Our history has continuously been one of doing the impossible. It started in 1776 when for the first time in the history of the human race, a colony declared her independence from her mother country. Not only did we do that, we successfully defeated to best armed and trained military force in the world to secure the liberty. Then we met as thirteen disparate and not very agreeable colonies and ratified a Constitution that guaranteed rights never guaranteed before. Then the first President of this nation, voluntarily relinquished power to another person without threat, coercion or failing health. Never done before. Not a bad start.

In the years that followed we continued to do “impossible things” such as building the Erie Canal, creating an industrial base, building a railroad from coast to coast. And those were the easy “impossible” things we accomplished. We pulled out of the worst world-wide depression in history and became an economic power at the same time we won a World War (mind you for the second time) and then rebuilt Europe with the Marshall Plan. We became the world’s first “Super Power.”

We eradicated small pox, malaria and polio. We invented things (some that were considered impossible), such as: the Airplane, Anesthesia, the Assembly Line, the ATM, Color Film, Cotton Gin, E-Mail, FM Radio, Free Public Schools, Kevlar, The Microprocessor, the Microwave Oven, The Motion Picture, The MRI, Novocain, The Nuclear Power Plant, The Personal Computer, the Phonograph, Polaroid Instant Photography, The Polio Vaccine, The Rocket, the Sewing Machine, The Skyscraper, Sneakers, and Typewriter and scores of others devices as depicted in this YouTube clip (oh yeah, YouTube):

And did I mention, we sent men to the moon and brought them back safely. Talk about doing the impossible.

But more importantly, we accomplished legislative acts that changed our country and in some ways, the world. Despite overwhelming opposition we outlawed slavery (See the movie Lincoln), we gave citizenship to minorities, we gave women the vote, we outlawed alcohol and then overturned it, and we gave civil rights to minorities. Then this century, we elected a Black President twice with a majority vote of the American people. Despite the solid opposition, much of it angry and racist, Barack Obama won a second term.

Why am I posting this? Well it irritates the hell out of me to hear that certain legislation up for consideration is “impossible” to pass.

Namely, gun safety regulations that include universal background checks, high-capacity magazines ban, assault weapons ban, and gun registration.

As well as a budget that will both cut government spending and raise revenues in a fair and balanced way that will reduce and eliminate the budget deficit and pay down the national debt. The pundits say that with opposition from the NRA any gun legislation is dead on arrival and they also say due to the hatred of the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party towards Barack Obama any budgetary acts that raises taxes and doesn’t severely slash entitlements is also dead on arrival. Even though the majority of the country wants both of these legislative accomplishments, they say it’s impossible.

Well it isn’t because we’ve done this sort of thing before. One common thread of all the legislative accomplishments in the history of this nation is that not only were they right, the majority of the American people fought for it despite their representation in Congress. As long as we stand up and demand action in Congress for what we know is right, this can be done. The impossible is always accomplished as long as there is a will, courage, ingenuity, and relentless fortitude and desire of the people. Let you voices be heard in Congress and demand that they do the impossible. Afterwards, we can do the next impossible thing, out do the Republican gerrymandered districts and get the GOP out of control in the House. More on that later.

In 1947, Wisconsin sent to the Senate Republican Joe McCarthy. He was known as “Tail Gunner Joe” for his service in World War II where he volunteered to serve as a Marine. Bless him for that. Beyond that point however….

McCarthy was a keen political animal playing off the fears of his time. He saw “communists” everywhere. In the 1950’s a new political phrase entered the lexicon, “McCarthyism” which stands for demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents. He of course went after those in the Truman administration. However, he also went after fellow Republicans in the Eisenhower administration. It was the height of the cold war. People saw communists everywhere. So Joe started his “Anti-American Activities” committee in the Senate that he used as his platform to the American people to demonstrate how he was personally keeping the country safe from communists. He played to the lowest common denominator; clueless, intellectually lazy people who only believed what they were told without actually thinking anything through. Much like today’s Tea Party.

For the first three years of his term, he garnered little attention until 1950 when he declared there were communists in the State Department. He said it had been infiltrated. Throughout his remaining years in the Senate he provides no proof that supported his accusations. He was successful in ruining the careers of government servants both military and civilian, but found no communists. Joe had no facts, only rumors and innuendo. But he made a lot of it until it all came crashing down on him.

In the Army McCarthy Hearing of 1954, the press finally came after him and then there was this famous episode in our governance that had reverberations for generations to come.

On December 2, 1954 Joe McCarthy was censured by the Senate in a vote of 67 to 22. Though he remained in the Senate, his career ended. He was seen for the swine he was. He died three years later in Bethesda Hospital of acute hepatitis exacerbated by alcoholism.

Fast forward to 2012 and Texas Tea Party Darling Senator Ted Cruz. He was born in Calgary Canada to a Cuban father and American mother. He entered the United States when he was four years old. His family was in the oil business. He went to Princeton and got his law degree from Harvard. He clerked for Chief Justice Rehnquist and eventually made oral arguments for the Heller case before the Supreme Court that resulted in a new interpretation of the 2nd Amendment that indicated that U.S. Citizens did have a right to own a gun. However, as Justice Scalia indicated in his majority opinion, even this right can be regulated. He is a Tea Party darling and came to the Senate from Texas in 2012. He has extreme right wing views and has recklessly attacked not only Democrats in the Obama administration, but Republicans too, like Joe McCarthy.

