The Second Amendment Survives.....BARELY!

The U.S. Supreme Court has rightfully ruled that the 32 year old ban on handguns in Washington D.C. is unconstitutional. Do you know why this is the very first time in the history of this great nation that the U.S. Supreme Court has officially interpreted the Second Amendment? The answer is in the wording of the Amendment itself. “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.” What is to interpret here? Nothing….zilch….nada!!! Opponents of the Second Amendment have argued recently that the reference to a “well regulated Militia” is evidence that the intended purpose was for the military and not citizens to keep and bear arms. What are these people smoking? Apparently, Marion Barry passed that crack pipe around to more people in Washington D.C. than just the prostitute. How much more specific could these words have been authored? Do these people know anything about the history of this nation? The U.S. Constitution served as a blueprint of our government and was ratified four years prior to the Bill of Rights, but was sorely lacking in granting rights to the citizens of the 13 states. In fact, Thomas Jefferson was a driving force in the Bill of Rights, which was originally drafted by James Madison. When the Constitution was being crafted in 1787, Thomas Jefferson said, “[A] bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse.” The first ten amendments to the constitution were ratified in 1791 and form what was called “The Bill of Rights.” Every one of these amendments preserves rights to people, not the government!

Okay, so the argument against gun ownership is that a document which grants and preserves rights to citizens contains one single clause that for some reason pertains to the military? Ridiculous! The word “militia” is defined in Webster’s as “any army composed of citizens rather than professional soldiers.” Here is a hint; “professional soldiers” are people who work for the government and have guns. “Citizens” are people who do not work for the government and have guns. Every single word of the Bill of Rights is intended to grant rights to which “…the people are entitled to against every government on earth” (in the words of Thomas Jefferson). Not a single word of the Bill of Rights speaks to the rights of government; only the people.

The scary reality is that we have been placed in the position to rise up in violence and defend ourselves from an oppressive government should that time ever come. It is estimated that 40 million Americans own firearms. That’s one heck of an army folks. Even more insight into this concept is further revealed in The Declaration of Independence which states, “…it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” These people weren’t talking about an open election to decide if we want a Democrat or a Republican. This is part of The Declaration of Independence and touched off the violent, bloody, and costly war for American Independence. This is the stuff no one wants to think about, but it is reality. Additionally, some guy like me talking about it scares most people. Don’t worry folks, I have no plans to overthrow the government, nor am I some extreme right wing nut job that is building a bunker or on my way to rent the biggest Ryder Truck I can find.

Other opponents of the Second Amendment will tell you that it is outdated. Okay, if that is the case, then I would contend that the First Amendment is also outdated. Free Speech was a great right when all we had were newspapers and soapboxes, but the internet should give us pause, right? I just don’t think that those smart fellas had any idea that someone could exercise free speech on the world wide web and instantly make their voice known to millions in just a few seconds. Same with T.V. and Radio (although the so called “Fairness Doctrine” is trying to kill talk radio – that is a whole different rant all together). It is equally as scary as the thought of protecting ourselves from tyranny with guns….a notion that created this nation. The simple fact is that basic freedoms and liberties never become outdated.

Here is a little exercise. Take a few minutes and read The Declaration of Independence. Think about the words, the context, and the people of the time. Think about the tyranny and the oppression they lived under. As you read it, you can almost place yourself in that time and feel the finality in the words. These people had enough and were ready to die for their cause. At the signing of the Declaration, with a British fleet already anchored in New York Harbor, Ben Franklin noted, "Indeed we must all hang together, otherwise we shall most assuredly hang separately." They knew the risk, but they would rather be dead than continue to live under the King’s rule. Now, go and read the Bill of Rights. Every single “right” listed in the ten Amendments ties back to reasons for a Declaration of Independence. You can almost pair them down and check them off as you read it.

Link for The Declaration of Independence: http://www.constitution.org/us_doi.htm

Link for the Bill of Rights: http://www.constitution.org/billofr_.htm

The REAL scary thing in all of this is that 4 Supreme Court Justices just upheld the infringement on the Second Amendment by the District of Columbia. These are justices that feel their job goes beyond interpreting the constitution. It is mind boggling to think we are just 1 Supreme Court Justice away from kissing our Second Amendment right bye-bye. Oh by the way, about that 32 year old ban on handguns in D.C.. It didn’t work anyway. During that time, Washington D.C. firmly established itself as the murder capital of the nation for several years. By contrast, virtually every single one of the 33 states which passed laws issuing concealed firearms permits to law-abiding citizens experienced a drop in crime.

