Last of the free market

Did you survive Black Friday? Were you out in the Black Friday shopping? Did you venture out on Thanksgiving to begin your holiday shopping? If you did, you were not alone, if you did not, you were not alone either. Black Friday originally got its name from retailers, marking when they began moving into the black, or began making a profit. It also marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Retailers soon began that they could capitalize on the people willing to save a few dollars. As the popularity grew, sales became greater, slashing prices and the crowds continued to grow. Once the crowds starting growing, the retailers responded by opening earlier and earlier until now, some are opening on Thanksgiving to start the holiday shopping season. Somehow, a debate has sprung up about stores opening on Thanksgiving. Where the debate came from, I have not figured out, I cannot even figure out why there is a debate. If a private company wants to open their doors on a holiday, they have that right. If someone wants to shop on a holiday, they also have that right. That is what is so great about a free market, if there is a demand for something, the market will produce a supply. I hear everyone weigh in on the issue and it seems like a bunch of people are against it, for two reasons. The first is the horror of making a person work during a holiday and the second is the greed of the people shopping, just to save a few dollars. Making someone work on a holiday, really? That’s an argument against it? How many other holidays are retail stores open? Last time I checked, I could shop on Valentine’s Day, that’s a day to be with loved ones. Not good enough, how about Nevada Day? I could shop on that day too. Even Memorial Day, I could go to the store and find a deal and Memorial Day is a day to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice so we have the right to shop on any day we want. Let me look at this a different way. What other employees have to work on Thanksgiving? Fire, police, ambulance and hospital workers have to work on Thanksgiving, I will grant you that they are emergency personal and we need those services. What about restaurant workers, you can find lots of restaurants that are open and serving all day and night. Why is there no outcry about them having to work? What about convenience stores and gas stations? I’ve been able to get gas on Thanksgiving, but no outcry for them or the fast food workers that have to work on Thanksgiving. Living in Las Vegas, should our casinos and hotels give all of their employees Thanksgiving off? We could just shut down the Strip for a day. The other reason why stores should be closed is because of the greedy consumer wanting to buy everything at a discount. Why should a consumer be restricted? If I want to buy something, I am sure that someone would be willing to accommodate me. What if I do not celebrate Thanksgiving, or do not have anyone to celebrate with on Thanksgiving? Who are you to judge me if I want to brave the crazy mobs and save a few dollars? I will say that it has gotten crazy out there with a worker being killed in 2008 and this year a lady being zapped with a stun gun, but that’s Black Friday, not Turkey Thursday. This should not even be a debate, the only people that should have this debate are the owners, whether they want to be open or not; or the consumers, whether they want to battle through the crowds of sale happy people. I am either at home or doing something with my family. I do not go shopping, but I am not against people who do, or the stores that open to satisfy the demands of the market. I actually like that where there is a demand, it is being met by the market. I am just waiting for the government to step in and take away more of our liberty. For links and references please click here.

Sgt Schultz in the White House

When I was a child, one of my favorite shows was “Hogan’s Heroes.” It was sit com set in World War II and based on a group of Allied POWs in a German Prison Camp. One of the main characters was Sgt. Schultz, a German guard whose famous catch phrase was “I see nothing. I know nothing.” Every time he would bellow that phrase, the audience would erupt with laughter. No one took him seriously, they weren’t supposed to but then he wasn’t the leader of a country. Listening to President Obama speak the other day about the revelation that the NSA was spying on foreign leaders made me think of Sgt. Schultz. Obama’s comment on the spying was he didn’t know anything. This time I didn’t hear the audience laughs, like they did at Sgt. Schultz. If it wasn’t real life, I might have laughed. Are we really supposed to believe that the President does not know what his own spy agency is doing? Maybe not knowing about one scandal is one thing, but is this the only thing the President knows nothing about? Hardly. Early in his presidency, Obama used the same defense when news of the Fast and Furious scandal broke. The ATF was selling guns to Mexican drug cartels and the US had no way of tracking those firearms and unlike Bush, did not notify the Mexican government of the American operation. This operation was came to light after a border agent, Brian Terry, was found murdered by weapons sold under Operation Fast & Furious. The ATF under Obama’s Justice Department apparently did not notify anyone in the White House and Obama didn’t learn about the operation until he saw it on the news. Another example of “I see nothing, I know nothing.” On the anniversary of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center, we were attacked in Libya. Even though Obama was briefed shortly after the attack began and the next morning blamed a video tape; he still went to the Sgt. Schultz defense. He didn’t know what was happening. He was briefed shortly after the attack began; he appeared in the morning (after disappearing all night) and blamed a video. So did he know or not? Well maybe he is just ignoring international scandals because he is focusing so hard on domestic issues. But we see the same defense when the IRS scandal broke. The IRS was found to be politically targeting conservative and tea party groups, which just happen to be Obama’s political enemy. How nice, especially since he didn’t know anything about it. The whole scandal was dumped on a couple of “rogue” employees in a regional office, even though there is evidence proving the orders came from the White House. But of course, Obama “sees nothing, knows nothing.” Are you laughing yet? Let me ask a serious question. What does Obama know? I bet he knows where his next family vacation is going to be. I bet he knows when his next round of golf is. I bet he knows where his next campaign stop is going to be. I bet he knows where the next illegal immigration rally is. It’s apparent by Obama’s own comments that he is unfit to hold the office of President, he sees nothing and he knows nothing. Is that really what we want out of a “leader?” For links from this article check out my examiner article here.