In the two months as a Senator, he has:

●been one of three senators to vote against confirming fellow Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) as secretary of state.

●expressed “deep concerns” with a bipartisan immigration-reform blueprint crafted by, among others, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla).

●introduced his first bill, to “repeal every last word of Obamacare.”

●tangled with Rahm Emanuel over the Chicago mayor’s “bullying campaign” to have the city’s pension funds divest their investments in gun manufacturers.

And most notably, as a member of the Armed Services Committee, even though he never served in the military, he’s gone after Vietnam War Veteran and Hero, Republican Chuck Hagel over his nomination for Secretary of Defense. He also besmirches fellow Vietnam War Hero John Kerry. Odd that a man too cowardly to serve the country he claims to love has the audacity to impugn the honor of those who volunteered service in Vietnam. Here is a snippet of what Cruz had to say on the record in the Senate in a very McCarthy like manner:

And here is what Ted Cruz had to say about both John Kerry and Chuck Hagel as presented and commented by David Pakman

Cruz, like McCarthy has no facts to back any of his accusations. Only accusations. Much like McCarthy, its innuendo, speculative and wouldn’t hold up in Court. You would think a lawyer would know that. He even acknowledges he has no evidence in his accusations against Hagel. He is drawing complaints from Democrats and some mild complaints from some Republicans, but nothing substantial. Even today, Senator Marco Rubio called Cruz “a superstar.”

Cruz is a bully and is on his way in becoming far worse than McCarthy. He is an extremist who only is in it because playing to extremist makes him powerful in Texas and the Tea Party Movement. He cares not for the truth or who he hurts in his quest for glory and power. It’s a damn shame our “liberal media” doesn’t have the balls to call this man out for his reckless behavior on the Senate Floor and that Harry Reid doesn’t begin Censure hearings against Cruz for his inappropriate and fact less attacks on American Citizens in the same way Joe McCarthy dishonored the Senate and the American people.

Here are some facts worth knowing about the U.S. Postal Office that are factual, beyond any doubt and should be used when dealing with anyone who’s in favor of shutting it down:

Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the United States Constitution written and ratified by the founders of this country empowered Congress “to establish Post offices and Post roads”.  It was written and ratified long before anyone even thought of a 2nd Amendment. It was established as not only a way to spread information throughout the nation, but also as a way to generate revenue for the United States Government. It was another example of “Socialism” that was favored by our founders.

The Post Office does not operate under any federal tax sources. The tax payer doesn’t support its operation. Its operating funds come from the revenue generated from delivery of mail, packages and sales of postal related items. Further, it is not permitted to earn and maintain a profit. It is designed as a non-profit organization unlike Fed Ex.

Were it not for an act of the Lame Duck session of the Republican led House of representatives in 2006 known as the “Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act” that requires the Post Office to pre-fund 75 years of postal workers pensions in a ten year period of time, the post office would not be in debt and looking at shutting down post offices, slashing service and ending Saturday deliveries in order to fund the pension. Were it not for this requirement, the Post Office would have a $1.5 billion dollar surplus. Instead it is now billions in debt.

No private company or public service agency has ever been required to pre-fund their pensions in this matter. It is the only reason the Post Office is in debt and it served no good purpose.

Although many now use the internet for personal communications and even payment of bills, many in this country do not have access in internet infrastructure. Further, many rely on the U.S. Postal Service to vote, get prescription drugs, ship items for their businesses throughout the Country. The Post Office covers the entire nation unlike private corporations such as Federal Express. Further, for the limited areas Fed Ex covers, they charge substantially more than the U.S. Postal Service.

Though it is Congress that is working to place the Post Office in debt, Congressmen and Senators nonetheless continue to make full use of the Postal Service for mailing out information to their constituents at tax payer expense. If they have to go to a private company, the cost to the tax payer would increase substantially.

Now what follows is speculation, but it adds up and I challenge anyone to convince me otherwise. Congress acted in order to shut down the Postal Service in order to privatize postal service across the country. Further, by placing the U.S. Postal Service into bankruptcy, all of its assets go for sale to private industry at rock bottom prices. The 75 year funded pension fund would be used for some other government service unrelated to the people. The Congressman at the lead of this scam is convicted criminal Darrell Issa of California. A sleaze if you ever saw one. He and his compatriots stand to make a lot of money from the downfall of the U.S. Postal service while the people in the nation suffer by higher cost of business, lack of needed services, and death of an organization that has stood strong and served this nation since Benjamin Franklin only to be stabbed in the back by con men like Darrell Issa.

Tell your Congressman and Senators to reverse this con and return the Postal Service to solvency for yourself and the nation.

This subject invariably always comes up after a Presidential Election, and has for probably the last 200 years of our nation’s existence. This time however, the need is becoming all too apparent considering the plans afoot by those who rather win by stealth and dirty tricks than by making compelling reasons to the American people why their candidate should be president.

This country has the privilage to elect the most powerful man in the world. What is surprising is that we actually don’t elect the man (or woman) who ends up being the leader of the “free world.” We instead elect those people who decide on their own who the President will be. Another fact that may be surprising to many in our nation is that our Constitution does not guarantee the right to vote. Voting rights are whatever the individual states decide they are (though some Federal governance oversees them in certain areas) and these states have the full authority to determine how they select the electors for the Electoral College.

