Thursday, January 1, 2009

What I Believe (Part 1)


Some of you might be wondering exactly who does this Frog guy think he is, and what does he believe? (If you are not one these, please feel free to skip to the next post, which will again be witting, annoying and amusing, all at the same time...:D).

What follows are some of my beliefs. The list is not intended to be complete, and there are some areas which will require more nuance than I care to input. You'll just have to ask if I confuse you...:D Some of the concepts listed might make you think I'm a crank - I am, but not for the items you will see...:D Again, just ask and I will explain.

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I believe a person has the sole right to the product of their work. That person is under no obligation to share that product for any reason externally forced upon him. Invalid reasons to give up the product of ones labors include taxation, guilt, and non-contractual "obligations" of any kind.

I believe a person has the right to defend himself if attacked, and an obligation to prepare a defense against force. Objectivists believe that this right of defense only extends to the individual who has attacked you. I say that if a representative of a group attacks you, you have the right to defend against that person and the group he represents.

The U.S. Constitution, as written and including the Bill of Rights, was the most enlightened governing document ever produced in the history of government on the Earth. Sadly, it has been used and abused almost from Day One by the very people it was supposed to restrict. Some of these "abuses" were ultimately good things (i.e. "Judicial Review"). Most were not. Examples of these violations include the Social Security, the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, and the Interstate Highway System.

Some areas and amendments of the Constitution have been deliberately misinterpreted to further various different agendas. Some of these abuses include the 14th Amendment ("Anchor Babies"), the 10th Amendment (too many abuses to list), and the 2nd Amendment (various laws restricting gun ownership, and reducing access to ammo).

The failure to secure the borders of the United States by elected governments of this country, especially in the face of massive waves of illegal immigration and terrorist threats, constitute virtual treason on its face. All members of Congress who failed to vote for border enforcement, and any President who did not sign approved legislation should be brought up on charges of Treason.

I believe that no one has the right to stop another adult from doing what they need to with their body. This includes abortion, prostitution, selling of your own internal organs, drug abuse, tobacco & alcohol, and suicide. That having been said, please don't expect me to pay for any procedures you choose to have (abortion), or any care that is a result of your choices (drug detox, cancer care for smokers, liver transplants for alcoholics).

States Rights trump Federal Rights. County/City Rights trump States Rights. And Individual Rights trump them all.

That having been said, there does not exist a right to "not be offended." These jackasses who go on about public religious displays because they are Atheists or something need to get over themselves. If you don't like it, don't look at it. I believe public land can be made available this purpose as appropriate for the time of year and as available. Should a government pay for a display? Not the Federal Government as that is specifically barred by the Constitution. A State or Local government can as long as that is not written into their State Constitution, or banned by local ordinance.

The "Separation of Church and State" is a myth, insofar as it does not appear in the Constitution, and does not reflect the true intent of the Founders. Don't believe me? When they signed the Constitution, there was a State Sponsored/endorsed Churches in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, among others. Do you really think they were planning to make those illegal?

I believe that the core statement of Marxism/Socialism, "From Each According to His Ability, To Each According To Their Need" is quite possibly the most Evil statement ever uttered or written by a Man.

I believe if everyone was not only encouraged to own and carry a gun, but in fact was virtually required to do so, the U.S. would have a damn site more polite society (simply because you wouldn't want to piss off Grandma if she could waste you for being snotty).

I believe that the U.S. Supreme Court should not be legislating from the Bench. They should be performing the vital function of reviewing the constitutionality of legislation, and arbitrating conflicts according to the law that exists and not making up something new if its missing. The best example of made up things is Roe v. Wade, because there is no Constitutional Right to Privacy. That issue should have been handled on a State level, not Federal.

I believe that Abraham Lincoln, when he decided to resist the secession of the Southern States to the Confederacy, committed Treason against the Constitution. It took balls to do what he did, and I admire that. But it was still a treasonous act.

It's getting late, so I'll continue this another night...feel free to comment and I'll clarify anything you might be confused by. And feel free to call me names too, but be prepared to defend them...:D

6 comments:

  1. I'd be very much interested in learning more about your views on abortion and Abraham Lincoln committing treason by not allowing the south to secede. email me sometime jdgaby at gmail dot com

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  2. Dear DFG,

    Regarding Lincoln and secession, I've thought some about this myself. Here's what I've concluded.

    We can assume that not every southerner wanted to secede, even if it was a popular position in the south. Those who didn't want to secede but who were caught in the secessionist movement were going to be deprived of their constitutional rights through a non-constitutional process.

    The constitution describes the due-process by which one may be deprived of constitutional rights, and secession isn't one of them. So Lincoln, in order to defend the constitutional rights of all Americans, had to oppose this non-constitutional action.

    IMHO,
    Hank

    http://www.twitter.com/hankracette

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  3. To jdgaby, I'll shoot you an email this weekend...

    To Hank, that's an interesting concept, except for one fact: the elected representatives of those citizens *did* vote for secession (or at least enough to make it possible). As the basic system of the Confederacy was virtually identical to the Constitution of the United States, the rights of the individuals were protected as far as that went. And anyone that wanted to leave was free to do so (for the most part). Technically, Jefferson Davis committed treason against the Confederate Constitution when he jailed the members of the "East Tennessee" faction and held them without trial, preventing them from seceding from the secessionists (is that confusing enough?). So the argument that Lincoln had to protect the rights of those in the South who did not want to secede is a little thin...plausible but thin..

    To John Lofton - For the record, I do not care that you "do not care." I guess that makes us even.

    -Paul

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  4. With the incoming Obama Administration, I highly doubt any of us will be free...:D

    Or are you asking me to run for office...? Not sure I could afford the cut in pay...:D

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