Category: ‘Government & Law’

Sen. Edward Kennedy Dead at Age 77

August 26, 2009 Posted by Trenton Hansen

AP breaking news reveals that Senator Edward Kennedy has died at his home in Hyannis Port.

He was a formidable foe. While anyone’s death is a tragedy to those close to them, I can’t say I will miss him. He’s been a thorn in the side of Conservatism for decades. With him gone, maybe we can now start to recoup some sanity in American politics. Although knowing Ted Kennedy, he’s found a way to influence politics from beyond the grave.

His last endeavor was to try to influence how his successor would be chosen. Several years ago, he helped put in place a new system for choosing Senate successors in Massachusetts based on special elections. In the last couple of weeks, however, he has been working to undo that system and replace it with the appointment method used previously. I guess he decided that the original method was ok after all; once he realized that his term was ending whether he wanted it to or not. He thought he should decide who his successor ought to be.

Kennedy’s death marks the beginning of the end of the Sixties Era and, hopefully, all the garbage that came with it.

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Obama’s Two Faces

July 27, 2009 Posted by Trenton Hansen

It doesn’t matter which party engages in these tactics, rushing through legislation before our elected representatives have a chance to read and debate it is wrong.

Here is audio of Obama on Randi Rhodes’s show on AirAmerica, complaining about the Bush Administration rushing through legislation in 2004. I guess he’s ok with that kind of tactic, as long as his programs are on the line…

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Obama: Constitution Reflects ‘Fundamental Flaw’

July 18, 2009 Posted by Trenton Hansen

Is Obama in violation of his Oath of Office? Obama has taken the Oath to support and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. If the Constitution does reflect a fundamental flaw in this country, as Obama says, then we must assume that one of two things is true.

Either 1) he is supporting and defending something he knows to be fundamentally flawed, which brings into question his judgment or, 2) he is NOT supporting and defending it, which means he is in violation of the Oath, and could therefore be impeached.

A third alternative, which may or may not be true, is that he is actively subverting the Constitution, which means that he must be impeached. His actions in regards to GM and the health care industry (among many others) are unconstitutional, lacking any authority from the People. Whether he is moving forward because he openly disregards the Constitution, or because he simply doesn’t understand its limitations on his power, is the question. As Obama is a professor of Constitutional Law, the latter is unlikely. His statement in the clip below seems to bear that out.

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Utah Democratic Rep Splits with Obama on Health Care

July 15, 2009 Posted by Trenton Hansen

To his credit, Rep. Jim Matheson says he cannot support the idea of socialist health care, but he would like to see some free-market solutions. Good for him!

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This is Torture?

June 27, 2009 Posted by Trenton Hansen

Torture is defined as:

the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty.

Below is a video that shows what the Liberals/Progressives in America have been whining about for the past couple of years. It is a demonstration of waterboarding, as used by American military interrogators. This is what Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the CIA lied to her about. This procedure has only been used  against 3 Islamic Jihadists.

The Left calls this torture. But no-one, not even in the State-run media, has ever demonstrated this for the American public. There’s a reason for that. By calling this torture, and not demonstrating it, the Left is using a form of psychological manipulation. When we cannot see a thing that someone uses a fearful word to describe, our minds fill the gaps in information with terrible images. The best antidote is the truth. That is what we endeavor to bring you here. Show this to everyone you know, especially those who say waterboarding is torture but have never seen it.

This was originally posted on the Weekly Standard:

Playboy journalist Mike Guy got himself waterboarded last month but I missed the video — probably because it doesn’t confirm everything the left already knew to be true and thus has very little news value. On the assumption that many other folks didn’t get the chance to see this, watch the video below. Guy takes it like a man, which isn’t to say that he lasts longer than five seconds — after all, the technique is designed to be extremely unpleasant. But the U.S. military trainer who applies the techniques makes clear that he doesn’t believe it to be torture, and Guy himself isn’t exactly convinced after having suffered through it. He seems to have gotten a buzz off of it. One wonders: if water-boarding really is torture, why are so many folks willing to give it a try? You don’t see people lining up to have their fingernails pulled off.