In the Constitutional Convention, the founders compromised to determine a method for selection of our President. It was determined that each state would have a say on who the President and Vice President would be. Under Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution:

“Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.”

So each state is allotted a certain number of electors based on how many Senators and House Members they are apportioned in Congress. The manner on how these electors are chosen is up to the State Legislators. Originally, even though a popular election was held in each state for those “allowed to vote” the electors were nonetheless still determined by the State Legislatures. In 1824, a quarter of the States had their electors determined by the State Legislatures. So even though Andrew Jackson clearly won the popular vote, he lost the election. The practice of some State Legislatures determining the actual electors continued up to the Civil War. Since then, the people vote for a slate of duly authorized electors selected in the primary/caucus system to represent the candidate for their party.

As a member of standard operating procedure, whichever candidate receives most of the popular vote in the State is allotted all the electors (at their choosing) for the college. Keep in mind that even though the candidate’s people select who the electors are, the electors are not actually bound to vote for that candidate. They can go rogue if they wish. In recent years, some states have changed the “winner take all” concept of electors. Maine and Nebraska implemented a system where the candidate gets electors based on who wins the individual congressional districts. Whoever gets the most in the popular vote gets the two “at-large” electors who represent the Senatorial representation for those states.

The last and closest serious attempt at changing the Electoral College system was in the 91st Congress (1969 to 1971) responding to the Nixon win. Nixon had 301 Electoral College votes (56% of the Electoral College) to Humphrey’s 191 votes (35.5% of Electoral College) and George Wallace’s 46 votes (8.5% of Electoral College). In the popular vote, Nixon barely had a 1% margin of votes more than Humphrey and had well below the 50% mark of the nation voting for him. Further, in 2000, although Al Gore won the popular vote, George W. Bush won the Electoral College vote. This wasn’t the first time this had happened in our nation’s history.

At the time of our founding, only white male property owners were allowed to vote. In determining Congressional representation for the House, slaves and indentured servants were counted as 3/5th of a person so as to not give the South more representation in Congress. Further, the founders believed that the act of voting required intelligence and a degree of responsibility. As a result, there isn’t really a constitutional right to vote in federal elections in our Constitution to this date. It’s implied via other amendments, but not explicitly spelled out. The individual states still have the final say in determining who can vote and how. Fortunately there are some Federal laws governing this and the Voter’s Rights Act. However, the Supreme Court is about to hear a challenge to that law on it’s Constitutionality.

As I began writing this rant, the word was that some GOP governors and State Legislatures were acting, or were considering acting on changes in their states for how the Electoral College would be determined. As with gerrymandering congressional districts, they were going to gerrymander Electoral College representation to favor the Republican candidate over the popular will of the people in their states. These acts,  under current law, are possibly legal. However, since I started, the voice of the people was strong enough that many of these attempts are being stopped dead in their tracks. However, RNC Chair Reince Priebus and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker both want to consider this option. As long as the Electoral College continues to exist, this danger to true representative democracy will remain.

With the voter suppression laws, voter ID laws written in such a way that it’s the burden of the accused to prove their right to vote as opposed to the state to prove they can’t in conjunction with the out-dated need for the electoral college, its time in my opinion for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing an American Citizen’s right to vote in all elections in this country as well as the elimination of the electoral college. This way, presidential candidates will be required to play to the entire country, not just a few “swing states” and various districts. The “southern strategy” will become moot. Candidates will need to play to the desires of the entire population, not just a select few.

I’m starting a petition drive to President Obama’s We the People site asking that the White House begin to educate and push for such a constitutional amendment. If you agree, please visit the site and sign. If we can get 100,000 signatures by February 28, 2013, the White House will at the very least respond. This would be very difficult to accomplish. However all we are asking for is the right for all citizens to be allowed to vote their will unobstructed by others and that whoever the majority of the people want to represent us as President becomes president unfiltered by an unnecessary and outdated Electoral College system.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/push-constitutional-amendment-guaranteeing-right-vote-and-elimination-electoral-college/mLkr5vsn

Thanks for your support in this effort.

As someone who has sworn an oath to uphold and defend the Constitutions of both the State of Arizona and the United States, and being someone who has always heeded the words “don’t sign anything you haven’t already read and understand” I have read the Constitution. When I was in High School, civics was a required course for graduation and we were all required to not only read the history of both the State of Arizona and the United States, we had to demonstrate an understanding of the Constitutions of both. From what I’ve been told in recent years, this is rarely ever required in schools anymore.

I mention this because I am often bemused by Twitter bios and tweets from the right-wing that make their way to me about how they love and defend the Constitution of the United States. It amuses me because the things they stand strongly for in their rhetoric usually runs counter to what I have read and understood in my reading of the document. One person recently tweeted to me after we went all out with the #TGDNExposed Twitter-bomb on Thursday that “if believing in the Constitution makes me a Right Wing Nut Job, then I’m proud of that” I found that interesting because the very act of rebellion is essentially a liberal response and thus our founders, leading up to those who drafted our Constitution were if anything center-left. Many of the rights and functions and powers of the Federal Government laid out in the Constitution bears this out. So how could someone say believing in the Constitution makes them a conservative? Are they lying about reading and/or understanding it? Do they have it confused with the original Articles of Confederation that the Constitution replaced?

