Nanny State says Dorms MUST allow Pets

Posted on May 18, 2013 by

good_dogAs if there weren’t enough dogs on campus as it were (yes, I’m talking about the college frat boys who attempt to mount anything that moves), the Federal Government now says that College Dormitories MUST allow ‘emotional support’ animals into school housing. The incident arose after a University of Nebraska student, Brittany Hamilton, requested permission to keep her 4-pound miniature pinscher in her school-owned apartment. The young lady, clearly suffering from an entitlement complex, said that the dog helps her cope with anxiety and depression.

Says Wall Street Journal, “Housing providers must offer people with disabilities a ‘reasonable accommodation’ for emotional support animals under both the Fair Housing Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said in a notice to its regional offices late last month. The laws apply to a range of public and private housing, including dwellings ‘associated with a university or other place of  education,’ the notice says. The term ‘disability’ is defined broadly as ‘a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.’”

So now we can all pat ourselves on the back for another outstanding triumph of Civil Rights and the Egalitarian manifesto of the Federal Government, because equality has once again been achieved. And as one commenter to the article snidely asked, “Can I keep emotional support hookers and blow?”

As Dan Mitchell states at International Liberty, this is “another great development in ‘human rights’ around the world. Indeed, it belongs with these momentous breakthroughs. In France, it’s against the law to say a husband is under-endowed or that your wife is fat. Across Europe, a satellite dish is now a human right. In Finland, broadband access is a basic right. There’s now an entitlement for free soccer broadcasts in Europe. In Italy, you have the right to…um…your testicles. And both the United Nations and the Obama Administration think there’s a right to taxpayer-financed birth control.”

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Not just Detroit: The Federal Government’s role in ruining our Cities

Posted on May 17, 2013 by

detroit-then-now“Detroit was betrayed by a lack of political vision, torn asunder by racial conflict, and devastated by deindustrialization. Detroit’s problems peaked in the late 1960s and the 1970s. Since then the city has struggled to recover, to build a new economy and a new polity. However noble the goals, though, these efforts have failed to reverse Detroit’s deterioration. Motown remains in the grip of the crisis that began fifty years ago.” Kevin Boyle, “The Ruins of Detroit: Exploring the Urban Crisis in the Motor City,” Michigan Historical Review (2001)

Amidst the reports of Detroit on the brink of financial collapse, Huffington Post reports that, “Detroit’s net cash position – the amount of money in the bank after bills are paid – was a negative $162 million as of April 26. The budget deficit that a few months ago was believed to be about $327 million could reach $386 million before July 1. The city also owes more than $400 million, including $124 million for public improvement projects. Its long-term debt tops $14 billion.”

So what has been the problem with Detroit? MLive (Michigan) reports on the O’Reilly segment on Detroit, stating that Fox News Producer Jesse Watters told O’Reilly that, “Half a million people have left Detroit in the last 50 years. It’s white flight. Eighty-five percent of the city is black. There are no jobs anymore. They said the auto industry bailout worked. It didn’t, 200,000 jobs have been lost. There’s no plants, half the plants have gone. And there’s just crime all over the city.”

I found this particularly interesting, as this has been a problem in the urban core of St. Louis and Kansas City. Once flourishing urban areas have become virtual war zones of crime and extreme poverty. Possibly considering the Federal Government’s role in prompting White flight (through forced desegregation and other progressive experimentation), I turned to Sidney Fine’s, Violence in the Model City: The Cavanaugh Administration, Race Relations, and the Detroit Riot of 1967. Evidently in 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson ‘s Great Society helped launch the Model Cities Program, which pumped Federal money into 150 cities in order to fund experimental antipoverty programs and alternative forms of municipal government. Detroit was one of the largest Model Cities Projects, and received $490 million for the Federal revitalizing of a nine square mile section of the city. However, in 1974, major race riots broke out in many of the cities utilizing the Model City Program, and Detroit itself witness the 12th Street Riot in July 1967. The result was 43 dead, 467 injured, over 7,200 arrests, and more than 2,000 buildings destroyed. Thousands of small businesses closed permanently or relocated to safer neighborhoods, and the affected district lay in ruins for decades.