Bread and circuses, political misdirection

One of the greatest civilizations of the world was the Ancient Romans, they conquered most of the known world and at the end, and they couldn’t save themselves. The extravagant society crumbled upon itself. The government coffers ran dry; there were no more civilizations to conquer to replenish the treasury. How did this happen? How could one of the richest, most advanced civilizations simply crumble upon itself? Many reasons can be cited as to what caused the fall of the Roman Empire, the cheap slave labor created a system where citizens didn’t work. The luxurious lifestyle enjoyed by the citizens, the massive government spending on infrastructure and safety nets, political corruption, inflation and military spending. How could the people not see the collapse coming? That answer is simple; it was the bread and circuses. Bread and circuses refers to the concept that if you keep the people fed and entertained, they will be ignorant to everything going on around them. The Caesars had to import grain to feed the masses in Rome so people wouldn’t starve and to keep them entertained, they imported exotic animals and gladiators, recreated famous battles and held chariot races. While the people were busy at the coliseum, enjoying death battles and free food no one paid attention to the rampant inflation, political corruption or reckless government spending…until it was too late. The Roman satirist Juvenal is credited with the term, as he accused his fellow citizens of selling out for bribes of ‘bread and circuses.’ Many people are making the comparisons between the Roman Empire and United States. Some are even asking if we are Rome. The comparisons are easy to make. Inflation, the romans continued to coin money that contained less and less gold until the coins were worthless and the barter system so sprang up and workers wanted to be paid in goods, rather than worthless coin. The US has long since abandoned the gold standard and with quantitative easing, you can see the effects almost weekly as prices continue to rise to compensate for the dollar as it loses value. Do I even need to make examples of the political corruption, military spending or government spending? Record deficits, endless wars and crony capitalism should be easy enough to see, for those that aren’t even looking, let alone those that are looking. The United States and its citizens need to learn from the Ancient Romans and stop selling out for the bread and circuses and pay attention. We, Americans, are more concerned with the feast and the sporting event to pay attention to the massive political corruption and the massive military spending. We are more concerned with the blockbuster movie and large popcorn than record deficit spending and public works projects. We are more concerned with the barbecue and concert than the society’s moral decay and blatant inflation. Those that don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, an apparently we haven’t learned from Ancient Rome.

