News reported a Congressional Research Study (CRS) which showed a similar correlation between gun ownership and plummeting murder numbers. Gun ownership climbed from 192 million firearms in 1994 to 310 million firearms in 2009, CRS found that murder rates fell sharply during the same time period. According to the report, the “firearm-related murder and non-negligent homicide” rate was 6.6 per 100,000 Americans in 1993 but fell to 3.6 per 100,000 in 2000. By 2011, the murder rate was 3.2 per 100,000.
A Chronicle of the Latest Government Failure
Blamed on Firearms by Democrats (Socialists)
2 MAR 2018
[Editor's Note:
Protecting schools is the responsibility of failed School Boards, Parents, and the bogus county Sheriff, all of whom should be
fired and/or replaced. The Parkland shooter should have been in jail or a mental institution (in a nice rubber room with all
the other head-bangers) long before the massacre or immediately shot dead at Parkland. Various counties throughout America
seem to not believe that laws should be enforced (notwithstanding the DOJ and FBI and the entire Federal government).
Too little emphasis is placed on Parents. Much of the problem is a lack of proper parenting. But this school and many others are
top-heavy with School Board mismanagers who sit in their exalted positions foisting edicts on teachers and ignoring parents, while
depositing their paychecks and wasting State resources. The end result is an over-taxed, mal-served public that can't dislodge the
bureaucratic disaster of their schools (and local law enforcement).
A solution might be this: just as communities organize for a volunteer 'night patrol' to prevent crime in their neighborhoods, certified
and concealed weapons-trained parents could patrol schools and not only stop crazed shooters, but they could listen to kids while
being friendly but objectively thoughtful. This would take a psychologist as well as a weapons expert.
Also, there should be many, many more weapons-trained, psychologically stable Americans who love their 2nd Amendment
designed by the Founders to prevent government tyranny!
Regarding the Feds, I reiterate that my inductively reasoned theory about government corruption is true based on observations and
evidence collected over 40 years.
Corruption: Today's Standard is, in fact, government's modus operandi. Information is classified and not released to the public
because such information would expose both corruption and incompetence. Failures are exposed daily because of autocratic
bureaucracies that have almost unlimited power and are NOT judicially reviewed and subject to punitive measures for failures.
[Editor's Note: Liberals, Democrats, Republicans, and many so-called Conservatives have sponsored and voted for
past legislation that restricted and currently restricts our natural right to bear arms. Each time after every
disaster or massacre involving weapons when DEFENSELESS persons are killed or injured, the aforementioned fools cry
for more restrictions or even a ban of weapons. Defenseless people can't defend themselves. Guns don't kill people
— people do! If guns are further restricted or banned, only criminals (and government) will have guns!
While it may be difficult to restrain one's emotion in or after a disaster with
whining citizens, CONgress and legislatures in the States should hold their pandering, feigned panic and think about the
consequences of their laws and the erroneous enforcing regulations proclaimed afterwards by agencies with CONgressionally
delegated, unlimited discretionary power.
A society based on freedom and natural rights to bear arms can expect to have
civil people and, the opposite, crude, discourteous, even violent and deranged people. These people can live amongst the
citizenry. Therefore, rather than restricting or banning firearms, government should bestow accolades on civil people who
learn to defend themselves. Even persons who are fearful of guns should unlearn their biases and prepare for the
infrequent or improbable situation when and where they must defend themselves. Even civil people can get angry when government
restricts freedom. Today, food stampers are angry because Hillary lost which should shut down the Obama "gravy train".
These people could become violent in the future.
Legislators and the feds should REPEAL all past laws that restrict gun
ownership and sponsor gun learning and shooting courses for all civil citizens. By now after Columbine, Fort Hood,
San Bernadino, Orlando, Charleston, and Fort Lauderdale, it should be obvious to CONgress and State Legislatures that laws
restricting or prohibiting civil people's ability to defend themselves are failed edicts. States should support the
opportunity for citizens to learn and train in the use of weapons. All peace-loving citizens should obtain a concealed-carry
license and in State's without concealed-carry licensing, petition legislators to amend restrictive laws.]
