Getting what you deserve
Someone long ago said, “The government you have is exactly the government you deserve”. Wow, pretty harsh words. So, I ask you, Is the government you have the government you deserve?
In the interest of “fairness” and “equality” in this post when a masculine term is used it applies equally to the feminine as well. That seems fair, does it not?
These few words of wisdom come from a speech by Patrick Henry 07June1788. What this speech was about is quite different from what we are living through at this time, but it fits.
And, Sir, would not all the world, from the Eastern to the Western hemisphere, blame our distracted folly in resting our rights upon the contingency of our rulers being good or bad. Shew me that age and country where the rights and liberties of the people were placed on the sole chance of their rulers being good men, without a consequent loss of liberty? I say that the loss of that dearest privilege has ever followed with absolute certainty, every such mad attempt.
We have come far since the days of Patrick Henry. Or have we? We no longer hope to elect good men. In our day we just elect the lesser of the two evils. The lesser evil is still evil. The democrats call the republicans evil because they are in the pockets of the NRA and so forth. The republicans call the democrats evil because they are in the pockets of the Labor Unions and so forth. Our focus has shifted to electability, we vote for who is electable and damn the consequences. And about being in the pockets, do politicians deny being in somebody’s pockets?
Which one is good and which one is bad? How can one tell? Unfortunately there is no way to tell before hand. You will only realize good or bad after the fact. There is a sure fire way to know if you made the right choice or not by answering a simple question. How are your “rights” and “liberties” fairing at this point? If the answer is not so well, you got a bad one.
Before continuing, I may as well get this out of the way. Elections have consequences. Not voting(staying home, skipping the election, sitting this one out or whatever the excuse)also has consequences. If you did not exercise your “right” to vote you have exactly the government you deserve. As far as I am concerned you have no “right” to bitch and moan(petition the government for a redress of grievances)period.
Some citizens of some of the several States are protesting the policies and executive orders of Governors. One of those Governors said something to the effect of the protestors were wearing Trump hats. It was also said that Confederate Flags and Nazi paraphernalia were showing up at the protests. And gasp, some protestors were armed. Even went so far as to say that the protestors would cause the “stay at home orders” to be extended. In other words, if you resist you will get more(sit down and shut up).
Some of you are feeling quite oppressed and growing impatient with your elected leaders perhaps even wondering when or if the “oppression” will end. Again we will check in on Patrick Henry, from a speech given 05June1788. And again this speech was addressing a subject different than our current situation, but again the words fit.
Will the oppressor let go the oppressed? Was there ever an instance? Can the annals of mankind exhibit one single example, where rulers overcharged with power, willingly let go the oppressed, though solicited and requested most earnestly?
But there is good news. States and Localities are beginning to reopen. The citizens in those areas are slowly getting their rights and liberty back. Are the rulers overcharged with power willing to let go the oppressed? Was Mr. Henry wrong?
And there is bad news. According to a news article I came across, States relax rules, but some could return to stay-at-home orders if coronavirus cases surge. No, it looks like Mr. Henry was spot on. What we are seeing could be described as the “old carrot and stick” routine. They dangle your liberty and your rights in front of you(the carrot)and then beat you with the stick, I know they pull the carrot back using the stick, I like my wording better.
Reversal of roles. Civil servants have become our lords and masters. Never let a crisis go to waste. This crisis, State of Emergency(Federal, State and Local), has certainly not been wasted by some tiny tyrants.
As bad as things have become they could certainly be a lot worse. Think about this for a minute. The democrats were wanting a national strategy for reopening. In other words they wanted the Federal government to be the one deciding when a State or the States could begin reopening instead of the Governors. The closest that came to fruition was the CDC guidelines for reopening. When they, the democrats, say they want a national strategy for reopening, they wanted a national strategy for both, the shutdown and the reopening. I would imagine there were more than a few republicans in favor of that as well. The Federal government would have been the sole decider. States Rights, what few the States still enjoy, would have become nonexistent. What Mr. Lincoln began they could have finished.
How different would things be now if the 2016 election had gone the other way?
I will end this for now and pick up on the next post.
Returning to Normal or adapting to a New Normal.
The future what will it look like? Will we at some point return to what we considered normal or will we find ourselves adapting to the new normal?
