tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83715247791557743072024-03-13T11:53:34.273-07:00The Slaughterhouse!Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-5292285465079070312014-10-19T11:09:00.000-07:002014-10-31T15:28:54.559-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse!: News In America, Where Is Clark Kent Today?!<br />
<span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 247px;" />"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span></span><span style="color: #000066;"><span style="font-size: large;">George Washington</span></span></span><br />
<b><i>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</i></b><br />
<strong><em></em></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt;">by Nicholas Meyeres</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">News in the United States is not what it once was. Our American citizens don't trust anyone anymore, and they have every reason not to. Impartiality certainly is not par for the course today, and money talks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">Nothing encapsulates that thought more than this meme going around social media networks:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a5aZsdyQOIg/VEPxuhp9_6I/AAAAAAAAAbU/elE-7TUkJZs/s1600/1908465_861507597242704_6275957449461833827_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a5aZsdyQOIg/VEPxuhp9_6I/AAAAAAAAAbU/elE-7TUkJZs/s1600/1908465_861507597242704_6275957449461833827_n.jpg" height="320" width="274" /></a></div>
<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0">But is this meme wrong because Stewart is "correct and accurate" as a friend of mine tried to tell me recently?</span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"></span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0">Well, Hogan's Heroes is accurate and correct, also. They were correct about the years the war raged on. They "reported" who was in charge of both sides in as factual a way as possible. They were accurate when they claimed that allied forces were taken as prisoners of war, and put into detention camps. There were even underground intelligence agencies at work in some of those POW camps trying to subvert Nazi progress. It was ALL correct and accurate! The problem came with the editorial that was added in for effect and ratings.</span><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$1:0" /><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$3:0" /><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$4:0">Excess commentary makes for bad comedy when it comes to the news.</span><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$5:0" /><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$7:0" /><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0">The times when Lois Lane was in it for the "scoop", or Clark Kent would use his moral compass as his guide to write a truly unbiased piece is a thing of the past.</span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0"></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o-ye-ruunqw/VEP2UZ7LwFI/AAAAAAAAAbg/M3vidKpArzY/s1600/clark-kent-quits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o-ye-ruunqw/VEP2UZ7LwFI/AAAAAAAAAbg/M3vidKpArzY/s1600/clark-kent-quits.jpg" height="206" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$12:0">At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what your political persuasion is. John Stewart, MSNBC, and nearly everyone at Fox News are nothing more than opinion suitors in the guise of the real reporter. They are all correct and accurate in the same sense that the winner of the war is the one to always write the history books. </span><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$13:0" /><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$15:0" /><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$16:0">It is indeed the truth. It simply is not the whole, and undoctored truth. After all, this meme could have easily said "Getting your dieting tips from Rosie O'Donnell is like learning how to stay healthy from watching Honey Boo-Boo."</span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$16:0"></span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$16:0"><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$4:0">Personally, I like Glenn Beck and agree with him most of the time-- especially when he takes on both sides (which he does nearly every, single day). I also recognize he is exactly what his tagline states on tv and radio: "The fusion of entertainment and enlightenment." He is a showman, former radio personality, and stand up comic. What he says is "true" as far as I am concerned, but I also know that my "truth" may not be yours, and that perception is reality.</span><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$5:0" /><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$7:0" /><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0">After all, mainstream news (at least in America) is fast approaching something akin to State propaganda these days. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$16:0"><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0"></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-caGS5RSCA-g/VEP4PrpcJGI/AAAAAAAAAbs/JUfU0kpHm5I/s1600/corporate-media_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-caGS5RSCA-g/VEP4PrpcJGI/AAAAAAAAAbs/JUfU0kpHm5I/s1600/corporate-media_0.jpg" height="320" width="242" /></a></div>
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$16:0"><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0"> </span><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$9:0" /><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$12:0">After all, I was always told that journalists were intended to be the watchdogs of the government, not tell stories about how Fluffy got stuck in a tree, or how tasty Mrs. Robinson's hot, apple pie is on a Sunday afternoon right after church. That is why Wikipedia says, "Like a literal guard dog that barks when it notices an intruder, a 'watchdog' [reporter] involves alerting others when a problem is detected." </span><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$13:0" /><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$15:0" /><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$16:0">In that case, people like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange are the true heroes of journalistic integrity even though neither of them are actual reporters. Yet, how does our government treat them both? Like traitors, and criminals for uncovering corrupt and immoral behavior perpetrated by the State. And in turn, most corporate news reporting agencies will say the very same things about them.</span><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$17:0" /><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$19:0" /><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$20:0">As I see it, honest reporters report with unbiased integrity which is difficult because that is not humanity's default position. </span><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$21:0" /><br data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$23:0" /><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$24:0">Judges in courtrooms are exactly the same. How can a judge truly rule in any way other than with bias and their own experiences as their guide? The answer is easy. They follow the letter of the law & Constitution, and rely solely on the facts presented before them to reach a decision. Sadly, that is hardly ever the case. Activist judges are just as morally corrupt as activist journalists, and they must all be held to a higher standard.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KPHhPNcFpZg/VEP6M_RFBjI/AAAAAAAAAb4/dS2MmJ8gNPY/s1600/judicial-activism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KPHhPNcFpZg/VEP6M_RFBjI/AAAAAAAAAb4/dS2MmJ8gNPY/s1600/judicial-activism.jpg" height="150" width="320" /></a></div>
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863597730646:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$16:0"><span data-reactid=".kp.1:3:1:$comment10204860384010305_10204863857417138:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$24:0"></span></span></span></span><br />
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-88100569196944155082014-08-12T14:29:00.001-07:002014-10-31T15:07:52.217-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse!: Robin Williams Was My Friend!<br />
<span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 247px;" />"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span></span><span style="color: #000066;"><span style="font-size: large;">George Washington</span></span></span><br />
<b><i>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</i></b><br />
<strong><em></em></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt;">by Nicholas Meyeres</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Few times has a
complete stranger so deeply and profoundly touched my life that upon word of
their passing I am left with overwhelming sadness and regret for not knowing
who they truly were. Such a person was Robin Williams, and now I- like so many
other people- feel that a part of me is missing. A part none of us will ever
get back again.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4kiMPsycgGY/U-qBJrE6oRI/AAAAAAAAAas/eVAPwpi9E90/s1600/Gift_Aladdin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4kiMPsycgGY/U-qBJrE6oRI/AAAAAAAAAas/eVAPwpi9E90/s1600/Gift_Aladdin.jpg" height="233" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-size: small;">I may not have
known you, Robin, but I feel that you knew me. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You knew when I
needed a good cry. You could make my belly shake until my side ached from
laughter. You showed me how to think about life in a way that no one else
could-- unique and fresh. You were a good friend to me even though our paths
never crossed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-size: small;">Whenever I heard
Robin Williams was doing an interview, or when he was on tv, or in a movie I
was excited like a child the night before Christmas. I knew at some point
during that short period of time I would be allowed to step completely outside
of myself, and let the sorrows I felt in my own life go. Unfortunately, no one
could do the same for him. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His manic energy
and infectious laughter and smile shook me to my core. Yet, few actors could go
to that quiet, small place with their craft, shed the frenzied intensity, and
make you believe with all your heart like he could. Robin couldn't turn off the
emotional spigot within himself. He was either a sun or a moon. Very rarely was
he anything in-between. Yet, that is what made him so brilliant, and so sad. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">I can't say I
fully understand depression, addiction or suicide because I have never
struggled with any of the above. In fact, I have only ever known one person
close to me who ended their own life, and it still confounds and haunts me
today. Why would anyone choose death when life is filled with such joy,
happiness, beauty, and wonder?</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P14j9XSD5KE/U-qBvuS0rbI/AAAAAAAAAa0/kB9PeO-U-K0/s1600/What-Dreams-May-Come-robin-williams-26619597-1499-973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P14j9XSD5KE/U-qBvuS0rbI/AAAAAAAAAa0/kB9PeO-U-K0/s1600/What-Dreams-May-Come-robin-williams-26619597-1499-973.jpg" height="258" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">But in that very
question lies the answer.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the mind of
depression lies that same desire for joy, happiness, beauty, and wonder, but
somehow it's like a distant memory. It's an abstract cloud in the sky that’s
always out of reach. It’s tons of ocean water crashing down around you where
you can never quite reach the surface no matter how hard you try. The depth of
the world's woes far outweigh the positive influences surrounding them in the
world of addiction. To these people, the bottle or the pill is a release from
pain, and frighteningly, suicide is ever an option. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Ending a life
would be an absolute last resort for me. Maybe it would never be one for
another person. To people who suffer from severe depression, perhaps they feel
it is their only recourse. But rest assured, it is not.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Life is about
making choices, and it is what separates us from the animals. Those choices
define who we are- right or wrong- and we must always endeavor to find ways to
make the proper ones for us, and those around us. Sadly, most people seem to
recall the few times when we turned left instead of right in life, and not the
many times we moved forward without stumbling. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The old adage
goes "we all make mistakes." Unfortunately, some of us make big
mistakes often, but that doesn't stop us from trying our best to be the best we
can be in life. I just wish I could wave a magic wand, and have everyone say to
themselves without question: "I like me today, and I can't wait to be an
even better me tomorrow." After all, we are not the men we are because of
the mistakes we have made in life; we are the men we are because it is who we
choose to be, not who we have become.</span><br />
<o:p></o:p> </div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4pgMQ9zX-Vk/U-qCFzq6H9I/AAAAAAAAAa8/nCA5TkBALVo/s1600/when-something-bad-happens-you-have-three-choices.jpg" height="278" width="320" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-size: small;">Death as an
abstract thought is a very selfish business, and a business no one likes to
ever invest in. When someone passes on we say out loud, "I can't believe
this person is gone", or question "why did this person have to
die?" But what we really mean to say is, "We did YOU leave ME?" </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">However, suicide
is not the same.</span></span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A person
determined to end their lives doesn't think in the same rational way we do as
evidenced by the many suicide notes and letters left behind. They don't seem to
be thinking about the wake they leave, but instead what they can do to mitigate
the pain of others. Robin Williams likely didn't say before he left "I am
leaving you</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">because the world is too
hard", but rather "I am leaving because it will make your life
easier." If anything that is the opposite of selfishness.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Robin Williams
said in a movie back in 2009, “I used to think that the worst thing in life was
to end up all alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people
who make you feel all alone.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-size: small;">I am sure Robin
loved his family, and never felt alone in their presence, but could they truly
empathize with his many struggles and hardships? Could any of us, even someone
who suffered like he did? We are all individuals, and we all walk a different
path. No one was in Robin's head but Robin, and no one will ever know what his
last thoughts were. But do we even need to?<o:p></o:p></span></span>
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;">It is true, most
people choose not to remember the many times we move forward without stumbling.
I choose to remember Robin Williams, not as an addict who ended his own life,
but as a friend who brought joy to mine many times over. I choose to surround
myself with people and things that make me happy and whole, not with those who
only wish to drain me, and tear me down.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0sr_vItzH-A/U-qCM745OFI/AAAAAAAAAbE/6q4oyebjBMo/s1600/Robin-Williams-6-660x330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0sr_vItzH-A/U-qCM745OFI/AAAAAAAAAbE/6q4oyebjBMo/s1600/Robin-Williams-6-660x330.jpg" height="200" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Don’t let the
worst thing in your life end up being with people who make you feel all alone-
including you.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxv5q-IewV_-iJeId9SSOUITWe5WMopn5p4vTwZ6OS4JtRIrnqUapb_-D1WwF4uuHLjqDOFwC0OtC1agFktzA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code -->
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<img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/images/votebutton.gif" alt="Top Blogs" border="0" /></a>
<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-86922755780102273062012-12-19T13:36:00.003-08:002012-12-20T08:28:51.836-08:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse: The Gun Control Debate.... AGAIN!<ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" http:="http:" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i=""><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 247px;" /> <br /><span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="color: red;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color: #000066;">George Washington</span></span><br /><b><i>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</i></b></ahref><br />
<br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">by
Nicholas Meyeres</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The
shooting in Newtown, Connecticut was an horrific tragedy. My heart goes out to
those that lost loved ones that day. I can’t even imagine the heartache and
anger one must feel after such an event, but talk of new gun control measures
is never the course we should take no matter how filled with emotion we all
become.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">After
all, what gun control advocates don’t seem to understand is that outlawing gun
ownership will not reduce crime. In fact, the areas with the strictest gun
control laws (like Chicago for instance) are also the most violent. But even if
that wasn’t the case, as I have said on a previous blog post, enforcing gun control requires criminal behavior on an
even more massive scale: In order to disarm gun owners and regulate gun
producers, the government themselves must commit crimes against the people by
violating the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution. That is, the government must
forcibly expropriate the property of gun owners against their will. Therefore,
gun control cannot reduce crime when enforcing gun control is a crime in and of
itself. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dNka6-Tf1-s/UNIo8-WyGJI/AAAAAAAAAXw/GfI3wFrrxeI/s1600/gun-control.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dNka6-Tf1-s/UNIo8-WyGJI/AAAAAAAAAXw/GfI3wFrrxeI/s320/gun-control.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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</xml><![endif]--> <span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">And it can't be said enough times- as basic as is
sounds- criminals are deterred by armed victims, while gun control disarms the law-abiding
ones. After all, a criminal will always find a way to obtain and use a gun-
legal or otherwise- especially in a so-called “gun-free zone” where only the criminals
are armed. In essence, unarmed citizens make easy victims. It really is that
simple. </span><br />
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Further
arguments state that the 2nd Amendment was envisioned with only flintlock
muskets in mind even though the word “arms” was the purposefully open-ended
word our Framers used. But that argument is fundamentally flawed. If that were
how it worked then the 1st Amendment wouldn’t apply to the Internet, or any
other form of communication created after the signing of the Constitution. And I can’t imagine anyone arguing that free speech in electronic
communications should not be allowed today. That being the
case, why then are AK-47s and AR-15s being considered for a ban?</span>
<br />
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<![endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Furthermore, according to the <span class="usercontent">FBI's own statistics it is clear that when considering 5 and
10-year trends, the 2011 estimated violent crime total was 15.4 percent below
the 2007 level and 15.5 percent below the 2002 level. Simply put, we are safer
today than we have been in some time contrary to an exploitative media and liberal alarmists that would
have us believe otherwise. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span class="usercontent"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span class="usercontent">And as the graph below indicates it</span></span></span></span> has to
also be said that compared to the other top 10 “killers” in the United States,
firearm homicides are at the very bottom of the list. Tobacco use tops the list
at 529, 000 deaths a year, followed closely by medical errors, unintentional
injuries, alcohol abuse, motor vehicle accidents, unintentional poisoning, drug
abuse, unintentional falls, non-firearm homicides, and lastly at just over
11,000 deaths a year- firearm homicides.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1fDKPfPfeuc/UNInW6boIRI/AAAAAAAAAXU/rjmegn8plyU/s1600/547398_3778062983222_1671854839_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1fDKPfPfeuc/UNInW6boIRI/AAAAAAAAAXU/rjmegn8plyU/s320/547398_3778062983222_1671854839_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But aside from that, an armed populace is a strong check against government gone
awry. It was Thomas Jefferson who said, "The strongest reason for the
people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to
protect themselves from tyranny in government." Frankly, contrary to
popular thought, guns provide many more designations aside from protecting
yourself from home invasion or for the purpose of hunting.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Americans would
do well to remember the harrowing stories of the brave Jewish Resistance who
armed themselves and fought off the Nazis for as long as they could. It
should also be reminded that the Communists of Vietnam, Russia, China and
Cambodia murdered millions of their own people only after first disarming them.
However, you don’t think we will ever need to protect ourselves from our
government in this day and age?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Please recall that Japanese
Americans were interned on American soil during World War II against their free
will by this very government. Also, don’t forget that blacks were enslaved and
that Native Americans were purged and crushed into dust by that same government,
as well. Trust me, it can and already has happened here many times over in America. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Not only that, but gun control
has very racist roots. The very first gun-control measures in American history
were designed to keep arms out of the hands of blacks and Native Americans. The
Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies both prohibited the sale of guns to Native
Americans in the early seventeenth century, and the “Black Codes” of the
mid-eighteenth century required French colonists in Louisiana to disarm and
beat “any black carrying any potential weapon.” That is why ALL arms need be
allowed by “We the People”.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cCETPBxD91M/UNIs2DqeorI/AAAAAAAAAYY/4AjRvNqtfyw/s1600/gun-control-is-racist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cCETPBxD91M/UNIs2DqeorI/AAAAAAAAAYY/4AjRvNqtfyw/s320/gun-control-is-racist.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But still, yes, guns do indeed kill people as I have even said- if
they are in the wrong hands, that is. But, you could say the same thing about a hammer,
a kitchen knife, a drinking straw or any other object that could be construed
as a weapon. <span class="usercontent">In fact, also according to the FBI, the #1
weapon used in violent crimes is a baseball bat. </span>Should we ban baseball
bats, too? After all, a gun is impotent while it sits on a counter, unloaded.
It only gains power when a bullet is added to the chamber and the trigger is
pulled.<span class="usercontent"> </span></span><br />
<h3>
<span class="usercontent"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">It's simply the truth: If you ban
guns, bad people will still find a way to do harm to others. </span></span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></h3>
<h3>
<span class="st"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The same week as the Newtown
tragedy a knife-wielding man injured 22 children and one adult outside a
primary school in central China where guns of any kind are not allowed. </span></span><span class="usercontent"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Timothy McVeigh used fertilizer
and a truck to kill 168 people in Oklahoma. Box cutters were to blame for 9/11.
Does that mean we should we ban all of those everyday items, as well? </span></span></h3>
<h3>
<span class="usercontent"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Let's go one irrational step
further; by some accounts the shooter was said to be autistic, or had </span></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Asperger’s Syndrome<span class="usercontent">. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, as with Japanese Americans during the 40’s
should we round up all people with developmental disorders and put them in
camps since clearly that must have played a factor in the deaths of so many
because the shooter suffered from it himself? Of course not. Less freedom is
never the answer. Only with more freedom can we truly be safe in a world like
the one in which we live today. </span></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span class="usercontent"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rzwYegwJKSw/UNIvx97PS1I/AAAAAAAAAY4/Ru2pSunY3E0/s1600/More-Freedom-Less-Government.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rzwYegwJKSw/UNIvx97PS1I/AAAAAAAAAY4/Ru2pSunY3E0/s320/More-Freedom-Less-Government.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</span></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">In
short, in order to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again we
should endeavor to educate ourselves in the ways of self defense so we can be
stronger and more aware of everything around us, including gun use. We can’t sit
on the sidelines for someone to step in for us in times when waiting for a
police officer to arrive simply isn’t enough. It will take the heroic deeds of common,
everyday individuals working together towards the same goal of true freedom
despite being wary of our own liberties as American citizens. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">After
all, if a man wields a gun against my family, I for one will never be ashamed
or afraid of my own willingness and strength of character to protect my loved
ones by any means necessary. Can you say the same?<span class="Heading3Char"><span style="mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></span></span></div>
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<![endif]--><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code -->
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-74098193361630127402012-10-26T13:26:00.000-07:002014-10-19T11:05:21.943-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse!: Civil Liberties and the Election!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i=""><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 247px;" /> <br /><span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="color: red;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color: #000066;">George Washington</span></span><br /><b><i>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</i></b><br /> <br />By Nicholas Meyeres </ahref><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">It wasn't so long ago that
liberals were denouncing President George W. Bush for his administration's complete
violation of constitutional liberty and endless illegal wars waged. It wasn't
that long ago that panic gripped civil liberties advocates about the
possibility of the president eroding our freedom like never before. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Where are you now!?</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjKWRe5HkiA/UIru-GtokRI/AAAAAAAAAWc/gJbn_mEyUGE/s1600/war-ok-now-liberals-hypocrites-politics-1339991705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjKWRe5HkiA/UIru-GtokRI/AAAAAAAAAWc/gJbn_mEyUGE/s320/war-ok-now-liberals-hypocrites-politics-1339991705.jpg" height="320" width="219" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Anyone who votes for President
Barack Obama is also voting for the Patriot Act taking our privacy away which
was ramped up under his watch, NDAA killing legal citizens without due process
of the law, drones flying over America and spying on her people, the TSA
molesting us at airports which was also escalated under this president,
Guantanamo Bay still open and expanded under the current administration, the
government listening in on phone conversations between people of this country
and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>those of other countries identified
as “terrorists” without a warrant, endless unconstitutional wars where American
troops now fight and die in nearly a dozen other countries Bush never invaded,
the fact that the Department of Homeland Security under Obama now actively
monitors social networks such as Twitter and Facebook to uncover “Items of
Interest”, and at the current president’s request, the passing of HR 347,
making it illegal to protest federal officials “visiting any facility” who have
Secret Service protection where penalties for doing so include up to 10 years
in federal prison effectively repealing your right to “petition for redress of
grievances”. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">And then there’s Presidential
Directive 51, which the Obama administration has expanded upon after the last administration
put it into effect. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It states, among
many other things, that the President has the power to completely cancel any
and all elections in the United Sates for an undisclosed period of time of his
own choosing in the event of a "catastrophic emergency".</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The moral of this story is
this: If you do care about civil liberties and the Constitution the one person
whom you do NOT want to vote for is Obama! </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u0kaF80Lwwo/UIrvfC7lEaI/AAAAAAAAAWo/T2Qjbi59WZQ/s1600/Crimes%2BAre%2BCrimes%2BNo%2BMatter%2BWho%2BDoes%2BThem%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u0kaF80Lwwo/UIrvfC7lEaI/AAAAAAAAAWo/T2Qjbi59WZQ/s320/Crimes%2BAre%2BCrimes%2BNo%2BMatter%2BWho%2BDoes%2BThem%2521.jpg" height="305" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Who does that leave us with?
