Why We Are Threats

I'm sure that by now most of you are aware of the two reports from the Missouri Information Analysis Center and the Department of Homeland Security that have been in the news over the past few weeks. Both reports detail what each agency feels qualify persons to be potential "Right-wing extremists." The first report singles out pretty much everyone with a conservative viewpoint while the second singles out veterans in particular.

Why? Why are the people who love our country most, people who have sworn an oath to defend it and shed blood for it, now being labeled as threats to that country?

Because we know too much, because we love our country and the Constitution, and because we are willing to fight to defend it.

We know what the Constitution says, and we know that what those in power now are doing is blatantly in violation of the Constitution. We know that they are abusing the powers laid down for them by the Founding Fathers and assuming even more powers, often usurping those powers from state and local officials.

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Tenth Amendment to the Constituition of the United States

These powers that are delegated to the Government of the United States as outlined in the Constitution are as follows:

• To maintain a standing army
• To collect direct taxes (not indirect [income] or retroactive taxes)
• To conduct foreign diplomatic relations and trade
  
• To maintain a postal system and highway system
• To implement a system of currency
• To declare war

These powers are laid specifically before Congress. Not the President, not the Speaker of the House, not unelected Judges, Congress. Yet now, it is the President, the Speaker of the House, and unelected Judges who are levying indirect and retroactive taxes against us, conducting foreign relations, declaring war, and creating laws.

And we know this. And we will do everything in our power to stop them from continuing on this course of action. Which is why they consider us a threat.

This accounts for conservatives, but why veterans in particular? Because, upon entering the service, each soldier takes an oath to "protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, both foreign and domestic."

The vast majority of soldiers are, like myself, conservative, and they take that oath to protect and defend the Constitution very seriously. Those in power know full well that what the Constitution is an obstacle, perhaps the only obstacle, keeping them in check, and they know that we know it to.

Worse, because many veterans, as well as many active-duty soldiers, take the oath that they took so seriously, they will not obey unlawful or unconstitutional orders, orders -like forcibly disarming U.S. Citizens - that those in power might one day need them to obey.

Finally, veterans possess military training and combat skills (ironically given to the very ones who now consider them threats), which means that they will be quite dangerous should they be forced to actively resist when those in power move to further curtail our freedoms.

For those in power, for those who issued those reports, I have this to say. If you are right, if we really are threats, it is because you made us threats. You have done things that are in blatant violation of United States Law, and you realize that we are aware of this. That is why we are threats: because we know what you are doing, and we will not let you continue to do it.

Can't Really Say I'm Surprised

You Are a Sports Car

You're a wild one! You love thrills, and you tend to be very impulsive. You never quite grew up, and you have a very youthful spirit. You're flashy and are a total showoff. You love to be noticed. You are eager to take risks. You can be reckless at times... you feel immortal!

What Type of Car Are You?

Saw this one coming a mile away. Considering my current dream car is the new Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder...

Yeah. Predictable

This Is Not The Country I Was Born In

Sorry about the lack of postage. I've been both busy as heck and sick as a dog for the last few weeks. Anyway, the workload has dropped off and I'm pretty much back to normal. So, without further ado...

Get a load of this. General Motor's CEO, Rick Wagoner, has been forced to step down at the insistence of the Obama Administration.

Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot?

And I qoute from the article: "A White House official told FOX Business that Wagoner was asked by the Administration to step down as a precondition for the company to continue to get help with its restructuring."

Again, Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot?

The government is dictating orders to a publicly-traded, publicly-owned company. What right do they have to do that? This coming on the heels of Obama insisting that those AIG executives return the bonuses that they had been contractually bound to receive. What right does the government have to do this? Answer: None. And yet they are doing it anyway. In fact, Treasury Secretary Geithner wants to expand his department's power so that it will be able to regulate "non-bank enterprises." What exactly are those? He wouldn't specify, saying only that strict government control-not oversight, but control-is the only way to save the economy.

Government control over business? That's socialism.

It gets worse. A report that was released last week by the Missouri Information Analysis Center says that anyone who is pro-gun, anti-abortion, Christian, knowledgeable about the Constitution, supported independant candidates in the last election, or displays certain historic flags, should be considered part of a right-wing anti-government paramilitary militia. I'm not making this up. You can read the actual report here.

So, in other words, if you display the slightest amout of conservative or libertarian leanings, the MIAC and Missouri Highway Patrol feel that you are a terrorist. I've read reports, which I will try to locate again, that people who have displayed the flags mentioned in the report and who have Ron Paul bumper stickers have actually been arrested in Missouri and charged with possession of anti-government materials.

