Bayou Perspective

IN OBAMA’S WORLD, WHO ARE THE BAD GUYS?

2013-06-14T10:10:00.000-05:00

Friday, June 14^th, 2013

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

IN OBAMA’S WORLD, WHO ARE THE BAD GUYS?

My regular morning coffee group gets to the nuts and bolts of what’s wrong with America each morning as we hash it all out over strong chicory and beignets. Quite frankly, the nation would be better served if members of congress would just heed the advice of our over 70 gang who collectively have a lot of common sense. All of us are a bit surprised over the outrage regarding the Obama Administration’s “secret surveillance” program that has apparently been going on for years.

Senate majority leader Harry Reid from Nevada summed it up very well: “Right now I think everyone should just calm down and understand that this isn’t anything that is brand new, it’s been going on for some seven years…” What Reed is saying reflects the same warped view that’s been expressed by way too many voices in both political parties. If our representatives standby and allow the government to abuse power long enough, it becomes okay. We just suck it up, and allow one constitutional provision after another to get thrown under the bus.

Spying on all of us by the government as well as by the private sector has been going on for some time. Like it or not, you are being digitally frisked and strip-searched every hour of every day. Your smartphone, computer, all other electronic communication devices pour out digital bits and bytes that are collected by more groups than any of us can imagine. Even your cable connected TV or DVD player sends out information on what programs and movies you watch.

Just test out the collective system. Do a bit of trolling on the Internet and check out some possible purchases. Then go to Facebook, or any of the other numerous social media sites, and, voilà — your potential purchases magically appear on your computer screen. Remember Gene Hackman’s movie back in the ’90s called “Enemy of the State? Hackman plays the role of a National Security Agency analyst, and he tells the attorney played by Will Smith, “the agency has been in bed with the telecommunications industry for decades, and they can suck assault drain off the beach.”

But should a government agency have access to so much of what used to be considered your private information? We used to allow and expect law enforcement and security agencies to go after the bad guys. But the net now ensnarls everyone. The Obama Administration, we now find out, has put in place a system that gathers data on virtually every aspect of your life, including your emails, your phone calls, your video chats, photographs, connection logs and just about every communication that you make. If they are supposedly going after the bad guys, then you and I — all of us — are being profiled as bad guys.

The foundation for so much of this government over reach is the so-called “Patriot Act,” passed by a weak kneed congress following the 9/11 attacks. Those readers who regularly follow my columns know that I’ve been writing about the atrocities emanating from the Patriot Act for years. As I wrote back in 2005: “”Simply put, the Patriot Act is one of the most egregious acts against basic rights and liberties that we have witnessed in our lifetimes. This appalling law has, for all practical purposes, driven a stake through the heart of the Bill of Rights.”

There were some members of congress who raised strenuous objections to this loss of freedom. Then Senator Obama opposed the Patriot Act and railed that the surveillance policy in place by the Bush Administration “puts forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we provide. This legislation gives people no rights to appeal the need for such a search in a court of law, and no judge will hear their plea; no judge will hear their case.”

Stephen Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the American Federation of Scientists, summed up Obama’s change of heart this way: “Clearly, he took a critical stance towards surveillance as a senator. That has been all but absent from his policies as president.” Obama now, following in the Bush era’s footprints, seems to feel that there is nothing wrong with using executive power to bend the law. That is, as long as he’s the executive who’s doing it. Remember the 1971 song by the Who, Won’t Get Fooled Again?

Meet the new boss,

Same as the old boss.

Obama tells us to trust him (cause you know,) he needs all of us “to not question the government and help them prevent terrorist attacks.” Forget the constitution. We need to rely on government paternalism.

The New York Times, normally an Obama mouthpiece, editorialized: “President Obama issued the same platitude he has offered every time he is been caught overreaching in the use of his powers: Terrorists are a real menace and you should just trust us to deal with them because we have internal mechanisms (that we are not going to tell you about) to make sure we do not violate your rights.” Are you persuaded? My coffee buddies certainly aren’t.

Even the congressman who authored the Patriot Act has some real concerns over the abuses happening today. Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, a Republican from Wisconsin, said this week that the National Security Agency went way beyond its authority when it obtained a secret order to seize the log records of millions of Americans. “As the author of the Patriot Act, I’m extremely troubled by the FBI’s interpretation of this legislation,” he said. “I have always worried about potential abuses of the Patriot Act. Seizing phone records of millions of innocent people is excessive and un-American.”

As I headed for coffee today, I dug out my 30-year-old copy of George Orwell’s, “1984.” The cover was a bit tattered, the pages had yellowed, but the message still rings true. “There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they want to.”

There is a Latin motto that reads, “Scientia Est Potentia” — Knowledge is power. But when the government is able to gather up the reams of data that profile, and even define every aspect of your life, such knowledge and such power forces “we the people” to give up freedom for supposed security. The government is only working for our good? Tell that to my friends over coffee. They’re very skeptical. Just like me.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. . You can also hear Jim’s nationally syndicated radio show each Sunday morning from 9 am till 11:00 am, central time, on the Genesis Radio Network, with a live stream at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

- See more at: http://www.jimbrownla.com/blog/?p=9976#sthash.cEOKWj4o.dpuf

RINO Bill Cassidy was for Obamacare before he was against Obamacare

2013-06-10T14:58:00.000-05:00

Bill Cassidy’s Complicated Relationship With Obamacare

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary) | June 10th, 2013 at 11:57 AM |

When the establishment is looking to recruit someone to run for Senate, they first look to find like-minded people in the House. What better person to be a yes-man for McConnell than someone who has been a yes-man for House leadership? Their latest recruit is Congressman Bill Cassidy who is being supported by all of the establishment in his bid for Senate.

Every Republican in Washington plans to run for election against Obamacare. However, they all understand that we lack the votes to repeal the law statutorily. The only thing we can do is vote to defund Obamacare and the individual mandate through the HHS and Financial Services Appropriations bills. But when the rubber meets the road, the establishment types are missing in action. Bill Cassidy is one of those members who likes to inveigh against Obamacare even as he votes to fund it in the spending bills. He likes to take digs at the IRS, even though he declined to join the effort to defund their Obamacare office.

Like most of the establishment candidates who feel insecure in their opposition to Obamacare, Cassidy took his turn posing behind the Mitch McConnell RINO-protection tower last month.

This tower of babel has become the latest prop to bolster weak Republicans during primaries. Those people like Jim Bridenstine and Ted Cruz don’t need a photo op to illustrate their opposition to Obamacare. Their conviction stands for itself. Cassidy, on the other hand, needs that extra distraction to ingratiate himself to primary voters.

And for good reason.

Last October, Cassidy also posed with a red ribbon in a photo op. This time it wasn’t with the McConnell tower of deception; it was at a red-ribbon-cutting ceremony for the groundbreaking of an Obamacare school-based health clinic. Cassidy headlined the ceremony for the $500,000 Obamacare grant.

Folks, is this the best we can do in a state with virtually no Democrat bench? Really?
Cross-posted from The Madison Project

Re-posted from Red State

Cassidy Defends Liberal Record

2013-06-07T15:03:00.001-05:00

Cassidy Defends Liberal Record #lasen

We now have the first signs of a competitive contest developing in Louisiana between U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness (R-LA). In a story published by the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Cassidy defends his liberal record and shows why he is not the ideal candidate to challenge Democratic incumbent Mary Landrieu.

Here's the exchange between the Maness and Cassidy camps:

[Maness's] campaign staff was asked why Maness considers Cassidy insufficiently conservative. They replied with recent comments from the Senate Conservative Fund that criticized Cassidy, a physician, for a "dismal 63 percent conservative rating from the Heritage Action for America and his votes to increase the debt limit, bail out the federal highway system and his failure to cut off funding for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare."

Joel DiGrado, Cassidy's campaign manager replied: "Apparently Rob Maness believes that his own Congressman, Steve Scalise, as well as Rep. John Fleming and U.S. Senator David Vitter are not fit to represent Louisiana either. All three voted with Dr. Cassidy in supporting the Vitter-authored Highway Bill, which included the Restore Act language that the entire Louisiana delegation fought together to pass. Scalise and Fleming are in double trouble with Rob Maness as they didn't pass another one of his litmus tests when they joined Bill in supporting the No Budget, No Pay requirements for Congress." That bill included the debt limit extension.

Cassidy's response is disappointing for several reasons.

1) Cassidy is hiding behind other members of the delegation rather than standing on his own two feet. This approach won't work in defeating Mary Landrieu. His name is on the ballot, not Scalise, Fleming, or Vitter.

