Where Did The Page Go?

Wonder what today's political pundits would say about John F. Kennedy who said:

 In my own native state of Massachusetts, the battle for American freedom was begun by the thousands of farmers and tradesmen who made up the Minute Men -- citizens who were ready to defend their liberty at a moment's notice. Today we need a nation of minute men; citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom. The cause of liberty, the cause of American, cannot succeed with any lesser effort. 
 It is this effort and concern which makes up the New Frontier. And it is this effort and concern which will determine the success or failure not only with Administration, but of our nation itself. 
-JFK January 29, 1961 Roosevelt Day Commemoration Message

Of course I had to use a web cached copy of the webpage because it was removed from the JFK Library site some time last week. Here's the original link: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations/Roosevelt-Day-Commemoration-Message.aspx

I've seen many people asking for a source for this so here are a few:

Source: White House Central Subject Files, Box 111, FDR 

Other Information Sources: 

"Know your Lawmakers" Guns Magazine, April 1960. 

"Letter to President John F. Kennedy from the NRA", [NRAcentral.com]. 

"New Minute Men Urged by Kennedy" New York Times, 30 Jan, 1961, pg. 13. 

"Kennedy Says U.S. Needs Minute Men" Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan, 1961, pg. 4. 

"Minutemen's Soft-Sell Leader: Robert B. DePugh", New York Times, 12 November 1961, pg. 76..

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Missing flyer for Mary and Max

missing1.pdf Download this file

This weekend has been.. Stressful to say the least. I got a message that my Goddaughter had gone missing Friday afternoon from school and have spent it in San Antonio looking for her.

We need your help. Please take time to read this flyer and contact the number the police at the number listed if you have any information.

Thanks
Me

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Enough Already!

I have had it with the political games of both parties.  This may well be the last election I vote Republican.  The way I see it, we need to band together and remove the slowly evolving train wreck currently infesting our most high office, but beyond that, everything’s on the table.  We will have four years to create and form a viable party to challenge these thieves and anti-American parasites that have hijacked both parties. This change is inevitable it’s just a matter of when and what direction, do we want an ever expanding Federal government that will slowly strangle itself under its own  weight, or do we want a lean responsive government that is completely and permanently put back in its Constitutional cage?

Conservatives: Grow a pair! Either you are a conservative or not. These false labels of compassionate, fiscal, or social -whatever, only serve to divide what was once a very powerful voting block.  We’ve allowed our political opponents to dictate the narrative long enough it’s time to get it together if we want to affect change for our country.

Libertarians: Either you want to put your beliefs into practice or not.  We are currently losing our Constitutionally protected rights at an alarming rate. The only hope for America is a restoration of a Constitutional government of the First Principles, i.e. Remembering the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 9th and 10th amendments exist, then removing the 16th, 17th and 23rd amendments. (If you’re confused, look them up!)

Undecided: I guess you are the group I understand the least, it’s time to grow up and join the adults at the table! More importantly, it’s time to make a choice for America. I have a problem with a large group of people that do not understand themselves, their heritage, or their values well enough to consistently vote.  Now is not the time to guess, you will either vote for a candidate that has a proven track record of harming our American way of life or one that was forced on us by an out of touch Republican leadership, but has a proven history of fiscal restraint and common sense.  You have become a major swing vote in the past few elections and you can no longer sit on the fence.

Liberals: I refuse to believe that all of you who identify with this sect are hell bent on destroying my country, so I offer you a chance to help us restore this nation to its rightful place as a world leader.  Ground rules are simple: We follow the Constitution and only the Constitution with the understanding that the Commerce Clause is not a catch all for government expansion.

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iTunes Problems - Causing CPU to run at 100%

Problem:  AppleMobileDeviceService.exe running at 100%

Solution: Open a command prompt (as Administrator) then run the command below and reboot the computer.

netsh winsock reset

Short sweet and works.. Have fun!

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A True Competive Grant

Well it has been quite some time since my last post, and between the demands of a new job and 3 nights a week at a police academy, I have been sorely missing the simple joy of writing blog posts.  I am happy to announce that I have completed my academy and am not-so-patiently waiting to get the required permission to take the peace officer's state certification test.

However that in not the thrust of this post, I recently found out that the Great State of Texas (Said as should be with the hand held over the heart) held a grant opportunity that was not advertised very well: The Feral Hog Abatement Grant Program.  The thought behind the initiative was to give Texas counties money to help control the wild hog problem, but with only 40 counties out of 254 participating I don't see how this helps. It seems they may need some help with getting the word out... This program is set to give the highest scoring county $20,000; the second highest will be $15,000; the third highest will be $10,000; and the fourth & fifth highest will be $7,500 each. Please contact the The Texas Department of Agriculture and request this program be continued for another year. Why are hogs so reviled in rural areas? Read on.
Wild hogs, wild boars, razorbacks, pineywoods rooters, or woods hogs, what ever you want to call them according to the link above there is somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.6 million feral hogs in Texas causing some $500 million in damages to a host of items such as property or livestock and given the rate of reproduction I am sure these figures are outdated. 
The rate of reproduction is simply amazing, a herd of wild hogs can double every 4 months. These hogs are usually weaned within 2-3 months of birth and sow (female hog) can start breading when she is 6 to 10 months old. At that age she can produce two litters containing 4-8 piglets every 12-15 months. The older sows can produce 10 -13 piglets every litter twice every 12-15 months and both young or old sows have a male-female ratio of roughly 1:1 in every litter. That's a lot of hogs!
What about natural predators, you may ask.  Can you think of natural animal in Texas that would stand up to something as tall as 3 feet and will weigh in at around 100 to 130 pounds with 44 sharp teeth including tusks?  Me either. Because many ancestors of these hogs were released for game hunting in the 1930's they lack natural predators to help with population control.   So it is up to us to control the population. Fortunately, the state legislature has made it OK to hunt these vermin year round with out the need for a **hunting license. So do your part, if you see a herd of swine, shoot'em trap'em or what ever just help control'em. It appears that this problem is only going to get worse unless we do something drastic. 
Finally, here is a very useful PDF that explains all this way better then I can.. http://icwdm.org/publications/pdf/feral%20pig/txferalhogs.pdf

 

 

** If they are on your property and are doing damage.

 

 

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Launching Links With Google Chrome In Incognito Mode

The other night I was fiddling around with Google Chrome. It occured to me that it would be a great thing to be able to click a link on a web page or from Twitter and it not show up in my history...

No not because of that!

Anyway, the only help I could find on the subject was for Ubuntu and since I run Winders XP, it was less then helpful.  So with out futrther ado..

Goto My Computer -> Tools -> File Types and find and hight "URL:HyperText Transfer Protocol"

Click Advanced

In the new window click on Edit

"In Application used to preform action" (Path where Chrome is stored) add everything after the "--" (including the dash dash)

"C:\Documents and Settings\[Username]\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --incognito "%1"

Then fore good measure type --incognito "%1" in DDE Message blank. Click on OK untill you are back a My Computer and you are done! 

The next time you click on a link it should open in Incognito Mode. Enjoy.

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My People

2 Chronicles 7:14. 

This is one of my favorite verses from the Old Testament.  It describes not only the way to Salvation but also the way to bring our country back from the current road it’s on.

 

It reads: 
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 

 

We are, despite what some of our leaders think, still a Christian nation.  We were founded on the principles and teachings of God and will continue to be as long as there are folks here that will do as today’s scripture says. 

 

There are 4 things that we must do before God will listen to mankind.  We are promised that He will hear our pleas and heal our land if we become humble, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways.  But what do these things mean? Humility is weakness right? Isn’t prayer and seeking His face the same thing? How can we turn from our wicked ways when we are surrounded by wickedness?

 

The scripture says to humble themselves: This is not an invitation to be weak or timid. It is a frame of mind, recognizing that God is in control of every thing and that without the power and love of Christ we could do nothing. Being humble is the first step to forgiveness because unless we realize that we need help, we would never do the rest of what the passage says and we would never submit to the authority of Christ.