This is frightening, people. Government taking control of formerly-private and public enterprises. People who disagree with the government and exercising their First Amendment Rights being labeled as terrorists and arrested. A lot of people I know who used to be apathetic about the situation are running scared. One is scared enough that he has actually expressed interest in buying a rifle and stocking up on ammunition, and he used to be one of the most anti-gun people I knew!

Times are changing, people, and changing quickly. This is not the country I was born in anymore. I want that country back. So should you.

Laughed So Hard I Almost Fell Out Of My Chair

Straight from BBC News:

The worst-case scenarios on climate change envisaged by the UN are already being realised, say scientists at an international meeting in Copenhagen.

In a statement outlining their six key messages to political leaders, they say there is an increasing risk of abrupt or irreversible climate shifts.

Even modest temperatures rises will affect millions of people, particularly in the developing world, they warn.

But most tools needed to cut global carbon dioxide emissions already exist.

More than 2,500 researchers and economists attended this meeting designed to update the world on the state of climate research ahead of key political negotiations set for December this year.

New data was presented in Copenhagen on sea level rise, which indicated that the best estimates of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made two years ago were woefully out of date.

Scientists heard that waters could rise by over a metre across the world with huge impacts for hundreds of millions of people.

There was also new information on how the Amazon rainforest would cope with rising temperatures. A UK Meteorological Office study concluded there would be a 75% loss of tree cover if the world warmed by three degrees for a century. The scientists hope that their conclusions will remove any excuses from the political process.

Dr Katherine Richardson, who chaired the scientific steering committee that organised the conference, said the research presented added new certainty to the IPCC reports.

"We've seen lots more data, we can see where we are, no new surprises, we have a problem."

"Mass migrations"

The meeting was also addressed by Lord Stern, the economist, whose landmark review of the economics of climate change published in 2006 highlighted the severe cost to the world of doing nothing.

He now says the report underestimated the scale of the risks, and the speed at which the planet is warming.

He urged scientists to speak out and tell the politicians what the world would be like if effective measures against global warming were not taken. He said that if the world was to warm by 5C over the next century there would be dramatic consequences for millions of people. Rising seas would make many areas uninhabitable leading to mass migrations and inevitably sparking violent conflict.

"You'd see hundreds of millions people, probably billions of people who would have to move and we know that would cause conflict, so we would see a very extended period of conflict around the world, decades or centuries as hundreds of millions of people move, " said Lord Stern.

"So I think it's very important that we understand the magnitude of the risk we are running."

He said that a new, effective global deal was desperately needed to avoid these dramatic scenarios - and the current global economic slowdown was in some ways a help.

"Action is rather attractive, inaction is inexcusable. It's an opportunity, given that resources will be cheaper now than in the future, now is the time to get the unemployed of Europe working on energy efficiency."

Lord Stern's views were echoed by Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

"Business as usual is dead - green growth is the answer to both our climate and economic problems."

"I hope the whole world will join us and set a two degree goal as an ambition of a climate deal in Copenhagen," said Mr Rasmussen.

You can read the article here.

I laughed out loud when I saw this, almost fell out of my chair too. Why? Because as I sit here typing this, it is 32 degrees outside. 32 degrees. The temperature at which water freezes. In the middle of March. It hasn't been 32 degrees in the middle of March here in years!

The worst-case scenarios for global warming are now being realized. Yeah, right. And I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

A pair of nunchucks, a skateboard, and an idiot. What could go wrong?



Hope his wife isn't planning on having kids...

Of All the Problems We've Got Right Now...

...and the Attorney General decides that this should be the government's top priority?

Okay, now, please, don't misunderstand me. Voting, to me, is absolutely our most sacred right as Americans. But the VRA being under attack? Come on! The guys who are filing this suit are right. Times have changed. The 1960s was a long, long time ago.

Honestly, this is what really irks me about people like Holder. Someone does something that doesn't fit in with their agenda or political beliefs, and they cry racist. Somebody opposes one of their plans, they are labeled a racist. People vote for their opponent, they are said to have done so because they are racist. I voted against Barack Obama, so according to those people,I must be a racist (nevermind the fact that I would've voted for Conoleezza Rice in a heartbeat).

A few weeks ago, Holder called America a "Nation of Cowards" for not talking about the issue of race. There's a darn good reason for that: every time someone tries to talk about race, people like Holder jump up and shout "Racist!"