It finally dawned on me, our Constitution is 4,543 words in length to include the original document, the Bill of Rights and the signatures. Though one of the smaller Constitutions in size, that’s still a lot of words. Those on the right really don’t like to read all that much. They tend to cherry-pick what they want to see in documents like the Constitution or even the Bible. That is why Reader’s Digest was so successful with their “Abridged Books.” They would take these novels or stories and eliminate what they felt was fluff or not germane to the whole story to shorten the length and give the reader something they could read in one sitting without much thought. Problem was, they often changed the original intent of the novel, even to go so far as to rewrite it to get their version to flow.

I did my research and sure enough, I found the Right Wing Reader’s Digest Abridged Constitution. This is the document those on TGDN, Right-Wing groups and most certainly the NRA Gun Worshippers are actually citing when they speak of their love of the Constitution. I noticed that the numbering of the Articles, Sections and Chapters weren’t complete which led me to believe that they simply didn’t write down those parts of the document that didn’t fit their narrative. I found the re-writing of the second amendment particularly interesting and not all that unexpected.

So for your entertainment and edification, here is what they are reading:

We the really ignorant People establish this Constitution for us.

Article I

Section 1

All Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Republican Congress.

Section 2

1:  The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the Republicans of the several States in gerrymandered districts.

Section 3

1:  The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State for 6 Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote and as many filibusters as they want as long as they are Republicans.

4:  The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote if he is a Democrat.

6:  The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.  When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation.  When the President of the United   States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside:  And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Republicans present.

Section 4

1:  The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature regardless of what the people want.

2:  The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, if they feel like it.

Section 6

1:  The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United   States.   They shall in all cases, have a get out of jail free card.

Section 7

1:  All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives when they get around to it.

2:  Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, and the Republicans will go to FOX to whine about it.

Section 8

1:  The Congress shall have Power to not lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, or pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States and can instead blame the Democratic President for their debts.

2:  To borrow Money from China;

7:  To establish Post Offices so they can shut them down and privatize them;

8:  To deny the Progress of Science;

11:  To declare War on the American people;

12:  To raise Armies;

13:  To provide a Navy;

14:  To ignore Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

15:  To provide for calling forth the Militia for show but not to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections or repel Invasions because we believe in treason, see chapter 16;

16:  All this stuff about militias has nothing to do with the 2^nd amendment we haven’t even written yet, so ignore this chapter of section 8, just move along;

Section 9

2:  The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall be suspended when we like.

5:  No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any Red State.

Section 10

States can do whatever they want.

Article II

Section 1

1:  The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.  He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years or until we impeach him.

2:  Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress:

5:  No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person suspected under the absolute lack of fact but only on a racist suspicion that he may be from Kenya.

6:  In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

8:  Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:–“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” or some variance of this because the Chief Justice is an idiot.

Section 2

1:  The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia (that has nothing to do with the 2^nd Amendment that we haven’t written yet) of the  several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States.

2:  He shall have Power, by and with the grudging Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States.

3:  The President shall not have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session because that’s not fair to those obstructing governance.

Section 3

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union that the Republicans can whine about.

Section 4

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors or any reason the Republicans can make up.

Article III

Section 1

The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court.  The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good conservative Behavior.

Section 2

1:  The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority: and cannot be judicial activist for liberal causes only conservative causes regardless of law, precedent or common sense.

3:  The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.

Section 3

1:  Treason against the United States, doesn’t apply because of the 2^nd Amendment that we haven’t written yet.

Article IV

Section 2

1:  The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States unless they’re women or icky gay or some kind of minority.

Section 3

1:  New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union as long as they’re fringed right wing leaning.

Article V

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; but only the 2^nd Amendment will carry any weight, the rest of them just take up paper.

Article VI

3:  The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; and a Christian religious Test is absolutely required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Bill of Rights

Article [I]

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion except a Christian one; or abridging the freedom of conservative speech, or of FOX; or the right of the conservative people to create angry mobs, and to petition the Government to whine about nothing.

Article [II]

The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed. This has nothing to do with well regulated militias. In fact, all of you will worship the gun and thou shall not have any Gods before the gun for the gun is sacred and without sin. Lo, thou who hath the largest caliber and magazine are the most pure and shall not be questioned. Woe to thee who dare speak sacrilege over the holiness of the gun. All hail the infallibility of the NRA! A nation of the gun, for the gun and by the gun shall not perish from the earth.

Article [IV]

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized except in the information age of computers if they are ever invented.

Article [X]

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the conservative people who have no knowledge of the full unabridged version of this Constitution and usually end up inbreeding in the back woods. As long as they continue to get more federal money coming in than they send out, alls cool. Well, not actually. Still send us the money and leave us the hell alone because we believe in everything that runs counter to civil society. All hail Ayn Rand, but not before we worship the Gun.

Other Amendments we essentially ignore

 [Article XII]

The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, in a way that despite the results of the popular vote, allows only who Republicans want to win.

Article XIII

Slavery, blah blah blah

Article XIV

1:  All corporate persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United   States and of the State wherein they reside.  No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Article XVI

The Congress shall not have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes of those making more than they could ever spend in one or a hundred lifetimes.

Article [XX]

1:  The terms of the President and Vice President shall end when we say.