Here is an excerpt of what an everyday citizen from Texas with a Concealed-Carry permit has done to stop a massacre:
Police in Texas say a concealed carry holder is a hero for shooting a crazed attacker Wednesday and preventing what could have been a slaughter inside a crowded sports bar.
The man, who was dining with his wife at Zona Caliente in Arlington, Texas, sprang into action when he saw a gunman shoot and kill the bar manager, police said. The man, who had a concealed carry permit, quickly shot the assailant, who later died.
The above article and notes express the conclusive failure of the past and current laws and regulations
that restrict our Right to Bear Arms. The Senate has begun to pass a few laws that reduce the complexity and duplicity of the existing oppressive firearms laws.
The National Firearms Act
was passed in 1934 by the progressive Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) and his CONgress. FDR is the progenitor of today's disastrous agencies staffed by unelected,
forced-unionized bureaucrats, in effect an unconstitutional 4th Branch of government, who write regulations that restrict the liberty and freedom of natural born and
naturalized citizens. This law is only one example of laws designed to control and restrict citizen's 2nd Amendment rights.
CONgress and the President could either repeal this Act or update it (dare I say "repeal and replace") by removing some of the stupid, inapplicable clauses that
might have worked in 1934 but are inapplicable today. Some new clauses about firearms familiarization and training courses for everyday citizens would be a plus to
prepare citizens for the rare event where a crazy person tries to kill a lot of people. Some 'crazies' are recognized as violent people long before someone dies by a bullet
from a deranged person's weapon. Violent people could be removed from daily, law-abiding freedom if concerned citizens informed police and/or doctors. However,
citizens and legal aliens are fearful of discriminating against people who have the right to say anything, but a series of violent acts that destroy property or kill defenseless
animals is a good warning indication for reporting. Also, people are fearful of involving themselves in situations that could result in them being the subject of a lawsuit in our
very litigious and "responsibilty-redirecting" society.
A Generaliztion of the Progressive/Socialist Past
CONgresses during and after FDR have continued the usurpation of the power of States by creating boondoggle Agencies that answer to no one and function as an
employer of last resort. CONgress, the overseers, cannot control the independent agencies with practically unlimited power and exempt from judicial review. Past and
present Socialist and Communist governments consist of agencies that plan their economies rather than enabling a fully free consumer economy. Essentially, agencies
are hidden from citizens who are unable to reverse the decisions of these creatures, but agencies affect life in America. A good example is the Federal Reserve, a
private consortium of banks created in 1913 that has destroyed America with inflation that robs citizens of buying power. The business cycle is one of boom and
bust. Government's economic planning claims to attempt the amelioration of recessions (to reduce loss by decreasing the depth), however obviously, government economic
planning not only fails but exacerbates or even causes recessions.
[Editor's Note: CONgress needs help managing and draining their Swamp they created! In 1996, CONgress passed a law,
the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. § 801-808), which enables very easy, rapid rescission of past regulations promulgated by Agencies that
CONgress can no longer control, i.e. oversight has failed to control CONgress' delegation of unlimited power to agencies.
The majority falls prey to the delusion—popular in some circles—that ordinary people are too careless and stupid to own guns, and we would be far better off leaving all weapons in the hands of professionals on the government payroll. But the simple truth—born of experience—is that tyranny thrives best where government need not fear the wrath of an armed people. Our own sorry history bears this out: Disarmament was the tool of choice for subjugating both slaves and free blacks in the South. In Florida, patrols searched blacks’ homes for weapons, confiscated those found and punished their owners without judicial process. See Robert J. Cottrol & Raymond T. Diamond, The Second Amendment: Toward an Afro-Americanist Reconsideration, 80 Geo. L.J. 309, 338 (1991). In the North, by contrast, blacks exercised their right to bear arms to defend against racial mob violence. Id. at 341- 42. As Chief Justice Taney well appreciated, the institution of slavery required a class of people who lacked the means to resist. See Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393, 417 (1857) (finding black citizenship unthinkable because it would give blacks the right to “keep and carry arms wherever they went”). A revolt by Nat Turner and a few dozen other armed blacks could be put down without much difficulty; one by four million armed blacks would have meant big trouble.