Here is my favorite quote from the AP after the ruling. Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago, whose strict “gun control” laws now face a challenge said, “Does this lead to everyone having a gun in our society?” What a bonehead. The only people that have guns in your society right now are the criminals. Now, the law-abiding citizens can legally own one too!!! Oh yeah, and how is that crime rate in Chicago under those strict gun laws Mayor Daley? Ummmhm. I thought so.

You Probably Think I am Making this up, but.....

Oh boy, just when you think you have seen everything. There is a woman in Los Angeles who is suing Victoria’s Secret for selling a faulty thong. According to The Smoking Gun, 52 year old Macrida Patterson was attempting to wear the thong and a decorative piece came loose and struck her in the eye causing damage to her cornea. She also missed several days of work. Okay, how much stress do you have to put a thong under for something to fly off and darn near poke your eye out? Was she using it correctly? Let me say this, I saw a picture of this woman and she had better been putting on a plus sized thong or this one will get thrown out of court.

Wow! The imagination just runs wild on this one. I hope the executives at Victoria’s Secret do not settle this one out of court. I hope this one goes to trial just for the comedic value alone. Where is Jackie Chiles when you need him? If you don’t remember, Jackie Chiles made several appearances on Seinfeld over the years as the fast talking, ambulance chasing lawyer, who struck an amazing resemblance to Johnny Cochran. I can hear Jackie in court now…. "Ms. Patterson, would you consider yourself to be a….generously proportioned woman?” Then Jackie turns to the bench, “Your Honor, the defense requests for Ms. Patterson to try on the thong.” The courtroom erupts as the judge attempts to restore order. I am no expert on thongs, but I have done my share of squeezing my fat butt into last summer’s swimsuits and you have got to be creating some real stress to send projectiles flying through the air. I am willing to bet this woman was squeezing her butt into a thong two sizes too small. Don’t believe me? When was the last time you heard of this happening to a stripper? Think about it. Thousands and thousands of strippers every single day, seven days a week, 52 weeks out the of year, getting in and out of thongs all day long and not a single thong related injury from flying decorative pieces. You know why? Because there are no fat Strippers! Fat strippers either don’t get hired or they don’t make enough tips to survive.

Man, oh man. Get ready folks. It will be a year or two from now, but the thong buying experience will never be the same. Dressing rooms everywhere will have signs posted that you should only be trying on and purchasing garments of the appropriate size or physical harm could result (Of course, some of us bystanders have been complaining about the mental impact to us personally for years). The signs will come complete with idiot proof drawings of fat people right next to a thong marked “small” with a big red X through it. The actual thongs will come with a myriad of warning labels and little pictures of how to properly place a thong over your fat behind with your head safely turned in the opposite direction. Oh yeah, no one should be standing nearby either; all of it on the warning label.

Of course, all of this will be brought to you courtesy of the government, whose purpose is to protect us from those big, bad, thong manufacturing capitalists just waiting to poke out our eyes.

The defense rests.

Here are some things that many Conservatives get their panties in a wad about, but I couldn’t care less! And you thought I only picked on Liberals.

Gay marriage – This one is all over the news right now because of California’s recent decision to legally acknowledge same sex marriages. Can someone explain how this impacts me as a heterosexual? The truth is that it does not impact me whatsoever. Accordingly, I don’t give a rip. Do not confuse my apathy for tolerance! It is not that I am tolerant; I just don’t give a rip!
Since virtually half of all marriages in the U.S. (between opposite genders until now) end in divorce, maybe we can give the homosexuals a crack at it and see if they can do better. The simple truth is that many conservatives just wish that homosexuals would just go back inside the closet where they belong. That just isn’t happening. The way I figure it, this accommodation should eliminate at least a handful of Gay parades every year. Man, I never could understand why there always has to be a parade involved. Of course, all of this could give a big lift to that rainbow colored wedding dress and tuxedo business I have been thinking about.

