Dear President Obama, We the People are Speaking

April 3, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Democrats/Leftists, Federalism, Government, Corruption, Patriotism, President, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

Can you hear us yet Mr. President?

The Constitutional Crisis Started Long Ago

March 31, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Communism, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Federalism, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, Socialism, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

The cry that our country is in the midst of a “constitutional crisis” is heard frequently in our society but those who are making the claim at this particular point in time are correct. The United States Constitution and the entirety of the Charters of Freedom are under attack and the well-being of our country, nay, its very existence as the Framers intended, hangs in the balance.

Many are decrying the Progressive’s passage of healthcare legislation as a perfect example of the crisis facing our country. They are citing Congress’s bastardization of the Commerce Clause to mandate the purchase of health insurance by every US citizen, along with the legislation’s usurpation of the 10th Amendment. In both cases they would be correct, if an accurate and honest interpretation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is employed.

Anyone who has digested the Federalist Papers and Anti-Federalist Papers understands that the Framers intended for the US Constitution to set forth a limitation of powers for the federal government. In doing so the Framers meant to protect the rights of not only the States, but of the minority and the individual. The federal government’s actions today have shattered those protections and take aim at the Constitution itself, challenging its charter as the “Law of the Land.”
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Government Is Not Our Friend

March 26, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Communism, Congress, Conservatives, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Federalism, Freedom, Gambling, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Law, Liberals, Media, Media Bias, Pat Quinn, President, Public Employees Unions, Regulation, Republicans, Senate, Socialism, Society/Culture, State Government, States Rights, Taxes, The Law, Unions, Warner Todd Huston, Western Civilization | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Small-government conservatives have always been suspicious of government. Whether city, county, state or federal all government is looked on as a troublesome but necessary evil that must be tightly controlled and oft times opposed. This anti-government attitude, of course, is a complete mystery to socialist Democrats. They just don’t understand why conservatives mistrust government and why they eye it suspiciously. So, looking for a way to explain in real terms why conservatives loathe government is sometimes not an easy task as the ideas are often very esoteric. Thank God the corrupt governments in Barack Obama’s Illinois are always there to supply a ready example of why government is often the enemy of a free people.

In that mien, here is another perfect example of how government often does not serve the voters, how it does what ever it wants to do despite the voters, and how government often thinks it knows better than the very voters that it is supposed to serve.

In 2009 the Illinois State legislature in its Springfield-based capitol passed a video gambling law that for the first time legalized video poker machines across the state. The progress of this law was very contentious with most Republicans and some Democrats standing in opposition to this immoral legislation and a sop to the opposers was put in the bill as sweetener to assure passage. An “opt out” clause was put in the bill so that those conservative districts that were so opposed to video gambling could exclude themselves from allowing the immoral act of video gambling in their jurisdiction.
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When Congress Cheats on Its Rules

March 19, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Federalism, Government, Government, Corruption, Health, John Armor, Liberals, Taxes, Western Civilization | Comments Off

-By John Armor

We are apparently at crunch point on the efforts of President Obama, Speaker Pelosi in the House, and Majority Leader Reid in the Senate to pass by whatever means necessary the “health reform” bill. In the national debate, however, no one has asked whether the Supreme Court has any role in this matter. It does, and it may be definitive.

There is a question of what the bill is, since there are many versions, and several are under wraps. The opponents of the bill, whatever it is, includes Democrats and Republicans who believe that the bill is ill-thought takeover of one sixth of the national economy that will increase the cost of medical care, decrease its quality, and severely damage the national economy.

But this column is not about the merits or demerits of whatever is in the bill. It is about the methods being used to push it through Congress and the consequences of ways of getting around normal, legislative passage (Article I, Section 7, US Constitution).

