Who Stood with Rand Paul...and Who Didn't...

Here is the list of Senators who stood with Rand Paul in his stunning filibuster of the Senate last night.

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Pat Toomey (R-Penn.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wy.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)

Here is the list of Senators who would rather have dinner with Obama than #StandWithRand.

Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Bob Corker (R-TN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Dan Coats (R-IN), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Mike Johanns (R-NE).

Let this be a reminder to voters when election time comes around about which politicians really care about the rights of the citizens...and who doesn't.

via The Blaze

Sick and Twisted

I'd like to dare all of the sick and twisted people who are honoring Hugo Chavez right now to go live in Venezuela for a year and then tell me how wonderful he was (as soon as you've recovered).

An Awesome Story

Once upon a time there was a band called Whiteheart.  During their first four years, the band leaders struggled to find a lead singer.  One guy quit, another didn't work out, still another backslid, and so on.  They had started giving auditions again, when they found their tour bus driver singing and dancing to one of their songs up on stage.  His name was Rick Florian. 

(Whiteheart's most famous albums were produced with Florian as the lead singer.)

Time for a Third Party?

The only time a third party has ever risen to power in the United States was when the Republican Party defeated the Whig Party and the Democratic-Republican Party with the election of Abraham Lincoln.  Why? Because both the Whig Party and Democratic-Republican Party endorsed some form of slavery, and only the Republican Party was against it.  When both political parties endorse the same behaviors, it is time for a third party.

Why Women Should NOT Be Allowed in Combat

Why should women not be allowed to serve in combat? 1. A 130lb woman cannot carry a 225lb wounded man off the battlefield. 2. The fact that a woman can be raped will be used by the enemy in order to manipulate/torture our forces. 3. It does not promote unit cohesion.  If the only reason that women desire to be in combat is to be promoted to higher levels in the military, then these reasons are selfish as they are putting their own desires above what is best for the military.

Special thanks to Michael Savage. Listen his entire argument here: http://ow.ly/humpT

Abuses and Usurpations

"Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

-The Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence vs. Progressivism

The modern definition of equality is incompatible with the Declaration’s definition because the Declaration states that “all men are created equal” meaning that they are all born with the same human rights that the government is required to respect.  The modern definition is that all men are not created equal and the government needs to step in and via redistribution, make them equal.

Obama's Desire: To Usurp the Constitution

Within the next few days (if not tomorrow) the president of the United States is going to try to usurp the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution with 19 executive orders.  Quite frankly, I don't care if he issues 200 executive orders; if they are unconstitutional, no one is required to follow them. The president has no right to take away legislative powers and give them to himself. Nor does the legislative branch have the right to give away their enumerated powers and give them to the executive branch.

Letter to Democrats that are Surprised that Their Taxes Went Up

Dear (insert name that voted for Obama), 

You have no right to complain about how your income is less and your taxes are higher. I (and others) have tried to explain time and time again that a vote for Obama is a vote for higher taxes--the welfare state that you desire cannot sustain itself otherwise! However, you refused to listen and voted for him anyway. Basically, I'm trying to say in the nicest way possible: you made your bed, now sleep in it. 

Respectfully yours, one ticked off Kelly.

My apologies to anyone that was made nervous by this post.

Defying Progressivism

"About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers...."

Calvin Coolidge

My Favorite Place on Earth

Driving Down the Hill from Cal State East Bay

My Run-In With A Liberal, and Talk About Oil

I recently got into a discussion on Facebook with a friend of mine from high school regarding the history of oil and gas prices.  He believes that "green" energy is the only way to become energy independent and that the U.S. is unfairly using more than it's share of the world's oil, citing the alleged fact that we produce 20% of the supply but use 80% of it.  This was my rather lengthy reply.

In 1973 the Nixon administration (yes a Republican) began over-regulating the production of oil in the U.S. making it necessary to increase foreign imports (up to 35% of U.S. consumption). In the same year, the U.S. sent military assistance to Israel who had been attacked by members of OPEC.  In retaliation OPEC placed an oil embargo on the U.S. and increased the price for other nations by 70%. Oil in the U.S. then had to be rationed to the people (you could only get gas at certain times, and never on Sundays). 

