Memorial Day Weekend - Till The Last Shot's Fired

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Memorial Day Weekend - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Honor Guard

I visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 2002. A solemn experience. God Bless our heroes.


-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Herman Cain Presidential Campaign Announcement Video

I've been listening to Herman Cain on the radio for years. . . definitely a good candidate if he can get over the difficulty of not being well known.



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So, Now We Know "Change"

5 miles east of Clovis , NM Hwy 60-70-84 - That's the Texaco highway for those of you who don't know. . .

Click Image to Enlarge

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Memorial Day Weekend - Honoring the Fallen

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." -- John 15:12-14

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James Madison: A Republic

"If we resort for a criterion to the different principles on which different forms of government are established, we may define a republic to be, or at least may bestow that name on, a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure for a limited period, or during good behavior." --James Madison, Federalist No. 39

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Obama Signed Patriot Act Extension

By Douglas V. Gibbs

I seem to remember the liberal left being up in arms about the Patriot Act back during the Bush years, claiming it was unconstitutional from cover to cover, and that it was an uncalled for government action against our civil liberties.

Now, their guy, Barack Hussein Obama, has signed an extension to the Patriot Act. That also means that the Democrat controlled Senate approved the bill as well.

So much for the liberal Democrats being against the Patriot Act.

Not that I think that every provision of the Patriot Act is rosy and constitutional. I don't think it is necessarily as egregious as the Democrats make it out to be, but I am not as fully trusting of it as many of the supporters are, either. I get that much of it is necessary in order to protect us against terrorism, especially since many of the terrorists use our own system against us. But there is a fine line between national security, and unnecessarily taking away basic freedoms from the citizenry for the sake of safety.

I wonder how many leftist voters who appreciated Obama's anti-Bush feel are shaking their heads, realizing that they had been wrong. . . McCain wasn't Bush II after all. That crown belongs to their very own Barry Sotero. . . err, uh, Obama.

Obama is not even willing to use his own signature. He will be using the "auto pen."

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Obama to sign Patriot Act extension … via autopen - Hot Air

Congress votes to extend Patriot Act provisions - MSNBC

Samuel Adams: Voting Power

"Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual - or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country." --Samuel Adams, in the Boston Gazette, 1781

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

ALG says Illinois' Treasury Secretary an Honest Politician

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Temecula Constitution Study: A New Government (Preamble, Article I Sections 1-6)

Constitution Study, Temecula, California at Faith Armory www.faitharmory.com, 27498 Enterprise Cir. W. #2 from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Q&A afterward. Free pocket Constitution handed out to all attendees. Also, detailed study material available as well.


Lesson Two Worksheet, Temecula Constitution Study May 26, 2011

Terms:

Federalism: _________________________________________________________________

Unalienable Rights: ___________________________________________________________

President pro tempore:________________________________________________________

Impeachment: ______________________________________________________________

Quorum: ___________________________________________________________________

Adjourn: ___________________________________________________________________

Censure: ___________________________________________________________________

Saxbe Fix: _ _________________________________________________________________

Key Questions:

1. The Preamble is an introduction to the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, it holds no _____________________ __________________________.

2. The Constitution is a contract that created the _______________________ ________________________ .

3. The most important reason for the formation of the federal government was in order to form a more perfect _____________________.

4. The U.S. Constitution, and all language within the document, is directed to the

_____________________ _______________________ .

5. To ensure tranquility, the federal government was to act as a _______________________.

6. Article I establishes the ________________________________ branch.

7. The authorities of the federal government were granted by the ______________________.

8. The House of Representatives is the voice of the ________________________ .

9. The census is a head count used to determine the number of ________________________ each state will receive.

10. Each state has equal suffrage, or representation, in the _______________________.

11. The rules for electing members of Congress is established by the ____________________.

Key Concepts:

1. The Preamble lists the reasons for the decision to create a new federal government by writing a new constitution.

2. The most important reason for the formation of the federal government was in order to form a more perfect union, which in turn would protect the sovereign states from invasion and internal conflict..

3. The Constitution was designed to protect our rights because a centralized government has the potential for tyranny.

4. The Constitution grants all federal legislative powers to the legislative branch, which means that no other branch can make law, modify law, or repeal law constitutionally.

5. The House of Representatives was originally designed to be the voice of the people, and the U.S. Senate was originally designed to be the voice of the States. They served as checks against each other, and together as a check against the executive branch.

6. All methods for electing members of the Congress are determined by the State Legislatures.

7. All of the internal rules of Congress are determined by the Houses.

8. Though the Constitution contains guards against corruption in Congress, the politicians have devised ways to attempt to circumvent these restrictions, such as in the case of the Saxbe Fix.

Obama Can't Even See The Debt Ceiling

Get Liberty

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Obama Screws Up Toast To The Queen

Obama's pause triggered "God Save The Queen," at which point he should have shut up and let it play, then continued when it was done. Obama's ignorance, and arrogant narcissism, kept him talking.