You want people to talk about the issue of race, Mr. Holder? You really want people to talk about it? Then put the race card away. Let all voices, not just yours and your friends', be heard. Let the past, and all those who suffered and died for the movement that opened the door for a man like you to rise to the position you now occupy, rest in peace.

Quickie: Anyone Else Noticing a Connection?

The Dow dropped below 7000 today. This is the first time that's happened in over a decade. This coming the same day that the Obama administration announces a plan to buy up debts and bad assets from banks and other companies, as well as investing another $30 billion in AIG.

Maybe it's just me, but has anyone else noticed that every time the Obama administration and/or Congress announces another stimulus package or bailout or something similar, the stock market tanks? Am I the only one seeing a connection here?

Think about it.

Could You Pass The US Citizenship Test?

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

I could. How about you?

The Final Countdown Is on!

Well, we're into the home stretch now. Less than 20 hours until the official start of Spring Break! (Actually, more like 17 hours, since I get out of class at 2:00). It's gonna be an easy ride from here on out. All of my midterms are over and done with (the ones before break, anyway), and my study abroad application is finished. Just need to hand it in tomorrow morning and it's over and done with. Hopefully I'll be blogging from Austria next semester!

It's pretty quiet around here tonight, what with nothing to do and all. Heck, my roommate actuallty went home yesterday! (Don't ask how that worked out, I have no idea.) Actually, this was pretty good. I was able to do something that I really haven't been able to do all semester: write more of Justice Delayed! I finished up one section and started the first part of the next section. I'm up to a hairsbreadth under 12,000 words, and I'm just now getting into the real meat of the plot. This sucker's gonna be epic!

So, on a different note...

iTunes is annoying me. Not the player itself, mind you. That works great (and has quickly trumped WMP as my default player). No, what's annoying me is the iTunes store. For some reason, I can't access it. Every time I try, it says that it couldn't access the iTunes store because the session keeps timing out. Ever single time, it does this. Which is annoying, because I have a list of songs and TV show episoded (Top Gear, of course) that I want to buy and a gift card that is very quickly becoming all but useless. Oy.

Still Here

Sorry that the posts have been few and far between recently. It's been crazy as heck this week. Between midterms and trying to find a faculty reference for my study abroad application, I've been all but swamped. Too bad, because a lot of stuff has happened in the world that needs to be blogged about.

Fortunately, next week is Spring Break, so the posting rate should be back to normal soon.

Socks, former Clinton cat, put to sleep

This is news?

No, seriously. This is really important news? #2 on CNN's Top Ten?

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

With all the crap going on the world right now, they give a 300 word obituary to a dead cat, just because he belonged to an ex-President? Are you [censored] kidding me? Most humans don't get obits that are half that long! What the heck is wrong with you, CNN?

Oh, if for some reason you want to, you can read all about it here.

What I Learned Tonight

Tonight, I learned about the genocide that occurred in Rwanda in 1994. I did not learn about it from the media or from an advocate for the UN or some other organization. No, I learned about it from a survivor of the genocide, Bishop Alexis Bilindabagabo, who experienced the horrific 100 days firsthand.

I learned that the roots of the genocide went as far back as the 1930s, when Belgium took control of the country. I learned that it was they who first drove the wedge between the Tutsi and Hutu peoples, who before this had co-existed peacefully for centuries. I learned that the genocide was openly encouraged and even planned and directed by the government. I learned that the United Nations knew full well what was happening but did nothing to stop it.

I learned what evil truly is. I learned that evil is 1,000,000 innocent men, women, and children murdered – butchered – in 100 days. I learned that evil is a government who plans to systematically execute an entire tribe of people simply because they exist. I learned that evil is the rounding up of people into groups numbering in the thousands so that they could be slaughtered with grenades and machine guns and then finished off with machetes. I learned that evil is the using of rape as a condoned, encouraged tool in warfare.

I learned that Edmund Burke was right. He once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” The United Nations knew full well what was happening in Rwanda. They were fully briefed on the situation. They had the manpower, they had the means, they had the support, they had the firepower to stop the killing, and yet the leaders chose to place their own self-serving political agendas first and pretended nothing was happening. How can people like that then dare to call themselves good?

I also learned that God does still work miracles. I learned that Bishop Alexis faced death on an almost daily basis, and God intervened every time. I learned that even the heads of the Rwandan government tried to have him killed, and yet God spared him. And I learned that God was with him: every time the situation was desperate and he became hopeless, God literally spoke to him and renewed his hope.