Since then, more and more regulations have been put on U.S. production of oil starting with Carter's MEOW initiative and creation of the Department of Energy, making it harder and harder to drill for domestic oil and causing us to be more and more dependent on foreign oil. This is not, as some would have us believe, because we are "running out of oil." The U.S. is sitting on one of the largest oil reservoirs in the world, an estimated 2.3 trillion barrels (300 years) worth to be exact. It is current technology and excessive regulation that is preventing us from getting at it.   

The 20% and 80% figures that the Obama used in his reelection speech are blatantly stretched considering that those figures only apply to current tapped reserves; they do not include the amount of oil that is not being drilled or used in the current economy. So yes the U.S. government is being selfish because we refuse to drill for our own oil and would rather drain the supplies of other nations instead.

Special thanks to: Buy and Hold, Antenna Group, and Kiplinger.

Was America Founded a Christian Nation?

There are two ideologies regarding America’s religious heritage: 1. that it was founded on a Christian belief system, or 2. that it was founded on the separation of church and state.  The belief that America was founded as a Christian nation dates back to the Providential Religious philosophy, which states that America’s success was granted by God because it was founded in order to be the proverbial “city on a hill” to be an example of Christianity to the rest of the world.  Evidence used to support this theory is found in the Puritan’s quest from Britain in order to escape persecution from religious tyrants.  The Puritan’s desired the freedom to worship God in the way that they saw fit, and not the way that a king or a totalitarian religious leader told them to (similar to the modern day Catholic controversy).  This thesis does not speak for all people that came to America or the natives of the American continent, and therefore cannot be conclusive evidence that the United States was founded solely as a Christian nation.

The belief that America was founded on the belief in separation of church and state is based in part in the Providential Secular philosophy.  This view states that the Constitution was written in the heart of the Enlightenment period, where religion became less popular and “science” and “logic” replaced it as the socially acceptable school of thought.  The phrase “separation of church and state” is not actually mentioned in the Constitution, but was a phrase that Thomas Jefferson used in a letter to the Danbury Baptists to assure them that the new government would not interfere with their religious practices.  Many who subscribe to the separation of church and state view believe that this works both ways and that the church should not have anything to do with the government either.  History provides evidence to the contrary however, with the examples of churches run on a state level in colonial Massachusetts and Maryland.  These state funded churches were considered acceptable; it was the federal or nationally mandated churches that the American people wanted protection from.

            It is difficult to take the small section of the colonial population (the Puritans) or the colonial equivalent to an email reply from one of the Founding Fathers and base an entire nation’s religious views on just that information.  However, I am more inclined to belief that America was founded as an essentially Christian nation, as the European founders that wrote the Constitution did not base their value system on Islam, Buddhism, Eastern mysticism, or any other religion besides Christianity.  The very words of the 1^st Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” indicates that the founders desired to be free to practice religion, not be separated or protected from it.  56 men signed the Declaration of Independence, and 52 of them were indeed active members of their respective churches.  While not all of the colonists, natives, or even the founders themselves were Christians, the United States Constitution was in large part based on Christian principles and values which is why they are such a controversy today.

Why I'm Against Abortion

"No anesthetic is suggested for the fetus, although it is a legal requirement for the termination domestic animals..."  -Laury Browning

 

 

 

 

 

Photo via Jan Muga

The Politically Correct 12 Days of Christmas

 via Joke-Archives

On the 12th day of the Eurocentrically imposed midwinter festival, my Significant Other in a consenting adult, monogamous relationship gave to me:

• TWELVE males reclaiming their inner warrior through ritual drumming,
• ELEVEN pipers piping (plus the 18-member pit orchestra made up of members in good standing of the Musicians Equity Union as called for in their union contract even though they will not be asked to play a note),
• TEN melanin deprived testosterone-poisoned scions of the patriarchal ruling class system leaping,
• NINE persons engaged in rhythmic self-expression,
• EIGHT economically disadvantaged female persons stealing milk-products from enslaved Bovine-Americans,
• SEVEN endangered swans swimming on federally protected wetlands,
• SIX enslaved Fowl-Americans producing stolen non-human animal products,
• FIVE golden symbols of culturally sanctioned enforced domestic incarceration, (NOTE: after members of the Animal Liberation Front threatened to throw red paint at my computer, the calling birds, French hens and partridge have been reintroduced to their native habitat. To avoid further Animal-American enslavement, the remaining gift package has been revised.)
• FOUR hours of recorded whale songs
• THREE deconstructionist poets
• TWO Sierra Club calendars printed on recycled processed tree carcasses and...
• ONE Spotted Owl activist chained to an old-growth pear tree.