Watch him at the 43 second mark when he realizes he should have shut up and stood respectfully like the rest. Man, George Bush would have been castigated if he did this.



-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Senate Rejects House G.O.P. Medicare Plan by 57-40 Vote

The Democratic-led Senate on Wednesday rejected a Republican plan to overhaul Medicare, defeating it by a 57-40 vote, with five Republicans breaking with their party to vote against the proposal.

That's Okay, GOP, keep plugging away. Make the leftists own their rejection of good ideas.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Supreme Court Tells California to Release Some Prisoners

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Since when does the federal government have a right to dictate to a state that it must release criminals into the streets? There is no constitutional authority for the Supreme Court to do such a thing. The claim is for the prisoner's rights to adequate health care, and living conditions. Since when are those rights? None of us have a right to health care, but if we wish to be protected against health issues, we should take the personal responsibility of providing such for ourselves.

I agree, the California prison system is overloaded. The problem needs to be addressed, I agree. How about we start by sending the illegal aliens in the prisons back to where they came from? How about we complete the death sentence of those on death row? How about we separate the minimum security prisoners from the rest of the population and put them in camps where they can help reduce their sentence by working, and largely take care of themselves? There is a lot of things that can relieve the stress on the system. Releasing 46,000 prisoners into the streets not only will not alleviate the stress in the proper manner, but it will increase the stress on the law enforcement system as those people rejoin their criminal allies in the streets.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Supreme Court orders California to release tens of thousands of prison inmates - Los Angeles Times

James Madison Quote on Strong Moral Character

"Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation." --James Madison

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Capital Punishment: Constitutional?

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The Constitution does not necessarily forbid, or condone, the death penalty. That is not to say that the document is totally silent on the matter. In the Fifth Amendment, capital crimes are addressed. A capital crime is a crime to which the penalty is death. The founders did believe that a death penalty was sometimes warranted. Treason would be one of those crimes that the founders believed was punishable by death.

Thomas Jefferson said: “If a man do levy war against the Commonwealth or be adherent to the enemies of the commonwealth giving to them aid or comfort in the commonwealth, or elsewhere, and thereof be convicted of open deed, by the evidence of two sufficient witnesses, or his own voluntary confession, the said cases, and no others, shall be adjudged treasons which extend to the commonwealth, and the person so convicted shall suffer death by hanging, and shall forfeit his lands and goods to the Commonwealth.”

The argument against the death penalty often uses the 8th Amendment for their argument. The 8th Amendment reads: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted."

First, the 8th Amendment applies to the federal government, not the states. Second, it would be reasonable to accept that this amendment is essentially saying that the punishment should fit the crime. Third, cruel and unusual punishment was not something that needed to be specifically defined, because it was understood what cruel and unusual punishments were. Fourth, if one would argue that the death penalty is a cruel and unusual punishment, then why in the above quote did Jefferson recommend the death penalty for treason?

This is not to say states should not ban the death penalty. Even though personally I am a supporter of capital punishment for some crimes, I recognize that the states have every right to have the death penalty on their books, or to ban the punishment from their particular state. That is a part of the beauty of state sovereignty. Some states may choose to keep the death penalty, some may decide to get rid of it. There is no authority in the Constitution for the federal government to dictate to the states where to stand on the issue, the answer is for each state to determine on its own.

If you disagree with your state's choice on this matter, you have one of three decisions you can make. Shut up and put up, work to change it, or vote with your feet and move to a state that more fits your belief system.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Netanyahu: Incredible Speech Before the U.S. Congress - 2011

God Bless Netanyahu. He is an incredible speaker, and an incredible leader.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Antebellum Reformers: Roots of Progressivism

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Good intentions and the role of government conflict when government is used as a tool to reform society. Making society better through governmental programs is a mainstay of liberalism, and much of those ideals were present, and may have even began, during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. During that time period the first efforts to help society progress to a more equitable system through reform emerged. These secular efforts sought to reinvigorate American ideals, and reinforce what they perceived to be America’s commitment to equality and social justice. They dared to fight for a better world, inspired by the Declaration of Independence, but were unable to recognize the potential for tyranny as they used government programs to reach their aims.

The antebellum reformers believed that deep inside our individual character resided the problem, and through religion and moral reform, members of society could be encouraged to internalize self-restraints, and be guided towards a utopian model. The intentions were sometimes based on Christian beliefs, and the desire for this nation to strengthen its Christian character. After all, shouldn’t we all be humanitarians? Through reform, guided by their efforts, and emerging government programs, the reformers believed they could stamp out human misery by creating institutions to deal with what they considered to be deviant groups. The reformer’s social control would build prisons, public schools, and asylums. They sought to rectify society’s problems by educating children, rehabilitating criminals, and providing refuges for society’s outcasts. By removing these underlying sources of sin and inequality, they believed, they could create a utopia, of sorts. Then, they could guarantee the existence of a righteous America, built firmly on a foundation of a perfect society.