America fails Marx communist test

A communist country is a centrally planned economy. Every aspect of the country’s economy is planned from the ruling elite. The state owns and controls the means of production. Karl Marx is considered the founder of communism, his book “The Communist Manifesto” he laid out the framework to turn a capitalist society into a communist economy. Marx could be considered the first community organizer, as his theory is based on convincing the middle and lower classes that they are being exploited by the upper class. The lower classes must rise up against the oppressors and take control of the means of production. Then, as the famous communist saying goes; from each according to his ability, to each according to his need. The key to Marx’s theory is the country must first be capitalist, capitalist societies are the only ones that produce capital and innovation; something needed if the lower classes is going to take over. Karl Marx created a test to see if a country was communist and according to his ten planks, the United States has become a communist country. Here are the ten planks and the American counterpart. Plank 1 - Abolition of private property and the application of all rents of land to public purposes. The United States equivalent – The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, Bureau of Land Management, property taxes. Do we really have private property? If you don’t pay the government, they will take your land. Americans also have to deal with eminent domain laws, where the government can take private property from private individuals, originally compensation was required and the taking had to be for public benefit. Now, the government has been unconstitutionally taking private property and not for public benefit. Instead it’s being used as payback, continuing the cycle of crony capitalism, at the expense of the people they are supposed to protect. Zoning laws also adversely affect private property; they regulate what a person can or can’t do on “their” property. Plank 2 - A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. The United States features the 16th Amendment, the social security act, state income taxes. As the liberals like to call it, paying your fair share. Exactly what is considered “fair share?” Nobody has been able to explain that, just that rich people are not paying their fair share. It’s not about paying their fair share; it’s about trying to make everyone equal. High progressive tax rates in France have driven high earners to abandon their citizenship and move to other countries. We have seen this in California and New York as well, as high progressive state income tax rates have made people leave their states in search of more tax friendly states. The high progressive tax rates also provide incentives for high earners to search for tax shelters or tax havens. Plank 3 - Abolition of all rights of inheritance. Americans call this “the death tax”, or the inheritance tax, probate laws, federal and state estate taxes. While in America, the government does not take all of a dead person’s estate, they certainly appear more than willing to take all of it. The government does a good job of breaking up family businesses and family farms when the heirs cannot afford the taxes being charged. So all the hard work to earn a nice house and/or car, savings, investments or businesses are now subject to a 40% tax, just because of the misfortune of dying. This puts a larger burden on the heirs at the worst possible time. There are many stories where the heirs cannot pay the death tax without liquidating everything that they just inherited. What is the point of working hard, saving money or owning anything if the government is going to take nearly half of your children’s inheritance? Plank 4 - Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. Government seizures, tax liens, RICO laws, and asset forfeiture laws used by the IRS, DEA, ATF. Everybody has heard the stories of the celebrities in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service and the stories all end the same way, with the government taking everything, the one I remember the most is Red Foxx. The Drug Enforcement Agency holds auctions where they sell all of the assets of those they have arrested. The RICO laws allow the government to confiscate anything they want as long as those assets could have been purchased with money earned through illegal activities. The Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives does its fair share of property confiscation, working with other police agencies disarming those that cross the government. Federal asset forfeiture laws allow the “police” agencies to profit from taking property from just about anyone. Plank 5 - Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly. Very simply, the Federal Reserve. Every state bank is connected to the federal system. The Federal Reserve issues currency, even though it now only produces fiat currency. This plank is a little different; the Federal Reserve is a private company that the government gave power over the United States economy. Through the manipulation of interest rates and “printing” of money, the Federal Reserve creates the boom/bust cycles that create depressions. The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 to prevent economic downturns and actually does the exact opposite. The manipulation of economic indicators presents false data that distorts the law of supply and demand. These indictors promote borrowing which creates a bubble that eventually will burst. Look at the housing bubble that caused the Great Recession. Plank 6 - Centralization of the means of communications and transportation in the hands of the State. America has the Federal Communications Commission, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration and DOT regulations. The Federal Communications Commission is in charge of all communications throughout the country, they regulate phones, radios, cable television, and satellite. Now they are even grabbing control of the internet. The FEC regulates what a television program can say and do, what a radio station can broadcast. They are also promote competition through such scams as net neutrality and just recently obtained the power to shut down the internet in what the government may determine as a national emergency. The Department of Transportation created a national highway system that criss crosses the country and keeps the authority to shut them down and use them for government purposes. The DOT also forces states to comply with federal regulations by withholding funds until compliance and regulates all vehicles on the road. Plank 7 - Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state, the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. This is easily seen in these as well as the Department of Commerce and Labor, Department of Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Mines, National Park Service, and the IRS control of business through corporate regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency by far goes the farthest to implement the business crushing agenda of the central government, through regulation, basing most on politically motivated “research.” The Department of Labor is not innocent in the crushing of business, think about the case of Boeing being attacked by the Department of Labor because of its chosen location to open a new manufacturing plant. These executive branch agencies have one purpose, to regulate business; to make business comply with ridiculous rules and regulations that drain their coffers while enriching government. Plank 8 - Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture. In America, we call this minimum wage, favored nation, Department of Labor, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce and national unions. The minimum wage laws disproportionately harm the low/non-skilled workers by pricing them out of the labor market. The equality of labor can be seen best in the national unions, more specifically, public sector unions. Think back to the death care bill debate, you see the seas of purple and red shirted union members; many bussed in to try and pressure/coerce others into their way of thinking. The same can be seen at the Walker recall election in Wisconsin, bully tactics, intimidation, property damage, assaults all promoted by the unions. The biggest problem with public sector unions is they negotiate with the very politicians they put in office, at the expense of the tax payer. Look at the financial trouble many states are in because of the promises made to unions with unsustainable pensions. Plank 9 - Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries, gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of population over the country. America has the Planning Reorganization Act, Zoning laws, corporate super farms. Zoning laws are created by government to control the people. Want to have horses on your property, too bad, you’re not zoned for that. Want to run a business out of your garage, better check the zoning laws. Zoning laws are governments way of making everyone live in a certain area, allows where and what type of business can be opened. Corporate super farms also help blur the lines of urban and rural by bringing big corporations and their employees out to the country where the crops are grown, processed and shipped throughout the country. What used to be family farms has been overtaken by corporations and their political cronies. Plank 10 - Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production. In America, we have the Department of Education, the teachers unions, and common core. Education in America has been in decline shortly after the creation Federal Department of Education. When the students can’t do the work, the government throws more money at it and changes the standards. Kids can’t do the math, let’s lower the standard. Kids can’t understand English, let’s lower the standards. Programs like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, create corruption as teachers teach to the test or like in Atlanta were caught changing the tests after they were turned in. Now we have Common Core, where the federal government is going as far as sending out curriculum and suggested lesson plans and discussion questions. By looking at the new textbooks, it easy to spot the propaganda and now it seems that the education department is more concerned with producing loyal “subjects” than thinking citizens.