Amendment XXII

1:  No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.

Amendment XXIV

1.  The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall be denied if polling shows they won’t vote for Republicans

Here is a link to the actual and complete Constitution of the United States that those on the right have never read or understood in its entirety, for if they had, maybe they wouldn’t be so fringed right.

http://constitutionus.com/

Don’t worry about the title of this blog post, this is more to expose the childish fraud known as the Twitter Gulag Defense Network (#TGDN hashtag) and not an avenue to repost the pictures of Kincannon’s package that he’s alleged to send out to women on Twitter. However, if interested, here are some links that describe who Kincannon is:

http://thetrenches.us/2012/10/breaking-todd-kincannon-former-sc-gop-executive-director-in-sexting-scandal/

http://www.fitsnews.com/2011/02/08/scgops-not-so-super-tweets/

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/19/1066334/-Todd-Kincannon-doubles-down-on-misogyny

I have touched on this on previous posts, but to those of you who may not be aware, there is a group out there formed by a Republican Party cherub from South Carolina named Todd Kincannon. As you could expect from a GOP operative from South Carolina, Kincannon is on the extreme fringe of the fringed right and was known to go after the “libtards” (i.e. 80% of Twitter who don’t agree with his narrative) in his Timeline. This activity ended up in him being suspended on Twitter on a number of occasions.

As typical for the mentally impaired he inspires, he saw his suspension as a plot to shut his and those like him from expressing their narrative on Twitter. It was oblivious to him (or so I suspect) that responding to someone’s timeline with insulting rhetoric might just be grounds for that person to spamblock you as a troll. Many of us welcome reasonable debate, but vitriolic attacks from those who have no grasp of reality, justifies being reported to the powers that be at Twitter for harassing people.

So he started organizing other Right-Wing Nut Jobs (RWNJs) on Twitter to join him in a pact of obstructionist xenophobes. You recognize these people by their bios, avatars and banners on their Twitter sites. Lots of waving flags, eagles, tri-corner hats, Gadsden flags, and of course guns. Their bios all include some variance of conservative, Christian, patriot, constitutionalist, NRA, NoBama rhetoric to convince people (and perhaps themselves) how “American” they are. Little do these people realize that wrapping yourself around “patriotic” symbols is easy, actually living and working at exhibiting the American values of freedom for all, tolerance, and charity for the needy is hard.

Visit that hashtag and read the posts and you’ll see xenophobia, projection, delusional thought, racism, fetishism, and pure unadulterated stupidity. A Psychiatry student’s dream as a source of research for psychiatric and psychological disorders. But I digress.

So in fear of having “libtards” getting them suspended from Twitter, Kincannon started the TGDN community. He wanted all like-minded people to get together to stand firm against those who don’t agree with their narrative from complaining about their attacks. They have gotten very nefarious in how they operate. Problem is, they advertise how they want to do it and anyone who cares to research can find out.

Essentially, they’ll identify someone tweeting something they don’t like, then they will Direct Message (DM) each other to gang up and Spamblock them into suspension from Twitter. My first experience with this was after Newtown when the gun worshippers from the TGDN responded to my tweets, I responded by only to find myself suspended. It was how they planned it. They will enter your timeline, get you to respond back then they’ll spamblock you. Or they will get together via DM and get you suspended that way. I wasn’t alone and met up with many who were perplexed at what is essentially right-wing censorship of the mainstream views involving gun safety reform. I will emphasize that polling is clear, the gun safety changes we are asking for, registration, assault and high-capacity magazines bans, full background checks for all gun sales, are supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans. This drives the gun worshipping RWNJs absolutely bonkers. Makes them want to go out and shoot something.

Kincannon has instructed his followers to set up back up accounts in case their primary accounts get suspended so they can continue their work suppressing the voice of the majority view of Americans. Todd himself is rumored to have 4 or 5 accounts on Twitter. Here are some links to stories and sites that do a much better job exposing the TGDN fraud being perpetrated on Twitter by these cherubs of low functioning, intellectually lazy, gullible folks.

http://140elect.com/2012-twitter-politics/do-not-engage-tgdn-accounts/

http://twitchy.com/2013/01/06/tgdn-hashtag-to-power-grassroots-set-up-twitter-gulag-defense-network/

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/breitbots-gulags-and-free-speech

I’ve been involved in several conversations (usually on my timeline, sometimes on DM) regarding how to deal with these people since Twitter is doing little to stop the harassing behavior of these scared small-minded people. Some advocate doing the same to them. I’m not inclined to do that because taking on the tactics of those you have no respect for and despise for their tactics makes you the same as them. My suggestion is simple and so far has worked very well for me and those who have done the same:

Ignore and block RWNJ Trolls.

I’ve actually gone to the #TGDN hashtag and preemptively blocked the vilest of the vile trolls on Twitter.

I’ve blocked each and every Todd Kincannon account I can find.

Recently I’ve been told that Todd has not only started identifying and spamblocking conservatives, he’s also contacting those on our side, playing all nice and friendly with them, only to then DM his minions to spamblock them. The man is deranged which is a current prerequisite for being a GOP operative lawyer from South Carolina.

Anyhow, if you are involved in a timeline and someone responds, don’t respond back until you check out who you are dealing with. Read their bio and check out their timeline. If they are TGDN and/or have a very fringed and insulting timeline towards those things you support, instead of responding, spamblock them. That’s fair and within Twitter rules. If you don’t think they’re all that bad but you don’t want to engage with them because you have a bad feeling, then just block them.