At this point, it looks like the House will use the Slaughter Rule to “pass” it through the House without ever having a vote on it. The about-to-be-invented Rule is named for the Congresswomen who is the Chair of the Rules Committee and came up with this idea.
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We Simply Can’t Afford Another Entitlement Program

March 18, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Federalism, Frank Salvato, Free Trade, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Socialism, Taxes, Welfare | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

Congressional Progressives are arm-twisting, threatening, promising and cajoling each and every member of the Legislative Branch in an effort to advance proposed healthcare insurance reform legislation. They are setting the stage to use the reconciliation process to advance the legislation in the Senate, even though the process was created to address budgetary financial issues, exclusively. And one House member, Louise Slaughter (P-NY), is even concocting procedure that would literally bypass any need for the House to vote on the Senate proposal. The effort that is going into circumventing the will of the American people is wickedly stunning.

But in the end, there is only one question that lawmakers of every political persuasion must ask themselves when it comes time to cast their votes: can we, as a nation, really afford to add another behemoth entitlement program onto the backs of the American taxpayers?

We have heard all of the arguments about how it will and won’t affect healthcare insurance premiums. Ironically, even the Senate Majority Whip, Dick Durbin (D-IL), has come to admit that the Progressive’s healthcare insurance reform legislation will not lower the cost of healthcare insurance premiums and said as much on the floor of the Senate:
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Congress? Who Needs ‘Em? Let Obama Pack the Supreme Court

March 2, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Democrats/Leftists, Federalism, Government, Corruption, Judges, Law, Liberals, Media, Media Bias, Newspapers, Supreme Court, The Law, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Philadelphia Inquirer published a reader feedback opinion editorial from reader Stan Isaacs that is as outlandish as it is indicative of the disregard for the American process that liberals all too often exhibit. It is proof once again that tradition, law, and any effort at legitimacy is wholly outside a liberal’s field of interest. Winning is all they care about, voters opinions and the rule of law be damned.

What sparked Mr. Isaacs’ interest is when he somehow stumbled upon the fact that the number of U.S. Supreme Court Justices is not set in stone in the Constitution. We now have nine justices but in the past have had fewer. What intrigued him is that the number of justices fluctuated because of politics. “Political issues accounted for the changes,” Isaacs gleefully reported.

In keeping with these “political issues,” Mr. Isaacs lit upon the ideal way to help Obama finally push his left-wing agenda. He advised President Obama to add three new justices to the SCOTUS, justices that will mindlessly adhere to the grand vision of the age of Obama and will rule accordingly. This is necessary, Isaacs thinks, because the court has proven an impediment to Obama’s grand socialist design. Worse, Congress has balked at Obama’s wholesale destruction of America and has resisted his attempts to turn America into a weaker, less free version of Europe. Issacs, you see, demands a recount.

Sadly, Isaacs doesn’t seem to have the first clue why Obama’s re-design of the United States hasn’t already barreled ahead unhindered. Worse, he doesn’t seem to care.
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Using the System FOR Us: The Freedom Force Strategy

March 1, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Communism, Congress, Conservatives, Constitution, Democracy, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Federalism, Founders, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, History, House of Representatives, Liberals, Policy, Regulation, Republicans, Rights, Senate, Socialism, Taxes, Tea Party, Vote Fraud, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

The National Precinct Alliance is an effort to give tea party folks the guidance to make a difference at home, within their own local political system. This is the only way that we conservatives can influence what is happening in our state government and what is happening in Washington. All our tea party protests are great, but if they aren’t followed up with real political activism — as opposed to mere bombast and carping — we will find that politics will move on without incorporating our ideas, we will stay marginal in the actual power plays in our governments.

So, with that said, here is some info from the National Precinct Alliance:

The Freedom Force Strategy

The American people find themselves in the very difficult position of having to reform their government from the bottom up, after decades of public neglect which allowed politicians from both political parties to behave as though the U.S. Constitution doesn’t exist any longer.

State legislatures have been forced by over-reaching federal policies, to restate, reclaim and reassert Tenth Amendment rights just to defend the citizens of their states from oppressive policies coming out of Washington DC.
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Congressman Peter Roskam: Obama’s Bipartisan Past

February 25, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Business, Communism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Federalism, Free Trade, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Health, House of Representatives, Illinois, Liberals, Peter Roskam, Republicans, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Congressman Peter Roskam (R, Illinois)

Mr. President: Business in Washington doesn’t have to be this way. You need not be pushed to the left and you can work across the aisle like you have in the past.