I seriously doubt we will ever return to what we considered normal, that would be the time before the Wuhan novel corona virus. I think we will find ourselves adapting to a new normal, that would be the time post Wuhan novel corona virus. I say this because we still find ourselves living in a post 9/11 America. Almost 19 years have passed and we have yet to return to the “normal” before 9/11 and we probably never will. Does anyone even remember the times before 9/11?
So what will this new normal look like? Came across an article from Business Insider that may shed some light on this subject. This article was written about a report that played out in three different scenarios. There was more, much more, in the article, but for now I will focus on the three scenarios. If you have not read the entire article you should.
Scenario 1. There would be a first peak followed by similar size waves over the next one to two years. Mitigation measures would be required periodically like lockdowns and travel bans.
Scenario 2. A second larger wave than what we have now would come in the Fall or Winter, and smaller waves would arrive in 2021. Mitigation measures would be reinstated in the Fall.
Scenario 3. Ongoing transmission and case occurrence caused by the virus after the first wave without dramatic peaks. Referred to as a slow burn, making it’s way through the population. Governments would not likely have to reinstitute mitigation measures.
In my opinion the word “not” should have never been used in the third scenario, it should read Government would likely have to reinstitute mitigation measures. Actually it should read, Governments would reinstitute mitigation measures. Why? Because government at all levels have found new power and will never relinquish that power. The power to decide what is and is not essential.
Did you notice the change in the narrative as it pertains to the Wuhan novel corona virus? It was all about “flattening the curve”. It has become “stop the spread”.
If the times we are now living in are to be considered as the new normal it is time to have a serious discussion.
You have all by now seen the video of the man that took his paddle board out into the ocean, by himself no one else around. Then came law-enforcement in boats to arrest the man. What was his crime? Was he putting others in danger or was he placed in danger? People being cited and fined for being in their cars watching the sunset. The list goes on and on. A bit heavy handed I would say.
Americans as a whole are not designed(wired)to be placed under “house arrest” for extended/indefinite periods of time or repeatedly. People can and will stay confined to their homes for only so long no matter how much “bread and circus” in thrown their way. Some will not be confined to their homes at all. People did and will continue to protest against the apparent heavy handedness of government, push back I believe it is called.
I do have to wonder what the next step will be for government if and/or when another shutdown and lockdown is ordered. As parts of the country begin to reopen more and more requirements are being forced on the people. Masks are being required in more places. It was not all that long ago we were told, “Seriously stop buying masks”.
Speaking of masks, in some areas masks are required at restaurants, you must wear the mask unless you are eating or drinking. How much thought went into that bit of “wisdom”? Do they really believe you could eat or drink while wearing a mask(face covering)or even try? Maybe they just figured that you were not intelligent(smart)enough to know that you could not eat or drink while wearing a mask on your own. Perhaps they were showing how much they care by allowing you to remove your mask, but only when they allow and only under certain circumstances and only for the length of time they allow.
Will a part of this “new normal” be the requirement to wear masks if social distancing is not possible? Or will it be simply you are required to wear a mask at all times outside of your home? Speaking of social distancing, will the new normal mean social distancing for eternity? Keeping 6 feet distance between individuals. Who is to say that the social distance will not be increased? Will forced quarantines be a part of the new normal? Sporadic lockdowns and shutdowns?
Many people cooperated this time and all they got for their trouble was to see their rights curtailed or outright denied, loss of their livelihood(job), unable to feed their family and could no longer pay their bills. There may not be as much cooperation the next time, in fact there could be little cooperation. Vast numbers of people may not comply some by choice, others out of necessity(they have to eat, feed their families, pay their bills, and so forth).
If the people refuse to comply will compliance be forced? We saw this time what happened, those who would not or could not comply found themselves running afoul of law-enforcement. Fines and arrests were commonplace. Will there be an escalation in force when people refuse to comply the next lockdown? Some law-enforcement agencies around the country have taken to using drones to seek out and disperse people gathering in large groups. Parks that have reopened have had a large presence of law-enforcement to enforce social distancing orders.
Here is a little bit from a Patrick Henry speech 05June1788.
You read of a riot act in a country which is called one of the freest in the world, where a few neighbors cannot assemble without the risk of being shot by a hired soldiery, the engines of despotism. We may see such an act in America.
It was 50 years ago this Month, the 4th to be exact, that the Kent State Massacre occurred. University students were shot, 4 killed 9 wounded, by members of the Ohio National Guard. It later came to light that authorities were authorized to disperse the crowd. Were they authorized to open fire on the students? The objective to disperse the crowd was accomplished. The heavy handed response was brought about because of antiwar protests at the university. I am quite amazed at the numbers of people who do not know about or even remember this event in American history. Research it for your self.
Elected officials have stated that things will not return to “normal” until there is a cure, some have said not until there is a vaccine.
I think I will end this post here and pick it up on the next one. Here is a catchy tune by Johnny Rivers.
Essential and Nonessential
There is no doubt that the current pandemic and the government’s actions(over reach)has done possibly irreversible harm to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution as a whole. Nowadays life and life’s activities are broken down into two categories, Essential and Non-essential. This breakdown is based on what? Just who gets to decide what is essential or non-essential? Government rode to the rescue to answer this question. They usurped this power, enormous power, power they will never relinquish. The rights of the citizens are being trampled while the rights of government are growing by leaps and bounds. The rights of the citizens as listed in the Bill of Rights are quickly becoming no more than privileges, privileges that can be denied on a whim.
Time for a side road, got to take a bit of time to really and hopefully tick off some people and if you see this post and you get ticked(pissed)then you will know this side road pertains to you. A lot of people that could be considered as being on the right have more than a few videos and posts railing against the left(democrats/socialists/Stalinists). They do this while ignoring the the overreach done by the right(republicans/socialists/Stalinists). Does it really matter if the boot on your neck is a left boot or a right boot? No, it matters that there is a boot on your neck.
Back on point. Essential and Nonessential.
Has there ever been a time when a person wanted to open a business that he/she was told that the business they wanted to open was a nonessential business and thus denied a business license? There may have been a zoning problem but they would have never been deemed a nonessential business. Even if there was a zoning problem they could have applied for a variance or a rezoning. Now all of a sudden the government has the power to declare a business nonessential and ordered them to close or face a fine and/or imprisonment. Each and every business is essential as they provide a product or service that someone deems essential to their way of life or standard of living.
It was rather slick the way they pulled this off. They never told these, now declared, nonessential businesses that the employees were nonessential. Why? The business owner decides who is essential and who is nonessential. Businesses do not have nonessential employees, each and every employee is essential to that business. Those essential employees found themselves unemployed because they worked at and for a now declared nonessential business.
Some states micromanaged this essential/nonessential garbage to the max. The government took it upon themselves to determine what you could and could not buy. Yep, they all of a sudden had the power to tell you what you were permitted to buy. You could only buy what the state deemed essential, you no longer could decide for yourself what was essential.
Our Rights listed in the Bill of Rights have also been classified as essential and nonessential. We found our Right to the Free Exercise of Religion deemed nonessential and our Churches closed. The government took it upon itself to decide how and where we could worship. We found our Right to Peacefully Assemble severely curtailed or outright banned. There was talk of banning protests against government over reach, imagine that. Denying the people the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Public lands became government lands. Public lands closed to the public. Beaches and the oceans themselves closed to the public.
Has government used this crisis to forge chains for us the citizens? At what point will government bind us with and rivet those chains on us? Will it be during this or the next crisis?
A total freaking disconnect
I had resisted the urge to do this post last month. But no more, I will try my best not to use profanity.
Got a letter from the RNC(republican national committee)today. Yep, you guessed it. They are begging for money(donations) $35, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000 or $5,000 they were even kind enough to enclose a pre-paid, pre-addressed USPS Priority Envelope.
Seems the RNC is having an emergency, they need to raise $7.3 million in the next 21 days. The response letter they enclosed has the words Emergency Campaign Reply in red lettering all capitalized. All I could think of was “Cry me a f#%&ing river”. They did say please return by May 4, 2020, or I could do this online so they could get the contribution immediately.
The RNC can consider this as my reply, if they wish.
It would appear that who ever is in charge of sending out these “mailers” may have missed a headline or two recently. That or the RNC is no more than a horde of “heartless bastards”, uncaring and unfeeling.
In case you at the RNC missed the recent headlines, allow me to bring you up to speed.
In case you missed it we are in the middle of a “National Emergency”. Don’t worry it is only a pandemic, something caused by the Wuhan novel corona virus. The virus causes a disease called covid 19. I really do not see how you missed that one as it is the news all day, daily briefings and all. You really need to pay attention, dip stick.
