patriot act

[Shaun]

good going ruf

[Sniper[MI]]

Originally posted by Lord Shrike
Using your logic than would you put Marsha Clark in prison for life for prosecuting OJ Simpson?

I think she shoulda been fired for botching the case, and I think there is some validity to the case where if a frivilous lawsuit is filed and lost, then the lawyers and the person who filed a frivilous or false charge should have to go away.

But to make that too strong, no one would turn anyone in for any reason.

Follow the constitution as written, it was done right the first time........

I would not want Marcia Clark on my side in a court of law, but I would not mind her on my side of the bed!

[Rufus Rhastus J]

Shaun, I'm honored to be recognized by the moderator! Thank you for your approval. By the way, good idea to close that "other" thread. Might have lead to loud voices!:nod:

Alms', Alms', gasoline soaked and burning tires.....

[grizzly]

Land of the Free, Home of the Slave
by Steven Greenhut


America is such a wonderfully free country that I thoroughly understand why the Bush administration, like the Clinton administration before it, is so eager to take our freedoms and spread them across the globe. Without the U.S. government, backwards peoples will have to labor on in their own delusions, never understanding what true liberty is all about.

I am so free. If I want to paint my house, or build a deck out back, or install a new air-conditioning system, I am free to call the building inspector and get his approval first. If I want to put a new toilet in the bathroom, I am free to buy only the low-flow toilets the government approves. I am free to buy a property near the beach, provided the government Coastal Commission approves whatever I want to do with that property. That approval might take decades, and the final thing that I build will be what the commissioners want there, not what I want, but I am free nonetheless.

I know I am free because this is America. And America is a free country – the best one in the whole darned world. If you don’t like our freedoms, you should move somewhere else.

Any other questions?

Unlike those pathetic souls in other less-free and non-free countries, I am free to open my own business, provided I pay my employees the minimum salary demanded by the government, and give them overtime in the exact proportion stated by the government, and offer them breaks that conform exactly to the standards set by government. I can operate my business in complete freedom, provided that I meet every one of the hundreds of pages of air-quality standards promulgated by the state and federal governments.

I am free to offer my employees any benefits I choose, provided they are ones approved by the government. I am free to operate my building in compliance with all the building codes and standards defined by the government. I am free to place a sign on that business provided it conforms to the city’s sign ordinance. I am free to hire a lawyer to defend against the government’s charges that I discriminate because I have fewer minority employees than the government says I should have. I am free to pay a $100,000 fine if I complain that a male employee suddenly is showing up in dresses.

I am free to have exactly the same number of parking spaces the government says I should have, and to follow the specific standards the government established when it gave me a conditional-use permit. True freedom always has conditions. I am free to vote in elections, provided that the ethnic balance of those elected conforms to the dictates of the Justice Department. I am free to invest money in the stock market provided I don’t take advice from anyone who knows any real information about the stock. If I do, I am free to spend several years behind bars. I am free to pay half my earnings in taxes. You know what they say, taxes are what we pay for a civilized society. Civilized and free. What more could a person ask for?

I am free to get to work on government-built and managed roads, in a car that meets government safety and pollution standards. I am free to pay hundreds of dollars a year in car taxes and gas taxes. I am free to borrow money from a bank to pay these taxes provided that the lender meets every government code and offers special terms to those people the government says should get special terms. I am free to send my children to the government-run schools, where they are taught whatever the government wants them to learn. I am free to raise them exactly as the government demands, or watch child protective services take them from me and give them to a foster parent.

I am free to get on an airplane and fly anywhere I want in this free country, provided that I let a government employee search my stuff and even my person. I am free to tell the federal government exactly how much I earn and let agents audit me and take me off to jail if I fail to tell them every source of income.

I am free to take any drug I need or please provided it is sold by a pharmacist or a drug store. I am free to work in any sort of profession, provided that I gain the proper government-granted licenses. If I work in manufacturing, I am free to give a union a lot of money or am free to find another job. I am free to hand over my property and take a pittance in return for it when the government uses eminent domain on behalf of a politically well-connected developer.

I am free to have a dog provided I buy him a government-issued license. I am not free to own a ferret, although in truth I hate those nasty little critters and don’t really want one. I am free to let a police officer search my car for any reason. I am free to let federal agents search my property, tap my phone lines, look at my library records.

I am free to live my life in total freedom provided that all my choices are approved by government, all my earnings are taxed by government, and all my moves are subject to close examination by government. No wonder the Iraqi people are so eager for their American overseers to show them how this freedom thing is done.



September 18, 2003

Steven Greenhut (send him mail) is a senior editorial writer and columnist for the Orange County Register.

Copyright © 2003 LewRockwell.com

[Rave]

DANG! I do believe he has summed it up rather well,and it just gets better every day!

[Shaun]

I didn't do anything Ruf -- I am not the moderator of this area

[Rufus Rhastus J]

There many things that depress me also. We won't go into it because, well, just because..... But, i did want to say after reading your list of grievences, you are correct! many would say it's for your own protection and the protection of others and like that. But, you, and apparently Rave, know what the real reason is. Besides money, and knowing everything you have, it's about control. But, in an effort to be fair, we still are pretty lucky to be where we are. At least for now. Let's continue to be hopeful that the American people will open thier eyes before it's too late. We have so much to be thankful for, let's not lose sight of reality.:nod:

[grizzly]

It could (and I fear will) be worse before it gets better.

