Archive for January, 2009

JBC vice-chairman: ‘Ref C wasn’t designed to fix anything’

January 28, 2009

The big lie, and don’t say that you were not warned. Jon Caldara may have led the charge, but the soldiers of economic freedom were slaughtered at the polls by leftest lies. Want some proof? Read on…

During a Joint Budget Committee presentation before the House Agriculture Committee last week, legislators were discussing the state’s budgetary woes. As it often happens under the Capitol dome, conversations about the budget inevitably lead to questions about Referendum C.


PommerState of Colo.

Specifically, people want to know what happened to the billions of dollars that filled state coffers as a result of the statewide measure passing in 2005.

When voters approved Referendum C by 52 percent, they did so based on promises that the estimated $3.7 billion generated over the next five years would be used to fund higher education, health care, and transportation. Voters were also told they were fixing a “glitch” in the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, a 1992 constitutional amendment that limited annual growth in government spending.

So we were shocked to hear JBC vice-chairman Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, assert during last week’s discussion that “Ref C wasn’t designed to fix anything,” and that “Ref C was an arbitrary amount of money.” (Click the player above to hear the audio yourself.) Pommer went on to admit that just last year the CEOs of higher education were asking “what happened to our money?” He told them revenue from Referendum C was just to keep them from “shutting down.”

Calls to Pommer went unreturned before press time.

We’re not sure if Pommer is just exercising selective memory or if that’s truly the way he sees it, but Referendum C was very much sold to the public as a way to fix the budget. And the measure was not an “arbitrary” amount of money. State estimates pegged the new revenue at $3.7 billion, but it has brought in nearly double that amount. Not a small chunk of change.

We would hope a member of the powerful JBC, the vice-chairman no less, would know better.

Note: The first voice in the audio clip is that of Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, who asks a question then answered by Pommer.

SOURCE

Time to take on Obamanomics

January 28, 2009

As the news media proclaims government spending the golden bullet that can save us from sure economic demise, someone has finally shot back with an articulate explanation of why such Keynesian hyperbole just doesn’t pass the smell test.

In a YouTube video produced by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity titled “Obama’s So-Called Stimulus: Good For Government, Bad For the Economy,” the Cato Institute’s Daniel Mitchell explains that history provides ample evidence that smaller government is the true engine of economic growth.

As CF&P Foundation President Andrew Quinlan noted in a release, “President Obama’s plan to expand the burden of government is misguided. Redistributing wealth while increasing the size of government is not a recipe for real economic growth. We need a plan that encourages work, savings and investment.”

The piece couldn’t be more timely, especially as Colorado Democrats boast Obama’s plan could bring $2.9 billion to Colorado’s economy. State Treasurer Cary Kennedy is so giggly, she can hardly see straight.

The plan, which would account for more than 3 percent of the nation’s gross domestic project over two years, might sound nice in theory, it brings up a second essential economics lesson for today. Just because you print money, it doesn’t make it have value.

SOURCE with Youtube

Has free-market capitalism died?

January 27, 2009

Always, and in  all ways  freedom and individual liberty will forever be the favorite whipping boy of those with a socialist bent. Populist’s, such as the new President are in bed with socialist on a number of issues that are directly related. Be that Gun Control, or taxation. However, the economy is currently at the forefront. Below, is an excellent expose of this better than thou attitude by those that are of the collectivist mind set.

Has free-market capitalism died?

Michael Miller

Who would have imagined 20 years ago — when the Berlin Wall fell and we celebrated the death of socialism — that capitalism would be under heavy fire? The cardinal of Westminster, Cormack Murphy O’Connor, reportedly said 2008 was the year when “capitalism died.”

What are we to make of capitalism in light of all the crises, fraud and government intervention, when even some traditional supporters of markets are supporting bailouts?

Before answering this question, it is important to note that “capitalism” is a Marxist term. It gives the impression that the market is a nebulous force. This impersonal understanding can lead us to blame markets when things go wrong instead of exploring reasons that are harder to diagnose.

