Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Guns Sales Are Up, People More Interested in Concealed-Weapon Training

From the NYPost:
Dick Rutan, owner of Gunners Den in suburban Arvada, Colo., said requests for concealed-weapon training certification "are off the hook." His four-hour course in gun safety, required for certification for a concealed-weapons permit in Colorado, has drawn double the interest since Friday.

"What they're saying is: They want to have a chance. They want to have the ability to protect themselves and their families if they are in a situation like what happened in the movie theater," Rutan said.
Gun sales surging in wake of 'Dark Knight Rises' shooting || NYPost

Monday, July 23, 2012

Iowahawk Beat to It: In the Beginning was the Government

So Iowahawk beat me to publishing it. But let it be known, on May 6, 2012 at 12:50 AM, I wrote a similar parody, with almost the exact same spoof-bible book ("Book of Obama"). The only reason I didn't publish it by now was because, well, it was really skimpy and I wanted to fill it in.


I could have beat Iowahawk by a full 78 days.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Obama Administration Pushes United Nation Anti-Gun Agenda

From Forbes:
The Obama administration is actively engaged in negotiations to finalize details for a new global agreement premised to fight “terrorism”, “insurgency” and “international crime syndicates”. As U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon describes its purpose, “Our goal is clear: a robust and legally binding Arms Trade Treaty that will have a real impact on the lives of those millions of people suffering from consequences of armed conflict, repression and armed violence…It is ambitious, but it is achievable.”

Under the George W. Bush administration, the U.S. originally voted against a resolution that began the process in 2006. However, the current administration reversed that policy, and strongly supports its enactment. In January 2010, U.S. representatives joined with those of 152 other countries in endorsing a U.N. Arms Treaty Resolution to draft a blueprint for enactment in 2012. This activity is planned to be completed by July 27, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has pledged to push hard for Senate ratification. Previously led by the United Kingdom, there can be no doubt that the U.N.’s 193-member General Assembly will approve it.
The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty: Are Our 2nd Amendment Rights Part Of The Deal? || Forbes

Friday, July 20, 2012

The Decline of the Rich

Tax the rich? According to a new report, the rich have an increasingly-shrinking slice of the pie. But Obama and the left say they need to pay just a little bit more. Just a little more sacrifice.

CNBC has the story:

The presidential election has given us two myths about the rich. First, that their incomes, and income inequality, are at all-time highs. Second, that the wealthy pay less in taxes than ever, and lower taxes than the rest of us.

A recent report from the Congressional Budget Office, however, suggests that both may be false.
The Falling Fortunes of the One Percent || CNBC.com

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 9

Spending on penis pumps have gone up five-fold since 2000 as Medicare paid for $188 million in penis pumps over 10 years, the Tea Party Economist reports.

Fox News reports that the survivors of the "Batman" shooting are likely to develop post traumatic stress disorder.

No surprise: The 2010 health care law will cause more job losses, the Tea Party Economists reports.

President Obama departed from the usual rhetoric of calling the health care law's individual mandate a tax or penalty and called it a "principle," the Washington Free Beacon reports.

A pregnant woman's never-removed surgical pin from a past operation comes close to her unborn child, Fox News reports.

The race for a cure for AIDS has begun again, the Associated Press reports.

An Obama spokesman falsely claims that most Americans aren't against the repeal of the President's signature healthcare reform legislation, the Washington Free Beacon reports.

The Associated Press reports on how to protect children from whooping cough.

An FDA whistleblower has sued former employees in the past, the Wall Street Journal reports.

USA Today reports that hospitals ignoring regulations are making it harder for health care providers to identiy problems and solve them.

Sen. Paul: DISCLOSE Act 'Lopsided towards' Republican-leaning Donors; Away from Unions


Washington (GoinsReport.com) -- Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told The Goins Report on Monday that the Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2012, otherwise known as the DISCLOSE Act, in his office's analysis of the legislation is lopsided against people who tended to be Republican donors and shied away from union donors.

"In our analysis of the bill we felt like it was lopsided towards certain people that tended to be more republican donors and away from certain donors like union donors on the other side," Paul said.

"What I’ve proposed we ought to do, and I’ve talked to some of the Democrats about this, is the way to reform campaign finance would be, if you want to do it constitutionally, would be to link restrictions to federal contracts. So if you do business with the government and I give you a $100 million contract, I think we can legally restrict your activities by the contract. Because then you voluntarily sign the federal contract and we limit what you do. Anything other than that, unless its related to a contract, is a restriction of first amendment [rights] and I think its wrong," he continued.

While Paul voted against the DISCLOSE act on Monday, he did say that he is in favor of "some kind of campaign finance reform."

"I am for disclosing information," Paul told The Goins Report.

When asked whether he agreed with Senator Paul's view on the lopsidedness if the DISCLOSE act, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) expressed a similar view.

"It’s hard to get the ACLU and the NRA on the same sheet of music but they’re able to do it. It’s a bill that gives unions a preference when it comes to the DISCLOSE act and it was obviously not the solutions to the problems we face as a nation," Graham said.