United Police States of America

The United States was founded on the Constitution as the law of the land, followed quickly by the Bill of Rights. The Constitution was meant to restrain the government, keep it limited and protect the natural rights of the individual. While the Constitution has been under assault since the ratification, the rise of the US police state has put many more of our natural rights at risk from an overreaching government. While the commerce clause or the general welfare clause has been consistently misinterpreted, with the exception of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the US Constitution, most of the Bill of Rights has remained intact, recently we have witnessed the erosion of our Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and even the Eighth Amendments. These are mainly our protections against government intrusions. They deal with such important things as privacy against unreasonable searches, right to due process, self-incrimination, rights of the accused and the forbidding excessive fines, bail and cruel punishments. With the passage of the PATRIOT ACT, the government was given the power to claim someone an enemy combatant, even an American citizen and violate such rights as speedy trial, due process, right to counsel and even the right to confront the accuser. Then add in the NDAA, which gave the government even more power over our natural rights as humans. With these two laws, we lose our right to be secure in our own possessions; the government can write their own search warrants, refuse due process and invoke gag orders on everyone involved, even your bank or utility company. As if that is not bad enough, we have seen the militarization of our local and federal police forces. Think about the manhunt in Boston for the marathon bomber. The entire area was under martial law as the police shut down the entire city to search for a single suspect. Police in military gear and military grade weapons went door to door unlawfully searching houses and this wasn’t the first time. Think back to the ex LAPD officer, where again police in military gear went searching house to house for a single suspect, shutting down the tourist town of Big Bear. Not only have police departments been going military style, but our very own Department of Homeland Security, which in reality, does nothing that other agencies haven’t be doing. Their mission claims that their goal is secure our nation from the many threats we face, but they don’t handle our borders or immigration. They don’t investigate or arrest criminals or terrorists and they don’t handle economic or cyber issues, there is a department for that as well, so what is their “mission”? The Department of Homeland Security has recently purchased millions of rounds of ammo and armored troop transports, but for use on whom? Even if you are not targeted by the police, you can still have some encounters with police that never end well for citizens. SWAT raids targeting the wrong house have resulted in family dogs being killed, people being injured and in some cases even killed, all because of bad information. There is even one instance, in Henderson, where were denied entry into a private residence. Police wanted to use the residence as a staging area for a potential crime happening next door. What did the police do? They broke into the house, arrested the occupants and unlawfully searched and occupied the house. The rise of a militarized police force should raise concern for everyone. Were the actions in Big Bear and Boston preparing us a more militarized society, where police armed with machine guns patrol the streets in armored vehicles breaking down doors of innocent civilians? How much is enough? For links and sources click here.

Welcome to Orwell's 1984

Thirty years ago, the communists were the enemy and they resided in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. We made fun of them, how the government controlled every aspect of their lives, how people were starving, living in poverty and relied on the benevolent communist regime to survive. The communist regime controlled the media and the schools. If you weren’t happy, you better keep that to yourself because you could be sure that the regime was listening and you might receive a visit from the KGB and be locked away without a trial. In America, we are freedom, liberty loving people and that could never happen here. Well look at how far we have fallen. We have gone from a country founded on the individual to a country of sheeple. No longer is individual initiative rewarded, it is punished. Rewards are dished out to those that use the system. President Kennedy’s famous quote, “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country” has been transformed. Now it’s more like, “ask not what you can do for your country but what your country can give to you.” With nearly 50 million people dependent on the government, millions more living in poverty and a government system that perpetuates the cycle of generational poverty. The main stream media has long promoted the government’s position, most recently look at the media’s worship of the current president and what are government ran schools teaching our students? If you look at our rankings in education, we are dropping in the world rankings. What should have all Americans up in arms and seriously questioning their government’s actions is the latest spying scandals that have been uncovered. It starts small, with the Internal Revenue Service targeting certain groups for no other reason than their name. Prying into areas where they have no business, such as what books they read or the content of their prayers. Then it gets a little wider, like Verizon turning over all of their customers phone records to the National Security Agency in the name of fighting terrorism. Of course the National Spying Agency claims that they are just storing the data, not listening to actual phone calls, like that is supposed to make it okay. If that was all the government was doing that would be bad enough, but it’s not. The government has also been collecting internet traffic from companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook, but it’s only to keep you safe. If all of that doesn’t make you feel safe, don’t worry, there are now streetlights that will help keep you safe. They are smart streetlights and are they are being tested in the United States; these have the ability to record audio and video as well as broadcast messages. All of these invasions of privacy are not based on any sort of probable cause, are not issued by a judge and are illegal according to the Fourth Amendment to our Constitution. Benjamin Franklin is credited with the quotation, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." This is not a left or right issue or a republican/democrat issue, it’s an American issue. When we lose the foundation on which our country was founded, we are no longer free. The question is how many more intrusions of our freedom before you take a stand? Please click here to see article with links.

