Have you heard that a U.S. Chief District Judge just declared Prop. 8 unconstitutional? Yep, that he did. Openly gay Judge Vaughn Walker, rather than recusing himself for not being - ahem - objective in the matter, stated on page 135 of his ruling, "Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis in which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians." He went on to state that the only rational basis for 7,000,000 Californians to have voted in the affirmative for Prop. 8 was their desire to keep gays as second-class citizens. Interesting observation, don't you think?
Is it just me or is this judicial activism thing way out of control? It seems like only yesterday that a judge overturned Proposition 187. 1994 it was, and one could argue that this judge's action has cost Californians billions and billions of dollars each and every year since. Then there was a Supreme Court Justice named David Souter who wrote the majority opinion in overturning a lower court decision in the case of Kelo vs. City of New Haven to rule that it's quite alright to take private property from individuals and give it to another PRIVATE concern, if that action is expected to generate increased tax revenues. Holy eminent domain, Batman. His opinion tortured the Constitution .almost beyond recognition. Now Sonja Sotomayor, a newly-appointed Supreme Court Justice, said during her confirmation hearings that the individual right of the people to keep and bear arms, otherwise known as the Second Amendment, is "settled law." In her first test of that under-oath declaration, she voted against McDonald vs. City of Chicago. No thanks to her, that basic American right was reaffirmed in this landmark case on a 5-4 decision. That too-close vote demonstrates vividly that our Republic is hanging, literally, by a thread. There are many, many more examples that could be cited, but hey, you get the idea...
It seems to me we're wasting tons of money, scads of manpower and loads of time voting on measure which may well be overturned down the line by somebody in a black robe. Maybe it would be a better idea to simply put together a list of all the thorny issues we as a people face. These could include abortion, religious freedom, offshore drilling, onshore drilling, drilling in general, corporal punishment, the death penalty, drug use and abuse, smoking in public, or smoking anywhere for that matter, universal health care, global warming, or whatever they're calling it these days, amnesty for illegals (oh, I'm sorry, Undocumented Democrats), forced unionization and the redistribution of wealth from the productive to the less than, to name but a very few. Then we could simply send this list off to all the state and federal judges for their exalted opinions. Once we've received their consensus from on-high on what's okay and what's not for We the People, we could simply implement those edicts from our ivory-tower overseers and eliminate this whole messy voting thing once and for all. Then we could change our national motto from "E Pluribus Umum" to "Welcome to Venezuela. Check Your Guns at the Door."
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The Coming Unpleasantness
What would happen if there was a country which...
...paid no attention whatsoever to the will of its people, choosing rather to do whatever the ruling class wished;
...would not secure or guard its borders, even to the extent of suing one of its own states for attempting to do so;
...raided the pocketbooks of the productive class unmercilessly, and then, due to issues of "fairness," redistributed that wealth to those who choose not to work for it;
...turned its back on the residents of one of its coastal regions in the time of crisis, preferring rather to keep its union members as solid friends and supporters;
...forced its citizens to, for the first time in history, buy something - anything - in clear violation of the Constitution upon which the country was based, that they did not want, did not need, could not afford and loudly protested against;
...continually lied to its citizens, saying whatever was expedient at the time simply to win votes from various minority constituents and greedily consolidate power;
...borrowed more than twice as much in the its leadership's first full year as the entirety of the federal debt amassed during the preceding 221 years and 43 presidents combined;
...grew government so massively in one and one-half years that, from a piddling 7% of the economy in the control of the government when the current administration took power, more than half is now owned or controlled by the union-backed executive;
...stiffed the corporate bond holders of a car company of their first-in-line position when a car company pulled the plug and then redistributed their constitutionally-guaranteed ownership to a union;
...worked tirelessly to redefine the 27 little words that guaranteed its citizens the right to keep and bear arms in an all-out effort to disarm and make serfs of the public;
...hired 37 "czars" who are unknown to its citizens and unvetted by its legislature, performed tasks known to no one but the executive but were paid entirely by the citizenry.
I submit that such a country would rather quickly find itself in the midst of a civil war. Except that this time, it wouldn't be between the north and the south. It would be between the states and the centralized government. Given that each and every day in this country could very well bring a new assault on freedoms, that day appears to be coming, and rapidly. In about 90 days the citizens of this country may vote to affirm this brand of leadership, or chooose to overturn it. We shall soon learn which...
...paid no attention whatsoever to the will of its people, choosing rather to do whatever the ruling class wished;
...would not secure or guard its borders, even to the extent of suing one of its own states for attempting to do so;
...raided the pocketbooks of the productive class unmercilessly, and then, due to issues of "fairness," redistributed that wealth to those who choose not to work for it;
...turned its back on the residents of one of its coastal regions in the time of crisis, preferring rather to keep its union members as solid friends and supporters;
...forced its citizens to, for the first time in history, buy something - anything - in clear violation of the Constitution upon which the country was based, that they did not want, did not need, could not afford and loudly protested against;
...continually lied to its citizens, saying whatever was expedient at the time simply to win votes from various minority constituents and greedily consolidate power;
...borrowed more than twice as much in the its leadership's first full year as the entirety of the federal debt amassed during the preceding 221 years and 43 presidents combined;
...grew government so massively in one and one-half years that, from a piddling 7% of the economy in the control of the government when the current administration took power, more than half is now owned or controlled by the union-backed executive;
...stiffed the corporate bond holders of a car company of their first-in-line position when a car company pulled the plug and then redistributed their constitutionally-guaranteed ownership to a union;
...worked tirelessly to redefine the 27 little words that guaranteed its citizens the right to keep and bear arms in an all-out effort to disarm and make serfs of the public;
...hired 37 "czars" who are unknown to its citizens and unvetted by its legislature, performed tasks known to no one but the executive but were paid entirely by the citizenry.