Twitter has been a great resource over the years for social media and discussing issues true to your heart with those of similar views. It has also been useful for mutually respectful exchange of opposing views to air out your views without fear of retribution. Unfortunately Todd Kincannon has effectively made the latter very difficult to continue. If they can’t respond intelligently to your views they work to silence you from the discussion. That is censorship. Censorship is not limited to government action; it can come from corporate and public forums also. You can still tweet, but beware the more effective you are, the bigger the target on your back from the fringed right. If need be, have your own back-up account ready because more of us are being hunted and suspended for expressing our views than the other way around.

Until such time as Twitter decides to do a better job monitoring those who use Twitter to harass those they want to silence, play it safe DO NOT ENGAGE WITH THEM and just ignore and block.

They aren’t worth your time or frustration and you’ll thank me for not having to get your account out of suspension.

On August 28th, 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King gave this speech (edited for time) to over 200,000 civil rights activists:

Barack Obama was two years old when this speech was given.

On April 3rd, 1968 MLK gave what has now become known as the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech:

The next day, he was assassinated. Barack Obama was six years old.

On July 27th, 2004, Barack Obama gave this speech to the Democratic National Convention:

In this speech, Barack Obama was introduced to a national audience for the first time. His speech inspired many beyond belief. So much so that four years later, this one-term Senator from the State of Illinois became the first African American President of the United States. He won with 53% of the popular vote.

Then on November 7th, 2012 this man won reelection with 51% of the popular vote. He was the first two term president to win with over 50% of the popular vote in both elections since Republican Dwight David Eisenhower. Not even Republican Patron Saint Ronald Wilson Reagan was able to accomplish this.

On Monday, January 21st, 2013 President Barack Hussein Obama will be taking the Oath of Office for the public. It is fitting that this will be the same day that commemorates Martin Luther King. Yes, President Obama will begin his second term on MLK day.

Has MLK’s dream been realized? Sadly I say no.

This nation has yet to grow up. The issues of bigotry still hold strong in this country, strong enough to impact foreign and domestic policy. Our president’s agenda is clearly centrist. Many of what he has proposed has come from Republicans, even the Conservative Heritage Foundation. The Affordable Care Act as it stands today is almost word for word what the Heritage Foundation advocated during the Clinton Administration.

Although his individual policies enjoy majority American Support from all socio-economic, racial, ethnic and political affiliations, even though he currently has a 55% favorability approval of the American people, he struggles against continuous and unfounded attacks. The birther movement is out again with a new force of urgency, there’s talk about impeaching this man for policies he trying to implement via executive order and working with Congress that the vast majority of the nation agrees with. Those who ridicule him, those who doubt his legitimacy for office, those who call him a socialist, a communist, a tyrant, only do so because most of them realize they cannot use the word they want to use in public, “nigger”. Though some have gone as far as to use it.

Although the majority of the nation supports what this president is trying to accomplish for the nation, even though his policies are clearly centrist, with hardly anything legitimately that can be ascribed as either fringed left or right, his views are stopped in Congress without any explanation other than hyperbole. They are currently saying his efforts to reduce gun-violence are unconstitutional. Yet no one has specifically stated why they are unconstitutional and in what way. Analyses of his proposals are in keeping with the constitution and presidential precedent. The history is clear on this point. Those things that do in fact require Congressional Action such as a ban on Assault Weapons, he has asked Congress to work on, he has asked Congress to approve a head of the ATF as required by a law snuck in by Representative James Sensenbrenner in 2006 at the request of the NRA so as to keep the ATF leaderless. Those things he’s legally allowed to do, he’s doing. And no one can clearly say how anything he asks for or is doing is a violation of the 2nd Amendment because it isn’t. Even the most conservative Justice on the Supreme Court Antonin Scalia, has clearly stated that gun use can be regulated, that it is constitutional.

If President Obama was white, he would still face challenges from the right wing because he’s a Democrat. However, he wouldn’t have faced this much opposition and certainly would never have his legitimacy as a Native Born American placed into question.

The racists who back those who block this president’s agenda of helping the nation are small, but they are loud and quite frankly dangerous. Republicans fear them because they fear that if they show they are not as crazy and racist as they are, they will be primaried out of office.

It’s up to the majority of the American people who understand that race is not ever a proper talking point in politics and national policy to call out those who are clearly racist in their opposition to a man because he’s not white. They must be marginalized back to the shadows. They’ll never go away, but they should never be given the ability to dictate how this country is run. It’s because of them Congress hasn’t voted any job bills, won’t raise the debt ceiling threatening another world-wide depression, not caring for the people in need of assistance to no fault of their own. You show me something counter to the growth of this nation, I’ll show you a racist supporter or coward afraid to confront the racism.

I am just a few months older than our President and I am a white middle-class male. I have vivid memories of those events I cited at the beginning of this rant. We have yet to realize MLK’s dream, let us please as a nation do it so those who were alive when he made that speech are still around to realize it finally coming true.

Congratulations Mr. President on your second term, may the country finally come together to assist you in your work to help us all become the exceptional nation we once were; and can be again, as long as we marginalize and remove from influence. all the racists.

