School Tells Boy "Take the Flag Off Your Bike"

What a friggen joke. Apparently, in California (well, that about says it all right there...) there's a 13 year old kid who has an American flag on his bicycle to show support for the veterans in his family. The school administrators said some other students complained....and you see where this is going, right?? You just have to see the insanity for yourself to believe it. (Click here for text and video)
Good God, where are we headed? And why are we all in this handbasket?

William Kostric - Patriot

On the heels of this story comes the Hardball interview and the follow up YouTube interview. This guy is obviously not a public speaker, but he made his points well and held his own with the likes of Chris Matthews. Kudos to him for being a Patriot.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

"I'm not advocating violence, I'm advocating an informed society, an armed society, a polite society." ~Kostric

Bash served. Bash Returned.

What is up with media today?
We've got "journalists" arguing with the people whom they've chosen to question.

We've got actress/comedians giving "expert" advice on the inner workings of our brains because they must have gone through pre-comedy med school.

We're told that everyone is allowed pride in their heritage except the white guy.
And apparently, name calling is justified and acceptable from one political side but when the tables are are turned, it's called racism.

I'll clarify that for my part in all this "tax revolt" stuff, it's not about race. It's not about party affiliations. It's about bad policy and stupid decisions, and I'm an equal opportunity hater. I wouldn't care if the guy was green and purple...he's still a schmuck.

The Shirt

Monday, MiniMe wore her shirt to school and figured she'd take a lot of heat for the anti-obamaluv sentiment. As some of you know, on election day we started off as a long standing red state and woke up the next day in a blue one. That's a story in itself, but I digress...
Back to the homemade shirt.
A couple of interesting things to note;
She wished the words had come out not so slanty, but she didn't realize how "downhill" they ran until she actually put it on. Undaunted, she trudged ahead with her plans...finding out that some people don't really know jack about the things they support.

Several thought the shirt was endorsing Obama and a few others had no idea what the stimulus package was...only that it was "something good to help people get money."
Hmmm...
So my kid explains in the most simplistic short cut way she could find and tossed in a few enlightening facts for good measure. Like, how their generation is the one that will have to pay it off, and likely their kids and grandkids, too. This was met with a few blank stares and a few raised eyebrows as well. Those surprised faces mean one thing; there's still some hope for the future, people. Maybe some of the next generation will turn things around and instigate change. That's what I'm talkin' about, people. Hope & Change.

As far as the back of the shirt, don't even get me started on the whole "nobody's ever heard of the "Gold Standard" business.

Here are some buzz words that I think never show up in American high schools in any government or economics class:
"Gold Standard"
"Federal Reserve"
"Nixon"
"Bretton Woods Agreement"
"Fiat"
"Hyper inflation"

How can they expect kids to learn what brought us to this state? I realize there's no way to stop the snowball from rolling down the mountain and picking up speed while growing, but at the very least if you teach them how dangerous and destructive it can be when it destroys whatever is in its path at the bottom, you give them a tool to understand how to keep another from starting.
I've read comments all over the net about how screwed we are and how bad it's getting. I've got news for you; you won't see the worst. Your kids will, and so will your grandchildren.
Another side note about the shirt's message; You have to educate your own kids about issues. Don't leave it up to an entity funded by the government. That's like asking Chrysler, Ford, and GM to educate kids about what a "bail out" is. Conflict of interest much?

UnFreakingBelievable

MiniMe respectfully went to her school’s administrative people and asked permission to wear a specific shirt to school. She spent some time making sure she was within her “freedom of speech” rights as well as a couple other things in order to be the counter voice to avid pro-Obama propaganda her classmates were wearing.
The front of the shirt she made herself says “Stimulus Package is an ObamaNation” and the back says “Bring Back the Gold Standard”.
Now you might think that I’d be writing this blog entry about the hassles she may have encountered for it from liberal faculty/staff, or maybe jeering from the ObamaLuv kid crowd.
That may well happen, but she didn’t get to wear it today because school was canceled due to a heavy thick fog that never lifted. At some point when she wears it (probably next week), I’ll blog it with a pic of the shirt.
What I’m actually writing about is her encounter with her Media Communications teacher in her Journalism class.
Hold on to something…
Here it comes:
My 15 year old kid had to explain to a 40-something year old TEACHER what the Gold Standard was!!
Holy freakin’ moly! The future is doomed.

Slacktivism

One of the reasons why I’ve discontinued frequenting a few forums I used to enjoy was the onslaught of petition posters and bandwagon jumpers.
What a waste of time.
Seriously, I will never understand how people can put so much time and energy into creating and circulating a piece of cyber paper or an e-document when they could invest that time into actually trying to help fix whatever problem they think exists. The same goes for all the signers. Do they really think they are doing something worthy or tangible for any "cause" by E-signing?
All it really does is give them an emotional outlet for their anger or loathing of whatever they are protesting. I’m sure for that fleeting second of typing their name and aggressively hitting “enter”, they feel empowered. Justified. Necessary.