2) Cassidy is running as a Washington insider, defending the highway policies passed by Congress. Most voters don't trust Washington, and for good reason. The federal highway program, like most everything in Washington, is a complete failure. It should be devolved to the states so they can keep more of their money and escape all of the federal regulations that increase the cost of building roads. Cassidy's message on this issue isn't just liberal, it's also not going to help him defeat Mary Landrieu. If the question put to voters is which candidate has more power to pass laws in Washington and bring home the bacon, Mary Landrieu will likely win. The question needs to be: which candidate will fight the hardest to reduce power in Washington. That's a fight Senator Landrieu will most certainly lose.

3) Cassidy's continued support for suspending the debt limit is remarkable. Rather than simply acknowledging that it was a tough call and saying that he respects the views of those who oppose it, his spokesman attempts to justify the vote by pointing to the "No Budget, No Pay" requirement that was used by House leadership to justify the vote. This is regrettable. The budget resolution is a non-binding blueprint that Congress routinely ignores and many times these budgets call for higher taxes and more spending. In fact, it's likely that if the House-passed budget resolution goes to a conference committee with the Senate, it will be used to raise the debt limit again. Thanks, but no thanks Bill Cassidy. The "No Budget, No Pay" provision does not justify Cassidy's vote for a higher debt limit, and the fact that he's using it as a shield shows that he's part of the problem in Washington.

The Senate Conservatives Fund has not endorsed a candidate in the Louisiana Senate race at this time, but we definitely won't support Bill Cassidy. His record is too liberal and he's going to have a difficult time giving voters a compelling reason to support him over Mary Landrieu. They're both Washington insiders who like big government policies.

To Read the Original post: http://www.senateconservatives.com/site/post/2094/cassidy-defends-liberal-record-lasen

Posted By: Matt Hoskins, SCF Executive Director

Why there will never be another Special Prosecutor (a la Ken Starr) in the history of the United States

2013-05-15T20:22:00.000-05:00

By: Joshua W. Delano
9:25 PM EST
Washington, DC

Fun fact. After President Clinton's impeachment by the House, the Republicans and Democrats got rid of the Office of the Special Prosecutor. They didn't want to take a chance of another Special Prosecutor investigating a Republican or Demorat President in the future. Now the Attorney General has to be the one to appoint a Special Prosecutor. In short, it will never happen again. More power for the POTUS and the GOP/DNC...they are complicit in their corruption.

Also, did you know Speaker Boehner is briefed at the highest levels in regard to intelligence. In other words, he gets briefed at the same level as President Obama, Vice President Biden and former Secretary of State Clinton. So, one could deduce that the reason Speaker Boehner refuses to call for a Select Committee which would have the power to subpoena intelligence officials (CIA, State Dept, Military, and NSA) is because he also knows what really happened the night of the Benghazi terrorist attack.

One bright spot; when I asked Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ) if he thought they would be able to get a Select Committee in light of the testimony in order to subpoena some of the Benghazi survivors at the House Oversight Committee hearing on Benghazi last week he said,

'I don't think we will need a Select Committee to call them. Once things begin to come to light after this testimony people will want to come forward on their own.'

What he followed with surprised me more, 'Besides, we will save the subpoena power for the Administration.'

Are Obama and Boehner complicit in keeping silent the Benghazi survivors they insist on hiding from the media and Congress? Boehner, as Speaker, has the power in and of himself to call the Select Committee. Thus far he has refused.

What do you think?

Joshua W. Delano is the Publisher of Bayou Perspective and has appeared on numerous radio shows in Louisiana and DC. Joshua has been published in Townhall.com, PoliticsLA.com, and Human Events among others.

Please Donate to keep Bayou Perspective going. Any and all donations are accepted and appreciated:

I swore an oath

2013-05-14T12:48:00.002-05:00

I swore an oath

Our great nation is at a crossroads.

For decades – but especially over the last few years – our founding principles have been undermined by folks in Washington seeking to exert greater control over Americans like you and me.

More than any other time in history, the federal government has its hands deep in our wallets and our personal lives. And the consequences are disastrous – the economy is still floundering, our healthcare system is becoming even more expensive and less efficient, and our fundamental, natural rights are violated on a daily basis by the overreaches of agencies like the TSA.

My name is Colonel Rob Maness (USAF, Ret.) and when I was 17, I enlisted in the United States Air Force and swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

For the next 32 years of my life, I did everything within my power to serve the country I love through the military. I rose to the rank of a full colonel and served both in the field as a combat commander and back at home as an operations officer in the Pentagon and as one of the first staff members at Air Force Global Strike Command in Bossier City Louisiana.

When I retired from the Air Force in 2011, I intended to go home and serve the people of Louisiana by working hard every day and being involved in my community. But as President Barack Obama and his allies – including our Senator, Mary Landrieu – continued their assault on our freedoms, I knew in my heart that I couldn’t just stand by and watch.

The oath I took when I entered the Air Force is as sacred to me as the day that I swore it. And as much as I wanted to continue building my business and spending time at home, I had to do everything I could to stand up to their plans and fight for our Constitution once more.

That’s why today – after prayerful consideration with my wife Candy – I am announcing my candidacy to be Louisiana’s next United States Senator.

Join the Maness Team today.

I have a deep passion to restore America to the rock-solid foundation of the Constitution and the conservative values that made it so great. I know without a shadow of a doubt, that’s what it will take to get us back to prosperity at home and leadership abroad.

Our Senator, Mary Landrieu, worked hand-in-glove with President Obama as he forced his government takeover of our healthcare system through Congress. She’s supported hundreds of tax-and-spend measures since she was elected in 1997. She sponsored major expansions to the PATRIOT Act. And she voted to limit our 2nd Amendment Rights this Congress, siding with Chuck Schumer over the interests of Louisianans.

Our state deserves more than that. Our young men and women are putting it all on the line for freedom overseas – they shouldn’t have to worry about it being destroyed here at home by the likes of Mary Landrieu and Barack Obama and their big-government schemes.

I want to be your Senator and work hard to bring real, private sector jobs back to Louisiana.

When I got home from the Air Force, I worked as a utilities industry executive. Day in and day out, I saw how policies coming out of Washington – an unbalanced, inscrutable tax code, over burdensome regulations, and an economy reeling from out-of-control federal spending and intervention – were holding back business at all levels. I’ll fight for an end to those foolish policies and work for a pro-business, growth-oriented tax code.

I want to be your Senator to protect our rights – both abroad AND at home.

As a commander in the Air Force and an officer within the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I know what the situation is overseas, and I will fight for our military to have the resources it needs. I will not rest until those responsible for the tragedy and cover up in Benghazi are brought to justice – and I will never stand idly by should such a situation ever arise again.

Perhaps more pressingly, I will stand firm against those in Washington and in the media who don’t care about our Constitution, and want to put all of our decisions and our liberty firmly in the hands of Washington D.C.

I will protect our privacy and push back on every attempt to make bureaucrats in D.C. the governors of our lives. For one, I want Louisiana teachers – and those of every state – to be able to teach and protect their students, not be handcuffed to the Department of Education.

It’s long past time to stop sending more and more money to Washington just to be wasted, or worse, used against our interests.

We’re at a crossroads, and I am putting myself in the arena to push us in the right direction. I have dedicated my life to the service of the United States, and as your next Senator from Louisiana, I will fight for our rights and for the future greatness of America with that same dedication and passion.

If you want a deeply committed conservative with a record of service to both the United States and Louisiana representing you in Washington, I urge you to join my campaign today. I’m more than happy to put everything I have on the line for our future, but I can’t do it without your help. Whether it be $5000 or $50 or $5, anything you can give to this cause will be a huge help as we march toward 2014.

With your help, we can finally move Louisiana back onto solid ground. Will you help me?

Sincerely,

Rob Maness
Constitutional-Conservative-Republican
Candidate for U.S. Senate in Louisiana

Website: RobManess.com

Facebook: facebook.com/LouisianaSenateVet

Twitter: twitter.com/robmaness

P.S. Mary Landrieu is sitting on nearly $4 million dollars to defend herself from this challenge, and every early donation sends a message that the people aren’t going to simply sit by and let her play along with the radical Obama agenda any longer.

To contribute by mail, send your check to:

Friends of Rob Maness
P.O. Box 25
Madisonville, LA 70447

Paid for by Friends of Rob Maness
www.RobManess.com

Friends of Rob Maness, P.O. Box 25, Madisonville, LA 70447

Time to Sue & Investigate Obama's IRS Tea Party targeting

2013-05-13T22:10:00.000-05:00

What has long been suspected has finally been exposed. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has admitted targeting Tea Party organizations and other conservative groups.

In the 2012 election season, these groups were harassed by the IRS in an inappropriate manner. Supposedly, the IRS was investigating whether the organizations were violating their tax-exempt status, but, in reality, it was a ploy to burden these conservatives during an election season.
While conservatives were feeling the wrath of the IRS and being subjected to additional reviews, liberals were allowed to continue their political activities unimpeded.