That is what I told President Obama a few weeks ago at the GOP caucus. He really does have an ability to work in a bipartisan manner. I know because we worked together for years to solve problems in the Illinois Senate.

Today’s health care summit doesn’t have to be a regurgitation of an unpopular health care bill. Nor does the President have to embrace Congressional Democratic leadership, which has systematically stiff-armed Republicans out of any conversation about solutions. Sure, health care is a contentious issue, but President Obama has successfully worked with Republicans under similar parameters.
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The Mount Vernon Statement, A Poor Man’s Manifesto… VERY Poor

February 22, 2010 | Filed Under Alexander Hamilton, Ben Franklin, Budget, Capitalism, Congress, Conservatives, Constitution, Democracy, Democrats/Leftists, Federalism, Founders, Free Trade, George Washington, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, History, House of Representatives, James Madison, John Adams, Liberals, Patriotism, Republicans, Rights, Senate, Taxes, Tea Party, Thomas Jefferson, Warner Todd Huston, Western Civilization | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

A group made up of some of the biggest names in contemporary conservatism got together a few days ago and crafted what they are calling the “Mount Vernon Statement,” a manifesto of sorts meant to give direction to today’s conservative movement. Put succinctly, it fails to fill the bill.

Taken as a whole this statement is fine as a short history lesson. It explains pretty clearly what the founders had wrought when their basic work was done with the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. But as a statement of principles that might guide today’s discussion I do not think the letter works.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that this effort is harmful. In fact, I think every young person should read it for its explication of our historically conservative American principles. The problem is that this thing doesn’t seem to speak directly to what we are facing today like a statement that perhaps aims to become boilerplate should.
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Our Federal Government’s Basic Purpose

February 22, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Congress, Constitution, Education, Federalism, Founders, Frank Salvato, Government, Government, Corruption, History | Comments Off

-By Frank Salvato

In February of 2009, legislation was introduced in the 111th Congress that would protect the First Amendment rights of United States citizens when faced with malicious lawsuits, brought against them in foreign courts, claiming defamation. The Free Speech Protection Act of 2009 is meant not only to secure and assure a US citizen’s First Amendment right to free speech in the aforementioned circumstance, but to serve as a tool in guaranteeing our nation’s sovereignty under constitutional law. As of this writing, Senate Bill 449, officially titled as introduced as “A Bill to Protect Free Speech,” languishes in the Senate Judiciary Committee. We all must ask why.

The Free Speech Protection Act of 2009 (the short title for S449) is meant to protect writers, authors, lecturers and any other US citizen against “libel tourism,” a phrase emanating from a lawsuit over the book Funding Evil, by Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, explained in a short film titled The Libel Tourist and in an article titled, A Federal Law is Needed to Deter Libel Tourism, by Daniel J. Kornstein. Mr. Kornstein refers to libel tourism as:
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What James Madison said about Hope and Change

February 20, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Communism, Congress, Constitution, Dan Scott, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Energy, Federalism, Free Trade, Freedom, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Oil, Senate, Socialism, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Dan Scott

What would the Founding Fathers say about our handling of the country if they were able to comment on the current state of affairs? It is easy to put words in their mouths but fortunately, we have for posterity recorded their words and intents to refer to for clarity in times of need. Some may say that this is a new day and age, therefore what the Founding Fathers had to say is simply not relevant to our current circumstances. Those who say this do so in ignorance of human nature and for self-serving reasons. Humans over the past 5000 years of recorded history may have advanced in terms of knowledge; however, their motivations and emotions are still no different now then they were in the past. It is motivation and emotion that govern human character, not knowledge and the Founding Fathers knew well the passions that influence those in power.

We were warned 200+ years ago against fickle governments. In fact, we were warned that the point of fickleness in government was for the few to gain an advantage at the expense of the many. Here is what James Madison had to say about Hope and Change as espoused by Barack Obama when he said he wanted to remake our society:
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Where Have you Gone George Washington?