[Rufus Rhastus J]

Very well put and, i'm sad to admit, I can't find an angle to use to argue with you! Haaaa! Hope some of the women, who frequent these pages, don't see your post! If they do, good luck, you're on your own!! Haaaa!!!!:nod:

[Rufus Rhastus J]

I was laughing and forgot to say my piece. Yes, i do agree with you. i think things will, and must, get much worse before the average joe six pack wakes up. Let's hope it won't be too late when that happens. :nod:

[Rave]

Absolute power corrupts absolutly,give them an inch and they take a mile,and your freedoms,rights,and live if you resist,believe it!:nod:

[Rufus Rhastus J]

Yup! Ask Randy Weaver. He paid one heck of a price!:nod:

Randy Weaver got exactly what he wanted. Unfortunately others had to pay for his arrogance.

[Rufus Rhastus J]

I'm sure you're correct.

Remember the so-called "Our Lady of Peace Act" from last year?
Well, Our Lady is back, but under a new name.

Two notoriously anti-gun legislators have teamed up again to deny
millions of additional Americans their right to keep and bear arms.
They are Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
(D-NY).

What makes this bill so dangerous is the fact that many Congressmen
who are perceived to be "pro-gun" are supporting the bill as well.

According to CNS News, a current NRA Board member, together with a
former board member, appeared at a press conference last week to
support the Schumer-McCarthy legislation. Specifically, Senator
Larry Craig (R-ID) and Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) lent their visible
support on Thursday in favor of the "NICS Improvement Act."

NICS, of course, refers to the National Instant Check System -- a
key component of the Brady Act which forces honest citizens to prove
their innocence to the FBI before they can purchase firearms from
gun dealers. The Brady Act, named after anti-gun lobbyists Jim and
Sarah Brady, requires gun purchasers' names to be given to the FBI,
thus creating the potential that the feds could keep an illegal
registry of firearms owners.

As of today, this new bill still does not have a number. However,
it is expected that it will be almost identical with its earlier
incarnation, H.R. 4757, from last year.

As such, the bill could require states to turn over vast numbers of
records (on potentially all Americans) to the FBI for use in
connection with the Instantcheck. These records -- often containing
sensitive, personal information -- could include ANY state record
relevant to the question of whether a person is prohibited from
owning a gun.

This starts with a large volume of mental health records, but the
FBI could also require that a state forward all of its employment
and tax records in order to identify persons who are illegal aliens.
It could require that states forward information concerning drug
diversion programs and arrests that do not lead to prosecution, in
order to determine whether a person is "an unlawful user of... any
controlled substance...."

GOA opposes adding mental health records because psychiatry is one
of the most anti-gun professions of all. Consider the recent study
published by the American Psychological Association. In the press
release announcing the study, two Berkeley professors likened
"right-wing conservatives" like Rush Limbaugh and Ronald Reagan to
Hitler and Mussolini. Huh? These shrinks are the people we want to
determine who should own a firearm? The Second Amendment should
never be in the hands of this profession.

Regardless, one must realize that this bill is NOT about keeping bad
guys and wackos from getting guns. Bad guys and wackos will ALWAYS
be able to get guns, no matter how many restrictions there are.

The bill would also help FBI officials to effectively stop millions
of additional Americans from purchasing firearms, because they were
guilty in the past of committing minor misdemeanors. You might
remember the Lautenberg Gun Ban which President Bill Clinton signed
in 1996? Because of this ban, people who have committed very minor
offenses that include pushing, shoving or, in some cases, even
yelling at a family member have discovered that they can no longer
own firearms for self-defense.

But the anti-gun nuts in Congress are upset because many of the
states' criminal records are incomplete. As a result, the FBI does
not access all of these records when screening the background of
someone who purchases a firearm from a gun dealer. The
McCarthy-Schumer bill would change all that and keep millions of
decent, peaceful citizens from owning firearms because, in each
case, of nothing more than a single, minor offense committed long
ago.

This bill is all about control. Schumer and McCarthy want to keep
pushing their agenda forward, making it impossible for more and more
Americans to legally own guns!

Already, the Brady Bunch is crowing that passing this bill "would
represent the first substantial piece of federal gun legislation
since at least 1996" and that such passage would "explode the myth
that nothing can be achieved on guns in [a Republican] Congress."

They might well get their way since prominent Republicans like
Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah are supporting the bill.

The Schumer-McCarthy bill is an anti-self-defense piece of
legislation that will only make the country safer for criminals
while opening the door to invading the privacy of all Americans.

[grizzly]

Birdshot,Buckshot,7.62X39,230gr Hydra-shok...Smorgasbord time...

[Rufus Rhastus J]

:assult:

[Rave]

Ah,NICS,it worked for Hitler,it will work for the Democrats,talk about facists.

[Lord Shrike]

The only thing of substance I can glean from this is that we need to clean up what is and is not domestic violence. Other than that whats different? Honest citizens shouldn't be bothered by a background check I know I'm not.

[Rufus Rhastus J]

Dang Rave! Maybe he ain't dead after all. Maybe he's alive and well, liveing inside Ashcroft and the rest of those maniacs!:nod: