Select Networking

William Kostric is to be commended for keeping his cool while under attack by Chris Matthews.  History continues to show that when rights are not exercised they are taken away.  Here’s the clip from Hardball:

Here’s the original report from MSNBC:

The Washington Examiner has an article that has been linked from Drudge about the D.C. Police Chief calling iPhone users ‘cowardly’ for monitoring speed traps.
One would think that slowing speeders down would be a good thing, but no…it’s now cowardly to slow down.  Speed limits are big money for a lot of communities.  It’s not safety first in those areas.  It’s no surprise, when it comes time for a raise they can always state that it is really “revenue-neutral” and not really taking more money from the tax payers.  Speed traps are just another way of taking hard earned money away from the people.  Anything that keeps that money in the pockets of those who have earned it should be applauded.  The fact that speeders are slowing down is a side benefit of this iPhone app…not something that is cowardly or unjust.  D.C. really needs a new police chief.

There are a couple of apps, one of them is Trapster.  People report the locations of cameras and traps so that other users will slow down and avoid a ticket.  This is social networking at its finest where others are influencing the behavior of their online friends…to follow the rules and slow down.  Sad to see that law enforcement is against that.

One of the stories in the news today concerns Governor Sanford of South Carolina.
Several have their feelings hurt that they were not important enough to know that the governor was going to take some time away.  Although I don’t know the circumstances of his trip, I don’t really have any desire to know.  It seems that the people of South Carolina are doing just fine without being in constant contact with their governor.  Those in the South Carolina government who seem to be shouting the most may just need to take a step back and ask themselves if the people really need any of them.  Can people survive without a nanny to watch over them?  I believe they can.  An executive should not have to babysit people who are specialists in their field.  This is truly a non-story except for those who believe the state is all-important.

I listened to Kevin Miller from texaslending.com on KLIF yesterday and was surprised to hear of some of the details in the Obama financial reform plan.  He discussed the strengthening of the large banks and the weakening of smaller institutions which would be a result of these reforms.  Another surprising statement had to do with the proposed 5% holding of mortgages that were sold.  He stated this is more than most small institutions make off the sale of a loan.  I guess there is a reason the large banks are holding on to surplus reserves that were created recently.
If you get a chance and are in the Dallas area, tune into KLIF on Saturday and listen in.  I wasn’t able to jot down the details as I was on the road…but will post articles that discuss it later.

June 19th marks the emancipation of slaves in Texas.  Liberty is something to be protected and this is a great day to think about the state of liberty in our country.
James Aalan Bernsen has written a short article about the history of Juneteenth at the Texas Republic News. 

Finally, belatedly, but justly, freedom came to all Texans on Juneteenth. As history has proven time and time again, the truth failed to live up to the ideal, but nonetheless, the biggest step had been taken.

Paul Crowe has a great article at The Kneeslider in which he discusses how the government would like you to help purchase a motorcycle for your neighbor.  He’s able to summarize what’s going on very succinctly:

Frederic Bastiat once said, “Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.” Unfortunately, we are now living in this fictitious world, or at least, many people are trying to make it come true.

Thanks to Dustin for sending me the link.

The Constitution Party is one party that has the backbone to express what many of us feel about Sotomayor.
Here is a portion of their press release:

The resolution cites Sotomayor’s lack of fidelity to the Constitution in a number of areas including her denial of “ the applicability of the individual right to bear arms protected by the 2nd Amendment to the citizens of the several states;” because “she supports giving voting rights to convicted murderers who are still serving time in prison…”; because “ she has been a member of the National Council of La Raza, (www.humanevents.com) many of the leaders of which favor amnesty for illegal aliens and the return of the southwest United States to Mexico…” and because “she favors racial and ethnic quotas in education and employment…”

An article reports an organization “Claim: Kids who say yuck may be racist”
What would they say about kids who say yuck to broccoli or green salad? Perhaps we should look into why some kids are opposed to vegetarians lest they develop more animosity towards the plant kingdom?

In a move that should not surprise anyone, a well-known Republican Senator has requested Congress to look at reimposing a national speed limit.
He didn’t cite any Constitutional reasoning for his request, just that he would like to see Americans cut fuel consumption and that Congress should have the power to force whatever it wants on the people.
One wonders what the country is coming to when the party of Reagan starts talking this way. Perhaps the States should stop pretending that they have power and just cede all territory and power to the central government. They seem to know what’s best and the Republicans and Democrats are comrades in strengthening that power.

I agree with John McCain that the draft should not be reinstated. Conservatives and liberty-minded citizens have a firm belief in private property. The argument goes that our personal life is our own property and that since we have liberty over our own life, government cannot impose itself on us and force us to work. It ends up being enslavement and forced labor. Through the threat of loss of further liberties, one is then forced into servitude. This flies in the face of the Constitution.
Ronald Reagan had this to say about the draft:

Conscription rests on the assumption that your kids belong to the state. If we buy that assumption then it is for the state — not for parents, the community, the religious institutions or teachers — to decide who shall have what values and who shall do what work, when, where and how in our society. That assumption isn’t a new one. The Nazis thought it was a great idea.

America was founded on the principle of individual liberty — that the government exists to serve, not enslave, the people. Yet conscription is a form of slavery, a horrible and costly exception to America’s founding principle. It is morally repugnant to the ideals of a free society.

Without the draft, unpopular wars are very difficult to fight. The ability to use conscription actually encourages politicians to wage even more wars — the massive resources are a temptation that is hard for the war-lover to resist. When the draft was finally undermined in the 1970s, for example, the Vietnam War ended.

Service to our country is always needed. We have a strong tradition of voluntary service and we have never let our fellow citizens down when help was needed. After 9/11, we witnessed a huge influx of military recruits. People who saw that our nation was attacked and wanted to help defend her. Once the threat is seen and understood, people volunteer. Perhaps I would have used the word “never again” when discussing the draft, but I believe that this was McCain’s way of saying the same thing.