Free speech, but for how long

Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller has continued his assault on the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. For the past few legislative sessions, Ross Miller has pushed to get a specific piece of legislation through the legislature. He claims this legislation is to push for more transparency, but transparency for who is the question. NRS 294A.348 was the result and on the surface it looks innocent enough, but let’s look a little deeper. NRS 294A.348 requires that anyone spending more than $100, owning a public website or sends out mass emails to more than 500, must be registered with the Secretary of State’s office as a political action committee and must disclose their identity. This is not related to campaign donations, finance or contribution limits, it’s about free speech. If a person wants to take out an ad in a newspaper, or radio, if he mentions a candidate or asks for a donation, the person/group/PAC must be disclosed and be easily identifying to the general public. The First Amendment of the Constitution protects free speech and even though it has been upheld by courts throughout the history of our country and even prior to the founding, Ross Miller continues to assault free speech. It does not even matter that this law is in direct conflict with a court ruling overturning a very similar law just a few years ago. What’s the big deal, you say? We should know who is behind the message. But what about when the person behind the message may create an automatic bias towards the issue or candidate? Say, for example, limited government group wanted to send out flyers supporting a candidate but because of the name of the group (think IRS targeting groups with Tea Party in their name) anyone with an unfavorable view of that group will dismiss the message because of the messenger and not necessarily because of the message. Let’s take a look at the historical significance of anonymous political speech, think the Federalist Papers; arguments for the ratification of the US constitution. These were written by Publius, which turned out to be John Jay, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. These men wanted their arguments sway opinion, not who they were. The message was more important than the messenger. The anti-federalists did the same thing, only their identities have never been proven. Throughout the history of our nation, political speech has been protected by courts on all levels, it’s sad to see politicians trying to destroy this basic natural right. A law passed congress that allows the Secret Service to designate “no free speech” zones, where you can be jailed and charged with a felony for exercising your natural right too close to someone the Secret Service may be protecting. It also extends to any event the government may decide, like the Super Bowl or National Championship Basketball game, which means if you don’t stay out of the “no free speech” zone (which now has no set dimensions and can be moving); you can be jailed and charged with a felony. Free speech has been protected by the First Amendment in America…so far. Please click here for links and resources.

Nevada turning nanny state

Nevada lawmakers are considering a ban on tanning beds, not for everyone, just children. It doesn’t matter whether they were given parental consent. SB 267, which has passed the state senate, would ban people under the age of 18 from using a tanning salon. Just another example of how the great and benevolent rulers know what’s best for the lowly, ignorant subjects. The government gets to decide what you children can and cannot do, not their parents. Where is the freedom in that? I have never been to a tanning salon, nor do I ever intend to patronize one but who is the government to tell me that I can’t send my child if they want to artificially tan themselves? If great and all powerful government has determined they are harmful, why are they allowed to be used by anyone? Doesn’t the government already regulate the indoor tanning industry and if it is harmful, why are they still in use? This is just another example of an overreaching government controlling citizens. Unfortunately, this is not the first foray for Nevada into the nanny state, think smoking bans, helmet laws, seat belt laws and the most recent, text free driving. While Nevada has not delved as deep into the nanny state as some others states have, the increasing passage and more restrictive laws show we may be well on the way to nanny state laws in New York and California. What is the next thing we ban because the people are too stupid to know what’s good for them? Are Trans fats next, like California where you can’t even get a real Oreo. Or are we headed the way of New York City, where not only do they have strict gun laws but also strict salt laws, soda size laws. Mayor Bloomberg is not stopping with salt and soda; he recently outlawed donations to homeless shelters because the salt content couldn’t be determined. Now he is also attacking Styrofoam, that awful material must not be used, it’s just so terrible. When did it become the job of the government to tell people how they live, what they could and could not consume? Where did we give consent to government on what our children can and cannot do? When did we stop paying attention to what our elected officials did to us? With the country more interested in celebrity babies, American Idol and Honey Boo Boo is it no wonder that our government officials do whatever they want. Now is the time to stand up and tell our officials that we are the boss, that we know what’s best for us, not them. Contact your state legislators here and tell them to vote against any nanny state laws.

Sex ed for 5 year olds?

The Nevada Assembly has introduced a bill to the current legislative session revising the teaching of sex education in the state’s schools. Thirteen of our elected officials have sponsored a bill, currently in committee that will change the way sex education is taught throughout the state, starting at the kindergarten level. Yes, that is correct at the kindergarten level. Assembly bill 230 is currently in the education committee for review, which Elliot Anderson is the chair. This bill would set standards to be used throughout the state to teach sex education to our children, starting in kindergarten. Of course the bill states material will be age appropriate but what sex is appropriate for a five year old? The bill will require teaching such things as gender identity, sexually transmitted diseases and contraception. One of the areas that I’m opposed to is the parent reporting process has been changed. Under this new bill, parents have to opt their children out of the course of instruction. A note will be sent home saying that your kid is going to be taught sex education unless you sign the form opting your child out of the course of instruction. Before this bill, children were not automatically required to take the sex education course, the parents had to sign a consent form allowing their child to take the course. Now it will be up to the child to give the notice to their parents and return it to the teacher. Even my fifth grader forgets to give me notes home from school and that would be enough for him to be receiving sex education without my consent and possibly even my knowledge. If I do receive the permission slip and opt my child out of the course, it’s still his responsibility to turn it in to his teacher and he could just not turn it in and I would be none the wiser. Another aspect I have a problem with is the goal to prepare students for sexual activity or future sexual activity. I can understand the need for some sex education in the school system, but not in elementary school and definitely not in kindergarten. It is not the job of the school to teach sex or to prepare them for sexual activity. The job of the school is to teach the next generation how to think and how to be productive members of society. More and more the education system is producing nothing. It’s not producing students capable of college class work and it’s not producing students ready for the workforce. I urge everyone to contact their Assemblymen and tell them to defeat this measure. The Nevada Assembly page has an easy way to contact your elected officials, click here for the link.

