Government to track truant students via GPS ankle bracelets

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5961312.html

“Court authorities will be able to track students with a history of skipping school under a new program requiring them to wear ankle bracelets with Global Positioning System monitoring.
….
Penn said the electronic monitoring is part of a comprehensive program she started four years ago to reduce truancy. She cited programs in Midland and Dallas as having success with similar electronic monitoring measures.”

This takes “compulsory attendance” to a new and insane level.

Such ridiculous government intervention and intrusion of privacy would be laughable if it weren’t really happening…

The Forgotten Man of William Graham Sumner

I just read this portion of an essay written by William Graham Sumner in 1883 which I wanted to share to show yet another reason I advocate less and less government:

“As soon as A observes something which seems to him to be wrong, from which X is suffering, A talks it over with B, and A and B then propose to get a law passed to remedy the evil and help X. Their law always proposes to determine what C shall do for X, or in the better case, what A, B, and C shall do for X…. [W]hat I want to do is to look up C…. I call him the Forgotten Man…. He is the man who never is thought of.  He is the victim of the reformer, social speculator and philanthropist, and I hope to show you before I get through that he deserves your notice both for his character and for the many burdens which are laid upon him.”

Here is the whole essay if you’re interested:

http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/rbannis1//AIH19th/Sumner.Forgotten.html

Bill of No Rights

I found this pretty funny document that is called the “Bill of No Rights” which points out, in a humorous way, the various things that many people believe are rights but in fact are not at all.

For example number 9 says:

“You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have one, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities in education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful.”

Anyway here is the link to the entire thing if you want to see it: http://keelynet.com/humor/norights.htm

I think it’s pretty funny but actually true.

Does Gun Control Help or Actually Hurt?

The debate of gun control has been going on for hundreds of years.  Some say that more guns = more violence.  Others say that we have a right to have guns no matter the consequences.  So where do I stand?  Suprise suprise I am opposed to gun control and gun regulation.  I oppose gun control for many reasons:

1. It’s unconstitutional.  The Second amendment to the Constitution clearly says “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”  Yes the Constitution generally only restricts the federal government, not the states, unless expressly stated but the passage of the fourteenth amendment extended the right to keep and bear Arms to the states as well: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.”

Gun control laws simply violate the Constitution and mocks the rule of law.

2. No one, not even government, has a right to prevent a law-abiding, peacefull, citizen from having a gun.  If you want to have a gun, for whatever reason, why should anyone else, whether it be a friend, a neighbor, an enemy, or a group of politicians, command you “you cannot have a gun”?  Where does anyone derive the moral authority to prevent anyone else from having a gun?  You may not like the idea of someone else having a gun but you have no just authority to prevent someone from doing so.

3. Everyone has a right to there life and self protection including using a gun if necessary to protect your life. The right to keep and bear arms is directly tied to the right to life.  You don’t have a right to your life if you don’t have a right to defend your life.

4. Gun control not only doesn’t work or prevent crime it actually increases violent crime and murder.  You may think that that sounds backwards but it’s actually true and the reason for this is quite simple: A criminal by definition does not follow the law so a law telling a criminal “you can’t have a gun” has no effect on them.  Gun control laws only take guns away from law-abiding citizens, not criminals.

Here is also an excellent video with more information of the harm caused by gun control.

Happy Birthday To America, Freedom, & Liberty

This past weekend we all had the opportunity to celebrate the fourth of July: Independence Day. This holiday means much more to me than a day off from work, time with family, and an opportunity to shoot off fireworks. It’s a time to remember how blessed we are to live in this country. It’s a time to remember the sacrifices made by so many to secure and protect freedom and liberty and it’s a time to think about what freedom and liberty really mean and what we can do for the advancement of these sacred principles.

In my pondering over the weekend I thought of 3 specific freedoms that we are in constant battle for:

1. Freedom from sin. Moses 7:26 reads: “And he beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced.” We read many times in the scriptures that Satan’s desire is to make us his slaves which he accomplishes only if we give into temptation and sin. Every time we sin we literally give away a portion of our freedom and liberty to Satan as he tightens the chains to bind us down. Let’s fight for our freedom by following the commandments and choosing the right.

2. Freedom from debt. Debt is a trap that should be avoided at all costs. It’s not always possible to avoid all debt as most of us can’t out right buy a house or even a car but again it should be avoided like the plague. Debt can take over your life and destroy your freedom. Let’s fight for our freedom by living within our means, maintaining a savings account, and buying something only when we have the money to do so.

3. Freedom from abuses of power. Yes, I am mainly talking about abuses of government power and control. Now obviously we all disagree on what constitutes an abuse of government power and control and I’m not going to try to convince everyone of my definition here but the important thing is that we all recognize these abuses do exist. Obviously we can all agree that slavery and tyranny are abuses of power. We should all be involved in anyway we can in putting just and righteous men in government positions to help limit and reduce these abuses of power. A lack of involvement, at least in voting, is literally turning over some freedom and liberty to abuses of power. Let’s fight for our freedom by being involved in our governments, studying candidates, and voting.

It is my hope that we will all remember Independence Day for what it is and use it to remind us of what we can do each and everyday for the advancement of liberty and freedom. I would also encourage everyone to take the time to read The Declaration of Independence again and would like to end my rant with a quote from that document:

“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”

Happy birthday America, freedom, and liberty.

Could you pass the latest citizenship test?

A buddy/co-worker of mine is not a U.S. citizen and is in the process of applying for citizenship.  He found this article which has a sample of some of the harder questions on the test.  You can find the article and test here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25461301/

Now keep in mind this is a collection of the hardest questions so don’t kick yourself if you don’t get them all right or if you don’t pass.  Personally I got a 75% which I am ashamed of…

If you take it do yourself a favor and don’t cheat and look up anything while taking it.

Now for my opinion: Even though I do think all Americans should know all of this I really don’t think anyone should have to know all of this information to enter into our country.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want open borders and think we should put more money into protecting our borders with increased technology, more troops, etc.  I just don’t know why anyone should be required by law to know all of this before they enter into our country.  Do you disagree?  Let’s hear it.