No common sense and no education equals Occupier

The Occupier Movement across the US is a disappointing glimpse into the lack of education of America's youth.  If you support communism, socialism, or Marxism in any way, you demonstrate a lack of intelligence or critical thinking capability.  Fortunately, the Occupier Movement appears to be relatively small, so maybe the damage to America's college students is minor as well.

Problem solving, critical thinking, and basic civics seems to have been removed from high school and college level education.  Watch the video and notice that the youth in question only offers poorly thought out political catch phrases in answer to hard facts and common sense from an ex-Russian citizen.  The Russian understands civics and history way better than a US college student.  Sad.

How to Spot Problem Legislation

Congress has a chronic legislation problem. They suffer from the belief that they are performing work or helping constituents when they are drafting legislation. Personally, I would like to see thousands of pages of legislation repealed. I think we should only have 300 pages of laws. That way, most people could read, understand, and therefore comply with the law. That being said, I put together a list that I believe can help everyone, including congress, identify bad legislation before it becomes law, and therefore improve the efforts from Washington DC.


Was it written by special interests or for special interests?
If the answer is “yes”, then it is probably bad legislation. Special interests rarely benefit the public at large, and most special interests groups would wither away were it not for the public teat that they so vigorously suck at to stay alive. Legislation funding special interests in any way should not become law.

Does it exempt certain groups of citizens?
ObamaCare is a great example of really bad legislation. It fails each one of the tests described in this list. But there is now a long list of states, unions, and groups of citizens that have been officially exempted from this law. Why? Laws should benefit all of the citizens, not just a few. If you have a law that will benefit 51 percent of our nation, then you need to start over.

Is congress exempted from the law?
I do not understand why people are not outraged when congress passes a turd of a law, and then exempts themselves from it. Congress has their own social security, health care, and retirement. They made special Cadillac programs for their exclusive benefit at the expense of Americans. It is unconstitutional, which means against the law since many Americans have trouble understanding what constitutional means.

Does it have a sunset provision?
A sunset provision means that congress was unable to do its job. They were afraid of the consequences of the law they passed. A good law does not need a sunset provision. If you know it needs to be re-evaluated down the road, then it is not a good law.

Does it have automatic annual budget increases?
Welcome to the corrupt and insane world of baseline budgeting. If your budget increases by 10 million and you only spend 5 million more than the previous year, you can claim to have cut 5 million out of your budget; even though you increased it!

Is it over 10 pages?
A copy of the US Constitution is only 10 pages. If the entire country could be outlined and managed with a 10 page document, why do we have laws today that are measured in thousands of pages? The answer: bad legislation. It is unreasonable to expect Americans to be familiar with thousands of pages of laws, and even our so-called representatives in congress are unable to read the bills before they pass them.

Is it an enumerated power in the US Constitution? Does it take power or oversight away from the states?
Good bye: Dept of Education, Dept of Labor, Dept of Housing and Urban Development, Dept of Health and Human Services, Dept of Energy, etc. These are just the bigger unconstitutional departments. The actual list of bureaus, offices, departments and agencies are several pages long. Abolishing them overnight would immediately end the current recession and begin to restore freedoms that have been stolen from Americans.

Did it originate as part of the “New Deal?”
The “New Deal”, just like Obama’s “Fundamental Transformation” of America is code word for imposing Communist/Marxist policies on Americans. Communism has starved or killed more people around the globe than all natural disasters or plagues combined. Beware of federal legislation that seizes control of, or legislates: education, health, labor, or the economy.

By now, you are thinking that most of the legislation of the last 70 years is unconstitutional, and you would be correct. The best way to save America and help Americans is not to pass more legislation. We need to demand that congress repeal legislation and remove government agencies. As for me, they want to call the Republican party the “Party of No.” As a Conservative, however, I’ll be the party of “HELL NO!”

Sarah Palin

If you want a litmus test for intelligence and independent thinking in America, look no further than how people react to Sarah Palin. Those with a liberal bent continue to scream her stupidity so loud, that even those who would otherwise be reasonable are starting to echo the same sentiments. But have you really stopped to think about how dopey it is to claim that Sarah Palin is dumb?

The Katie Couric interview is the original source of the claim that Sarah is dumb. Could she have answered the questions better? Maybe, but for all of you convinced that this woman is dumb, stop and think for a moment: can you go on live national television, one on one with someone who hates you and hates what you stand for, and answer questions regarding foreign policy? Before you answer that, think about the current debacle with President Obama and Egypt and how poorly that has been handled by the entire administration. Foreign policy is too much for one person to handle and neither Obama nor Bush did any better in the court of public opinion. Actually, I don’t recall Obama being asked questions that were as difficult as those that Sarah Palin had to face.

Her governorship has also been attacked. The key strategy seems to be to attack the state itself as small and meaningless, and unimportant in context with the rest of the states. Anyone that really believes this, I challenge you: go pick out any state in the union, and YOU become the governor. Let’s see you stand out, run a successful campaign, and actually win the election. Most of you couldn’t win a seat on your homeowners association or the local school board, much less that of governor.

Sarah resigned as governor, and she has taken flak for that as well. Her family was under attack from a hateful media. Her office was being attacked by every sleazy trick that lawyers could think of, costing the office of governor money and time that taxpayers foot the bill for. One reporter actually bought a house nearby so he could photograph and assault the family paparazzi style. In the end, she felt it was better for her family and her state to resign, and we can second guess that decision all we want, but we can’t say she was stupid for her decision. At worst, we could call it wrong.