. . .
All too many of the other great tragedies of history – Stalin’s atrocities, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Holocaust, to name but a few – were perpetrated by armed troops against unarmed populations. Many could well have been avoided or mitigated, had the perpetrators known their intended victims were equipped with a rifle and twenty bullets apiece, as the Militia Act required here. If a few hundred Jewish fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto could hold off the Wehrmacht for almost a month with only a handful of weapons, six million Jews armed with rifles could not so easily have been herded into cattle cars.
My excellent colleagues have forgotten these bitter lessons of history.
The prospect of tyranny may not grab the headlines the way vivid stories of gun crime routinely do. But few saw the Third Reich coming until it was too late.
The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed – where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees.
However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once.
Judge Alex Kozinski dissenting in Silveira v. Lockyer, 328 F.3d 567 (9th Circuit 2003) (full text)
Also, the above decision which concluded that individuals did NOT have the right to keep and bear arms was nullified by the Supreme Court in 2008.
The Solution for Major Grievances Caused by the Federal Government
The CONgress (by
Article V of the Constitution) has proposed and
States have ratified many new amendments to the Constitution, some that increase their power over us citizens. CONgress can propose amendments, and the
alternative method to CONgressional proposals can come from States via
Article V. When "We the People" — meaning
a very large majority — are opposed to Acts of CONgress like the INCOME TAX or ENDLESS WARS or the FEDERAL RESERVE, Acts that restrict and regulate our
LIBERTY, Acts that are a waste of money, Acts that have caused unrecoverable indebtedness, then through local representaatives of our States WE can propose
Amendments to be ratified by States just like CONgress.
STATES and the PEOPLE of America are very angry at the federal goverment's violation of its
constitutionally-defined boundaries. States created the federal government in 1787 with LIMITED powers defined in the Constitution. All powers not
given by States to the feds remain with the States by Article X. The feds have through deceit, distortion, and falsification rearranged the entire contractual agreement
between States and the federal government. The feds have become a very powerful, all consuming force in American government. The time has come for States to rein in the federal government,
to take power back, to limit the federal government's power, and to add some detailed restriction to the definition of CONgress, the Executive, and the Judiciary.
In 1787 a central government was (is) necessary only to provide for the common defense and ensure equality
under the law for all Citizens, to provide a final arbiter for the resolution of unsolvable problems among States and People. Most laws and regulations that the federal
government has wreaked on the States and the People are unconstitutional. States are independent, sovereign countries who realized the need for a limited and defined
central government to prevent wasteful duplication of effort. The federal government, in 2017, is OUT OF CONTROL, infringing and interfering with State sovereignty and their
separate economies. A problem arose in 2012 with Arizona's attempt to secure their border with Mexico. An article is
here. States can prevent infringements
by the federal government with an Aricle V Convention of States to not only reverse past federal government "power grabs" but prevent future federal government
violations of their Constitutionally-defined boundaries.
A new, well-organized group of volunteers in all 50 states have gathered to restore America to
its roots by limiting all 3 branches of the federal government with a
Convention of States (CoS) organization (alternate site,
CoS Action). This is a Convention of States to AMEND the Constitution — NOT rewrite it!
Recently, CoS held an Article V, Convention
simulation with appointed volunteers from all 50 States. The simulated Convention demonstrated how a well-organized CoS can vote for proposed amendments
to the Consitution that are popular enough to be ratified by the necessary 3/4ths of States (38). Obviously, only proposed Amendments that are likely to pass
both Houses of the legislatures of thirty-eight (38) States, that is, the required 3/4ths of States to ratify an Amendment to the Constitution should be proposed.