Something else you may have missed. It was reported that unemployment claims went up by 6.6 million bringing the number of unemployed to between 16 and 17 million depending on the news source you get the information from. Some say that these numbers have not been seen since the Great Depression. Tying in with this many that have been laid off or furloughed are being denied the use of PTO(paid time off)during the lay off or furlough. Added to this many have already received their last pay check and will not see another in the foreseeable future. Do you live under a rock? No, according to the mailer I received your office is located in DC.
Speaking of your office being in DC, will you be able to make your rent this month and pay your utilities as well as pay all the employees in your office? Last I heard you had something over $200 million on hand, you should be okay. While you sit on over $200 million and beg for more, there are many out here in the world you are disconnected from that are at this very moment trying to come up with a way to pay rent and utilities, or mortgages and utilities, put food on the table, put clothing on their children’s backs. You may have heard as these as the three basic necessities, Food, Clothing and Shelter.
This post began with my doing now what i resisted doing last month. Last month I received the exact letter from the NRC, well almost exact the reply date then for your emergency campaign reply was April 6, 2020. I at that time gave you the benefit of a doubt, I told myself you just did not have time to stop the mailer. This time you had plenty of time to stop the mailers.
I have no idea if the DNC is still begging for money at this time or not. I suspect that they are.
The RNC accuses the DNC of “being out of touch” with the American citizens. They may well be, but are you heartless bastards in touch?
Now I am going to follow the advice of the CDC. I am going to wash my hands and practice social distancing. I am going to do both at the same time.
I am going to wash my hands of you. As for social distancing I am going to get as far from you as humanly possible. As soon as possible I am going to register NPA(no party affiliation).
This is my official reply, Piss Off.
The question not asked
I am quite sure by now everyone has heard the Senate passed the $2 trillion economic stimulus package to “fight off” the economic crisis brought on by the Wuhan corona virus crisis. Complete bi-partisan support 96-0, no opposition. Shortly after the Senators got the heck out of town. The House, when they(some of them)return to town, has promised swift passage(voice vote), then off to the President to sign. Of course a roll call vote could be forced therefore requiring House members return to D.C. that would slow things down a bit or for quite some time.
Keep in mind that this is the third corona virus package and a fourth is in the works.
Given all of the debate, posturing and the rest that goes along with Congressional “negotiations” I noticed one thing missing that is a mainstay with normal non-crisis partisan debates and posturing.
The question not asked was, How is this going to be paid for?
When it is a partisan plan the other side and their talking heads without fail will ask , How will this be paid for? But this is a bi-partisan plan with no opposition no one cares about the cost or how to pay for it. Not a one has said, Wait a minute we can’t afford that.
Was not all that long ago that a current sitting member of Congress suggested that two $1 trillion coins be minted and placed on deposit with the Federal Reserve. Then I got to thinking, How can you deposit money that you do not have?
That brings me to this. We are told that we as a nation are in debt, a debt that exceeds our GDP. If we are that deep in debt you would think that those in charge of the “purse strings” would be very careful when money must be spent. But they are not, they spend and give away money hand over fist like there is no bottom. We have been told for years that there is a national debt.
Suppose for a minute that there is no national debt. Suppose we have been lied to about that. The recent first time buyers of firearms have been lied to forever and only realized the extent of the lies when they attempted to make their purchase. They say that repeating a lie often enough does not make it a truth, however if you repeat a lie often enough it can be taken for the truth.
We are told we are in debt and swallow that hook, line and sinker. Has anyone out side of government ever seen the balance sheet from the Treasury? Has anyone ever seen the receipts and expenditures from the Treasury?
This little tidbit comes from a speech given by Patrick Henry 07 June 1788. …Another beautiful feature of this Constitution is the publication from time to time of the receipts and expenditures of the public money. This expression, from time to time, is very indefinite and indeterminate. It may extend to a century….
I will add this. It may extend to forever.
While I am here I might as well get this out of the way. Has anyone outside the top echelon of the Federal Reserve ever seen the balance sheet?
And now they know
They ran head first into a brick wall.
By now everyone has heard, seen or read about the “run” on gun stores. From the videos I have seen the stores are pretty much sold out. From what I gather the vast majority of these sales of firearms, accessories and ammunition were to first time buyers.