This shocking revelation should be a cause of alarm for all Americans. It shows that crass political motivations can influence the IRS, an agency that must be completely independent of politics.
Sadly, this is not the first time that the Obama administration has targeted the Tea Party. In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security admitted planting agents at rallies to spy on their fellow Americans and try to gather information damaging to the Tea Party. They were looking for military veterans and other patriots espousing anti-government views.
After these new IRS disclosures, it is not surprising why so many Americans harbor true anger toward their government.

Lois Lerner, the IRS official in charge of reviewing tax-exempt groups, admitted that the agency flagged organizations that had words such as “tea party” or “patriot” in their name. It is amazing that our country has moved so far to the political left that such all American terms are a cause for investigation.

At a conference in Washington D.C., Lerner apologized for the actions of officials in the Cincinnati IRS office, who initiated the reviews. Such actions should not only be condemned, but also there should be a full scale congressional investigation. There may be clear cases where the law was violated as the IRS pursued a political goal to damage the tea party movement.
There are many questions that need to be answered about this bombshell. Who directed these Cincinnati staffers to initiate the reviews? Surely, it was not something that low level employees dreamed up without direction from superiors. As Americans, we are entitled to know how far the corruption extends at the IRS.

Imagine if the Republicans had used the IRS to target the labor unions or feminist groups. There would be an outcry in the media and throughout the country. Such outrage is appropriate today as we learn of the harassment directed at conservatives.

During the election season, conservative leaders complained about IRS harassment and the undue numbers of questions they were being asked about their organization. Not surprisingly, they were ignored by the liberal mainstream news media. The IRS officials were also demanding that the conservative groups disclose their list of donors, which is a clear violation of agency policy.
According to Lerner, the agency’s behavior was “wrong. That was absolutely incorrect, it was insensitive and it was inappropriate. That's not how we go about selecting cases for further review. The IRS would like to apologize for that.”

Well, it is a little late to apologize now after putting conservative activists through hell. Along with a congressional investigation, many conservative taxpayers are no doubt considering legal action. Taxpayers can sue the IRS for amounts ranging up to $1 million if they can prove damages were “caused by actions that are reckless or that intentionally disregard provisions of the tax code.”
Let’s hope conservative taxpayers take these IRS officials to court because they can surely prove reckless actions in the name of politics.

Laughably, Lerner claims that the actions were not motivated by political bias and that higher level IRS staffers were unaware.

Clearly, this reeks of political bias as only conservative organizations were targeted. U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) demanded an investigation. He implored the White House to “conduct a transparent, government-wide review aimed at assuring the American people that these thuggish practices are not under way at the IRS or elsewhere in the administration against anyone, regardless of their political views."

Today, Americans of all political persuasions should be ashamed of the actions of our government. Until significant changes are made at the IRS and the people who engaged in this activity are fired, it will be impossible to trust the IRS again

With trust in government at an all time low, this just makes a bad situation worse.

Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana based program, “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m. weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. For more information, visit his web site at www.ringsidepolitics.com. E-mail him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com.

Rob Maness to run for U.S. Senate in Louisiana

2013-05-13T10:58:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 13, 2013

CONTACT: Alex Rosenwald
Phone: 504-600-3641
alex@politicalmedia.com

Rob Maness to run for U.S. Senate in Louisiana

Colonel Rob Maness (USAF, Ret.) today released the following statement announcing his candidacy for the United States Senate seat currently held by Mary Landrieu (D-LA).

“When I was 17, I enlisted in the United States Air Force and swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Although it’s been more than 35 years, that oath is as sacred to me as the day that I swore it.

“Since my retirement from the Air Force in 2011, I’ve seen first-hand how the Obama Administration – along with our current Senator Mary Landrieu – are hurting our economy and our freedom with unconstitutional big-government schemes like ObamaCare,” said Rob.

“That’s why today – after prayerful consideration with my wife Candy – I am announcing my candidacy to be Louisiana’s next United States Senator.

“I have a deep passion to restore America to the rock-solid foundation of the Constitution and the conservative values that made it so great. I know without a shadow of a doubt, that’s what it will take to get us back to prosperity at home and leadership abroad.

“Our state deserves a Senator that will side with the interests of Louisianans, not collude with the Washington politicians to give them more control over our lives.

Rob, a 32-year veteran of the Air force serving both in the field as a combat commander and back at home as an operations officer in the Pentagon and as one of the first staff members at Air Force Global Strike Command in Bossier City Louisiana, is currently the director of a large utility and the owner of a third-generation family farm with his wife, Candy.

Rob is also a founding Board member at NOLA Patriots, Inc., a veteran’s advocacy group committed to preventing veteran suicides and ensuring military families have equal access to benefits. He has served on the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and Hispano Chamber of Commerce boards of directors. As President of his local chapter of the Military Officer’s Association of America, he created an annual scholarship fund for graduating high school students.

Rob completed his undergraduate degrees while attending night school at the University of Tampa and holds Masters degrees from Harvard University’s Kennedy School, the Air Command and Staff College, and the US College of Naval Warfare.

Rob and Candy have five children, including two sons serving in the military (one active US Navy, one US Army guardsman), and two grandchildren. They are members of the First Baptist Church, Covington Louisiana.

Website: http://RobManess.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LouisianaSenateVet

Twitter: https://twitter.com/robmaness

###

New Group Wants to End The Department of Homeland Security

2013-04-23T12:40:00.000-05:00

“DHS is too political and costs too much money,

too much privacy and too much liberty

for an illusion of security.” – Larry Ward

Time to END DHS

Gun Appreciation Day Founder launches the EndDHS.com Campaign

to immediately dismantle the Department of Homeland Security.

Let the debate begin.

The Department of Homeland Security has failed America in every way and is beyond repair. DHS failed its original mission “to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards” during the Boston Marathon. The Boston Marathon bombing proves that DHS can neither prevent terrorist attacks nor bring terrorists to justice. It was local police, American citizens and a Lord & Taylor private security camera that identified and captured the bombers.

Rep. Peter King, Chairman, Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterintelligence & Terrorism said it is “foolhardy to be making cuts in Homeland Security” and the only way we can be safer is if we had less privacy and more cameras.

Rep. King should not be judged too harshly on his statements. He has been in Washington D.C. for decades and has been indoctrinated into the “logic” that government failure must lead to a larger budget. If only we had more money we would be safer.

Even the eternal optimist Ronald Reagan once said, “A government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” President Reagan, to his credit, never presided over a $60 billion dollar per year agency whose sheer existence threatens to extinguish the liberty the country was founded on.

DHS is too political to be effective to carry out its primary mission to secure America. On April 7, 2009 in a report overtly titled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,” DHS unilaterally changed the definition of “terrorist” from “Islamic radical” to “Right-winger.”

In the coming weeks, the EndDHS.com Campaign will explore, expose and explain the incompetence, waste, corruption, abuse, unchecked power and civil-liberty violations of the Department of Homeland Security.

Our great nation thrived for more than 200 years without DHS. We don’t need it. DHS is too political and costs too much money, too much privacy and too much liberty for an illusion of security. Let the debate begin.

For More Information and to sign the petition to end DHS, visit: Constitutional Rights PAC

VIDEO: Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Department officers arrest Alexander John Lege for recording a traffic stop on his phone

2013-04-14T09:55:00.000-05:00

According to the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's department watch commander I spoke to this morning, he was arrested on the 11th, and released on the 12th.

Apparently, in Louisiana it's not illegal to record. However if you are obstructing a police investigation (albeit from 50 feet away) and you are asked to leave, and you don't; you get arrested for that. Also you get a fine up to $500 and not more than 6 months in jail, ...or both.

Here is the law by which he was detained:

RS 14 §329. Interfering with a law enforcement investigation

A. Interfering with a law enforcement investigation is the intentional interference or obstruction of a law enforcement officer conducting investigative work at the scene of a crime or the scene of an accident by refusing to move or leave the immediate scene of the crime or the accident when ordered to do so by the law enforcement officer when the offender has reasonable grounds to believe the officer is acting in the performance of his official duties.

B. For the purposes of this Section, "law enforcement officer" means any commissioned police officer, sheriff, deputy sheriff, marshal, deputy marshal, correctional officer, constable, wildlife enforcement agent, state park warden, livestock brand inspector, forestry officer, or probation and parole officer.

C. Whoever violates the provisions of this Section shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

Acts 2010, No. 349, §1.

IRS, Nanny state, drones, gun registry: 1984 at the door

2013-04-12T20:43:00.000-05:00

Written By: Jeff Crouere

The United States of America has reached the nightmare levels outlined in George Orwell’s famous classic, Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Orwell wrote of a “big brother” government with constant surveillance of individuals, who are persecuted for independent thinking and not allowed any sort of privacy. These draconian policies are carried out by a massive government bureaucracy all in the name of the “greater good.”
In our country today, our federal government has become Orwellian. It continues to grow with reckless abandon. Our national debt is approaching $17 trillion as more people become dependent on government services to survive. A shocking 90 million Americans are not involved in the labor force as nine million Americans are receiving disability payments and almost 50 million Americans are forced to accept food stamps.

