Category Archives: Supreme Court

Second Amendment is an Individual Right – NOT Militias

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https://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2018/02/27/supreme-court-ruled-in-2008-that-second-amendment-applies-to-individuals-not-militias-and-may-include-military-weapons/

 

Apparently, the Left wants nothing more than to change already existing laws to something they can better digest.

For instance, if you have a law that says “Murder is illegal”, they want it to read “Murder is illegal, except if we do it to babies by aborting them, but you can’t buy a gun to defend yourself”.  Kind of like that.  A non-sequitur of sorts in the law makes them happy.

Above at that link you will find that the US Supreme Court has stated CLEARLY that owning weapons, including “military weapons” is an individual right.  You can’t change this. It is immutable.

And yet, the Left is going batshitzcrazy today over guns, gun rights, AR15s and “military weapons” – which the AR15 isn’t.

 

Government Corruption Runs Deep

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Ladies and Gentlemen, I admit, I wasn’t really “keeping up” with the news the last few months as this “memo” thing began, nor did I pay much attention to the “Russian Collusion” story based solely on the fact I have no television and rarely see much news.

I read things on FB or the Internet and get interested and start digging. It’s how I get all my news. By getting interested in a story and then reading all side of the coin, not just one news agency, ALL OF THEM. Right, Left, Middle, Russian, German, French, makes no difference to me. I READ IT ALL.

After poring over that memo release and all the various news sources associated with it, I have come to a rather scary conclusion. Following are my thoughts only:

1) The memo details a lot of corruption. But, it’s only the surface. There is more to come, a LOT more. Names will get named, and connections will be made.

2) The corruption went all the way up the chain of command back to Obama himself, Susan Rice, Hillary Clinton, James Comey and many others.

3) This makes Watergate look like a “speeding ticket”.

4) The Democratic Party is in absolute MELTDOWN right now and you can judge that for yourselves by simply reading the screeching going on just on Facebook. They are self-destructing, and the lies keep coming, in droves.

5) I predict – and I rarely do this because I’m usually wrong – that there will be major protests in the next few weeks over this as more details are revealed. They will turn violent, to the point of destruction, turning over cars, “Antifa” will suddenly reappear, as will the “New Black Panthers” and other “Democrat support groups”… and the violence will get very, very large in major cities.

6) The Civil War is ON. This is no joke any more. It has been on-going now since before the elections (See a previous article I posted about How Civil War Happens) and understand that the violence will be directed at the cities at first, then at Right Wingers, Conservatives, White men and women, and children because they wil use Alinsky tactics to “pick a target, freeze it and attack it”. Mark my works on this.

7) The violence will get worse as the Spring and Summer drag on.

Be prepared. Keep your powder dry. Stock up on food and water and be ready for anything – or nothing at all. But always be Prepared for the worst. If you are a conceal carry license hold (and I don’t care if you are) don’t go OUT without your weapons any more and be trained and prepared to defend yourself. No one else is going to do it for you.

Before long, I’m afraid, we’re going to have to remove the Communists from America and take it back from them.  They’ve had a grip for too long.  It’s time to clean house.

Why there is a problem with gun laws

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Why do you need to own an ugly black rifle capable of shooting 2-4 rounds per second with the mere pull of a trigger?

Why do you need to be able to buy a thousand rounds?

Why do you NEED high capacity magazines?

I have a better question.  Why do you ask?

Seriously though, when I am asked these questions, sometimes it is difficult getting through to the people who ask.  They are asking the questions rhetorically and do not require, nor even WISH you give an answer.  In fact, they want you to splutter and hem and haw, and feel threatened and guilty.

Why are there gun control laws to begin with?  Why are there people on a no-fly list who can purchase guns?  Why are there people who should be in mental institutions who can purchase weapons?

These are the better questions.

The BEST question though is. if  criminal commits a crime using a gun, say, murder, why isn’t he adjudicated as a murderer and executed? Why aren’t people who are mentally defective put in mental institutions?