Mitt Romney? Now, after all of this, if you still can’t bring yourself to vote
for Mitt Romney, that’s fine- I don’t plan to, either. There are other very qualified
people running for the highest office in the land on November 6<sup>th</sup>
who do deserve your support, and who will not erode civil liberties and destroy
the Constitution as we know it. Libertarian Gary Johnson comes to mind right
away.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">But is that a vote you just
throw away since your candidate of choice likely won’t even be elected? Is it
effectively a spoiler vote for one party or the other rather than for your own
third party candidate? Is it simply a waste of time? It is if you believe
voting your conscience, principals and for the best person for the job is indeed
a waste. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">After all, just ask yourself
this one simple question when you vote this year: “Is there any way to solve
the issues I care most about with more freedom instead of less?” If the answer
is less freedom, then vote for our current Commander-In-Chief once again or for
Mitt Romney who holds near-identical positions on these very same issues, and
remember this: The lesser of two evils is still evil.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">In fact, if you do vote for
Barack Obama you have only yourself to thank when every future president from here
on out knows he or she can do the very same thing or worse since it doesn’t
provoke even the slightest bit of backlash from the left. And if Mitt Romney is
elected and liberals finally speak out on these same issues you will be
regarded as the hypocritical phony we all know you already are.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i=""></ahref><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/politics/" title="Politics"><img alt="Politics" border="0" src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/tracker.php?u=72190" /></a><noscript></noscript><br /><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/vote.php?u=72190" target="_blank"><img alt="Top Blogs" border="0" src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/images/votebutton.gif" /></a></span><br />
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-23313308696750711322012-09-04T16:56:00.004-07:002017-01-31T22:41:52.261-08:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse!: Libertarians and Abortion!<ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" http:="http:" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i=""><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 247px;" /> <br /><span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="color: red;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color: #000066;">George Washington</span></span><br /><b><i>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</i></b><br /> <br />By Nicholas Meyeres </ahref><br />
<br />
<ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" http:="http:" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i="">I never understood how libertarians could NOT be against abortion. </ahref><br />
<br />
<ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" http:="http:" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i="">Libertarians say they promote individual liberty and seek to minimize the role of big government, but they then say that they consider a "right to an abortion" to be part of their general support for individual rights, especially in regard to what they consider to be a woman's right to control her body. But that seems, at best, counter intuitive to me. What about the non-aggression principle? Doesn't that apply to all human beings, including the right to life of fetuses? Thus, they should be opposed to the legality of abortion in my opinion. </ahref><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fp8_o7JpDZc/UEaQrFZyWtI/AAAAAAAAAVw/-AKVNTAtHJc/s1600/224754_124593681019486_35035627_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fp8_o7JpDZc/UEaQrFZyWtI/AAAAAAAAAVw/-AKVNTAtHJc/s320/224754_124593681019486_35035627_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" http:="http:" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i="">The group Libertarians For Life say: "Non-aggression is an ongoing obligation: it is never optional for anyone, even pregnant women. If the non-aggression obligation did not apply, then earning money versus stealing it and consensual sex versus rape would be morally indifferent behaviors. The obligation not to aggress is pre-political and pre-legal. It does not arise out of contract, agreement, or the law; rather, such devices presuppose this obligation. The obligation would exist even in a state of nature. This is because the obligation comes with our human nature, and we acquire this nature at conception." </ahref><br />
<br />
<ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" http:="http:" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i="">I'll go one step further and say- while libertarian theory is built upon property rights, it also recognizes a natural limit to the exercise of those rights. That limit is what Locke called, “the law of nature,” which is that “no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.” In other words, a woman may have a right to "evict" an unwanted person from their "property", unless that person is evicted via the act of murder. Therefore, to me, abortion is fundamentally against the ideals of the whole libertarian. </ahref><br />
<br />
<ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" http:="http:" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i="">Having said that, America is not a third world country, and a woman does have a right to choose- rather, she chooses to have sex and must live up to the personal responsibility and consequences of that act in every way, shape and form. Once her choice is made and the result is pregnancy, the choice is no longer hers alone. Other than the man that made a personal choice as well, there is an unborn life that needs a say in the matter, one that had no choice in the previous act at all. </ahref><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zGZWnisWrZk/UEaRWVPr1II/AAAAAAAAAV8/ouvjEizQnts/s1600/my-body-my-choice-abortion-fetus-prolife.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zGZWnisWrZk/UEaRWVPr1II/AAAAAAAAAV8/ouvjEizQnts/s320/my-body-my-choice-abortion-fetus-prolife.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" http:="http:" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i="">And in the case of rape, which always gets brought up in this type of discussion, (to use legal jargon) "the offending party must pay recompense to the offended." In other words, the rapist must pay a price for the "property damage" that he has been committed- however that may be. Still, this does not negate the rights of the fetus. Whatever inconvenience is perpetrated on the mother is to be compensated by the offender, not the child. In short, the mother does not have the right to terminate the child's life. </ahref><br />
<br />
<ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" http:="http:" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i="">Libertarians (at least in the way I identify with them) I feel are mostly voluntarist, but recognize the need to coordinate in limited ways for the greater good, and to restrict individual rights when the exercise of those rights impedes someone else’s exercise of his rights. These laws are designed to decide whose rights trump whose when they conflict. </ahref><br />
<br />
<ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" http:="http:" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i="">The bottom line for me is this: Clearly, the most vitriolic case of conflicting rights is abortion, unless you assume that the fetus has no rights. And while that’s an assumption that you can choose to make, I look at it this way: If the fetus is a person (or, to put it another way, at the moment that it becomes a person), then obviously its right to live trumps the mother’s right not to have a baby. </ahref><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JhTRElsOi00/UEaSv6y3xPI/AAAAAAAAAWI/FF3MT19qsLA/s1600/rights1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JhTRElsOi00/UEaSv6y3xPI/AAAAAAAAAWI/FF3MT19qsLA/s320/rights1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" http:="http:" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i="">Unfortunately we have a hard time deciding as a people when the fetus truly does become a person. Some people think it’s at the moment of conception. Some people think it’s when it takes its first few breaths outside the womb. Some people think it’s all about “viability”, and when the child could medically survive on its own. But wherever you draw that line, that’s when it changes from a fetus without rights to a person with rights. </ahref><br />
<br />
<ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" http:="http:" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i="">I personally have no idea when that really happens, but the most obvious way to draw the line is at some sort of physical action we can all point to like the first beat of a human heart. Either way, as long as I don’t know for certain, I feel as though we should err on the side of preserving life, and follow the non-aggression principle 100% no matter what. After all, the potential harm to the fetus if we guess too late is far greater than the presumed harm to the mother if we presuppose too early. </ahref><br />
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<ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" http:="http:" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i=""></ahref><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/politics/" title="Politics"><img alt="Politics" border="0" src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/tracker.php?u=72190" /></a><noscript></noscript><br />
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-23165840763566754392012-08-22T09:57:00.001-07:002012-08-22T09:57:10.571-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse!: Budget and Economy!<ahref 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" eagle.jpg="eagle.jpg" gnjpc0jh8qc="" http:="http:" s1600-h="" snowy="snowy" swadc6rch_i=""><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 247px;" /> <br /><span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="color: red;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color: #000066;">George Washington</span></span><br /><b><i>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</i></b><br /> <br />By Nicholas Meyeres </ahref><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">This is an easy one!</span></span></div>
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First, we start by repealing 16th Amendment effectively abolishing the income
tax and property tax. After that, we force the government to live within their means just as we
as citizens must live within ours in order to survive. Once we do that, we
start paying down the deficit IMMEDIATELY, and stop borrowing from places like China.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uxw_NScYupI/UDUI8AMdwiI/AAAAAAAAAVE/x47viR1XeAw/s1600/Borrowing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uxw_NScYupI/UDUI8AMdwiI/AAAAAAAAAVE/x47viR1XeAw/s320/Borrowing.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: white;">After all, the people, not the
government, are supposed to run the economy- so, we should fight for more power
given to the private sector, not less. Besides, there is no way to control
spending when the Federal Reserve creates money by printing it out of thin air
to pay our debts off. As a result, we need to abolish the Federal Reserve, too. </span><br style="color: white;" />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In
fact, I would go so far as to say we should stop all non-essential aid
to EVERY country we currently prop up, as well. Sure, the American
people are a naturally giving people, but we need to allow ourselves a
small amount of selfishness in this day and age if for no other reason
than out of necessity. Frankly, let them get their own collective houses
in order, just as we must.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Similarly, hard choices must be made here or we won't survive as the
prosperous nation we once were, either. We all have those things we want the
government to not cut, but cuts must be made all the way across the
board no matter what your pet issue may be. That includes government
worker's salaries, Medicare and Medicaid, welfare benefits, veteran's
benefits, the the military industrial complex, the public school system-
EVERYTHING!
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pOirR-pFUvI/UDUKI9CCs7I/AAAAAAAAAVQ/5QGElQTwYss/s1600/cut-spending.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pOirR-pFUvI/UDUKI9CCs7I/AAAAAAAAAVQ/5QGElQTwYss/s320/cut-spending.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: black;">
</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We also need to end as many regulations as possible in
order for businesses to do their business without the government taking
their share right off the top. And we need competition to get it done.
No more "no-complete clauses" with the United States Post Office for
instance. Let those of us who know how to run a business show the
Feds a thing or two, and let the rest fail. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The truth is, the government is like a drunken sailor on
shore leave, they spend
way too much even though they have very little to actually give, and
when they come home they wonder why they need even more assistance by the government. Our government simply taxes us more
and more every day thinking that will somehow regulate our economy
magically.
But all that accomplishes is anger and resentment by the people when
their
hard earned money is taken from them and wasted by a clumsy and inept
government that can’t run itself as a proper business anyway. <br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In short, we need to
restore our nation by returning to the TRUE conservative tenant of “less
government
via fiscal responsibility” and force those who govern us- both
republican AND democrat- to be personally held
responsible for our debt should it ever grow beyond what is acceptable
to us as
a people. In the end, we can’t legislate economic fairness in a true
republic;
so the only answer is to make our existing government as small as
possible
while continuing to still function with the barest of essentials. Then,
we allow the private sector to do their thing, and fix the rest!
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ilRRN-9kW00/UDUMSe97iCI/AAAAAAAAAVc/ZW84efCnv_8/s1600/Public-and-Private-Sector.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ilRRN-9kW00/UDUMSe97iCI/AAAAAAAAAVc/ZW84efCnv_8/s320/Public-and-Private-Sector.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="color: white;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Having said all of that, the very first step is for the
American people to realize that they have a true say with their vote,
and that they need to use that vote to make a statement. The two-party
system simply isn't working anymore, and we need to kick EVERY big government
crony out of Washington on both sides of the isle that isn't a true
fiscal conservative. In doing that, we stand every chance of not falling
into the trap that so many other nations have fallen into over the years. But this can only be accomplished if
we follow the right signs that lead the way out of the darkness.</span></div>
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-86010539956083783172012-07-16T08:39:00.001-07:002012-07-16T08:50:08.339-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse!: Obamacare!<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i=""><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 247px;" /> <br /><span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="color: red;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color: #000066;">George Washington</span></span><br /><b><i>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</i></b><br /> <br />By Nicholas Meyeres </ahref="http:><br />
<br />
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i="">Thomas Sowell recently said,
"It is amazing that people who think we cannot afford to pay for
doctors, hospitals, and medication somehow now think that we can afford to pay
for those same doctors, hospitals, and medication as well as a government
bureaucracy to administer it all." Consider that for just one moment if
you support federally-enforced government healthcare.<br />
<br />
<span class="commentbody">In fact,
once we are finished high fiving each other like we all just won the lottery;
we need to deliberate </span><span class="commentbody">over a few very important points about what Obamacare really
means to each and every one of us. Thanks to the Supreme Court of the United
States of America the government now has complete authority to tax, not based
on income, but on behavior, the entire American people- and not just the top 1%.
To put that into a more liberal context: that means that if</span> you are openly pro-abortion
because you believe it is your body, therefore your choice, you can’t in good
conscience also support a government-mandated healthcare that forces you to
give up that same liberty of self-ownership when considering your own private
healthcare, right? </ahref="http:><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d7HJrN7G87Y/UAQuzHXp-WI/AAAAAAAAAUU/9JtI32xDDTM/s1600/pro-choice-obamacare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d7HJrN7G87Y/UAQuzHXp-WI/AAAAAAAAAUU/9JtI32xDDTM/s320/pro-choice-obamacare.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
But more than that, it is integral to realize that Obamacare
is now considered a tax on every American citizen. We need to fully understand
what this means. Simply put, it is now unlawful for you NOT to buy federally-run
health insurance, and if you do not the government will use the Internal
Revenue Services to forcibly take away your refund, increase your fees, add
penalties or even see that you serve jail time.<br />
<br />
But that’s okay, at least healthcare is “free” now!<br />
<br />
I am frankly beside myself at how some people who claim they
can’t pay for insurance today will suddenly have the resources tomorrow after 21
tax increases take place resulting from a health care law costing more than
$675 billion over the next 10 years, according to the House Ways and
Means Committee. In fact, of those increases, 12 tax hikes would affect
families earning less than $250,000 per year. Isn’t this is a clear violation
of the president’s own personal pledge to avoid tax hikes on low and
middle-income taxpayers? Bottom line: this could well turn out to be the single
largest tax in American history.<br />
<br />
Are we still high fiving now?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xSsKwhdLqCU/UAQt0BZsGLI/AAAAAAAAAUM/F57u7clQEaA/s1600/obamacare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xSsKwhdLqCU/UAQt0BZsGLI/AAAAAAAAAUM/F57u7clQEaA/s320/obamacare.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Truth be told, we don’t have to wait to see all of this come
to pass. Obamacare has already caused up to 20 million Americans to lose their
health-insurance policies today. And, according to the Congressional Budget
Office, the health-care-reform law will destroy over 800,000 jobs in the future.
On top of that, an analysis from the Joint Committee on Taxation from November
2009 shows that in 2016, three-quarters of the tax imposed by the individual
mandate will fall on those making less than $120,000 of income for a family of
four or $59,000 for an individual. Families of four making $72,000 or less and
individuals making $35,400 or less will bear nearly half of the mandate tax.<br />
<br />
We simply can’t let something this wrong stand. After all, just because a couple of
clearly uninformed folks on the Supreme Court declare something to be
“constitutional” does not necessarily make it so. It is as Senator Rand Paul
said shortly after the ruling, “While the court may have erroneously come to
the conclusion that the law is allowable, it certainly does nothing to make
this mandate or government takeover of our health care right.”<br />
<br />
Lest we forget there’s no doubt this law will also have
appalling consequences for younger generations. It will force our youth to purchase
health insurance just as they are getting on their feet and begin paying down their
college debts, or face major taxation. Truth be told, this is a major win for
big, “money-grubbing” insurance companies only, not for the poor and downtrodden.