Pope John Paul II rejected the term, preferring “market economy,” “business economy” or “free economy.” He did so to illustrate that markets are networks of human relationships. This sheds light on the underlying moral nature of markets.

Markets are the combined activities of millions of individuals. They are not composed merely of some guys on Wall Street; they are made up by us. Like anything else run by humans, markets can fail. If we become overly speculative and convinced that prices can go nowhere but up — as happened in the Tulip Bubble in 1637, the dot.com bubble in 2000 and the recent housing bubble — sooner or later reality will set in.

Despite their failures, however, free markets have lifted more people out of poverty and helped create prosperity and peace better than any system.

In these days of financial turmoil, we often hear critics speaking about deregulation or “unbridled capitalism.” But try to think of one country where there are no regulations. For free markets to succeed, they require a framework built on rule of law, contracts and secure property rights.

The real question is what kind of regulation and what level of intervention we should choose.

Many contributing causes of this crisis were an overly invasive government. Federal regulators required banks to provide mortgages to customers who could not pay back the loans; the Federal Reserve manipulated the money supply, exacerbating the housing boom; and politicians promised bailouts that created incentives for irresponsible behavior.

How many of us, out of greed, gluttony or pride, used credit cards to buy things we did not need or could not afford? What about Wall Street bankers who took imprudent risks with clients’ money? Markets cannot succeed without a strong moral fabric among the citizenry.

Yet we again hear calls for increased regulation and government involvement.

If we regulate too much, we concentrate the power of markets in fewer and fewer hands. This has led to all sorts of evil and corruption. Socialist economies, cartels, oligarchies and union-controlled industries produce stagnation and create incentives for corruption. It is a false hope to believe regulation will make everything right.

It is likewise delusional to believe markets alone are enough. Our Founders taught us that without virtue political liberty could not long be sustained. The same holds true for economic liberty. And yet without economic liberty there can be no political liberty. Like liberty, the market must be moral, or it cannot exist.

Michael Miller is director of programs at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty in Grand Rapids. E-mail letters to letters@detnews.com.

SOURCE

Senate Bill 09-057 The Public School Financial Transparency Act

January 27, 2009

Colorado politics, and politicians… One would think that there were more pressing things that need to be addressed, but? Apparently not.

Please Support Senate Bill 09-057
The Public School Financial Transparency Act
The more transparent government is, the more accountable government is.
This bill will require our public schools to show their spending online. Taxpayers could see how their money is used. Today’s technology would make this extremely affordable. When people can easily find contracting or purchasing options that better cut costs, it might pay for itself many times over.
After all, most Coloradans want to see their public education tax dollars going to the classroom. How much better if we all could see it for ourselves!
This Wednesday, January 28th, the Senate Education Committee is hearing testimony on this bill. The hearing is scheduled to take place “upon adjournment” of the morning session of the entire general assembly.This isn’t a specific time, but 10:30 is a reasonable estimate of when the committee meeting will begin. If you can be there to provide testimony in favor of this bill, Libertarian Party member Amanda Teresi (of Liberty on the Rocks and the Independence Institute) is organizing speakers.

People interested in speaking will meet in the cafeteria, which is in the basement of the capitol.  If you can’t find us, call or text me (David K. Williams, Jr.) at 303-588-2731, I’ll find you. The Education Committee is scheduled to meet in Senate Committee Room 354. The staff at the capitol is helpful, and will point you in the right direction.
There is lots of paid parking around the capitol but I would suggest giving yourself time to find parking, or take publicly funded mass transit.  Also, SB 57 is the first bill on the list to be discussed, but they can change that at any time.  There will be pre-written testimonies prepared for people who would like to testify but don’t know what to say.  If people want to come but not testify, that is good too, we just want to show how many people support the issue.
If you can make it to capitol OR NOT, please contact the members of the Senate Education Committee and let tell them to support SB-57, the Public School Financial Transparency Act.(Don’t wait, send them an email right now!)
The Senate Education Committee is comprised of:
Senator Bob Bacon, Chair 
303-866-4841
E-mail: bob.bacon.senate@state.co.us

Senator Chris Romer, Vice-Chair
303-866-4852
E-mail: chris.romer.senate@state.co.us

Senator Nancy Spence, Ranking Republican
303-866-4883
E-mail: nancyspence@qwest.net

Senator Peter Groff
303-866-3342
E-mail: peter.groff.senate@state.co.us

Senator Rollie Heath
303-866-4872
(no email listed on General Assembly website)
Senator Evie Hudak
303-866-4840
E-mail: senatorhudak@gmail.com

Senator Keith King
303-866-4880
E-mail: keith@keithking.org

PLEASE OPPOSE THESE TWO BILLS THAT EXPAND THE POWER OF THE STATE AT THE EXPENSE OF INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM.

House Bill 09-1094
Cell Phone Prohibitions for Drivers

Deems the use of a wireless telephone by an operator of a motor vehicle as a class A traffic infraction.

This bill would expand the power of police to STOP drivers WHO ARE DRIVING PERFECTLY SAFELY while talking on a cell phone.
The primary sponsors of this bill are:
Representative Clarie Levy (D) 303-866-2578 claire.levy.house@state.co.us
Senator Bob Bacon (D) 303-866-4841 bob.bacon.senate@state.co.us
This bill has been assigned to the House Committee on Transportation and Energy.
This committee is composed of:
Representative Buffie McFadyen, Chair
303-866-2905
E-mail: mcfadyen2002@hotmail.com
Representative Gwyn Green, Vice-Chair
303-866-2951
E-mail: gwynithgreen@yahoo.com
Representative Glenn Vaad, Ranking Republican
303-866-2943
E-mail: glenn.vaad.house@state.co.us

Representative Randy Baumgardner
303-866-2949
E-mail: randy1485@hotmail.com
Rep. Randy Fischer
303-866-2917
E-mail: randyfischer@frii.com
Rep. Jerry Frangas
303-866-2954
E-mail: kjerryfrangas@earthlink.net
Rep. Steve King
303-866-3068
E-mail: steve.king.house@state.co.us
Rep. Marsha Looper
303-866-2946
E-mail: marshalooper@gmail.com
Rep. Frank McNulty
303-866-2936
(no email listed)
Rep. Michael Merrifield
303-866-2932
E-mail: michael.merrifield.house@state.co.us
Rep. Dianne Primavera
303-866-4667
E-mail: representativeprimavera@yahoo.com
Please let these representatives know you oppose the expansion of this police power and that reckless driving is ALREADY illegal. This bill would
House Bill 09-1019
Cat Identification Law for Cities

Requires the owner of a cat to ensure that the animal has a proper form of identification and allows for fines on owners who do not comply.
Sponsors:
Representative Cherylin Peniston (D) 303-866-2843 cherylin.peniston.house@state.co.us
Senator Joyce Foster (D) 303-866-4875 joycefoster@comcast.net
This bill was passed out of committee and to the House Committee of the Whole. Contact your personal Representative and tell him or her to oppose this bill!
You might mention that according to the Fiscal Note attached to the bill, “Implementation of the bill in cities of population greater than 100,000 may result in increased
costs for code enforcement, legal expenses, and other administrative activities.”  Of course it will.

The Black Death returns..?

January 23, 2009

Back by popular demand the scourge of Europe during the middle ages could be coming your way! Or, what do you say when something goes wrong with a terrorist’s toy factory..? Never fear though! Obama will talk these people out of their ways!

Al-Qa’ida goofs in the lab

Q: What’s the one word you don’t want to hear in a Weapons of Mass Destruction lab?