 

Next it says Pray: Prayer is our most powerful weapon against the evils of this world.  It is the act of talking with God to seek his desires for your life.  It is also where we can gain the strength to finish the tasks that He has laid out for our lives. And get a measure of comfort for the hurts we must endure. Without prayer I dare say most of us would not be here today. I know in my own life, there have been many people faithfully lifting my name up to God.

 

Then is says to Seek His Face: This is prayer and study of the bible in action. We are to study the word of God, talk about what it means in our lives and apply it the best way we can. I have seen several people read the same scripture and get different things out of it. That doesn’t mean that one was right and the others were wrong, it just means that each of those people were at a different place in their life and were looking at it differently.  For example, I think of today’s scripture when the tanks are getting low and the grass in the pasture is dying and we pray for rain, or like I said at the beginning today about our leaders.  Both fit, our land needs to be healed but in very different ways.  However, the remedy is the same, by seeking God we can make a difference in the world around us. It is crucial to seek God if you want to have a personal relationship with Him.

  

Finally the scripture says to Turn from their wicked ways: This is what the term repent means, to literally turn away from sin and change the direction of our life. Yes, we are surrounded by wickedness, and it may seem that turning one way is no different then turning another, but God offers us a way to live our life that is pleasing to Him.

 

Romans 10:9-10 says that if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised Him for the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.  

 

This is repentance.  This is how you can turn away from wickedness when you are surrounded by it. We can not look to worldly solutions for spiritual problems.  God has a plan for us.  He wants to be a part of our lives and most of all He wants to restore that relationship He had with mankind that was lost in Eden when sin entered the world.

 

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Texas DPS's Odd Office Hours Makes Me A Criminal

Here is an email I sent to the DPS Customer Service Center today.  

I have been trying for 3 months to renew my driver's license. The closest office to me (some 20 miles away)has had a sign on the door for the past 2 months saying it will be closed until further notice due to computer problems.  Every place else (more then an hour away) only processes renewals in the morning hours.  As shocking as this may seem, most people in this area have jobs and are unable to meet these unreasonable office hours.  Is there anything that can be done? I have tried to renew online and was told I am ineligible. Your customer service center will not take my call "due to high call volume".. Does the DPS enjoy making criminals out of Texas citizens that would other wise like to comply with state law? 

I do not like being a criminal only because I have a job that does not allow for 2 hour round trips that would have to start at 8:00am. Couple that with most offices be open only one day a week and you are just inviting a backup of disgruntled customers.  

We are forced by law to have a "valid" driver's license, but it seems the state has in every way contrived to make it as difficult as possible to get these renewals. We have the Technology to make this a painless event.  Why not use it to do so?  It seems asinine to me to only allow one online renewal, but what can we do? Call your Representatives and make this a priority may something can change. Here is a page listing your Texas House of Representatives call em and see the lethargic response.  Otherwise, on a birthday coming soon you too will be a criminal.

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Word Search For Freestone Co. Academy

While studying this weekend for my TX Penal Code test, I thought I would create a word search or 2 for all the spelling words that we have. They are broken up into ~20 word puzzles and fit on one page.  Please feel free to download and use these as you wish.  

BTW, if you want to create your own puzzles you can find the page here: http://www.armoredpenguin.com/wordsearch/ Have fun!

 

FCSO Word Search Puzzle1.pdf Download this file

FCSO Word Search Puzzle2.pdf Download this file

FCSO Word Search Puzzle3.pdf Download this file

FCSO Word Search Puzzle4.pdf Download this file

FCSO Word Search Puzzle5.pdf Download this file

FCSO Word Search Puzzle6.pdf Download this file

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Techie Type Post

I haven't had a techie post in a while, so I thought I would let you know what I have been piddling with at the office.  I suddenly became in desperate need of a way to rotate pictures on our website and didn't have a clue how to make that happen.  After many hours of scouring the web I ran across this page by Matt Mullenweg: 

http://photomatt.net/scripts/randomimage 

Basically, you create a .PHP file and drop it in a (web accessible) folder then put a link to the .PHP file where you want the pictures to show up. SCORE! No typing in the names of each picture! This was hugely important to me, as I truly hate having to go line by line typing in a picture list. The only down side was that it would only show one picture.. Yes it was random and yes  it saved a lot if time but you know me, it did not rotate them out with out reloading the page and I wanted MORE. So after a little time well spent banging my head against the monitors on my desk I figured out that I could combine this imminently awesome PHP file with of all things, a HTML file with the link inside as a source for an iFrame. Uhmm.. here let me Try this again..