I hope that sits well with supporters of Obamacare.<br />
<br />
As a result, I frankly don’t
know how a government who forces its people into heavy taxation is truly a compassionate
one. I believe that lending a hand to the impoverished is the right thing to do
as an individual. However, having our government force us to assist those same
people in need is nothing short of “self-righteous bullying” as Penn Jillette
put it. To further paraphrase the same quote I posted last time from that great
mountain of a man- Sure, people the country over need to be fed, sheltered and
even medicated, and if we are decent Americans we will do our humanly best to
help everyone we possibly can, but we get no moral credit by forcing others to
follow suit, especially at the barrel of
a proverbial gun.<br />
<br />
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-77784575932086408102012-06-12T13:56:00.000-07:002012-07-16T08:44:30.919-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse!: Property Taxes!<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i=""><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 247px;" /> <br /><span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="color: red;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color: #000066;">George Washington</span></span><br /><b><i>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</i></b><br /> <br />By Nicholas Meyeres </ahref="http:><br />
<br />
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i="">North Dakota is considering a measure that abolishes property taxes entirely as of this week. Good for you, North Dakota! I never understood property taxation anyway. It comes off as unconstitutional on just about every level to me, and is really nothing short of a tyrannical feudal system for all intents and purposes. </ahref="http:><br />
<br />
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i=""><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T7SVftDeW8I/T9dx3dAvGoI/AAAAAAAAATk/M3Qd-7S8giA/s1600/ecd13352d5819bfadfa7353a6d6f86c7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T7SVftDeW8I/T9dx3dAvGoI/AAAAAAAAATk/M3Qd-7S8giA/s320/ecd13352d5819bfadfa7353a6d6f86c7.jpg" width="320" /></a> </ahref="http:><br />
<br />
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i="">Well, okay, we obviously don’t live under a feudal regime, however property taxation seems to presuppose a type of feudal hierarchy no matter how you slice it anyway. Sure, if it were a true feudal regime it would be a more distributive state-run system, and we obviously do not live in one of those, but because of exactly that this renders property taxes even more patently absurd to my mind. </ahref="http:><br />
<br />
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i="">The bottom line is this: I loathe the very idea property taxes. In fact, the more I consider it, I probably abhor the idea even more than mere income or sales taxes. There is simply something much more sinister about them than meets the eye. After all, income tax, no matter how intrusive and redundant they seem, intimates that only a certain percentage of one's income is owed to the government for the “maintenance of public goods”. Property taxation, however, says something vastly more insidious. </ahref="http:><br />
<br />
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i="">Property taxes by definition, regardless of its use or where it’s directed, is a claim by the state of COMPLETE ownership of your land. And if you are found to be in default of paying property tax at all, the state can then seize that property even if you have already bought and paid for that land in full. </ahref="http:><br />
<br />
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i="">What you really have is a system where we pay a fee to a type of tyrannical landlord while we, the lowly voters, are permitted to live on that land only if we pay them to do so. Hmmmmmm…. maybe it is more like a feudal system than even I care to believe! </ahref="http:><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tki2BRxnSCM/T9ep-lW-c0I/AAAAAAAAAT4/gbBkfBXpVUQ/s1600/feudalism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tki2BRxnSCM/T9ep-lW-c0I/AAAAAAAAAT4/gbBkfBXpVUQ/s320/feudalism.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i="">Either way, make no mistake about it, if the state can confiscate your already paid-for property when you become tax delinquent, then you truly do not own that land in the first place. The state does. How every property owner in America cannot be up in arms because of this is beyond me. </ahref="http:><br />
<br />
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i="">Not to mention, property taxes seem unconstitutional because it does not allow us to live in a truly free land where we are secure in the liberty to own said personal property. I am no constitutional scholar, but I do realize that the government is treading on hallowed ground both figuratively and perhaps even literally, if they are allowed to infringe on our property rights as designated by the United States Constitution. </ahref="http:><br />
<br />
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i="">The Fifth Amendment says in part that we are not to be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”. Yet, how many of us have at least heard instances where American citizens have lost their property, home or land because they have failed to pay property taxes? It occurs throughout the entire country on a near daily basis. This seems not only immoral and unethical in my mind, but nothing shy of criminal and in violation of one’s own civil rights. </ahref="http:><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j00wm6dlY7c/T9eqjNwfk7I/AAAAAAAAAUA/WaWqBpZVxaM/s1600/05.06.23.PropertyWrongs-X.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j00wm6dlY7c/T9eqjNwfk7I/AAAAAAAAAUA/WaWqBpZVxaM/s320/05.06.23.PropertyWrongs-X.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i=""> </ahref="http:><br />
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i="">Consider this: nearly every sale of property occurs without any due process at all. That is to say, there has been no court hearing, no judgment, nor adjudication of facts and no consideration given for the actual laws regarding any taxation in the first place. But doesn’t the Fifth Amendment say that we are not to “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”? </ahref="http:><br />
<br />
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i="">This simply shouldn’t be allowed to stand, and North Dakota is right to consider abolishing this tax altogether. Still, having said all of that I do realize that cutting property taxes will not only be difficult there (let alone in virtually every other state), but almost impossible because it is the dominant tax assessed by cities, counties and school districts. But, for that very reason, we should endeavor to eliminate this tax let alone any and every other department and agency that have outlived their usefulness, and create a smaller, fiscally less demanding government that will permit its citizens to function more freely in a market more conducive to growth and prosperity. </ahref="http:><br />
<br />
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i="">On a more personal level, if a good chunk of my property taxes go to the local school district I live in, why should I have to pay when I have no children who attend unless I choose to pay? For that matter, why should I have to support any public paid-for entity through my taxes in which I may not agree? Abortion funding, the military industrial complex, the death penalty, public school systems, and so on. The list could be endless in regard to what we as American individuals consider morally repugnant. </ahref="http:><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CUjvrsVAmao/T9epWB5nerI/AAAAAAAAATw/x68Jb_qlSKY/s1600/tumblr_m5a367Xu101qjbr4mo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CUjvrsVAmao/T9epWB5nerI/AAAAAAAAATw/x68Jb_qlSKY/s320/tumblr_m5a367Xu101qjbr4mo1_500.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
<br />
<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i="">Yet, at its core, Penn Jillette put it best in regard to that very thing, “People need to be fed, medicated, educated, clothed, and sheltered, and if we’re compassionate we’ll help them, but you get no moral credit for forcing other people to do what you think is right. There is great joy in helping people, but no joy in doing it at gunpoint.”</ahref="http:><br />
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-40788692460384918862012-04-06T09:45:00.013-07:002012-04-06T13:10:57.174-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse!: Mandatory Spay/ Neuter Laws!<ahref="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" /> <br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color:#000066;">George Washington<br /></span></span><br /><strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong><br /> <br />By Nicholas Meyeres <br /><br />The idea of a mandatory spay/neuter pet law is a supremely poor idea in my mind. In fact, mandating much of anything makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. After all, enjoying true freedom, without absolute control of one's own property (as long as we do no harm to others), is not possible in this country. Our United States Constitution is clear on that. <br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mc8O9-6bshs/T38ev6mXmgI/AAAAAAAAAS0/t4FtHdyC5B0/s1600/propertyrights.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 310px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mc8O9-6bshs/T38ev6mXmgI/AAAAAAAAAS0/t4FtHdyC5B0/s320/propertyrights.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728331059571431938" /></a><br /><br />If we as a Nation by virtue of our very liberties advocate individual freedom and consistently oppose the initiation of coercion by anyone upon an individual or their property for any reason, then we need to uphold those things that we even disagree with. Besides, as Voltaire said, “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.” I personally believe in spay/ neuter programs 100% as the most effective means to lessen the surplus pet population and help keep animals in their homes. I advocate for spay/neuter every chance I get, but I recognize that initiating legislation that forces individuals to care for their animals a certain way is never the answer. <br /><br />As a person who supports the rational principle of the individual human rights of life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness of every American, I simply can’t abide by this sort of law. I feel that each individual has the right to keep what he earns for himself and his family, and this includes the right to use, trade, sell, give away, or dispose of his property as he sees fit as long as none of these actions are abusive. And whether we like it or not, our pets are considered property in this country currently.<br /><br />Besides: the basic, proper function of lawful government is limited to protecting these rights of the peaceful individual from criminals and foreign aggression, and in not violating these rights itself. For if government is allowed to go beyond this legitimate function and itself initiates force in violation of the rights of peaceful citizens, it contradicts the only rational justification for its own existence by acting criminally itself.<br /><br />Having said all of that, although spaying and neutering our pets helps control dog and cat populations and generally helps them live longer lives and to be better companions to their owners- mandatory approaches nearly always contribute to pet owners avoiding licensing, rabies vaccination and veterinary care for their pets, and have many other unintended consequences as yet unnoticed. Therefore, I do not personally support mandatory spay/neuter laws or any other type of legislation that is punitive to otherwise law abiding pet owners no matter how often I tell people that spaying or neutering their pets is the best way to go.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cH1qFYJS9SE/T38f28_xCJI/AAAAAAAAATM/FqrcNyS4acQ/s1600/2008_5_spay_or_neuter.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 251px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cH1qFYJS9SE/T38f28_xCJI/AAAAAAAAATM/FqrcNyS4acQ/s320/2008_5_spay_or_neuter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728332279985539218" /></a><br /><br />But don’t just take my word for it. There are many areas that have tried to enact varying degrees of this type of legislation to disastrous results across the country. The City of Los Angeles in 2000 for instance developed a ”spay or pay” ordinance which immediately led to a decline in licensing compliance, and the animal control budget after passage of the law rose 269% from $6.7 million to $18 million. Fort Worth, TX was even forced to end its mandatory spay/neuter program after there was a reduction in rabies vaccinations which lead to an increase in rabies in the city. Then, in San Mateo California a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance was enacted and dog deaths in the areas governed by the ordinance increased 126% and cat deaths increased by 86%. Not surprisingly those numbers decreased in parts of the county not governed by ordinances similar to these ones. And the list goes on, and on, and on, and on. <br /><br />Even Best Friends Animal Society as an organization takes issue with the implementation of mandatory spay/ neuter laws for the most part. Judah Battista, the Director of Animal Care at Best Friends Animal Society said that a “better alternative to a mandatory spay-neuter ordinance would be to take the resources that would be devoted to enforcement and the subsequent housing of unaltered pets and using it to fund low-cost spay-neuter programs.” While Best Friends co-founder and the organization’s chief executive officer Gregory Castle said, “If your mandate insists people get their animals fixed, but doesn’t make any provision to help them do it, it doesn’t make any sense.” <br /><br />The bottom line is if you don't have the finances to spay or neuter your household pet, then under mandatory spay/neuter pet laws you would have to surrender your pet to high kill shelters. And here in Kanab, Best Friends (while being a no-kill shelter) can take only so many of the community’s unwanted and abandoned pets. That is why I support ONLY voluntary, affordable spay/neuter programs for owned pets, Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs for feral cats and maybe even sterilization of shelter animals and certain individual, owned animals based on their or their owners’ behavior (such as animals repeatedly caught at-large).<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7yK9TymcuHs/T38g4HaQuSI/AAAAAAAAATY/EcJcbLh5az4/s1600/spayneuter2011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 232px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7yK9TymcuHs/T38g4HaQuSI/AAAAAAAAATY/EcJcbLh5az4/s320/spayneuter2011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728333399472519458" /></a><br /><br />No one will ever be completely satisfied with the final word of any political legislation, but if we adhere to our Nation’s founding document, and our own sound and rational minds we can always come up with solutions to problems no matter how great or how small they may seem.<br /><br /><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist tracker code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/politics/" title="Politics"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/tracker.php?u=72190" alt="Politics" border="0" /></a><noscript><a >http://www.hfarticles.com/weight-loss/">lose</a> weight help</noscript><!-- End BlogToplist tracker code --></div><div> </div><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/vote.php?u=72190" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/images/votebutton.gif" alt="Top Blogs" border="0" /></a><!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code -->
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-73420593370473165032012-01-11T09:53:00.000-08:002012-01-11T10:27:33.553-08:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse!: Gun Control!<ahref="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" /> <br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color:#000066;">George Washington<br /></span></span><br /><strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong><br /> <br />By Nicholas Meyeres <br /><br />“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.” <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kZm6OOrdnQc/Tw3QzjDJuZI/AAAAAAAAASQ/HlDwZO_UbnM/s1600/secondamendment.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 302px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kZm6OOrdnQc/Tw3QzjDJuZI/AAAAAAAAASQ/HlDwZO_UbnM/s320/secondamendment.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696438687693912466" /></a><br /><br />Plain and simple. To the point. No reason for debate, right? We win. You lose. Guns for everyone!<br /><br />Sadly, it is never that easy when you are talking to people who want to take freedoms away rather than give even more to the people. <br /><br />One rhetorical argument given by gun control advocates is that outlawing gun ownership will reduce crime. However, enforcing gun control requires criminal behavior on an even more massive scale: in order to disarm gun owners and regulate gun producers, the government themselves must commit crimes against the people by first violating the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution. That is, the government must forcibly expropriate the property of gun owners against their will. Therefore, gun control cannot reduce crime when enforcing gun control is a crime in and of itself. So, the whole idea of gun control for reducing crime is patently absurd in my opinion.<br /><br />In fact, gun control actually increases crime on other levels, too. Criminals are deterred by armed victims, but gun control disarms law-abiding citizens. After all, a criminal will always find a way to obtain a gun. In essence, unarmed citizens make easy victims- it’s that simple. <br /><br />Also, an armed populace is a strong check against government gone awry. After all, Thomas Jefferson said, "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves from tyranny in government." Guns simply provide many more designations aside from protecting yourself from home invasion or for the purpose of hunting. <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DrIrtei0-bY/Tw3Q58qjmXI/AAAAAAAAASc/M_IVhO5UIUw/s1600/King-George.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DrIrtei0-bY/Tw3Q58qjmXI/AAAAAAAAASc/M_IVhO5UIUw/s320/King-George.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696438797649287538" /></a><br /><br />Besides, the gun control debate has long been plagued by systematic bias, emotionalism, and most of all- shocking ignorance. Take the right to self-ownership for example. It entails (in part) a right to own weapons that can be used in a purely defensive manner. Weapons that can be used only aggressively are incompatible with self-ownership. Hence, nuclear weapons (as many gun control rights advocates ridiculously say everyone will want to have if not kept in check) are illegitimate. But weapon ownership of any other kind for one’s own protection (even hypothetical protection from tyranny of Big Government) is perfectly justified here in America. <br /><br />Another argument often cited by gun control advocates is that “guns kill people” therefore we should endeavor to eradicate every one of them from the hands of any and all Americans. There is so much wrong with that statement, I don’t know where to begin. I suppose the most obvious place to start would be to say, yes, guns indeed do kill people- if they are in the wrong hands. But, you could say the same thing about a hammer, a kitchen knife, a baseball bat, a drinking straw or any other object that could be construed as a weapon. Should we ban all of those items, too? After all, a gun is impotent while it sits on a counter, unloaded. It only gains power when a bullet is added to the chamber and the trigger is pulled. In essence, the statement is misleading at best. <br /><br />The bottom line is guns don’t kill people, people kill people…. that is to say, when individuals utilize them in an improper manner, of course. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1yt4dyviPdM/Tw3R6D_NrRI/AAAAAAAAASo/W19RUateP9c/s1600/guns.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 252px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1yt4dyviPdM/Tw3R6D_NrRI/AAAAAAAAASo/W19RUateP9c/s320/guns.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696439899126607122" /></a><br /><br />So where does that leave us in the day's end about gun control here in America? In the clearest place imaginable if you ask me. Gun control is simply immoral, unnecessary, violates our rights as American citizens and just plain doesn’t work. Period!<br /><br /><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist tracker code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/politics/" title="Politics"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/tracker.php?u=72190" alt="Politics" border="0" /></a><noscript><a >http://www.hfarticles.com/weight-loss/">lose</a> weight help</noscript><!-- End BlogToplist tracker code --></div><div> </div><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/vote.php?u=72190" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/images/votebutton.gif" alt="Top Blogs" border="0" /></a><!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code -->
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-24675722688649065012012-01-04T09:49:00.001-08:002012-01-11T09:51:34.856-08:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse!: The Drug War!<ahref="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" /> <br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color:#000066;">George Washington<br /></span></span><br /><strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong><br /> <br />By Nicholas Meyeres <br /><br />First of all, for the sake of complete disclosure, I have never done a recreational drug in my life. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t even consume caffeine and I am a vegan. Therefore, I would be just fine on a personal level if all of these things I don’t engage in ceased to exist altogether. Still, it generally isn’t my right or especially the government’s right to dictate what we choose to do to ourselves no matter how harmful it may be, or what we decide to put into our own bodies. <br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qL1VCoBsPdM/TwSU2B-dc6I/AAAAAAAAARs/OgByVFdAk9Q/s1600/tumblr_lo12qkvASm1qc1ca1o1_r1_500.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qL1VCoBsPdM/TwSU2B-dc6I/AAAAAAAAARs/OgByVFdAk9Q/s320/tumblr_lo12qkvASm1qc1ca1o1_r1_500.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693839484867408802" /></a><br /><br />Having said that, if your bad behaviors impede on my well being and welfare or the wellbeing and welfare of others around you, I feel that the government DOES have the right to at least impose restrictions and mandates to those that engage in drug use of any kind. In other words, you shouldn’t be allowed to drive while drinking because others can and often are injured and even killed. Nor should you be allowed to smoke cigarettes in any public setting around anyone else because second hand smoke is not only proven harmful, but it infringes on a person's right to self ownership when they aren't allowed to breath free away from another person's vices. <br /><br />You should, however, be allowed to smoke in a private business if that business deems it appropriate, and you should be allowed to smoke in the privacy of your own home as long as children are not present. An adult, after all, can choose to leave such a setting, but a child is at the mercy of the person who has ultimate authority over them, and if that person is a smoker, the child is forced to be a party to that behavior. <br /><br />Furthermore, reality dictates that for a multitude of scientific reasons and otherwise, alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking are far more addictive and deadlier than marijuana use for instance. Therefore, the hypocrisy and costliness of the drug war needs to be ended immediately; that, or ALL drugs should be banned entirely. And since the latter is highly unlikely given how lucrative the industry is these days, all drugs should be legal within the context of strict (realistic) rules, regulations and punishments put on them all, all the way across the board.<br /><br />Besides, we have spent nearly five hundred billion dollars on the War on Drugs since the 1970s, and no one in their right mind would say that this was anything short of a complete failure on nearly every single level. Indeed, failures of that magnitude must always be reevaluated gravely in any situation. <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--2u-Vd4M8J8/TwSchk-VntI/AAAAAAAAASE/pNxIB7Iy834/s1600/drug-war.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--2u-Vd4M8J8/TwSchk-VntI/AAAAAAAAASE/pNxIB7Iy834/s320/drug-war.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693847929577905874" /></a><br /><br />HOWEVER, if the sum total of your entire argument is just to end enforcement of all things harmful, that also is a failure of logic in and of itself in my world. After all, nearly 3,000 Americans died as a result of drunk driving in 2009 alone. Meanwhile, around 16,000 Americans are murdered each year, and 1.3 million American women, and 800,000 American men are assaulted by a significant other annually. Most of which are commited while under the influence of some sort of drug or another.<br /><br />These grim figures have not yet resulted in a chorus of people demanding that drunk driving, murder, and domestic violence be legalized. Indeed, if anything, a spike in the incidence of a certain crime typically leads to demands for a crackdown, and ultimately stiffer penalties for the convicted. So why, then, do Drug War opponents like to point to that aforementioned "failure” of criminalized drug use as an argument for legalization of all drugs? <br /><br />We simply need a new approach. Legalization on the whole is a poor option, and prohibition is as well. There has to be another way of looking at this issue with fresh eyes.<br /><br />Perhaps we should start with decriminalizing drugs completely at the FEDERAL LEVEL only. The Feds should have no control over the states in this regard anyway- that’s why the Constitution’s there. In other words, if California wants to legalize medicinal marijuana, that should be allowed. If New York wants to hand out medical crack cocaine, all the power to them. Conversely, if Utah or Kansas want to ban all drugs of any kind- they should have that right as well without the federal government stepping in and stepping on their toes.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NtC7vna-aSU/TwSahgSI-BI/AAAAAAAAAR4/QjPABvhp91o/s1600/carry-nation-inline.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 311px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NtC7vna-aSU/TwSahgSI-BI/AAAAAAAAAR4/QjPABvhp91o/s320/carry-nation-inline.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693845729295530002" /></a><br /><br />It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s a start- and frankly, it has to be better than the current path we’re on.<br /><br /><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist tracker code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/politics/" title="Politics"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/tracker.php?u=72190" alt="Politics" border="0" /></a><noscript><a >http://www.hfarticles.com/weight-loss/">lose</a> weight help</noscript><!-- End BlogToplist tracker code --></div><div> </div><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/vote.php?u=72190" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/images/votebutton.gif" alt="Top Blogs" border="0" /></a><!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code -->
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-22469196520721693782011-12-14T09:34:00.000-08:002011-12-14T11:23:05.025-08:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse!: GOP Environmentalist?<ahref="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" /> <br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color:#000066;">George Washington<br /></span></span><br /><strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong><br /> <br />By Nicholas Meyeres <br /><br />I've always been of the assumption that conservatives conserve. So, why are so many conservatives today not more conservationist-minded and therefore good stewards of the earth and her environment? After all, what is more conservative than producing less waste and responsibly disposing of said waste? It seems to me that purveyors of a wasteful and unnecessarily filthy earth would be the liberals of today, not the conservatives. <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OfS8iVCXzKU/Tujv5JzcUSI/AAAAAAAAARI/p1lPLMqasPY/s1600/TeaParty-OWS-6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 118px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OfS8iVCXzKU/Tujv5JzcUSI/AAAAAAAAARI/p1lPLMqasPY/s320/TeaParty-OWS-6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686058294718517538" /></a><br /><br />After all, a conservative strives to hold onto traditional attitudes and values about things in life, and as a result is cautious about most change. Similarly, if a conservationist wishes to protect the earth from harm or destruction- wouldn't it makes sense for conservatives to be the ones who want the environment to remain unharmed or unchanged by unneeded and unnecessary things that are indeed in our control? Not the few things out of our control, clearly, but those things we can affect in our own everyday lives? <br /><br />Of course, as with everything, public perception changes the narrative and thus the reality of any one thing when it is distorted for personal or political gain. But I never personally understood popular conservative opinion when it came to the environment. Sure, some people go too far with their rhetoric and what they propose to do to fix the issue, but at the end of the day it is all the same for every one of us. In my mind this shouldn't even be a political or partisan issue since it effects us all the very same way. <br /><br />Having said that, people that take it to the sometimes illogical extreme like some Global Warming alarmists of the day do tend to get under my skin, as well. I don't do well with the obvious hypocrisy of that level of person, or others who try to tell me that if I don't do exactly as they think I should the universe will implode. Like many Americans, if I am confronted with most ultimatums- especially ultimatums built from lies, half truths and fear mongering- I will generally go the other way even if I agree with what the end result may be. Still, it perplexes me at a fundemental level that it isn't ingrained into all conservatives to police themselves and their own back yards and communities thereby ensuring a safe and clean environment- not to mention a much more fiscally sound one!<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iJsqZ-xL4uw/Tujxgb94mrI/AAAAAAAAARU/kvz8gX9JPxI/s1600/suv-cartoon.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 314px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iJsqZ-xL4uw/Tujxgb94mrI/AAAAAAAAARU/kvz8gX9JPxI/s320/suv-cartoon.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686060069120678578" /></a><br /><br />In fact, the GOP's own online party platform in regard to Energy and the Environment states in part that we must:<br /><br />•increase energy efficiency <br />•develop alternative fuels, particularly cellulosic ethanol, and vehicles that run on biofuels and electricity <br />•create permanent tax incentives for renewable energy technologies like wind, solar, geothermal and hydro- power. <br />•develop new technology to burn coal and liquefy it for use in power plants and vehicles that don't pollute. <br />•enact a "Climate Prize" for scientists who identify solutions to global warming <br /><br />The platform even goes one step further by stating, "While the scope and longterm consequences of this are the subject of ongoing scientific research, common sense dictates that the United States should take measured and reasonable steps today to reduce any impact on the environment." So, that being the case, why don't we see more republicans who tow the party line require more from themselves in regard to the earth and the environment? <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4n6-aIDnKR8/TujyV3uxFAI/AAAAAAAAARg/VxFutOQbeJI/s1600/rep-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 167px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4n6-aIDnKR8/TujyV3uxFAI/AAAAAAAAARg/VxFutOQbeJI/s320/rep-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686060987106530306" /></a><br /><br />In truth, we CAN— and we probably should— address the risk of climate change based on sound science without succumbing to the no-growth radicalism that treats climate questions as dogma rather than as situations to be managed responsibly. But truth be told, this is all about personal responsibility and intergrity, not the other. And if modern day republicans want to be seen in that much more positive light, they need to be consistant all the way across the board- not just in parts.<br /><br /><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist tracker code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/politics/" title="Politics"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/tracker.php?u=72190" alt="Politics" border="0" /></a><noscript><a >http://www.hfarticles.com/weight-loss/">lose</a> weight help</noscript><!-- End BlogToplist tracker code --></div><div> </div><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/vote.php?u=72190" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/images/votebutton.gif" alt="Top Blogs" border="0" /></a><!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code -->
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-54682462401560751722011-11-16T10:52:00.000-08:002011-11-16T11:43:12.710-08:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse: Freedom IS Free!<ahref="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" /> <br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color:#000066;">George Washington<br /></span></span><br /><strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong><br /> <br />By Nicholas Meyeres <br /><br />More often than not, Americans have the tendency to want to say that “freedom isn’t free”, or talk about the "cost of freedom" as justification for sacrificing some liberties. But they couldn’t be more wrong.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lOKdOGmDbIQ/TsQLhC39U3I/AAAAAAAAAQM/XJciqRDcgPw/s1600/Franklin_liberty_quote.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 59px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lOKdOGmDbIQ/TsQLhC39U3I/AAAAAAAAAQM/XJciqRDcgPw/s320/Franklin_liberty_quote.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675674092728832882" /></a><br /><br />Take faith for instance. No government should prohibit you or prevent you from ever practicing the faith of your choosing. Having said that, by that very same principle, it shouldn't mandate that you accept or practice one religion over another, either. Too many other countries do as much. <br /><br />The Islamic doctrine in Iran for instance became law right around the time I was born. In essence, it proposes to steamroll everyone in the country to embrace only one religion, regardless of any individual’s personal belief system or morality. Incidentally, that also includes mandatory prayer in a public school setting- something a lot of Christian Americans call for very loudly these days. But that’s why we aren’t Iran, and that's the very reason we have an establishment clause to the First Amendment of our Constitution. <br /> <br />It is the charge of no government to force religion upon its citizens, regardless of whether that religion is Islam, Christianity, Judaism, or lack thereof. In fact, just as important as the right to free speech in this country, freedom of religion and the establishment clause is GUARANTIED by that First Amendment of the Constitution, and should always be honored. That’s why we should endeavor to recognize faith for what it is- a private and very personal choice for each and every individual. After all, isn't that the basic definition of freedom- the power to act, speak, or think as one wishes to without hindrance or restraint from anyone, including one’s own government?<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kuqAaecYc74/TsQMQ9IHKWI/AAAAAAAAAQY/Tr905yQiv1o/s1600/free-speech-not-negotiable.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 318px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kuqAaecYc74/TsQMQ9IHKWI/AAAAAAAAAQY/Tr905yQiv1o/s320/free-speech-not-negotiable.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675674915819694434" /></a><br /> <br />But there is still opposition to this way of thinking. Sadly it is from the one group of individuals whom you would think would champion that cause more than any other- from none other than the church itself. To my mind every church in the free world should be thanking those of us who are willing to stand up and fight for separation of church and state, not against us. After all, wasn’t it England who was run by the church and who burned heretics alive before we seceded from that country to form our own? <br /><br />As a result, our founders and framers decided to not repeat that monstrous mismanagement of justice by subjugating its people with a state sponsored religion. They knew that religion never elevates the state, but that the state somehow does seem to always demean the religion. That's why every theocracy in recorded human history has become a tyranny. <br /> <br />Still, many Christian Americans say that it isn't fair that the church doesn't have a true say in how the government is owned and operated. Don’t THEY have the right to free speech, as well? Not in so many words exactly. <br /><br />Individual voters pay taxes, and in exchange, we are allowed the right to inform the government on how it should be run. But in return for not being able to do the same, the church doesn't have to pay taxes and is therefore exempt from most Federal and State laws. It’s an adequate exchange I think, even though it is true that IF churches did pay taxes, our National deficit would most likely be wiped out almost overnight. <br /><br />But yet, because no one church has a vested power in the government, every religion and denomination is afforded the right to flourish and prosper in this great country of ours, which is the very reason there are more churches here in the United States than anywhere else in the entire world. All thanks to "separation of church and state".<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NIx9iHzHX-s/TsQQi3xdjuI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/uFzXPJHPiZY/s1600/iStock_000006198637Small.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 193px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NIx9iHzHX-s/TsQQi3xdjuI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/uFzXPJHPiZY/s320/iStock_000006198637Small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675679621666672354" /></a><br /> <br />Unfortunately, some church leaders I am sure feel that if they ran the government, it would be run much better and smoother, not to mention much more “moral” than it currently is. They would also have you believe that there is in reality no such thing as separation of church and state, and that the First Amendment applies mainly to their religion and not my lack of one. I say, “If you want a voice in how the government is to be run, then you should pay your fair share of taxes just like every other American citizen.” However, more often than not these same church leaders will run to their separate houses of god yelling, “You can't tax the church, it's against separation of church and state!” <br /><br />Ironic or not, you can’t have it both ways. In fact, the bottom line is: If you want the same rights each and every American citizen is guaranteed in order to shape the government as they see fit, you have to pay that same burden as a citizen. That's simply how it works.<br /> <br />So, yes- separation of church and state is indeed the church's best friend regardless of what they would have us believe. Besides, it's all that stands between them and their absolute worst nightmare: Finding out that some OTHER religion has the power to tell THEM what to do. <br /><br />And freedom? As opposed to what you may have been told- it IS free. Every bit of it. After all, in the long run, it doesn't cost you nearly as much as you gain. And that's why it’s "FREE"!<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-67h97rk7dKE/TsQPtGiKRcI/AAAAAAAAAQw/AChg3SzRDOI/s1600/free.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-67h97rk7dKE/TsQPtGiKRcI/AAAAAAAAAQw/AChg3SzRDOI/s320/free.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675678697916089794" /></a><br /><br /><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist tracker code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/politics/" title="Politics"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/tracker.php?u=72190" alt="Politics" border="0" /></a><noscript><a >http://www.hfarticles.com/weight-loss/">lose</a> weight help</noscript><!-- End BlogToplist tracker code --></div><div> </div><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/vote.php?u=72190" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/images/votebutton.gif" alt="Top Blogs" border="0" /></a><!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code -->
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-73805991759054093142011-09-14T08:34:00.000-07:002017-01-31T23:03:48.544-08:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse: How Pro-Life Are You, Really?<ahref adc6rch_i="" agle.jpg="" bp.blogspot.com="" c0jh8qc="" kgsf0bu="" nowy="" s1600-h=""><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 247px;" /></ahref>
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<span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="color: red;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color: #000066;">George Washington
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<strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong>
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By Nicholas Meyeres
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Both terms "pro-life" as well as "pro-choice" are loaded terms. “Pro-life” advocates are typically also pro-death penalty, pro-military action and sometimes war even if it results in the death of countless innocents, and not vegans. “Pro-choice” advocates similarly are generally not for the choice of the father to have a say even though he was clearly involved, or the fetus who will eventually have a voice if left to grow. These individuals are, in essence, “pro-women-only-having-a-say” no matter what the cost because they claim that it is their “right” because it is their body.