A: Whoops! Unfortunately for some hapless Algerian jihadis, that’s apparently what happened recently. According to a report in The Washington Times, a senior U.S. intelligence official confirmed that al-Qa’ida affiliates in Algeria had to close a WMD lab after they got some “unexpected results” while experimenting with unconventional weapons. Speaking anonymously, the official said he could not confirm reports that the accident killed some 40 al-Qa’ida operatives, but he did confirm that the accident led the jihadis to shut down the lab. U.S. intelligence intercepted an urgent message in January between the leaders of al-Qa’ida in the Land of the Maghreb (AQIM) and al-Qa’ida’s leadership in Pakistan, saying that an area in Algeria previously sealed to prevent leakage of a biological or chemical substance had been breached. “We don’t know if this is biological or chemical,” the official said.

This story was first reported by that paragon of journalism, the British tabloid The Sun, which claimed that some terrorists had died of bubonic plague, the Black Death that killed a third of Europe’s population in the 14th century. However, U.S. officials dismissed that speculation. And while there could be no better end for today’s 7th-century jihadi than dying from a 14th-century disease, this incident is a good reminder that al-Qa’ida is still looking to attack and kill us using whatever weapons they can get their hands on. We hope that the Obama regime will take note.

SOURCE

Hope ‘n’ Change: Reform, riffraff and rubbish, oh my!

January 23, 2009

Obamamania has swept the world — or so the Leftmedia would have us believe. Before the Anointed One uttered a word at his inauguration, The New York Times and The Washington Post were headlining polls that purported to show overwhelming support for the new president. The Times said, “Poll Finds Faith in Obama, Mixed With Patience.” Even the UK’s Daily Mail got into the act: “Obama can save us, says America as polls show wave of optimism sweeping the nation.” The Mail must have stopped with polling at NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN offices.

One couldn’t watch so much as the AFC championship football game on Sunday night without the halftime report by Katie Couric on what Barack Obama had for dinner (we couldn’t hear what she really said since the TV was muted). And while the morning shows found time last Friday to discuss such things as “Obama thongs,” President George W. Bush’s farewell speech was almost entirely ignored. All told, Obama’s inauguration received 35 times the coverage that his predecessor’s did. Indeed, the media’s behavior would make Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels proud.

As for new policy, considering Obama’s reforms in his first three days in office, we find little reason for optimism. Among his first acts behind the Oval Office desk was a phone call to Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority. Obama soon set to work with other agenda items such as issuing an executive order to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year, as well as preventing CIA interrogators from using lawful techniques not found in the Army Field Manual, which assumes honorable combatants. Items to follow may include re-banning offshore drilling, getting Congress to allow open homosexuals to serve in the military by rescinding “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” calling for a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, and working to make the expired federal “assault weapons” ban permanent.

Meanwhile, Wall Street was not optimistic Tuesday either, dropping 300 points, or four percent, to below 8,000 — the worst Inauguration Day drop in history.

For the inauguration itself, Washington, DC, officials reported that 1.8 million people came to the Mall and the surrounding areas for the ceremony. But how many were actually there? Washington officials claim to have gotten their 1.8 million number from The Washington Post, but the Post said that its analysis “concluded that about 1 million people were on the Mall.” An Arizona State University journalism professor tallied only 800,000 using satellite images.

What we do know is that the word “historic” was used approximately 1.8 million times during inauguration coverage, particularly in The New York Times. Oddly enough, the Times’ own style manual says, “Use [the word historic] with caution for a current event, because history’s verdict is rarely predictable by journalists, and the word suggests hyperbole.” Perhaps someone should have looked that one up beforehand.

However many Obamaphiles showed up, there was certainly enough trash to go around. Estimates are that visitors left 130 tons of garbage — and that was just on the Capitol steps! Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh dubbed it “Hurricane Latrina.”

SOURCE

Ushering in the error of Obama

January 23, 2009

Hope, and change. Yes, that’s it! I get it! Hope for nanny government to take care of all us poor sops that are just to damned dumb to know how to take care of ourselves, and change into some remnant of what it is to be an American. Now, we can all be ruminants! Read on, Mark is a lot better at explaining these things than I am.