Things you need:

The code from the link above.

An empty HTML file

A page to encapsulate every thing in.

Copy the code on Matt's page into a text file, name it rotator.php and save it to a folder that has a bunch of pictures in it.  For this example I will use the directory "pictures" and is accessible from my website with this address <sitename>\pictures.  Next create a HTML file in the root of your website folder and name it picrotate.html. 

In the head section type this line:

<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="5;url=/picrotate.htm">

In body of the HTML file save this line:

<img src="/pictures/rotator.php">

Now in the page that you want the picture to be seen on use an iframe like this:

<iframe src="/picrotate.htm" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">

</iframe>

After you save this file you should have rotator.php called from picrotate.htm which is called from the page where you want to see the picture.  The meta tag will cause picrotate.htm to be redirected to itself every 5 seconds causing rotator.php to be reloaded and will display a new random picture from the folder. It is beyond the scope of this post to get into page formating, but I will say this: div tags are the best thing to happen to websites in a long time!

This may seem convoluted, but it does work. If you want to see it in use, go to my video board page here http://www.calvertisd.com/index.php?page=tv-out This is shown on a 42" flat screen TV in one of our hallways.  Enjoy!

NOTE: If you are doing this on a more public page, I would suggest that you increase the meta refresh value to at least 15 or 20 seconds. and use a program to reduce the over-all size of your pictures. Most cameras today take pictures that are in the 5-10MB (very large) range and is way too big to be useful on a website. I recommend Gimp and the ever useful DBP (David's Batch Processor) plugin, both are free. 

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My Rather Simplistic Thoughts On Rolling Black Outs

I the wake of the recent "rolling black outs" here in Texas it occurs to me that there is another simple way to avoid them and maybe increase our employment numbers to boot. 

We start by encouraging the electric companies to build more sub-stations and power plants with incentives for them to do so, i.e. tax incentives for the length of say 10 or 20 years and relaxing some of the more idiotic EPA rules so that the construction could begin post-hast.  This would in turn put people to work causing an economic boost to communities across the state.   What would this get us?

1. More power to service the people of Texas. 

2. Make our state more energy independent. (Another cost savings)

3. Increase Employment - more money in the hands of consumers

4. Increase economic stability of surrounding businesses -because of above.

Not bad for a couples of sentences huh? Best of all, the only governmental involvement is the temporary abeyance of tax collection. I know this is a little simplistic maybe, but I think it will work don't you?

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The "Evils" of Drinking.. Explained

This past weekend I was taken to task for a picture I posted to my FB page.  This one in fact:

As you can see it contains not only a bottle of wine but -Gasp!- a glass full of the stuff.. E-gads what was I thinking?? Me, a preacher of the Gospel of Christ drinking -in my own home.. with a meal- Hmmm.. 

Now this will probably raise all kinds of Doctrinal debate especially because my particular faith if based on the Baptist Doctrine, but let me be clear, as our umm esteemed POTUS would say, there is not a scripture in the entire bible that says THOU SHALT NOT DRINK. No you ask, what does the bible really say then? Keep reading, we'll get to that.  

Paul said that he became all things to all men that they may come to the knowledge of Christ. If one comes to a friend sneering at the drink in his hand and with a "holier then thou" attitude what do you think will happen? Now imaging going to that friend in the love of Christ sharing with him the Good News of Eternal Salvation, while politely refusing an offered drink till your work is done. Do you think there will be a different outcome? Yes, telling people about God is like a job and I don't know about you, but I don't think it is a good idea to be drinking while your working. A reference listed below talks about the priest may not drink when he enters the inner court. 

The thing to remember is that above all, we strive to be Christ-like. We are ambassadors of Christ and as such should comport ourselves in an upright and dignified manor at all times. Drunkenness does NOT help you remain upright or dignified so if you can not control yourself, literally for God's sake, stay away from the hooch! We have enough idiots running around trying to give God a bad name and don't need your help in the matter. 