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qTJn16bia_8/TnDVnAbiLFI/AAAAAAAAAPs/5PluBYBsOzU/s1600/Not-your-body-not-your-choice-48303653739.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652252398457072722" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qTJn16bia_8/TnDVnAbiLFI/AAAAAAAAAPs/5PluBYBsOzU/s320/Not-your-body-not-your-choice-48303653739.jpg" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
And though there are still questions about where life begins, the point is a point of one person’s rights VS another person’s rights and should be considered on a case by case scenario as far as I a concerned. For instance- if the mother’s life is in danger- the mother should be saved without question. That is to say, if the baby will likely not survive, as well. However, this argument is largely invalid because of technological advances lately.<br />
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To use abortion as a means of birth control is simply unacceptable. For the government to mandate that tax payers fund abortion is also equally unacceptable. But the Morning After Pill should be allowed, and perhaps abortion should even be available before a beating heart is heard. Having said that, sexual education is key, and we should be free to teach it in conjunction with abstinence programs and proper birth control usage. Both sides need a say in this issue, but we need to be realistic that human beings have sexual urges and desires that are often difficult to suppress. For that reason, while I personally feel that abortion is a poor choice- it is currently a choice. The law doesn’t necessarily need to be repealed, but it surely needs to be amended greatly.
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And as far as that law is concerned:<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even if Roe v Wade was overturned tonight, it would just send the issue right back to the states, so the argument is fairly moot on both sides at the end of the day. After all, the only thing the Supreme Court ruling did years ago was to say that individual states couldn't ban first trimester abortions, but they are free to regulate anything beyond that.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Even before 1973, somewhere around 15 states allowed legal abortion already. That being the case, the ONLY way abortion wou<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">ld be illegal in all 50 states is if a Constitutional amendment were passed. And let's be intellectually honest, the chances of that happening are exceptionally slim.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As a result, I feel we should stop perpetuating the myth that women can or will lose their "rights" under ANY president. The hyperbole is simply out of control at this point, and is nothing but a scare tactic to make women buy into the false narrative that republicans somehow hate them because they also support the lives of the unborn.</span></div>
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But regardless of where one stands on the issue of abortion, it is none of the Federal government’s business. If you stab someone to death, it is murder. As a result, you are typically charged with a STATE offense of murder. And if it is not murder, then the Feds similarly don’t need to be involved because no crime is ever committed.
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However, as the Declaration of Independence states, we all have “certain unalienable rights, among these is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…” Which leads me to believe that even the unborn have those same rights, as well. Of course, the debate is open-ended since we have yet to come to a consensus of what first constitutes “life”.
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Either way, the essence of the issue for me is one of hypocrisy first and foremost. The terms need to be changed to reflect a more realistic and less propagandist connotation before the debate can ever continue in an honest and straight forward fashion. “Pro-life” should become “anti-abortion"; and the term “pro-choice” should simply become “pro-abortion”. You are either for it or against it with few exceptions. Only at that point can the conversation continue honestly.
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bKw51xqLt2Q/TnDVG5-Tw6I/AAAAAAAAAPk/Z5etYSfhqTo/s1600/menwomen.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652251846968066978" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bKw51xqLt2Q/TnDVG5-Tw6I/AAAAAAAAAPk/Z5etYSfhqTo/s320/menwomen.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 307px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>
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As for assisted suicide- while I agree up to a point on the issue (after all, I would probably wouldn't want to live like that, either)- I disagree on the procedure for the sake of my own personal integrity.
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Fetuses have no say in their death. Animals don't, either. Nor do inmates on death row who may or may not be innocent, and who may be able to yet be rehabilitated. But a competent, sane persons with the ability to make proper choices do.
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To put that burden on anyone else but the person wanting to die- whether that person be a doctor or a family member- is simply beyond the pale of what anyone should ever ask of another person. In other words, if you can't commit the act yourself, you probably shouldn't ask anyone else to do your dirty work for you. In the event that an individual can't act for themselves because of some debilitating disease; they usually know what's coming, and should probably have ended their own lives before they ever get to that point if that is really what they choose to do. It sounds cold, but it is true as far as I see it.<br />
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That all being the case, sanctioned murder should never be allowed in a civilized society. And no matter what we decide to call it- that is exactly what it is.
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eEWXFTT21BA/TnDaMByJd8I/AAAAAAAAAQE/RjJt5f_ur1U/s1600/41817_34864905498_3788_n.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652257432522028994" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eEWXFTT21BA/TnDaMByJd8I/AAAAAAAAAQE/RjJt5f_ur1U/s320/41817_34864905498_3788_n.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 193px;" /></a>
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Which brings me to stem cells research. This is a relatively controversial topic today because it is a relatively new issue and because it is a commonly misunderstood one at that. Stem cell research and pro-abortion do not necessarily go hand in hand as some have contended. After all, fetal stem cells are not the only stem cells available to science. All humans (fetal to adult) contain stem cells that may be harvested for research.
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Embryonic stem cells are taken from a developing embryo at the “blastocyst stage”, destroying the embryo- a developing human life anti-abortionists contend. Adult stem cells, on the other hand, are found in all tissues of the growing human being and, according to latest reports, also have the potential to transform themselves into practically all other cell types, or revert to being stem cells with greater reproductive capacity. Besides, embryonic stem cells have not yet been used for even one therapy, while adult stem cells have been successfully used in numerous patients, including for cardiac infarction (the death of some of the heart tissue).
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The choice is clear on this point of view. When you have an adult who is capable of making proper choices about the usage of their bodies vs a life form that is not (much like vivisection), there should be no debate at all. Adult stem cell usage should be pursued. Embryonic stem cells should not.
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And the death penalty? In a nut shell, capital punishment does not deter crime, and the death penalty is uncivilized in theory and unfair and inequitable in practice. While the debate of where life begins is still in question, death is exact. And when the state has control over a person’s very life-force they MUST be certain of every fact. Sadly, they rarely are. People are fallible and corrupt by nature, and even if one innocent person is put to death on death row it is one too many. The government should hold no dominion over the life or death of ANYONE without their consent no matter what the context.
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PSFctREWPtY/TnDXx8e4H1I/AAAAAAAAAP8/uAq8ek5fcwM/s1600/death-penalty-quote.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652254785399168850" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PSFctREWPtY/TnDXx8e4H1I/AAAAAAAAAP8/uAq8ek5fcwM/s320/death-penalty-quote.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 179px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 200px;" /></a>
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Furthermore, capital punishment is cruel and unusual, and murder demonstrates a lack of respect for human life- period. For this very reason, murder is abhorrent on any level, and any policy of state-authorized killings is therefore immoral government-sanctioned murder. Not to mention, capital punishment denies due process of law, and also violates the constitutional guarantee of the equal protection of those laws. Not to mention, executions send society the unmistakable message that human life no longer deserves respect when it is useful to take it and that homicide is legitimate when deemed justified by pragmatic means.
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After all, reliance on the death penalty obscures the true causes of crime and distracts attention from the social measures that effectively contribute to its control. Plus, capital punishment simply wastes resources. It squanders the time and energy of courts, prosecuting attorneys, defense counsel, juries, and courtroom and correctional personnel- not to mention it is much more expensive than to put a prisoner in prison. And frankly, if you are in favor of “true” punishment- the death penalty lets a murderer off the hook with much more ease than without suffering for their crime.
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Simply put, a decent and humane society does not deliberately kill ANY living being no matter who pulls the proverbial trigger, or for whatever reason. Life is life, plain and simple. And if you indeed choose to call yourself such, you must live that principle all the way across the board lest you prove your hypocrisy true. You simply can not pick and choose your convictions like candy from a candy store, and expect to remain credible.
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-1701087676709308132011-08-24T09:12:00.000-07:002012-06-21T07:43:53.002-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse: Won't Some Party Claim Me?<ahref="http: 2.bp.blogspot.com="" _4hoekgsf0bu="" aaaaaaaaabi="" gnjpc0jh8qc="" s1600-h="" snowy+eagle.jpg"="" swadc6rch_i=""><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 247px;" />
<br /><span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="color: red;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color: #000066;">George Washington
</span></span>
<br /><b><i>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</i></b>
<br />
<br />By Nicholas Meyeres
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<br />Let's try an experiment, shall we?
<br />
<br />I'm a leftist-leaning democrat who voted for Barack Obama in 2008. And anyone who didn’t is a tea-bagging racist!
<br />
<br />See how that worked? Half of you just mumbled something about me being a typical liberal. And the other half cheered out loud. And still, it was about as subtle as a sledgehammer and as divisive as a militant atheist at a Catholics-only convention.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6LvszjcALDA/TlUjuRx5NFI/AAAAAAAAAOs/7ufpO5vBh6E/s1600/jesus%2Bpunching.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644456985932411986" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6LvszjcALDA/TlUjuRx5NFI/AAAAAAAAAOs/7ufpO5vBh6E/s320/jesus%2Bpunching.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 209px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 318px;" /></a>
<br />
<br />It was certainly straight forward, but was it the truth?
<br />
<br />Not if you really delve into the complexities of both major parties, it isn't. Democrats aren't just democrats anymore. Republicans aren't just republicans. And most of us would much rather be somewhere in the middle if we really had our way about it, as opposed to most of the other political groups out there who are just too small to matter in the country club that is the political machine today.
<br />
<br />After all, let's just be frank, the Libertarian Party (which is probably the largest of all the third parties in the United States today) is essentially a politically-impotent movement for the most part and likely always will be. Sure, some will raise up arms in protest by saying it is solely because of the Republican and Democrat Party's ability to overshadow any other movement like the libertarian movement, but that wouldn’t be entirely true, or intellectually honest. For the sake of argument, though, even if it were the case, and even if you buy into the philosophy that your party can be emasculated by any other party by the simple nature of their existence, you are (in essence) saying your own party is filled with so many weak-willed and inept members that you are either so easily swayed into another camp or can't mobilize your own troops well enough to make any real difference anyway.
<br />
<br />Don't get me wrong. I understand, and even celebrate the side of me that is overtly libertarian in nature. But I am what you may call a "developing libertarian". After all, the exact term "libertarian" isn't entirely true to who I am, but then again, neither is “republican” or "democrat”. I like most of the core ideals of the Libertarian Party, but not the sometimes wild ideas of what is right and what is not so right morally that often come from many party members- much like the Republican and Democrat Parties. I suppose I am best described by some as a "libertarian-leaning conservative", which isn't to say I don't share some of the ideals that liberals in America do today, because I do. Still, does that make me a republican or a libertarian, or even a democrat in the most general of definitions?
<br />
<br />Let's take state's rights for starters. Unlike most liberals, I am for state's rights almost to a fault. I also feel that individual states do have a right to institute universal health care if they choose to; to hand out free cars if they want, ban drug and alcohol, or even force people to eat red lollipops and crap sunshine if the citizens of that state want it that way. But only if it doesn’t violate the United States Constitution in any way, shape or form.
<br />
<br />The Federal Government is essentially barred from such actions, but individual states are not for the most part. And guess what? If a state also wants to have a collective mad-on hate for “queers”, “wetbacks”, “hillbillies”, “cowboys” or “car salesmen”- so be it. It is their right to institute a vote to make it an insane venture for any Hispanic, gay or lesbian, Black-American, or pony-riding hick to live there. You can't force these people out of your state by law, or out-rightly discriminate against them, but you can make it near impossible for them to WANT to be there- and I am frankly okay with that. Not the racism that would surely ensue, but the rights of the citizens of that state to decide for themselves what they want within the confines of Federal discrimination laws.
<br />
<br />If you don't like Arizona, then move to California. If you don't like California, then head on down to Mexico. If you don’t like Mexico, then I couldn’t blame you at all.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l_Ixra2ia8c/TlUkjQybTYI/AAAAAAAAAO0/VNolD3gNT7Y/s1600/MEXICO%2BSUCKS%252C%2Bobamacartoon.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644457896199277954" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l_Ixra2ia8c/TlUkjQybTYI/AAAAAAAAAO0/VNolD3gNT7Y/s320/MEXICO%2BSUCKS%252C%2Bobamacartoon.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 92px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 268px;" /></a>
<br />
<br />But personally, I am no more a libertarian then I am a republican; or for that matter, even democrat. I have a little bit of each party within me, and I feel that's what makes me the free thinker I believe I am today. I don't pander, and I am no partisan hack for any side. Frankly, anyone who identifies with any party 100% should be institutionalized for bat-shit craziness right out of the gate, and have the key thrown away forever. To be that much behind your party without any reservation makes you an automaton at best, and no better than the other side you choose to attack.
<br />
<br />What I believe is different about me is my personal perspective- not my political persuasion. Most libertarians eschew the culture wars, think drugs and pornography should be legal, favor an almost isolationist foreign policy for the most part and generally believe in shrinking the government to about the size of a walnut- all of which appalls most mainstream conservatives. On these matters, I am a fairly typical conservative republican for all intents and purposes.
<br />
<br />Sure, I think Federal Government should have much less power than it does today, but to shrink it so small that it has virtually no power at all is sheer lunacy, and also wildly dangerous in this day and age. And to bring all of our troops home right now would be a great idea and one I am all for, but also equally dangerous if not extremely naive to do all in one fell swoop. But so many libertarians I know of would love these ideas to be made a reality. Not me. Not in the slightest. I am no anarchist or isolationist. I guess I am no “true” libertarian.
<br />
<br />Generally, I am in favor of a strong military and am not afraid of our government using it within the confines of our Constitution (which it currently doesn’t anyway). I also reject the idea of immediately pulling American troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan and many other places for a multitude of different reasons which places me directly at odds with the Libertarian Party. But like many libertarians, I feel that a president MUST have approval before he decides to go to war, that preemption in war is about as wrong as it gets on nearly every single level, and that war in general is a very, very bad idea.
<br />
<br />However, in the post-911 world we live in today, if you aren't at least somewhat vigilant and don't say you won't retaliate against aggression when it happens to you, you are either a fool who might as well choose to live in a fantasy world where nothing bad ever really happens, or close the door to our country and never let anyone in ever again. Essentially, if you come after my country first and do harm to my people, we have the right and we WILL pound you into squirrel snot given the chance to do so. Otherwise, we're minding our own business for the most part.
<br />
<br />Yet, for whatever reason, a lot of libertarians are seemingly in favor of completely open borders with no restrictions, and want every illegal alien, criminal, and Allah-loving terrorist to flood our country like never before. I can't even touch on this idea without my head exploding. In this regard, I am COMPLETELY the opposite of a libertarian!
<br />
<br />So, does that make me a conservative republican? Not unless you think the terms "militant atheist" or “bleeding heart vegan” are synonymous with republicanism, it doesn't.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5vrrnw8gKJs/TlUm6-DGHtI/AAAAAAAAAO8/sI-BE1PCErM/s1600/Atheist-Conspiracy.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644460502509035218" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5vrrnw8gKJs/TlUm6-DGHtI/AAAAAAAAAO8/sI-BE1PCErM/s320/Atheist-Conspiracy.png" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 315px;" /></a>
<br />
<br />I identify with the Republican Party on a great many levels, but not all- including the religious right who seems to rule the direction the party is headed today.
<br />
<br />Take capital punishment for example. I am against it on every level possible. And I am just fine with gays and lesbians getting married and divorced and even joining the military given the chance to do so. And abortion? I actually understand it when some people decide to go that route, believe it or not- but I still think it is personally one of the worst choices you could ever make. So, does that make me a democrat in conservative’s clothing, or someone trying his best to pretend not to be what others’ believe him to be?