“A well regulated Militia being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

This was ratified in 1791 and then in 1792 President George Washington signed into law the Militia Act of 1792 of which the 2^nd amendment was required, to give the Federal Government the right to enact.

http://www.constitution.org/mil/mil_act_1792.htm

So logically, this means that the 2^nd wasn’t conceived or written with the intent of allowing the people to rebel against the government of the United States, but rather to give the government of the United States the ability to call upon a “well regulated” and armed militia to defend a “free state.”

Few people understand or even know this history of our nation because the NRA and those who advocate for gun manufacturers, state that “gun rights” are supreme over everything. Because of the NRA, most think that the 2^nd amendment only says “The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.” After all, who has time to even consider why that conditional statement appears in this short, one sentence amendment?

Those who advocate guns over everything else don’t want people considering or even talking about the 2^nd. Its heresy to not believe it as told to the people by their preachers. There shall be no debate over this matter in this country despite what the 1^st amendment says.

“Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Even though the 1^st amendment is twice as long as the 2^nd, if you are a worshipper of the gun, you have no right to sway from the religion of the gun, you have no right to not worship the gun, speak against the worship of the gun, write against the worship of the gun and the people cannot assemble or petition the Government to redress grievances involving issues with the gun. Gun rights rule supreme, in their minds.

Hyperbole? Not really.

Both Keene and LaPierre of the NRA have made it clear to Congress that they are not to enact any laws designed to better regulate gun safety laws in this nation.

They do not want any laws enacted that would require full background checks and waiting periods for all gun sales.

They do not want any laws banning future manufacture or sales of high-capacity magazine or military style assault weapons.

They do not want the Center for Disease Control to gather any data regarding gun violence for analysis and research.

They do not want a national database created to register and monitor guns in this country or those suffering from mental health disorders to be entered for reference in a background check.

In short, they want Congress to ignore what the majority of the nation wants. They have gone so far as to say the there aren’t enough votes in Congress to address any of these issues. Is it because they own Congress?

As for free speech, they have been very successful in silencing those who advocate gun safety actions for decades. With the horrible events in Newtown, as people began to express their outrage and demand for gun safety actions, they have been working to silence those people in their use of social media, especially Twitter.

After Sandy Hook, many on Twitter posted comments demanding gun safety regulations be imposed only to suddenly find themselves being suspended from Twitter. It was later determined that pro-gun right advocates were getting together to complain to Twitter en masse, that these people were abusing Twitter, resulting in their suspension. I was one of many who ended up having this happen on Twitter.

Now this has reached the level of the ridiculous. A conservative activist name Todd Kincannon has formed a group called “Twitter Gulag Defense Network”. #TGDN was advertised as a means to protect “conservatives” from “liberal trolls” who they say were getting conservative twitter accounts suspended for abusing the system. If that is what was happening, and that was their intent, Bravo! However, the facts don’t jive.

In reality, conservatives tend to insert themselves into the timelines of those they don’t agree with and will insult, berate and ridicule them in their timeline. As a result, complaints were being made and the conservatives ended up being suspended. It’s like arsonists complaining to the property owner about getting burned.

What ended up happening was that conservative nut jobs all hooked up in one place, like a bizarro “team followback”. Thousands of like-minded, fringed right-wing, extreme haters, were all hanging around sniffing each other’s asses looking for mischief. With TGDN, these people ended up organizing to purposefully taunt those; especially those tweeting for gun safety laws, by replying to their posts with some form of insult. Once that person responds, they get together via DM (Direct Messaging) and “spam block” them, resulting in the injured party getting suspended. Kincannon has actually explained to his followers how to set up back-up Twitter accounts to fall back on if they are suspended while they work to suspend other accounts.

http://twitchy.com/2013/01/06/tgdn-hashtag-to-power-grassroots-set-up-twitter-gulag-defense-network/

Karoli has information regarding Todd Kincannon, as she has written in Crooks and Liars:

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/breitbots-gulags-and-free-speech

On Sunday, January 13, 2012 many of my friends were part of a “Twitter bomb” to set up a hashtag for trending; #DoItForGabby, with comments about gun safety laws. It was successful and many tweeted comments for gun safety laws to be enacted. Sure enough, many who ascribe to #TGDN responded to their timelines with insults and hyperbole, hoping for a response. Those who did, ended up being suspended from Twitter; those like me who simply ignored and blocked them, had no problems.

Most issues always have at least two sides. In our form of government and under the first amendment, people should feel free to express their views. That is the way it has always been. People can then hear both sides of the issues, weigh each side, consider both positions and decide where they want to be. We even allow Nazi groups to be heard in public, we do so to let them be heard and let people decide what kind of people they are.

Now consider, if one side has little or nothing to support their views of the issue, what choice do they have? Well, silence those on the other side from being heard. By the NRA being the only ones being heard, their side will always be accepted. This is the foundation of propaganda and censorship. Only this time it’s being perpetrated by corporate interests, not government.

I’m an example why they don’t want both sides of any issues being heard. For those who don’t know me, I was a Republican. I had conservative views (still do on some issues); I was drinking the Kool-aid. However, I also believe in the continuous acquisition of knowledge and reassessment of the world around us. As the party changed and moved further right, the more I looked to the other side of the argument and realized it made far more sense than what I had been told and what I felt comfortable with. So I grew and I changed.

