Posted by KenBerry on 10/20/10
Last updated 10/20/10

In my ongoing quest to prove that Democrats are merely confused and misguided Constitution-libertarians, I have unearthed yet another hidden treasure revealing the deep and abiding faith of the Democratic Party in States Rights. If you will look here at the platform of the 1912 Democratic Party you will find the following quote:

This language is stunning to say the least. I could pull it apart and kiss it, word by juicy word... After reading this, who among us can doubt the Democratics undying faith in power and truth of the States Rights doctrine? This is the beautiful eloquence of political language that once was, and must be again. The rebirth of the American Republic requires thought of this depth and breadth.

Modern Democrats may initially be put off by this passage, but further reading and study will reveal to them what they have known all along, that over-reaching federal power always curtails the liberties of The People. That the 1912 Democrats believed this strongly in the absolute sovereignty of States Rights makes it a little easier to overlook other comments in this document about income tax and popular election of Senators...

Continue to prepare fellow Americans, the rebirth of Liberty is at hand.

Posted 10/21/10 EdwardRBurgess Saint Albans, WV

the pre 1972 Democrat Party is not the post 1972 Democrat Party.

Posted 10/21/10 ProIndividual Rutland, OH

The party of the Jackass (President Jackson) is not what it was. Jackson ended the federal bank, and paid off the national debt (the only president to ever do so). Today's Dem Party (and Repub for that matter) have an ideology, not a philosophy. They are sophists, not philosophers. Neither party stands for anything near what they did, both have great philosophies that are dead and buried. They forsake philosophy for demographics of voters in voting blocks...to win, instead of serving. So wtf did they win? I'm not sure. But I do know that we all lost because of it. Parties are meaningless, when you have limited choices. Whether 2, or 10, parties are irrelevant once the multiple "choices" are all pre-determined and limited, as they are now. Free choice is not 2 choices, it's unlimited choices. Washington warned us this factinalization would ultimately destroy our nation in his Farewell Adress.

Posted by KenBerry on 10/14/10

As the national and state economies continue to deteriorate, it only stands to reason that local economies will also suffer.  For many decades, county governments have depended on free money from the state and federal levels to keep their gears turning.  Now, as that money begins to dry up, county government is left with two choices; either decrease spending or tax its citizens more.  Some among us would phrase this "cut services or tax more" but I would posit that county government -- other than roads, schools and law enforcement -- provides very few things the average citizen considers a service.  Here are eight ideas that should increasingly saturate county government:

1. Audit something! - There is waste in every department in your county; it may be large or it may be small, but if you look hard enough you will find waste.  Our county recently completed an audit of telecommunication services and the results were both amazing, and nauseating.  Some departments had more than one phone-line that, although unused for years, had been costing the county about thirty bucks/month.  The Sheriffs department had been costing the county over $750/month in unneeded/unused phone lines and obsolete radio tower equipment.  This audit will wind up saving our small county over $17,000 annually, while improving overall telephone and Internet quality!  Finding this type of saving does not impair the counties ability to do its job, and makes you a hero in the eyes of the people.  Don't be lulled into depending on the annual state audit; a wise commissioner was heard to say, "The annual State audit looks for fraud, it does not look for stupidity".  It is the job of the County Commission to look for stupidity and waste and fraud.  If you aren't doing that on a daily basis, you aren't serving The People.
2. Cut costs - The County Commission holds the purse-strings.  Some department heads will be immediately on-board with cutting costs and expenses, and downsizing; some, however, will have to be dragged to these concepts kicking and screaming...

             &n
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Posted 10/15/10 rightsman Las Vegas,, NV

KenBerry, "All politics is local." With that idea in mind, the City and County Governments can be brought in line by using the methods you described. "Audit Something", should be the watchword of every local government. I laughed out loud when I read that line, it makes so much sense. State audits look for fraud - maybe - but they look with blinders on. The stupidity that is overlooked is also a fraud. The elected official who stupidly increases the cost of government is a fraud. He is not smart enough to do the job that was promised. This is an excellent post. No complaints, just solutions, and we need all of them that we can get. Thank you, Robert Walker

Posted by KenBerry on 05/27/10
Last updated 05/27/10

During a recent bout of what I like to call hard-cord web-research (Ms. Bridget calls it by another, less printable term) I stumbled upon the Platform of the Democratic Party for the election of 1840, consisting of nine planks. Wondering if the Democratic Party had evolved much in the last 170 years, I began to read.

After almost every plank, three thoughts kept racing into my mind. First, Hey, I totally agree with that; and second, I wonder what President Obama and the democratic leadership would think about this, third, this stuff is too conservative for main-steam Republicans, much less Democrats! Apparently, a Constitutional-libertarian is the same as an 1840 Democrat. I have numbered and bolded each plank of their platform, and made what I think are some quite clever comments on each. Peruse the planks below and see where you stand.