See the Final Report here.
The purpose in a Convention of States, simulated or real, is to PROPOSE AMENDMENTS that give power back to the People. The proposed amendments must reflect the
thinking, objectives — the goals of people of States — who want to restore our Constitutional Republic to one that represents the people.
ARTICLE V Convention of States—Restore the Appropriate Balance!
ARTICLE V Convention of States—Restore the Appropriate Balance!
A real CoS, requires that 2/3rds of States (34) send an "application" to CONgress requesting that
CONgress schedule a CoS. State Legislatures are composed of an Assembly and Senate. Each "house" must pass a bill separately and send the resolution to their
Governor. Then the State sends an "application" to the CONgress. When the federal CONgress receives applications from 34 States, the CONgress is required to set a date for
the Convention of States. CONgress is NOT involved otherwise. The States have the Convention, propose amendments, and dispatch the precisely worded amendments to
their respectives assemblies and senates for ratification. CONgress only schedules the Convention.
A new Congress has been seated, and it brings the prospect of perhaps, maybe, potentially, in a possible way doing something about the runaway federal deficits. And in other news, several New York area bridges are for sale, which you can acquire at a bargain price.
Excessive Spending Destroys!
Feds Have a Spending Problem — DO NOT RAISE THE CEILING!
[Editor's Note: The 'Warfare/Welfare State' needs to sober up and get some financial planning/budgeting and establish spending priorities so the greatest country in the history of the world won't become a historical joke that the future looks back on and laughs. Cut Spending by 50%! Focus ONLY on necessary expenditures.]
Editor's Note: the following is from the Libertarian Party Platform
All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor. We call for the repeal of the income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution. We oppose any legal requirements forcing employers to serve as tax collectors. Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations without their consent. We support the passage of a "Balanced Budget Amendment" to the U.S. Constitution, provided that the budget is balanced exclusively by cutting expenditures, and not by raising taxes."
[Editor's Note: If YOU think that WE need the federal government — as is, THINK AGAIN! I am absolutely sure that expenditure cuts — EVEN AGENCY ELIMINATIONS and REGULATION RESCINDMENT — can be found here! Of course, the feds have inflated the currency and choked-off nationwide production of goods and services (foundation of the dollar) with taxes and regulations such that the feds have parasitically destroyed the host (us) that feeds them.]
A recent survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania found that a majority of Americans are unaware of what is considered basic knowledge of the Constitution.
This information, which was released Wednesday, comes on the cusp of the 228th anniversary of Constitution Day (Sept. 17).
Here are some of the most surprising findings from the survey:
1 in 3 Americans believe the Bill of Rights guarantees the right to home ownership.
1 in 4 Americans believe the Bill of Rights guarantees “equal pay for equal work.”
1 in 3 Americans (31 percent) could name all three branches of the U.S. government and 32 percent could not identify a single branch.
1 in 4 Americans (28 percent) believe a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling is sent back to either Congress for reconsideration or to the lower courts for another decision.
1 in 10 Americans (12 percent) believe the Bill of Rights guarantees the right to own a pet.
25 percent of respondents agreed that “it might be better to do away with the court altogether” if it started making a lot of rulings most Americans disagreed with.
26 percent said when Congress disagrees with the Supreme Court’s decisions, it should pass legislation saying the court can no longer rule on that issue.
26 percent favored requiring a person to testify against himself in court.
46 percent opposed a prohibition on “double jeopardy,” or retrying a person for the same crime twice if new evidence emerged after a not-guilty verdict.
54 percent believe the government should not be able to prohibit a peaceful march down a main street, even if the marchers’ views are offensive.
50 percent believe the government should not be able to prohibit practice of a religion if a majority of voters thought that it held un-American views.
76 percent opposed giving the government “prior restraint,” the right to stop the press from publishing articles critical of the government.
The survey was conducted during the last few days of August among 1,012 adults ages 18 and up. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percent.