Sadly, both the private sector and the concept of privacy are under attack. In the last labor report, a mere 88,000 jobs were created while 663,000 people exited the workforce due to frustration, retirement or disability.

In the toxic environment, our federal government is expanding and it is becoming harder to earn a living in the private sector and remain free of government control. This will only get worse in 2014. The President’s healthcare plan will extend the reach of government to over 20% of our economy. This is being done without the support of the American people and the very effort may cripple our healthcare industry.

As our economy is becoming totally controlled by the federal government, the Nanny state wants to exert more control over our personal lives. There is no better example than New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg who is trying to dictate what people can eat and drink, what legal prescription drugs they can use and whether mothers can use baby formula. This quest for control is all in the name of what is supposedly good for his beleaguered constituents.

On the federal level, gun control legislation is moving through Congress with Republican support. It will create universal background checks and will be ineffective without a national registry of guns, which the President supports.

This week, it was revealed that the IRS has the right to review email communications. This shocking disclosure was condemned by Republicans and Democrats alike. The IRS contends that it does not need a court order or any type of approval to examine the electronic correspondence, including text messages, of unsuspecting Americans. This extensive attack on privacy is a violation of the Fourth Amendment, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Clearly, to review text messages or emails the government should obtain a warrant and it should be limited to terrorist suspects. The assault on privacy was accelerated by the Patriot Act, passed in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks; however, these new IRS powers are taking government surveillance to an entirely new level.

The IRS claims that Americans do not have a “reasonable expectation of privacy in such communication.” This assertion is unwelcome news to millions of Americans who do indeed expect their electronic communications to be free from government oversight.
U.S. Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) said that the revelation is “an affront not only to our system of checks and balances, but also to our fundamental right to privacy.” Udall said that this IRS power is an “overreach.” He is imploring his colleagues to overhaul the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

Obviously, this act needs to be strengthened at a minimum to deal with new forms of Internet usage and communication. For example, IRS agents are also being accused of checking Facebook postings of Americans without permission.
All of these actions by the IRS or other government agencies should require a warrant. If there is no warrant, Americans should expect a reasonable degree of privacy.
In our Orwellian state today, Americans are constantly being monitored by cameras, drones and other types of security measures. While this is being done in the name of keeping us safe, it is also eroding our precious right to privacy.
It is time we turned the tables on the oppressive government and demanded privacy to attend church, shopping malls, and ball games, cultural and social events without being watched by government monitors.

Americans should also be free to lawfully engage in electronic communication or, heaven forbid, buy a gun without the oppressive oversight of a federal government hell-bent on accumulating power and limiting the God given rights of its citizens.

Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana based program, “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m.weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. For more information, visit his web site at Ringside Politics.

Bill Cassidy Announces run For US Senate

2013-04-03T06:01:00.000-05:00

Congressman Cassidy will be running against higher taxes, Obamacare, and the gun-grabbing politics of Barack Obama and Mary Landrieu.

To win, Cassidy will have to overcome Mary's massive campaign war chest build up by Obama and the national Democrat machine. Unions, abortion activists, gun grabbers and the rest of the extreme Liberal Left will fight tooth and nail to keep Mary Landrieu and Barack Obama's hold on this US Senate seat and Louisiana. God-willing the people of Louisiana will stand up and vote for Bill Cassidy for US Senate.

Jindal now most unpopular politician in Louisiana

2013-04-03T05:53:00.002-05:00

by Jeff Crouere

What a fall from grace for the Governor of Louisiana.

Just last year, he was being heralded as one of the most popular Governors in the country. For a time, it seemed that Bobby Jindal was the hottest political star on the horizon for the GOP, earning speaking invitations from groups all across the country.

How times have changed for the Governor. He is no longer the flavor of the month. Right after the presidential election, Jindal attacked the Republican Party as “stupid,” These comments were not popular in GOP circles. He further alienated himself when he ripped the party’s presidential nominee Mitt Romney. This treatment was unexpected since Jindal spent months crisscrossing the nation campaigning for the former Massachusetts Governor.

His presidential fortunes took a nose dive at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event in Washington D.C. Jindal gave a lame speech using recycled jokes from the Gridiron show. It led to his poor showing in the CPAC presidential straw poll. Jindal finished with only 3 percent support, tied for eighth place.

If those results were not enough to discourage Jindal from running for President, the latest Louisiana public opinion survey should put an end to his unrealistic White House dreams. A politician who is not popular in his home state cannot possibly hope to win a nationwide election.

In the latest Southern Media and Opinion Research (SMOR) poll, the Governor registers an anemic approval rating of only 38 percent. These numbers show a dramatic drop from his support level in the March 2012 SMOR poll. Last year, Jindal enjoyed a strong 61 percent approval rating, but, today, his disapproval rating of 60 percent is at approximately that same level.

The SMOR poll indicated that the Governor is more unpopular than President Barack Obama, who registers a 43 percent approval rating. Obama lost Louisiana by huge margins in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, but, today, he would arguably defeat Jindal if paired against the Governor in an election.

Not only is the Governor more unpopular than the President, but he also has lower approval numbers than the Lt. Governor, State Treasurer, and former Governors Edwards and Blanco. His numbers pale in comparison to U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, who registered a strong approval rating of 56 percent in the SMOR poll.

With this horrific numbers, the Governor is now the most unpopular politician in Louisiana, beating only David Duke, who no longer resides in the country.

The SMOR poll showed that Jindal’s education and health care policies are particularly unpopular. In addition, his constant travel has started to annoy more Louisiana voters with only 40 percent of voters approving of his out of state campaigning and media appearances.

In the upcoming legislative session, the Governor will have a difficult time selling his controversial tax “reform” plan. Jindal hopes to eliminate income taxes, but increase a variety of other taxes in an effort to maintain revenue neutrality. This tax swap has been lampooned by non-profit organizations, ministers, business groups, as well as leading conservatives and liberals. In fact, only two groups of any significance have agreed to support the Governor’s plan: the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association and the Pelican Institute.

The Governor’s tax plan calls for increasing state sales taxes to 6.25%, adding sales taxes to many services that currently do not collect sales taxes. It also features a massive increase in cigarette taxes and additional taxes for two key industries in Louisiana, oil and gas and film. Not surprisingly, the SMOR poll shows that the Governor’s tax plan is only supported by 27 percent of the public. With an unpopular Governor pushing an unpopular plan, even squeamish legislators should feel confident enough to derail this proposal.

Hopefully, the poll will give the Governor a wake-up call and encourage him to stop pandering to the national press and GOP power brokers. He needs to focus on a state that is in trouble. The SMOR poll shows that the people of Louisiana are very pessimistic about the future with 48 percent of believing conditions are getting worse and only 20 percent believing that better times are ahead.

The poll indicates that the Governor is at the lowest point in his political career. With a contentious legislative session looming, a budget mess on the horizon, an environmental disaster brewing at the sinkhole site in Assumption Parish and a federal and state investigation into his Department of Health and Hospitals Medicaid contract, it might get even worse for the troubled Governor of Louisiana.

Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana based program, “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m.weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. For more information, visit his web site at www.ringsidepolitics.com. E-mail him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com.

LOUISIANA INSURANCE RATES A MAJOR SCANDAL!

2013-03-22T10:51:00.000-05:00

March 22^ed, 2013

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

LOUISIANA INSURANCE RATES

A MAJOR SCANDAL!

Can you put lipstick on a pig? Well, business leaders are certainly giving it their best shot in an effort to counteract the fact that Louisiana’s outrageously expensive insurance rates make the Bayou State an environment hostile to the attraction of new businesses. But, last week, compounding the problem, new figures showed automobile rates continue to rise, along with insurance rates for every homeowner. And unfortunately, both legislators and insurance regulators are assuming a blasé attitude — “that’s just the price you have to pay for living in Louisiana.”

Newspaper headlines blared out across the country about the skyrocketing insurance costs of driving an automobile in Louisiana. USA Today: “Louisiana Car Insurance Costs Most – the state can’t catch a break.” The San Francisco Chronicle: “Louisiana Tops State Rankings of Car Insurance Rates.” National Auto Week: “Drivers in Louisiana are hit hardest on Car Insurance Premiums.” New York Daily News: “Louisiana has the nation’s most expensive car insurance.” Similar headlines appeared in newspapers coast to coast.