Nevada falls in rankings again

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University has released the latest freedom rankings, Freedom In The 50 States. Nevada dropped to 20th in the overall rankings from 13th just a few years ago and down from 4th in 2001. The Mercatus Center measures several variables and different types of freedom ranging from personal freedoms to economic freedoms. The interactive map is a very easy way to compare different states and even classify them according to how you rank the value of different types of freedom. You can even create your chart. Why has Nevada fallen from a top 5 to barely above average? The main factor Nevada has dropped is because of its fiscal ranking. In 2001, Nevada ranked 8th in fiscal policy and in the latest ranking, Nevada dropped to 33rd. Fiscal policy includes the tax burden, government spending, government employment, government debt and fiscal decentralization. A large portion of this decline could be attributed to the recession, the loss of personal income and the decline in tourism really hurt Nevada’s fiscal rankings. While our regulatory score is improving, the only thing keeping our score above average is our rankings in personal freedom, mainly because of legalized gambling and legalized prostitution. Nevada isn’t the only place that dropping in freedom rankings, the United States is dropping on the world freedom rankings as well. It’s really disturbing that the United States, the freest country in the world barely ranks in the top ten. The land of the free and home of the brave is fading, the economic stranglehold the government applies is sucking the freedom out of our country. I think it speaks volumes when a communist controlled Hong Kong leads the freedom rankings. Granted, it’s ranked on economic freedom and China only took control in 1997, but shouldn’t the freest country on the planet be ranked first? Even when you factor in personal freedom, the United States still ranks in the bottom half of the top ten. Like I said earlier, it’s not a very good ranking for the “freest” country in the world. Please see my examiner article here for links.

Voter turnout on the decline

Did you know there was an election April 2? If you did happen to know there was an election, did you vote in the election? If you answered no to either question, you were not alone. Municipal elections have never drawn a large turnout and yesterday was no exception. North Las Vegas, Mesquite and Henderson both had mayoral races and council races. Las Vegas only had three councilmen in the race. I was going to discuss Andy Hafen being re-elected or Sherri Buck being defeated until I saw the voter turnout numbers. Despite municipal elections being probably the most important elections that can directly affect the lives of people, fewer and fewer people turnout. Of course Presidential elections always draw the largest turnout, generally only around 50% of registered voters. By comparison, in the Soviet Union, they experienced voter turnout of 98% to 99% and they only had one candidate to choose from on the ballot. Mid-term elections draw even less, generally around 30% of registered voters. Of the nearly 400,000 registered voters that were eligible to vote in yesterday’s election, not even 50,000 people turned out. Not even 12% voter turnout; that number would be lower but the 30% turnout in Mesquite helped raise the percentage a little. Henderson, a city with a population of over 250,000 and nearly 144,000 registered voters, could only manage 17,000 people to decide the highest elected city official. The elected city officials can have the largest impact on person’s life. Take a look at what Mayor Bloomberg and the New York City Council have done recently. They have banned salt, banned large sugary drinks, banned food donations to homeless shelters and have some of the strictest gun laws in the country. An old saying from Plato applies now more than ever. “One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” For links, see my article here.

Sequestration is a joke

If you listen to almost everyone in government, the sky is falling. March 1, the sequester cuts go into effect and unless the government saves us from this latest crisis, the country will completely fall apart. President Obama has wasted little time in using this “crisis” to his political advantage. We have seen him on television selling the idea that if the sequester goes through some 800,000 government workers will lose their jobs, jails will be closed and criminals set free. Hospitals will close and send away sick people, the entire country will burn because there will be no firefighters. The military will not be able to protect the country, airlines won’t be able to fly, food will be poisoned and air and water will be dirty. Sick people will die, poor people will starve, parks will be closed, basically the end of the world. Maybe the Mayans were a couple of months off in their calendar. Both parties have been promoting the evils of the sequester cuts, but what is the truth. The truth of the matter is that the sequestration is a joke, a scare tactic created by the government to avoid any spending cuts. Both Republicans and Democrats are blaming each other for the “devastating” effects of the sequester. I guess they forgot that it passed a Republican controlled House, a Democratic Senate and signed into law by a Democratic President. So how does that make it the fault of one party? It just shows that neither party is serious about cutting spending. What makes the sequestration a joke you ask. First off, the sequestration cuts over a trillion dollars in the next ten years, averaging about $85 billion a year. The annual “budget” is roughly at $3.5 trillion, $85 billion represents just over 2% of the budget. If cutting merely 2% of the budget is going to cause the end of the world, I would hate to see what real cuts would do to the country. To bring this into a little more focus, the Hurricane Relief bill and the recent unemployment insurance bill totaled $80 billion, just $5 billion less, but these cuts will devastate the country. Any leveled headed person who logically looks at the situation, knows that this is nothing more than scare tactics. Not convinced yet, it gets even better than the fact that there is no way a 2% budget cut could trigger all of these catastrophic events. The federal budget increases every year, usually around the rate of inflation. This sequester cuts only the proposed rate of spending. The federal budget is set to increase by approximately 1.7% this year, with the devastating effects of the sequester, the federal budget will increase by approximately 1.6%. So even with the sequester, the federal government will continue to spend more money than it did last year. How does a decrease in the rate of future spending cause such catastrophic events to occur? Simple, it doesn’t. Just another manufactured crisis created by the federal overlord to continue to take more and more from the citizens to feed their spending addiction. Senator Rand Paul is about the only person in Washington D.C. that is speaking the truth about the sequester, he is telling anyone that will listen and trying to tell all of those that won’t listen. It’s a shame he is up against the main stream media and President’s lies about the entire situation. We, the people need to look at the true facts and not listen to the lies propagated by a compliant media at the behest of politically motivated ruling class.

