I OWN AMERICA

I own America. Well, let me clarify that. I own a portion of America. There are approximately 300,000,000 American citizens. Each citizen is a part owner of this great nation. So, with that being said, I own 1/300,000,000th of America. The same amount as any other citizen. The same amount as our representatives in Washington. Our current administration acts like they own this country and they are our rulers, not our equals who we elected as our representatives. I’m not pointing the finger at any one party or person. This problem is across the board. The frightening part about this is that the rest of this nation’s owners are getting fed up with their behavior and inability to do the job we hired them to do. Yes we hired them, we are their bosses. I point this out because there are things going on in this country I never thought I would see happen in my lifetime.  Unfortunately current circumstances have turned this nation into a tinder box on the verge of major civil unrest.

Some minor civil unrest has already begun in our nation capital. A couple weeks ago over 800,000 bikers rode to DC to show their feelings on current issues. They were denied a permit, but went anyway. Just this weekend, in an effort to make a point, thousands of truckers purposely gridlocked the beltway around Washington. Also, some of our fellow nation’s owners have gone to Washington and removed the barriers keeping people away from “our” monuments. Some of the barriers around our war memorials were piled up on the fence of the white house (which we also own). To those responsible for this, I salute you.

Do I believe that major civil unrest is the answer? No I don’t. Do I believe that well placed peaceful acts of defiance may help our nation? Yes I do. Do I think we will ever get all 300,000,000 of our nation’s owners to totally agree on anything? Absolutely not. Do I think we will ever have representatives in Washington that remember they are not our rulers and they themselves only own 1/300,000,000^th of America? I pray to God that day will come and it comes soon.

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

A letter came out today from the President to all Federal workers. He said all the expected stuff, how great we are, getting a raw deal, yada, yada, yada. All the normal lip service. But in one paragraph, on the second page he could not resist playing politics and assigning blame for the shut down. This was not the right forum for that. No class whatsoever.

Here is the paragraph in question:

“This shutdown was completely preventable. It should not have happened. And the House of Representatives can end it as soon as it follows the Senate's lead, and funds your work in the United States Government without trying to attach highly controversial and partisan measures in the process.”

Below is the letter in it's entirety:

SHUT DOWN

Here is a line from an article I read on Fox News. “But at this stage, a shutdown is highly possible, and congressional leaders are hard at work trying to assign blame”. This is so true and also very sad. Neither side will budge, there is no compromise and the American people will suffer. Even if the Senate does pass the budget bill allowing for the delay of Obama care, this shutdown will not be averted. I saw on the news that the POTUS said he will veto the bill. So the President, who said he wants to work with Republicans, will only do so if he gets his way. Where I come from we don’t call that working together. That’s called bullying.

I’m not going to go into my feelings on the budget and Obamacare in this post. I just want to point out my disappointment in our current politicians, from both sides. Wipe away the line in the sand and come to a compromise, if only for a short while. I would also like to point out to the POTUS, whatever the House and Senate decide, go with it. Don’t “take your ball and go home”.

One last point. I have heard many people (especially government workers, who are facing no paychecks) say that congress would fix this if their paychecks were on the line. No they would not. How many House and Senate members rely on their government paycheck? Not very many, most of them were successful in business before taking their position. If you really want to hurt congressional members, furlough their aides. See what happens when they have to do the work themselves.

HALF BREED

George Zimmerman is half Hispanic and half White. The media portrays him as a White man who shot a Black youth, even though he appears more Hispanic. This portrayal makes for more sensational news. It’s sad to say, but a Black kid being shot by a Mexican is not as big of a news story. This unfortunately happens regularly in some of our cities that have big gang problems, no big deal to the media.

President Obama is half Black and half White. The media portrays him as the first Black President, and yes, he appears Black. This portrayal is history making and makes for more sensational news.

The next time you are looking for the main cause of continued racial division in the country (I won't say the only reason, but it tops the list), look no farther than the media. They ram it down our throats every chance they get. They purposely try to stir up latent racial feelings in many people that have move beyond these feelings. If they can stir feelings that cause protest or disturbances, well, that’s just more news stories in the making.

4th AMENDMENT AND THE NSA

Here is an excerpt from an article I read:

“On this spying business, officials from Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to self-important senators are, in effect, telling Americans not to worry: it's not that big a deal, and "trust us" because they're keeping US citizens safe. This position must be turned on its head and opened up to a genuine discussion about the necessary, dynamic tension between security and privacy. As it now stands, these programs are ripe for abuse unless we establish ground rules and barriers between authentic national security interests and potential political chicanery”.

The article can be found at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/23/nsa-intelligence-industrial-complex-abuse

Here is my personal take on this whole affair:

If you sit back and look at it, there is no debate on this matter. This is covered clearly by the 4th amendment of the constitution.

“IV - Right of search and seizure regulated”

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

I am not a lawyer but this is clear to me. No probable cause and no warrant equals no listening to private phone calls (cellular or land line), reading private mail or e-mails, bugging homes, tracing citizens GPS location, etc. etc. etc. Granted, one argument I have heard is that all these means of communication didn't exist when the constitution was written. Well, neither did the modern technology used in spying. E-mail may not be on paper, but it is no different than mail, so it would be included in papers. A person’s effects, that covers everything they own, including their phone and computer.

The only legitimate argument for electronic surveillance that the NSA can make in regards to electronic monitoring is social networking. When an individual puts something out there on G+, Facebook, Twitter, or a public blog, it is public. Anyone can read it, including the government. If your going to put your buiness out the for any Tom, Dick or Harry to read, expect that either Tom, Dick, or Harry work for the government. No different than a speach on the town hall steps. Now, private papers, even electronic, they need a warrant, no question about it.

Don't tell the American people that we need to allow you to violate our rights for our own protection. As for me, if I had to choose between safety and liberty, liberty would win every time.