So I was wondering what was fueling the sudden “need” to have a firearm. Could it be that you now, at long last, know that you are your own best defense?
What were they buying? From what I have seen just about anything and everything. I imagine that the shoppers that got in on this “run” early got pretty much what they wanted. From the looks of it the ones shopping later were buying what was available(leftovers)and then only if there was ammunition available. This might cause you a problem down the line, but something is better than nothing.
Many a first time firearm owner/buyer has come to the stark realization that acquiring a firearm is not as easy as they have been told. From what I hear some of you were taken aback at how difficult and time consuming the whole process can be.
You were told all you had to do was give the clerk some cash and walk out with a firearm. Didn’t work out that way did it? Had to “jump through some hoops” did you? Let’s look a some of the “hoops” you had to jump through after making your selection.
First you had to fill out a form 4473 in which you had to give up a lot of personal information and submit to a background check. If your State has a law requiring a background check for ammunition then you had to submit to that also.
Second the FFL had to make a phone call and wait for approval before the firearm could actually be transferred to you. The system could be overwhelmed and shutdown, operating hours could be reduced, personnel shortages many things could cause that approval to be delayed, no approval no firearm.
Third if your State has a mandatory waiting period you did not walk out with your firearm. You paid for it but you left empty handed. Depending on how long your State requires then you will wait that many days before taking possession.
Fourth if your State requires that you first get a license to purchase a firearm and you did not have that then you just plain did not get to buy a firearm. From what I hear the office that issues that license is closed, thus you are just out of luck.
Fifth if your State is in the “one gun a month club” and you just bought a firearm because it was all that was available then you are going to have to wait a month to buy another firearm. For instance you had every intention of buying a pistol for yourself and found them all gone and all that was left was a single shot 410 shotgun and you bought it because it was the only firearm available with ammunition you will have to wait 30 days for your next purchase in hopes of getting what you really wanted. You may find that by the time your “time-out”has expired there are no pistols left. But at least you have that 410 and as I said something is better than nothing. By the way, if your “time-out” has expired and you finally get to purchase what you really wanted you will have to go through the whole process again, the form, the phone call and the approval, the waiting period it is not a one time ordeal.
Sixth do not forget about the safe storage laws that your State may have.
Seventh if you tried to order a firearm on line and have it delivered to your house you found that it does not work that way either. You are going to need a licensed dealer to complete the transfer, and yes you still have to complete the form and the phone call still must be made and you must wait for approval and do not forget the mandatory waiting period.
All that above are just some of the “hoops” that must be jumped through. Some apply to everyone no matter what State they live in while others are specific to some States.
So I guess you now know that it is not harder to buy a book than a firearm. Did you ever have to fill out a government form to buy a book? Did you ever have to undergo a background check to buy a book? Was there a mandatory waiting period to take possession of your book? Were you ever limited to the number of books you could buy in a month?
I suppose right now the natural inclination would be for me to sit back and laugh at you in your current predicament, but I shall not do that.
If you are a first time firearm buyer/owner I would personally like to welcome you to the community. Congratulations on your purchase. If you are now just old enough to make your first purchase then I want to take this opportunity to wish you a belated Happy Birthday. More on this in a later post.
If you live in a State with a “red flag” law you now are subject.
What you had and have to endure is the product of and result of many years of gun control steps and measures. There are many more in the works. Things like a national registry and mandatory liability insurance on your firearms just to name two.
The gun control zealots, politicians and/or citizens, have been lying for years, lying to all of us, some bought into their lies and others did not.
They lied when they claimed that “gun free zones” were safer. Well until your recent purchase your home was a gun free zone. What was it that caused you to feel not so safe? By the way most of those claiming that gun free zones are safer are surrounded by armed security details whether paid for by the taxpayers or privately funded.
If you are well above the minimum age to buy a firearm and just got around to purchasing a firearm then you have first hand experience at how difficult and time consuming the whole process is. Your eyes are now open and hopefully you now realize that you have been lied too for years. If they have lied so much and for so long about how easy it is to buy firearms, then you need to ask yourselves, What else have they lied about? Well I ask you, Are their lips moving?
I would like to point out that all of these so-called “common sense” gun control measures have had no effect on the criminals. What they have had an effect on is you and your ability to exercise your right, the Right to Keep and Bear arms. Keep in mind there is an election coming.