Additionally, there’s been the issue of internal governmental corruption amongst Detroit’s leadership. For instance, Detroit Free Press discusses prior Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who “has been behind bars since March 11, when a federal jury in Detroit convicted him and codefendant contractor and friend Bobby Ferguson of more than 30 counts combined for running a criminal enterprise through the mayor’s office. Ferguson also is being detained as both men face up to 20 years in prison, maybe more.”

USA Today also writes of Detroit Councilwoman Monica Conyers being “sentenced in 2010 to 37 months in prison after pleading guilty to accepting money in exchange for her vote on a $1.2-billion sludge-hauling deal. She was initially sentenced at a federal prison camp in West Virginia dubbed Camp Cupcake for its cozy, sorority-like setting in the countryside.” Read the article on Detroit corruption here

And lastly, there’s been the issue of lazy financial mismanagement amongst city administration perhaps waiting for another Governmental Bailout. USA Today (May 16, 2013) states that, “Four trustees of Detroit’s two public pension funds are heading to a Hawaiian beach resort this weekend with their $22,000 tab paid for by the funds, which are mired in claims of mismanagement and said to be at least $600 million underfunded.” Read the article on Detroit’s Trustees here

So we have to wonder. Has the Federal Government’s humanist Supreme Court mandates and tax-payer funded special interest programs created a people who have difficulty adhering to foundational truth, thinking for themselves, and working hard without the prospect of a handout or a false elevation in status?

Read More:

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Tom Woods Liberty Classroom

Posted on May 12, 2013 by

Most of us learned politically correct U.S. history in school. The economics was at least as bad. It’s never too late to learn the truth.

At Liberty Classroom, you can learn real U.S. history, Western civilization, and free-market economics from professors you can trust. I know, because I’m a member of the Liberty Classroom, and can vouch for the excellent classes (a year’s subscription is $99). I especially enjoy listening to the discussions on American History via my ipod while driving to and from work.

Short on time? No problem. You can learn in your car like I do. Got questions about what you’re learning? Get them answered in our discussion forums. Plus monthly live sessions, recommended readings, optional quizzes, and, coming soon, even more courses. Additionally, if you join Liberty Classroom before May 31, 2013 – you’ll get a free book (Kevin Gutzman’s New York Times bestseller The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution).

Find out more about Tom Woods Liberty Classroom!

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The Nanny-State Super Citizen

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

nannyToday, through the global standing army operating under the banner of the U.S. Federal Government, we’ve grown accustomed  towards the forging of a special class of citizen. Through intense training, Federal benefit programs, Federal decrees, Executive Orders, the bonds of service, veterans groups, statues,  monuments, and so on -  the U.S. multicultural soldier has almost become the very picture of an idealized American. One in which maybe – just maybe – civilians have become second class.

Even the great Federalist James Madison believed that, “In time of actual war, great discretionary powers are constantly given to the Executive Magistrate. Constant apprehension of War, has the same tendency to render the head too large for the body. A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defence against foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home.” – Speech, Constitutional Convention (1787-06-29)

However, Chuck Baldwin (radio broadcaster, syndicated columnist, and pastor) pointedly notes that, “For the most part, the sentiments of our founders ring hollow to modern Americans who, ever since World War II, have glorified, idolized, and practically even worshipped the standing US military.”

In Congressional Budget Office 2013 budget request, for example, the Department of Defense (DoD) requested about $150,000,000,000 (150 billion) to fund the pay and benefits of current and retired members of the armed services.

And according to “Today’s Military” (produced by the United States Department of Defense), an enlisted individual without college experience or a family can earn and estimated $28,377 to $49,741. But for those soldiers who do wish to pursue higher education, there’s tuition assistance (Tuition Assistance pays for up to 100 percent of the cost of tuition or expenses, up to a maximum of $250 per credit and a personal maximum of $4,500 per fiscal year per student), loan repayment programs, and service member opportunity colleges.

