Hypocrisy Unleashed - 9-29-2013

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

In the current state of idiocy that is the debate on budgets and debt limits, the founding fathers gave us the clear path to resolving the issues, answers found within our founding government document, the United States Constitution.

Consider this piece contained within Article 1 Section 8, relative to the authority bestowed upon the legislature:

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

The founders and framers had reason to be wary of the practice of having standing armies, so their reasonable and sensible response was to mandate that funding for such national needs were to have them judiciously reviewed every two years.

It is sad to believe that we have gotten to the point where lazy and intellectually challenged politicians have become so enamored of ‘comprehensive’ packages of legislation, with no though given to future review.

It is this insistence of such ‘comprehensive’ legislation that has led us to the current state of fiduciary foolishness.

There should be no gamesmanship played over the fair faith and credit of the nation, but no one seems to be questioning why we continue to face such a continual state of financial firestorms.

It is thus disillusioning to hear the President and Senate Leader Reid professing that their stance on no negotiations on such issues as the debt limit is somehow based upon their ‘principles’.

It would seem a reminder to both men is in order.

To wit:

Harry Reid, March 2006

“If my Republican friends believe that increasing our debt by almost $800 billion today and more than $3 trillion over the last five years is the right thing to do, they should be upfront about it. They should explain why they think more debt is good for the economy.

How can the Republican majority in this Congress explain to their constituents that trillions of dollars in new debt is good for our economy? How can they explain that they think it’s fair to force our children, our grandchildren, our great grandchildren to finance this debt through higher taxes. That’s what it will have to be. Why is it right to increase our nation’s dependence on foreign creditors?

They should explain this. Maybe they can convince the public they’re right. I doubt it. Because most Americans know that increasing debt is the last thing we should be doing. After all, I repeat, the Baby Boomers are about to retire. Under the circumstances, any credible economist would tell you we should be reducing debt, not increasing it.Democrats won’t be making argument to supper this legalization, which will weaken our country. Weaken our county.”

Well put, Senator. Yet, it is now acceptable to you to take the opposite opinion while railing about the ‘anarchists’ on the other side.

And speaking of hypocrisy, sadly:

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. … It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government’s reckless fiscal policies.”

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaking on the Senate floor in 2006 just before he voted against raising the debt ceiling.

The Blogging Press

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

The freedom of the press, the voice of the electorate, is one of our most sacred constitutional tenets and protections.

The first amendment, as written:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It is clear, succinct and lacks any ambiguity. It does not quantify ‘the press’ in any manner.

It is therefore troubling to consider the following composite of information, drawn from various sources, demonstrating that the First Amendment is under assault, again: (the acquired information is reprinted here in a different font throughout the post)

The first version of a media shield law that handily made it through the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday defined for the first time what constitutes a “real reporter” deserving of extra protection versus what Sen. Dianne Feinstein called a “17-year-old blogger” who doesn’t deserve a legal shield.

That Congress is attempting to define “journalist” at all in order to expand protections after a number of high-profile leak cases and ensuing Justice Department prosecutions  suggests that the law would subvert a free press by giving institutional advantage to government-approved media outlets.

In its attempt to define who’s a journalist and who’s not, is the US Senate trying to say that Thomas Paine, a corset-maker, wouldn’t have deserved the same protections from government heavy-handedness as a newspaper publisher like Ben Franklin?

While Mr. Paine eventually edited magazines in the United States, he’s best known for his pamphleteering days, when he self-published “Common Sense,” one of the American Revolution’s most poignant calls to arms. Modern bloggers, the Madison Conservative among them, see themselves as the inheritors of the pamphleteering tradition, and many wondered on Friday whether Paine would be covered under the proposed law.

The bill simply adds extra protections against being forced to testify about sources for established reporters and freelancers with a “considerable” amount of publishing experience. It also allows a judge to make a declaration as to who’s a journalist and who’s not in an attempt to build the shield as wide as possib

“All we’re doing is adding privilege to existing First Amendment rights, so there is, logically, zero First Amendment threat out of this,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, (D) of Rhode Island.

Any assault, in any form, against the press is a dangerous omen. Tyrants often start their reigns by commandeering the media, and doing so  for what they deem ‘the public interest’.

Congress must not be allowed to determine what is and what is not ‘the press’. The internet has given voice to society in ways never before seen, but the public must be allowed to determine what they deem to be viable press and what they deem to be nonsense.

Delineation by a government as to what constitutes ‘the press’ is a harbinger of ill intent.

The American people must not surrender their rights and responsibilities to a free press.

The First 39 of 55.

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

This week is of grand historical consequence for the American people, but it is assured to escape any acknowledgement of sustentative note.

That is sad, because this week holds the anniversary of the seed of the greatest country the world has ever known.

Consider the following 39 names:

Washington, George, VA

Franklin, Benjamin, PA

Madison, James, VA

Hamilton, Alexander, NY

Morris, Gouverneur, PA

Morris, Robert, PA

Wilson, James, PA

Pinckney, Chas, SC

Rutledge, John, SC

Butler, Pierce, SC

Sherman, Roger, CT

Johnson, William Samuel, CT

McHenry, James, MD

Read, George, DE

Bassett, Richard, DE

Spaight, Richard Dobbs, NC

Blount, William, NC

Williamson, Hugh, NC

Jenifer, Daniel of St. Thomas, MD

King, Rufus, MA

Gorham, Nathaniel, MA

Dayton, Jonathan, NJ

Carroll, Daniel, MD

Few, William, GA

Baldwin, Abraham, GA

Langdon, John, NH

Gilman, Nicholas, NH

Livingston, William, NJ

Paterson, William, NJ

Mifflin, Thomas, PA

Clymer, George, PA

FitzSimons, Thomas, PA

Ingersoll, Jared, PA

Bedford, Gunning, Jr., DE

Brearley, David, NJ

Dickinson, John, DE

Blair, John, VA

Broom, Jacob, DE

This week marks the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States. On September 17, 1787, these 39 men were the first of the eventual 55 signers of our founding document.

The signers, founders and framers of that august document had the audacity to construct a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Their overriding focus was the government could only function by the consent of the governed.

The Constitution is a limitation on the powers of government, which by definition is the definition of the freedoms reserved by the people.

This week, the Madison Conservative would ask that you reflect on the bravery of those original 55 signers, and of the significance of that day, 226 years ago this very week, when the sense of the American spirit was put to paper, when the hopes and dreams of freedom were given voice for posterity.

In an era of ad hominum attacks from all sides, it would be of use for the American people to pause and consider the gift of the Constitution that has been offered for them, and their posterity.

For those who believe that there is little anyone can do to affect positive change, please re-read those 39 names and reconsider your opinion on the futility of action.

We the People indeed.

9/11 - Twelve Years On...

There is much going on in the world, and with the passage of time, some events lose their significance. This week will mark the twelfth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and with 12 not being a particularly notable number, combined with the current hysteria over Syria, it is possible that some of the impact of 9/11 will get lost in the shuffle.

That should never be allowed to happen.

We must NEVER FORGET.

Below are two links to 9/11 projects I am proud to be associated with, and would humbly ask that should you find them of value, to share with as many people as possible.

The blog will return next week; in the meantime, please check out both videos.

343 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHayXNAuD8A

Braveheart - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT6tCQioI9E

An American Message

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

To the dismay of the Madison Conservative, any voice which might contrast with the shallow and narrow minded views of the liberals in charge of the observance on the National Mall of the fiftieth anniversary of Dr. Kings' ‘I Have A Dream’ speech were noticeably absent. This arrogance by the civil rights movement on the left is shameful. There were many speeches, including by the President, to the effect that Dr. King would have supported this or that. There were no voices allowed to convey what was at the heart of what Dr. King was trying to achieve in his all too short life.

As noted in previous blogs, the Madison Conservative is woefully ill-equipped to even remotely attempt to convey the breadth of Dr. Kings vision, and so will not attempt to do so here.

Rather, the following speech excerpt will have to suffice. It is sad that this particular message, in any context, was not conveyed at the 50^th anniversary celebration. It is neither to be branded a conservative or liberal message, but rather what Americans as a people should be striving for, and the message that should be heard by ALL of America’s’ youth.

The specifics on this message will be noted below, so as to not effect ones opinion either way.

To wit:

“I want to ask you a question, and that is: What is your life's blueprint?

Whenever a building is constructed, you usually have an architect who draws a blueprint, and that blueprint serves as the pattern, as the guide, and a building is not well erected without a good, solid blueprint.

Now each of you is in the process of building the structure of your lives, and the question is whether you have a proper, a solid and a sound blueprint.

I want to suggest some of the things that should begin your life's blueprint.

Number one in your life's blueprint, should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your worth and your own somebodiness. Don't allow anybody to make you feel that you're nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.

Secondly, in your life's blueprint you must have as the basic principle the determination to achieve excellence in your various fields of endeavor. You're going to be deciding as the days, as the years unfold what you will do in life — what your life's work will be.

Set out to do it well.

And I say to you, my young friends, doors are opening to you--doors of opportunities that were not open to your mothers and your fathers — and the great challenge facing you is to be ready to face these doors as they open.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great essayist, said in a lecture in 1871, "If a man can write a better book or preach a better sermon or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor, even if he builds his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door."

This hasn't always been true — but it will become increasingly true, and so I would urge you to study hard, to burn the midnight oil; I would say to you, don't drop out of school. I understand all the sociological reasons, but I urge you that in spite of your economic plight, in spite of the situation that you're forced to live in — stay in school.

And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. Don’t just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn't do it any better.

If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. If you can't be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley.

Be the best little shrub on the side of the hill.

Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a highway, just be a trail. If you can't be a sun, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.

Six months before he was assassinated, Dr. Martin Luther King spoke these words to a group of students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967.

The hucksters and charlatans of the civil rights movement today should be ashamed of themselves for disgracing the mission of Dr. King for their own petty and disgusting political aims.