Drugs – Yes, drugs are bad news and have ruined people’s lives, but why is it the role of the government to protect people from their own stupidity? I wore my seatbelt long before it became a law, but why is the government involved? The state of Florida rightfully decided a few years ago that forcing a motorcyclist to wear a helmet was not the role of government. About a year and a half ago, I calmly searched for a pulse on some Harley dude that had just splattered his head on the pavement in a hit and run accident. He was not wearing a helmet and there is no doubt that had he been wearing one he would have been able to remember his own name when they did a special about him on the local news about a month later. Poor guy….had only the government protected him and forced him to wear a helmet. It is all the government's fault. Okay, all sarcasm aside (for a change), I really feel sorry for this guy, but I still don’t believe it is the role of the government to protect him or any other adult from making bad decisions that directly impact only themselves. I feel the same way about people putting drugs in their body. It is just a guess, but I am willing to guess that most drug related deaths are from gang related shootings protecting drug turfs that would otherwise not exist if drugs were legal. So how is that big war on drugs going anyway? Did we win? Just like prohibition made Al Capone and many other gangsters, the war on drugs is doing the same thing to a whole new, albeit more diverse, group of thugs.

Burning the American Flag – First of all, don’t question my patriotism. I love this country. When I was in college, the flag burning issue was in the media big time. I developed a friendship with a classmate who fought in Vietnam and was going back to college. He gave me a t-shirt with a picture of the American Flag on the front with a caption below that said, “Try burning this one.” Fortunately, no one ever tried and I wore that shirt a lot. Of course, I was much bigger in the chest in those days, but there is always someone with more game. The simple truth is that Americans didn’t die for a flag. They died for the freedom that is symbolized by the flag. In fact, they died for someone else’s right to burn the flag. Don’t get me wrong. I think flag burners are punks, pinheads, and losers, which is why many conservatives want to outlaw flag burning. If I were a police officer and close by as a flag burner got beat to a bloody pulp, it would take me a few minutes to radio for backup and then I just might not be able to catch that assailant as he fled. “That guy sure was fast Sergeant. I tried my best…” as they are loading the flag burner in the ambulance. Gee – I sure hope he has insurance or the government will have to step up and care for this poor guy. Again, most conservatives would be the first in line to support an anti flag burning law. You can’t have it both ways folks. Never mind the technical definition of exactly what is defined as an American flag. What about those sexy little flag outfits those cute babes wear? It that a “flag?” I am sure the government would do a very good job at defining exactly what a flag is or isn’t. Take it easy folks, the constitution applies to everyone (even terrorists according to the U.S. Supreme Court – don’t get me going on that one).

Don't Eat the Fish....and they want to run our healthcare?

It was reported earlier this week that the Senate Dining Room is the subject of criticism. For years, it has apparently been widely accepted in Washington D.C. that the food in the Senate Dining Room really sucks. In fact, many Senate staff members usually venture over to the House side to buy their meals. So what, you say? Some restaurants are better than others, right? You better believe it. Here is the best part. The Senate Dining Room is operated by the Government and has lost about $18 million since 1993. The restaurants on the House side, where staffers prefer to eat, are all privatized! Okay, let’s summarize: Government operated - millions of tax dollars lost, while producing an inferior product. Privatized operation - producing a superior product and earning a profit to boot. Don’t forget, this is the exact same government that wants to seize control of our healthcare by garnishing more of our wages and force us to go visit the Physician that is assigned to us (That was part of Hillary’s failed plan when her husband placed her in charge of national healthcare). They can’t even run a cafeteria for crying out loud!

Don’t worry; it has not eluded me that we are spending tax dollars to feed our elected officials and their staff members, while the rest of the working world brings a brown bag or chokes down a fat burger from across the street. That’s too easy of a target to write about and it is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to wasting our tax dollars. I should also point out that Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California has been most vocal on this issue. It is painful for me to admit when a liberal says something that is right. Fortunately, it rarely happens so I have time to recover before the next one comes along.

The Federal Government and Taxes

Ask your neighbor or coworker when the first Federal Income Tax was enacted. Was it in the Constitution when those really smart people crafted a document that would stymie all of the tyranny and oppression they experienced under the rule of the old country? Also ask them how much they paid in taxes last year. They will most likely not even consider Federal withholding, but instead say something like, “heck, I got a refund.” Most people have no clue how much they pay in Federal Income Taxes. For the first 90 or so years our Republic levied zero income taxes upon our citizens. The Federal Government operated solely from taxes levied on a small number of consumer items. They added luxury goods to the mix to help pay for the War of 1812. It seems as though Americans have always been willing to pay more money to defeat an even bigger threat than taxes. After the War of 1812, the Federal Government actually ended the taxation of these domestically sold consumer goods and only placed taxes on imports through tariffs. I will point out that the Republic still did not have a Federal Income Tax after the war of 1812. I will also point out that the role of the Federal Government in those days was nothing even closely resembling what it has become today. The taxes collected were to defend the borders. There was no system of wealth redistribution like we have today so expenditures were few. In short, the Federal Government did not require an enormous amount of money to operate - largely in part because they stuck to their original and constitutional purpose.