Just how bad are the Louisiana rates? Compared to surrounding states they’re stunning. At an average rate of $2699, the Bayou State far outpaces its neighbors to win the dubious distinction of having the highest car insurance rates in the nation. Texas weighs in at $1,545, making it over $1000 cheaper to insure in Texas than in Louisiana. To the east, Mississippi, a state that fares worse than Louisiana on most lists, car insurance averages a paltry $1,345. Should it really cost $1,354 more for car insurance in Louisiana than in Mississippi? To the north, Arkansas comes in at $1,545, which is $1,154 less than insuring in Louisiana. In every other state in America, the cost of insuring a vehicle is not just less, but a lot less.

Thousands of Louisianans have a camp or beach property in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama or Florida, where legal residence is claimed, in order to obtain a much cheaper rate. Take note of some of your fellow employees or neighbors who drive around your city with out of state license plates. Even at the state capitol, some of the top assistants to statewide officials drive cars registered in other states.

Why are Louisiana rates so high and so out of line with the rest of the nation? Lawsuit abuse — “It’s those damn lawyers,” shout the insurance companies. But a check of the laws shows that both Mississippi and Texas allow for punitive damages that dramatically increase jury verdicts, where Louisiana does not allow such damages. Doctors in Louisiana only have to buy the first $100,000 of malpractice coverage, with a state fund picking up the excess. The problems go way beyond “those damn lawyers.”

Louisiana brags about its wonderful differences and the special charm of living in the deepest of the deep southern states, and rightfully so, when it comes to the culture, music, food, architecture, plantation homes, football and ambience. But the lousy roads, drunk driving, uninsured drivers, and poorly trained drivers are part of Louisiana’s differences as well, and they aren’t so wonderful.

Then there is regulation, or the lack thereof in Louisiana. In most states, there is a pre approval system that requires insurance companies to submit a rate increase request to the Department of Insurance. Yes, there is a submissions process in Louisiana. But, in Louisiana, the insurance company can go right ahead and raise their rates before regulator review. This makes as much sense as closing the gate after the horse is already out of the barn.

Last week brought a double whammy to Louisianans who buy insurance. On top of the rampant auto rates, Louisiana homeowners really took it on the chin. The state run Citizens Property Insurance Company has voted to borrow $100 million to pay for its own negligence. The company has failed time and time again to follow the law, and from its inception it has refused to institute even the most fundamental financial standards that even the poorest run company would put into place as a matter of course. There is little doubt that any neutral observer would conclude what a headline in the local press summed up well: Citizens Property Insurance Company is the most dysfunctional and incompetent agency in all of Louisiana state government.

This state run fiasco has received blistering criticism from Louisiana state treasurer, John Kennedy. After Citizens voted to borrow the $100 million last week, Kennedy didn’t hold back any punches. “This company is insolvent and yet again it has decided to reach into the pocket of taxpayers,” Kennedy said Thursday. “It’s time for the legislature to revisit this concept. Let’s talk about whether there’s a better way.”

Kennedy is right that it’s far past time to abolish this inept and feckless state created atrocity that was doomed to failure from the beginning. When you borrow money, there comes a time to pay the piper. Tragically, every Louisiana property owner will have to cough up additional assessments on their property to pay for the borrowing. And has there been any legitimate necessity to borrow in the first place? There have been no major insurance claims in the state. No hurricanes, flooding or hail storms of any consequence. Not one private insurance company has had to undertake deficit financing. If they did, any responsible insurance department would have shut them down. Citizens Property Insurance Company will stick it to Louisiana homeowners for one reason — to support its own continuing incompetence.

If you add up the much higher charges incurred by Louisiana insurance purchasers as compared to surrounding states, the local folks are stuck paying out well over $1.5 billion a year more. That’s $1.5 billion that has been taken away from the local economy. It’s $1.5 billion that Louisiana families could be using to educate their kids, and improve their quality of life. It’s an injustice to Louisiana taxpayers that elected officials seem unwilling to address. And all Louisiana families are the losers.

*******

“It’s not hurricanes that are causing high insurance rates, but bad government policy.”

Policy analyst Michelle Minton

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. You can also hear Jim’s nationally syndicated radio show each Sunday morning from 9 am till 11:00 am, central time, on the Genesis Radio Network, with a live stream at http://www.jimbrownusa.com

Team Jindal scrambling to avoid indictments

2013-03-22T10:33:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, right after the Baton Rouge Advocate outed the Federal Grand Jury investigation of the Jindal Administration, Team Jindal cancelled the contract at the heart of the investigated. See updated story here.

Apparently, Team Jindal thinks ending the contract will end the investigation into criminal wrong-doing by the Jindal Administration.

“[Secretary of DHH Bruce] Greenstein was not immediately available for comment.” Ibid. He is probably practicing taking the 5th Amendment or was writing his letter of resignation.

The contract under investigation is with Greenstein’s former employer; probably just a coincidence. However, Greenstein lied about his involvement with the contract.

Bobby Jindal has an alibi. He wasn’t even in Louisiana when the contract was signed.

Zero tolerance

Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols said: “ We have zero tolerance for wrongdoing, and we will continue to cooperate fully with any investigation…”

I don’t know if lying is covered by Bobby Jindal’s zero tolerance policy, but it begs the question of whether Greenstein will be fired per the policy. Rarely, does Jindal do what he promises.

Economic development

Word is circulating that the ethically-challenged Stephen Moret will hold a press conference announcing the investigation as an economic development boon for criminal defense lawyers in Louisiana.

Moret will give Jindal full credit for the investigation which caused the boon. For once that will be true.

Just a hint to Team Jindal; find someone other than Jimmy Faircloth to represent you. He’s currently batting zero representing the state.

C.B.

Original Story can be found at Forgotston.com

Why McCain and Graham should resign now, for the good of America & the future of the GOP

2013-03-20T17:22:00.002-05:00

March 20, 2013 | Dr. Lawrence Hunter | RevolutionPAC.com

Time To Put Senators John McCain And Lindsey Graham Out To Pasture Before They Further Damage America With Their Warped statist views of the Constitution

Send Out The Neo-Clowns

Rand Paul conducted a heroic 13-hour filibuster last week disclaiming President Obama’s claim of extraordinary, unilateral, executive authority to set aside due process and the Bill of Rights so he could kill American citizens on U.S. soil on his own say so without charge or trial whenever he determined it is in the national interest to do so. Meanwhile, most Republican and virtually all Democratic senators ran for the hills to avoid having to stand up to President Obama and challenge his outrageous grab for power.

Senator Paul was so persuasive that the day after the filibuster, President Obama repudiated the domestic use of weaponized drones and renounced his earlier claim of presidential authority to kill Americans on U.S. soil without charge or trial.

Rather than celebrate this enormous victory for the Constitution and individual rights, war-crazed GOP Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham went on a rampage attacking Paul for standing virtually alone on the Senate Floor to defend due process and the Bill of Rights.

Send Out The Neo-Clowns

Help Us Send Lindsey Graham and John McCain this message
On TV, radio and in print:

Your Warped Statist View of the Constitution Has No Rightful Place In The United States Senate.

Resign Now, For The Good Of America And The Future Of The GOP

“I find the question offensive,” Graham said, referring to whether the president believes he has the authority to kill a noncombatant U.S. citizen without charge or trial. “I do not believe that question deserves an answer.”

Well, evidently the president found it a question worthy of answering. Here’s what Attorney General Eric Holder wrote in a letter to Senator Paul the day after the filibuster:

“Does the president have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on American soil? The answer is no. The answer to that question is no.”

John McCain's reaction belittling Senator Paul for being out of the “GOP mainstream” was even more over the top:

“If Mr. Paul wants to be taken seriously, he needs to do more than pull political stunts that fire up impressionable libertarian kids in their college dorms. He needs to know what he's talking about.”

The snorting old bull then proceeded to deride anyone who backed Paul’s one-man stand as “wacko birds.”

Well, Wacko Birds, it’s time to unite against these crazed Neo-Clowns—put a rope through the old bulls’ nose rings and drag their sorry hides into the outer pasture where they can’t do any more harm to America with their perpetual wars and police-state mentality.

One must conclude that if (1) Senators McCain and Graham were outraged and offended by Rand Paul’s question to the president (which they said they were); and if (2) these two old-bull senators not only did not avail themselves of the perfect opportunity Paul gave them to defend the Constitution against an egregious presidential grab for power (which they did not); but also (3) attacked Senator Paul for doing so (which they did), then the Senators must be perfectly OK with what in effect would have been, had it been allowed to stand, a presidential palace coup.

Pouring scorn on Rand Paul’s legitimate efforts to defend the Constitution and protect individual rights against a power-grab by the president, which Senators McCain and Graham have done, is morally obtuse and constitutionally illiterate.

The rest of the world, it seems, is not a big enough battlefield on which to wage war for these neo-clowns, who would turn the United States of America itself into a battlefield and replace due process and the Bill of Rights with the law of war, which is to say martial law. Don’t forget, Lindsey Graham is the same neo-clown who, on the Floor of the U.S. Senate, said of U.S. citizens accused of “supporting terrorism” (whatever the hell that means), “When they say, ‘I want my lawyer,’ you tell them: ‘Shut up. You don’t get a lawyer. You are an enemy combatant.’”