I submit that such a country would rather quickly find itself in the midst of a civil war. Except that this time, it wouldn't be between the north and the south. It would be between the states and the centralized government. Given that each and every day in this country could very well bring a new assault on freedoms, that day appears to be coming, and rapidly. In about 90 days the citizens of this country may vote to affirm this brand of leadership, or chooose to overturn it. We shall soon learn which...
Thursday, July 29, 2010
You May Not Know...
You may not know that this is the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. You may not know that this celebration is being held at Fort A. B Hill in Virginia. Some 46,000 Boy Scouts are camping out there under the stars for ten days to commemorate this momentous occasion, one that's near and dear to my heart. You may also not know that Sir Baden Powell founded the Boy Scouts, in England no less, way back then to teach the rules of manhood to what to him was becoming an aimless, shiftless group of youth. I think he did a very fine job. You may also not know that the 50th Anniversary of Scouting was held in a then-little known place ultimately named Irvine, California. It was held in a meadow off what was to become Jamboree Boulevard. Named, of course, for what had taken place in those environs.
You may not know that I was big into Scouting. I became a Cub Scout at 5 or 6. I progressed quickly to Webelos, and then on to Boy Scouts. From Tenderfoot to Star to Life and on to Eagle Scout, I rose quickly through the ranks. When I became an Eagle I had 44 Merit Badges, plus a God and Country Award with Oak Leaf Clusters. I was selected to become a member of Tribe of Micoseh, an honorary American Indian tribal fraternity (quite like the Order of the Arrow, if you're more familar with that). I was first a Brave (Brave Many Thunder Sticks), and then a Warrior and finally a Chief. In short, I was into Scouting. Big time. It taught me to be a good citizen, and a man.
So why to I take you through all these machinations? Because today our Commander-in-Chief, President Barack Hussein Obama, chose to do a stint on "The View," an ABC daytime TV show, rather than accepting the invitation from the Boy Scouts of America to address their gathering in Virginia. Hanging out with Joy Bahar and Whoopi and Babs to him was preferable and obviously more important than to hanging out with 46,000 fine young Americans on the 100th Anniversary of American Scouting. What else can I say? What else needs to be said?
You may not know that I was big into Scouting. I became a Cub Scout at 5 or 6. I progressed quickly to Webelos, and then on to Boy Scouts. From Tenderfoot to Star to Life and on to Eagle Scout, I rose quickly through the ranks. When I became an Eagle I had 44 Merit Badges, plus a God and Country Award with Oak Leaf Clusters. I was selected to become a member of Tribe of Micoseh, an honorary American Indian tribal fraternity (quite like the Order of the Arrow, if you're more familar with that). I was first a Brave (Brave Many Thunder Sticks), and then a Warrior and finally a Chief. In short, I was into Scouting. Big time. It taught me to be a good citizen, and a man.
So why to I take you through all these machinations? Because today our Commander-in-Chief, President Barack Hussein Obama, chose to do a stint on "The View," an ABC daytime TV show, rather than accepting the invitation from the Boy Scouts of America to address their gathering in Virginia. Hanging out with Joy Bahar and Whoopi and Babs to him was preferable and obviously more important than to hanging out with 46,000 fine young Americans on the 100th Anniversary of American Scouting. What else can I say? What else needs to be said?
Monday, July 19, 2010
Surf Fest at the Legion
My Mom made the very best chili in the whole world. No, not an exaggeration. The VERY BEST! At least that's what I thought when I was coming up in rural Missouri. Once a month or so she would surprise me with a wonderful bowl of Missouri chili. And yes, there really was - and is - a Missouri chili. Just as there's a Pennsylvania chili, a New Mexico chili, an Alaska chili and an Ohio chili. Each state, in fact, has a unique style of chili and I think Missouri's is the best. Rich and thick, maroon in color, full of hearty beef and pork, lots of veggies, such as onions, bell peppers and celery, plus three kinds of beans, and heavy with chili powder and cumin. Just a little sweet on the tip of the tongue at first, with a clean mid-palate flavor, followed by a warm heat at the back of the mouth and throat. Yes, Missouri chili is by far the best. But unfortunately, my Mom passed away without passing on her recipe to me. So, for 20 years or so I pined for that wonderful chili, tasting all I could get from others, but enjoying them little, knowing not what to do about it.
Then one day I decided to exercise my Eagle Scout ingenuity and became proactive. I jumped on the computer and Googled "chili recipes." What popped up was a couple of hundred thousand of them! I spent literally months reading recipes. I ordered the International Chili Society's book of winning recipes back to Carroll Shelby's first competition in Terlingua, TX. I read each recipe trying to determine by its ingredients what it might taste like and how closely it might emulate Mom's chili. Finally I hit upon one that looked enticing; it was Steve Spurrier's "Chili for Ten." He had come up with this little gem while Head Coach of Florida State Football. I decided to put it to the test. I made it.
Wow! It was good! Not great, but very, very good. I made mental notes as to what I thought it might need to taste more like Mom's and then made it again. But my friends who had tasted the first batch grew in number. So I grossed it up to "Chili for 20." And did it again, with modifications to the amount and number of its ingredients, ever trying to improve it. I kept making more and more of it to satisfy my hungry fans, especially at my annual Super Bowl parties. The recipe grew over the years to enough for 30, then 40, and 50, and then to 60, 70 and 80. Finally I just threw out all the stops and started making enough chili to feed 100 guests in a pot the size of Rhode Island. And each batch got better and better. It was suggested I enter my creation in a local pub's chili cook off. I did. It won. I then decided I would retire undefeated. No more contests for me. Right...
Just this past weekend our local American Legion Post #291 hosted the second annual Surf Fest. For those of you who don't know, this is the only Legion in America that's right on the water in Newport Beach. It has its own yacht club and boasts about 6,000 members. It's pretty damn special to us, its members, and usually blows away guests who visit it for the first time. Its Sons of the American Legion's leaders came up with the Surf Fest concept to raise money for children's charities. It has all the ingredients for success: surf bands (Chantays, Surfaris, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jan and Dean Show, etc.), old woodies and hot rods, lots of food and drink, wonderful, sunny So. Cal. weather and a chili cook off! What's not to like? So, I decided to put my undefeated status on the pass line and entered.
There were 19 of us cooking that day. It was all "people's choice," so each chili was different from every other. But they were all the same in terms of the intensity and enjoyment of the cooks. We welcomed about 1,000 attendees and each eagerly went from booth-to-booth tasting the entrants' chili. Ours too. My wife, Elaine, and I arrived before 7:00 to set up our pop-up, tables, stove, etc and heat up our concoction. Two of my daughters and their hubbies showed up to assist. We started serving at noon and had to turn in our offering for totally blind judging at 1:30 p.m. Thereafter we served chili all afternoon until it ran out, listened to the great music and imbibed on the "lemonade" we had brought along especially for that purpose. A quintessential SoCal day.
Then the announcer took the stage. Steve Porter, a friend, boat captain, long-time member and Chief Judge of the Chili Society, and one-time winner of third-in-the- world, announced the winner of Best Booth. Then the Best Theme. Then he announced Third Place. Not me. Then Second Place. Not me again. I had my fingers crossed, not wishing to be blown out so publicly. Not to worry. Steve then stated, "We're never gonna' hear the end of this, our First Place Winner is Chuck Cassity!" The crowd erupted in applause! I thrust my aging hands high into the air. It felt great to have my creation recognized and to take home the trophy, which is roughly the size of a Major League baseball(!). I won't have to work hard to find a place to display it. It would fit almost anywhere. Oh, and by the way, a little cash came with it, but just about enough to cover the cost of the chili and entrance fee. But it was a great day and we all had a fine, exhausting and rewarding time. I might even do it again next year. Hey, even if I don't win, I'm still batting .667, right!
Memo to Dana: See kid, I can write a whole blog entry without a single political reference...
Then one day I decided to exercise my Eagle Scout ingenuity and became proactive. I jumped on the computer and Googled "chili recipes." What popped up was a couple of hundred thousand of them! I spent literally months reading recipes. I ordered the International Chili Society's book of winning recipes back to Carroll Shelby's first competition in Terlingua, TX. I read each recipe trying to determine by its ingredients what it might taste like and how closely it might emulate Mom's chili. Finally I hit upon one that looked enticing; it was Steve Spurrier's "Chili for Ten." He had come up with this little gem while Head Coach of Florida State Football. I decided to put it to the test. I made it.
Wow! It was good! Not great, but very, very good. I made mental notes as to what I thought it might need to taste more like Mom's and then made it again. But my friends who had tasted the first batch grew in number. So I grossed it up to "Chili for 20." And did it again, with modifications to the amount and number of its ingredients, ever trying to improve it. I kept making more and more of it to satisfy my hungry fans, especially at my annual Super Bowl parties. The recipe grew over the years to enough for 30, then 40, and 50, and then to 60, 70 and 80. Finally I just threw out all the stops and started making enough chili to feed 100 guests in a pot the size of Rhode Island. And each batch got better and better. It was suggested I enter my creation in a local pub's chili cook off. I did. It won. I then decided I would retire undefeated. No more contests for me. Right...
Just this past weekend our local American Legion Post #291 hosted the second annual Surf Fest. For those of you who don't know, this is the only Legion in America that's right on the water in Newport Beach. It has its own yacht club and boasts about 6,000 members. It's pretty damn special to us, its members, and usually blows away guests who visit it for the first time. Its Sons of the American Legion's leaders came up with the Surf Fest concept to raise money for children's charities. It has all the ingredients for success: surf bands (Chantays, Surfaris, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jan and Dean Show, etc.), old woodies and hot rods, lots of food and drink, wonderful, sunny So. Cal. weather and a chili cook off! What's not to like? So, I decided to put my undefeated status on the pass line and entered.
There were 19 of us cooking that day. It was all "people's choice," so each chili was different from every other. But they were all the same in terms of the intensity and enjoyment of the cooks. We welcomed about 1,000 attendees and each eagerly went from booth-to-booth tasting the entrants' chili. Ours too. My wife, Elaine, and I arrived before 7:00 to set up our pop-up, tables, stove, etc and heat up our concoction. Two of my daughters and their hubbies showed up to assist. We started serving at noon and had to turn in our offering for totally blind judging at 1:30 p.m. Thereafter we served chili all afternoon until it ran out, listened to the great music and imbibed on the "lemonade" we had brought along especially for that purpose. A quintessential SoCal day.
Then the announcer took the stage. Steve Porter, a friend, boat captain, long-time member and Chief Judge of the Chili Society, and one-time winner of third-in-the- world, announced the winner of Best Booth. Then the Best Theme. Then he announced Third Place. Not me. Then Second Place. Not me again. I had my fingers crossed, not wishing to be blown out so publicly. Not to worry. Steve then stated, "We're never gonna' hear the end of this, our First Place Winner is Chuck Cassity!" The crowd erupted in applause! I thrust my aging hands high into the air. It felt great to have my creation recognized and to take home the trophy, which is roughly the size of a Major League baseball(!). I won't have to work hard to find a place to display it. It would fit almost anywhere. Oh, and by the way, a little cash came with it, but just about enough to cover the cost of the chili and entrance fee. But it was a great day and we all had a fine, exhausting and rewarding time. I might even do it again next year. Hey, even if I don't win, I'm still batting .667, right!
Memo to Dana: See kid, I can write a whole blog entry without a single political reference...