Ushering in the error of Obama

By Mark Alexander

Presidential oath — redux

The inauguration-ordination-coronation of Barack Obama on Tuesday was heralded by his fawning media as nothing less than a “messianic” revival, with endless inaugural balls and star-studded celebrations on either end.

Strange, but I seem to recall that the Leftmedia skewered George W. Bush for spending almost $40 million on his first inauguration, proclaiming the events to be “grotesque” and all about “excess.”

But with deficit spending estimated to fly past the trillion-dollar mark in Obama’s first year in office, not one of his media sycophants has questioned the cost of this week’s events. Perhaps that is because it cost a mere $.00017 trillion, or about $1.25 million for each of the 130 tons of garbage his constituents dumped on the Mall.

All this was apparently not enough funding, however, to provide for his attendance at the Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball, which has been attended by every president since its inception 56 years ago. The event, hosted by the American Legion, the Military Order of Purple Hearts, and Paralyzed Veterans for America, recognizes their service and was attended by 48 of the nation’s 99 living Medal of Honor recipients. This is the 50th anniversary of the Medal of Honor Society.

Of course, it might be deemed indecorous to question the cost to inaugurate the first “African-American” president. (I hyphenated Obama’s heritage because, unlike 99 percent of blacks in America who are native to this land, one of Obama’s parents was actually African.)

Millions across the nation and around the world were watching as the climactic moment of the festivities arrived — the part where Barack Hussein Obama interrupted Chief Justice John Roberts just four words into the oath, then choked as he vowed to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Who could have predicted that? (Justice Roberts administered the oath of office again, Tuesday evening, in the Oval Office. Reportedly, Obama waited for his cue the second time around.)

To put Obama’s inaugural address into context, consider this proclamation at his kick-off celebration in Philadelphia: “What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives…” While he spells out his vision for that “new declaration” for our nation in his inaugural speech, I can only presume that his reference to “in our own lives” means rehab for those of us who are “bitterly clinging to guns and religion.”

As a public service, we analyzed Obama’s speech with The Patriot’s proprietary Leftspeak decoder software, using it to translate his speech into Rightspeak so that our fellow Americans might more fully understand what he was saying. I selected a few excerpts from our analysis for your consideration.

BHO: “My fellow citizens,” Apostles and disciples of hope and change,

“On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.” Disagree with me and you must be racist or ignorant, or both.

“Our Founding Fathers … drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man … and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake.” But we will overwrite them with judicial diktats until my rule is the rule of law.

“What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.” Our founders are dead and so is their vision for our nation.

“In the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.” Disagree with me and you are in violation of Scripture.

“We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth…” Let’s not offend anyone with the simple and undeniable truth that our national heritage rests on a Judeo-Christian foundation.

“Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some…” Blame our badly weakened economy on Wall Street greed and irresponsibility rather than Democrats in Congress.

“The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act … to lay a new foundation for growth.” Government growth…

“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.” More government growth…

“Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill … but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control.” We must not only grow the government, but also ensure that it regulates every aspect of the economy.

“The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.” Darwin had it right, except in regard to human nature and free market capitalism.

“A new era of responsibility…” An era in which the fiscally responsible will bear an ever-greater tax burden for those of us who are not…

“Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.” The crisis of confidence and propagation of fear was the staple of my campaign rhetoric, and it was largely responsible for my election.

“Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.” I will remake America into Amerika.

“We will restore science to its rightful place.” Global warming hysteria is a great catalyst for expanding government control.

“The world has changed, and we must change with it.” Out with national sovereignty and in with the New World Order…

“Power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please.” Appeasement works…

“Our security emanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example; the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.” Appeasement really works…

“To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.” To the Islamic terrorists, we seek to appease you.

“To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” Except for my mentors Frank Marshall Davis, Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers, and my colleagues in the Democrat Party, the Socialist New Party, the ACORN crowd, Rod Blagojevich, Richard Daley, Saul Alinsky, Father Michael Pfleger, Khalid al-Mansour, Kwame Kilpatrick, Louis Farrakhan, Rashid Khalidi and Raila Odinga. You guys can just keep up the good work.