The Goins Report further asked Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) whether he agreed with Senator Paul's view of the DISCLOSE act. His answer departed from his Republican Senate colleagues.

“I don’t think so at all. Matter a fact, I don’t know the numbers but I think before you can say that you got to go say, what’s the registration of all the top 200,000 tax filers in this country. And that’s the only way you’ll know that," Coburn said.

The DISCLOSE act was voted on early Monday evening in the Senate and was not passed with 54-44 vote. The bill needed at least 60 votes to pass.

The Senate is expected to vote again on the bill Tuesday afternoon (July 17).

Friday, July 13, 2012

My video work

The following list comprises of my work as cameraman and video editor. Much of the time I am doubling as journalist and video editor in the same day.

Trumka Announces 'Second Bill of Rights'


Chief Deputy Majority Whip: “For the first time” Gov’t “imposing a tax on something that someone hasn’t done”

Andrews: Roberts right in ruling mandate a tax; ‘Also correct under the Commerce power’

Rep. Bachmann: Justice Roberts’ Obamacare Ruling Was ‘Completely and Utterly Wrong’

Sen. Hatch: ‘I Still Have a Very High Opinion of Chief Justice Roberts’ After Obamacare Ruling
Republican Congressmen Re-Launch Revised ‘Stolen Valor’ Bill

Freedomworks: If Democrats Take Control of Congress, Keep White House ‘We’re All Screwed

Lawyer Representi​ng States Challengin​g Obamacare: Justice Roberts ‘Rewrote the Law’

Boehner: Giving This Government More Revenue Would Be Like Giving A Cocaine Addict Who Wants To Quit More Cocaine

Boehner Won’t Say If GOP House Will Approve Funds for Obama to Force Catholics to Act Against Faith

McCain on Obama Granting Work Permits to Illegals: He Can't Do It Because He's Not King

Video: Austrian School Economist Wipes the Floor with Incoherent Keynesian Krugman

Thanks to Lew Rockwell.com for finding this:



Austrian School Economist Wipes the Floor with Mumbling, Incoherent Keynesian

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Balancing Budget at Current Spending Would Take Record High Taxation | CNSNews.com

(CNSNews.com) - Both President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney have recently said they would like to balance the federal budget. However, according to data published by Obama’s own White House Office of Management and Budget, accomplishing that goal at anywhere near the current level of federal spending would require imposing and sustaining a record level of federal taxation as a percentage of GDP.

Balancing Budget at Current Spending Would Take Record High Taxation | CNSNews.com

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 8

Editor's Note: The Goins Report did not publish a Weekly Health Review last week.

Kaiser Health News created a list of 10 things you didn't know were in the 2010 Health Care law, including a CDC public education initiative to promote "community water fluoridation."

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says that he's really glad the Supreme Court of the United States didn't legalize extortion, CNSNews.com reports.

The House of Representatives voted to repeal the President's 2010 health care reform law, CNSNews.com reports.

A lawyer that defended 26 states against the 2010 healthcare law and served in the Bush one and Reagan administrations says that Chief Justice Roberts rewrote the law in when upholding the President's health reform law. The Goins Report has the story.

Companies with at least 50 percent of their employees enrolled in account-based health plans have lower costs for individual employees than companies without them, Human Events reports.

Flashback: Murray Rothbard's Essay Fluoridation Revisited.

Monday, July 9, 2012

My Question to Governor Gary Johnson, Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate

Am I the only one who thinks that Libertarian Party Presidential candidate Governor Gary Johnson (N.M.), would not only have been a more effective Senator but would have been a shoe-in for the 2012 U.S. Senate race in New Mexico? I mean if the governor of his own state can't win a Senate race in his own state, that same governor should not be trying to convince us that he can win the presidency.

It's almost like after being governor the U.S. Senate is beneath him. And his run shows that despite the sentiments of this country, which show that people are upset with both parties, he misreads the politics of this country, and also extracts the wrong lesson from it, and that in itself shows how unwise the run has been. I think it's time for the Libertarian Party and all those third party folks (I still have my Constitution Party membership card, although I'm a registered Republican now) who think we can just give the American people a "third option," and any old third option at that, and think they'll go for it. No, please go away. Rethink your strategy. Put down the hubris hoagies and take a bite out of some humble pie.

Shouldn't we in the liberty movement be shooting for winnable, doable campaign victories and quit it with all this pie-in-the-sky-overly-optimistic crap. Gary Johnson isn't even a household name, and if he thinks he can just woo any old Ron Paul supporter he has another thing coming for him. Johnson should look forward to replacing the next Democrat to leave the U.S. Senate in his state so we can at least have someone in the U.S. Senate. He would also be another vote to repeal Obamacare. Think. Think. Think. Libertarian Party.