February 15, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Conservatives, Federalism, Freedom, George Washington, Government, Government, Corruption, Patriotism, Society/Culture, The Law, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

I don’t celebrate “President’s Day.” I celebrate the presidents individually, not the whole gaggle of them at once. But I most certainly don’t celebrate George Washington, the father of our country, as just another president. These days, George Washington has been relegated to that “truth telling guy” to be seen on the one dollar bill and on TV commercials at the end of February or that guy lumped in with Lincoln on “President’s Day.” And that is a shame, indeed, for, without George Washington, our presidency and nation might have had a far different attitude.

But, what made Washington such a giant for our times as well as his? For one thing, he knew how to act in public.

Back in the 1700’s

In the year 1759 a man named William Robertson wrote a book called The History of Emperor Charles V, a book some claim was the standard after which modern historical study and writing has come to be patterned. Mr. Robertson, who became Principle of the University of Edinburgh in later years, introduced a salient point into the era of the Scottish Enlightenment. That idea was that “Politeness” in society would result in becoming a civilized nation. And it was a politeness perpetuated and spread through capitalism that was the best avenue to achieving that civilized level.

He wrote “In proportion as commerce made its way into the different countries of Europe they successively … adopted those manners, which occupy and distinguish polished nations.” So, as the theory goes, man by his very nature craves material possession and property. To get that property he must work for it with his best skills. To make use of these skills he must rely on neighbors to get supplies to employ such skills as well as to become customers for his skills. This leads man to act in a solicitous manner of his neighbors so that they will be disposed to employ him and his abilities. This “politeness” employed by the individual inculcates the action in society at large which, in turn, enlarges that field of involved persons to counties and then the country in general, neighboring countries and, ultimately, the world and the governments they create.
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Book Review: What Are These Tea Parties About, Anyway?

January 13, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Blogging, Book Reviews, Budget, Chicago, Communism, Congress, Constitution, Cook County, Crime, Democracy, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Education, Elections, Federalism, Free Speech, Free Trade, Freedom, GOP, Government, Corruption, History, Inernet, Jobs, Journalism, Liberals, Media Bias, Republicans, Security/Safety, Senate, Socialism, Society/Culture, State Government, States Rights, Taxes, Tea Party, Unions, War on Terror, Warner Todd Huston, Western Civilization | 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

A new book about the Tea Party movement — and a movement it really is — will soon be hitting the shelves. “A New American Tea Party” penned by John M. O’Hara, one of the many folks that helped bring us some of those protests in early 2009, is a book that hopes that the reader will come away understanding and appreciating the Tea Party movement as a truly grassroots happening, a spontaneous outpouring of interest backed by true red, white and blue American ideals.

Author O’Hara, himself an early Tea Party organizer in Washington D.C. and the Chicago area, answers several questions with the book: what sparked the Tea Parties; is the name “Tea Party” itself a proper sobriquet; what do they mean; what does the future hold; and how do you make more?

The first thing one might notice is that O’Hara writes in a crisp, conversational style with short subchapters. This makes it ideal for reading bits at a time. This is not a dense treatment and I think his style makes the book very accessible to people of all ages — without talking down to the young or dumbing it down for the more advanced reader.
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New Hampshire Makes to Outlaw Federal Agents?

January 8, 2010 | Filed Under 2nd Amendment, Congress, Conservatives, Constitution, Crime, Democracy, Democrats/Leftists, Federalism, Founders, Government, Corruption, Guns, Liberals, New Hampshire, Patriotism, Republicans, Society/Culture, State Government, States Rights, Supreme Court, The Law, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Imagine a state law that says that any federal agent that comes into said state and runs afoul of a new state law should be considered a felon! Well, that is what New Hampshire is about to do if HB1285 passes during the coming 2010 legislative session.

HB1285 is another one of those laws that exempts all firearms and firearms accessories that are made in a state from certain federal restrictions if they remain in that state. Several states have made attempts to implement these 10th Amendment laws and New Hampshire intends to be one of the next to do so.

Thus far Montana and Tennessee have passed their own firearms freedom acts and thirteen or so other states have introduced or are introducing laws that exempts local firearms industries and accessories as well as in-state firearms owners from overweening federal gun banning laws.
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