I learned that forgiveness is truly possible. I learned that over the last 15 years, reconciliation has been the top priority in Rwanda. I learned that Hutus and Tutsis are working together, side by side, to help the country heal. I learned that a man can truly forgive the people who butchered his mother, father, sisters, brothers, and friends. I learned that he could forgive them of the debts they owed to him and to reconcile himself with them.

I learned that in spite of all of the tragedy, there is still good in the word.

Need Your Prayers

I just found out that my theology professor's elderly aunt passed away. She'd suffered a fall last night and was in the hospital. He has to fly out to California next week for the funeral.

Please keep him and his family in your prayers.

Taking the Plunge, Part 2

Well, I think I've gotten my entire music collection imported to iTunes (not sure as I had to stop after 11:00 last night). So far, I've only listened to a few songs, and I have to say I like it. In fact, I may even like it more than Media Player. It boots up faster than Media Player, loads each song faster than Media Player, doesn't freeze up for a second lime Media Player will do every so often and (maybe this is just me) it sounds better than Media Player too.

The only thing I like better about Media Player is the way it organizes Music. iTunes, no matter how you have it set, always seems to want to organize songs by Artist, which means if you have, say, fifteen songs on an album that's each by a different artist, you'll get fifteen different files of that album, each with a different artist in the file. Kind of annoying if you're looking for a specific song.

I'm gonna try out the iTunes store next. So far, so good (though it took 4 tries to connect). Let you know how that turns out. I understand that they now sell episodes of TV shows. Wonder if that includes Top Gear...

UPDATE: YES!!!!!!!! TOP GEAR EPISODES ARE AVAILABLE!

Taking the Plunge

Okay, long story short, my last article for the school newspaper got recognized for outstanding work and I won a $15 iTunes gift card. Unfortunately, I didn't have iTunes, so such a card was worthless to me. Until recently, that is.

Yep, I took the plunge and downloaded iTunes. Looks pretty good so far, only I made one possible mistake: I had it convert my entire music collection into whatever proprietary format Apple uses. And I have several dozen CDs worth of music on my laptop.

This is gonna take a while.

Anyway, I'll post my initial thoughts later this week (very busy still), once iTunes finishes converting my library. Which, at the rate it's going, should hopefully be within the next 24 hours.

Escape From City 17, Part 1

Holy Cow!

Would you believe that they made this for less than $500? Wow!

I can't wait for Part 2!

Reagan vs. Obama

Listen to this. Really listen to it. And think about it. Really think about what Obama is saying.

"Break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution."

Scary, isn't it?

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.

Guys, I hope you do something really sweet for your valentine this year. Ladies, I hope your valentine gets you something really special. And I hope whatever happens, your plans work out great.

As for me, I'll be spending some quality time in bed with my little Natalya.




By the way, "Natalya" is my Russian History textbook. (So get your minds out of the gutter already) I've got the mother of all history tests on Monday. I'm not kidding; were talking pre-Mongol Russia to Tsar Peter the Great, 20+ chapters, 1200+ years of material.

That's why I haven't been posting much lately, this past week is when the first round of tests and papers came due. Fun. Gonna be a long weekend.

Spidey Cat!

Spidey Cat! Spidey Cat! Does whatever a Spidey... uh... dangit! Forget it.

Obama Expands Security Council

Check this out.

Obama wants to "expand the membership of the National Security Council and increase its authority to set strategy on a wide range of domestic and international issues."

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Domestic issues? The Security Council was created, as the article points out, to advise the president on military and diplomatic issues. Both of which fall into the category of FOREIGN AFFAIRS. The National Security Council was never meant to oversee and advise on domestic affairs, but now Obama wants to change that stance, for purposes that he can't/won't disclose.

This raises a few questions:

1. Why does Obama want to expand the Council? As a follow-up, who does he want to add?
2. What sort of "domestic issues" would the Council address? As a follow-up, how do issues like energy and climate change relate to National Security?
3. How much authority would this new Security Council be given, and over what?
4. Who will oversee the Council?

This move, for me, seems very similar to his call to create a Civilian National Security Force from a few months ago. Again, the question is why? Why create a superpowerful, seemingly autonomous entity to handle "domestic" issues? What is Obama aiming to accomplish that he can't do via normal, Constitutional channels? Again, the only answers that I can come up with are genuinely frightening.