Power of the states

Once upon a time, thirteen colonies belonging to the British Empire got tired of being told how to live be a tyrant who ruled from across the sea. They joined together, putting their regional differences aside and declared their independence. That event founded the greatest country the world has ever seen. The several, independent colonies decided that for mutual benefit, there were some things that they could better as a group; but most of the matters could be solved locally. They met and developed the Constitution to create a republic, where the colonies were free to run their lives as they wanted and their participation on the federal level would be limited to a few enumerated powers. While the story is true, it is a very simple, basic explanation of the founding of America and the Constitution of the United States. I think it outlines a very important aspect that is often overlooked, especially now. Contrary to popular belief, the United States is not a democracy, it is a representative republic. Thirteen independent states joined together and formed a union, they created a federal government and carefully balanced not only executive, legislative and judicial powers, but they were also careful to balance state and federal power. While the strength of the federal government was of great debate, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights simply explained the relationship. The Bill of Rights was a compromise between the federalists and the anti-federalists, to further protect the sovereignty of the independent states. The several states created federal government, not the other way around. States’ rights are not a throwback to the Jim Crow era, not a code for racism or slavery. States’ rights reflect the 10th Amendment, which states that the power not delegated to the federal government are left to the states or the residents. This gets blurred by the so called supremacy clause or the necessary and proper clause, which have been interpreted to allow the federal government to run roughshod over the states. If the federal government was totally supreme, why bother even having a Constitution? If the federal government was not limited in its power and scope, why is there a list of enumerated powers? What recourse do the lowly states have to remedy this situation? Most recently, we have seen several states passing laws that nullify federal laws. Laws like Obamacare, indefinite detention, laws prohibiting TSA searches and now even nullifying gun control laws that might pass through Congress are being passed by states all across the country. The states are exerting their authority. This is not a new concept, nullification has been used before. Northern states nullified fugitive slave laws, states nullified the Alien and Sedition Acts and the Separate but Equal concept of the Brown v Board of Education. Before you jump on the ‘those were all 60 years ago or longer, nullification can’t work now’ I have some more and not those crazy right wing nut ideas. Several cities across the country are what are called a ‘sanctuary city,’ a city where federal immigration laws are not enforced or nullified. Several states continue to practice the concept of nullification through state laws allowing for the medical and/or recreational use of marijuana. Last time I checked, drug legalization and illegal immigration were issues dear to the heart of democrats, not right wing whackos. Nullification is not only constitutional; nullification is one of the tools available to the states to fight against overreaches by the federal government. It has been used throughout the history of our country, by both sides of the political aisle. Article 1, section 8 of the United States Constitution specifically defines the powers that the states delegated to the federal government; the 9th and 10th Amendments to the Constitution and deal with the issue of what the federal government can do, cannot do and everything else is left to the states, or the people. With the growing nanny state mentality of the politicians in DC and nanny state laws passing in several states; such as the salt ban or large soda ban in New York or the happy meal toy ban and trans fat ban in California. Now is the time to step up and say no to the increasing federal leviathan. Contact your state legislatures and demand that they pass legislation supporting the 10th Amendment and rebuffing unconstitutional laws passed by an overreaching federal monster. The state created the federal government and now is the time to control their monster.