Merry Christmas. Happy Chanukah. Good Kwanzaa. Blessed Yule. Happy Holidays!!!! (unless otherwise prohibited by law) * *Unless, of course, you are suffering from Seasonally Affected Disorder (SAD). If this be the case, please substitute this gratuitous call for celebration with suggestion that you have a thoroughly adequate day.

A Christmas/Easter Story

"Barrington Bunny" by Martin Bell

Once upon a time in a large forest there lived a very furry bunny. He had one lop ear, a tiny black nose, and unusually shiny eyes. His name was Barrington. Barrington was not really a very handsome bunny. He was brown and speckled and his ears didn't stand up right. But he could hop, and he was, as I have said, very furry.
In a way, winter is fun for bunnies. After all, it gives them an opportunity to hop in the snow and then turn around to see where they have hopped. So, in a way, winter was fun for Barrington.
But in another way winter made Barrington sad. For, you see, winter marked the time where all of the animal families got together in their cozy homes to celebrate Christmas. He could hop, and he was very furry. But as far as Barrington knew, he was the only bunny in the forest.
When Christmas Eve finally came, Barrington did not feel like going home all by himself. So he decided he would hop for awhile in the clearing at the center of the forest.
Hop. Hop. Hippity-hop. Barrington made tracks in the fresh snow.
Hop. Hop. Hippity-hop. Then he cocked his head and looked back at the wonderful designs he had made.
"Bunnies," he thought to himself, "can hop. And they are very warm, too, because of how furry they are."
(But Barrington didn't really know whether or not this was true of all bunnies, since he had never met another bunny.)
When it got too dark to see the tracks he was making, Barrington made up his mind to go home.