Now it’s starting on my FaceBook page. Ugh.

Look, Greg K… I realize in the fifth grade I was madly in love with you and even wore the flower ring until the plastic petals all fell off and the band turned my finger green…but I’m not signing your stupid anti-bailout petition. Instead of circulating a document asking for signatures that can never be verified (and many are fake anyhow) and will never reach the intended party anyway, why don’t you put your effort into contacting your representatives and express your displeasure with your vote? I know we actually held hands skating to Beth from the Destroyer album…but dude, I can’t… no, I *won’t* sign your e-petition. Nothing personal, but it’s not worth the pixels it took to create it.

You know what really gets mad props from your congressmen? Real letters from real voters who took the time to sit down with actual pen to actual paper are afforded much more respect than cyber whining. Sure it takes longer. But likewise is the potential for making a real difference.
So who is your representative?
Where do you find the contact information to write to them?
Who.
Where.
Anyhow, the E-petition is in the E-trash. Sorry.
Do you want the flower ring back?
Just sayin'.
~

Election Day

We got up early this morning because the spousal unit had to vote before work since he wouldn't be back in town until after the polls closed.
We drove to the building being used for our district and arrived about 15 minutes after the doors opened. The parking lot was packed. Both sides of the street were lined with parked cars as far as we could see in the dark. We figured we'd have a solid two hours to wait, but the long lines moved a little faster than we thought.
It took just under an hour and the time passed quickly because we pretty much chatted it up with people we knew (it's a really small community).
There was a guy checking photo I.D.s in line making sure people weren't waiting the whole time just to be turned away for being in the wrong district or forgetting their I.D.. I enjoyed (very much) flipping my wallet open sharply in his face and announcing "FBI". No, I'm not FBI...
When I got as far as the table where you have to sign in, they were talking about the fact that the school used to be the polling place for our district and I recounted my first time voting there...there was a security camera RIGHT OVER THE VOTING MACHINE!! I was ticked. Apparently, the school officials said there was no way to turn off the cameras. That really peeved me. I was interviewed on the news about it and the whole nine yards. I wanted to say "Secret ballot, my butt", but I didn't. :p
So anyway...this year, I had completely made up my mind to NOT vote McCain or Obama. As far as my understanding, McCain is a socialist disguised as a republican and Obama is a Marxist disguised as a democrat. I could not in good conscience vote for either of them. I was, in fact, a Ron Paul supporter. But he's not on the ballot and I'm just not keen on Barr.
I came to the realization that voting for a third party or abstaining from voting would really not be in my best interests as far as my Second (and now First) Amendment rights are concerned. One candidate is vehemently opposed to my freedom and his running mate is even more rabid about it. The other candidate has voted on both sides of the fence, but his running mate is a staunch believer in individual rights and freedoms and that's about as close as I can get to someone on any ticket who represents my ideals. My vote was cast not so much in support of one...but more in opposition of the other. I am happy with how I've chosen to vote. It was a hard won decision and I hope in the end it matters. It mattered to me.
My voting place isn't at a school any longer, so I was within my legal right to carry while I voted. Which I did. Principle of the matter and symbolic of my personal stance and all that jazz.
Mz.Kimber1911 votes to stay on my hip!
I pushed the big red "Cast Ballot" button in favor of that.

Internet & Individuals

Here's a snippet from an interesting article at Mises.org; "As a decentralized communication system facilitating the sending and receiving of messages by billions of people, the Internet has greatly shifted the balance of power away from governments and toward sovereign individuals."
Read the rest here (there's a download available to listen to it as read by the author here).

Anniversary

Some anniversaries aren’t so happy. Today is the anniversary of a horrible incident that took place in Idaho.
An incident that gave voice to the silent spinning of the wheels that are slowly turning us into a socialist country: Ruby Ridge. If that didn’t make the citizenry balk at government intrusion and control, I don’t know what would.
I’m not going into all the details and facts because lord knows Google can help you with that in 30 seconds or less. What I intend to do is shine some light on the communistic slant that is tilting our country and throwing off our equilibrium.
Let’s break some things down. Since Idaho was the focus that day, let’s use them for reference with the first point.
Socialistic thinking:

1. Abolition of property in land, and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
What does that mean? In Idaho alone, 64% of the state is public land, held 'in trust' by either the state or the federal government. To use that land, people have to go to the appropriate agency and rent it or they have pay royalties on anything they remove from it. They must also pay 'use fees' even if all they want to do is go camping.
Where does that money go? Straight into the agency's treasury and from there to the state or federal treasury.
Just because 64% is 'public' land don’t think the other 36% must be 'private'. It’s not really. The state levies a property tax on private' land, and if you don't pay, they order a tax sale to get its money one way or the other. If citizens don't pay, they lose their land. Does that sound like the citizen is really a 'property owner' to you?