“This is the source of our confidence: the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.” I am calling on you to follow me.

Obama ended his speech with the last of several references to our Founders, calling on Americans to remember the words “the father of our nation” delivered to troops: “Let it be told to the future world … that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive… that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”

Of course, those words were written by Thomas Paine on 23 December 1776 in his work, “The American Crisis,” which, indeed, George Washington ordered read to his Patriot countrymen on the eve of the Battle of Trenton.

Paine’s pamphlet, which begins famously, “These are the times that try men’s souls…” was about the animating contest for freedom and liberty from government oppression.

However, Obama’s entire treatise on the role of government, “a new declaration of independence … a new foundation for growth … a watchful eye … a new era of responsibility … remaking America,” contradicts everything that Patriots have died for since our Declaration of Independence.

Our Founders outlined their just cause for revolution with these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.”

During the next four years, every thoughtful American will come to learn that Barack Hussein Obama is no friend of freedom and liberty; that his “vision for America” is the antithesis of that held by our Founders.

George Washington admonished future generations to “Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.”

Indeed.

Montana leads the way!

January 22, 2009

Hat tip to The Liberty Sphere!

The federal government has for years had the idea that it is in fact omniscient. Built in safeguards from the Bill of Rights are largely ignored and from were I sit things do not appear to be changing at all. However, Montana is taking the bull by the horns and challenging the Federal choke hold that the states have been enduring for more years than I care to remember.

2009 Montana Legislature

Additional Bill Links PDF (with line numbers)

HOUSE BILL NO. 246

INTRODUCED BY J. BONIEK

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT EXEMPTING FROM FEDERAL REGULATION UNDER THE COMMERCE CLAUSE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES A FIREARM, A FIREARM ACCESSORY, OR AMMUNITION MANUFACTURED AND RETAINED IN MONTANA; PROVIDING FOR THE DUTIES OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL; AND PROVIDING AN APPLICABILITY DATE.”

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

NEW SECTION. Section 1.  Short title. [Sections 1 through 7] may be cited as the “Montana Firearms Freedom Act”.

NEW SECTION. Section 2.  Legislative declarations of authority. The legislature declares that the authority for [sections 1 through 7] is the following:

(1) The 10th amendment to the United States constitution guarantees to the states and their people all powers not granted to the federal government elsewhere in the constitution and reserves to the state and people of Montana certain powers as they were understood at the time that Montana was admitted to statehood in 1889. The guaranty of those powers is a matter of contract between the state and people of Montana and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by Montana and the United States in 1889.

(2) The ninth amendment to the United States constitution guarantees to the people rights not granted in the constitution and reserves to the people of Montana certain rights as they were understood at the time that Montana was admitted to statehood in 1889. The guaranty of those rights is a matter of contract between the state and people of Montana and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by Montana and the United States in 1889.

(3) The regulation of intrastate commerce is vested in the states under the 9th and 10th amendments to the United States constitution, particularly if not expressly preempted by federal law. Congress has not expressly preempted state regulation of intrastate commerce pertaining to the manufacture on an intrastate basis of firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition.

(4) The second amendment to the United States constitution reserves to the people the right to keep and bear arms as that right was understood at the time that Montana was admitted to statehood in 1889, and the guaranty of the right is a matter of contract between the state and people of Montana and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by Montana and the United States in 1889.

(5) Article II, section 12, of the Montana constitution clearly secures to Montana citizens, and prohibits government interference with, the right of individual Montana citizens to keep and bear arms. This constitutional protection is unchanged from the 1889 Montana constitution, which was approved by congress and the people of Montana, and the right exists as it was understood at the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by Montana and the United States in 1889.

NEW SECTION. Section 3.  Definitions. As used in [sections 1 through 7], the following definitions apply:

(1) “Borders of Montana” means the boundaries of Montana described in Article I, section 1, of the 1889 Montana constitution.