On his way, however, he passed a large oak tree. High in the branches there was a great deal of excited chattering going on. Barrington looked up. It was a squirrel family! What a marvelous time they seemed to be having.
"Hello, up there," called Barrington.
"Hello, down there," came the reply.
"Having a Christmas party?" asked Barrington.
"Oh, yes!" answered the squirrels. "It's Christmas Eve. Everybody is having a Christmas party!"
"May I come to your party?" said Barrington softly.
"Are you a squirrel?"
"No."
"What are you, then?"
"A bunny."
"A bunny?"
"Yes."
"Well, how can you come to the party if you're a bunny? Bunnies can't climb trees."
"That's true," said Barrington thoughtfully. "But I can hop and I'm very furry and warm."
"We're sorry," called the squirrels. "We don't know anything about hopping and being furry, but we do know that in order to come to our house you have to be able to climb trees."
"Oh, well," said Barrington. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," chattered the squirrels.
And the unfortunate bunny hopped off toward his tiny house.
It was beginning to snow when Barrington reached the river. Near the river bank was a wonderfully constructed house of sticks and mud. Inside there was singing.
 "It's the beavers," thought Barrington. "Maybe they will let me come to their party."
And so he knocked on the door.
"Who's out there?" called a voice.
"Barrington Bunny," he replied.
There was a long pause and then a shiny beaver head broke the water.
"Hello, Barrington," said the beaver.
"May I come to your Christmas party?" asked Barrington.
The beaver thought for awhile and then he said, "I suppose so. Do you know how to swim?"
 "No," said Barrington, "but I can hop and I am very furry and warm."
"Sorry," said the beaver. "I don't know anything about hopping and being furry, but I do know that in order to come to our house you have to be able to swim."
"Oh, well," Barrington muttered, his eyes filling with tears. "I suppose that's true-Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," called the beaver. And he disappeared beneath the surface of the water.
Even as furry as he was, Barrington was starting to get cold. And the snow was falling so hard that his tiny, bunny eyes could scarcely see what was ahead of him.
He was almost home, however, when he heard the excited squeaking of field mice beneath the ground.
"It's a party," thought Barrington. And suddenly he blurted out through his tears, "Hello, field mice. This is Barrington Bunny. May I come to your party?"
But the wind was howling so loudly and Barrington was sobbing so much that no one heard him.
And when there was no response at all, Barrington just sat down in the snow and began to cry with all his might.
"Bunnies," he thought, aren't any good to anyone. What good is it to be furry and to be able to hop if you don't have any family on Christmas Eve?"
Barrington cried and cried. When he stopped crying he began to bite on his bunny's foot, but he did not move from where he was sitting in the snow.
Suddenly, Barrington was aware he was not alone. He looked up and strained his shiny eyes to see who was there.
 To his surprise he saw a great silver wolf. The wolf was large and strong and his eyes flashed fire. He was the most beautiful animal Barrington had ever seen.
For a long time the silver wolf didn't say anything at all. He just stood there and looked at Barrington with those terrible eyes.
Then slowly and deliberately the wolf spoke. "Barrington," he asked in a gentle voice, "why are you sitting in the snow?"
"Because it's Christmas Eve," said Barrington, "and I don't have any family, and bunnies aren't any good to anyone."
"Bunnies are, too, good," said the wolf. "Bunnies can hop and they are very warm."
"What good is that?" Barrington sniffed.
"It is very good indeed," the wolf went on, "because it is a gift that bunnies are given, a free gift with no strings attached. And every gift that is given to anyone is given for a reason. Someday you will see why it is good to hop and to be warm and furry."
"But it's Christmas," moaned Barrington, "and I'm all alone. I don't have any family at all."
"Of course you do," replied the great silver wolf. "All of the animals in the forest are your family."
And then the wolf disappeared. He simply wasn't there. Barrington had only blinked his eyes, and when he looked-the wolf was gone.
"All of the animals in the forest are my family," thought Barrington. "It's good to be a bunny. Bunnies can hop. That's a gift." And then he said it again. "A gift. A free gift."
On in the night Barrington worked. First he found the best stick he could. (And that was difficult because of the snow.)
Then hop. Hop. Hippity-hop. To beaver's house. He left the stick just outside the door. With a note on it that read: "Here is a good stick for your house. It is a gift. A free gift. No strings attached. Signed, a member of your family."
"It is a good thing that I can hop, he thought, "because the snow is very deep."
Then Barrington dug and dug. Soon he had gathered together enough dead leaves and grass to make the squirrels' nest warmer. Hop. Hop. Hippity-hop.
He laid the grass and leaves just under the large oak tree and attached this message: "A gift. A free gift. From a member of your family."
It was late when Barrington finally started home. And what made things worse was that he knew a blizzard was beginning.
Hop. Hop. Hippity-hop.
Soon poor Barrington was lost. The wind howled furiously, and it was very, very cold. "It certainly is cold," he said out loud. "It's a good thing I'm so furry. But if I don't find my way home pretty soon I might freeze!"
 Squeak. Squeak. . . .
And then he saw it-a baby field mouse lost in the snow. And the little mouse was crying.
"Hello, little mouse," Barrington called.
"Don't cry. I'll be right there." Hippity-hop, and Barrington was beside the tiny mouse.
"I'm lost," sobbed the little fellow. "I'll never find my way home, and I know I'm going to freeze."
"You won't freeze," said Barrington. "I'm a bunny and bunnies are very furry and warm. You stay right where you are and I'll cover you up."
Barrington lay on top of the little mouse and hugged him tight. The tiny fellow felt himself surrounded by warm fur. He cried for awhile but soon, snug and warm, he fell asleep.
Barrington had only two thoughts that long, cold night. First he thought, "It's good to be a bunny. Bunnies are very furry and warm." And then, when he felt the heart of the tiny mouse beating regularly, he thought, "All the animals in the forest are my family."

Next morning, the field mice found their little boy, asleep in the snow, warm and snug beneath the furry carcass of a dead bunny. Their relief and excitement was so great that they didn't even think to question where the bunny had come from. And as for the beavers and the squirrels, they still wonder which member of their family left the little gift for them that Christmas Eve.
After the field mice had left, Barrington's frozen body simply lay in the snow. There was no sound except that of the howling wind. And no one anywhere in the forest noticed the great silver wolf who came to stand beside that brown, lop-eared carcass.

But the wolf did come.
And he stood there.
Without moving or saying a word.
All Christmas Day.
Until it was night.
And then he disappeared into the forest."

My New Favorite Band

Follow them on twitter @BWband