Common Folk Using Common Sense

From American Spectator and Boortz:

• The cost of our federal government is 25% of our total economy (GDP). This is compared with the average of 20.7% of the GDP during 1970-2009
• If you include the cost of state and local government, the total cost of government is almost 40% of our GDP
• Since 2008, the cost of our federal government has increased by one-fourth
• By 2020, Obama will have increased the federal government by one-half on a per family basis
• Before the recession, federal spending totaled $24,000 per household
• By 2020, Obama would raise that to $36,000 per household

Remember that every dollar, dime, and penny the federal government comes out of some taxpayer’s wallet. Every increase in the federal government comes from a forced decrease in individual income. Every expansion of government is accomplished by a shrinking of household income. This is your Hope and Change.

federal government, economy, GDP, government, recession, federal spending, Obama, taxpayer, household income, Hope and Change

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Via Rush Limbaugh and others:

RUSH: Here’s Lech Walesa. This is last Friday in Chicago at a campaign event for Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Andrzejewski, and this is what he said, a portion of his remarks.

WALESA (via translator): The United States is only one superpower. Today they lead the world. Nobody has doubts about it. Militarily. They also lead economically but they’re getting weak. But they don’t lead morally and politically anymore. The world has no leadership. The United States was always the last resort and hope for all other nations. There was the hope, whenever something was going wrong, one could count on the United States. Today, we lost that hope.

RUSH: So that’s Lech Walesa. The United States no longer leads the world morally and we are moving toward socialism. By the way, these Illinois elections, there’s a bunch of primaries there tomorrow. I don’t want to jinx things but it could well be that the Republicans are going to score big time tomorrow, and there’s a particular candidate that’s being described as the Scott Brown of his contest.

Mr. Walesa is correct. But he’s a decade late in reporting it. The US is, and has been, moving towards a welfare, nanny state, Socialism-based society for many years. The government believes its purpose is to take care of all its citizens, sort of like a fat queen and her peasant subjects so popular in Old Europe. Long gone is the concept of real freedom, personal responsibility, and rugged individualism. Today people like Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, and Jim Bowie would be locked up in jail. People like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams would be laughingly called ‘teabaggers’ by the elitists of network news channels.

The major turn towards Socialism was started by Franklin Roosevelt, but it has been helped by just about everyone that took an oath of office since then. All the strong, independent men of Washington have been self-neutered and now prefer wearing lacy panties and singing ‘Kum Bah Yah’ instead. All the strong, independent women of Washington have evolved into tramps with a fat butts that simply want everyone to suckle at their floppy breasts.

A recent Gallup poll showed 53% of Democrats have a positive image of Socialism compared to 17% of Republicans, and 61% of Liberals say their image of Socialism is positive compared to 39% of Moderates and 20% of Conservatives.

Freedom has always been the enemy of Government. Today in the US it is now at a new level. Anyone with greater than a 4th grade education knows that as Government increases, freedom decreases. Under Obama we have watched and allowed Government to greatly increase, and Obama ain’t finished just yet. The only questions are which freedoms are going to be diminished next, and by how much, and to what extent We The People will continue to bend over and take it.

The Democrats need more Government so that their jobs are guaranteed for life. The Republicans traded their Morals and Strength for easy money years ago. The Libertarians are still too marginalized to be of any effect at the national level. The Tea Party movement has the right idea, but only time will tell if they have the balls to actually do anything about it.

Lech Walesa, Adam Andrzejewski, we lost that hope, socialism, Obama, freedom, We The People, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Tea Party

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There is a meme going on on various pro-2A blogs, something like “What do I wear/carry on my person 99.9% of the time as I go about my day?” Some of the others continuing this meme can be found here and here and here. As for me:

It contains:

• Smith & Wesson 642 Centennial Airweight in .38 Special with a Crimson Trace lasergrip
• A reload of .38 Special in a Bianchi Speed Strip
• Cheap wallet, usually empty
• Used pickup truck
• KaBar K2 folding knife
• Samsung Blackjack II

This is not my entire collection. This is not what I wear 50% of the time. These are not necessarily personal favorites. Where and how I carry this gear is my business.

This meme does not mean “What do I wear when local ordinances allow me to properly protect myself?”

This meme does not mean “What do I wear on those rare occurrences where the federal and state governments have not gutted the letter and spirit of the law called the Second Amendment?”

This meme does not mean “What do I wear in spite of what urban welfare Socialist mayors and governors proclaim I have no pre-existing right to do?”

This is simply “What I wear.” These are all different types of necessary tools for daily living. When buying groceries, when eating at a restaurant, when driving around town, when walking the dogs, when getting the mail, when visiting friends, when watching TV. Period. ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ.

2A, Second Amendment, What I wear, ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

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Says Tam:

This is tied in to another thing I often read on the internet “You carry a gun to the (grocery store/restaurant/nice neighborhood/sewing circle/whatever)?” No, I don’t. As Kathy Jackson phrased it so well, I don’t carry a gun “to” anyplace; I just carry a gun. I put the gun on in the morning with no more emotional freighting or special foresight than my shoes. In fact, probably less, because I may wear different shoes, but I always carry the same gun.