Upon retirement, Service members can retire with full benefits after 20 years of service, which is far earlier than most civilian jobs. They can utilize a Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), which is a government-managed retirement savings and investment plan that works similarly to a 401(k) plan. And the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides dozens of federal benefits to veterans and their dependents, including VA home loans that are guaranteed by the federal government. Other VA programs include educational assistance and disability compensation.

Active-duty servicemembers receive free medical and dental care. In addition, the spouse and dependent children of an active-duty servicemember may enroll in military health care. Life insurance can help protect a family’s financial stability. Active-duty servicemembers may select up to $400,000 in Service Group Life Insurance

In addition to standard military benefits, servicemembers also experience various unofficial perks. For instance, in recognition and support of those involved in the Service, many companies extend special military discounts. The Military also offers discounted vacation and leisure opportunities to its servicemembers and their families. And there’s plenty of on-base entertainment resources available to servicemembers and their families, which include gyms, movie theaters, bowling alleys and parks.

So in the end, should we the people be concerned towards those who have been given special advantages by the Government, taught to obey orders without question, to keep their personal beliefs in check, and to possibly even turn their weapons upon citizens who don’t uphold the same values as their Commander-in-Chief?

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U.S. Empire funds “Arab Spring”, creates instability – and plays a role in the deaths of 70,000 Syrians

Posted on May 10, 2013 by

obamasyriaAt a recent joint press conference (May 7, 2013) with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, President Obama touched upon Syria, saying the US has “both a moral obligation and national security interest in ending the slaughter in Syria, but also ensuring that we’ve got a stable Syria.” Yeah….good one Obama. Especially when we consider the U.S. Federal Government’s role in funding, and training people to bring instability to the Middle East. And we wonder why they have a problem with the U.S. Empire’s meddling in their affairs….

But first, for those living under a rock, the Syrian Civil War began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were part of the wider Middle Eastern protest movement known as the Arab Spring. Two years later, the United Nations released an estimate that the war’s death toll had exceeded 60,000; on February 12 of 2013, this figure was updated to 70,000.

Now, as for the U.S. Government’s role in promoting instability throughout the region: In an April 2011 article published by the New York Times titled, “U.S. Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings,” it was stated: “A number of the groups and individuals directly involved in the revolts and reforms sweeping the region, including the April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and grass-roots activists like Entsar Qadhi, a youth leader in Yemen, received training and financing from groups like the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House, a nonprofit human rights organization based in Washington.”

The article would also add, regarding the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED): “The Republican and Democratic institutes are loosely affiliated with the Republican and Democratic Parties. They were created by Congress and are financed through the National Endowment for Democracy, which was set up in 1983 to channel grants for promoting democracy in developing nations. The National Endowment receives about $100 million annually from Congress. Freedom House also gets the bulk of its money from the American government, mainly from the State Department. ”

  • Read an April 2011 AFP report :US government has budgeted $50 million in the last two years to help activists protect themselves from authoritarian governments. The US also organized training sessions for 5,000 activists in different parts of the world, including Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon who returned to their countries with the aim of training their colleagues there.

Global Research perfectly states the hypocrisy of the U.S. Empire’s role in promoting “Democracy” when it says, “Let us note and expose the perversion of ideals such as “representative governance” cheaply reduced to “democracy” or “mob rule,” and the obscene abuse of concepts such as “free speech” and “human rights” by organizations like NED and Freedom House who have themselves engineered conflicts that have resulted in genocide, state-sponsored terrorism, codified torture and indefinite detention as well as everything else that crawls out from beneath the rocks of Wall Street and London’s brand of corporate-fascism and its willing servants in America’s “Neo-Conservative” establishment and more recently Obama’s supposedly “liberal” presidency.”

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Missouri Legislature Nullifies All Federal Gun Control Measures by a Veto-Proof Majority

Posted on May 10, 2013 by

SecondAmendmentFrom Michael Boldin at Tenth Amendment Center: Jefferson City, Mo (May 8, 2013) – Last night, the Missouri State House voted to send Governor Jay Nixon what could arguably be the strongest defense against federal gun control measures in American history.  The vote was 116-38.