Old Testament

Proverbs 20:1

Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

Proverbs 31:6

Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to him whose life is bitter.

Ecclesiastes 9:7

Go, eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, because God has already approved your works.

Ezekiel 44:21

No priest may drink wine when he enters the inner court.

NEW Testament

1 Corinthians 5:11 

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.

Titus 1:7

Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.

Ephesians 5:18

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

My reading and study of this subject has told me that the consumption of alcohol in excess makes you a fool, and unworthy of honor which has been and is borne out almost daily in the bars and parties across this country.  This is where God has an issue with drinking. However, drinking in moderation with family or friends after your work is done seems to be ohkey dohkey with God.. 

Its at this point that I must make something absolutely clear: If your drinking, or for that matter eating, causes a brother to stumble the onus is on you bud.  What does this mean to me? If I, in my idiocy, offer a recovering alcoholic a drink, causing him to return to a life of indulgence that would be a sin. So be careful and most of all be honest with yourself, if you can't handle what the bible tells you about drinking, i.e. don't get drunk 'cause it makes you stupid, then don't do it.  

May God continue to love ya! 

NOTE: For the curious the wine in the picture is a sweet red made in Texas, the food in the bowl is Chili Con Carne that I whipped up. and yes, that is a salt and pepper shaker in a cowboy boot holder.. 

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Email to the Baptist General Convention of Texas

Below is an email that I sent to Executive Director Steve Vernon I will keep you updated on any response i receive..

Matthew 18:15-17 

Mr. Vernon,

This is a very hard email to write, I do not do this lightly but I am concerned about the recent publicity that has been generated by the Westboro "Baptist" Church. I have neither the means nor authority to approach this group directly, but you and your counter parts in the several states do so I ask that you exercise those rights.  Please understand, I'm all for free speech, but when it disrupts a funeral, be it a fallen soldier or that of a child, its no longer free. As a preacher I find it repugnant to vilify a grieving family and deny them the comfort God wants give in a time of need. Do the sermons of sexual immorality need to be taught? Absolutely! But if those sermons are not presented in the love and compassion of Christ, will there be any gain?

After reading the vile and hate filled press release on January 8, 2011,(PDF document) and the FAQ section of their site I was moved to contact the state level Baptist organization via Twitter and was directed to your email. I understand that they are in Kansas not Texas, but it has to start somewhere. As John F. Kennedy once said: "If not us, who? If not now, when?"

My questions and concerns can be summed up as follows:

1. Can a delegation be formed to speak with Fred Phelps, the "pastor"?

2. If after all biblical means of reconciliation have failed, will the Baptist organizations publicly denounce association with this group? 

3. Is there a recourse available to preclude them from further destroying our (Baptists) message of Salvation?

 

Thank you for your time and consideration, I leave with this thought: A few years ago I read several news stories wherein religious leaders were demanding Muslim clerics disavowal or rein in their more radical sects, and rightly so, but can we ask any less of ourselves? 

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Thoughts On The Florida School Board Shooting

As many of you have heard by now there was a shooting on Tuesday at a Florida School Board Meeting.   Predictively, there have been calls for more gun regulations and bands.  But think for a minuet, Florida is a Concealed Carry State and yet not one person there had a gun except the bad guy.  Why? Because the government in its infinite wisdom decreed that it is UNLAWFUL to carry concealed on school property.  It is what's called a "Gun Free Zone" which is loosely translated to "prime target areas" in bad guy speak.  They know that ALL law abiding citizens that exercise their right to bear arms will be unable to defend themselves or others in those areas.  

Could this have been avoided if the bad guy knew there was a chance that there were armed and trained citizens in there ready to defend themselves and others? We may never know about this particular instance, but statistically, criminals are cowards and will not attack if there is a reasonable chance of being out numbered or less armed then the intended victims. 

One of my favorite quotes is "An armed society is a polite society" 

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No-Bake Cookies

This is a recipe that my family loves. It's very chocolatey and yummy - there

usually aren't any left-overs.