So many questions, so few answers, right?

Wrong.

Let’s look at the last questions first.

Because people believe that folks who are mentally deranged shouldn’t be placed in institutions.  Do-gooders for the past hundred years have fought to remove people from mental institutions and indeed, shut down such places.  The same people fought to have “privacy” added to medical records.

Now they wish to reverse this trend.  They would love to know if everyone out there is considered “sane” or not… but it’s not their business any more.

Then, they would like to ask you questions at the doctors office (and I have experienced this personally, so this isn’t some vacuous statement) about your ownership of guns; or whether you have “recently felt like harming yourself or others”.

Let me address the title; no-fly lists.  How does one even get ON a no-fly list?  And why are they on it?  Because they might blow up a plane with a 4 ounce bottle of shampoo?  Or because you spoke out against the US government because you’re dissatisfied with their work ethic?

Both, actually.  If you are a terrorist, you might wish to blow up a plane and perhaps you’ve made it clear, because, for instance you MIGHT belong to Islam.  Islam has made it abundantly clear they wish to kill Americans (and Jews, and Europeans, and Whites, Blacks, Asians, whomever, and wish to do so with impunity… because you’re an INFIDEL).  And you might have made a statement against the US government for their over-reaching, heavy-handed nonsense and you’re questioning their ability to be useful any more.

And with good reason.  You’re an American Citizen questioning the government, because YOU are a watchdog.  YOU are supposed to question the country’s leaders as a dutiful citizen.  Making sure they are doing their job, and doing it for the benefit of the people, and not themselves.

If you’re a terrorist you should BE on a no-fly list, in particular to prevent further training as a terrorist, and secondarily to that to prevent you from blowing up the damned plane.  You should NOT be able to purchase a gun.

If you’re a citizen questioning your government, you should NOT be a no-fly list, no matter which politician, party or group is running the White House this week.  In fact, you should not be on that list, you should NOT be questioned about your questioning, and you SHOULD be allowed to purchase a gun.

Or ten of them.  Or a hundred.

You should not be considered a threat, mentally defective, you should not be considered a person of interest and should be left the hell alone.

In the United States you have a right to your opinion, to express it, Freedom of Speech, Assembly, and to cross state lines and come and go as you please.  No one should be bothering you.

The second you actually commit a crime of course, that all goes out the window.

Now – I’m not going to answer all the above questions.  But I’m going to explain this, carefully for the slow readers out there….

If you are not a criminal (and that includes people who have committed non-capital offenses in the past and have served their time) should not be denied their rights.  They should not be placed on watch lists.  They should not be denied guns, freedom of speech, travel or assembly.

The Progressives in this country (Read: Liberals/Marxists/Communists/Libtards/Democrats and morons) are using words to push their agenda.  They want to be able to place ANYONE on a no-fly, watch list and thereby prevent them from buying, holding, using, storing or otherwise have rights to guns.

In other words, the idea of background checks is to see if someone doesn’t meet a certain criteria;  that criteria will be decided by whome EVER is in charge of the current government, be it GOP, Democrats, Obama, Leftist, Rightist, Libertarian, Marixist, Commie, Pinko or whatever….

Therein lies the problem.

Everyone wants to TRUST the government and it’s time to distrust them with all your hearts.

Our government is supposed to be by the people and for the people; not for themselves, not for profit, not to control us, not to have power.

Do not trust a politician who says they will “ban guns”.  Or implement regulations to “check backgrounds” because quite honestly, who is going to watch the watchers?????

You see, we already have several thousand gun laws on the books, federal, state, local, wish lists and made up stuff that some local “authority” can invoke at their whim.  Those rules, laws, city regulations, county statutes are all there for one thing.  To prevent you and me from having a normal, healthy, happy life pursuing whatever business we like, go where we wish and drink the beer we like.

You see my friends gun control isn’t about guns.

It’s about control.