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NY Times: Sotomayor ‘Able Politician’ on Court

May 29, 2009 Posted by Trenton Hansen

The New York Times column on Sonia Sotomayor gave a good view into their method of thinking when it come to Supreme Court Justices.

Judge Sotomayor’s colleagues on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit say her tough and direct questioning reflects engagement and, sometimes, an effort to persuade her colleagues. Those qualities, coupled with a gregarious personality, they said, make her a powerful force behind the scenes, where she has used her mastery of the cases to change minds, improve opinions and forge consensus.

Those skills, some observers say, could make her an able politician on the Supreme Court and allow her to serve as an intellectual counterweight to Justice Antonin Scalia.

The Supreme Court is not the venue for Politicians, according to the great legal commentator and Jurist, Joseph Story.

The truth is, that, even with the most secure tenure of office, during good behavior, the danger is not, that the judges will be too firm in resisting public opinion, and in defence of private rights or public liberties; but, that they will be ready to yield themselves to the passions, and politics, and prejudices of the day.

The Court was intended to be separate from the political arena, because the Justices were to be impartial. A politician cannot be impartial. By this admission from the New York Times, Judge Sotomayor isn’t qualified to sit on any bench, much less the Supreme Court.

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Our 2,000 Year-Old Constitution?

May 27, 2009 Posted by Trenton Hansen

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US Safer Under Obama?

May 27, 2009 Posted by Trenton Hansen

You can file this one under either Extreme Chutzpah, or You’ve Got To Be Joking.

National security adviser: US safer under Obama.

On the heels of the North Korean flare-up that could precipitate us into a war in Asia (possibly a nuclear war), we are somehow safer under Obama.

Excuse me, Gen. Jones, but George Bush had almost eight years to prove how we were safer–no successful terrorist attacks during that time. That’s a pretty safe record. Hard to beat history, wouldn’t you agree?

But, we are safer with Obama; somehow four months of no attacks is safer than eight years of no attacks.

Only in Washington.

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California Court Ruling on Prop 8 Creates Constitutional Crisis

May 26, 2009 Posted by Trenton Hansen

Proposition 8 is upheld.

In a ruling by the California supreme court, the right of the People to alter their Constitution is held as inviolate.

Ironically, opponents of Prop 8 vowed to continue their fight, using the same means they claimed could not be used to pass Prop 8.

Celebrations by supporters of Prop 8 may be short-lived. The court, unfortunately, also held that the marriages of same-sex couples are valid, creating a Constitutional crisis which may only be resolved by an appeal to the US Supreme Court under an argument that the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause must allow other gay couples to marry. Look for this fight to erupt on the national scene in the next year.

The Court may have upheld the Rights of the People, but it also opened an avenue for retribution.

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Green Policies Let A Child Die Every 30 Seconds

May 26, 2009 Posted by Trenton Hansen

Steve Milloy’s Green Hell Blog has this post today, on the recently revised policies of the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the use of DDT.

The WHO Summary Document seems to be self-contradicting. The document states that Malaria causes 1 million deaths per year, and children are 3/4 of those cases. Malaria also imposes heavy economic burdens in terms of costs of treatment and prevention and lost productivity.

Then the WHO document says that spraying with DDT is “highly effective” at controlling Malaria. So if it is highly effective at controlling Malaria, why discontinue its use?

According to WHO, DDT “is potentially harmful to wildlife and to humans, if not applied in accordance with WHO guidelines and recommendations.” In other words, it isn’t harmful. The guidelines of the WHO for the use of DDT are basic common sense.

The document lists as potential effects of DDT as “childhood neurodevelopment, breast cancer in women, male reproductive health (reduced sperm counts and quality) and to diabetes.” At least some of these claims have already been debunked (e.g., sperm count and breast cancer claims).

Remember, these claims deal with potential harm–not documented, conclusive proof of harm. On the other hand, Malaria is a proven killer, and DDT is proven to control Malaria. Why is this even being debated?

I’ll address this question in a later post.

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