“The power under the constitution will always be in the people. It is entrusted for certain defined purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of their own choosing; and whenever it is executed contrary to their interest, or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can and undoubtedly will, be recalled.”

~ George Washington (1787)

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Stand by for further fear mongering by the President Of The United States

Well, there’s the solution — let O protect the important stuff, like naval deployments, by reinstating the Pentagon’s money and cutting stuff like cowboy poetry festivals instead. Result: The bill fails, 38-60. So terrified was the White House of the political responsibility of deciding which arms of government should bear the burden of an $85 billion haircut that they actually threatened to veto the bill if it passed.

Cartoon goodness follows, below the fold.  Click to enlarge, as always.

State Justices: "Run free, elected officials! Run free!"

"All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed..."

Although the Washington Constitution makes clear that the people of this state are supposed to be the ultimate political authority and that the powers of the legislature are subject to the will of the people as expressed through their power of initiative and referendum, a majority of the Washington Supreme Court this morning rejected the voters' clearly and repeatedly expressed determination that the legislature's taxing power should be limited.

The most important takeaway from the majority's opinion is that the people are at the mercy of their elected officials.  If they cannot impose restrictions on the legislature through their use of the initiative, their only hope of restraining the legislature is to adopt a constitutional amendment.  But (somewhat ironically) the Washington Constitution requires amendments to originate in the legislature and to earn a two-thirds majority vote in both houses before they are referred to the voters.  As a result, the people can only impose the desired restraints if they get the cooperation of the very body they intend to restrain - which is not exactly a recipe for success because the last thing most lawmakers want is limitations on the laws they can make.  Nevertheless, if Washingtonians intend to affirm the constitution's promise that they are the state's ultimate political authority, they must elect legislators who will agree to submit to them a constitutional amendment giving the people a more adequate means of exercising that political authority.
VIA Freedom Foundation.  Check here for updates.

UPDATE:  Justice Jim Johnson on this decision, through the Freedom Foundation. Click to enlarge.


Remember civics class in school?

 Are you more knowledgeable than the average citizen? The average score for all 2,508 Americans taking the following test was 49%; college educators scored 55%. Can you do better? Questions were drawn from past ISI surveys, as well as other nationally recognized exams.
Take the test, and see where you stand, civic knowledge wise!

ZoNation on Abortion

Thursday Cartoons


Opinions and news for Thursday

The Constitution, Bill of Rights

Liberal Mindset

Budget Battle

Foreign Policy

Second Amendment

It's The Economy

Looking Ahead

Local Government, Taxes

State Government, Taxes

Tyranny

ObamaCareTax

Media

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

ABC: The next 'Bona Fide Organ of State Propaganda’?

The headline:  ABC claims Michelle Obama's remarks about 'automatic weapons' cut for time

The quote in question:



Note the facts, which were ignored by the First Lady Of The United States.

(Headline borrowed from Jammie Wearing Fool).

Wednesday Cartoons


Wednesday opinions and news

Liberal Mindset

Tyranny

Big Government, Corruption

Looking Ahead

Budget Battle

ObamaCareTax

State Government, Taxes

Politics

Bill of Rights

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

"A person with a gun and a government badge asked me to swear in writing that a lie was true today"

This was linked in today's news round-up, but deserves an emphasis all it's own:

If you want proof that the Obama Administration is clueless....

...about the state of America, look no further than here:


We're in the best of hands.

Universal Background Checks = Universal Registration

From the lips of Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY):




Registration is the first step towards confiscation.  This has been demonstrated even here in the United States, by the state legislatures in New York, Illinois, and others.  The Senate Judiciary Committee will be hearing gun control bills soon.  Get involved -- write your Congressional delegation today

Tuesday Cartoons


Tuesday news & opinions

State Government, Taxes, Bill of Rights

Tyranny


Budget Battle

 Foreign Policy

Media

Looking Ahead

Corruption, Big Government

Second Amendment

Socialism, Communism

United Nations

ObamaCareTax

Monday, February 25, 2013

Monday Cartoons


Monday news & opinions

Looking Ahead

Media

Budget Battle

ObamaCareTax

Local Government, Education

State Government, Legislation, Taxes, It's The Economy

 Politics, Corruption

Legislation

Second Amendment

Sunday, February 24, 2013

GOAL Report #6

GOAL Post, #2013-6

Legislative Update from Olympia, 22 February 2013

NEW BILLS INTRODUCED
POLICY COMMITTEE CUT-OFF -- MOST GUN BILLS DIE
FISCAL COMMITTEE CUT-OFF NEXT FRIDAY

Two additional firearm-related bills were filed over the past week.  SB 5739, by Sen. Ed Murray (D-43), would allow counties or cities to ban firearms in public parks and other recreation areas.  SB 5831, by Sen. Ann Rivers (R-18), would prohibit double taxation of clay pigeons bought by non-profit gun clubs who collect sales tax when selling rounds of trap/skeet.  SB 5739 was NOT scheduled for a public hearing.  SB 5831 will be heard in Senate Ways & Means next Tuesday (2/26).