No-fly lists are great if you’re preventing terrorists.  Not so good if you’re preventing granny or grandpa from boarding a plane to go home for Christmas.  Or stopping Joe Blow because he happens to have expressed dissatisfaction with a government policy of allowing in random illegal immigrants (who didn’t go through normal regulations and procedures to get into the country).

Our country is under siege.  Siege from illegals, from terrorists, from people who want to “change” our country to something it is not, and was never intended to be.

We are here to prevent the latter, more than anything.  And we will do so.

No more gun laws will be enacted.

No more “refugees” will be let in, or they will be run out.

NO more Obamas in office.  No more Clintons in office.  They had their day. And have ruined our country.

If you don’t like guns, by God move someplace where guns are already illegal.  If you don’t like the idea this is a Capitalist country, move to a Communist country.  I was here first, and my country was the way it was before you tried to screw it up.  If you don’t like the fact you can’t get some rich guys money split up amongst all your homies… then homie, move the fuck out of my country and leave the guys alone that have the money.

Those guys create jobs.  Or maybe you should just get a job?

The greatest problem with gun control is that anyone can be placed on a list, adjudicated as mentally defective and prevented from exercising their rights.

Tom Coburn happy he doesn’t have to impeach Obama

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The Republican Senator, Tom Coburn said President Obama is moving “perilously close” to impeachment, Sen. Tom Coburn told a town hall crowd this week, two reports said Thursday.

However, he stated he is a “friend” to the President and further went on to say:

“That’s not something you take lightly, and you have to use a historical precedent of what that means,” he said. “I think there’s some intended violation of the law in this administration, but I also think there’s a ton of incompetence, of people who are making decisions.

“I believe [an impeachment charge] needs to be evaluated and determined, but thank goodness it doesn’t have to happen in the Senate until they’ve brought charges in the House,” Coburn said. “Those are serious things, but we’re in a serious time. I don’t have the legal background to know if that rises to high crimes and misdemeanor, but I think they’re getting perilously close.”

 

Really, Senator?  Thank “Goodness” you don’t have to “deal” with it?  Let someone ELSE “deal with it”?

Senator, you’re not a man, you’re a coward.  If you had the intestinal fortitude to follow through you’d be working with House members to arrange exactly what you’re talking about, IMPEACHMENT – and the eventual removal of this criminal from the Office of the President.

America has gone over the edge and you are sitting in the People’s building being HAPPY you don’t have to DO anything over Benghazi, over Ft. Hood Massacre (It was a bloody TERRORIST ATTACK).  We are going to let Obama NOT take the blame for NSA, the IRS, the DOJ (I’m not going to name all the scandals here, but suffice it to say they were ALL CRIMES!)

Get off your lazy ass and get going on removing this criminal from office before American burns.

Every, single tag and category attached to this blog post had a crime committed against America – from the President speaking out AGAINST Zimmerman and FOR gun control, to Benghazi, to the IRS (which is being ignored) to the NSA (also being ignored) to the “sequestration” and loss of food for wounded warriors at Walter Reed while Gays are being given free leave to go marry their partners in other states.

Give Americans a break, Senator and kick this bastard out of OUR HOUSE – before we do it.

 

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Impeach Obama!

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That’s all…  Just impeach the bastard.  Over Benghazi. Over IRS.  Over NSA.  Over all the scandals.  Over all the lies.  Impeach the man.

America needs to be repaired.

Will a Military Coup fix America?

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I personally just don’t see a military coup in the United States as an option.  But is my view of the world the same as others’ beliefs?  Probably not.  When it comes right down to it, with my vast amount of time as a military man, from my point of view, I can’t say that absolutely, definitely a coup could or would take place.  The truth is, in MY time, no such thing could have or would have happened.  But other factors are in play here that I would never have considered myself – but others might.