15 min | 5 min prep | SERVES 15 -20

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

6 tablespoons cocoa

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Bring 1st 4 Ingredients (Butter, Milk, Cocoa, Sugar) to a boil.

2. Boil 1 Minute.

3. Remove From Heat.

4. Add Remaining Ingredients (Peanut Butter, Oatmeal, Vanilla). Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet or spread in a baking dish to cool.

5. Cut into squares (if baking dish used) & store cookies in an air-tight container

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Open Letter to the State of Texas

To the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative bodies of the State of Texas:

I formally call upon you to preform your sworn duties and protect those that live within the Texas border on this the 16 day of November, 2011.  I request and demand that legislation be authored and enacted, post hast, to have the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) offices and officials cease and desist all unconstitutional, invasive and humiliating acts which have been foisted upon your citizenry i.e electorate. I also ask you to give no quarter, or legal refuge to any agent of the TSA that may be found guilty of sexual assault, child molestation or have any computer containing images that break current child protection laws. I find this a reasonable request because it is the duty of any agent, officer, or soldier to refuse any and all unlawful orders.

As a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of the State of Texas, I am guaranteed certain rights given to me by God, enshrined in the US Constitution and reinforced by the state Constitution including protection against unlawful searches, assault, sexual assault, and  molestation. It is incumbent on you, our duly elected Representatives to step in and take up the fight against these acts of Tyranny. 

I eagerly await your response.

Respectfully,
Dennis Kirkland
twitter @dkirkland

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Thoughts On The 17th Amendment

 Amendment 17 - Senators Elected by Popular Vote. Ratified 4.8.1913

 The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

 When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

 This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

The 17th Amendment is perhaps the most pernicious addition that was ever made to the US Constitution.  While on the surface it would seem to be a good thing to have another voice in DC directly elected "By the People" but it has given rise to the ever increasing intrusion of the Federal Government into the inter-workings of State affairs

. 
By enacting the 17th Amendment we have effectively silenced our States ability to demand that the Feds adhere to the rest of the article and amendments in the Constitution. The Founding Fathers knew that in order to keep the Federal Government in its Constitutional cage there would have to be a mechanism to ensure State Governments (As a legislative body) had a say in the law making process.  Article 1 Section 3 was that mechanism. By amending the Constitution in 1913, we upset the balance of power that was originally outlined in the document and removed the only buffer that citizens have against an unrelenting assault on our Liberties, The Senate was never meant to be a House of Representatives Lite, it is a voting body that is supposed to be an advocate to the individual states and protector of State sovereignty. 

The Federal Government was never intended the to be a central repository of power in the land, it was to be strong enough to do the enumerated duties listed but not strong enough to over-step the Will of the State and certainly not strong enough to over turn the Will of the People. Between unfunded Federal mandates, unconstitutional Federal laws, and activist Federal Judges, we have been forced to cede Liberties granted to us by "Nature and Nature's God" and outlined in the Constitution. We are at a cross-road of American History, we can either choose the continued Tyranny* of our Federal Government or the absolute adherence to the Constitution the choice is ours to make.

“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.”  -Patrick Henery 

* Tyranny is defined as the arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power

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Tea Party Activism: the basic who? what? why? when? where? & how? Download this Document for FreePrintMobile

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Posted via email from Musings, Ramblings and Other Assorted Rubbish

Congressional Reform Act of 2010

I got this in an email today.. I have seen it before and wish our candidates would join in with these..

  Congressional Reform Act of 2010

1. Term Limits.

   12 years only, one of the possible options below..

   A. Two Six-year Senate terms
   B. Six Two-year House terms
   C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms

2.  No Tenure / No Pension. 

A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when
they are out of office.  

3.  Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social
Security system immediately.  All future funds flow into the Social
Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. 

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all
Americans do.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.  Congressional
pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in
the same health care system as the American people.

7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American
people.

8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective
1/1/11.  

The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen.
Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career.  The Founding Fathers
envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and
back to work.

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Free Texas Voters Guide

Download now or preview on posterous

FreeVotersGuide-TX.pdf (1489 KB)

Here is a free Texas Voters Guide from http://www.freevotersguide.com

Posted via email from Musings, Ramblings and Other Assorted Rubbish