A recent blog article expressed the thought that we aren't in an evil totalitarian dictatorship, and did so using the premise that we're still here to protest the government. While I agree that we aren't IN an Evil totalitarian dictatorship (to be referred hereafter in this blog as "ETD"), I believe we're on that track, and it is only through vigilance and action that we will avoid it. Consider that, prior to the 1960's, children entered school in the first grade at 6 years of age. There was ...
In Congress, the Senate put a delay on the confirmation process of Samuel Alito to the US Supreme Court. Not for any sound reason, mind you, but because they could. In the state of Texas, legislators are prepared to go back to Austin in April or May to bring school finance back to the table despite five failed special sessions to do the same and a deadline of June 1 imposed by the state Supreme Court. There's a lot of nothing going on at every level by politicians who are hard at work disregardi...
Many organizations in the United States have come up with a new and unique solution to poverty in this country: criminalize it! In my studies on CPS activities, I have found a good number of individuals who have had their initial CPS encounters after enrolling their children in Head Start Programs, taking them to WIC or free immunization programs, or even testing them for lead. If these encounters were initiated because bruises, burns, or other possible symptoms of abuse were observed, I woul...
Imagine this scenario: You are a poor, working class person who works hard to maintain a reasonable standard of living. You work hard, earn a aycheck, come home at night, and are in most ways a respectable citizen. Your one vice is coming home and playing your Clash records so loud you have one of your neighbors pounding and screaming on the walls. your neighbor gets mad, calls crimestoppers, and anonymously reports that you are a drug dealer. He fictitiously reports that people come by your...
I'm developing my Campaign slogan, and I'd appreciate your input. The slogan is "Family. Freedom. Future", and I plan to elaborate on each with the following (EXTREMELY rough drafts) in my literature: "Family: We have seen a de-emphasis, if not an outright war, on family values deemed traditional up until about thirty years ago. We have broadened definitions of abuse and neglect to prohibit traditional forms of discipline and to criminalize poverty among families. We need a legislature tha...
Well, I filed two important sets of papers today. The first was my Campaign Tresurer Appointment, with the Texas Ethics Commission (I sent that out "Certified"--no way I'm getting busted because a secretary can't keep track of incoming mail). So now I'm ready and raring for all them campaign contributions to come in (the silence so far is deafening...lol). I really didn't file because I expect contributions to come in (although I remain hopeful), but because I must have a treasurer appointed if ...
I intend to use this article as the starting point for a pamhlet with the same or similar title. Feel free to add comments or elaborate (or, yes, even debate) in the comments. I will be doing this in a series, so topics not covered here should be covered in future articles. In today's society, regardless of political affiliation, the majority of Americans seem to think their government is dysfunctional. While it's true that corruption, incompetence, and impropriety seem to be synonymous with ...
As many of you, especially my regular readers, know, I am running for a seat in the Texas house of Representatives as a Libertarian. I delayed my announcement until after January 2, because that was the filing deadline. My intention was to delay the announcement so as not to encourage the Democrats to put a candidate in for the race (the Republican incumbent has run unopposed since his initial election to the office in 1988). My reasoning was that, if the Democrats do not run, it's a two pers...
You'll have to forgive me. I have been reading the "Heritage Guide to the Constitution" (published by the Heritage Foundation), and so it may culminate in a number of Constitution based articles as I work my way through this highly recommended publication. One of the arguments I have heard lately on talk radio and conservative print media sources is that the right to the "pursuit of happiness" is not in the Constitution, and thus, not a right guaranteed to all Americans. They're right on t...
The government is getting ever so closer to saying what it means. The message that it is sending is that we are too stupid to think for ourselves, better let the government do it for us. Now, in deference to some individual policies, some government officials are trying to change that, but it's an uphill battle. Witness the attempt to privatize social security (in other words, trust us with our own money) as exhibit A. What brought this on? Well, a visit from the US Census Bureau (WHAT? Ce...
Most people who read me know that, in my Christian faith I am personally quite conservative. They also know that, politically I am a Libertarian. I am often asked about what outsiders often perceive to be inconsistencies in those positions. The two areas on which I am most frequently challenged are the LP positions on abortion and drug legalization. I have already recently addressed my position on abortion in light of both philosophical stands, so I feel it is only natural for me to clarify my p...
Tim Justice, of Lefors, Texas, officially announced his candidacy for the office of District 88 State Representative in the state of Texas today. Justice, 35, is running as a Libertarian. Justice, who writes under the pen name Gideon MacLeish, is running on a platform of restoring rights to individuals as established under the United States and Texas Bill of Rights. He supports legislation similar to that being considered in the state of Pennsylvania under the Family Preservation Act that wou...
I have noticed an interesting trend among apologists for the left lately. When referring to the Iraqi dead, they will often use the number of 1.5 million, rather than the 30,000 acknowledged by even LIBERAL estimates to have died since our invasion of Iraq. When pressed, they will acknowledge that the 1.5 million number includes those estimated by the UN to have died as a result of sanctions. Why is this ironic? Well, all it requires is a memory span of just over three years to understand thi...
I have listened to both sides of the debate on Bush and the NSA wiretaps. I still contend that a decision of guilt or innocence at this point is premature, but if the facts are as we now have them (that Bush had the program reviewed and there was congressional oversight), then Bush cannot be considered to be guilty of any crime as regards the NSA wiretaps. Whether or not the individual congresspersons are guilty for not taking the matter before the full House and Senate is another matter entirel...
I will have to plead guilty to gleaning information from a sound bite. Every MSM news source that I heard stated that the budget bill for 2006 was cutting food stamps. The blogs that I read supported that statement. And so, I did a little searching (not as much as I'd like, but as much as time reasonably allowed). See, what the budget does is changes ELIGIBILITY requirements. That's a horse of an entirely different color. The thing is, cutting eligibility requirements would mean t...