The Spanish have a long and storied history for coups – in fact, Mexicans and most Previously-ruled-by-Spain Central and South American countries follow suit.  When the people get mad, they start a war.  Someone winds up on top in the end, usually the existing military and a strong leader (regardless of his moral and ethically leanings).  Most south and central American countries are what we consider “banana republics”.

Is America becoming a Banana Republic?

Let us look:

A Banana republic is a pejorative term for a country with a kleptocratic government, often with a primitive economy and sometimes a puppet state of a major power.

The more proper definition being: Banana republic is a political science term for a politically unstable country whose economy is largely dependent on the export of a single limited-resource product, such as bananas. It typically has stratified social classes, including a large, impoverished working class and a ruling plutocracy that comprises the elites of business, politics, and the military. This politico-economic oligarchy controls the primary-sector productions and thereby exploits the country’s economy. (Wikipedia)

kleptocracy: Kleptocracy, alternatively cleptocracy or kleptarchy, (from Greek: κλέπτης – kleptēs, “thief” and κράτος – kratos, “power, rule”, hence “rule by thieves”) is a form of political and government corruption where the government exists to increase the personal wealth and political power of its officials and the ruling class at the expense of the wider population, often without pretense of honest service. This type of government corruption is often achieved by the embezzlement of state funds.

plutocracy: Rule by the wealthy. We’re technically not being ruled by the wealthy, but then again we are. Rich lawyers are elected thus rich lawyers are in charge of most of the government’s various sectors. Companies lobby for power in the government (and I have no trouble with open markets).

So this author’s guess is that  ARE a Banana Republic, or more accurately rapidly degenerating into a Banana Republic. We still have a Constitutional Republic and most of us KNOW this and MOST of us wouldn’t do anything against “the government” in the military. Whether some rogue officer would start something, I just don’t know – but I just can’t SEE it happening.

On the other hand…

1) Morals are in decline.
2) America is in decline.
3) Money is becoming worthless.
4) The economy is tanking.
5) Things are not worth what they once were.
6) People are in “gimme gimme” mode.
7) The President himself is working to divide people of this country.
8) The Left is fighting the Right on guns and every other thing you can imagine.
9) Detroit is the first major city to have fallen.
10) Other cities won’t be far behind.
11) Obamacare will destroy what’s left of the economy.
12) Oil and Coal are verboten.
13) Scandal after scandal has rocked DC and those are being called “phony”.
14) More people are on government help than are working now.
15) Political corruption
16) Government corruption
17) borders are uncontrolled, the “barbarian hordes” are coming through daily, by the thousands
18) the government coffers are being sucked dry by “entitlements” and the government keeps wanting more from the working people, the “rich” and corporations.

Rome fell for the many of the same reasons; moral decline, political corruption, “barbarian knowledge of Roman tactics” (think about that for a moment), a failing economy, unemployment of the working “class”, decline in ethics and values, natural disasters, barbarian invasion (Hmmmm…. border security?), military decay (not being trained right, and reduction in forces), and many other reasons.

So could a military coup take America back?  I can not answer that question but I can certainly suggest that this country is in a condition which will facilitate such a thing happening.  But will some military officer be able to gain enough power to lead enough American men, who are independent thinkers, into such a one way path?  I seriously doubt it will happen.  I don’t doubt the fall of America is upon us.

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Why do you need a gun like the AR15?

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Why

Because, Liberal, fuck you, that’s why!

DOJ Sets Up Public Email Address to Take in Tips as It ‘Aggressively’ Pursues Zimmerman Civil Rights Investigation

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DOJ Sets Up Public Email Address to Take in Tips as It ‘Aggressively’ Pursues Zimmerman Civil Rights Investigation

July 16, 2013

The U.S Department of Justice is asking civil rights groups and community leaders to “actively refer anyone who [has] any information” that might help bring federal criminal charges against George Zimmerman, who was recently acquitted by a jury in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

The DOJ has reportedly set up a public email address to take in tips on its civil rights investigation. The department is hoping to get tips from across the nation as well as locally in Sanford, Fla.