Smokescreens & Misdirection

For the past two years leading up to President Obama’s reelection all we heard was Obama’s plan for the economy and his jobs bills. After the election, we have not heard one thing about a jobs bill or an economic plan from the White House; we haven’t even seen a budget from President Obama. The only thing we have heard from the administration is gun control and amnesty. His inaugural address was filled with progressive ideas that include global warming, amnesty and gun control, among others. With all the propaganda during the campaign, I would have expected at least a mention of an economic plan or jobs plan. But I guess I expect too much. President Obama claims we are in a recovery but with unemployment at its highest sustained rate since the Great Depression and the sluggish economic growth that is worse than the anemic recovery during the Great Depression. With the economy shrinking again and unemployment rising again, I would expect, especially after all the campaign rhetoric maybe he would finally meet with his jobs council or his economic advisors, not dismiss them after meeting with them only four times. How about meeting with your economic council, but I guess I expect too much. Shifting focus away from truly important issues by the administration is made much easier by a compliant media. Where have all the journalists gone? Sometimes the administration doesn’t even have to shift focus to a created issue, the pro Obama media has done a very good job keeping anything controversial out of the general public’s eye. Fast and Furious is the first that comes to mind, a scandal about the United States government giving guns to Mexican drug cartels. Combined, the main stream media covered the story for less than one hour; even after the deaths of a Border Patrol Agent was linked to the weapons. Never heard of it? Know nothing about it? That’s the whole point. How about Benghazi? The main stream media will continue to feed you the real important news, which celebrity is getting married or divorced or which one is in trouble with the law. The Ancient Roman government used a tactic called ‘bread and circuses’ to control the people. They understood if you kept the people fed and entertained you can steal all of their liberty. Well, look at the state of America, we are the fattest, dumbest and happiest people in the world and the government is stealing our liberty while we pay more attention to American Idol than our government. It shows a sad state of the country when more people can recognize the cast of Jersey Shore than the leaders of their country. As usual, please click here for my article with links.

Gun control or citizen control

“A well-regulated militia being necessary for a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” That is the entire text on the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution, the guarantee that the federal government cannot disarm the states. The drafters of the 2nd Amendment were not referring to hunting; they were referring to the natural right to defend your other natural rights. The Founders had just used the guns a tyrannical, oppressive government tried to confiscate to stand up and demand the recognition of their natural rights. People must have the right to defend their families and private property from those who may try to take it, whether criminals or tyrants. In the wake of the tragic shooting in Newtown, the anti-gun agenda is in full swing, quickly using the emotion generated from the latest crisis to push a political agenda. Senator Feinstein has pledged to reinstitute the “assault weapon” ban, although she has a concealed carry permit and has admitted to carrying a gun to protect herself. Vice President Biden has been tasked with developing recommendations on how to curtail gun violence. We are now told that President Obama will announce his plans for gun control on Wednesday, January 16. The plan includes as many as 19 executive orders, as reported as well as some legislative items. I am against the use of executive orders, it does not matter whether the President is a republican or a democrat, Article 2 of the United States Constitution give no such power to the executive, however that has not stopped Presidents from issuing them, Obama has issued over 151 is his first four years, with nearly twenty more coming tomorrow. One thing for sure, any measures taken will be constitutionally questionable and will only address those that follow the law. Criminals do not follow laws, so it’s pretty ridiculous to think that more laws will curb the problem. If laws worked, we would not have murder or the war on drugs. Law abiding citizens do not break laws; laws restricting the rights of law abiding citizens only benefit the criminal, who has no intention of following them. Tomorrow we will find out how much liberty we will be forced to trade for the illusion of more security. Please see my examiner article here for links and sources.

Gun control

It has been more than a week since the tragic school shooting in Connecticut on December 14 and there have been calls from everything to increasing the number of guns to banning them outright. I am not going to talk about the incident; I prefer to let the victims and families deal with their mourning in privacy. I would not want reporters shoving cameras and microphones in my face if I had to deal with a tragedy. Also, I refuse to mention the suspects name or anything about the events of that day or leading up to it. I, in no way want to sensationalize or publicize the actions in hopes that there is not another lunatic wanting to one up the latest school shooting or copy the crime to achieve his 2 weeks of infamy. I think the mainstream media should treat these incidents in the same way, but the last thing I want is a law stating what can and cannot be reported. Instead, I want to focus the debate that has risen out of the tragedy, gun control. I was always taught that gun control meant using both hands; know your target and surroundings (meaning know what you’re shooting at and what’s behind your target and next to your target). It means always having control of your weapon, safe handling, care and training. To some, gun control means banning guns from individual ownership. Most won’t come right out and say it, but that’s the ultimate goal. All of the gun control measures are determined to restrict ownership of firearms. The one weapon that always comes up for banning are the so called “assault weapons”, which are really just military looking semi-automatic rifles. The federal ban on “assault weapons” expired in 2004 and studies from the CDC and National Research Council found no noticeable effect on crime. The University of Pennsylvania submitted a report to the Dept. of Justice stating that renewing the ban would little effect on the crime rate. The main reason is “assault weapons” are only used in approximately 10% of crimes involving guns. Proponents of banning “assault weapons” claim there is no reason someone would need to own such a weapon, they are not used for hunting. I would take you back to the Rodney King riots in LA where a shop owner protected his private property against a group of looters, using his “assault weapon.” Let’s take a look at the history of gun bans. We can start in 1930’s Germany and move into Soviet Russia and keep going into China. Those countries successfully disarmed their opposition and the result was disastrous for its citizens. Hitler prohibited Jews from gun ownership and they suffered one of the worst atrocities in the history of the world. Stalin massacred tens of millions of his own people, ethnic minorities and peasants. Of course, Mao did the same thing, killing millions of his fellow countrymen. In contrast, look at Switzerland. The Swiss government trains and arms its citizens and it enjoys one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Gun ownership does not mean higher crime just like strict gun control does not mean less crime. England, where citizens are mostly unarmed, has the highest violent crime rate in the world.