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The Arabian Desert - The Final Frontier
National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Mr. Charles Bolden, NASA's Administrator, was recently interviewed by Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, as you may know, is Osama bin Laden's favorite network and the outlet he uses to distribute his exciting cave-made videos. It's also the place where we first saw happy Palestinians dancing and shouting with glee as our World Trade Center towers were crumbling. Anyway, Bolden for some reason agreed to be interviewed by these "journalists." We were quick to find out why...
Bolden indicated to his interviewer that he'd been tasked by President Barack Hussein Obama to reorder NASA's priorities. A new mission to the Moon, you might guess? Noooo. How about Mars? No again. POTUS' Number One Priority, Bolden proudly proclaimed, was to lead an outreach to Muslim nations to make them "feel better" about their contributions to science and math and engineering. Yep, you read that right. A Dr. Phil-style "group hug" therapy session for one-fifth of the World's population to help them with their self esteem. Remember all the scientific breakthroughs the Muslim nations have achieved in science and math and engineering and space travel? Neither do I.
Why, you might ask, would this be NASA's job? Yes, WHY? If this is necessary, and I stress "if," wouldn't it be better delivered by the State Department? Maybe the Post Office could deliver this message. Well, since BHO has seriously defunded NASA, to the extent even that we'll soon go into space only by renting a chair on a Russian Soyuz rocket at the cost of $51 Million per round trip, NASA has very little left to do. Its braniest team members are leaving in droves. It even lacks the funding to perform routine maintenance on its core systems. It's in the process of moth-balling its space shuttles and can't afford to replace them. So, given that NASA doesn't have much to do, I guess the thinking was, hey, let's send them to the sands of Arabia to make nice with the sheiks. Therefore, I suggest we change NASA's name to NAMOA...the National Aeronautics and Muslim Outreach Agency.
One Hundred and Eighteen Days until November 2nd. I'm counting them down. I hope you are too...
Bolden indicated to his interviewer that he'd been tasked by President Barack Hussein Obama to reorder NASA's priorities. A new mission to the Moon, you might guess? Noooo. How about Mars? No again. POTUS' Number One Priority, Bolden proudly proclaimed, was to lead an outreach to Muslim nations to make them "feel better" about their contributions to science and math and engineering. Yep, you read that right. A Dr. Phil-style "group hug" therapy session for one-fifth of the World's population to help them with their self esteem. Remember all the scientific breakthroughs the Muslim nations have achieved in science and math and engineering and space travel? Neither do I.
Why, you might ask, would this be NASA's job? Yes, WHY? If this is necessary, and I stress "if," wouldn't it be better delivered by the State Department? Maybe the Post Office could deliver this message. Well, since BHO has seriously defunded NASA, to the extent even that we'll soon go into space only by renting a chair on a Russian Soyuz rocket at the cost of $51 Million per round trip, NASA has very little left to do. Its braniest team members are leaving in droves. It even lacks the funding to perform routine maintenance on its core systems. It's in the process of moth-balling its space shuttles and can't afford to replace them. So, given that NASA doesn't have much to do, I guess the thinking was, hey, let's send them to the sands of Arabia to make nice with the sheiks. Therefore, I suggest we change NASA's name to NAMOA...the National Aeronautics and Muslim Outreach Agency.
One Hundred and Eighteen Days until November 2nd. I'm counting them down. I hope you are too...
Monday, June 28, 2010
Your 2nd Amendment Rights Reaffirmed
Today is a RED LETTER DAY! The U.S. Supreme Court just issued its opinion on McDonald v. City of Chicago. And common sense prevailed. Finally.
The 2nd Amendment reads:
"A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
Seldom has 27 little words caused so much angst and anxiety, confusion, heated debate and outright torturing of meaning by those unable or unwilling to understand the written word. Those unaware of the controversy need to step back a bit and review history. To wit:
The 1st Amendment to our Constitution gives us all the right of free speech (plus other related rights). The 2nd gives us the right to keep and bear arms, no doubt to help us defend the Amendment just before it. It is no accident they were written in this order. But ever since the ink was drying on this hallowed document, those on the left have been trying to eliminate it, minimize it or simply change its straightforward pronouncement into something never intended by the framers. And they had a lot of sympathizers, including Stalin, Marx, Hitler, Pol Pot, Chavez and Castro, to name but a few. And because of this, those who love liberty and want to protect it have been working tirelessly to reaffirm it. That reaffirmation happened today.
For purposes of background, The Roberts Court passed down its landmark ruling on Heller v. Washington, D.C. in July, 2008. Heller, as you may remember, was a retired soldier, a D.C. cop, a private eye and a bodyguard. In these capacities he had the right to carry a weapon concealed. But due to D.C.'s arcane gun laws, he couldn't keep his handgun at home. He had to stop by Union Station and lock up his pistol in a train station locker each evening and then pick it up on his way to work the next morning. As stupid as this may sound, that was their law, and its been their law for the last 40 years. During that 40 years, I might add, their murder rate has increased more than 340%. So Heller sued, and with the help of the NRA, he prevailed. D.C.'s gun ban was overthrown.
By the way, you might be interested to note that two rather well-known people signed amicus (friend-of-the-court) briefs on behalf of D.C.; that would be then Illinois State Senator. B. H. Obama and then Chicago lawyer Eric Holder. That tells you all you need to know about their motivations and all you need to know about the regard they hold for our Bill of Rights.
So was the fight over? Not by a long shot (pun intended). A then little-known judge turned down an appeal on gun rights brought because of this ruling, stating emphatically that Heller v. D.C. applied only to "Federal enclaves." D.C., of course, is just such an enclave. All other cities, counties and states were not affected by this ruling, the judge stated. That judge was one Sonja Sotomayor, now a Supreme put there by B. H. Obama. You should know also that during her confirmation hearings, Sotomayor was asked if she'd gotten religion since the Heller decision. She stated emphatically that the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental American right. We'll see...