<br />
<br />I am also against the welfare state to an almost vitriolic degree- including welfare for veterans, corporations, and the elderly- not just the poor, the lazy, or the inept. I feel unions have way outlived their usefulness. I believe that redistribution of any sort of wealth at all is the birth of the downfall of this great country we live in. I am completely for making drugs of any kind extremely hard to get, if not completely illegal- including cigarettes AND alcohol. And while I am not at all behind the Patriot Act, I am also just fine with a little water boarding every now and then if it gets the job done. I am just not so sure I want to know about it when it happens. Oh, and I love my guns and country, too.
<br />
<br />So, that must bring me back to being a jingoistic republican, right?
<br />
<br />After all, the most common belief republicans have is fiscal conservatism- specifically, advocating for lower taxes at every level of government, a reduction in the level of spending in the federal budget, easing the burden of federal regulations on business interests, the reform of the entitlement system, and ending or making significant cuts to the welfare state. Additionally, they claim to oppose budget deficits and deficit spending, and work to minimize it as much as possible. Too bad that is only in theory. Republicans have become just as diametrically opposite to this way of thinking as the democrats have.
<br />
<br />And the Constitution?
<br />
<br />Come on, libertarians aren't the only ones who have the market cornered on the Constitution and the rights it affords to all American citizens. Republicans do, as well- again in theory, that is. And I bet I can even find one or two Blue Dog Democrats that would stand behind the greatest document ever written if I look hard enough. But to be clear, these concepts are not exclusively mutual to just the Libertarian Party. Because, while the United States Constitution may have been birthed by forming a multitude of different concepts throughout the history of the world, and from different civilizations and societies and countries over time- it is wholly American, as well. However, the birth of the libertarian movement is predominantly a French concept, not an American one.
<br />
<br />Let me repeat that in case you missed it the first time: The birth of the libertarian movement was French!
<br />
<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xd_5LAm8834/TlUnpgvp6HI/AAAAAAAAAPE/SFaQ4BzKrcw/s1600/french.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644461302096717938" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xd_5LAm8834/TlUnpgvp6HI/AAAAAAAAAPE/SFaQ4BzKrcw/s320/french.bmp" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 253px;" /></a>
<br />
<br />Wikipedia says, "The use of the word 'libertarian' to describe a set of political positions can be tracked to the French cognate, 'Libertaire', which was coined in 1857 by French anarchist communist Joseph Déjacque who used the term to distinguish his libertarian communist approach from the classical liberalism advocated by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. Hence the term 'libertaire' has been used as a synonym for left wing anarchism or libertarian socialism since the 1890s."
<br />
<br />“Libertarian communist?!”
<br />
<br />Now, I'm not saying the French are all bad, or had only bad ideas, but... come on, they're French!
<br />
<br />And the Democratic Party? It "evolved from Anti-Federalist factions that opposed the fiscal policies of Alexander Hamilton in the early 1790s" also according to Wikipedia. So, it is truly an American concept, as well, as opposed to libertarianism. And in its inception, the party favored states' rights and a strict adherence to the Constitution; while opposing a national bank and wealthy, moneyed interests much like the Libertarian and Republican Parties do today.
<br />
<br />And finally, there's the Republican Party, which is also a 100% American-created and born institution with one of the greatest men to ever be elected to the high office of the Presidency- Abraham Lincoln- as its first. Bottom line, you don't get any more "American" than the Republican Party.
<br />
<br />So, that must mean I am one even though I sound libertarian by libertarian standards today even though libertarians were formed out of communist and socialist roots which is what most people accuse the Democrat Party of being today... is anyone else confused yet?
<br />
<br />Bottom line, the Republican and Democrat Parties today are not the Republican and Democrat Parties of days gone by, and that concerns me. I am often called a RINO, or "Republican in Name Only", or even the opposite extreme- a neo-conservative- by people who claim to know me. But is that truly fair to me, and does it even matter if I am not EXACTLY the embodiment of one party or another? After all, republicans don't act or talk or think at all like the republicans of the past, nor do democrats, nor do libertarians for that matter.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hQ593p-I7IA/TlUoNcxdNuI/AAAAAAAAAPM/Jo4MI8BQafc/s1600/political-sign-post1.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644461919505823458" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hQ593p-I7IA/TlUoNcxdNuI/AAAAAAAAAPM/Jo4MI8BQafc/s320/political-sign-post1.png" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 140px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 222px;" /></a>
<br />
<br />So...
<br />
<br />"Where do I stand?"
<br />
<br />"Who do I most closely align myself with?"
<br />
<br />"What party best represents ‘me’?"
<br />
<br />If I call myself a republican, I am automatically aligned with the religious right and George W. Bush whom I did not vote for. If I say I am a democrat, I am a born again socialist who dreams of communist sheep jumping over Marxist revolutionaries wearing brown SS shirts who voted for Barack Obama- whom I also did not vote for. Independents are nothing more than the bi-sexuals in the political spectrum who vacillate from side to side when it is convenient for them to do so, but never seem to want to really commit themselves to any actual cause or side. And the renewed interest in libertarianism via the Tea Party movement over the last couple of years only seems to me a knee-jerk reaction to conservative republicans losing to our current president in 2008. It seems like it is more of an anti-democrat and anti-liberal movement rather than a pro-liberty or constitutional one.
<br />
<br />So, where do I stand?
<br />
<br />Perhaps, I am a "diet libertarian", or perhaps even "libertarian light". In other words, I think nearly exactly as most libertarians do, but because I live in Utah and can't vote in the primaries as anything other than a democrat or a republican, I chose the lesser of two evils and am a registered “little (r)”. Just don’t try telling all the other conservatives out there in Mormonland that I am an atheist who supports gay marriage, and who is also against the death penalty. They’ll take my card away, and never give it back.
<br />
<br />Perhaps I am with all of these groups and perhaps I am with none of them. That is about as clear as it gets for me… for right now at least or maybe even forever. Maybe that's where it should choose to even stay. Maybe I am more than the label I am forced to be given, or the mantel I choose to wear. Maybe I am more than the sum of my political parts. Maybe just being called an "American" is more than enough in the world we live in today.
<br />
<br />Maybe Superman had the right idea. Maybe "truth, justice, and the American way" is all there really is to believe in when it’s all said and done. Maybe we should form a new political party altogether. Maybe.
<br />
<br />Raise your hands if you're for the newly formed "Truth, Justice and the American Way Party"! Now, that's something I could get behind. Up, up, and away, America! It’s time to move beyond the labels we are given by others, and make our own way in the world for ourselves, and for liberty.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BxMmPgjX2YQ/TlUpO9ki8PI/AAAAAAAAAPU/tMhjIKXZj1k/s1600/superman-creed.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644463045001539826" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BxMmPgjX2YQ/TlUpO9ki8PI/AAAAAAAAAPU/tMhjIKXZj1k/s320/superman-creed.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-63356509193470719702011-08-23T10:39:00.000-07:002011-09-01T09:17:48.864-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse: Proof of Evolution?<ahref="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color:#000066;">George Washington
<br /></span></span>
<br /><strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong>
<br />
<br />By Nicholas Meyeres
<br />
<br />The Theory of Evolution is just that: a theory. There are holes in it, to be sure. But make no mistake about it, even having said that- evolution is clearly the best explanation we have by far, and it leaves very little room for doubt. In fact, the little doubt that does remain is so astronomically small that it makes one wonder why even have a discussion about it at all. But that is the point of science, and as with all good science, it will remain the best explanation as long as all other scientific disciplines agree with it- which they do for now. Of course, that isn't to say that this won't change. This is because science is ever evolving itself, and leaves no stone unturned. I personally trust that approach in life far more readily than any blind, benighted view that is dictated and never adjusted as we learn and grow over time.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ihk2pU-uaAM/TlPoGSjWtMI/AAAAAAAAAOM/CnMBM_Yz_hM/s1600/evolution.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 237px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ihk2pU-uaAM/TlPoGSjWtMI/AAAAAAAAAOM/CnMBM_Yz_hM/s320/evolution.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644109952782349506" /></a>
<br />
<br />Thus, creationism is neither a science nor a discipline from this standpoint- to say otherwise is deceiving at best. Nor is it terribly rational. It is magic, and we all know magic does not exist. Sure, it’s common knowledge that I don't personally believe in any version of a higher power, but it's not because any scientist told me not to, or for that matter, because I believe in evolution on its own. It is an idea born simply out of reality, and what I see as lending itself to rational and critical thinking. But does that mean that if one believes in creationism their scientific or rational knowledge is severely lacking? Not necessarily.
<br />
<br />After all, like I said before, it is a theory- it is not the PROOF of Evolution. But to say that there is no basis for it being a more rational "truth" than, say, a view that a cosmic Zombie Jewish carpenter who was somehow conceived without a father, but who is in some way his own celestial father born of flesh and blood to a virgin; who can also make you live forever only if you symbolically eat his skin and telepathically tell him every night before bedtime that you accept his claim as lord and master over everything in creation; so he can mystically remove the invisible evil force living inside of you like an undetectable tumor all because a woman wearing a fig leaf who was born from a bone fragment and who was convinced by a talking snake to eat a magical fruit from a forbidden tree in a lush, tropical, beautiful garden somewhere in the Middle Eastern desert is laughable.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vtWpJorsg4k/TlPn_Qjn9JI/AAAAAAAAAOE/CQ3Ax3r1hmk/s1600/Creationism.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vtWpJorsg4k/TlPn_Qjn9JI/AAAAAAAAAOE/CQ3Ax3r1hmk/s320/Creationism.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644109831987524754" /></a>
<br />
<br />But is it more laughable than humans evolving from apes? Considering that we have nearly identical DNA as some apes I would say that evolution from this standpoint is much more believable than the other, yes. Is it perfect? Not in the slightest. But we already know (and can see with our own two eyes) that evolution exists all around us without having to take anyone's word for it, and that makes all the difference in the world.
<br />
<br />We can see many animals around us that have adapted to their surroundings. We know the Earth has done it's fair share of adaptation, as well. We are aware that plants evolve to suit their circumstances and needs. So, why is it such a leap to believe that we, too, have evolved as a species?
<br />
<br />After all, no one knows how old the Earth really is, but geologists were beginning to make estimates that the earth was considerably older than explained by biblical creation long ago. Geologists were learning more about the layers formed by successive periods of the deposition of sediments centuries ago. This suggested a time sequence, with younger layers overlying older layers.
<br />
<br />And discoveries of fossils were accumulating during the 18th and 19th centuries. At first naturalists thought they were finding remains of unknown but still living species. As fossil finds continued, however, it became apparent that nothing like giant dinosaurs was known from anywhere on the planet. Furthermore, as early as 1800, scientists pointed out that the deeper the layer of earth, the less similar fossils were to existing species.
<br />
<br />And further, we know the world to not be flat today, and that the Earth is not the center of the solar system all thanks to science. But in centuries past we believed it to be so. Again, all thanks to science, we now know the error of our thinking. As a result, I know very few people today that would deny that much, but yet those same few people would deny evolution and the date of the Earth given scientific evidence. Why?
<br />
<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iyjz08Na0Bk/TlPo2pWgmWI/AAAAAAAAAOU/LWLpzS50ES0/s1600/creationistPosterFull.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iyjz08Na0Bk/TlPo2pWgmWI/AAAAAAAAAOU/LWLpzS50ES0/s320/creationistPosterFull.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644110783536208226" /></a>
<br />
<br />The answer seems to be a simple one for me- willful ignorance. Evidence is something that adds weight to an argument or theory. Proof is absolutely undeniable. Is there proof of evolution? Not in exact terms, no, but there is an abundance of evidence for it. Consequently, there is neither proof NOR evidence for creationism at all. Therefore, in order to believe in creationism all you need is “faith” in your theory, and a healthy dose of skepticism for anything but your point of view and it becomes true in your mind. Willful ignorance.
<br />
<br />So, will we ever prove evolution correct without any shred of doubt? Not likely, since that isn't how science really works. Put another way, Nobel Prize winning scientist Linus Pauling aptly described science as “the search for truth”. Plainly put, there is always doubt. But it is far more likely that evolution will be proven much more true than creationism ever will be considering the overwhelming evidence that already exists for evolution and the lack of any shred of evidence for creationism.
<br />
<br />In other words, science constantly tries to prove its assumptions to be false and rejects implausible explanations. In this way, scientific knowledge and understanding grow over time. Religious explanations for the order of things are not science because they are based primarily on faith and do not subject themselves to be objectively falsified.
<br />
<br />So, when scientists speak of evolution as a theory they do not mean that it is a mere speculation. It is a theory in the same sense as the propositions that the earth is round rather than flat or that our bodies are made of atoms are theories. Most people would consider such fundamental theories to be sufficiently tested by empirical evidence to conclude that they are indeed facts. As a result of the massive amount of evidence for biological evolution accumulated over the last two centuries, we can safely conclude that evolution has occurred and continues to occur to this day.
<br />
<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pt5r6kyuWx0/TlPpck7dtNI/AAAAAAAAAOc/Uv7JhvKVpHA/s1600/evolution-fossils-win.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pt5r6kyuWx0/TlPpck7dtNI/AAAAAAAAAOc/Uv7JhvKVpHA/s320/evolution-fossils-win.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644111435184059602" /></a>
<br />
<br />Having said that, do I believe in evolution hook, line and sinker? Not in the slightest. I just recognize that it is the most palpable theory out there today. If something more reasonable is presented, including proof of creationism, I will gladly and gleefully entertain the idea just as I have entertained the Theory of Evolution. After all, as Thomas Jefferson said, "Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear."
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-52707592908031044162011-07-29T10:22:00.000-07:002011-08-23T10:40:49.560-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse: Government: Stay Out of My (Gay) Marriage!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color:#000066;">George Washington
<br /></span></span>
<br /><strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong>
<br />
<br />By Nicholas Meyeres
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<br />Equal rights are not special rights unless you're the one who doesn't have them.
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<br />Rights belong only to individuals, not collective groups of people. Therefore, there should be no affirmative action for any one group, and no special rights for them, either. However, ALL rights should be equal rights for individuals regardless of your personal preference against any one individual or type of person. Likewise, we should repeal any and all laws currently on record if they are blatantly unconstitutional, or if they deliberately single out one type of person over another one.
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<br />For instance, 'gay rights'.
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<br />Of course, when I refer to gay rights I am not referring to special rights for the gay and lesbian community apart from the straight community, I am referring to equal rights all the way across the board for all persons- period. What is afforded to one legal citizen MUST be afforded to all legal citizens- without exception. Besides, straight Americans are the ones currently benefiting from special rights by nature of disallowing the gay community to partake in those same privileges- not the other way around.
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<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t1Ictd9y5HY/TjLxi7FU5NI/AAAAAAAAANU/0C-anBdf8o8/s1600/constitution-gay-marriage-2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t1Ictd9y5HY/TjLxi7FU5NI/AAAAAAAAANU/0C-anBdf8o8/s320/constitution-gay-marriage-2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634831666071790802" /></a>
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<br />If you allow special tax breaks, financial incentives, the simple ability to even be married in the eyes of the state, or to have or adopt children in some areas- then, you must by constitutional law offer those same benefits to all the people of this country. If you want to not allow two gay men or two gay women to marry in your private church- so be it, that is also your right. But, the government cannot, and should not allow popular opinion, bigotry or religious belief to sway how they govern individuals.
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<br />Basically, everyone should be allowed a civil union sanctioned by the government if they so choose it; or no one should have them at all. The same should go for special benefits and incentives for those people, too. However, if a person would later wish to sanctify that union in the privacy of one’s own church, that should be allowed, as well.
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<br />But honestly, I feel the government shouldn’t even be in the marriage business at all. It shouldn’t advocate or allow those benefits to ANYONE. After all, if you do offer special perks for individuals who partake in a civil union or a marriage, you are effectively discriminating against individuals who choose to be single. And that is just as unacceptable to me as the other.
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<br />If you want to have your priest sanctify your marriage, or have a ceremony at the top of a mountain while shouting to Mother Earth that you want to spend the rest of your life with another person for all of eternity, you should be allowed to. I just personally believe that the government shouldn’t be involved in any way shape or form in that aspect of our personal lives whatsoever. And they certainly shouldn’t offer you bribes to do so, either.
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<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tpk2yvBkPyw/TjLykIJqv0I/AAAAAAAAANc/zDdgZ9F5-W0/s1600/domestic-partner-sign.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tpk2yvBkPyw/TjLykIJqv0I/AAAAAAAAANc/zDdgZ9F5-W0/s320/domestic-partner-sign.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634832786271158082" /></a>
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<br />Frankly, I don't know why anybody would be against gay couples getting civil union licenses in America. I can understand why a Christian would object to the government forcing their hand to allow gay people to be married in their private church- after all, they believe it to be a sin. But what's wrong with them having a civil union in a public, tax-paid-for court house? They are still citizens, too, and the Constitution mattered last time I checked.
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<br />The solution, some may argue, is to amend the Federal Constitution, which is what George W. Bush, Newt Gingrich and others endorse. But there is one problem with that: Article Six reads:
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<br />"This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding."
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<br />Boiled down, this means that the Constitution is barred from contradicting itself. Thus, a Federal Marriage Amendment that would deprive a singled-out populace of any rights runs in clear contradiction to Article Four and also Amendment Nine of the Constitution. And the Ninth Amendment states:
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<br />"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
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<br />Likewise, in reference to another lateral subject akin to civil rights and gay marriage: Gays not being allowed in the American Armed Forces.
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<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P3wmM-7PH4k/TjL3bxa7g-I/AAAAAAAAAN8/TuDmgneqDOQ/s1600/dont-ask-dont-tell.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 207px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P3wmM-7PH4k/TjL3bxa7g-I/AAAAAAAAAN8/TuDmgneqDOQ/s320/dont-ask-dont-tell.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634838140288730082" /></a>
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<br />For the sake of preserving our nation’s oldest and most treasured and revered document, we should remove and replace the current 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' system with a system giving the same benefits to everyone in the line of duty for U.S. armed services. Equality of all individuals must be honored lest our rights be someday taken away from the rest of us.
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<br />After all, in reference to special rights and privileges for some, but not for others: Military members and their spouses are eligible for a wealth of benefits, including health insurance and survivor benefits. However, if a spouse is injured or killed in the line of duty, a gay or lesbian partner does not qualify for any financial or emotional assistance at all. There is no spin available to corroborate this type of behavior for our government to engage in.
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<br />Still, one of the largest casualties of 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell' may very well be the stifling of fellow service members personal lives while allowing others the opportunity to grandstand and throw in the faces of gay and lesbian soldiers how much they are afforded. This is no more glaring than when gay and lesbian couples are prohibited from bringing their chosen partner to military functions, even if they have been in a long-term committed relationship, nor can they even talk about their partners without fear of losing their jobs. Straight service members are not only allowed to bring their significant others, but encouraged to do so.
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<br />If the private sector isn't allowed to openly discriminate in this way or fashion, why is the government allowed to do so?
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<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YjT3RlwNrZI/TjL0m7PNnkI/AAAAAAAAANs/61PRrmSDTr4/s1600/ff_gay_rights_employment_discrimination.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 255px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YjT3RlwNrZI/TjL0m7PNnkI/AAAAAAAAANs/61PRrmSDTr4/s320/ff_gay_rights_employment_discrimination.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634835033367617090" /></a>
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<br />As a consequence, more than 265 service members have been discharged on the basis of this discriminatory, outmoded, and counterproductive policy since the law was first enacted. Furthermore, the policy has deterred untold others who would wish to defend their country from serving. Gary Gates, a senior research fellow at the UCLA School of Law, found that if the proportion of gay men in the military was allowed to rise to equal that in the general population, “the military could raise their numbers by an estimated 41,000 men.” And in a time when we have record low numbers of enlisted persons in our armed forces, we must endeavor to allow ALL individuals the opportunity to serve if they so choose it whether we approve of their personal life choices or not.
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<br />Simply put, can they do the job set before them? The answer is, “as well as anyone hired for any job can.” Will their orientation become an issue while on the battlefield? No more than any straight man’s would. Will it cause disruption to all if only a few are allowed to serve openly? Ask the countless other nation’s of the world that currently allow homosexuals the opportunity to serve openly how well it is working for them. And conversely, consider which nations have laws similar to our laws like Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Pakistan, and Venezuela. That is never good company to be in for any reason if you ask me.
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<br />In fact, countries as Catholic as Spain, as different as Sweden and South Africa, and as near as Canada have embraced gay and lesbian marriage as well as have allowed gays and lesbians in their respective militaries without any noticeable effect-- except the increase in human happiness and social stability that comes from permitting people to marry for love. Several states have individually repealed their bans on same-sex marriage as inconsistent with a decent respect for human rights and a rational view of the communal value of marriage for all individuals. But basic constitutional rights cannot depend on the willingness of the electorate in any given state to end discrimination. If we were prepared to consign minority rights to a majority vote, there would be no need for a constitution.
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<br />Mind you, I am not a Constitutional scholar, nor a lawyer. I am a common, average American citizen who treasures the deep values of justice and equality our Constitution embodies and veterans across the ages have fought and died to preserve.