2. A heavy progressive, or graduated, income tax.
This is self explanatory. Just ask your neighbor if there's an income tax. The Federal government and all but a few state governments impose some form of income tax.

3. Abolition of all right of inheritance.
Now what does that mean and how can the government enforce that? One day, your spouse dies and you sit down to see what you have. Soon, someone from the state knocks on the door saying there's a small matter of inheritance tax…28%-37% of the estate. How much are you planning on leaving the state?

4. Municipal police power.
This means that if you get hostile and belligerent to the government, they can take everything away from you under the guise of IRS liens, tax levies, seizures, fines, and anything else they can think of... And, if you're still mad, and complaining? Then they get to throw you in jail or shoot you. Don’t think that can happen? Take a moment and think about the anniversary of today,… or Waco, or the Mormons who had their children kidnapped, or the Montana Freemen... well, you get the idea.

5. The fake Federal Reserve system;
Fake? What does that mean? It means that it’s not real money floating around out there. Ever read what it says at the top? It says “Federal Reserve Note” as in promissory note. As far as 'real' money left out there… not much to speak of. We’re moving straight into electronic money, completely controlled by the banks, who ultimately answer to the Fed. We're already on our way with things like credit cards, checking cards, debit cards, direct deposit, etc.

6. Centralized communication and transport.
Let’s start with the myth of the private sector first:
Transport? Driver's licenses, vehicle registration, vehicle licensing… catching on? Now about the “public”: government regulated planes, trains and buses.
Communication? TV, radio, cable, newspapers all bow to the mighty FCC. Currently the fight is being waged about the internet.

7. Instruments of production owned by the State.
You’re probably thinking corporations like GM, Ford, US Steel don’t apply because they’re privately owned. Well, every factory in the US operates and exists within the confines and constraints of the government, which licenses and regulates their existence and activities in return for a portion of the proceeds (called taxes). Sounds like ownership.

All in all, our country is sliding towards a point of no return unless the people look to our history for the answers. We salute the flag and sing of freedom, but we really aren’t free. Two hundred years ago we were. If you look back to what gave us our freedom, the answers are all there.

Where do I even start?

There’s a leader of a church in Palm Beach who is trying very hard to help the less fortunate members of his community. He offers them a safer place to sleep than in some alley or park.
The problem is that now they are in defiance of a county order and have been fined a thousand dollars a day for helping the homeless.

Buckle up, here we go:

Westgate's leader, Bishop Avis Hill, said he put up the 40-by-60 feet tent because the number of homeless people who have turned to the church for shelter has grown too large. In the few weeks since the tent was put up, as many as 55 men have been sleeping in the tent, he said. Women of all ages and men over 55 sleep inside the church buildings.
Let’s see… people are turning to the church because they know they can get help even if just for a night of safety to sleep. A church. That would be a privately funded organization on private property… which is opposite of state or federal funded programs through which our taxes are funneled to support social programs…like helping the homeless. Wait, wha?

Follow along:

Hill said he understands the county's position that the church is not zoned for a large tent where people can sleep. He offered to move the tent to any land the county will provide for Westgate to provide food and shelter for the homeless.
So the Bishop even offered to move everything to a new locale that would possibly be provided by …who was that? Oh yeah, the people funneling our taxes through social programs to help the homeless. See where I’m going with this?
I guess it’s creating some sort of a problem but let’s hear what Terry Verner, director of Palm Beach County Code Enforcement has to say. Then maybe it’ll make some sense:
“We are looking to enforce the codes and make sure what facilities are being provided are safe. And in our opinion, allowing people to sleep in a tent in this fashion is not a safe thing to do."
OH!! Because sleeping in a tent provided by a church in the community is WAY more dangerous than sleeping in some dumpster behind a bar or something! I completely understand now! Not! Meanwhile, while this church is trying to reach out in compassion as the county is simultaneously trying to legislate it, the church is several thousand dollars in debt and getting deeper every day.

Bishop Hill says,"Our contention is we are not a business but a church and under the constitution, we have certain rights to worship the Lord under the dictates of our heart," he said. "The purpose of the church is to help people who are hurting."
And therein lies the point of reason: “Under the Constitution, we have certain rights…” As a refresher, those would be property rights, freedom to assemble, & freedom of religion.
Currently Palm Beach is prohibiting the free exercise of religion which is unconstitutional at best and uncompassionate to the people in its own community at worst.
Link to story