Quote for Today

Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.  It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.

~William Pitt (1759-1806)

Interesting Observation

(Note: The following email was sent to my wife which she in turn shared with me. I liked it so much I just had to post it here.)

 

If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2,112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.

The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000 for the same period. That means that a person is about 25% more likely to be shot and killed in the U.S. Capitol, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, than in Iraq.

Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington D.C.

(h/t Shelly B.)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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"Christmas Day, Give or Take a Week"
~Bev Doolittle

Remember When...?

Take a trip down memory lane. Click here (.pdf).

 

I wonder what ever happened to this request for help.

A Government so Large

While listening to Conceived in Liberty, Jerry Hughes mentioned a quote that I thought would make another great bumper sticker. Here it is:

You can listen to his latest program by clicking the link above.

P.S. Happy [belated] Bill of Rights day!

What's That Flushing Sound?

h/t Mark

In Case You Missed It...

About a week ago, I saw a news headline that caught my eye: European Socialists eager to work with U.S. Democrats. I grabbed the link and tossed it into my 'to look at later' folder. Well, its later. Here's a quick summary of the article. The first paragraph states:

European Socialists promised on Thursday to work to rebuild Europe's strategic alliance with the United States now that the Democrats control Congress after last month's elections.

In other words, the Republicans told the European Socialists to not bother spreading their message. Republicans weren't interested. But now that Democrats are "back in power", the European Socialists are ready to get down to the business of wealth redistribution.

Wait, it gets better. The article continues:

Howard Dean, chairman of the national committee of the U.S. Democratic Party, is attending the two-day [European Socialist Party] conference together with the leaders of leftist governments of several countries and party leaders from across Europe.

Whomever denies Democrats are Socialists is an ignorant fool. I mean, the proof is right here. Why else would the Portuguese Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates say, "Europe needs an America that is back on track."? What he's saying is that he needs America back on track with their Socialist agenda.

Get ready, America. You voted for it!

Talk to Power: Sen. Patty Murray

Is it just me, or does anyone else find this slightly offensive? The headline implies that we "commoners" may now seek an audience with the King--or in this case, the Queen.

 

Talk to Power is a program hosted by Judy Woodruff that provides a forum for you to ask politicians questions. This week's guest is our very own Senator Patty Murray. If you click on the picture at right, you can ask her anything you like. However, the forum's moderator reminds you:

"...that civility on the boards is required. Thank you again for taking part in our discussion and be sure to check back on Thursday for Sen. Murray's responses to your questions."

If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you can see some of the questions and comments left by other participants. I wanted to share a couple with you.

 

Here's the first comment:

 

Judging by the rhetoric from both parties, it sounds as if the partisan bickering and the in-fighting in our government will continue. In view of this, do you see an opportunity for a third party to arise in American politics since the majority of Americans are getting very sick of the endless and useless partisan bickering?   Posted by j_ertl22 on Mon, Dec 4, 2006 3:28 PM ET

 

Sounds to me like j_ertl22 is experiencing total frustration with the political process. A third party has almost no chance of rising to power because our system of government has been so bastardized over the last 100 years that it generally will not accept more than two players at a time. For a third party to rise, one of the other two must fall.

 

I personally prefer the "do-over" option. There are, in my humble opinion, really very little redeeming qualities left in our system of government. If we must have government, I favor a new system that demands the smallest of government which is kept at a local level, i.e. closest to the people for accountability.

 

Here's the next comment:

 

The past six years have seen much partisanship and obstruction by your party in the Senate. You have shown very little independence when it comes to putting the peoples' business ahead of your party. As one of your constituents I want to know what you, as a leader in the Senate, are going to do to get the Senate back to business for the good of all those you represent.   Posted by jimb48 on Mon, Dec 4, 2006 3:34 PM ET

 

I have just one question here: Do you remember a time when state senators represented the interests of the states? That was, after all, what a senator was hired to do. The people have their own representatives, or are we done with the 10th Amendment?