Then in 1861, the Union states needed financing to keep the Southern states from secession. Congress levied a 3 percent tax on everyone earning between $600 and $10,000 a year. Any earnings over $10,000 would be taxed at a higher rate of 5 percent. It is noteworthy to mention this was also progressive. I bet Karl Marx was doing back flips by the mere thought that someone way over here was subscribing to his Communist Manifesto that he wrote just 13 years prior. Since a progressive income tax is number 2 on his “10 Planks” toward Communism, Karl Marx must have been worried that we skipped number one. Don’t worry Karl, we have made significant headway on that through eminent domain, zoning, and radical environmentalism, just to name a few.

With the end of the war in 1865, the Union states continued to levy taxes on income for another 7 years. This ended in 1872 with mounting pressure from the people. Can you believe it? The Federal Government actually killed the income tax! Well, to be accurate, they really let it expire. You see, all of these income taxes passed by Congress contained expiration dates. They wised up later and fixed it to where we could never have one expire again. In fact, nowadays Congress only seems to have expiration dates on tax DECREASES. Anyway, the Feds went back to taxing a handful of consumer goods for the next 20 years until an economic downturn in 1893 gave Congress an excuse to implement another income tax to straighten everything out (we would probably call it a “recession” today). It seems as though war is not the only excuse that citizens will buy to accept an income tax. In 1894, the act was passed and levied a 2 percent tax on anyone earning more than $4,000 a year. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that they added a nice little clause whereby all government officials were exempt from paying the tax. That’s right. And you thought that the politicians of today have brass.

Not too long after, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal income tax was unconstitutional. How many people in this country today do you think realize the very first peacetime federal income tax was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S Supreme Court? Not many I’ll bet. Well, Congress fixed this problem once and for all by calling for a constitutional amendment, which easily passed through the House and Senate. On February 12, 1913, the Amendment was ratified. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and the others had to be turning over in their graves. Karl Marx, who had been dead for 30 years, had to be jumping for joy. I should point out that the Federal Government did not get around to passing a constitutional amendment protecting the rights of all of our citizens equally until a full 51 years later with the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The fact is that the working poor today spend a greater percentage of their income on complying with the tax code than the wealthy. Since a major reform in 1986, the tax code has been amended approximately 16,000 times. Currently, our complex tax code requires 67,500 pages of printed material and 526 different forms, depending upon your individual situation.

I should mention that I obtained many of my facts from Neal Boortz and John Linder’s book The Fair Tax Book as well as some of their sources in the footnotes and also various credible internet websites. I say “credible” because any idiot can post material on the internet as evidenced by my blog. I will not get into the FairTax on this posting, but it is just a matter of time before I get to it.

Gee Chuck....why do you have a Blog?

Well, I figured if scores of idiots and ignoramuses can do it, then I could also. I seriously doubt that many people will read it. Those with the time to spend will probably not be able to stomach my views. Those who share my views are probably working hard for a living and don’t have the time to read my blog. That probably limits my audience to retirees and mortgage bankers. Since it has recently been scientifically proven that a falling tree in the forest actually produces a sound even though no one is there to hear it, I will commence to making noise.

More About Me

I was raised by both of my parents who did not abuse me and did their best to instill in me their most positive traits. I did not grow up poor and do not feel guilty about it, although I genuinely feel sorry for those born into poverty. I always had three pairs of shoes all for specific occasions: School, Church, and playing outside (these were called “knock around shoes”). The dog was not allowed in the house and we were not permitted to put our feet on the couch. The living room was off limits except for Christmas morning and when we had guests. I answered “yes ma’am” or “yes sir”, when asked a question by my parents, grandparents, or any other adult. I was taught to use proper English when I spoke and was politely corrected when I did not. We all ate dinner together at the table and took turns talking. McDonalds was a rare treat and we had to drive a pretty good distance to get it. We actually got out of the car and placed our order through a window face to face with a real person who was nice and seemed genuinely grateful for our business. Ordering was easy because you either wanted cheese or you didn’t. The only place to sit was at the tile covered concrete picnic tables so we would take the food home.