Oh, don't let me forget to mention that as this is written, Elena Kagen is undergoing confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill. This lady is no doubt very smart. But having never been a judge, she's woefully short of real-world judicial experience against which we can evaluate her prospective performance as a Justice. But one thing we do know. In the 1990's she worked with the Clinton Administration in its effort to eviscerate the 2nd Amendment. These efforts included banning so-called "assault weapons" (semi-auto deer rifles, as an example) and limiting the importation of certain guns they thought looked scary. In one of her more famous pronouncements, she stated that the National Rifle Association and the KKK were pretty much equal in terms of being a threat to the nation. "Bad guy orginizations," she called them.
Enter a retired black Chicago janitor named Otis McDonald. He lives in a downtrodden, inner-city project and feared for his life. He wanted to buy a gun to protect himself and his family. Due to Chicago's onerous gun laws (Chicago and its forty suburban cities outlawed handguns more than 30 years ago), McDonald was refused in his efforts to take advantage of his Constitutionally-protected rights. Youshould know that since this ban went into effect, Chicago's murder rate has increased 340%. 52 were shot just this past weekend, eight fatally. So much for outlawing handguns. With the assistance of the NRA, once again, McDonald sued. Now President Obama and Attorney General Holder, ever predictably, once again signed on backing Chicago. McDonald lost. They appealed. They won. Chicago appealed. It went all the way to the Supreme Court. The case was heard this past February. The decision was handed down today; McDonald prevailed on a 5-4 decision. Sotomayor, by the way, voted with the minority despite her earlier proclamations concerning the 2nd Amendment and the fundamental rights to our citizens it conveys. Can you say disingenuous?
And don't let anyone try to tell you that the words preceding "...the right of the people..." define or refine or limit or reduce the breadth of the 2nd Amendment. The words preceding the second comma is termed a "preamble." Remember that when the Bill of Rights was crafted there was no TV, or radio, or telegraph, or Pony Express, or telephone, or internet to inform the people. There were only a very few newspapers and only the people in the bigger cities and towns got the chance to read them. So our framers chose to give us "reasons" before the "rights" we were granted so we'd know out in the hinterlands what they were doing and why they were doing it. There are preambles before many of the Rights in the Bill, including the 4th, the 10th and the 14th. So, simply disregard everything before the stated right, including the whole militia thing, and you'll know what was intended. And that's not my take on the subject. That's the opinion of the majority of the Justices of the Supreme Court.
So folks, 219 years after the Bill of Rights was consecrated, you finally have the right to buy a gun anywhere in the 50 states, and keep it handy to protect yourself and your family. And not just from bad guys. The 2nd Amendment wasn't written solely to enable you to protect yourself from robbers and thieves and rapists and murderers. Rather, it was written for you to be able to protect yourself from those in the government who might engage in tyranny. And remember, this right of yours which was reaffirmed today was voted through by the thinnest of majorities, 5 to 4. What we were told today is that four sitting, left-wing ideologue Supreme Court Justices voted to strip you of your rights under the 2nd Amendment. They either cannot read, or cannot understand what was written, or, far more likely, they chose not to interpret what was written in a way that benefits us Americans as was intended. They want to pick and choose what parts and pieces of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights they believe have merit and worth, according to their political philosophies, and which should just be eliminated altogether. Elections have consequences, people. When you go to the polls in 2012, you're not just voting for a president. Because Presidents select Justices, you're voting to retain or lose the rights given you under our Constitution. Pick the wrong candidate and we could be France or even Venezuela by the time the dust settles. Think about it...
The 2nd Amendment reads:
"A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
Seldom has 27 little words caused so much angst and anxiety, confusion, heated debate and outright torturing of meaning by those unable or unwilling to understand the written word. Those unaware of the controversy need to step back a bit and review history. To wit:
The 1st Amendment to our Constitution gives us all the right of free speech (plus other related rights). The 2nd gives us the right to keep and bear arms, no doubt to help us defend the Amendment just before it. It is no accident they were written in this order. But ever since the ink was drying on this hallowed document, those on the left have been trying to eliminate it, minimize it or simply change its straightforward pronouncement into something never intended by the framers. And they had a lot of sympathizers, including Stalin, Marx, Hitler, Pol Pot, Chavez and Castro, to name but a few. And because of this, those who love liberty and want to protect it have been working tirelessly to reaffirm it. That reaffirmation happened today.
For purposes of background, The Roberts Court passed down its landmark ruling on Heller v. Washington, D.C. in July, 2008. Heller, as you may remember, was a retired soldier, a D.C. cop, a private eye and a bodyguard. In these capacities he had the right to carry a weapon concealed. But due to D.C.'s arcane gun laws, he couldn't keep his handgun at home. He had to stop by Union Station and lock up his pistol in a train station locker each evening and then pick it up on his way to work the next morning. As stupid as this may sound, that was their law, and its been their law for the last 40 years. During that 40 years, I might add, their murder rate has increased more than 340%. So Heller sued, and with the help of the NRA, he prevailed. D.C.'s gun ban was overthrown.
By the way, you might be interested to note that two rather well-known people signed amicus (friend-of-the-court) briefs on behalf of D.C.; that would be then Illinois State Senator. B. H. Obama and then Chicago lawyer Eric Holder. That tells you all you need to know about their motivations and all you need to know about the regard they hold for our Bill of Rights.
So was the fight over? Not by a long shot (pun intended). A then little-known judge turned down an appeal on gun rights brought because of this ruling, stating emphatically that Heller v. D.C. applied only to "Federal enclaves." D.C., of course, is just such an enclave. All other cities, counties and states were not affected by this ruling, the judge stated. That judge was one Sonja Sotomayor, now a Supreme put there by B. H. Obama. You should know also that during her confirmation hearings, Sotomayor was asked if she'd gotten religion since the Heller decision. She stated emphatically that the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental American right. We'll see...
Oh, don't let me forget to mention that as this is written, Elena Kagen is undergoing confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill. This lady is no doubt very smart. But having never been a judge, she's woefully short of real-world judicial experience against which we can evaluate her prospective performance as a Justice. But one thing we do know. In the 1990's she worked with the Clinton Administration in its effort to eviscerate the 2nd Amendment. These efforts included banning so-called "assault weapons" (semi-auto deer rifles, as an example) and limiting the importation of certain guns they thought looked scary. In one of her more famous pronouncements, she stated that the National Rifle Association and the KKK were pretty much equal in terms of being a threat to the nation. "Bad guy orginizations," she called them.
Enter a retired black Chicago janitor named Otis McDonald. He lives in a downtrodden, inner-city project and feared for his life. He wanted to buy a gun to protect himself and his family. Due to Chicago's onerous gun laws (Chicago and its forty suburban cities outlawed handguns more than 30 years ago), McDonald was refused in his efforts to take advantage of his Constitutionally-protected rights. Youshould know that since this ban went into effect, Chicago's murder rate has increased 340%. 52 were shot just this past weekend, eight fatally. So much for outlawing handguns. With the assistance of the NRA, once again, McDonald sued. Now President Obama and Attorney General Holder, ever predictably, once again signed on backing Chicago. McDonald lost. They appealed. They won. Chicago appealed. It went all the way to the Supreme Court. The case was heard this past February. The decision was handed down today; McDonald prevailed on a 5-4 decision. Sotomayor, by the way, voted with the minority despite her earlier proclamations concerning the 2nd Amendment and the fundamental rights to our citizens it conveys. Can you say disingenuous?
And don't let anyone try to tell you that the words preceding "...the right of the people..." define or refine or limit or reduce the breadth of the 2nd Amendment. The words preceding the second comma is termed a "preamble." Remember that when the Bill of Rights was crafted there was no TV, or radio, or telegraph, or Pony Express, or telephone, or internet to inform the people. There were only a very few newspapers and only the people in the bigger cities and towns got the chance to read them. So our framers chose to give us "reasons" before the "rights" we were granted so we'd know out in the hinterlands what they were doing and why they were doing it. There are preambles before many of the Rights in the Bill, including the 4th, the 10th and the 14th. So, simply disregard everything before the stated right, including the whole militia thing, and you'll know what was intended. And that's not my take on the subject. That's the opinion of the majority of the Justices of the Supreme Court.
So folks, 219 years after the Bill of Rights was consecrated, you finally have the right to buy a gun anywhere in the 50 states, and keep it handy to protect yourself and your family. And not just from bad guys. The 2nd Amendment wasn't written solely to enable you to protect yourself from robbers and thieves and rapists and murderers. Rather, it was written for you to be able to protect yourself from those in the government who might engage in tyranny. And remember, this right of yours which was reaffirmed today was voted through by the thinnest of majorities, 5 to 4. What we were told today is that four sitting, left-wing ideologue Supreme Court Justices voted to strip you of your rights under the 2nd Amendment. They either cannot read, or cannot understand what was written, or, far more likely, they chose not to interpret what was written in a way that benefits us Americans as was intended. They want to pick and choose what parts and pieces of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights they believe have merit and worth, according to their political philosophies, and which should just be eliminated altogether. Elections have consequences, people. When you go to the polls in 2012, you're not just voting for a president. Because Presidents select Justices, you're voting to retain or lose the rights given you under our Constitution. Pick the wrong candidate and we could be France or even Venezuela by the time the dust settles. Think about it...
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Murphy's Airline
My wife and I just returned from a much-needed vacation to Michigan. Why Michigan, you ask? Perhaps because it's quite possibly the one state in America worse off than California. It would be tough to be worse, but God knows they're trying. But that's not it.
Some of you might know that my youngest daughter, Jennifer, just made a mid-course career correction. She decided she wanted to become a professional photographer and give up her Dilbert-style cubicle at Universal Music Group here in Hollywood. So, she dedicated most of a year to UCLA extension courses, bought a really cool camera and laptop with all the requisite PhotoShop software, practiced like crazy and made her way off to Mackinac Island, MI, where she's been hired for the season as Lead Photographer for the Grand Hotel. Never heard of the Grand?
According to Conde-Naste, the Grand is one of the 100 top hotels in the world. It's situated on an island 4 miles off the coast of the very tip of the northern Michigan peninsula on the straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It's so far north they enjoy enviable views of the Northern Lights late in the summer. Think of a straight line between Minneapolis and Ottawa and you've got it. But this island is special for a number of important reasons.
Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Island was first occupied by local Indian tribes (Huron, Chippewa, etc.). Then the French built a fort there to protect their fur trappers and traders in the late 1700s. The British then kicked out the Frogs following the French and Indian War. The Indians, it seemed liked the French a lot a whole lot better then they did the Limeys. So they played a little kick ball out front of the Fort as a diversion while most of their happy band of warriors stormed the battlements from the rear. Not a single Brit drew air following that encounter. Nasty fellows, those natives, especially when forced to give up French cuisine in favor of fish and chips.
Then came the Americans. After we made toast out of the English in the Revolutionary War, we took over. We ran the Fort and the Island until the 1840s, when the French came back for Round Two. They took back the Island without a shot being fired. Seems like they took a page from the Indian playbook and came in through the back side of the Island. All the American cannons were aimed toward the harbor, and the French sneaked up from behind. Sneaky bastards, the French.
Eventually we retook the fort when the French decided they weren't very good at this whole "war thing" and went on home to make wine, smoke cigarettes and eschew bathing. By the way, they're still not. Do you know how many Frenchmen it takes to defend Paris? Neither do they. They never tried...