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<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KCyq6w3Prjs/TjL0630B5eI/AAAAAAAAAN0/aVMEytiM1aw/s1600/Leonard%2BMatlovich%2Bgay%2Bvietnam%2Bveteran%2Bmedal%2Bfor%2Bkilling%2Btwo%2Bmen%2Bdischarge%2Bfor%2Bloving%2Bone%2Bdon%2527t%2Bask%2Bdon%2527t%2Btell.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KCyq6w3Prjs/TjL0630B5eI/AAAAAAAAAN0/aVMEytiM1aw/s320/Leonard%2BMatlovich%2Bgay%2Bvietnam%2Bveteran%2Bmedal%2Bfor%2Bkilling%2Btwo%2Bmen%2Bdischarge%2Bfor%2Bloving%2Bone%2Bdon%2527t%2Bask%2Bdon%2527t%2Btell.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634835376045680098" /></a>
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<br />Ultimately, I am utterly in shock that the fighters for liberty, equality and the right to marry a person with a different skin color than you some 50+ years ago would be the very same ones seemingly to promote that same exact discrimination, hatred and inequality of today against the gay and lesbian community. The Republican Party has changed not only its policies, but also its heart, mind and very soul today. It's no wonder that liberals have co-opted the 'freedom and liberty debate' in this day and age, and have changed the narrative so that conservatives are simply hate-mongers who would discriminate against anyone different than they are- because, if that is the argument, it would sadly be true.
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-50227118127148968412011-06-09T12:56:00.000-07:002011-06-09T13:17:35.597-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse: Do Animals Deserve Rights?<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color:#000066;">George Washington<br /></span></span><br /><strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong><br /> <br />By Nicholas Meyeres<br /><br />Let’s talk animal rights for a bit, shall we? <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jiljcC1cly4/TfEn58ewqAI/AAAAAAAAANM/cesBtgAZ57E/s1600/lincoln.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jiljcC1cly4/TfEn58ewqAI/AAAAAAAAANM/cesBtgAZ57E/s320/lincoln.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616314086748891138" /></a><br /><br />Admittedly, this is a tricky one for a plethora of different and varying reasons, and one that I could write entire books about. So, where to begin….? <br /><br />While it is clear that animals and humans are vastly different on a great many levels, they are also very similar on enough levels to warrant the discussion in the first place. After all, the scientist will say he tests on monkeys because they are like us, and then when asked if it is right to do so, he will say “yes” because they are NOT like us. That type of hypocrisy is not uncommon when we discuss animal rights issues with nearly anyone- not just the vivisectionist.<br /><br />But first, let’s define what animal rights means to me. In my view it is the right not to be made to die and suffer by humans except in self-defense. Period. However, if you take issue with the concept of a "right" for animals, you can instead think of this position as being equivalent to the following proposition: "It is MORALLY wrong to kill animals UNNESISARILY and make them suffer except in self-defense.”<br /> <br />Now, let’s take this oft-discussed hypothetical conversation as an example of why I am for some form of animal rights:<br /><br />Opponent of animal rights: How can you say that animals have rights? That’s ridiculous.<br /><br />Proponent of animal rights: Why is it ridiculous?<br /><br />Opponent: For one thing, animals can't reason. They can't be held responsible for their actions. To have rights, you must have these capacities first and foremost.<br /><br />Proponent: Wait a minute. Infants can't reason in the regard you are meaning, either. Does that mean that it's open season to hunt and kill babies?<br /><br />Opponent: Of course not. Infants will be able to reason someday. We must treat them as prospective rights-holders.<br /><br />Proponent: But what if the infant is terminally ill and has only six months to live? What about a person who was born with part of his brain missing and has the mental capacity of a pig? What about a senile, old person? Is it OK to kill, eat, and otherwise use these people for our own ends, just as we now use pigs and cows and sheep and monkeys?<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BvzPfCXgjzw/TfEm9sbTQYI/AAAAAAAAANE/2RjUpWE6-5M/s1600/grandma.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BvzPfCXgjzw/TfEm9sbTQYI/AAAAAAAAANE/2RjUpWE6-5M/s320/grandma.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616313051647263106" /></a><br /> <br />It's easy to grasp this fact if you do some introspection and ask yourself why it is morally wrong to inflict suffering on a human who can't reason. Why is it morally wrong to torture an infant? Is it because he or she has the potential to become a moral entity at some point? Now, be honest about this: Isn't it really because the infant can suffer and has an interest in NOT suffering? Isn't it because forcing the infant to suffer against his or her will violates its “rights”? Why is it immoral to use a victim of Alzheimer's for target practice? Is it because he is a member of a species whose more normal members can think conceptually and can be held responsible for their actions? Surely not. It's because he can suffer, and therefore, he has an interest in not suffering. To treat him this way against his will goes against his “rights” I am sure everyone will agree.<br /> <br />In essence, all of this also holds true for the monkey, the dog, the cat, or any other animal we know of for that matter. Like a human, the monkey can suffer, and he has an interest in not suffering. To force him to die and suffer needlessly, except in self-defense, violates his “rights”, as well. It's a simple matter of treating like cases alike with pure categorical logic.<br /> <br />Sometimes skeptics make the following objection to animal rights: “If animals have a right not to be made to suffer, doesn't it follow that we should police the wilderness and prevent predatory animals from attacking their prey?” No, this does not follow. Animals should be allowed to defend themselves, but they do not have the right to protection any more than human beings do. What the “like cases alike” argument proves is that it is immoral for moral creatures like humans to treat animals in ways we would not treat humans like except (again) in self-defense. <br /><br />In truth, because animals are not moral creatures as we know it, what they do is outside the purview of our ethics system. We might as well ask whether a zebra has a “right” not to be crushed by a falling rock. Therefore, we can only concern ourselves with what WE should do and not do. Animals in the wild are on their own for all intents and purposes. At least an animal who is preyed upon in the wild has a fighting chance. It is not locked in a cage or hunted with tools he has no privy to.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tq9DTwNgmKw/TfEm2OUJ4DI/AAAAAAAAAM8/j-wf16o95Ag/s1600/caged_monkey.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tq9DTwNgmKw/TfEm2OUJ4DI/AAAAAAAAAM8/j-wf16o95Ag/s320/caged_monkey.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616312923305140274" /></a><br /> <br />Another popular objection is “animals kill and eat each other in nature, so why shouldn't we be able to do the same thing?” In other words: “If animals do it, then we can do it, too.” But that would mean that we are like the animals, and surely it would be illogical to base our moral principles on the actions of animals who can't even engage in simple moral reasoning, correct? Some animals eat their offspring. Does that mean I am morally entitled to eat my offspring, as well? This is one of the many reasons I am a vegan; we are not at the top of the proverbial food chain- we are far, far BEYOND it.<br /><br />So, do animals deserve “rights” afforded to them? Perhaps not in the context of the same equal rights we are afforded in our United States Constitution, but some basic rights should indeed be in order. Perhaps the same rights infants are allowed and afforded, but not the same rights adult humans are given. Besides, in theory all suffering is immoral when inflicted upon the innocent. After all, animals have no proper voice to speak out, but that doesn’t mean we still cannot hear them cry. <br /><br /><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist tracker code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/politics/" title="Politics"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/tracker.php?u=72190" alt="Politics" border="0" /></a><noscript><a >http://www.hfarticles.com/weight-loss/">lose</a> weight help</noscript><!-- End BlogToplist tracker code --></div><div> </div><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/vote.php?u=72190" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/images/votebutton.gif" alt="Top Blogs" border="0" /></a><!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code -->
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-68510221214000454932011-06-03T11:40:00.000-07:002011-06-03T12:14:01.032-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse: To Cut, or Not To Cut.... What Was the Question?<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color:#000066;">George Washington</span></span><br /><strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong> <br /><br />By Nicholas Meyeres<br /><br />A proposal to ban the circumcision of all male children in San Francisco has been cleared to appear on the November 2011 ballot, setting the stage for the nation's first public vote on what has long been considered a very private family matter. In fact, if the measure passes, circumcision would be prohibited among males under the age of 18, and the practice would become a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or up to one year in jail. And finally, there would be no religious exemptions whatsoever. <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xd7iC-RQ3jg/TekraIKWZAI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/Tfs2c7xQGWo/s1600/ChristCircum5em.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xd7iC-RQ3jg/TekraIKWZAI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/Tfs2c7xQGWo/s320/ChristCircum5em.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614066138361521154" /></a><br /><br />Supporters of the ban say male circumcision is a form of genital mutilation that is unnecessary, extremely painful and dangerous or even sometimes deadly. They go one step further and say parents should not be able to force the decision on a young child who cannot speak out for themselves what their wishes may or may not be. <br /><br />But, don't parents do that already with a score of other issues including baptization, the foods they choose to feed their children, the places they allow them to play and with whom, etc.? After all, while I may agree with the assessment of anti-circumcision folks out there who say the practice is outdated and fairly archaic, I also have a personal aversion to banning much of anything at all myself.<br /> <br />Besides, State and Federal governments should not ban something that is supported by one's religion or parent's beliefs, right? Doesn't this border on (if not step right into) a war about the constitutionality of the issue at worst, and an unnecessary if not costly battle for tax payers at best that really only effect a small percentage of people in the long run?<br /><br />Ironically, circumcision is promoted in only two world wide religions, (Judaism and Islam). Most other churches and religions- like the Catholic church for instance- keep a completely neutral stance on the issue altogether. After all, only about 30% of males over the age of 15 in the world are circumcised. In fact, of that 30%- roughly 68% of these circumcised men are Muslims alone. So, is this a matter of religious discrimination? <br /><br />It seems to come very close to violating one's individual rights as stated in the 1st amendment of the Constitution to me: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof".<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kq_xzAtPxEQ/TekrtSfDi-I/AAAAAAAAAMY/VJ66QYYlYGo/s1600/first-amendment-on-scroll1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 259px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kq_xzAtPxEQ/TekrtSfDi-I/AAAAAAAAAMY/VJ66QYYlYGo/s320/first-amendment-on-scroll1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614066467550235618" /></a><br /> <br />Still, the other side says this is a matter of keeping one safe from harm. But if that were true, then what about anti-smoking laws, or the war on drugs? Or the Patriot Act, for that matter? Those hurt (or "protect" as is the case for the Patriot Act), and even kill many more innocents than circumcision ever will. <br /><br />And what about abortion? Should that be banned too, for similar reasons? What about parents who choose to get little Sally Sue's ears pierced at a young age without her consent? Is that "mutilation", as well? And what about baptization, the unhealthy foods that kids tend to eat, the dangerous places they tend to play in, and the bad influences they choose to play with as I already said above? Where does it all end? And who is to be the final authority as far as mutilation even goes, or the right of the parent to parent as they see fit for that matter?<br /> <br />At the end of the day this seems to me to be nothing shy of retaliation in San Francisco against extreme religious groups because of their aversion to gay marriage. After all, San Francisco is well known as the battle front for gay equality in the United States, and gay marriage is a hot button issue for many people including myself. Is this a "rainbow conspiracy" of sorts that will eventually go all the way to the Supreme Court just like the issue of gay marriage eventually will? Could this be nothing more than a clever attack on religion in the only way they seem to know how- by creating even more laws to ban things that are as close to irrelevant as possible to everyone BUT theists?<br /> <br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Kvh8TFYdI8/TekvnUqsWHI/AAAAAAAAAMw/32-9MfLK9KE/s1600/gay.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 294px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Kvh8TFYdI8/TekvnUqsWHI/AAAAAAAAAMw/32-9MfLK9KE/s320/gay.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614070763103213682" /></a><br /> <br />Just keep in mind, while I have a personal aversion to religion, in this case I will choose to do what Voltaire said he would do in such similar instances: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". Or as is the case here: "... I will defend to the death your right to DO what you choose to do based on your constitutional right to not have the law or Congress supersede your personal religious beliefs."<br /> <br />Besides, like I already said, I have a problem with banning anything that (for the most part) doesn't harm another person or worse. After all, the medical benefits of circumcision are so evident that they can easily be accessed by simply Googling them. Abortion and smoking, however, don't seem to offer much in the way of a benefit to anyone at all- physically, or otherwise- and they kill many more people than a simple medical procedure ever will. So, which is it? Do we steer clear of making new laws to ban things unnecessarily, or do we ban them ALL? I suspect I know which side most people will fall on including myself.<br /> <br />Agree or not, this is a step in the wrong direction for this issue to take. If one truly wanted to change anything including people's minds, they should start off first by spreading the word in as many ways as possible, including petitioning doctors and hospitals to provide information to patients about the pros and cons of the procedure without looking as if they are trying to sway the argument one way or the other. The answer is never to make a new law first, and worry about the consequences later. <br /><br />Frankly, the answer lies in getting rid of many of the laws we already have!<br /><br /><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist tracker code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/politics/" title="Politics"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/tracker.php?u=72190" alt="Politics" border="0" /></a><noscript><a >http://www.hfarticles.com/weight-loss/">lose</a> weight help</noscript><!-- End BlogToplist tracker code --></div><div> </div><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/vote.php?u=72190" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/images/votebutton.gif" alt="Top Blogs" border="0" /></a><!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code -->
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-63198648894725943242011-04-25T11:58:00.000-07:002011-08-23T11:12:12.007-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse: Why I hate Sarah Palin!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color:#000066;">George Washington
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<br /><strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong>
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<br />By Nicholas Meyeres
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<br />I need to qualify this first by saying two things up front:
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<br />First, anytime I talk about anyone with even the smallest bit of authority or power over the masses- willing to lead their sometimes blind followers to the ends of the earth- whether that idol be an actor, a preacher, a sports star, an artist or a politician- they are doing themselves a great injustice if they simply follow without first asking themselves, “Is this person truly worthy of my praise and hero status I wholly give to them.” After all, as my friend David said recently, “Sarah Palin is little more than a cult of personality in the same vain that President Obama is a cult of personality to his supporters.” Few of these people are nothing more than twisted “fans” awaiting the next American Idol contestant they’ve helped propel to stardom in hopes of watching fail in full view of the public spotlight.
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<br />Having said that, I feel that you MUST hold yourself up to the highest standard possible when you command the attention and the imagination of any number of people in the palm of your hand like these individuals do- no matter how many, or how few their supporters are. In other words, if you are a priest you probably shouldn’t molest little boys, if you are a sports star you probably shouldn’t murder innocent dogs, and if you are a homeless man who is given a chance at a new life through instant stardom, maybe you shouldn’t screw it all up by getting yourself thrown back into rehab within the first week of that new life because you have no self control.
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<br />Sure, we’re all human, I accept that, but when you wield that much power over your “flock” you simply have to be MORE than human, or choose not to be there at all to begin with. That is the price celebrities pay for their fame, and that is how we judge them in this life- like it or not. And frankly, if one can’t cope with that price, he or she should endeavor to find a new line of work that pays much, much less- figuratively AND literally.
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<br />Such is the case for celebrity politicians, as well.
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<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U2YpRU6cdZM/TbXF6zY53bI/AAAAAAAAALI/JzlPlvgtap0/s1600/reagan3.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U2YpRU6cdZM/TbXF6zY53bI/AAAAAAAAALI/JzlPlvgtap0/s320/reagan3.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599599325722828210" /></a>
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<br />But, on to my second qualification: The rabid and sometimes zealotous fans within these celebrities’ ranks (that I can only compare to each other), have the uncanny ability to often contradict reality at best, or downright lie to themselves (or each other) by making up facts to suit their cause at worst. I have yet to see anything else in modern history perhaps aside from some radical religious groups like the Westboro Baptist folks that even compare to this level of fact-twisting, blind idolatry.
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<br />And while every one of these individuals has the right to distort facts as they see fit under our 1st amendment of the United States Constitution, it also makes those of us who actually value truth and honor above all else see them in the worst possible light there is. They’ve done this to themselves, after all, and as the old saying goes, “The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his own deception, and who chooses to lie with sincerity.” If we start to believe our own hype, and stop questioning “with boldness even the existence of God” we might as well put our hand at the level of our eyes, as they say, and believe what we are simply told with blind rhetoric and ignorance as our only guide.
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<br />Which brings me to Sarah Palin.
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<br />There are three things by which I personally judge people- family, friend, or celebrity alike. The first is: is this person willfully ignorant? Now, I don’t mean school smart vs. street smart, or outright stupid because you live-in-a-trailer-park-in-Kansas dumb. I am talking about the type of person that even with the overwhelming majority of fact via proof and evidence for something set before them, they still choose not to believe in it because they simply don’t want to. I mean, for crying out loud- you have to be a real special kind of lady to believe that Jesus walked with the dinosaurs like Sarah Palin does!
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<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2StmhflMNNc/TlPtWW6md5I/AAAAAAAAAOk/RXlVhNZpNdc/s1600/palinc.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2StmhflMNNc/TlPtWW6md5I/AAAAAAAAAOk/RXlVhNZpNdc/s320/palinc.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644115726389639058" /></a>
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<br />And furthermore, let’s just get this part out of the way since I am sure you are expecting it anyway? Sarah Palin, beyond politics and hype and rhetoric and cult of personality, is simply not capable of true, sincere interaction with the media, other politicians or the American people at all. One doesn’t have to go much further to discover that truth past how she chose not to answer ANY question posed to her during the Vice Presidential debate with then Senator Joe Biden, instead saying things like, “I don’t think Imma gonna answer that, but I will tell you about ‘X, Y & Z!’” Or, the infamous interview with Katie Couric where she couldn’t name a single thing that she reads for news.
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<br />Now, I’m not implying that the woman is illiterate, but if you can’t name so much as a comic book that you read…. Well, I’m just sayin’.
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<br />After all, just because you invoke the name of the almighty demigod, Ronald Reagan, or say “God bless America” or “Maverick” enough times doesn’t make you a bright individual who will ever be capable of being a competent president. Likewise, just because our current president has schooling under his belt that would make mine look like pre-schooling for retarded squirrels, doesn’t mean he truly understands the American people or the basic tenants of our way of life as a nation, either. Or, for that matter, a folksy, born again Christian like George W. Bush doesn’t equal a man capable of stringing two sentences together to make a coherent thought whatsoever.
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<br />Still, the beauty of our country is that any idiot can vie for public office and win. Sadly, it seems, more times than not we find and elect those idiots over the other. Such is another concern I have with Sarah Palin. Where was she found, by whom and why?
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<br />The reason in my mind that Sarah Palin was introduced to the American people as John McCain’s running mate in 2008 was a simple one: Barack Obama was young, black and a theoretical political outsider. John McCain was well-known, had been in politics for many, many years and was by all accounts much older and “whiter” than his opponent. Enter Sarah Palin.
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<br />Palin was young, fresh, new, attractive, and most importantly, she was a woman. There had to be something to offset all the proposed negatives against McCain as the American people saw it in order to compete with The Messiah: The Count Barackula, Barack Obama. To anyone critically thinking about politics and the election, this was an obvious ploy. Albeit, a ploy we were all eagerly willing to ignore because we knew what lie ahead of us should Obama be elected.
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<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YwTeCNJCeDM/TbXZ1KG2EZI/AAAAAAAAAMI/2t4mpqetmsQ/s1600/obamaconstitutionobo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YwTeCNJCeDM/TbXZ1KG2EZI/AAAAAAAAAMI/2t4mpqetmsQ/s320/obamaconstitutionobo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599621218974437778" /></a>
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<br />But there was also one more thing Sarah Palin had that we all had hoped would help get John McCain elected: she was much more “conservative” in comparison to Obama’s extreme liberalism, or John McCain’s centrist persona. Surly, this would help counter-balance voter’s concerns as well as rally the Republican base, while making the playing field a little bit more even in the process.
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<br />Alas, that was not to be the case. The more Sarah Palin spoke, the more it was painfully obvious that she was there strictly for her youth and feminism, and not for what she actually brought to the table as a leader. In clearer words, she simply wasn’t yet ready for prime time.
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<br />After all, some people have “it”, and some people don’t. Sarah Palin I am sure has a lot to offer some people in some capacity- but a high profile public office position is not that thing. And it never will be.
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<br />This is painfully clear by the fact that she quit her job as Alaska Governor shortly after failing to become the Vice President of the United States of America. Which is my number two thing by which I judge people I know, or know of: Are you a quitter?
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<br />Now, I don’t mean in order to raise the bar in your own personal life or to become a better person in general, but the type who quits something simply because they didn’t win another thing and their ego won’t allow them to continue on, or because they didn’t like something about another person they found out about well into that relationship. This could be applied in marriages, in friendships, as an employer, or in Sarah Palin’s case.
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<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AnobQQLuOFA/TbXGbh1barI/AAAAAAAAALg/oPtxNwbbrAM/s1600/palin-quitter2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 284px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AnobQQLuOFA/TbXGbh1barI/AAAAAAAAALg/oPtxNwbbrAM/s320/palin-quitter2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599599887946312370" /></a>
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<br />After all, just because you found out that a person you knew for 24 years is an atheist after many years of friendship doesn’t mean you throw them aside like a sack of moldy, old potatoes. Or, if you find out your son is gay, or your spouse snores- that is no reason to end any relationship on a whim.
