Gun Grabber Hypocrisy Alert

Typical unhinged leftist gun-grabber threatens violence in the name of "peace":
...I would tie Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, our esteemed Republican leaders, to the back of a Chevy pickup truck and drag them around a parking lot until they saw the light on gun control.

Your Papers Please

We've lost it. We're cracked, and the cracks are showing through.

From December 15, 2012, Paragould, AR

Armed task force to patrol streets

In response to a recent increase in crime, Paragould Mayor Mike Gaskill and Police Chief Todd Stovall offered residents at a town hall meeting Thursday night at West View Baptist Church what could be considered an extreme solution — armed officers patrolling the streets on foot.

Ok, that doesn't sound outrageous, what follows just reeks of bizarre however...
Stovall told the group of almost 40 residents that beginning in 2013, the department would deploy a new street crimes unit to high crime areas on foot to take back the streets.

"[Police are] going to be in SWAT gear and have AR-15s around their neck," Stovall said. "If you're out walking, we're going to stop you, ask why you're out walking, check for your ID."

Stovall said while some people may be offended by the actions of his department, they should not be.

"We're going to do it to everybody," he said. "Criminals don't like being talked to."

...

"They may not be doing anything but walking their dog," he said. "But they're going to have to prove it."

...

Normally, police would not stop individuals for simply walking on the street, but Stovall said the level of crime in certain areas and concerns from residents gave his officers the right to institute the actions...

"This fear is what's given us the reason to do this. Once I have stats and people saying they're scared, we can do this," he said. "It allows us to do what we're fixing to do."

Stovall further elaborated on the stop-and-ID policy Friday morning, claiming the city's crime statistics alone met the threshold of reasonable suspicion required to lawfully accost a citizen.

"To ask you for your ID, I have to have a reason," he said. "Well, I've got statistical reasons that say I've got a lot of crime right now, which gives me probable cause to ask what you're doing out. Then when I add that people are scared...then that gives us even more [reason] to ask why are you here and what are you doing in this area."

Stovall said he did not consult an attorney before announcing his plans to combat crime. He even remained undaunted when comparing his proposed tactics with martial law, explaining that "I don't know that there's ever been a difference" between his proposals and martial law.

...

"Anyone that's out walking, because of the crime and the fear factor, [could be stopped]," he said.

Should an individual not produce identification, Stovall said his officers would not back down. Individuals who do not produce identification when asked could be charged with obstructing a governmental operation, according to Stovall. [emphasis mine]


Of course, should they actually attempt this the city would be sued out of existence, and I'm sure criminal charges would also be filed. The blatant attack on Constitutionally guaranteed rights is so obvious, it's almost as if this was some kind of sophomoric hoax.

Well, the point should be noted that tyranny can be exercised at any level, and must be resisted accordingly.

Oh, and I would advise against stopping there for a bite to eat or otherwise when traveling through AR. Just a thought...

And Thus It Began...

Today a 20 year-old murderous ******* went on a killing rampage at a grade school in Connecticut, shooting his mother (a teacher at the school), several other adults, and killing approximately twenty children.

Words cannot convey the loss and pain felt upon learning (and reflecting) about this heinous tragedy.

I don't know the motive yet, maybe no one ever will. It really doesn't matter does it?

No. It does not. Murder was his motive, and murder he did. "As a man thinketh... so is he"

Preliminary reports indicate that this killer was wearing "military tactical clothing", had two handguns, and a ".223 rifle" [not identified, but labeled "assault" rifle]. Without missing a beat, the issue was almost immediately being politicized by the anti-self-defense crowd. They couldn't focus on what really mattered for one day: The victims, the pain, the loss. Not even for just ONE day before turning it into the politics of power & control over law-abiding citizens.

I wrote these thoughts down earlier today, but hesitated to post them anywhere until now but the politicization is sickening me:
The sadness, the loss of this day recalls 9/11 to my mind.

Pray for the victims.
Condemn the murderer.
Proclaim Peace, and hope that more hearts are moved to embrace it.
Above all protect the innocent.

Couldn't we save the politics & finger pointing (against those no way involved in the offense) for another day? Sadly, no. The anti-gun [anti-self-defense] shouting was almost immediate.

Murderers like this will always find a way to commit their atrocities.

Laws, bans, confiscations can't stop them--guns, knives, baseball bats, homemade explosives (made from simple household goods), crashing planes into buildings. What is there that can't be turned to evil purposes? And, the results are the same: Innocent people die. Lives are shattered. Families are ripped apart. The abominations people have committed against each other throughout time are horrific.

Words can be the worst weapon of all, inciting one group to subjugate, kill & maim another.

The devastation a single individual can impose upon others, if they really have mind to, is staggering--and the weapons that can be used for such deeds are virtually infinite.
If just one of the staff had been carrying concealed, just maybe we would not be mourning so many losses today.

ABOVE ALL ELSE, PROTECT THE INNOCENT.

Broke

My Mom left her copy of Glenn Beck's Broke with me. It just reconfirmed what I've already known, although I don't think I was clear on the magnitude of just how broke we really are as a nation. No holds barred, this book. It doesn't matter if you have an R or a D after your name. If a President had part in the financial crisis (that's too tame a word for it, but it will have to do) that we find ourselves in; well he doesn't give them (or us for letting it happen) a pass regardless of affiliation. Rightfully so. I've always said the Reps & Dems were just two sides of the same coin. And thus it is.