When I put my shoes on, I did not run though a complex internal calculus of “Well, there’s a ‘No shirt, No shoes, No service’ sign at the bank, and I think I have to wear them at the grocery store, too. On the other hand, it’s warm out, and I could put those errands off and not wear shoes today…” I just put my shoes on. It’s the default state, just like putting the pistol in the holster on my belt. As I go through the day, I don’t constantly think about my shoes, and whether I might “need” them at my next stop. Ditto, the gun.

What makes this hard for some people to understand is that, to them, a gun is an object of heavy totemic significance. They have not been exposed to firearms except via the entertainment industry or the six o’clock news, where they are constantly being used to deal death and mayhem, whereas I’ve been around them more or less constantly for my entire adult life and they’ve mostly just sat there. An object that to many people contains heavy emotional freighting is about as significant or shocking to me as an ashtray or a steak knife (to name a couple of other frequently-used murder weapons,) and I think this is the source of the massive disconnect between viewpoints. What to do about it? You got me, there; I haven’t a clue.

Emphasis mine.

This is exactly how I go about my day. I get out of bed, I put on my clothes, and I carry a firearm. Period. No big deal, just how I choose to live my day.

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Via The Washington Times:

The era of big government has returned with a vengeance, in the form of the largest federal work force in modern history.

The Obama administration says the government will grow to 2.15 million employees this year, topping 2 million for the first time since President Clinton declared that “the era of big government is over” and joined forces with a Republican-led Congress in the 1990s to pare back the federal work force.

Most of the increases are on the civilian side, which will grow by 153,000 workers, to 1.43 million people, in fiscal 2010.

Please never forget where each and every dime of all these employees salaries come from … out of your wallet.

So middle America is either unemployed or under-employed, middle America is suffering through lower salaries and higher costs, middle America is suffering through a terrible economy and record foreclosures, and President Obama believes that the best use of all that money taken out of your wallet is to subsidize the income of more and more government employees.

I didn’t think Obama could beat Carter’s dismal record, but he is sure working hard to do so.

The Obama model has two stages. The first stage is that the government and government unions grow massively and take over more and more aspects of what used to be free choices by people – all paid for by increasingly confiscatory taxation crushing the private sector. The second stage is just the elimination of the private sector as America moves to his ideal state of a gray conformist equality, with government officials “more equal” than others – similar to Mao’s China.

Bow at the Höpenchange, mere mortals. “We The People” is evolving into “We The Government”.

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“The rights of conscience, of bearing arms, of changing the government, are declared to be inherent in the people.” – Fisher Ames, US Representative, 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts, 1758-1808

Not only are the pre-existing rights of bearing arms and changing the government inherent in We The People, but they are also our job and our responsibility. To sit on our fat butts and gleefully accept all the garbage coming out of Washington is not the reason we have these guaranteed rights, but to challenge and change that which we find to be unacceptable.

How many of you have send even a simple email to any of your elected representatives?

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Said by GA State Representative Tim Bearden, R-68, Villa Rica, as printed in The Valdosta Daily Times:

There should be no limitation to where a law abiding citizen carries his/her firearm. I would like to see enough support for law-abiding citizens to be able to carry a concealed weapon anywhere that citizen wants to carry the firearm. In an ever dangerous society we must be able to protect ourselves and our families from the criminals that already carry concealed firearms. Crime would definitely decrease if the criminals did not know who was armed before choosing a victim.

firearm, concealed weapon, concealed firearm

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From Yahoo:

The Obama administration’s plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families.

In the 2010 budget tabled by President Barack Obama on Monday, the White House wants to let billions of dollars in tax breaks expire by the end of the year — effectively a tax hike by stealth.

While the administration is focusing its proposal on eliminating tax breaks for individuals who earn $250,000 a year or more, middle-class families will face a slew of these backdoor increases.

And from The Hill:

Grappling to contain record deficits, President Barack Obama is seeking to end a middle-class tax break he once said would be permanent.

The $3.8 trillion budget request rolled out by the White House on Monday would renew the Making Work Pay tax credit for fiscal 2011, but then would have it sunset.

That’s a switch from last year, when Obama’s budget called for making the tax credit permanent.

So to all those 55 million people that voted for Obama in 2008, I hope you’re happy with his higher taxes and his record deficit spending and his increasing reach of government.

Obama, deficit, tax increase, tax, middle-class, tax hike, tax break

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General Beauregard Lee, Georgia’s Official Weather Prognosticatorm and full-time groundhog, reported this morning at 7:35am in rainy, 40 degree weather, that he did not see his shadow, foretelling an early spring for Georgia.

Beauregard Lee, Georgia, groundhog

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From Theodore Haas, a Holocaust survivor that was imprisoned at Dachau, in an interview with Aaron Zelman, founder, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership:

Aaron Zelman: It appears the Liberal left in America is tolerating, and sometimes espousing anti-Semitism. Why do you think so many Jews still support the leftist form of Liberalism?

