Use the Force, Luke

August 28, 2012

Today’s actual start to the Republican National Convention just may get very interesting. Over the past couple of days, the Rules Committee has been meeting to discuss and hammer out any new proposed rule changes. Although there are 7 different rule changes that are bad, there are two in particular that have raised national attention and much delegate and grassroots ire. The first is Rule 12 which allows the RNC central committee the ability to change rules any time they want without the approval of all of the national delegates at the national convention. This is being promoted as good, normal business for any corporation that has to react to what is happening in the world around it. The two problems with this argument is that the RNC does not have to react to anything new and unexpected outside of grassroots supporters who learn the RNC’s rules better than any member of the RNC knows them. The fix to this problem is simple; the RNC could simply read and learn their rules and follow them. The other problem with this argument is that the rules could be changed at any time, thus allowing the adoption of bad rules, the same ones that are being fought right now, to be adopted in secret and without recourse. This is just bad business. The RNC is not a corporation that has to respond to market forces on a daily level, but is a public, political and, should be, open organization designed to represent the people of this great nation, not just some stockholders.

The second bad rule being fought is Rule 15 (renamed Rule 16) which allows any presidential candidate to “disavow” any duly elected delegate and to have them removed and replaced by cronies/ large donors. Ultimately, what they are wanting here is the ability to shut down the grassroots and to make the party of the “big tent” to be the party of the wealthy and elite who live in the big tent and are served by us peons who grovel at their feet and lick their boots. For some reason, this is not sitting well with many.

You may have heard about the compromise reached last night where they stripped the bad language out of Rule 15 in an effort to avoid a floor fight on the opening of the coronation, I mean convention. This will likely not do anything to divert this floor fight, so today may get interesting.

On another note, I was approached, as was my roommate, Luke Kirk, by the establishment in an attempt to strong arm us into voting for Mitt Romney instead of abstaining. I told them that if they wanted party unity, that they would simply need to allow a true convention, time to share and discuss ideas, Ron Paul a chance to speak for 15 minutes, and they would achieve party unity. Instead, by silencing Ron Paul, stifling all debate, and trying to force everyone to appear unified, they are actually causing greater division within the party. Unfortunately, they are not smart enough to understand this elementary concept. It makes one wonder what they are so afraid of that they will not even allow discussion of ideas and issues.

Today we are going up against the dark side. “Use the force, Luke.”

Welcome to the Dark Side

8/25/12

This should be what the banner over the door to the Tampa Bay Times Sun Dome reads. We have seen the enemy, and he is us. The corruption, deception, and greed are so putridly pervasive and ooze out of every pore of the beast we call the GOP that it is incredible that the stench isn’t such that all are aware of it already. Maybe that is the problem, the odor is so strong, so persistent, and has been lingering for so long, that we all have become sensory deprived and can no longer smell it. Never let that fool you, however; the necrotic, decomposing flesh is still there, gangrene has set in, and the only cure is amputation. A surgery so radical that the surgeon, the American citizen, will never even attempt for fear that it might kill the patient. The disease itself will eventually kill the patient himself, but only after driving him stark raving mad, so lunatic that he murders doctors, nurses, family and friends before finally succumbing, but the good physician just wishes to believe that with enough time the putrescence will heal itself. I’m here to tell you that it won’t happen. We have tried to do it with disinfectants, being clean and nice, following the textbook methodology, and we are only losing this battle. It’s time for a change.

I’m sure some of you are wondering what I am talking about. Well, I’m talking about the influence peddling, back room deal making, and outright corruption within this Gory Old Party. As we all know, it didn’t take very long for the Republican presidential race to dwindle to four candidates. Both Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich suspended their campaigns back around April, but Mitt Romney and Ron Paul continued their campaigns without interruption. Now, for those of you who don’t know, when a candidate suspends his campaign, he can jump back in at any time, and any delegates he has earned or won up to that point must stick with him through the National Convention. Most candidates who suspend, release their delegates at least a couple of weeks before the Convention so that they can plan accordingly (some may decide not to invest the time and money once their guy has dropped out). If a candidate doesn’t release his delegates by officially ending his campaign, at least a couple of weeks before the Convention, then normally you could be fairly confident that he will not release his delegates at all, and is planning to try for the nomination; or at least a floor fight in order to have his ideas heard and considered by the rest of the party before he goes back into the woodwork. When one waits until just a couple of days before the Convention to release his delegates, you can rest assured that he has been offered some sweet deals for doing so. And you thought elections couldn’t be bought!?!