I really had a lot of disdain for George W. Bush's policies. He was definitely not a fiscal conservative. I was furious at the end of his term when he bailed out the financial industry from the disasters they had heaped upon themselves--private gains & public losses, a win either way for them, what a sweet deal, huh? Abandoning free market principles to save the free market. What drivel. Obama took that ball and ran with it, and were I in his shoes and held his worldview, I would have done the same--it was a free pass, and he is riding that wave to extreme. Maybe the shift in congressional power can slow him down.

Well, as I say, Beck doesn't hold back and it turns out that GW spent more, ran up more deficits, expanded more entitlements, and enacted more regulations then Clinton (and modern predecessors) ever dreamed of doing! That was an eye opener. I new it was bad, but that bad? TARP was his capstone.

I think only Obama has outdone him in fiscal recklessness in modern times. You will hear no defense of W from me.

I could go on & on regarding suspicions & statements I have made in conversations over the years that square with the research Beck demonstrates in his book. I told my mother, "It's just so sad." And worse, they all know know it. All of them--Presidents, Congress, even some of us who follow these things. They know what's been done in the past. They know what they have done. They know what it means. They cover it up. They have no will to fix any of it. They change their tunes with the change in public mood. Democrat. Republican. From Woodrow Wilson on, there have been precious few who have been willing to take a stand against doomed "progressive" policies and exorbitant, unconstitutional spending we could not afford. I can't believe the U.S. still has a AAA credit rating per S&P. I have the sneaking suspicion that this is mostly artificial. A ratings drop would precipitate market panic world-wide. These artificial props, like the "hidden tax" QE2 recently rammed through the day after election day; they can't last. The music has to be faced at some point. It's going to hurt, really REALLY bad but we need Statesman / Leaders willing to make the tough choices now or we will suffer worse & longer we procrastinate...

What's the answer? Well, as I said with the Bush bailout, (and again) take the pain in the short-term to avoid the worse and longer term economic suffering in the future... but no one has the stomach for it. From politicians on down to the individual--we don't have the national will to take on the challenge. At least I don't see any indicators that we will. The longer we wait to make the very hard decisions to right the ship, the more it will hurt us all in this generation and beyond. Enforce a real cap on the debt ceiling. Force the government to live within it's means--no loopholes for any programs. We have to start somewhere. Stop monetizing the debt. That is a cycle without end, it will amass the ire of the rest of the world and lead to currency / trade wars or worse if it continues. I fear that as with other "empires" in the past we are just this side of moving from hubris excesses into the assured self-destructive implosion of Ate...

Cloward's & Piven's strategy has already panned out. They won. The government entitlement programs have ALREADY overwhelmed it. It hasn't collapsed yet because a) we are artificially propping it up and b) the rest of the world markets are scared to death of an American bankruptcy...

Cloward-Piven Strategy Article Found!

A while back, I wrote about the so-called Cloward-Piven Strategy. The concept is outlined in an article entitled "The Weight of the Poor: A Strategy to End Poverty" published in The Nation magazine, May 2nd 1966.

Basically the idea is to overwhelm welfare & entitlement programs by getting as many people as possible enrolled in them. When the government cannot meet the entitlement demands of the masses, the system collapses. As the "political crisis" deepens, the theory is that the federal government will be forced to implement a socialist agenda which includes a "guaranteed income" for all through the redistribution of wealth:
"A federal program of income redistribution has become necessary to elevate the poor en masse from poverty... The ultimate aim of this strategy is a new program for direct income [re]distribution."
Apparently, it was the best-selling issue of the magazine ever.

I initially wrote that I could not find the article, but later I found a link where you could buy a reprint. Actually, The Nation magazine has the article in it's entirety posted on their website1:


Or if you prefer, it is also available formatted for printing.

If you would like to view the article in it's original format, Google clowardpiven.pdf. Links I found: here & here.

Articles abound linking this agenda to President Obama & his willing cohorts in the legislative branch.

Increases in entitlement programs & governmental spending across the board—stressing already long-eroded governmental resources—will certainly keeps us on the path to bring about the Cloward-Piven "political crisis". A crisis of such magnitude that even they could not have imagined.

1 How it is possible that I could not find the article link previously is a mystery to me. Did Google let me down, or did The Nation website become more amenable to searching? The really funny thing is, I can't find a link to order the reprint anymore!

American Thinker: It's the Constitution that's Radicalizing Our Politicians

American Thinker: It's the Constitution that's Radicalizing Our Politicians

This is a very interesting take on the state of the legislature of the United States. Repeal the 17th Amendment (good luck) and return to Article I Section 3. Get real representation for the interests of each State instead of having BOTH Houses pandering to the masses. Bring balance back.

He's right. If we don't, it's going to be a ping-pong match of ruling parties. Your out, I'm in. I'm in, now you're out. Over & over again...

See www.restorefederalism.org

It makes sense that this should be a non-partisan organization. If the goal were achieved it would be beneficial to the country and keep the radicals of all stripes at bay.