[Editor's Note: The transparent, superficial, theatrically staged, choreographed appearance of debate, disagreement, and stalled legislation always resolves into more government and less FREEDOM for us. Most laws enacted by the envious comrades of CONgress since the tyrannical dictatorship of Teddy Roosevelt have only increased the power of the federal government to the extreme detriment of individual freedom. Citizens and businesses can't be free and grow without stifling taxes/regulations or some agency's theft of their property without Due Process because of Big Brother's perversion of Civil Asset Forfeiture Laws passed to enable government theft.
We the People are told that America's current corruption of freedom is a "nation of laws". Since 1895 it is a corrupt fraudulent scam designed and developed to expand the powers of government under the guise of freedom and faux-legality. Two very good examples are the fraudulently ratified 16th Amendment (income tax) and the Federal Reserve Act (money from thin-air) signed into law 2 days before xmas, 1913 by Woody Wilson, another of the tyrannical dictators elected by progressives who 6 years later passed Prohibition (Volstead Act) over the veto of Woody Wilson. These domestic events are major contributors to America's imperceptible "slide" into totalitarianism.]
See the following links for more related articles:
[Editor's Note: what I have dubbed the "Legislative-Executive-Judicial Cabal" which the American People have caused by ignoring the generational transition from our Constitutional Republic to what now is, in effect, an "elected" dictatorship. Never mind who is elected. Never mind which bogus party is in power. The superficial, theatrically staged, choreographed appearance of debate, disagreement, and stalled legislation always resolves into more government and less FREEDOM. We the People still lose more freedom after every "emergency" or unnoticeably when CON-gress passes another general, open-ended law that enables the Executive (dictator) and its unaccountable agencies to formulate more freedom-restricting regulations (200 pages a day get posted to the Federal Register). The "Dictator's" agencies (police force) continue to pile-up more weapons to squelch uprising(s) when the People finally realize and understand their tyrannical government.
Currently, CONgress is just a group of socialists, progressives, and faux-conservatives (career politicians) that, on a daily basis, ignores the Constitution, many of their own past statutes, and cedes their responsibilities to the president ("elected" dictator). A comparison to the history of Rome becomes more and more credible with the Executive and its "featherbedded" lackeys gaining more power while CONgress sits back all fat-dumb-and-happy.
CONgress has made recent efforts to expose State Dept. failures in Benghazi (inept political leader), Fast-and-Furious gun-running (criminal AG), IRS 1st amendment violations, gov't union Veterans Administration fraud, and whining about Obama(Reid)-killer-Care, but these efforts are mostly politics as usual. Most "citizens" will forget about these infringements from our unaccountable, uncontrollable Executive branch with its tyrannical agencies staffed by socialist unions that extort "juicy" contracts from the "elected" dictatorship.
Most positions in the federal government whether elected, appointed, or hired are nominal, make-work jobs (confidentially) designed merely to grow government, bilk money from private businesses and citizens, and eventually fully transform America into a totalitarian state. When this happens, CONgress will have destroyed the economy and the country by their negligence and counter-liberty policies, and it will be almost impossible to Restore America. The 'Restore America' list is only a beginning too.]
"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."
James Madison, Federalist Paper 47, Friday, February 1, 1788
Anyone who believes this country is free is an idiot!
"Extortion and thuggery are good things when they're called law!"
Larken Rose
[Editor's Note: a Constitutional Convention is required to reverse the damage to freedom and liberty since 1900. This Article V was ratified by the participants at America's founding Constitutional Convention as an alternate path for repairing damage to freedom and liberty, a path for the People to restore damage caused by our failed representatives in the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of a government designed to represent the wishes of We the People.
The States must "demand" a Convention and explicitly specify an agenda of:
laws to be repealed or modified,
Amendments to existing constitutional clauses that define the co-equal branches to further specify and define, and
new Amendments or statutes to be eventually ratified by States.