Senator McCain and Senator Graham, you have disgraced the U.S. Senate and the Constitution you swore to uphold. It is you who have offended the American people by your intemperate and outrageous attack on Senator Paul. It is you who are not to be taken seriously.

The Founding Fathers designed the Constitution to require Members of Congress to defend the legislative branch and the Constitution against over reach by the other branches of government. If Members of Congress don’t publicly support and defend the Constitution against threats as they swore to do when they assumed office, they are actively undermining and attacking the Constitution by their inaction. They are derelict in their duty, and they must go.

Send Out The Neo-Clowns

Help Us Send Lindsey Graham and John McCain this message On TV, radio and in print:

Your Warped Statist View of the Constitution Has No Rightful Place In The United States Senate.

Resign Now, For The Good Of America And The Future Of The GOP

So, Senator Graham is offended , is he, by Rand Paul’s question to the president? How hilarious. That’s like a Cardinal of the Catholic Church saying he is offended by the mother of a young son asking a priest, “Are you a pedophile?” Not, perhaps, the kind of question one crony asks of another in polite establishment circles in Washington, DC but neither pedophilia nor indiscriminate and unconstitutional killing is deserving of social etiquette in the real world. The President of the United States does not get to keep his own personal kill list, and Members of Congress who support such an abhorrent idea should not get to keep their Senate seats.

Senator Lindsey Graham, for the good of the nation and the salvation of your soul, resign from the U.S. Senate and get yourself to a monastery, and take Senator John McCain with you, where you both can contemplate your sins against your fellow citizens and other innocent people of the world for the rest of your days.

ALL YOU REALLY NEED IS A SHOTGUN, TWO SHELLS, AND INSURANCE, HUH?

2013-03-01T12:03:00.002-06:00

March 1^st, 2013

St. John, The Virgin Islands

ALL YOU REALLY NEED IS A SHOTGUN,

TWO SHELLS, AND INSURANCE, HUH?

The ongoing gun debate had two new elements added to the mix this past week. Vice President Joe Biden suggested that a shotgun was all any individual needed for self-protection. And several states proposed legislation that would to require gun owner’s insurance for anyone possessing a firearm. Do either of these proposals make sense?

Here is what the Vice President suggested in a Town Hall meeting sponsored by Parents Magazine: “If there are bad guys on the property, walk out on the balcony and fire a couple blasts from their double-barrel shotgun. You don't need 30 rounds to protect yourself," he adds, “and a shotgun's easier to aim than an assault-style rifle. Plus, two shotgun blasts should scare off most intruders,” Biden says.

Is he right? Maybe, maybe not. Let me share a personal experience. Back in the 1970s, I lived out in the country on a long gravel road in a rural part of Northeast Louisiana. The closest law-enforcement station was 30 miles away, and there were no neighbors close by.

I was home alone, one evening, and it was little after midnight when I thought I saw a faint flickering of light the through the trees. I got out of bed, and went out on the porch (as the Vice President suggested) for better view, and a yes, I could see several lights on my property, about 100 yards away. I stood there, watching for a few minutes. Then the lights disappeared. I called the local sheriff’s office, knowing that it would be a good while before the deputy could be on the scene. Were they approaching the house? I had no idea. But not wanting to be on the defensive in my own home, I decided to go outside.

Armed with a rifle and a 10 round clip, a semi automatic 9mm pistol, and a spotlight, I slipped out the back door, made a wide circle from the back of my house, and made a rear approach to the area I thought the lights had come from. Two trucks were parked side by side, and I could hear low voices.

I anchored the spotlight on a tree limb, and reeled out the cord to a spot some twenty yards away. I didn’t want to be near the light if shots were fired. After a few deep breaths, I flipped on the light, fired four shots into the air, and yelled a stream of obscenities. The two trucks immediately backed up and hightailed off my property.

An hour later, local Sheriff Buddy Schiele made it to the house and told me that his deputies had stopped the two trucks with four hunters who were illegally hunting deer at night. They had parked on my property, apparently with plans to walk over an adjoining levee in hopes of finding a deer. No harm done, but until that moment, I had no way of knowing whether these were bungling trespassers, or bad guys with malicious intentions.

The point of my story? A shotgun with two shells would certainly not ward of four potential thugs who might have been after more than a deer. I would have been put at great personal risk with just the shotgun. No Mr. Vice President, you need more in a rural setting when you have only yourself to put up any defense.

How about the proposal to force every gun owner to buy liability insurance? After all, if you drive a car, you are required by every state in the U.S. to have liability insurance. So, if drivers have to have auto insurance, why shouldn’t gun owners have to have gun owner’s insurance?

First of all, courts nationwide have determined that driving is a privilege. And not a (second amendment) right as defended by gun owners. A driver is generally on a public highway, built with taxpayer funds, and the “rules of the road” require liability insurance. It should be pointed out that a driver is not required to have either a driver’s license or insurance if the vehicle is driven on private property. I taught my kids and assorted nieces and nephews to drive at our family camp in rural Louisiana, where they could practice on dirt roads. No license or insurance necessary.

Based on my experience as a former Louisiana insurance commissioner, I can also tell readers that the cost of such proposed gun liability insurance would not come cheap. New York is presently considering in their legislature a proposal to require every gun owner to have a minimum of $1 million in liability coverage. I have not sat down with insurance actuaries to figure out specifically what the premium would be, but I would estimate that a gun-owner is looking at a minimum of $2000 a year to pay for such insurance. The insurance premium could be significantly more for someone living in the inner city. Such a cost would price the ownership of a gun outside the reach of the average citizen.

Unless the activity to be insured is considered a privilege, then there is no requirement or a "right" to insure any object or undertaking. I did not have to insure my house, but it just makes good financial sense to do so. There is no requirement that an individual have life insurance. One makes such a choice to protect their loved ones when they die. Many people have general liability insurance coverage on any activity that might subject them to a lawsuit. That would include protection against a lawsuit involving a gun accident. But purchasing such insurance is not mandatory. It’s a choice.

In the months to come, numerous ideas will be floated in an effort to regulate gun ownership. Certainly there are some people who should not be in the possession of a gun. But allowing only two shotgun shells, and requiring mandatory gun insurance are not reasonable, much less practical, limitations that should be placed on law-abiding citizens. The issue is not about hunting. In the face of violent criminal threat, your weapon and your wits may be all you have to protect yourself.

********

“Democracy is two wolfs and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.” Benjamin Franklin, 1759

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. You can also hear Jim’s nationally syndicated radio show each Sunday morning from 9 am till 11:00 am, central time, on the Genesis Radio Network, with a live stream at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

Going Galt in 2013

2013-02-27T08:12:00.000-06:00

Going Galt in 2013

The term “Going Galt” is a reference to Ayn Rand’s epic novel Atlas Shrugged. In the book, John Galt is subject to forced unionization when the founder of the automobile company for which he works dies and his liberal children inherit the plant. John responds by leaving the company, but also by starting an underground movement to encourage the best and the brightest to withdraw from the corrupt society which was leeching the value from their lives.
Eventually, most of the “strikers” made their way to a hidden valley in Colorado, colloquially referred to as “Galt’s Gulch.” Not all of the strikers did that though. John stayed in New York City and traveled extensively to recruit new members. Francisco d’Anconia traveled the world, living the life of a genius playboy, as part of a larger plan to bankrupt corrupt businesses and governments. Ragnar Danneskjöld took up piracy on the high seas as a method of liberating tax money from governments and giving it back to the legitimate owners. Hugh Akston gave up his position as a professor of philosophy to become a cook at a roadside diner.
Clearly, “Going Galt” does not mean the same thing to all people. Going Galt is a very individual expression. Your method of Going Galt depends upon your own interests, skills, resources, and opportunities. The current state of surveillance technology makes living together in a Colorado valley unfeasible. You may decide to make your own gulch overseas or, like John, your gulch may be a hidden room in a dingy New York City apartment.
After discussion with a large number of individuals who are either in the process of Going Galt or who have already gone, I have determined that most “Going Galt” activities fall into four major categories:

Earn Less Taxable Income
Reduce Expenses and Pay Less Sales Tax
Civil Disobedience
Prepare for the Collapse

Earn Less Taxable Income
Income taxes are the governments number one tool for confiscating money from its legitimate owners. The best way to limit the power of a government is to reduce its access to cash.
These are some of the methods modern day “strikers” are using to restrict government leeching of their incomes:

Contribute the maximum allowable amount to your 401k plan.
Contribute the maximum allowable amount to an IRA.
Contribute the maximum allowable amount to a Health Savings Account.
Barter goods and services with your neighbors when possible.
If you have current investments, hold them long-term to avoid short-term capital gains taxes.
Avoid selling investments until capital gains taxes are reduced or eliminated.
Relocate to a state which charges lower or no income taxes.
Move overseas to take advantage of the expat tax deduction.
Change your work schedule to part-time and use the extra time to work on your own projects.