They now call me a liberal. And I say, “thanks”.

They aren’t getting away with it this time. Even mainstream media is starting to get the word out that is contrary to the corporate narrative, that maybe we don’t need guns; maybe more guns DO equal more violence. Certainly the polling is clear, 74% of the nation, including gun owners, agree more laws need to be enacted. It’s only that small, angry and loud minority that says otherwise. They hope to silence the voice of the majority who do not agree with them and are being unsuccessful in this endeavor.

If you don’t agree with someone, you can either listen to what they say, try to convince them otherwise or simply ignore them. In this country you do not have the right to silence them because the 2^nd amendment is not more important or more powerful than the 1^st amendment. I’ve heard all I need to hear from the right-wing gun worshippers and don’t need to hear anymore. They are completely unwilling to even consider anything outside their narrative regardless of reason. So I’m ignoring and blocking them.

If they don’t like what I’m saying, they can ignore me, but they can’t silence me, and I won’t try to silence them. Let them be heard and let all the people decide which side has the more appropriate position to the gun issue. Congress needs to hear both sides and decide what’s in the public interest. If they want to impose what’s in the corporate interest, then they need to explain to the people why. Then we can decide what we think about their choice in 2014.

If you are on Twitter, this is the advice I have for you. If taunted by someone who has a bio of being a “conservative” especially aligned with #TGDN, who reply to you with any angry, insulting, or simply stupid remark, just ignore and block them. Do not reply to them. Stay active, keep posting and continue to spread to good word.

Early on in this latest round of the serious gun violence issue in this nation, I posted an article that referred to the many of the lies and misrepresentations the gun worshippers like to use to shut those of us who want rational, workable and needed gun safety regulations imposed.

Incidentally, that is about 74 percent of this country compared to the very extreme, but very vocal side that advocates a total ban on anything they consider a ban on guns.

They are so loud and angry; the debate is usually over before it begins. But not this time, finally the country is waking up and the NRA gun lobbyists aren’t the only voices being heard. Despite the efforts of their trolls, people are being heard and a counter movement is underway.

Several of my friends and I have been suspended from Twitter for our pro-gun safety regulation stance. The gun worshipping trolls are working together to shut us down. That’s why I advocate not engaging them on Twitter; you won’t change their positions at all and will most likely end up being suspended. The nice thing about having your own blog like I do, nobody can shut you down.

Anyhow, if you must, here are some basic facts about the gun debate as proffered by the gun advocates and how to respond and some resources you may find useful.

1) Nobody in any position of authority in the government is advocating taking all the guns away. That’s just pure paranoia on the gun-worshipper’s part.

2) Arguments about the absolute right to bear arms via the 2nd Amendment are false. Here are three links that use actual historic fact and reason that debunks those who say it does:

Thom Hartmann presents the truth of the writing of the 2nd Amendment by those who wrote it and what was happening at the time.

An analysis of the myths and facts of the 2nd Amendment that cites historic facts and case law: http://www.guninformation.org/secondamendment.html

The Founding Fathers versus the Gun Nuts http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/13786-the-founding-fathers-vs-the-gun-nuts

3) The NRA Board of Directors and Leadership (Keene and LaPierre) do not represent the interests of average gun owners, they represent the business of gun and ammunition manufacturers and their profits. Many of these companies are not even American owned.

4) If the NRA were truly interested in the facts that surround gun violence, why did they pressure Congress to prevent the Center For Disease Control to gather data regarding gun violence to analyze the problem and develop appropriate solutions? Why are they censoring research?

5) Statistics presented by gun worshippers that say guns prevent violence do not bear up to scrutiny. The Harvard School of Public Health have compiled peer reviewed research and summarized it here: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/firearms-research/policy/ It covers almost every aspect of gun ownership and presents with links to the studies the fact that the perils raised by gun ownership far outweigh any benefits.

6) Of a population of 315 million Americans, approximately 80 million own one or more guns. Of those, only 4 million belong to the NRA. Of those, 74% agree that an assault weapon ban is needed and that there should be a full background check for all gun sales to include gun shows. They also agree to gun registration.

7) Gun registration will not lead to gun confiscation anymore than car registration leads to car confiscation. It’s a means to monitor potential risk to public safety and aid police in criminal investigations regarding gun violence.

8) The assault weapon and high-capacity magazine bans only pertain to anymore being manufactured and sold in this country. No one is advocating seizure of weapons already out there unless they are used in crimes or the owners are determined to be criminals and/or mentally incompetent.

9) The whole 2nd Amendment argument as well as accusations that the government is out to take your guns have no bearing in fact and are either paranoid delusional thoughts, or pro-gun manufacturers propaganda used to increase sales.

10) The original Assault Weapon ban did in fact worked. Further, half of all the mass shootings in the history of this country occurred after the Assault Weapon ban expired in 2004 at the request and urging of the NRA as President Clinton explains http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/bill-clinton-pushes-stricter-gun-control-ces-speech-article-1.1237283

If there are truly undecided people or those who are willing to open their minds past a narrative drilled into their heads, this will help you. You can try this on avid gun proponents if you truly want to try, but I do not suggest you waste your time with those in that very small, but vocal minority of gun worshipping gun nuts to ever see the light in the matter. They’re lost souls who can no longer see reason, assuming they ever were reasonable.