That email address, which is now “in operation,” is Sanford.florida@usdoj.gov.

It is unclear why, if officials saw enough reason to open an investigation in the first place, the DOJ now needs tips to help with its probe into Zimmerman.

Barbara Arnwine, president and executive director the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said the DOJ during a conference called on individuals and groups “to actively refer anyone who had any information” that might build a case against Zimmerman for a civil rights violation or a hate crime, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

“They said they would very aggressively investigate this case,” she added.

Also on the DOJ conference call was, “Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; Laura Murphy, Washington Chapter head of the ACLU; and several national, Florida and Sanford-based “human relations” groups participated, Arnwine said,” the Sentinel reports.

Attorney General Eric Holder has called Martin’s death unnecessary and has promised the DOJ will work to “alleviate tensions, address community concerns and promote healing.”

 

Fill it up with information about Benghazi, IRS, DOJ, NSA

Obama, Gone Too Far. Honor a thug. Ban a gun.

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Honor Martin – Ban Guns!

Posted on July 15, 2013 by

Our gun grabber in chief spoke this weekend about the Zimmerman acquittal. Just as he used the Sandy Hook tragedy to immediately call for the destruction of our Constitution, he’s now calling for more gun control in the wake of the Zimmerman trial.  As surreal as it may seem, I’m not making this up.  Here’s what Obama said the day after Zimmerman was found not guilty.

We should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis. We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this [Zimmerman case]. As citizens, that’s a job for all of us. That’s the way to honor Trayvon Martin.

The ink isn’t even dry on the verdict and Obama is already using a tragedy to once again attempt a power grab by the federal government.  Last time he stood on the still warm bodies of the Sandy Hook victims to push his anti-gun agenda forward.  He is completely shameless and it’s disgusting to witness.

Apparently the President thinks that Zimmerman is guilty of murder and walked free due to some failing of the justice system.  He’s now grouping a legal self defense shooting into the same category as criminal uses of firearms and using it as justification to push his anti-gun agenda forward.  That means those of us who carry firearms for personal protection are part of the problem, according to Obama, and we must be stopped for the greater good of the community. In the President’s eyes I’m just as bad as a gangbanger because I have a CCW.

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In the past few months – to a year – We’ve had a dozen “scandals” coming out of Washington.  Here’s a list of them that have been compiled by various sources.

 Benghazi (Four Americans killed by Terrorists and the Government pretended it was over a movie)

GSA (remember Hot Tub man? The General Services Administration in 2010 held an $823,000 training conference in Las Vegas, featuring a clown and a mind readers. Resulted in the resignation of the GSA administrator.)

IRS (Targeting Tea Party members and organizations,  the IRS enjoyed outrageous conventions that included “line dancing” video, luxury suites ($3,500))

NSA (Spying on America, snooping on “We the People” instead of terrorists)

FBI (doesn’t know who is investigating the IRS)

EPA (gave names, addresses and email addresses of farmers to liberal groups)

Justice Department (Watching the AP and other news agencies

Justice Department and Rosengate – JD suggested that Fox News reporter James Rosen is a criminal for reporting about classified information and subsequently monitored his phones and emails.

Eric Holder (Perjury)

ATF (Fast and Furious, project Gun Walker, the ATF allowed weapons from the U.S. to “walk” across the border into the hands of Mexican drug dealers. The ATF lost track of hundreds of firearms, many of which were used in crimes, including the December 2010 killing of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.)

EPA (Former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson used the name “Richard Windsor” when corresponding by email with other government officials, drawing charges she was trying to evade scrutiny.)

Black Panthers (The Justice Department was accused of using a racial double standard in failing to pursue a voter intimidation case against Black Panthers who appeared to be menacing voters at a polling place in 2008 in Philadelphia.)

HHS (HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius solicited donations from companies HHS might regulate. The money would be used to help her sign up uninsured Americans for ObamaCare.)