(2) “Firearms accessories” means items that are used in conjunction with or mounted upon a firearm but are not essential to the basic function of a firearm, including but not limited to telescopic or laser sights, magazines, flash or sound suppressors, folding or aftermarket stocks and grips, speedloaders, ammunition carriers, and lights for target illumination.

(3) “Generic and insignificant parts” includes but is not limited to springs, screws, nuts, and pins.

(4) “Manufactured” means that a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition has been created from basic materials for functional usefulness, including but not limited to forging, casting, machining, or other processes for working materials.

NEW SECTION. Section 4.  Prohibitions. A personal firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in Montana and that remains within the borders of Montana is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of congress to regulate interstate commerce. It is declared by the legislature that those items have not traveled in interstate commerce. This section applies to a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured in Montana from basic materials and that can be manufactured without the inclusion of any significant parts imported from another state. Generic and insignificant parts that have other manufacturing or consumer product applications are not firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition, and their importation into Montana and incorporation into a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured in Montana does not subject the firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition to federal regulation. It is declared by the legislature that basic materials, such as unmachined steel and unshaped wood, are not firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition and are not subject to congressional authority to regulate firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition under interstate commerce as if they were actually firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition. The authority of congress to regulate interstate commerce in basic materials does not include authority to regulate firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition made in Montana from those materials. Firearms accessories that are imported into Montana from another state and that are subject to federal regulation as being in interstate commerce do not subject a firearm to federal regulation under interstate commerce because they are attached to or used in conjunction with a firearm in Montana.

NEW SECTION. Section 5.  Exceptions. [Section 4] does not apply to:

(1) a firearm that cannot be carried and used by one person;

(2) a firearm that has a bore diameter greater than 1 1/2 inches and that uses smokeless powder, not black powder, as a propellant;

(3) ammunition with a projectile that explodes using an explosion of chemical energy after the projectile leaves the firearm; or

(4) a firearm that discharges two or more projectiles with one activation of the trigger or other firing device.

NEW SECTION. Section 6.  Marketing of firearms. A firearm manufactured or sold in Montana under [sections 1 through 7] must have the words “Made in Montana” clearly stamped on a central metallic part, such as the receiver or frame.

NEW SECTION. Section 7.  Duties of the attorney general. (1) A Montana citizen whom the government of the United States attempts to prosecute, under the congressional power to regulate interstate commerce, for violation of a federal law concerning the manufacture, sale, transfer, or possession of a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured and retained within Montana must be defended in full by the Montana attorney general.

(2) Upon written notification to the Montana attorney general by a Montana citizen of intent to manufacture a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition to which [sections 1 through 7] apply, the attorney general shall seek a declaratory judgment from the federal district court for the district of Montana that [sections 1 through 7] are consistent with the United States constitution.

NEW SECTION. Section 8.  Codification instruction. [Sections 1 through 7] are intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 30, and the provisions of Title 30 apply to [sections 1 through 7].

NEW SECTION. Section 9.  Applicability. [This act] applies to firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition that are manufactured, as defined in [section 3], and retained in Montana after October 1, 2009.

– END –

source

Charisma as a tool to tame the masses?

January 21, 2009

Charisma is a two edged sword to be sure. One thing about President Obama is his charismatic manner of speech. At least as long as there is a teleprompter or notes near at hand.

When I was still a sophomore in college I took a course in “Public Speaking” as I’m sure many of my readers also did. Having been a “Gavel Club” member and participant in High School I couldn’t help but note the differences that were taught in speaking methodology.

I certainly picked up on some of those things yesterday while listening to the new President. It was of course not laid out in debate format. But meant to be inspirational, especially to his followers. I was reminded of other inspirational speakers from the realm of politics, and religion for the most part.

Then today I wake up, and check the news. What sort of beast have we unleashed upon our nation? What sort of people put him there?

Some cool pics!

January 20, 2009

Got these links from a friend. Enjoy!

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