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<br />Sure, I understand that we all have a threshold for some kind of tolerance in some shape or another, and we all have that one or two things we would never forgive in another person- but sometimes it just isn’t warranted to “quit” someone when they truly believe in you. Judge them harshly, yes. Even punish them. But, never, ever quit them. And, I’m not talking the average individual here, either.
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<br />The Alaskan people believed in Sarah Palin for better or worse, otherwise they never would have voted for her in the first place. But yet, she quit them like someone would leave a dog behind because their new apartment wasn’t big enough for them. That is just unacceptable in my world.
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<br />If you invest in someone (or a great many someones like Palin did), and they rely on you to do the job they elected you to do- you don’t just quit them. This wasn’t McDonalds or some part-time census worker position- this was as the Governor of the largest state in the union who hung her constituents out to dry because she didn’t win in 2008. Not cool.
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<br />After all, it wasn’t to run for a higher office in our great nation that she left. And it wasn’t to spend time with her family like she had tried to tell us at first. After all, the first thing she did was abandon her family to gallivant across the country to hock her new book. And then, she got a cushy new job on Fox News as a contributor, and finally as a reality TV star. This woman is nothing shy of a narcissistic egotist of the highest degree. It’s all about her.
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<br />Again, if a person wants to better their situation or themselves by obtaining a new job, or even a new relationship- fine- I don’t fault them. That is their right. But like I already said, this wasn’t just any job, and she told us all something that simply wasn’t true.
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<br />Which brings me to my number three thing by which I have a tendency to judge people for – right or wrong: hypocrisy. If you want to lie, good for you- I just hope you’re good at it and don’t get caught. But don’t try to blow smoke in my face and tell me it’s pixie dust later. That just makes you an hypocrite. And I LOATHE hypocrisy!
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<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SpbGESA0nU0/TbXKc8jB1NI/AAAAAAAAALw/VM5T-14G7Vw/s1600/palin%2Bfish.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SpbGESA0nU0/TbXKc8jB1NI/AAAAAAAAALw/VM5T-14G7Vw/s320/palin%2Bfish.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599604310343275730" /></a>
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<br />For instance, remember when El Presidente, Senor Obama- towards the end of his approximately 40-minute appearance on Jay Leno in 2008, talked about how he’d gotten better at bowling and has been practicing in the White House bowling alley?
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<br />“I bowled a 129”, the president said.
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<br />“That’s very good, Mr. President,” Leno said sarcastically.
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<br />It’s “like the Special Olympics or something,” the president said.
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<br />Yeah, guess who flipped her proverbial wig over that one? If you said “The mother of Down’s Syndrome baby, Trig- Sarah Palin” you win the prize. But it was her defense of Rush Limbaugh as obvious “satire” later that same week for saying even worse tripe about special needs folks that made her the hypocrite.
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<br />“But, isn’t she at least the constitutional conservative like she claims to be?” Not even close!
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<br />If one is a TRUE constitutional conservative, you would- even in the face of your personal feelings and better judgment- be for the burning of the United States Flag, for the rights of individuals to erect any building they choose to in America, and support the right of EVERYONE to speak out peacefully in any way they choose to regardless of your personal bias. But not Sarah Palin.
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<br />She supported the proposed amendment to the constitution to make flag burning illegal. But like Vietnam veteran Richard Savage said,
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<br />“…. Those who would burn the flag destroy the symbol of freedom, but amending the Constitution would destroy part of freedom itself.”
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<br />Sarah Palin damns the constitution in favor of her personal opinion, but yet, she does this instead:
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<br />Then, she said on her Twitter account of the controversial Mosque at Ground Zero being built, "Peace-seeking Muslims, pls understand, Ground Zero mosque is UNNECESSARY provocation; it stabs hearts. Pls reject it in interest of healing."
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<br />Yet, regardless of your position, if you are a strict constitutionalist you would NEVER propose to tell people they shouldn’t build a religious structure, no matter how ill-advised and disrespectful it may seem to you.
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<br />And finally, recently in response to a Supreme Court ruling in favor of a the Westboro Baptists I mentioned earlier that demonstrates at military funerals she said (also on Twitter), “Common sense & decency absent as wacko ‘church’ allowed hate msgs spewed@ soldiers’ funerals but we can’t invoke God’s name in public square.” She later explained that she was trying to say she was making a point about a double standard on free speech, not that the group shouldn’t have the right to protest. Too late, Mrs. Palin- you are clearly no constitutionalist, so stop pretending to be.
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<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--WRCeDu2ZA4/TbXMVt_VeeI/AAAAAAAAAL4/S9rtDYw1yc4/s1600/sarah-palin-moses.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--WRCeDu2ZA4/TbXMVt_VeeI/AAAAAAAAAL4/S9rtDYw1yc4/s320/sarah-palin-moses.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599606385199643106" /></a>
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<br />But beyond all of that, she is supremely (and unnecessarily) divisive within her own party. Recently in front of an Alaskan backdrop of grandiose mountains and a lakeside view she found time to tweak a fellow Republican, dismiss the president, and scold a top-rated Fox News talk show host all in one interview.
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<br />Palin opened by questioning New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's toughness and attacking President Barack Obama for naivete. After that, she preached about cutting various government programs to Bill O'Reilly before advising him not to interrupt her ever again even though the show was called The O’Reilly Factor, not The Sarah Show. All in a night's work for the ego which is Palin.
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<br />"… With all due respect to Governor Christie, you know he has no choice but to cut budgets because he's broke, his state is broke. What courage really is, is in the face of having a surplus when you have opportunity to spend, spend, spend other people's money, and you still choose to rein in government to let the private sector soar,” she said.
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<br />“And, by the way,” she finished with a flourish, “that’s what I did here [in Alaska].”
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<br />By popular demand, it really IS “The Sarah Show”!
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<br />This doesn’t make her look tough or like a rebel by attacking all of these people in the way she did- it just makes her look petty and narcissistic. After all, to say that of a fellow republican potential presidential candidate is just beyond the pale. What would your precious Ronald Reagan say about choosing to break his 11th Commandment of not speaking ill of a fellow Republican? Who is this former Governor of a state with a whopping grand total of 630,000 residents to speak of courage in office when the first thing she did when the going got tough was QUIT!?
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<br />And, don’t even get me started on “Crib-Note-Gate”!
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<br />Or, the anti-Semitic “blood libel” comments she made after the tragic shooting of Arizona Rep., Gabrielle Giffords.
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<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/12/blood-libel-sarah-palin_n_808104.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/12/blood-libel-sarah-palin_n_808104.html</a>
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<br />Or, for that matter, giving that last speech the very same morning Arizona was to have a service honoring the memory for those that lost their lives that day in order to put the focus squarely on her once more. Have I mentioned anything about Sarah Palin’s planetoid-sized ego yet???
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<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jaSbIJAwVhs/TbXO1Ex0jnI/AAAAAAAAAMA/8eLDTlivKOQ/s1600/palinbook.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jaSbIJAwVhs/TbXO1Ex0jnI/AAAAAAAAAMA/8eLDTlivKOQ/s320/palinbook.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599609122916175474" /></a>
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<br />In short, Sarah Palin is a canker to the Right. Her ‘scripted reality’ better serves her ridiculous TV show, and not that of public office. She is practically bereft of anything to say but parroting what others have already said before her, or seizing what seems to be the ‘topic of the day’ and expounding on it. She doesn’t really have any original thoughts of her own volition and when publicly dared to have an original thought by the media she falls flat on her face nearly every single time.
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<br />Besides, what has Sarah Palin done for the public good since she just gave up and quit on her Governorship? Aside from splitting conservatives in two, it has been all about Sarah Palin- all of the time. Nothing good has been done for anyone else but the Palin family. Well, except for maybe that white trash, ex-potential, son-in-law that knocked up one of the Palin kids (… and, not the retarded one. Well, not the REALLY retarded one.) He got a sweet gig out of it by being well known now for doing just that.
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<br />After all, not too long ago she publicly made a promise. She essentially said, “If I become a distraction from the conservative cause I won’t run for President.” Well, what does anyone (except Sarah Palin it seems) think she has been for the nearly the last three years? She has been a distraction from the very beginning of her fifteen minutes of fame, so much so, that she has managed to knead and stretch that 15 minutes into three very long years.
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<br />Every time the Sarah Palin gravy train starts to run low on steam and slow down, there she is again showing up on talk shows, attacking fellow conservatives, starting a new reality TV show about Alaska, releasing yet another book about how great she is, or dragging her daughter through the mud behind her on another, separate reality show… perhaps, about dancing? All eyes and ears are on Sarah, all of the time. And that’s the way she likes it.
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<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hb2K50rYJMI/TbXGj2OXWiI/AAAAAAAAALo/N8sCK_kKSnk/s1600/palinmememe.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hb2K50rYJMI/TbXGj2OXWiI/AAAAAAAAALo/N8sCK_kKSnk/s320/palinmememe.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5599600030858566178" /></a>
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<br />But, the time is up. She needs to proverbially ‘shit or get off the pot’. Put up or shut up. Do for America a heckuva lot more, and do for Sarah Palin and the Palin clan a heckuva lot less. She’s milking the cash cow for every last drop, which is fine if she makes her intentions to do so clear instead of leading America around by their collective noses like she has been doing since losing to Barack Obama and Joe Biden over 3 years ago.
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<br />The bottom line is that Sarah Palin is a self-serving blight on an otherwise potentially exciting conservative landscape, and its future. She is in essence a self-serving distraction to win the White House in 2012 through and through. And she needs to simply just go away. Far, far away!
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-38163638392143435762011-04-14T22:35:00.000-07:002014-04-04T08:13:33.882-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse: Weight loss on Tax Day?!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 247px;" /></a>
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<span style="font-size: 180%;"><span style="color: red;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color: #000066;">George Washington
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<b><i>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</i></b>
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<br />
By Nicholas Meyeres
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What better way to celebrate Tax Day than by there being less of me to tax! After all, if the government is going to tax everything in my life including the food I eat, why not make sure I am beholden to them for as little as possible!? Take that, Big Government!
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Well, okay, so it isn't THAT simple, and neither was my weight loss for the last 10 weeks.
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iHMo8flH8qM/TaNeEcRcJFI/AAAAAAAAAKo/Q3_KjQdM914/s1600/fat%2Bme.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iHMo8flH8qM/TaNeEcRcJFI/AAAAAAAAAKo/Q3_KjQdM914/s320/fat%2Bme.bmp" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594418592526115922" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 234px;" /></a>
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I have never struggled with my weight. In fact, most people who knew me when I was younger said I was 'too skinny', or needed to 'gain more weight'. Then, something strange happened- I turned 30 years old, and it was all downhill from there! Now, at the ripe old age of 34 years old, I have gained over 50 lbs. in 4 short years.
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I became complacent, I was sedentary and had virtually no motivation to exercise at all, plus I really liked food!!! The worse for me, the better. A large Cheese Lover's, stuffed crust pizza with a 32 oz soda and a fistful of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups twice a week? Bring it on! Like I said, I have never struggled with weight loss until now, and I have ate virtually the very same thing for years. I am a vegetarian, and I always thought it strange whenever I would see an overweight person with my same eating habits standing front of me. I just didn't know how it was possible to be "that" vegetarian! Imagine my surprise when I became one of them, and saw my double chin staring back at me in the mirror one day.
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I have been a vegetarian for more than half of my life, and I simply took it for granted that I was healthy. But, make no mistake about it, just because you don't eat meat doesn't mean you are in shape. Take my diet for example:
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Lots of processed food-stuffs: check!
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Hardly any fiber in those foods: check!
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Virtually zero whole fruits or vegetables in my vegetarian diet: check!
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Tons of sugary drinks and desserts all day long: check!
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More candy than an entire pint-sized army could get on a busy Halloween night: DOUBLE, AND TRIPLE CHECK!!!
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Add all of that together in a big ol' ball flabby flesh, mixed with old age and hardly any exercise, and you have a very unhealthy me.
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XT1PAdd46PY/TaNeOIwaE2I/AAAAAAAAAKw/-SdS7IMkHEY/s1600/Picture_003.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XT1PAdd46PY/TaNeOIwaE2I/AAAAAAAAAKw/-SdS7IMkHEY/s320/Picture_003.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594418759085986658" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>
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But one day it all changed.
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I remember going to a motivational speaker with family members when I was about 12 or 13 years old, who spoke at great length about addiction-- including food addiction. He said something that always stuck with me: "If you don't like something about yourself- change it! It's really that simple, no matter what other people tell you."
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Nearly 20 years later, I pulled that little kernel of advice out of my proverbial closet, and tried it on for size.
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I looked in the mirror, and simply didn't like what was staring back at me- so, I changed it. After all, I have always had the lion's share of willpower. I don't consume alcohol, I don't smoke, I have never done a recreational drug in my life, I don't even drink anything with caffeine and like I already said, I am a vegetarian of most of my life. But somehow that didn't stop me from one day gaining an unhealthy amount of weight in a very short period of time. So, I changed it.
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mfwrBHm-KF0/TaTPM7Mll3I/AAAAAAAAALA/33PjJbtUGKk/s1600/The%2Bnew%2B%2527me%2527%2521.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mfwrBHm-KF0/TaTPM7Mll3I/AAAAAAAAALA/33PjJbtUGKk/s320/The%2Bnew%2B%2527me%2527%2521.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594824458056865650" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /></a>
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I said one day that it was time for a change, I made those changes, I stuck to my guns, I saw it through, and I am a much better 'me' than I have been in a very, very long time. In fact, I feel that I am a better man today for so many reasons, and I am just getting better daily. Sure, I make mistakes (sometimes I still make some very BIG mistakes), but I am the best 'me' that I have ever been in my whole life. I like me today, and I can't wait to be an even better me tomorrow. After all, I am not the man I am because of the mistakes I have made, or because of the times I turned right when I should have turned left. I am the man I am because it is who I choose to be, not who I have become.
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But how did I do it aside from merely deciding to do it one day? I had help and support from my amazing and loving wife, Celeste. She was my support system, and my cheerleader every day through all of this. I am so thankful for her help to make the journey so much easier, and I couldn’t have done it without her.
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But that wasn't it. I also made it a point to exercise every day. Not hardcore exercise, mind you because that would surely back fire on me, but light cardio for 20-30 minutes a day. The kind that Richard Simmons would endorse! The fun kind, that keeps you motivated each and every day.<br />
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Plus, I simply ate less food, and less high calorie foods. Actually, I ate healthier in general, consumed a lot more fiber-rich foods, drank much more water daily, ate whole fruits and fresh vegetables, less processed junk food, hardly any sodium went on my plate, and virtually no sugar to speak of whatsoever entered my body. Plus, my own willpower and the support from others to make it all happen in the day's end. <br />
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However, there was one more thing (I won't lie) that motivated me to lose the weight which a lot of people will find off-putting, and I am sorry in advance, but it gave me the strength to be the better 'me' I already spoke of. And it is my ego. I just didn't want to be 'that person' anymore. I wanted to wear nice clothes that fit me comfortably. I didn't want to suck in my stomach every day of my life for fear of someone making fun of my waistline. The bottom line is, I was embarrassed. And that was all the motivation I really needed when it was all said and done.
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Now, I know what a lot of you will say at this point. "Be happy with who you are." "No one can make you feel bad, but you." "You have a handsome face." And while those words have power, it wasn't good enough for me. The fact is, I was not happy with who I was, not just esthetically, but physically. I was short of breath just walking down the street. I napped long naps every day. I had the first signs of diabetes creeping into my world, and I simply didn't want to shorten my life because it was just starting to get good! After all, the hard truth is that the majority of overweight people not only have a multitude of health problems as they age and gain even more weight over time, but they die much sooner than physically healthy individuals who eat right and exercise daily. And I'm not ready to go quite yet!!!<br />
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But, now for the hard part. This is a life style choice- not just a temporary one- but a forever one. I know I am capable of weight gain now- and I never want it back again- so, I need to make this my life from here on out. And so, I have. Perhaps not as strict as when I was trying to lose the weight in the first place, but a life style change, nonetheless. That is what I choose. That is who I choose to be. And that's a good enough 'me' to be.
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ieBmo0yu7w8/TaTLdbxklxI/AAAAAAAAAK4/9ZS2vEE5AE4/s1600/fat%2B002.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ieBmo0yu7w8/TaTLdbxklxI/AAAAAAAAAK4/9ZS2vEE5AE4/s320/fat%2B002.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594820343633319698" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /></a>
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First day of diet: Feb. 1st, 2011
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Current day of diet: April 15th, 2011
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Beginning weight: 211.6 lbs
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Current weight: 170 lbs (UPDATE! As of May, 9th I am officially 160 lbs!!!)
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Beginning shirt size: XXL (Tight)
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Current shirt size: M (Comfy!)
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Beginning pant size: 36 (Tight)
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Current pant size: 29 (Extra roomy!)
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-24722816709270218362011-01-19T11:19:00.000-08:002011-08-23T12:24:48.691-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse: A Christian Nation?!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color:#000066;">George Washington
<br /></span></span>
<br /><strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong>
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<br />By Nicholas Meyeres
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<br />One of the most common statements from the Religious Right in America is that they want this country to "return to the Christian principles on which it was founded". However, a little research into American history will show that this statement is a bald-faced lie at best. The men responsible for building the foundation of this United States had little use for Christianity, and many were even strongly opposed to it. They were men of The Enlightenment, not men of Christianity. They were mostly Deists who did not believe in the divinity of Christ or the word of the bible as being the one, true word.
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<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTc7ZZvdEKI/AAAAAAAAAKM/bxr82dt3yVY/s1600/usa_christian_nation_sticker.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTc7ZZvdEKI/AAAAAAAAAKM/bxr82dt3yVY/s320/usa_christian_nation_sticker.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563981172232229026" /></a>
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<br />Thus, there is no freedom of religion if there is also no freedom FROM religion. There are some who claim that the United States of America was founded and based on Christian faith and principles, and they would do (and have already done) everything in their power to change the actual history of this great Nation. While it is true that some of the Founding Fathers considered themselves Protestant most were likely Deist or even Unitarian, this did not mean that they forced their beliefs onto anyone like we attempt to do today. In fact, quite the opposite.
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<br />"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
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<br />No reference to God. No reference to Jesus. No reference to Christianity. The words "Jesus Christ, Christianity, Bible, and God" are never mentioned in the Constitution-- not once. This is simply NOT a Christian nation no matter how hard some people try to explain otherwise.
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<br />Indeed, according to Article 11 of the Treaty between Tripoli and the United States, written in 1796, “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” And, according to Phillip Schaff in his 1888 book Church and State in the United States, “Separation secures religious thought, speech, and action. Religion is voluntary and cannot be forced. The United States furnishes the first example in the history of a government deliberately depriving itself of all legislative control of religion.”
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<br />A few Christian fundamentalists today attempt to convince us to return to the "Christianity" of early America, yet according to the historian, Robert T. Handy, "No more than 10 percent-- probably less-- of Americans in 1800 were members of congregations." The Founding Fathers, as well, rarely practiced Christian orthodoxy. Although, while they supported the free exercise of any religion, they understood the dangers of religion in government.
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<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTc75ex2v4I/AAAAAAAAAKU/vI6kc0AJlG8/s1600/jesus_action.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 236px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTc75ex2v4I/AAAAAAAAAKU/vI6kc0AJlG8/s320/jesus_action.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563981723340291970" /></a>
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<br />Just as Congress removed Thomas Jefferson's words that condemned the practice of slavery in the colonies, they also altered his wording regarding equal rights. His original wording is: "All men are created equal and independent. From that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable." Congress changed that phrase, increasing its religious overtones: "All men are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights." But we are not governed by the Declaration of Independence-- it is an historical document, not a constitutional one. And as I have already said, "The words 'Jesus Christ, Christianity, Bible, and God' are never mentioned in the Constitution."
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<br />So, let's stop censoring or ignoring the portion of the populace (by some estimates, 20% of the population) that doesn't believe in a higher being- and who apparently know American history better than anyone else on the right. Furthermore, it shouldn't be impossible for an atheist to hold public office, but in some areas of the country it is still illegal for one to even run. Let's agree that separation of church and state does not seek to take away our religious liberties, and in fact does a great deal of good FOR religious and non-religious people alike. After all, in 1872 the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that, “The structure of our government has, for the preservation of civil liberty, rescued the temporal institutions from religious interference. On the other hand, it has secured religious liberty from the invasion of the civil authority."
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<br />When this country was founded, it's founding fathers were mostly slave owners. Women weren't allowed to hold public office nor could they even vote. Women were even forced to wear several layers of clothing, dared not even expose so much as an ankle lest she be thought of in a lesser light, and even kept their heads covered in public.
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<br />The point is, since the founding of this country, mankind has grown exponentially ethically and morally, and religion has played virtually no part in that growth. If you base your religion on the Christian Bible then it would be fair to say that you would prefer that we still had slavery today since in Leviticus God gives instruction on how slaves are property to be inherited. It is also clear that in the Bible women are absolutely less valuable than men and are not to be given equal treatment.