HHS (Also, Sebelius violated the Hatch Act: A U.S. special counsel has determined that Sebelius violated the Hatch Act when she made “extemporaneous partisan remarks” during a speech in her official capacity last year. During the remarks, Sebelius called for the election of the Democratic candidate for governor of North Carolina.)

Solyndra: Republicans charged the Obama administration funded and promoted its poster boy for green energy despite warning signs the company was headed for bankruptcy. The administration also allegedly pressed Solyndra to delay layoff announcements until after the 2010 midterm elections.

Obama (“I’ll pass my own laws”…making end runs around Congress on everything from Global Warming to Gun Control)

Obama most likely violated the law of the land, the Constitution and the spirit of the War Powers Resolution by attacking Libya without Congressional approval.

Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel used Bill Clinton as an intermediary to probe whether former Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) would accept a prominent, unpaid White House advisory position in exchange for dropping out of the 2010 primary against former Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.).

The administration paid millions to the former firm of then-White House adviser David Axelrod, AKPD Message and Media, to promote passage of Obamacare. Some questioned whether the firm was hired to help pay Axelrod $2 million AKPD owed him.

Vice President Biden’s office has repeatedly interfered with coverage, including forcing a reporter to wait in a closet, making a reporter delete photos, and editing pool reports.

The Pigford Scandal — An Agriculture Department effort that started as an attempt to compensate black farmers who had been discriminated against by the agency but evolved into a gravy train delivering several billion dollars in cash to thousands of additional minority and female farmers who probably didn’t face discrimination.

Anti-Gun forces including Congress people all the way up to the President and down to Mayor’s of cities have acted to destroy the Second Amendment. 

Other forces are acting to destroy our First, Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights – among others.  In fact there appears to be a concerted effort on the part of many of these former hippies to completely destroy the Constitution; they try hard to make us believe it is a “Living Document” to be changed at the whim of a loud mouthed minority, or a simple majority.

Throughout all of this it appears many Americans have held their tongues and resisted the urge to “get mad”, worse, many are as clueless today about most of these scandals as they day they were born naked into this world.

In my past “life” I helped run a forum and web site that was concerned with things like UFOs, Bigfoot, Conspiracies and similar things.  In my ten years on that site I was the “Target” of many of the posters because I tended to rip apart their ideas as nonsense and would factually back up my arguments against their “supposed facts”.  It isn’t difficult to take apart Conspiracy Theory when there are indeed facts to back up your own side and the Conspiracy Theory is based solely upon “feels”, “belief”, disconnected and interconnected true facts that are actually unrelated by anything other than “that sounds like [it should go there] in the puzzle”.

So for me to read my own list above and then grasp that this country is headed down a path it is being DIRECTED down is hard for me to say, or even believe myself.  As a Patriot (A real one, one who has fought in battle, one who spent many years in the military, one who has taken his oath of office to the military to protect and defend the Constitution SERIOUSLY, one who has studied American History, lived through and “fought in” the Cold War and was raised by a Father and Mother who were both Democrats to “Do the Right Thing”) it is very difficult for me to come to the conclusions I have finally reached in my 50+ years of life.

As you can see, I am about as anti-conspiracy theory as one can be.  But in this case, given this administration, and reading the rotten and terrible things that are going on in the scandals coming out of DC, I can’t help but SEE some Conspiracies in action here.

The Federal Reserve banking system has been manipulating the market for years. Why? To keep the dollar “strong”? I just don’t know. I’m not an economist and hated stats, economics (micro and macro) and accounting in college. HATED it. I don’t really “grasp” it the way professors wanted me to. I DO “get it” on a personal basis and can see a short term change coming. Dunno why.

But the rest of the crap going on, the NSA, the Justice Department, the refusal of IRS leaders to correct or even admit how wrong things are is a tick mark against the current administration.

In fact, at this point I believe these agencies, directly controlled by “minions” of the current President are actively working to destroy America all at once. One, big, serious crash.