Anyway, things pretty well just idled along on the Island from then on. The Grand Hotel was built in the 1870s. From a fairly inauspicious beginning, it was to become the largest wooden structure east of the Mississippi. Some of you may know that the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego has the honor of being the largest wooden structure west of the Big Muddy, so this gives you some idea of the Grand's size and import. And since there's no roads our bridges to the Island, a thriving ferry business developed. Both the Hotel and the ferries are still humming along. And then they decided to outlaw motorized vehicles from the Island in the early 1900s. They worried that those loud, smelly cars might scare the horses. And they have horses aplenty. About 600 saddle, pack and draft horses, consisting mostly of Percherons, pull freight wagons and tourist taxis throughout the season. No cars, no motorcycles, no lawnmowers. Lots of clip-clop, clip-clop, however. By the way, do you know what goes, "clip clop, clip clop, bang bang, clip clop, clip clop?" An Amish drive-by shooting. And as to Percherons, these fellas are BI - II - II - GG! They tip the scales around 2,000 pounds and are about half again taller than your average quarter horse. And they have lots of Percheron Poo also. Check out Mike Rowe's "Dirty Jobs" Mackinac segment on YouTube if you'd like an up-close and personal report on horsey exhaust. Enlightening.
The Hotel is something special. 375 rooms. The longest covered porch in America (990 feet long). Enormous dining room that can seat more than a thousand at a time for Five Star gourmet meals. Dress for dinner? Please! The Esther Williams Pool is so large (more than 120 yards long!) it costs $20,000 per month to heat it up to 84 degrees during the season. Some of you may recall "Somewhere in Time," the Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour movie, that was filmed there in the 1970s. No? Rent it. You'll get a great overview of the Hotel and the Island. It's situated on 50 acres of prime view property, overlooking the harbor. It's expensive. But hey, when your daughter works there, friends and family discounts apply. So, we took advantage. We're retired, okay?
To get to Mackinac Island takes commitment. We boarded a red eye from LAX to Chicago. Then a commuter jet for the hour long trip to Traverse City, MI. Then we rented a car and drove the 100-plus miles to Mackinaw City, MI. Then took the ferry across the Straits of Huron and we were finally there after more than 14 hours of travel. But one thing we noticed upon first arriving. Elaine had her luggage. I didn't have mine.
Apparently United Airlines couldn't be bothered to honor Item # 3 on their website-listed Customer Commitments: To get your luggage to you intact and on time. And since dressing for dinner requires a coat and tie, and since my coat and tie were were still in my luggage in Chicago, we weren't able to partake in the formal dining experience we'd paid for that evening.
My luggage and I were finally reunited about 10:00 p.m. that evening when a guy named "Mark" finally delivered it. I wondered then and I wonder now how much it must have cost United to pay a guy to drive two-plus hours to bring me my luggage. I'm reminded of the old saying, "There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to do it over." Oh well, misplaced luggage happens, even when you pay your carrier $25.00 per bag to make sure it doesn't.
Following a fun and relaxing vacation, we departed Mac Island last Saturday morning. We reversed the travel schedule. Drive back to Traverse City, turn in the car, board the commuter plane, return to O'Hare, hop on a 757 and return to LAX. There we discovered that - lo and behold - we once again had no luggage. Somehow United managed (or mismanaged) not to transfer our bags from the commuter to the big jet. So we drove home that night sans bags. At least, we thought, we'd get them early the next day, Father's Day, in time to celebrate the occasion with our family. We were wrong...
We got a call that Sunday morning that our bags had indeed been located (Whew!). And that they would be delivered to us sometime day. When, we asked? We were given a "window" of somewhere between 7:00 a.m. and 2;00 p.m. A seven hour window to drive two pieces of luggage from LAX to our home, a scant 35 miles? You could walk that distance, pulling our luggage behind you and make it quicker than that. We were, to put it mildly, not at all pleased.
A non-English speaker finally delivered our bags at 2:00 p.m. sharp. And I promptly wrote a letter to Mr. Glenn Tilton, CEO of United Airlines. I commented to Mr. Tilton that, if United persists in charging its customers $25.00 for each bag they check, they should at least pay rent of the same $25.00 for each bag they misplace or fail to deliver. Thus, I told Mr. Tilton, that he owes us $75.00. And until or unless we get the check, I told Tilton, we'll decline to darken United's door. If United is the only way to get somewhere from here on, I told Mr. Tilton, I'll just stay home. A fella' can only take so much abuse, right?
I'm here to report that a visit to Mackinac Island is a real hoot. You truly go back in time. And if you go there this summer, you just might be able to take advantage of the friends and family discount while my daughter is there. Call me. And that stepping over and around horse poo gives one considerable exercise. And also that the Grand is truly grand, just as the Great Lakes are truly great. The land is pretty flat, the people are very nice, there's fudge shops galore on the Island, the state government sucks and the food is marginal. But, all in all, it's a great horse-filled experience. If you choose to go, however, you might want to choose a carrier to you there other than United...
Some of you might know that my youngest daughter, Jennifer, just made a mid-course career correction. She decided she wanted to become a professional photographer and give up her Dilbert-style cubicle at Universal Music Group here in Hollywood. So, she dedicated most of a year to UCLA extension courses, bought a really cool camera and laptop with all the requisite PhotoShop software, practiced like crazy and made her way off to Mackinac Island, MI, where she's been hired for the season as Lead Photographer for the Grand Hotel. Never heard of the Grand?
According to Conde-Naste, the Grand is one of the 100 top hotels in the world. It's situated on an island 4 miles off the coast of the very tip of the northern Michigan peninsula on the straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It's so far north they enjoy enviable views of the Northern Lights late in the summer. Think of a straight line between Minneapolis and Ottawa and you've got it. But this island is special for a number of important reasons.
Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Island was first occupied by local Indian tribes (Huron, Chippewa, etc.). Then the French built a fort there to protect their fur trappers and traders in the late 1700s. The British then kicked out the Frogs following the French and Indian War. The Indians, it seemed liked the French a lot a whole lot better then they did the Limeys. So they played a little kick ball out front of the Fort as a diversion while most of their happy band of warriors stormed the battlements from the rear. Not a single Brit drew air following that encounter. Nasty fellows, those natives, especially when forced to give up French cuisine in favor of fish and chips.
Then came the Americans. After we made toast out of the English in the Revolutionary War, we took over. We ran the Fort and the Island until the 1840s, when the French came back for Round Two. They took back the Island without a shot being fired. Seems like they took a page from the Indian playbook and came in through the back side of the Island. All the American cannons were aimed toward the harbor, and the French sneaked up from behind. Sneaky bastards, the French.
Eventually we retook the fort when the French decided they weren't very good at this whole "war thing" and went on home to make wine, smoke cigarettes and eschew bathing. By the way, they're still not. Do you know how many Frenchmen it takes to defend Paris? Neither do they. They never tried...
Anyway, things pretty well just idled along on the Island from then on. The Grand Hotel was built in the 1870s. From a fairly inauspicious beginning, it was to become the largest wooden structure east of the Mississippi. Some of you may know that the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego has the honor of being the largest wooden structure west of the Big Muddy, so this gives you some idea of the Grand's size and import. And since there's no roads our bridges to the Island, a thriving ferry business developed. Both the Hotel and the ferries are still humming along. And then they decided to outlaw motorized vehicles from the Island in the early 1900s. They worried that those loud, smelly cars might scare the horses. And they have horses aplenty. About 600 saddle, pack and draft horses, consisting mostly of Percherons, pull freight wagons and tourist taxis throughout the season. No cars, no motorcycles, no lawnmowers. Lots of clip-clop, clip-clop, however. By the way, do you know what goes, "clip clop, clip clop, bang bang, clip clop, clip clop?" An Amish drive-by shooting. And as to Percherons, these fellas are BI - II - II - GG! They tip the scales around 2,000 pounds and are about half again taller than your average quarter horse. And they have lots of Percheron Poo also. Check out Mike Rowe's "Dirty Jobs" Mackinac segment on YouTube if you'd like an up-close and personal report on horsey exhaust. Enlightening.
The Hotel is something special. 375 rooms. The longest covered porch in America (990 feet long). Enormous dining room that can seat more than a thousand at a time for Five Star gourmet meals. Dress for dinner? Please! The Esther Williams Pool is so large (more than 120 yards long!) it costs $20,000 per month to heat it up to 84 degrees during the season. Some of you may recall "Somewhere in Time," the Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour movie, that was filmed there in the 1970s. No? Rent it. You'll get a great overview of the Hotel and the Island. It's situated on 50 acres of prime view property, overlooking the harbor. It's expensive. But hey, when your daughter works there, friends and family discounts apply. So, we took advantage. We're retired, okay?
To get to Mackinac Island takes commitment. We boarded a red eye from LAX to Chicago. Then a commuter jet for the hour long trip to Traverse City, MI. Then we rented a car and drove the 100-plus miles to Mackinaw City, MI. Then took the ferry across the Straits of Huron and we were finally there after more than 14 hours of travel. But one thing we noticed upon first arriving. Elaine had her luggage. I didn't have mine.
Apparently United Airlines couldn't be bothered to honor Item # 3 on their website-listed Customer Commitments: To get your luggage to you intact and on time. And since dressing for dinner requires a coat and tie, and since my coat and tie were were still in my luggage in Chicago, we weren't able to partake in the formal dining experience we'd paid for that evening.
My luggage and I were finally reunited about 10:00 p.m. that evening when a guy named "Mark" finally delivered it. I wondered then and I wonder now how much it must have cost United to pay a guy to drive two-plus hours to bring me my luggage. I'm reminded of the old saying, "There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to do it over." Oh well, misplaced luggage happens, even when you pay your carrier $25.00 per bag to make sure it doesn't.
Following a fun and relaxing vacation, we departed Mac Island last Saturday morning. We reversed the travel schedule. Drive back to Traverse City, turn in the car, board the commuter plane, return to O'Hare, hop on a 757 and return to LAX. There we discovered that - lo and behold - we once again had no luggage. Somehow United managed (or mismanaged) not to transfer our bags from the commuter to the big jet. So we drove home that night sans bags. At least, we thought, we'd get them early the next day, Father's Day, in time to celebrate the occasion with our family. We were wrong...
We got a call that Sunday morning that our bags had indeed been located (Whew!). And that they would be delivered to us sometime day. When, we asked? We were given a "window" of somewhere between 7:00 a.m. and 2;00 p.m. A seven hour window to drive two pieces of luggage from LAX to our home, a scant 35 miles? You could walk that distance, pulling our luggage behind you and make it quicker than that. We were, to put it mildly, not at all pleased.
A non-English speaker finally delivered our bags at 2:00 p.m. sharp. And I promptly wrote a letter to Mr. Glenn Tilton, CEO of United Airlines. I commented to Mr. Tilton that, if United persists in charging its customers $25.00 for each bag they check, they should at least pay rent of the same $25.00 for each bag they misplace or fail to deliver. Thus, I told Mr. Tilton, that he owes us $75.00. And until or unless we get the check, I told Tilton, we'll decline to darken United's door. If United is the only way to get somewhere from here on, I told Mr. Tilton, I'll just stay home. A fella' can only take so much abuse, right?
I'm here to report that a visit to Mackinac Island is a real hoot. You truly go back in time. And if you go there this summer, you just might be able to take advantage of the friends and family discount while my daughter is there. Call me. And that stepping over and around horse poo gives one considerable exercise. And also that the Grand is truly grand, just as the Great Lakes are truly great. The land is pretty flat, the people are very nice, there's fudge shops galore on the Island, the state government sucks and the food is marginal. But, all in all, it's a great horse-filled experience. If you choose to go, however, you might want to choose a carrier to you there other than United...
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