Reduce Expenses and Pay Less Sales Tax
Everything you buy is paid for with a small amount of your freedom. Reducing your expenses lets you keep more of your freedom. As a bonus, reducing your spending also helps keep money out of the hands of government.
Here are the strategies people are using to reduce their expenses and keep money in their own pockets:

Don’t buy anything you don’t absolutely have to buy.
Repair and reuse when possible instead of buying replacements.
Barter goods and services with your neighbors when possible.
Plant a garden to grow foods and spices instead of buying them.
Hunt large and small game for meat when possible.
Eat at home instead of paying a lot more to eat at restaurants.
Buy used goods whenever possible, to avoid sales taxes.
Buy over the Internet when possible, to avoid sales taxes.
Hold a yard sale to help your neighbors avoid buying new products.
Stop supporting leftist Hollywood by watching their movies – read books instead.
Walk or bicycle whenever possible instead of driving to avoid gasoline taxes.
Relocate to a state which charges lower or no sales taxes.

Prepare for the Collapse
The socialist systems under which we currently toil continue to survive only by leeching off of a dwindling number of productive citizens. This is unsustainable — eventually these systems must collapse. The decision of productive individuals to Go Galt will only serve to accelerate the inevitable. When these corrupt governments collapse, generations of humans who have no experience in providing for themselves will be left to steal, beg, or starve.
Here are a few steps you should be taking to prepare for the coming collapse:

Stockpile water, food, and ammunition to prepare for coming shortages.
Practice canning and dehydrating food for long-term storage.
Invest in small amounts of physical silver and gold.
Put together a good first-aid kit, including antibiotics, medicines, local anesthesia, scalpels, and suturing equipment.
Train in basic health care to prepare for rationing.
Train in self-defense and tactical skills.
Fortify your home to protect your family against looters.
Connect with like-minded individuals to prepare for the coming crash together.

Civil Disobedience
This is where things get serious. This isn’t just trying to escape from a corrupt society and let it collapse; many of these steps involve making active decisions and taking risks that could negatively affect your personal liberty. Nonetheless, many people feel that the hope of living in a truly free world is worth the risk.
Here are a few tips to frustrate the tyranny of bureaucratic authoritarianism:

Comply with government orders as slowly as possible.
Fill out government forms incompletely and illegibly.
Pay all taxes and fines at the last possible legal moment.
Make it difficult for the government to enforce all unconstitutional or immoral laws.
As a juror, exercise your right to nullify unconstitutional or immoral laws.
Take multiple copies of all printed government forms to increase their costs.
Take a job with the government, and then don’t do it.
Boycott government propaganda outlets such as PBS and NPR.
Get your money invested offshore while it is still safe and legal to do so.

The corrupt socialist regime under which you live may not collapse in your lifetime, but these steps will help you to retrieve the maximum amount of your freedom from their clutches. In addition, following these “Going Galt” strategies should help to improve your security, lower your stress level, and build your personal self-confidence.Going Galt in 2013

Self Defense is a Human Right

2013-02-25T07:04:00.002-06:00

A very powerful video pointing out that not all of us seem to be equal under gun control laws, especially in DC, Chicago, and New York City. Do you see a pattern? Who do you think gun control laws discriminate against the most?

EqualGunRights.com Self Defense is a Human Right

‘Rove Republicans’ line Karl’s pockets on nation’s road to ruin

2013-02-21T15:11:00.001-06:00

‘Rove Republicans’ line Karl’s pockets on nation’s road to ruin

Special to WorldTribune.com

By Larry Ward and Carter Clews

Karl Rove has declared war on the conservative wing of the GOP, and the Republican Party now risks being reduced to rubble.

This is yet another in a series of internecine conflagrations that a certain segment of the party insists on reigniting every decade, or so, like profligate pyromaniacs.

Karl Rove.

At one time, these provocateurs were labeled “Rockefeller Republicans.” After Rocky’s untimely (and unseemly) demise, they became known as “Country Club Republicans.” More recently, they earned the pejorative “RINO,” as in “Republicans In Name Only.”

Now, they are reviled on the right as “Rove Republicans.”

Rove Republicans are typical of the breed of Republican politicos who seems to think the only way to gain and maintain power is to become a mirror image of Democrats — even if (or, perhaps, more accurately, especially if) it requires vivisecting fellow Republicans who insist upon remaining loyal to traditional Grand Old Party principles.

For Karl Rove, this means torching any Republican candidate who dares depart from his left-of-center, middle-of-nowhere ideology.

As one conservative GOP flag bearer after another has learned to their dismay, failing to genuflect to Karl causes a bulls-eye to appear in the center of your forehead (or, more likely, the middle of your back).

ForAmerica Chairman L. Brent Bozell III stated in The National Journal: “The days of conservatives listening to the moderate GOP establishment are over.”

While Rove’s recent declaration of open warfare is his most flagrant bombshell to date, it’s far from his first.

Perhaps the earliest indication that the post-White House Rove intended to try to remake the Republican Party in his own elfin image came just before Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech at the 2008 GOP convention.

Rove undermined Gov. Palin as McCain’s running mate stating “[Palin was] not a governing decision but a campaign decision” suggesting that she could not have been selected on her merits of strong conservative principles, since they didn’t agree with his.

Karl Rove opened the door to the left’s “caricature assassination” of Sarah Palin that has plagued her ever since.

With that, Karl Rove was off and running. He clearly decided that what he couldn’t rule, he would ruin – while, of course, enriching himself at every turn by raising vast sums of money for his own handpicked candidates. Left of center, one and all.

By 2010, he was in full dudgeon, savaging Christine O’Donnell (who had the gall to defeat his Delaware designee, Mike Castle) as thoroughly lacking in “character” and “rectitude,” and, well, in fact, “nutty.” O’Donnell may not really have been a witch, but by the time the Pecksniffian Rove was finished with her, death by dunking may have seemed like a humane alternative.

In 2012, Rove became the self-appointed arbiter for determining who was worthy of running as a Republican and who should join Ms. O’Donnell on the ash heap of political history.

And naturally, all of those he deigned to anoint were left of center. In fact, when conservative candidate Todd Akins committed his rape gaffe, Rove wasn’t satisfied merely to demand that the GOP “sink” him, he added haughtily, “If he’s found mysteriously murdered, don’t look for my whereabouts!”

Now, Rove and his new “Conservative Victory Project” (a misnomer if there ever was one) have launched his latest incendiary assault against the entire conservative wing of the Republican Party, sending out his Crossroads factotum to declare, “There is a broad concern about having blown a significant number of races because the wrong candidates were selected.” Which can be translated as, “Karl has decided that only those candidates who tow his line and fill his coffers should be allowed to run for office.”

When they run, Karl Rove will pad his pockets with another $300 million in campaign contributions, produce tepid ads portraying Republicans as Democrat-wannabes, and take his election night seat on the Fox set to tell the world why everyone else is to blame for yet another Republican descent on the road to ruin.

Decades ago, Harry S Truman astutely observed, “Given the choice between a Republican and a Democrat who acts like a Republican, the voter will choose a Republican every time.” The reverse is even more so.

Karl Rove, ever eager to fire up the engines of his money-making machine, would rather burn down the house than face that reality.

Larry Ward [lward99@gmail.com] is president of a D.C. based political new media consulting firm. Carter Clews is an international political strategist and media innovator.

Restore Americas Voice PAC endorses a real conservative, Larry Grooms for Congress

2013-02-12T13:28:00.001-06:00

Restore Americas Voice endorses Larry Grooms for Congress

Restore America's Voice Endorses
THE Real Conservative

Don't let another trade(R) weaken our voice in Congress

Fellow Patriot,

If we’ve learned anything over the last four years, it’s that we can’t afford to send just anyone with an (R) by his or her name to Congress. We have to get behind tried-and-tested conservatives who aren’t afraid to stand for their principles – whether it’s against liberals like Barack Obama and Harry Reid, or even our own Republican leadership.

That’s why we at Restore America’s Voice are today announcing our endorsement of State Senator Larry Grooms in the special election to replace Tim Scott in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.

Larry Grooms has already gone on record against President Obama’s destructive policies, calling his plans for what they are – a socialist agenda. Senator Grooms has taken a strong stance for economic freedom and personal liberty, declaring loud and clear that he wants you and your family to decide how you spend your money, educate your children, and practice your faith.