HB436, introduced by Representative Doug Funderburk in February, was initially passed by the House in April by a vote of 115-42.  Last week, the State Senate approved the bill with an amendment which did not change any of its nullification aspects. The vote there was 26-6.  The bill then needed one final vote in the house which happened just before 10pm local time this evening.

The votes in both the House and Senate are by a strong veto-proof majority.  Local activist Matt Radcliffe acknowledged as much when he said, “Governor Nixon can do nothing and it will automatically become law July 1st.  Or he can sign it into law. Or he can veto it then his veto will be overridden in the house and it will become law anyway!”

As law, HB436 would nullify virtually every federal gun control measure on the books – or planned for the future (Read the bill text HERE).

The legislation also includes misdemeanor criminal penalties if agents of the federal government attempt to enact gun control measures that violate the Constitution of the United States and State Constitution of Missouri.

The immediate effect of the law would be as follows:

  1. All state and local law enforcement would be required to stop enforcing, or even providing any assistance in enforcing, federal gun control measures – all of them.
  2. Grassroots activists should immediately start pressing local governments – county, city and town – to pass an ordinance which a) states an unwavering dedication to the new law passed, and b) requires all local law enforcement and all government assets to immediately cease in the enforcement of federal gun control measures.
  3. Eric Holder will likely send a letter to threaten the state if it decides to enforce the penalty provisions of the act.
  4. Other states will gain the courage to follow the lead started by Kansas, and now Missouri – and pass similar laws.

LEGAL INFORMATION ON REFUSING TO ENFORCE

There is absolutely ZERO serious dispute about the fact that the federal government cannot “commandeer” the states to carry out its laws.  None. Even the Supreme Court has affirmed this multiple times.

  • In the 1992 case, New York v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress couldn’t require states to enact specified waste disposal regulations.
  • In the 1997 case, Printz v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government could not command state law enforcement authorities to conduct background checks on prospective handgun purchasers.
  • In the 2012 case, National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, the Supreme Court ruled that a significant expansion of Medicaid was not a valid exercise of Congress’s spending power, as it would coerce states to either accept the expansion or risk losing existing Medicaid funding.

In each of these cases, the Supreme Court made is quite clear that their opinion is that the federal government cannot require the states to act, or even coerce them to act through a threat to lose funding.  Their opinion is correct.  If the feds pass a law, they can sure try to enforce it if they want.  But the states absolutely do NOT have to help them in any way.

Read the entire post at Tenth Amendment Center: Missouri Legislature Nullifies All Federal Gun Control Measures

Also read at The New American: Missouri House of Reps Passes Powerful Nullification of Federal Gun Grab

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Yep, the Fed’s Propaganda Machine is running full tilt…

Posted on May 7, 2013 by

obamaThe Glorious ruler of the United State Empire, Barack Obama, delivered a most spectacular commencement address to the graduating class of Ohio State University on May 5, 2013. The event, which took place in Columbus, Ohio, was met with tears of joy from the crowd when King Obama stated the following:

“Unfortunately, you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all our problems. Some of these same voices also do their best to gum up the works. They’ll warn that tyranny always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices. Because what they suggest is that our brave, and creative, and unique experiment in self-rule is somehow just a sham with which we can’t be trusted.“

At this point, the crowd was thankfully ignorant of the Founding Father’s ridiculous notions on tyranny, and how many of these early leaders gummed up the works plenty when they stood against the Empire of their day. Obama continued:

“We have never been a people who place all our faith in government to solve our problems. We shouldn’t want to. But we don’t think the government is the source of all our problems, either. Because we understand that this democracy is ours. And as citizens, we understand that it’s not about what America can do for us, it’s about what can be done by us, together, through the hard and frustrating but absolutely necessary work of self-government. And class of 2013, you have to be involved in that process.”

And as the crowd erupted into applause, completely blinded by the false belief that the Empire is a “Democracy”, when in actuality it was once a “Republic” – all went home that day deluded into thinking that self-government means working together in peace, harmony, and the forced unity of our benevolent Federal System.

To watch Obama’s beautiful speech, please see Real Clear Politics: Obama to Grads, Reject the voices that warn of Tyranny

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