These Amendments should further specify and clarify the powers of the Legislature and Executive Branches. A good example is the definition of a "Bill".
A Bill should contain ONLY verbiage in regards to the topic of the future law. NO earmarks and NO unrelated sections or attacments.
Many past Bills sent to a president for signature contained unrelated but essential funding sections that rendered the Bill veto-proof when it warranted a veto.
CON-gress can override a veto if the Bill is deemed absolutely necessary by CON-gress.
If the Bill requires SPECIFICALLY related amendments, the CON-gress can "debate" (with its usual theater) and vote any new amendments.
The original text of the Constitution contains some very GENERAL clauses enabling both CON-gress and Executive branches to write laws and
regulations with their particular nuances expanding powers beyond intent. "Intent" may be gleaned from a complete understanding of
Federalist Papers.
An example of further specification and clarity for CON-gress should be a clear, very specific definition of the boundaries for the interstate Commerce Clause.
To restore freedom, liberty, and individuality - minimally these must be repealed:
Currently, even with computer-searching systems, the list of antiquated and/or obsolete statutes (and related regulations) is unwieldy.
These statutes must be invalidated unless there remains an applicable reason for retaining the law(s).
Aside from invalidating statutes, there are many regulations that are biased in favor of large enterprises (who buy support from bureaucrats)
at the expense of the competition, effectively repressing the Free Market. Any regulations not related to public safety that gives a financial advantage
to some companies over their smaller rivals must be rescinded to enable all companies with good consumer products to excel without burdensome regulations.
Additionally, the Convention should adopt for ratification at least these new Amendments or statute modifications:
clearly define and limit the role of government in regards to the term "general welfare",
Term Limits for CON-gress (12 years) including a 6 month limit on time residing in DC,
strict Prohibition of Lobbying (with a comprehensive definition of "lobbying"), and
a Balanced Budget Amendment to stop wreckless spending. During a CON-gressionally declared "war" (only after USA is attacked or attack is proven "imminent"),
deficit spending is permissible.
Restore America to its roots, i.e. Defense, State, Treasury, and Justice. Some Agencies are required like CIA and NSA, both respectively focused on defense against real foreign aggressors and not fictitious paranoid delusions of war mongers. Other agencies help where certain interstate communications are necessary. Most agencies like Agriculture, Education, DEA, IRS (eliminated with 16th Amendment) and many other listed here should be eliminated.
Restore the world Gold Standard with five contentious steps, and
Replace the IMF, World Bank, and Export-Import Bank with facilities that reflect the new Gold Standard, and
After decentralizing and economizing, if tax revenue is needed to fund all or part of the federal government, then implement the Fair Tax.
Regarding a Constitutional Convention itself, some of the available literature warns the reader about a possible "unstructured" and "mismanaged"
Convention that might propose and adopt amendments that could damage the Republic.
Possible, however, it is difficult to envisage how much more damage could done over what the L-E-J Cabal has already done.
If the Convention's agenda and rules of order strictly prohibit violation of the rules and enable a vote on unlisted Amendments AFTER all others are adopted,
then the Convention will be properly structured and managed. ]
Those who seek out positions of power tend to be paranoid, hypocritical wimps. Consider the issue of firearms. Politicians have many thousands of mercenaries (soldiers and "law enforcers") wielding all sort of deadly weapons--guns, tanks, missiles, drones, etc. Yet those same politicians pee themselves at the thought of the rabble owning semi-automatic rifles. From their twisted, elitist perspective, it's perfectly fine for them to swipe many billions of dollars from their subjects to spend on all manner of armaments, but if YOU want to possess a rifle, they think you should have to ask their permission, and register it, and make sure they always know what you own.
They also expect to be allowed to do things in secret, while claiming the right to spy on you and everyone else. As far as they are concerned, it's none of your business what they do, or what weapons they have, but it is their business to know everything that you do and everything that you have. Of course, they will pretend that their goal is to protect you from the "criminal element," but you'd have to be pretty dense to actually believe that. Why do you suppose they mostly whine about civilians having weapons that:
are used in only a tiny percentage of actual crime, and;
are the most effective types of weapon for resisting "government"
aggression?