Don't let another trade(R) weaken our voice in Congress

Help elect Real Conservative Larry Grooms

Senator Grooms hasn’t just talked a good game – he’s lived it as a member of the State legislature. He was named a Champion of Free Enterprise by the SC Business and Industry Political Education Committee, and Legislator of the Year by South Carolina Citizens for Life. He also has a 100 percent Business Advocate Award from the South Carolina Chamber and the Taxpayer Champion Award from the Club for Growth.

We’ve decided to back Larry Grooms because we know that of all those vying for Tim Scott’s seat, he will be the champion we so direly need in Congress. But it’s no forgone conclusion that his clear conservative credentials will propel him to victory.

Far from it.

Grooms’ biggest primary challenges are coming from Teddy Turner, son of radical environmentalist Ted Turner, and disgraced former governor Mark Sanford. They’re trying to use their name recognition and big financial backers to claim this seat for their own political ambitions.

America can’t afford to have yet another Congressional seat turned left by the likes of Teddy Turner. And anyone with such critical integrity flaws as Mark Sanford can’t be trusted to do the people’s work any longer.

In Congress, Grooms will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other conservatives against the big-government plans of Barack Obama. Perhaps more importantly, he’ll stand against those establishment moderates who ultimately want the same massive government system, but with just a little less spending, or a little less socialism.

Don't let another trade(R) weaken our voice in Congress

Help elect Real Conservative Larry Grooms

Larry Grooms will fight for a true return to constitutionally-limited government, American freedom, and American greatness.

Like any candidate willing to buck the go-along-get-along system in Washington, Senator Grooms will have to face traitors like Karl Rove who want to hold onto their power. The Roves of this world will pour their resources into a candidate they can count on to “play ball,” and do everything they can to squash independent servants of We the People like Larry Grooms.

We need your help to build a wave of patriotic support behind Grooms and his campaign for Congress. With your support, we can overcome the cynical political maneuvering of people like Rove, Mark Sanford, and Teddy Turner, and send Larry Grooms to Congress to fight for us.

Will you stand with us and help send a true conservative champion to Washington?

No matter what you can afford to give, every contribution matters. Whether you can send $1000 or $10, $500 or $5, it will make a difference in this race.

Just like in 2010, where hundreds of thousands of patriots joined together with whatever resources they had to elect the most conservative freshman class in decades, we have the opportunity to elect a Congressman who will make us proud in South Carolina’s 1st District.

The legislative battles coming over the next few years may be some of the most significant in American history. We are going to decide whether to continue down the dangerous socialist path laid out by Barack Obama and his liberal allies, or turn back onto the road of freedom and prosperity our Founders envisioned.

Don't let another trade(R) weaken our voice in Congress

Help elect Real Conservative Larry Grooms

We are going to put everything on the line to get America back on the right road. Will you join us?

Sincerely,

Ken Hoagland
President
Restore America's Voice PAC

P.S. We can't let another solid Repubublican seat (the former seat of the great Tim Scott no less), fall into the hands of Teddy Turner or disgraced insider Mark Sanford. Please help keep this crucial seat conservative with a contribution to RAVPAC today. Help elect Larry Grooms, THE real conservative in the race.

Musings from the "Blonde Momshell": Feminine Protection: The Lifesaving Kind

2013-02-12T05:57:00.001-06:00

Musings from the "Blonde Momshell": Feminine Protection: The Lifesaving Kind: Choices, choices, so many choices. Like anything else women put on their body, this is a very personal choice, but lately I've been ask...

SADOW: Get Rid Of These Phony Gun-Free Zones, And We’ll Be Safer

2012-12-18T16:27:00.002-06:00

SADOW: Get Rid Of These Phony Gun-Free Zones, And We’ll Be Safer

A tragic mass shooting in a public school need not act as the only trigger to reevaluate security measures in Louisiana. But we must recognize that, until gun control restrictions are relaxed in Louisiana, these measures do little to prevent these kinds of tragedies.

School districts around the Baton Rouge area report increased vigilance and are taking another look at their school security policies in the wake of the recent incident in Connecticut where a mentally ill individual, after killing his mother, shot up a school. The semi-automatic weapon used is available in most states for carry as a concealed weapon for qualified users, where no state allows permitting of concealed carry by somebody with a history of mental illness.
The districts report increased visitation of security officers at schools and a review of emergency review plans. There is talk about increasing officer presence. Unfortunately, while these measures are better than nothing to reduce the possibility of a horrific event occurring, they are next to nothing in effectively dealing with the situation.

It’s helpful to review the facts about those involved in these kinds of shootings, where one or more individuals decide to target randomly individuals. (Much of the following material is drawn from David Kopel’s Dec. 17, 2012 piece in the Wall Street Journal. Regular readers know typically in this space that hyperlinks abound to demonstrate source material. Yet this citation should not just be read out of curiosity; if anybody wishes to be able to speak intelligently and factually about the gun control debate, they cannot unless they understand the material in this piece – as opposed to this effort.). They are: there is association between deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill and the number of these acts, while none exists between strength of gun control laws and the number; that the mentally ill get access to these weapons despite strict gun control regimes such as Connecticut’s, that with impunity they ignore laws prohibiting concealed weapons in certain areas, and that the perpetrators typically are dissuaded instantly by any show of countervailing force.

So, the correct policy would be in vulnerable areas where many gather to create conditions that maximize the ability to dissuade those with evil intent and to apply counterforce quickly. Which is exactly what Louisiana law regarding schools and colleges does not do.
State law prohibits all but public safety officials (on or off duty) from having concealed weapons, or any kind of firearm. Further, as far as enforcement goes, these zones are nothing more than irresponsible shams in that they create a false sense of security. No Louisiana school of any kind has the necessary security measures, such as metal detectors at every entrance and sufficient armed security patrolling, to enforce these zones in an adequate manner.

In fact, adequate measures would make schools little more than prison-like. In the 2008 shooting at Baton Rouge Community College, campus police responded in less than 4 minutes – about 3.5 minutes after a woman committed suicide, after killing two of her classmates, which would have left plenty of time for a determined evildoer to shoot plenty of more people. Unless incredibly intrusive and expensive, there’s no way patrol could nip these incidents in the bud.

Yet the incredible irony is that these same laws disarm qualified individuals from providing the exact relief needed in these extremely rare but incredibly high-stakes situations, even as these do nothing to discourage those individuals with malign intent. And it’s not like there haven’t been attempts to change the situation to allow concealed carry into universities, for example. A couple of times in the past five years bills have been argued in the Legislature to grant this on campuses, but, incredibly, have been opposed by both university officials and public safety representatives, leading to their failure.
To some degree, opposition from these quarters is understandable. They wish to monopolize use of force to protect themselves in the line of duty. But this perspective to maximize police safety is incompatible with maximizing public safety.

Slowly, states are beginning to recognize this truism as they relax laws on concealed carry for college campuses – and sometimes being forced to by their courts. Louisiana does not need to be left behind on this issue, by passing legislation allowing any qualified adult to carry a concealed weapon on any school campus (except at things such as sporting events in the cases where security should be adequate). Until that happens, Louisianans’ lives are at undue risk.

My boss Larry Ward and I giving it back to the Liberals protesting the NRA. Arm the teachers!

2012-12-17T12:26:00.001-06:00

Defend Liberty, Draft Judge Napolitano For President In 2016

2012-12-04T18:54:00.000-06:00

Sign The Petition To Draft Judge Napolitano For President in 2016

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.
~ John Masefield
Although Ron Paul has yet to be specific about what’s next for him, it is highly unlikely he will run for president again. So then, what’s next for the Liberty Movement now that it won’t have presidential candidate Ron Paul to hug anymore?
Revolution PAC’s maxim is, “Beyond The Man Is The Movement.” But in politics, every movement must have a captain at the helm or it becomes rudderless. Right now, the Liberty Movement is without a skipper and essentially adrift without Ron Paul’s firm hand on the tiller, which makes it ripe for a hostile takeover by the Republican political establishment. Don’t forget V.I. Lenin’s dictum, “The best way to control the opposition is to lead it ourselves.”
The Liberty Movement does not require a visionary helmsman to run recklessly before the wind in delusory hope of arriving early to presidential port in 2016. It must lead the country, which means not only being ahead of the country but also having the patience and perspicacity to wait upon the country to follow it—all in good time.

Read More at..Forbes.com

Tea Party Leadership Fund Launches HelpJeffWin.com

2012-12-03T16:50:00.001-06:00

HelpJeffWin.com

All the stops are being pulled out to keep the last election of 2012 in the hands of the Republican party. Jeff Landry is the only conservative left to elect and this website is just one more way to insure that LA-03 remains in the safe keeping of a fiscally conservative Desert Storm veteran. Landry's Louisiana values and his loyalty to Acadiana are key reasons this seat needn't fall into the hands of Barack Obama and his minions with their liberal policies. This is our last chance to vote for Liberty in 2012. Get out the vote and Help Jeff Win!