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<br />Examples of this are vast and numerous, including when Lot, in order to spare the angels of God from having to be sodomized by the towns men, offered instead his two virgin daughters for them to "do as ye will". So if you really want to get back to the "Christian Nation" that you believe the founding fathers meant it to be, then it would stand to reason, as a "Christian Nation" we should bring back slavery, burn "witches", repeal woman's rights, and in order to save higher beings from the degradation of public sodomy, sacrifice our very children to their boss or pay the price forever?... Or have we EVOLVED past the backward thinking that this is indeed a "Christian Nation"?
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<br />Most people don't even realize that the phrase one Nation "Under God" was not in the Pledge of Allegiance or the majority of our currency until AFTER June 14, 1954, right in the midst of the McCarthy hysteria. The reasons are obvious and glaring as to why this would occur at this time. A time that we were morally, if not literally at "war" with communism. After all, by making sure that the "godless" communists knew that we were diametrically opposite them in every way- including by convincing ourselves that our founding was that of a god-fearing "Christian" nation- we would show superiority over them and win in the day's end the world's adoration and respect.
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<br />I am not now, nor have I ever advocated the abolition of Christianity or even religion in our country. I respect any person's faith, just as I would hope you would respect my lack of it. All I ask is that people realize the truth of our founding as a nation, stop trying to fundamentally change the very fabric of our Constitution and Bill of Rights to suit their purposes and ideological bent, and leave government out of our personal everyday lives. Worship in the way you choose to, but ask not the government to join you in this exercise, or its people that choose not to, as well.
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<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTc9fDakymI/AAAAAAAAAKc/R3eApGWQXGk/s1600/atheistamerican.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTc9fDakymI/AAAAAAAAAKc/R3eApGWQXGk/s320/atheistamerican.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563983468341545570" /></a>
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<br />That's all I ask. That's all our framers ever asked. That's all our Constitution asks of you. After all, this is not a "Christian Nation", it is a CONSTITUTIONAL one!
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-53800085326946213352011-01-18T11:21:00.000-08:002011-01-18T12:11:39.907-08:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse: W.hat W.ould W.onder W.oman D.o?<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color:#000066;">George Washington</span></span><br /><strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong> <br /><br />By Nicholas Meyeres<br /><br />Every once in a while a person comes along that sets the collective minds and hearts of everyday people on fire with pure inspiration and thoughts of a better world through their very actions and words and deeds. If only more people were like them, what a wonderful world we would live in. Take for instance this: <br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTXo7KWgnDI/AAAAAAAAAJM/BfGUGXuYGsI/s1600/wwjd.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 305px; height: 244px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTXo7KWgnDI/AAAAAAAAAJM/BfGUGXuYGsI/s320/wwjd.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563609017774808114" /></a><br /><br />“What would Jesus do”? Now, it’s pretty well known that I am not a very religious person at all and would never be caught dead wearing this tacky piece of Christian kitsch around my wrist, but it’s the thought that counts in this instance. After all, to aspire to be better than you already are is a very noble act, indeed. Sometimes we just need guidance and physical reminders from other people and things to live in the best way possible ourselves.<br /><br />Besides, from every account we have heard, this was a man who could lead you by example whether you’re a Christian or not- or for that matter, whether you even believe him to be the actual son of God or not. A rebel who fought persecution and "big government" without ever brandishing so much as a closed fist against those who would harm him or the ones he loved. Someone who preached love and kindness and tolerance and duty above all else. Someone who said, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” In essence, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That can’t be all that bad of a way to live your life. <br /><br />After all, the "Golden Rule" is a rule for all of us to hunger for in this day and age. I know I would do good to follow that advice more often than not in my everyday life- we all could. Therefore, it’s no wonder why Jesus Christ is a hero to so many people- Christian or not- and why they choose to live their lives by his words, and his actions, and his deeds. After all, whether half of what was said about him was fact or fiction (or somewhere in between), it goes without saying that even if he wasn’t the man we believe him to be- that isn’t the most important thing. Even if some or all of what was said about him was embellished or even a flat out lie, and the words weren’t even his own- does it really matter in the day’s end if it encourages people to be better people in their own personal everyday lives?<br /><br />We all need heroes, after all. In a world like this. Today of all days- we need heroes. Fact or fictional.<br /><br />Take for instance, one of my personal heroes: Wonder Woman. <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTXsYzME78I/AAAAAAAAAJU/JjllJKejy7w/s1600/wonder_woman_1_cover_poster_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTXsYzME78I/AAAAAAAAAJU/JjllJKejy7w/s320/wonder_woman_1_cover_poster_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563612825487994818" /></a><br /><br />Yes, we all know she is a completely fictional creation, but does it really even matter? We can all learn something from the heroism and heroics that is Wonder Woman. WWWWD? "What would Wonder Woman do?"<br /><br />This woman, created at a time when women didn’t dare step foot out of the kitchen, let alone any closer than no more than 4 feet behind their husbands- stood toe to toe with villains of every shape and size that some men wouldn’t even fight for fear of being beat to very inches of their lives. This woman, front and center in the heat of battle, with her head held high- fighting (not behind), but right along side the likes of Superman and Batman and the Justice Society of America. This woman, who could fight the most powerful man on Earth to a standstill, and on a good day- even kick his ass!... all without the use of kryptonite.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTXt0xTDnFI/AAAAAAAAAJk/CROko1DIXWk/s1600/superman31-mbailey.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTXt0xTDnFI/AAAAAAAAAJk/CROko1DIXWk/s320/superman31-mbailey.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563614405528362066" /></a><br /><br />Wonder Woman wasn’t just a hero for women, but for men, and children, and anyone else who is thought of as lesser by virtue of who they are- but yet, who overcame it despite the overwhelming odds stacked against them. A hero who is tough as nails, but drop dead gorgeous, too! Someone who didn’t let the fact that she was a warrior stop her from being feminine without being a feminist. Someone who was a born fighter by her very birthright who used violence always as a last option, and rather preferred to stand for peace in "man’s world of war". Someone who recognized the greatness of our country even though she was not a born or natural citizen of America. An Ambassador. Someone who admired the United States and her ideals so much that she donned the colors of our flag and the very symbol of our freedom on her breastplate.<br /><br />This is a woman who used- not a sword, or a gun, or even a rock to throw at her adversaries- but instead, a bright and shining golden lasso to subdue her enemies, if not enlighten them, as well. A symbol of hope to compel them to truth, justice and to simply be better people. An Amazon Princess who only fought when she needed to fight. A person so steeped in myth, and honor, and history who fought her very nature to be the person she needed to be in our world today. She was more than a fighter- she was a survivor! A person who knew that she was more than the person she was born to be, or the person she had become over these many years- but, she was the person she CHOSE to be... and that person was a hero! <br /><br />That’s inspiration right there. That’s someone to be more like if you ask me. Someone whose head is always held high, and who never allows any man or woman to force her to be lesser than who she knows in her heart she isn't. <br /><br />We could all do worse than have fictional heroes like Wonder Woman, or even Jesus Christ to aspire to be more like. 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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-39283669853675894652011-01-17T12:23:00.000-08:002011-08-23T12:51:18.527-07:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse: Kindness, censorship, the 1st Amendment and me!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color:#000066;">George Washington</span></span>
<br /><strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong>
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<br />By Nicholas Meyeres
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<br />Recently, according to Publishers Weekly, NewSouth Books' upcoming edition of Mark Twain's masterpiece "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" will remove all instances of the "n" word… and when I say “n” word I don’t mean “nachos”.
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<br />But the real question is, “why”?
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<br />Some people would likely point to the hurtful nature and origin of the term, and the intent of its use, but isn’t it still historical in context, and shouldn’t we always endeavor to make history as accurate as possible? Besides, don’t we have the “right“ to say it if we want to? After all, do we look to censor our public school history books, as well; or for that matter our bibles, holy books, and dictionaries because they also contain words and concepts that some people may find offensive?
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<br />Perhaps it is the context of the word, or who wrote them.
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<br />If you think that, you couldn’t be more wrong.
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<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTSmyQwi0rI/AAAAAAAAAIc/_wsNhHSIj7U/s1600/twain1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTSmyQwi0rI/AAAAAAAAAIc/_wsNhHSIj7U/s320/twain1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563254822131651250" /></a>
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<br />Mark Twain was very precise in his verbiage- he knew EXACTLY what he was saying, and more importantly, he knew WHY he was saying it. He used the word because it made people uncomfortable to use it even back then, and frankly, it was simply commonplace to use the term at that point in history. Therefore, he used it to be historically AND intellectually truthful. After all, sometimes harsh language is the only thing some people understand in order to start any kind of dialog at all.
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<br />So, having said that, was Twain a racist for the use of the word over 200 times in the novel, or was it something more? After all, it does SEEM a little bit excessive by our standards today.
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<br />A little known history that was just uncovered at Yale University found that he paid for at least one black person to attend that University’s Law School and for another black person to attend a southern university to become a minister. That clearly isn’t the actions of a racist if you ask me.
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<br />In fact, I think there are very few folks (at least in America today) that are TRUE racists at all. There are some, yes, but I think you have to look very hard to find those individuals who aren't simply "soft bigots" or just being ironic. I think we all agree that racism at it’s core is a very, very ugly thing, and I am sure we would know it if we really saw it in action today.
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<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTSn8zoEgiI/AAAAAAAAAIs/E3tgu-EvR2s/s1600/racism.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTSn8zoEgiI/AAAAAAAAAIs/E3tgu-EvR2s/s320/racism.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563256102801670690" /></a>
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<br />Still, I was approached with the notion that this will actually allow the book back into school libraries because (as most people already know) “Huck Finn” is one of the most banned books around right now. If this happens, will it increase readership and availability into the hands of children everywhere to be able to enjoy the same story that I grew up with? Or, is it an attempt to pacify a small minority of people who think they know what’s best for us all, and who want to change what we know as “true history”? If it is the former, great! But, I am not so sure that it is.
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<br />Honestly, I can't personally see any other motivation other than the unnecessary censorship of a brilliant piece of literature myself. But, then again, censorship is one of my (seemingly many) hot button issues these days. And as Voltaire put it, “I may not agree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it?”
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<br />Or, for that matter, like our 1st President of the United States of America said, "If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter."
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<br />And that is how I live my life.
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<br />Sure, you may not live your life as such, but I do. And if there is a choice between censoring history because a few people are made uncomfortable by some of its content, or allowing it to be available to those who choose to seek it out, untarnished… well, I know which side of the debate I fall on. My personal opinion is, rather than shielding people from the truth and from history, we should allow them access to untainted accounts (whether it be from a history book or a great American novel like “Huck Finn”) to determine for themselves what life truly was like.
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<br />Of course, I may be blinded by the blatant censorship of one of my very favorite books, by my very favorite author of all time.
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<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTSovIAl_mI/AAAAAAAAAI0/1SDsmpa9Tvk/s1600/Huckleberry_Finn_book.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 263px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTSovIAl_mI/AAAAAAAAAI0/1SDsmpa9Tvk/s320/Huckleberry_Finn_book.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563256967266696802" /></a>
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<br />… But, now to the important part: The United States Constitution. The Constitution does protect the freedom of speech of every citizen, and even of non-citizens, that is true — but only from restriction by Congress (and, by virtue of the 14th Amendment and state legislatures, as well). But does that mean it is all-encompassing? Not quite- there are plenty of other places where you could speak but where speech can and often is suppressed.
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<br />For example, freedom of speech can be restricted in a work place. Employers (right or wrong) can restrict your right to speak in the office about politics, about religion, about legal issues, even about “Desperate Housewives” if they choose to. The same restrictions that apply to the government do not apply to private persons, employers, or establishments for the most part. For that matter, the government could not prohibit the sale of any newspaper lest it breech the freedom of the press clause- however, no newsstand MUST carry every paper against its owners' wishes.
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<br />And then, of course there’s libel, defamation of character, and yelling “bomb!” in a crowded New York City airport. Some forms of speech just simply are not allowed- even in America.
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<br />In other words, the 1st Amendment applies to the Federal Government DICTATING how we think and talk to each other, but not how WE think and talk to each other. It also does not dictate which religion we endorse or do not endorse as a Nation. Congress has no authority over us in that regard, but we do have the ability to create local and state laws as individuals and employers if we see fit to do so with the overall understanding that the Constitution ultimately has the final say in the day’s end. After all, we are a land based on constitutional law, not politically correct, religious or personal interpretation of the law.
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<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTSpqn-2wqI/AAAAAAAAAI8/VA-GyWIaWQw/s1600/burning.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTSpqn-2wqI/AAAAAAAAAI8/VA-GyWIaWQw/s320/burning.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563257989461623458" /></a>
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<br />Having said that, NewSouth Books' does have the "right" to change Twain's masterpiece because this work was published before January 1, 1923, and is thus in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. But the question is, "should they change it?" That is a question that could (and likely will) be debated for many years to come.
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<br />Either way, I will say this much- because we are all individuals who have had different experiences over the course of our own lifetimes, we see many things (obviously) much different from one another- for better or worse. My good AND my bad experiences have shaped my world view today- just like I am sure yours did you, and hers did her, and his did his, and anyone else's did theirs.
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<br />It's true, I can't walk in your shoes and I don't know what you've been through in life- but, frankly, I’m not so sure I even want to know, either- I have enough of my own bad experiences to live with. I am simply as honest as I can be- I can empathize, but that's about it. Likewise, some of my experiences would seem foreign to you because you wouldn't know how to react if they happened in your life.
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<br />Still, having said all of that, I also feel that it doesn't even truly matter if we completely understand one another in this life- all that matters is that we don't kill each other, or intentionally harm one other BECAUSE we're different. Besides, even though I am a product of what my experiences have made me- I am also who I am today because it is who I CHOOSE to be, not who I’ve become.
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<br />After all, we all have a thin skin about something even though we try all day long to tell ourselves and each other otherwise. When it’s all said and done, what is most important is the old adage of being true to yourself. That's all there really is, and that's all that ever really matters.
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<br />… So, after all of that, do we have the “right” or even the duty to censor ourselves, each other, or history because some people’s experiences allow for a more amplified feeling that they are offended by what we do or what we say to them because of that thin skin? That answer, at least, is a simple one for me: “Fuck no, nigga’!”
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<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTSqiKZNFUI/AAAAAAAAAJE/xP8_ydpnKJI/s1600/censorship.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 274px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/TTSqiKZNFUI/AAAAAAAAAJE/xP8_ydpnKJI/s320/censorship.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563258943591748930" /></a>
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371524779155774307.post-60977817707149240082009-11-11T11:47:00.000-08:002011-01-17T09:20:19.609-08:00Welcome to the Slaughterhouse: Who's the terroirst now?!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s1600-h/Snowy+Eagle.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SWadC6RCH_I/AAAAAAAAABI/GNJPc0JH8qc/s320/Snowy+Eagle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289087485719224306" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." </span><span style="color:#000066;">George Washington<br /></span></span><br /><strong><em>Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!</em></strong><br /><br />By Nicholas Meyeres<br /><br />On November, 5th, 2009 39-year-old Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire at a processing center at Fort Hood, the country's largest military installation located in Texas. Thirteen people were killed and 29 were wounded. 5 days later President Barack Obama addressed the survivors, their families, and many other soldiers who risk their lives on a sometimes daily basis for our very freedoms and way of life. He said it was, "hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy." And added, "No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor… And for what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice – in this world and the next."<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SvsXo7qJmTI/AAAAAAAAAII/pXMsLPnEUkM/s1600-h/obama-head-scratch.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 264px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SvsXo7qJmTI/AAAAAAAAAII/pXMsLPnEUkM/s320/obama-head-scratch.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402938169937729842" /></a><br /><br />Really?!?! “Hard to comprehend”? From where I sit when someone of Middle Eastern descent stands on a table with 2 loaded handguns and shouts "Allahu Akbar!" — "God is great!" in Arabic — before opening fire on an unarmed group of individuals, it is pretty darn clear to me what his motivations are! And add to that, "U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda” according to two American officials briefed on classified material in the case who told ABC News. Not to mention, the fact that Hasan berated our involvement in the war at every chance to anyone who would listen to him on and off base, and was publically angered at his impending deployment to fight his “brothers in Allah”, as he had allegedly been heard saying. <br /><br />So to say, "No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts” just simply isn’t true. And, no, it's not hard to comprehend. It was the act of an Islamic terrorist who mowed down dozens of people all because he believed he was doing the will of Allah in accordance with the Koran. <br /><br />It’s that simple.<br /><br />But, to add insult to injury, the President did not one time mention terror, terrorist, or terrorism when he spoke on Tuesday. What more evidence does it take for our President to admit that this was an act of terror? He did not even name Major Nidal Hasan, the terrorist accused of the killings. <br /><br />But, was Hasan REALLY a terrorist?<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SvsVq9I4yfI/AAAAAAAAAH4/bMmkBsLhIXQ/s1600-h/amd_fort-hood_nidal-malik-hasan.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 289px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SvsVq9I4yfI/AAAAAAAAAH4/bMmkBsLhIXQ/s320/amd_fort-hood_nidal-malik-hasan.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402936005671569906" /></a><br /><br />United States Law Code – the law that governs the entire country – contains a definition of terrorism embedded in its requirement that Annual Country reports on Terrorism be submitted by the Secretary of State to Congress every year. (From U.S. Code Title 22, Ch.38, Para. 2656f(d)<br /><br />It states in part, “the term ‘terrorism’ means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.” As of this act, the victims in themselves were indeed noncombatants. Meaning: Army base civilians not at that time engaged in combat. And Hasan played at very obviously premeditated, politically AND religiously motivated violence.<br /><br />Independent Senator, Joe Lieberman even said "... There are very, very strong warning signs here that Dr. Hasan had become an Islamist extremist and, therefore, this was a terrorist act... In the U.S. Army, this is not a matter of constitutional freedom of speech. If Hasan was showing signs, saying to people that he had become an Islamist extremist, the U.S. Army has to have zero tolerance. He should have been gone."<br /><br />So starts the ‘blame game’!<br /><br />So, who is really to blame? The military for cow towing to political correctness and not profiling the shooter from the start? The CIA for not sharing important information about Hasan with the Armed Forces that they apparently had? The soldiers themselves because one of their own once called Hasan a ‘towel head’? President Bush for starting a war in Iraq? Obama for staring one in Afghanistan? Islam? Christians?... Maybe the shooter himself? No, that would be too obvious. The REAL culprit seems to be guns, according to Chicago Mayor Daley. <br /><br />Here’s a quote from Mayor McDumb-ass shortly after the shooting: “Unfortunately, America loves guns. We love guns to a point where that, uh… we see devastation on a daily basis. You don’t blame a group.”<br /><br />Yeah, you don’t blame a group— especially a radically religious group of terrorists hell-bent on the destruction of us and our very freedoms because their "God" told them to. And you certainly don’t blame a person who may or may not belong to a particular group that has the power to vote for you. Because, let’s face it, it’s easier to blame an inanimate object that DOESN’T vote.<br /><br />But yet it was an ARMED police officer that brought this monster down eventually. And, let’s face facts, the damage would have been very much mitigated if even ONE of the victims would have been armed, as well. Unfortunately, even in the military-- unless you are in a combat situation or a Military Police Officer-- you are not authorized to carry a firearm. So the death toll was what it was.<br /><br />Mayor McCheese, with all due respect, guns aren’t to blame. Guns could have AVERTED this cowardly act of terrorism and saved the day!!! <br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SvsVh5jflJI/AAAAAAAAAHw/G0lwArTYHRA/s1600-h/guncontrol.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4HOEkGsf0BU/SvsVh5jflJI/AAAAAAAAAHw/G0lwArTYHRA/s320/guncontrol.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402935850090599570" /></a><br /><br />And, contrary to President Obama’s personal confusion as to how this act could have occurred, it's clear what the root of the problem truly is anyway. And I don’t even need to say it out loud. You and I both know who and what is truly to blame.<br /><br />Still, thank goodness for one thing. Thank goodness the shooter was injured and taken out, but not killed. Instead, he is awake and talking as of 2 days ago. Gee, I wonder if his first words were, "Oh shit! I'm alive?!?!? Those MP’s don’t look like the virgins Allah promised me. *gulp* This can't be good...." And why? To paraphrase the infamous words of Colonel Trautman from Rambo III, “God would have mercy. WE won't." <div><!-- Begin BlogToplist tracker code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/politics/" title="Politics"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/tracker.php?u=72190" alt="Politics" border="0" /></a><noscript><a >http://www.hfarticles.com/weight-loss/">lose</a> weight help</noscript><!-- End BlogToplist tracker code --></div><div> </div><div><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code --><a href="http://www.blogtoplist.com/vote.php?u=72190" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.blogtoplist.com/images/votebutton.gif" alt="Top Blogs" border="0" /></a><!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BlogToplist voting code -->
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<!-- End BlogToplist voting code --></div>Nicholas Meyereshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458842783841458709noreply@blogger.com2