You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. People who gravitate towards political office think they have the right to rule you. That's the job they applied for. And, of course, extorting you and bossing you around could be rather more difficult if you are better armed than their enforcers. So they hand out machine guns to their mindless thugs, but have tantrums about you having a 30-round magazine.
A new Congress has been seated, and it brings the prospect of perhaps, maybe, potentially, in a possible way doing something about the runaway federal deficits. And in other news, several New York area bridges are for sale, which you can acquire at a bargain price.
Excessive Spending Destroys!
Feds Have a Spending Problem — DO NOT RAISE THE CEILING!
Feds Have a Sewage Problem!
Becky Gerritson: "...government is out of control!" and "...our representative government has failed us."
A federal judge on Thursday ordered the IRS to detail under oath how some of former agency official Lois Lerner’s emails went missing, as well as any potential methods for recovering them.
Judge Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court in Washington gave the Internal Revenue Service exactly a month — until Aug. 10 — to file a report, which he demanded as part of a lawsuit from a conservative watchdog, Judicial Watch, against the agency.
Judicial Watch is seeking a wide range of documents from the IRS, including Lerner’s emails, as part of a Freedom of Information Act request. It has complained that the IRS didn’t tell it that the agency couldn’t recover all of Lerner’s emails from 2009 to 2011.
Sullivan cast his ruling as a compromise, and a potential way for Judicial Watch to get answers without the court wading any deeper into the matter. Judicial Watch had asked the court to potentially compel IRS officials to testify about the lost emails, through a process called limited discovery.
The FairTax is a consumption tax unilaterally applied to all Americans at the same rate. For businesses, payroll taxes would no longer exist. Our exports would include a heavy tax for overseas buyers purchasing our products, while our imports would be cheaper for us to purchase. I'm not sure how this would affect GDP, as more information is necessary.
According to the FairTax website, "Under the FairTax, every person living in the United States pays a sales tax on purchases of new goods and services, excluding necessities due to the prebate." The prebate gives every legal resident household an "advance refund" at the beginning of each month so that purchases made up to the poverty level are tax-free.
So a family of four making something like $50,000/year should not have to pay taxes, thus preventing an unfair burden on low-income families. Since the FairTax eliminates both federal and payroll taxes, you get to keep your gross pay amount of each paycheck earned.
John Adams said, “Without [term limits] every man in power becomes a ravenous beast of prey”. That being said, here are some of the reasons we believe our country needs Term Limits.
Term Limits can help break the cycle of corruption in Congress. Case studies show that the longer an individual stays in office, the more likely they are to stop serving the public and begin serving their own interests.
Term Limits will encourage regular citizens to run for office. Presently, there is a 94% re-election rate in the House and 83% in the Senate. Because of name recognition, and usually the advantage of money, it can be easy to stay in office. Without legitimate competition, what is the incentive for a member of Congress to serve the public? Furthermore, it is almost a lost cause for the average citizen to try to campaign against current members of Congress.
Term Limits will break the power special interest groups have in Congress.
Term Limits will force politicians to think about the impact of their legislation because they will be returning to their communities shortly to live under the laws they enacted.
Term Limits will bring diversity of people and fresh ideas to Congress.
[Editor's Note: If you want to get rich, i.e. advance from a low paying government bureaucrat job on the local or state level, THEN GET ELECTED TO THE US CONGRESS (House or Senate). Once you're elected, it's easy to steal from your campaign contributions or the Congressional budget allocated to your seat and staff. You can go on a government-funded junket with 'lavishly' paid expenses. The list of ways to steal from the government while in office is inexhaustible. There are only a few Congressmen who left Congress just wealthy instead of a multi-millionaire. Of course, there are several who arrived in Congress as multi-millionaires and don't need to steal from the government.]