An Open Letter to my Military Apologist Friends

I have heard all of the arguments 100 times, at least. We need to fight them over there or we’ll end up fighting them over here. The government knows things that we don’t and it doesn’t tell us everything. The Muslims hate us for our freedom, or they hate us and want to kill us because that is what the Koran tells them to do. Congress ‘authorized’ military action in Iraq, so it was okay, etc., etc., ad nauseum.

Ultimately, these arguments all hinge on the last argument- Congress gave the President authority to go to war, so it must be okay. How long will we allow ourselves to be subject to the control of the thought controllers? Let’s consider this same argument used in the real world setting, and let me know if you think it still applies.

Scene 1: A beautiful young lady is strolling down the street and I comment on how lovely she looks. You authorize me to have sex with this young lady. I do so and get charged with numerous crimes such as: rape, kidnapping, holding her against her will, etc. The Lord also charges me with adultery and fornication.

Scene 2: I need some transportation to get you to the hospital, or a joy ride, or the liquor store, or some other noble purpose. You authorize me to use a sports car that happens to parked close by. I take it and get charged with grand theft auto, at least.

Scene 3: I’m homeless and need a place to live. You authorize me to move into a certain house and to evict its occupants; by force if necessary. I do so and get charged with too many crimes to list.

The question I have for you, my military apologist friend is: why am I being charged with crimes when I have done nothing more than what you have given me the authority to do?

Of course, as you readily recognize, the problem is that you did not have the authority in the first place, therefore, you were not able to delegate that authority to me.

Now, my friend, if you are unable to delegate authority which you do not possess, what makes you think that Congress is any different?

“But,” you say, “the Constitution gives them the authority to declare war.”

Yes, it does. However, war was not declared, neither does the Constitution give them the authority to abdicate any of their responsibilities. Indeed, the Constitution was designed specifically to prevent any one person or any one branch from ever acquiring too much authority and power. So, just as you cannot give me authority that you never rightfully had, neither can Congress. And, just as you may not have committed any crime by giving me this authority, you are considered an accessory to the crime if you participated or if you had good reason to believe that I would act upon your authorization. The same is true of Congress; they are guilty if they in any way participated in the crime committed or if they had reason to believe that the President would act upon their authorization.

What about the president, is he guilty of any wrong doing? Well, just as I would have been arrested and charged with crimes for acting in any of the above scenarios, so should he. A President who commits a crime against his own country commits the crime of treason. When the President chooses to act upon what he knows, or has reason to suspect is an illegitimate authority, then he becomes guilty, just as I would be held accountable in our illustrations.

However, the President cannot actually act on this authority, so called, without the aid and assistance of a gang of armed mercenaries who will unquestioningly do as they are told. I know, my friend, you don’t like the terms gang and mercenaries when used in reference to our military, but let’s call them what they are. A military comes to the defense of its nation when under attack. A gang attacks ‘preemptively’ to set an example and to increase the size of its turf. A military holds its leaders accountable to the oath they swore to God Almighty, since the military has sworn the same oath. A gang does whatever they are told with no thought to right or wrong. A military upholds justice by strictly adhering to the rule of law. A gang perverts justice by arbitrarily declaring their own law. A military allows anyone who doesn’t want to participate to leave, at any time. A gang only allows one to leave upon the decree of the leader.

A military acts only when necessary for the repelling of foreign invaders. Mercenaries make a career out of killing and occupying. A military works to ensure that, as much as possible, only enemies get killed. Mercenaries kill with impunity, caring not whether innocent civilians die. A military takes no joy in killing. Mercenaries kill with sadistic glee.

I know that many of my military apologist friends will attempt to justify or explain away all of the issues raised. My hope in writing this is that one of you is spurred to actually think for yourself and to shun blind obedience. Remember, during the Nuremburg trials it was declared that the defense of “just following orders” was not a defense. That individuals had the right as well as the duty to disobey orders when they went against God’s law.