Theodore Haas: It is for this very reason that I firmly believe that we harbor more stupid and naive people in our midst, than any other group of people. It amazes me how Liberal Jews have such short memories that today, they would be so supportive and involved in setting up the mechanics of gun control, so that a Holocaust can happen again. All they’re doing is playing into the hands of the very clever communists who are masters at conning Americans.

Liberal, Liberalism, gun control, communists

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From Theodore Haas, a Holocaust survivor that was imprisoned at Dachau, in an interview with Aaron Zelman, founder, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership:

Aaron Zelman: What message do you have for ultra-Liberal organizations and individuals who want America disarmed?

Theodore Haas: Their ignorance is pitiful — their lives have been too easy. Had they experienced Dachau, they would have a better idea of how precious freedom is. These leftist should leave America. These Sarah Brady types must be educated to under-stand that because we have an armed citizenry, that a dictatorship has not yet happened in America. These anti-gun fools are more dangerous to Liberty than street criminals or foreign spies.

Liberal, Sarah Brady, armed citizen, America, anti-gun, Liberty

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From Theodore Haas, a Holocaust survivor that was imprisoned at Dachau, in an interview with Aaron Zelman, founder, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership:

Aaron Zelman: What words of warning would you like to give to young people who will soon be eligible to vote?

Theodore Haas: Vote only for politicians who trust the people to own all types of firearms, and who have a strong pro-Second Amendment voting record. Anti-gunownership politicians are very dangerous to a free society. Liberty and freedom can only be preserved by an armed citizenry. I see creeping fascism in America, just as in Germany, a drip at a time; a law here, a law there, all supposedly passed to protect the public. Soon you have total enslavement. Too many Americans have forgotten that tyranny often masquerades as doing good. This is the technique the Liberal politicians/Liberal media alliance are using to enslave America.

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From Ed Stone at the Atlanta Gun Rights Examiner:

HB 615 is a bill that would eliminate once and for all the Jim Crow public gathering law passed in 1870 to ensure that newly freed slaves would be rendered defenseless at public gatherings throughout Georgia. HB 615 would also clarify Georgia’s confusing laws, removing the more onerous restrictions on where a person can carry a handgun and making sure that any places “off limits” by law are listed in one concise code section that any normal Georgia citizen can read and understand.

Many people do not realize that it is a crime in Georgia to conceal weapons other than firearms, such as knives, even with a license. Yep, that folding knife in your pants pocket is considered, by Georgia law, a concealed weapon and is not permitted with any permit/license. If the law enforcement officer is in a bad mood you could find yourself in jail. Section 1 fixes this.

Sections 5 and 6 remove the state’s ability to seize weapons and suspend their sale during a time of emergency. Does anyone remember the cops in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina stealing every weapon legally owned by honest citizens under some “emergency powers” law, thus leaving the law-abiding folks completely unable to legally defend themselves from looters?

And most importantly Section 2 repeals the current public gathering law and replaces it with a very short list of places off limits.

public gathering, HB 615, Georgia, handgun

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“If every Jewish and anti-nazi family in Germany had owned a Mauser rifle and twenty rounds of ammunition and the will to use it, Adolf Hitler would be a little-known footnote to the history of the Weimar Republic.”

- Aaron Zelman, co-founder of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership

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Says FOX News:

President Obama is expected to propose that Congress freeze “non-security” federal spending for the next three years, senior administration officials said Monday.

The term “non-security” is broad. It will exempt costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, all other Pentagon spending, as well as foreign aid and the budgets of the Veterans Administration and Department of Homeland Security.

The freeze will apply to the annual spending on day-to-day government programs that do not include mandatory spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Spending on these three programs alone this year is projected to equal 8.7 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product or 59 percent of all federal spending.

OK, let’s be honest here. I don’t like Obama. I didn’t vote for him, I think he’s done a poor job as President, and since I see him as just another neo-euro-Socialist I do not respect him as a man.

Nevertheless, I give credit where credit is due. The federal government has to stop spending taxpayer dollars. You do realize, don’t you, that every penny spent by the federal government is a penny taken by force out of someone’s wallet or purse? So every penny they spend, on any program, is a penny you or I could have used to buy our groceries or pay doctor bills.

I also appreciate that he limited this to the next three years – his administration – and didn’t try to impose anything on the next President.

Then there’s Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. I’m afraid that these three Socialist programs are now too intertwined into this country and cannot be touched. It’s a damn shame that so many people absolutely depend on the government to pay their bills.

Now let’s look at reality, though. These spending freezes will do little to bring down the deficit. These spending freezes will do little to help average taxpayers. These spending freezes may be nothing more than a “look at me” from Obama as he attempts to re-image himself as a man of the people. Just like he did during the election, Obama may be doing nothing more than saying what his advisers tell him the people want to hear. Don’t forget that no less than four times during the presidential debates did Obama actively campaign against an across the board spending freeze. And until I see something really happening out of Washington I do not believe a word out of his mouth.

Obama, Congress, federal spending, Socialist, taxpayer, spending freeze

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