My parents knew the kids I hung around with as well as their parents. I recall only a handful of spankings, all of which I certainly deserved. They were not beatings, but provided sufficient discomfort for my memory to guide me in the ways of righteousness. We had one color T.V. and later got a little black and white one that made us a two television household. My Father brought home a “Tel-Star” console game, which was a knockoff of Pong. I had asked for the latest craze called “Atari”, but my Father said it would be obsolete in a few years. He was wrong. It became obsolete in about 18 months! I remember it was the first time I had even heard the word “obsolete”, but I soon came to understand it and also that my Father was incredibly smart.

We had 4 channels one of which was PBS and didn’t really count as far as we were concerned. I remember the day we got cable T.V. and soon after watched in awe as MTV made its’ debut. That was when they actually played music videos and concerts of our favorite Rockers wearing leather pants and smashing their guitars. Other than that, no one really cared about anything a musician had to say or wanted to watch endless footage of them at home with their family in a reality series. I also remember the day we got a microwave oven and were amazed at how quickly we could heat a sandwich; a function that amounted to about 90% of its’ use in our home. My Mother later learned to make “microwave fudge”, which tasted great and was magic as far as we were concerned. We didn’t have an ice maker, but instead used metal trays with a big handle and would send ice chips flying everywhere when you pulled it back to bust up the ice cubes. Of course, we had a deep freeze and would go to the butcher at least once a year and come home with what seemed like a whole herd of cattle wrapped up in freezer paper.

Profanity was not permitted at all unless someone hit their thumb with a hammer. Even then, the thumb had to belong to an adult and bleeding to boot. We went to church most every Sunday. As far as I knew, everyone in the world was a Baptist, even though we did not agree with the church on everything. If I had a friend stay over on a Saturday night, it was understood they were to go to church with us the next day. Needless to say, I didn’t have many Saturday night sleepovers.

For a stretch of years, we took family vacations to many major American attractions such as Washington D.C., Niagara Falls, The Grand Canyon, The Smokey Mountains, The Rocky Mountains, and all of the attractions within. It was then that I learned to enjoy different people, cultures, and climates.

As the only 6 foot, 210 pound 9th grader in the city, my sport became football. As the years progressed, I never grew another inch making me an average sized senior high football player. As for the weight - I long for the days of 210 pounds! I worked at the “new McDonalds” for 3 months and then landed that once in a lifetime opportunity at Little Caesars Pizza! I saved enough money to convince my Father that I was sufficiently responsible to buy an automobile. I wanted to buy a 4-wheel drive pick up, but he wouldn’t even entertain a search. He told me that I would “take it out in the woods and tear it up.” He was right. That’s exactly what I would have done. Instead, he subsidized the purchase of a 1984 Mustang L. It was a 4 cylinder and had a 4 speed stick shift. It looked a lot faster than it would actually go, so I was usually careful to not expose its’ sluggishness by trying to hotrod it. The car served me admirably until I was in my sophomore year of College and earning enough money as a security guard to sell it and buy a brand new Ford Probe. I occasionally tried to repay my Father for the $1,000 I owed him for helping me purchase the Mustang. He would always tell me that I should pay him later and that he knew I was good for it. Eventually, I said something to the effect that he either needed to accept the payment, or forgive it as I did not feel it was right to owe someone money when you have it to repay. He told me to consider it a contribution to my upbringing and that he and my Mother were proud of me. My Father had a quiet and humble way about charity and this was one of those times. I think he always called the $1,000 a loan so I would understand the value of money. Once I earned it and insisted on repaying the debt, I think he knew he had accomplished his goal. Little did he know that I would grow up to be a Mortgage Banker!

I didn’t really make good grades in school, which were usually a mix of B’s and C’s with some “outliers” here and there. I got my act together in college and made some admirable grades during my Junior and Senior years earning a 3.5 GPA in one of my two majors of study, which was Management. My first job out of college was selling microfilm equipment for about a year and a half. I wanted to work for a larger company with management opportunities so I went to Merrill Lynch and processed mutual fund trades for a couple of years and then went to another part of the company and processed loans backed by securities. From there, I jumped on my board and rode the mortgage wave all the way in over the next 13 years with several different companies and increased roles and responsibilities in Senior Management. Well, the tide has gone out and I am sitting in the shade of my board on the beach. It was one heck of a ride and I made some pretty good money, some of which I actually saved.