Many of these reformers were involved in the abolitionist movement, and women’s rights movement. They sought to free Americans from various forms of bondage, and eradicate the relics of a barbaric past. They considered their movement one of progress, which in the long run would be for the betterment of society. But instead of creating a better society, these reformers were simply replacing physical coercion with psychological control and confinement.

Out of the antebellum reform movement emerged governmental paternalism, where social programs worked to control society. The government began to suppress the working class culture so as to insert instead a more civilized set of values championed by the elite. Public schools served to teach the children what was best for society, while prisons and reform schools sought to re-educate, or repress and isolate deviants. The reformers, and the government, grew their progressive experiment, and it all eventually became a “vast campaign to impose order on society by increasing the power of the state.”

As progressives worked to redeem, rehabilitate, shape, and regulate, in the hopes of creating an orderly and rational society, they also began to de-emphasize theology. Traditional customs, practices, and institutions were considered to be obstacles to progress. What society needed, the reformers believed, was self-discovery, social progress, and intellectual liberation from the chains of religion. Therefore, the reformers became more than just institution builders. They believed they must organize society through complex government bureaucracies that go beyond sectarian and local boundaries. The reformers believed that this was the only way to their utopian vision of communal compassion and responsibility. Their paternalistic programs that claimed to be moral and beneficial, however, became a hindrance that instead gave rise to government determining moral standards, and dictating those standards to the people.

Ultimately, the antebellum reformers, and the progressives that followed them, had an exaggerated faith in the abilities of government, and they had an exaggerated faith that utopia could be achieved through a combination of social engineering, moral uplift, professional expertise, and the reshaping of moral character. As Rousseau was quoted as saying, they wished to “force the people to be free.” Along the way, however, the precious notion of individuality has nearly been lost. Voluntary choice has been suppressed, and the exceptional uniqueness of America is being diluted so as to make our society an acceptable one to the liberal elites.

In the end, the antebellum reformer’s goals have not been met. Instead, the very things the reformers sought to eradicate, such as exploitation, poverty, violence, ignorance, and injustice, have not only not been eradicated, but continue to be social problems that have worsened. The high-minded idealists sought to improve the conditions of their society, and the nation as a whole, but their reforms became nothing more than social control, and a system of discipline against the poor and deviant. The social engineering has given way to class and race warfare. Their visions, it turns out, were not only impractical and unrealistic, but ended up increasing the very things they were working to eliminate. The drive for progress through social reform, however, continues today, as a tool used by today’s American liberal. And as during the antebellum period, progressivism has proven to be a failure.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Steven Mintz, Moralists & Modernizers; Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995.

Obama Signs Wrong Year in Guest Book at Westminster Abbey

I know that Obama is still in campaign mode, but this is ridiculous. . . he wrote 2008 - the same year he campaigned for President.

Could you imagine how much the media would be all over this if Bush had done the same?

Idiot.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

GOP's Alleged Weak Presidential Field

Just a thought. . .

The liberal media keeps telling us how weak the Republican field for President is.

As compared to what? Obama?

As compared to a guy that had never previously run a business or held an executive position? A guy whose greatest claim was a good DNC speech, and he served as U.S. Senator a total of 144 days before embarking on his presidential campaign?

He voted "present," rather than take a position, as State Senator.

Mind boggling.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

No Rapture? That was Awkward. . .

Billboard in North Carolina says it perfectly. . .



Maybe if Harold Camping had paid closer attention in Sunday School he'd have remembered Matthew 24:36 which states only the Father knows the day or the hour of the Rapture.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Oprah's final show today

I heard that Oprah Winfrey's final show was today.

The world will be a better place without her.

Her new age bull crap has destroyed more women than she cares.

Just an opinion.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Jindal and Rubio Not Eligible for U.S. Presidency

By Douglas V. Gibbs

You have to take the good with the bad. The definition of Natural Born Citizen, as taken from section 212 in Book I of Vatell's Law of Nations, dictates that the parents need to be citizens at the time of the birth of the subject. Bobby Jindal and Marco Rubio, in that case, would not be eligible for the presidency.

Take Poll at World Net Daily

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Killer Tornado Strikes Joplin Missouri

By Douglas V. Gibbs

UPDATE: Death toll now at 124.

The count of people dead is at 89 since a tornado destroyed much of the city of Joplin, Missouri, last night. A quarter of the town's buildings suffers from major damage from the massive storm.

Reports of tornadoes have come in from around the Midwest, including massive strikes in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and Tennessee.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

89 dead in from tornado in Joplin, MO; number expected to rise - KPAX 8

Stewart Co. EMA: Storm Destroys More Than 30 Homes - WSMV 4

NATO Air Strikes Continue to Batter Tripoli Libya

Nato planes have launched a series of air attacks on Libya's capital Tripoli, with correspondents saying they appear the largest so far of the campaign.

Some of the strikes appear to have targeted Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound.

Click Here for BBC Video

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary