ARIZONA TAKES STEPS TO PROTECT ITS OWN - FEDS UPSET!

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law, legislation making it a state crime, as well as a federal crime, to enter the state of Arizona if you are not a legal resident of the United States! All of our southern border states should follow Governor Brewer's lead and enact similar legislation. It is the only way we can stop the illegal invasion of foreigners into our country from Mexico.
The problem is magnified when, as in Arizona, American citizens have been murdered by illegal aliens. Arizona is not the first state to suffer from homicides committed by those who were in our country illegally. There have been dozens, perhaps hundreds, of murder, rape, arson, kidnapping, and robbery cases throughout the country - all perpetrated by illegal immigrants - that did not receive national coverage.

The federal government is remiss in its duty to protect our southern border. The Obama administration is counting on those illegal aliens and their liberal supporters to place illegal votes in order to maintain the socialist-progressive momentum his administration has created. Amnesty for 12 million lawbreakers is NOT what our country needs. They have demonstrated their desire to thwart our most basic law of residency, and if they are rewarded in that action, they will be emboldened to disrespect other laws within our borders. We do not need more scofflaws... we have plenty of the homegrown variety. We do not need to import them from other countries! Rewarding illegal behavior simply encourages more illegal behavior.

Who are the supporters of illegal residents? Their legal and illegal friends and families, our own expansionist tax-and-spend government which needs them to complete creation of a socialist environment within our previously Democratic Republic, and those who believe that Obama's socialist-progressive, Marxist-Communist, giveaway and redistribution agenda is something other than the key to the ruination of our once-great nation. This may well be THE turning point in American history. The erosion/elimination of the freedoms we citizens are guaranteed by the Constitution, and the decline of our economy until we are on the same level as Zimbabwe, which has a hyperinflation rate loom on the horizon. The last time inflation was officially recorded in mid-2008 it had soared to 231 million per cent. Today, using some kind of voodoo mathematics, it is reported to be approximately 5.5%. (There's a n old saying, "Figures can lie, and liars can figure." The issuance of a $50 TRILLION ZD banknote is a good indication that all is not yet well in Zimbabwe.)
The "entitlement whores", who have received multiple mentions in my blog, are all for whatever the government wants as long as the government continues to care for them as if they were dependent children. Who are these people that I refer to as "entitlement whores"? They are those whose way of life is to work the system's social programs. Their main product is children, which they produce in quantities significant enough to insure they themselves do not have to work. They get financial assistance (welfare), housing assistance (HUD), virtually free medical assistance (MedicAid), government food programs, etc.. All the things that the majority of us labor for in order to provide for ourselves and/or our families are provided to them by the government! Naturally they want to see government expand, because by that expansion the government creates more giveaway programs for them to work to their advantage.

We the People - the entrepreneurs, the craftsmen, the technicians - all those who perform labor for the rewards it provides, deserve those rewards. WE HAVE EARNED THEM! There should be no thought of "redistribution" of the fruits of our labors by the government. The government does not have that Constitutional right. If the government wants to "help" the needy, the government should provide them with one free thing - JOB TRAINING.

How did most of "the needy" become that way? By dropping out of school, thereby eliminating their first free service... a free education. Add to that the abuse of drugs and alcohol, and the adornment of their bodies with tattoos and piercings (which makes them less attractive to potential employers), the adoption of a gang mentality, and the seductive siren's song of the welfare program, and they create their own condition of neediness. Being needy is - in a general sense - a self-inflicted condition.

You may be thinking to yourself "This guy is one heartless son-of-a-bitch!". But it has nothing to do with heartlessness. It has to do with reality - the "hosts" reality versus the "parasites" reality. The condition of the needy in this country is truly a shame, but the shame is not mine. I have been given nothing in this life for which I have not labored and thereby earned. I finished my basic government-funded education (luckily, I did so before it became government-funded indoctrination). I served my country in our military, and have held numerous jobs within our society - some relatively menial, and others of relative importance in "the grand scheme of things". I am a "host", and I don't appreciate "parasites". Since the age of 17 my function has been to make my own way in the world, dependent upon the fruits of my labors to provide for my needs. I was successful because I was raised not to burden society with my care.
America is the "land of opportunity", but only for those who wish to take advantage of the opportunities America offers. The opportunity to take advantage of 12 free years of education, the opportunity to learn a trade, the opportunity for advanced education and training, the opportunity to earn a living, and the opportunity to become a responsible, self-supporting, contributing member of our society. There's an old saying, that goes like this" "There's no such thing as a free lunch." And it's true. If you get something for "free" from the government, there are always strings attached, even if those strings aren't visible. What you get costs you either in taxes or freedoms. Government dependency erodes one's freedoms, for in order to continue to receive, you must also continue to support the government's growth.

I could be wrong about all this... and Osama bin Laden could be America's best friend. What are the odds...

EXACTLY WHAT IS A POLITICAL "CONSERVATIVE"?

Conservatism is a political and social term from the Latin verb conservare meaning to save or preserve. As the name suggests it usually indicates support for tradition and traditional values. According to my dictionary a political conservative is one who is:
1. disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
2. cautiously moderate or purposefully low: a conservative estimate; avoiding unnecessary risk taking.
3. traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness: conservative suit; conservative in speech or actions.
Now that I have defined the term for us, and we're all on the same page intellectually speaking, let's look at what makes a political conservative "tick". Everything from here on down is my personal world view, which may or may not be in agreement with the world view of anybody else... and it doesn't have to in order to be valid. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A conservative is one who believes that our culture, traditions and Constitutional guarantees are invaluable (that word means priceless - it does not mean without value, Bubba). The conservative believes that change may become necessary in many things, but holds culture, tradition, and the Constitution to be sacrosanct (consult Webster's). He believes that it is a personal responsibility for all true Americans to preserve those things so that future generations may enjoy them. Yes, you read that correctly. The conservative considers anyone who does not hold those same values in the highest esteem to be something less than a true American. The good news is that conservatives do not see those people as subhuman... just as terribly misguided and irrevocably ignorant.

Conservatives attempt to choose their words with reasonable care, so as not to unwittingly offend another person. They also see offending the sensitivities of others as acceptable when the ignorance of those "others" cannot be overcome by pure reason.

Conservatives believe in the sanctity of human life, perhaps to a fault. This belief includes all human life, from the moment of conception to the moment of unavoidable death . At the same time, they believe in the penalty of death for those who have committed crimes deserving of that penalty against others. A conservative's sympathies are with the victims of crime, not those who commit the crimes. They also believe that there are those among us whose characters are not salvageable, and therefore unfit to live among civilized persons. And why should one who has taken a life, other than in self-defense or in defense of the life of another, be allowed to live out their life to its natural conclusion at the expense of the honest citizen? A swift application of Mosaic Law (that's the "eye-for-an-eye" thing) would make the world a safer, better place. A lawful death sentence in the USA takes an average of 17 years to reach its conclusion.

Conservatives understand that children, who are the most innocent and defenseless among us, should be protected to the "nth degree" of the law, yet our liberal courts are (for the most-part) issuing judicial slaps upon the wrist to those who molest and murder children. We are not happy about that.

Conservatives believe that personal satisfaction comes from a job well done, and that a person should be able to reap the rewards of their own labors, skills and talents without having to support those who choose not to labor for the rewards our society can provide. Those who are physically and mentally capable of earning their own way should be required to do so. There is no birthright to success. Just a birthright to be afforded an opportunity to become successful through personal effort. You have no right to ask anybody to give you some of what they have earned because you are too lazy to work. The world owes you absolutely nothing. The fact that you are simply present on this planet is not a particular blessing to the rest of the occupants until you apply yourself, and become a productive member of the society in which you live.

Conservatives support energy conservation - and, by and large, we think that Political Correctness is a ridiculous waste of energy. How did Americans ever let it become incorrect to speak one's mind using the normal everyday words of the English language - including idiom, cant, colloquialisms and jargon? Why should we have to search our entire vocabulary inventory to avoid the possibility of offending somebody? Nowhere is it written that we have the right to go through life without ever being offended. If you should find yourself offended tell the other party "I find that offensive." (Then either stand your ground and prepare to argue against whatever it was that offended you, or turn on your heel and leave the area. After which you should just suck it up and get on with your life.) Other than that, we also support the conservative management of our natural energy resources! The natural transition from this point would be to explore...

"Hate crimes". Hatred is not a "crime" in the real world. Hatred is an emotion... an attitude... a state of mind... the end result of a thought process. It is the physical expression of that emotion, in some otherwise illegal manner, that may constitute a crime. Hatred is at the extreme negative end of the love-hate emotional continuum, and is a particularly unsatisfactory - but natural - emotion. Hatred is a learned emotion, and hatred of a person or thing may be learned from a very negative personal experience, or it may be unintentionally - or intentionally - taught. (Neo-Nazi's teach their children to hate "niggers and Jews" from an age that predates reason and the ability to fully understand. The children, seeking the approval and love of their parents, learn and recite these mantras of hate by rote.) The terrorist attack of 9-11 generated a significantly strong and wide-spread dislike for anything Muslim among the people of the United States. In some it instilled fear, in others anger, and in many it instilled hatred of the Muslim culture, all things Islamic, and anyone who even appeared to be of middle eastern descent. But, in almost all Americans, 9-11 instilled some degree of distrust! Human beings tend to be distrustful of anything out of the ordinary... especially if they can easily identify those "things" from their size, shape, manner of dress, speech, or color. Look upon that distrust as a survival mechanism.

Conservatives had a self-imposed "vow of silence". Until recently conservatives were the fabled "silent majority". You did not see conservatives rioting in the 1950s and 1960s. You did not see conservatives "dropping out" and running off to join the drug infested liberal "hippie" communes of the 1960s and '70s. However, in 2009, the "silent majority" realized they were not being heard over the tumultuous clamor of the socialist/Marxist liberals. The cacophonous whining of the "entitlement whores" (those who think the government owes them something for simply existing) and their "pimps" (the bleeding heart, liberal politicians who wish to increase their voter base by giving the first group anything they ask for) echo through the halls of the Congress, reverberating almost as loudly as the big money of corporate America and labor unions. We know that "money talks while....". Seeing the direction in which the NObama Administration was taking the country with bailouts, stimulus packages, increased entitlement programs, amnesty for illegal aliens, B.O.'s Global Apology Tour, and mortgaging the country to China (of all people), conservatives organized, mobilized, and gave birth to the 21st century version of the Boston Tea Party. For those of you who have never attended a Tea Party, it is a non-violent demonstration of the people's frustration with gargantuan government continuing to grow, and consuming everything in sight in order to keep the beast moving. There have been no calls for a revolution, or even a coup d'etat... yet. We are not happy with the government, and we see nothing on the horizon that might mollify us. We are, in typical conservative fashion, expressing our displeasure peacefully.

Conservatives generally accept and support everybody's religious beliefs, but without internalizing those beliefs or adopting them as their own... as long as there is no harm to man or beast in their "worship services". Conservatives may disagree with the practice of "Religion X", but they will not try to stop anybody else from the practice of that religion. Conservatives may believe that anyone without a religion is foolish, but they won't try to force their beliefs on others. If you have chosen to be an atheist, and someone approaches you to proselytize for "The First Church of XYZ", a simple "No thank you." should suffice. A loudly yelled "Get outta my face, Buttlips!" should work equally well, but that approach is a bloody nose looking for a place to happen... and may even initiate some hard feelings. You do not have a right to never see or hear something religious, but if you find it offensive you do have the right not to look or listen. Conservatives also don't believe that you have a right to try to ruin the holidays of those who do have religious convictions.

Conservatives are the folks who will literally stand up for the Constitution, when the left-wingers try to repeal it. Being conservative doesn't mean you have an insatiable desire to consume the seemingly interminable supply of male bovine excrement that political Washington D.C. keeps feeding the nation. We are not mushrooms... if we are kept in the dark and fed BS long enough we will turn bad!

Conservatives believe that our Constitution is the oldest "living" document in the world. But it is fully mature, and needs no further "growth". It is complete and perfect the way it reads today, just as it was 233 years ago. The bad news is that there hasn't been a true conservative in the White House since Ronald Reagan!

That may not be, as my heading claims, "exactly" what a conservative is, but it's close enough to get you thinking about conservatism!

The Story of "Alice In Wanterland"

I had an interesting experience this evening - I attended a hearing conducted by the Oregon State Ways and Means Committee, who are considering 118 new ways to milk working Oregonians via new taxes and "fees". Here are a few of the things that I thought made the hearing "interesting":

1. The hearing was held in Ashland, OR in the Student Union Building of Southern Oregon University, a 42 mile drive one-way. After finding the campus it took another 15 minutes to find a place to park, then it was a ½ mile trek to the Student Union.

2. Everybody had to sign in at the door, which was no big deal.

3. The room seated about 400 people, with another 75 or so standing along the inner walls, and about 20 outside on the adjacent patio. Let's call it 500 people just for a round number.

4. The hearing was scheduled to last 3 hours, but after the moderators explanation of what was desired ("2 minutes time allotted for each speaker vs. 3 minutes advertised, no applause", and the how total hearing time had been reduced to 2½ hours), and the introductions of each of the Senators and Representatives on the committee, there was only an hour and 45 minutes left.

5. If only 1 in 5 wished to be heard that would be 100 potential speakers. But, at 2 minutes per speaker, only 52.5 people (105/2=52.5) could be heard, and the remaining 47.5 would just be mad as hell.

6. Somehow they allowed "chain testimony", where one person was called upon to speak, and then they passed the microphone to as many as 3 of their allies. The representatives of the Developmentally Disabled took full advantage of this tactic, knowing full-well that nobody would dare to call them on it for fear of being labeled insensitive. This display was an obvious emotional ploy to gain sympathy for their cause, burning up precious minutes while the DD attempted to express themselves as they stumbled and were coached through their talk. It was an improper use of extremely critical time, but their handlers are battling for limited available funds. Can you blame them?

Now, here's how I saw the process of our government at work for us:

1. There were undoubtedly other venues available in which the hearings could have been held. However, by insuring limited available parking, and holding the hearings on a University campus
the odds of sympathetic support for the "tax and spend government" were significantly enhanced.

2. Okay.

3. Approximations - (insert old adage of "close enough for government work" here).

4. Reducing the available time for citizen comments served at least two purposes:
a. Insured more people were provided an opportunity to be heard.
b. Insured that nothing of any real significance could be brought to the attention of the committee.

5. My math is good.

6. Poopoo propagates.

What did 95% of the people who spoke want? They brought emotional pleas wanting Oregon to save their program. "I represent the...", "I'm from the...", "Our program is vital because...", Whine, whine, whine - want, want, want! Only one person actually asked for fiscal responsibility from the government! Do what is necessary in these difficult economic times, when Oregon unemployment is the second highest in the nation - make those cuts in the areas that give us the least return on our tax dollar! Eliminate pork! The citizens cannot be taxed into prosperity, nor can the government spend its way to a balanced budget.

I was not that person. Although I was prepared to talk along a similar line, I was one of that group of 47.5 previously mentioned.

The entitlement whores were out in force with their beggar bowls, asking the government to save their program. Where do they think the money for those programs comes from? Is there a money tree arboretum in Salem? Does the State Legislature have a paper route? NO! It's TAX money! And, the only way to save all the giveaway programs is to increase taxes. Are these people out of their minds? (I should probably define the adjective "entitlement whore" about now. In my mind, an "entitlement whore" is somebody who would trade any of our freedoms for a handout from the government. They believe that they are entitled to the same things that most people have worked to acquire. Most career welfare recipients are glaring examples of "entitlement whores".)

Basically, I got the feeling that the entire hearing was simply a box to be checked off, indicating that the illusion of concern for citizen input was maintained. Call it a "feel good" exercise. I'm sure some people felt that there was a genuine concern for their input, and that it would be seriously considered in the decision making process. I also doubt that any of those people were members of the committee.

I could be wrong about this... what do you think?