      1. Resolved, that the federal government is one of limited powers, derived solely from the constitution, and the grants of power shown therein, ought to be strictly construed by all the departments and agents of the government, and that it is inexpedient and dangerous to exercise doubtful constitutional powers.

First off, what does "Resolved." mean? Evidently, way back in 1840, they actually voted on the planks to be included in the party's platform, giving the people an actual say in what their party stood for. Secondly, no, I didn't make any of this up! Can you believe that last part? {it is inexpedient and dangerous to exercise doubtful constitutional powers} Wow! Haven't Democrats been saying that very thing lately? Third, I feel myself wanting to automatically agree with anyone speaking of the "limited powers" of the federal government. Fourth, the language is so superior and correct that my word processor's spell checker is feeling a bit deprived.

      2. Resolved, that the constitution does not confer upon the general government the power to commence and carry on, a general system of improvements.

Bingo! Two for two. So these democrats are saying that we shouldn't try to stimulate the economy by funding road improvements not really needed, and putting up an expensive little sign proclaiming who and what had happened to the road? A Democrat would never spend taxed money on improvements to stimulate the economy or on a mandated health-care system; they would wisely recognize the economic folly of any such project, not to mention its unconstitutionality.

      3. Resolved, that the constitution does not confer authority upon the federal government, directly or indirectly, to assume the debts of the several states, contracted for local internal improvements, or other state purposes; nor would such assumption be just or expedient.

Perhaps certain Republican Governors...

(Click here to read the article at NolanChart.com)

Posted by KenBerry on 06/19/09
Last updated 06/19/09

 Locavore (noun) An individual who chooses to either grow and create produce and goods personally, or to procure them locally from known and trusted sources, in order to help grow and stabilize the local micro-economy, and to ensure a dependable local source of these goods in order to protect against the potential loss of more distant sources. --my own definition.

Growing your own food and encouraging local food production is good self-reliance and a sure sign of wisdom. The pseudo-libertarian argument that one should buy the cheapest head of lettuce without second thought as to its origins is both simplistic on its surface and dangerous at its core. Self-preservation is the bedrock of all objective libertarian thought, with self-reliance and self-rule being its mortar and its forms. One cannot have self-rule without self-preservation, thus food and water must both be directly controlled and produced or one should have a backup plan for their procurement that does not include them riding in a truck from another state or country. Without this most basic level of preparation, all higher levels of learning and training are but folly. This is not to say that we must grow all our own food, but that we ought to be able to grow all our own food.

Many of us have grown up thinking produce comes from supermarkets. For decades this inane lifestyle was pseudo-sustainable and a generation grew up with no need of gardens or farms. During these same decades, a grossly over reaching federal government actually encouraged this lifestyle perhaps unintentionally by subsidizing such companies as DuPont, Cargill, ADM and Bunge, Ltd, and essentially paying smaller farmers NOT to grow crops. As all government encroachment is apt to do, this created a top-heavy agri-economy, without firm foundation, that now threatens collapse. Given the proper set of easily imaginable variables, this country could wake one morning to find nothing on the breakfast table...

Click here to read the rest of this article at NolanChart

Posted by KenBerry on 06/17/09
Last updated 06/19/09

 Recently, the current President of the United States (POTUS) was caught on video giving a curtsy to the king of Saudi Arabia.  This caused a small stir in the media but fell quite short of the public uproar it should have created.  The current administration made a limp attempt to deny this genuflection, but the video is quite straightforward.  Perhaps a slightly deeper look at Saudi Arabia, the office of POTUS, and the American ideals of Liberty and Freedom will reveal why this incident should have been much more upsetting, and unacceptable, than apparently was the case.  This egregious faux pas is an embarrassment to all Americans around the world and should be seen as just outside as the marker of the limits of acceptable behavior for federal employees, the POTUS included.

The office of the POTUS is seen as a figurehead and symbol of America.  I am not condoning this view, just speaking of it...  As such, every move the POTUS makes is seen by the world as a move sanctified, or at least allowed, by The People.  Someone attempting to temporarily fill such a post as POTUS should be always on his/her toes concerning such actions and their interpretation.

The U.S. of A. were founded (if you think that was a typo, you have some reading to do) on the ideals of personal freedom, personal responsibility, and a loathing of all things tyrannical.  In order for humans to live in any substantial population density, we have up until now needed laws, administered by a government, to gently constrain some aspects of human nature.  A government that protected citizens from force, both foreign and domestic, while doing not much else was unheard of prior to the time of the founding.  These ideals were predicated upon a clear disdain of tyranny and all its inherent abuses.  So, almost by definition, the effective figure-head of our society, the POTUS, is obligated not to kneel/bow/genuflect to tyrants, either in person or in effigy...  There is little doubt that the governing family of Saudi Arabia is tyrannical.

The surest sign of a countries freedoms will be found in its laws...

Click to read the rest of this article at NolanChart