One day, the Markets will plummet, the price of houses goes up, the ability to own one goes down, the family farms are taken by the government, rural people forced to move to the cities by armed agents of the government. Food prices climb, welfare suddenly stops. Riots begin. Guns start getting confiscated by jack booted thugs.

America becomes a totalitarian state, “for your own good”.

Those who refuse to comply are shot, re-educated or “disappeared”.

The truth is, I don’t see anything “good” coming down the pike unless we reverse this trend.

I’m just one, tiny voice out here in the dark. I don’t have all the answers, but I have more questions than can be answered. I can only go with the flow and hope Americans are mostly like me and will stand up and fight if we must.

Is the United States of America doomed now to fall through no fault of the People of this country, but rather through the fault of a corrupted, screwed up, wrong-headed Government full of Progressives, Communists and Socialists?  I think it is.  Of course, true Americans will come together eventually to prevent this from occurring.  We hope.  We the People however are still “In Charge”.  We’d better start acting like it, and soon.

In the mean time, I will do what I must to protect my wife and myself from total and complete destruction.  My children are all adults and can make their own decisions now, but the majority of them stand with me.

Defense of Marriage Act Stuck down

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DOMA struck down

Published by jwettschreck on Wednesday, June 26th, 2013

DOMA has been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

5-4:DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment.

The “Defense of Marriage Act,” or DOMA, was passed in 1996 by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It has two main functions. The part being challenged is called “Section Three,” which prevents the federal government from recognizing any marriages between gay or lesbian couples for the purpose of federal laws or programs, even if those couples are considered legally married by their home state. The other significant part makes it so that individual states do not legally have to acknowledge the relationships of gay and lesbian couples who were married in another state. Only the section that deals with federal recognition is being currently challenged in court.

From the SCOTUS liveblog: Justice Scalia is reading from his dissent right now. The Court’s opinion both in explaining its jurisdiction and its decision “both spring from the same diseased root: an exalted notion of the role of this court in American democratic society.

The Court has not yet released the decision in Prop 8, but there is language in Windsor telegraphing that the Court will dismiss on standing.

Watch for further updates

Texas passed Abortion Bill

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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republicans in the Texas House on Monday passed one of the nation’s most wide-ranging packages of abortion restrictions, but efforts by Democrats to slow the process threatened to kill the measure before the end of the special session.

Democrats stalled the vote as long as possible on the second to last day of the special legislative session, hoping to delay long enough for their colleagues in the Senate to filibuster the bill on Tuesday night.

The proposal would ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, require doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and limit abortions to surgical centers. Other states have passed similar bills, but few have the full set. Federal judges have thrown out the restrictions in some states.

The measure passed 95-34, with the support of four Democrats, and must now sit for 24 hours before the Senate can vote on it and send it to Gov. Rick Perry.

<snip>

Mississippi and Tennessee also passed laws requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The only abortion clinic still operating in Mississippi is battling to stay open because of new facility requirements and because of a requirement that doctors have privileges at a local hospital. In North Dakota, abortion clinics are suing against similar laws passed this year to remain open.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/2013/06/24/texas-house-republicans-pass-abortion-law/QorqsQCEchDvjj7UKDJT6N/story.html

Justices to rule on Obama recess appointments

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Washington (CNN) — President Obama’s recess appointments to a federal agency– made without Senate confirmation– will be reviewed by the Supreme Court, the court announced Monday. It will mark a major constitutional test of executive power.

At issue is whether three people named to the National Labor Relations Board lack authority because the presidential appointments were made while the Senate was technically in a “pro forma” session during the 2011-12 winter holiday break.

The case sets up a high-stakes Supreme Court fight between the other two branches of government. Oral arguments will be held in public session later this year or early next.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the past have used the “virtual Congress” tactic to block unilateral appointments by the president when the Senate is away.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/24/us/obama-recess-appointments/