Lastly, for those of you who still think she is not a smart woman, she commands $50,000 dollars to speak in public venues. Her book “Going Rogue” sold over 2 million copies – in hardback. Nearly 70 percent of the candidates that she campaigned for won in 2010. She has her own television show that promotes lifestyles in her state. She is considered a potential presidential candidate for 2012. Do you have any of these qualifications on your resume? I didn’t think so.

What Governor Palin does do well is stand on moral convictions, something that seems to be getting as rare as gold. You can debate her qualifications for office and disagree with her personal convictions, but simply calling her stupid is childish at best. Those who resort to name calling have either lost the debate or know they cannot win the public sentiment. Those of you intent to jump on the latest political bandwagon would be wise to stop being stupid and think for yourself for a change.

Milton Friedman

Columbus did not seek a new route to the Indies in response to a majority directive.

Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it.

Governments never learn. Only people learn.

History suggests that capitalism is a necessary condition for political freedom. Clearly it is not a sufficient condition.

I am favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it's possible.

Most of the harm that comes from drugs is because they are illegal.

If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand.

Inflation is taxation without legislation.

Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government.

Most economic fallacies derive from the tendency to assume that there is a fixed pie, that one party can gain only at the expense of another.

Most of the energy of political work is devoted to correcting the effects of mismanagement of government.

Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.

One man's opportunism is another man's statesmanship.

Only government can take perfectly good paper, cover it with perfectly good ink and make the combination worthless.

The black market was a way of getting around government controls. It was a way of enabling the free market to work. It was a way of opening up, enabling people.

The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem.

The Great Depression, like most other periods of severe unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement rather than by any inherent instability of the private economy.

The greatest advances of civilization, whether in architecture or painting, in science and literature, in industry or agriculture, have never come from centralized government.

The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit..

The only way that has ever been discovered to have a lot of people cooperate together voluntarily is through the free market. And that's why it's so essential to preserving individual freedom.

The power to do good is also the power to do harm.

The problem of social organization is how to set up an arrangement under which greed will do the least harm, capitalism is that kind of a system.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.

Universities exist to transmit knowledge and understanding of ideas and values to students not to provide entertainment for spectators or employment for athletes.

We have a system that increasingly taxes work and subsidizes nonwork.

Benjamin Franklin Quotes

One of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, a noted polymath, a leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. In his day, Ben Franklin knew no boundaries.

All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.

Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.

There was never a good war, or a bad peace.

Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.

Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God.

The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.

To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals.

Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste.

To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.

Work as if you were to live a hundred years. Pray as if you were to die tomorrow.

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.

When you're finished changing, you're finished.

A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats.

A good conscience is a continual Christmas.

A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over.

All would live long, but none would be old.

As we must account for every idle word, so must we account for every idle silence.

Anger is never without Reason, but seldom with a good One.

At 20 years of age the will reigns, at 30 the wit, at 40 the judgment.

Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none.

Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing.

Never confuse motion with action.

Beware of the young doctor and the old barber.

Content makes poor men rich; discontentment makes rich men poor.

Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen.

Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.

Drive thy business or it will drive thee.

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Energy and persistence conquer all things.

He that speaks much, is much mistaken.

You can bear your own faults, and why not a fault in your wife?

Genius without education is like silver in the mine.

In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.

Glass, china, and reputation are easily cracked, and never well mended.

God heals, and the doctor takes the fees.

He is ill clothed that is bare of virtue.

Honesty is the best policy.

He that can have patience can have what he will.

He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.

He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.

Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.

He that would live in peace and at ease, must not speak all he knows nor judge all he sees.

Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75.

An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

The 10 Cannots

These quotes were written in 1916 by William J. H. Boetcker, a Presbyterian minister. He referred to them as the "10 Cannots." Food for thought.

1. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

2. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong

3. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.

4. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

5. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence.

6. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.

7. You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

8. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.

9. You cannot establish security on borrowed money.

10 You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they will not do for themselves.

Firearms Refresher

“(The Constitution preserves) the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...(where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”

~ James Madison

“The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed.”

~Alexander Hamilton

“What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.”

~ Thomas Jefferson

“If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no recourse left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual State…. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair.”

~ Alexander Hamilton

“Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.”

~ Thomas Jefferson

Firearms Refresher Course

1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.

3. Colt: The original point and click interface.

4. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.

5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?

6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.

7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.

8. If you don't know your rights, you don't have any.

9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.

10. The United States Constitution (c) 1791. All Rights Reserved.

11. What part of 'shall not be infringed' do you not understand?

12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.

13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.

14. Guns only have two enemies; rust and politicians.

15. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.

16. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

17. 911: Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.

18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.

19. Criminals love gun control; it makes their jobs safer.

20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.

21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.

22. You have only the rights you are willing to fight for.

23. Enforce the gun control laws we already have; don't make more.

24. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.

25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

See more interesting quotes here at Walter E. Williams website

Thomas Jefferson Quotes

Wikipedia tells us that Jefferson was the 3^rd president, the main author of the Declaration of Independence, and one of the more influential founding fathers. He was a strong supporter of states rights, religious freedom, and republican ideals. But mainly, it was liberty and freedom that motivated Jefferson. The original idea of government in the U.S. is captured in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence written by Jefferson:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

These quotes from Jefferson give you insight into the thoughts of one of the founding fathers of our country. Some of these quotes eerily serve as warnings for today’s over-reaching federal government from 200 years ago.

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.

Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper.

Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.

Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.

Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.

For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.

I own that I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive.

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God.

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

Determine never to be idle...It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.

Never trouble another for what you can do for yourself.

Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes

Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want bread.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.

The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.