On that same note, the Constitution Party Presidential Candidate Virgil Goode needs to get of his pride horse as well. He's not going to win. He's better off going back to the Republican Party and mounting a U.S. Senate campaign.
U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, a Democrat, announced his retirement in February 2011, more than enough time for you to mount a successful U.S. Senate campaign.

My question to Governor Johnson is this:

Governor Johnson, why didn't you run for the U.S. Senate? Why didn't you help the GOP takeover the Senate? Isn't a presidential run a waste of not of only your time and resources but our time and resources as supporters?

Wouldn’t it have been better if you had the impact of a Rand Paul--who is introducing legislation and actually holding up the Senate and is creating alliances within the GOP members in the Senate?

Instead, you have an unlikely presidency, and if you lose, you now have to wait to be effective again in the Senate or the Presidency? All you will have after all of this is an e-mail list and no legislative impact.

Lawyer Representing States Challenging Obamacare: Justice Roberts ‘Rewrote the Law’

Washington (GoinsReport.com) -- A lawyer representing the 26 states challenging the 2010 healthcare law said Monday that Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion for the 5-4 vote that upheld the Constitutionality of President Obama’s healthcare law, “rewrote the law” when invoking the taxing powers of Congress to justify upholding the Affordable Care Act.

“He did not interpret the language that Congress enacted,” David Rivkin explained. “He rewrote it. In fact if you want to kind of flip an observation, just like on the front end, it took Nancy Pelosi, as per her mortal statement, remember ‘we need to pass the law to figure out what’s in it,’ it took the Supreme Court to rewrite the law to uphold it.”

He continued: “And clearly rewriting the law is not justified by the imperative constitutional deference. It’s not justified by going to the enth degree to parse the words in such a way as to save it from oblivion.”

David Rivkin, who served in both the Reagan administration and George H.W. Bush administration, said that re-conceiving taxing power troubled him far more.


He also said that re-writing the law wasn’t a judicial function.

“What troubles me far more, is the way he reconceived taxing power, makes it another specie of general police power, at least something that can easily morph into it,” Rivkin said.

Rivkin made his remarks alongside other legal and health policy scholars at the Cato Institute.

In his written opinion on the healthcare law, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote: “The Federal Government does have the power to impose a tax on those without health insurance. Section 5000A is therefore constitutional, because it can reasonably be read as a tax."

“A weird sort of victory for federalism enclosed in a loss”

Legal scholars from across the political spectrum gathered Monday, June 2, at the Cato Institute to discuss the pros and cons of the Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold the constitutionality of President Obama’s 2010 health care law.
Randy Barnett, a Georgetown Law School professor, said the decision “could have been worse,” and noted that while the healthcare law has been upheld, an advance on at least one front has been made: the scope of the Commerce Clause was not expanded although the individual mandate was upheld.

“As it is we made good law as opposed to bad law on the constitution,” Barnett said.

He also said that reversing the law “is within the power of the electorate.”

Ilya Shapiro, the Senior Constitutional Studies Fellow at the Cato Institute, expressed a similar view.

“Randy is right, this is a weird sort of victory for federalism enclosed in a loss,” he said.

“As I titled my SCOTUS blog yesterday ‘we won everything but the case,’” he continued.

But Barnett also reflected on another lesson from the decision: “five votes on the Supreme Court is not enough…Because if you only have five somebody breaks.”

Barnett made his comments a day after CBS News reported that Chief Justice Roberts switched his views to uphold the healthcare law.

According to that report, a source said that Justice Roberts was initially going to vote against upholding the law, but then switched his views to side with liberals on the court.

“Well we all know what kind of decision this was. First of all it was obvious on the face of the opinion before the reporting took place yesterday that this was a political decision. It was not a legal decision.”

“The legal merits were all on our side,” Barnett said.

Barnett said that if it was a political decision, it was a “foolish move if it was done out of calculation” and “not a smart move because it misreads the politics of the country” at this time, adding that it was an” illegitimate basis to make a constitutional ruling” if political.

‘Easily Reversed’

Barnett held out hope that the taxing power which was invoked to hold the law could be reversed.

“But what is the precedential weight of this decision? How binding is it on future judges? How much respect is it due given how we have a very good idea about how that fifth vote was obtained?”

Barnett said that with any kind of “change in our political culture” the tax part of this decision is not long for this world,” adding that it “could be easily reversed because it is not a weighty precedent,” Barnett said.

However, the he added that if the political culture does change as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the healthcare law, the decision itself would “not pose a barrier to forward progress in limiting the powers of the federal government.”

Michael Cannon, a health policy scholar at the Cato Institute, said that the law was “weaker” and the path to repealing the Affordable Care Act was “clearer than it was one week ago.”

He cited the public backlash against the law, and states’ ability to block new expansions in Medicaid as things going in the direction of repeal.

WCF Chapter One "Of Holy Scripture" Sunday School (Sept.-Oct. 2021)

Our text for Sunday School (also "The Confession of Faith and Catechisms") Biblical Theology Bites What is "Biblical Theology...