Today is the first major culling of bills filed   To date, more than 2,800 bills have been filed for this legislative biennium (2013-14).  Bills that did not make it out of their original policy committee by the end of business today are theoretically considered dead for the remainder of the session.  They may be reconsidered during any special session or in the 2014 session.  I say theoretically because the cut-offs are an arbitrary date adopted at the beginning of a session.  If sufficient pressure is brought to bear, a bill may be resurrected.

The 2013 session sets a record: more than 30 firearm-related bills have been filed.  This is a first in the 20 years I have been lobbying in Olympia.  Eleven of the 30 are good bills, most of the rest are either overtly bad or containing sections that do not protect the rights of gun owners.

At this time it appears at least 18 bills failed to make the cut-off and should be considered dead for the session.  These include most of the pro-gun bills and some of the bad ones as well.  Again, a committee chair has full discretion as to which bills he or she moves or lets die.

Ten firearm-related bills remain under consideration.  In this issue of GOAL Post I have listed ALL of the bills and their current status.  Next week I will delete those bills that died in committee.

Bills that have a fiscal impact on the state require a second hearing in one of the legislative fiscal committees (House Appropriations or Fiscal or Senate Ways & Means).  This is to allow the legislature to identify where the funding will come from to fund the bill's requirements.  Or that's the way it's supposed to work!  The last opportunity for these bills to be heard in their original chamber (House or Senate) is next Friday, 1 March.

Bills in the House or Senate Rules Committees sit there until leadership decides they want to bring them to the floor for a full vote.  In many cases, they're waiting on drafting of floor amendments.

While SB 5660, the bill that would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop a firearms safety education program along the lines of the NRA's "Eddie Eagle" program failed to pass out of committee, a similar Senate Joint Memorial (SJM 8006) did pass.  Unfortunately, a Memorial can only recommend a course of action, not require it.

BILL STATUS: [below the fold]

Sunday News and Opinions

State Government, Taxes

Media, Civil Discourse

Taxes

Budget Battle

Politics

Second Amendment

Sunday Cartoons


Saturday, February 23, 2013

“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”

The title quote is from  George Santayana, and it remains the truth.  We are going through changes in America, changes which some people claim to be for the better.  Amongst these changes are the way our government no longer works.  We are often subjected to demagoguery, falsehoods, and even outright propaganda from our own government, not to mention the media.  Of these, the most intense and emotional debate has been over the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms under Second Amendment.

While the Second Amendment is not the highest priority problem we face, it certainly ranks near the top.  And, if nothing else, the debate raging over the Second Amendment is bringing the best and the worst in elected officials and the self-appointed elite.  Here are a few examples of the bad:
Of course there's good things happening in this debate as well.  Senator Ted Cruz was spot on during the Senate gun control hearing.  Then we had the House of Representatives dig into the corruption of "Fast & Furious", which allowed innocent Mexicans and American law enforcement agents to be murdered as a pretext for gun control.  And many gun companies are taking a moral stand against tyranny.

But we need to realize that many elected and appointed officials do not support our Constitutional rights.  Take our own state legislature as an example.  We are told that members of that elective body made a "mistake" or "did not understand" what they were agreeing to sponsor, notably HB1588 and SB5737.  These defenses have been proven wrong, and demonstrated to be disastrous for the same law abiding citizens that those elected officials claim to be protecting. 

On the high side, this is incompetence on their part.   On the low side, it's an outright attempt to deceive the voters to push agendas not of our liking.

There's no evidence that we were deliberately lied to. But hearing "Oops!" from elected officials on something this serious certainly doesn't instill a sense of confidence in voters.  "I'm too stupid to notice what I'm proposing" is disingenuous behavior.  At best. 

We need politicians who are honest about what they want.  Even if we don't like it.  Because then the dishonesty would be out in the open, and we could debate it honestly.

Which brings us to the point of this post.  If the sponsors of HB1588 and SB5737 actually want to impose draconian gun control laws on us, there are plenty of historical precedents on the matter.  Below the fold is a classic example of gun control, one that many people seem to have forgotten....and the results of that gun control effort.

Saturday Cartoons


Saturday News

Civil Discourse

Media

It's the Economy, Financial

Tyranny
 
Politics, Corruption

Second Amendment


State Government, Legislation, Taxes

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Light posting again

It'll be on and off throughout the week, except for the daily cartoons. 

Wednesday Cartoons

Click and enjoy!


Wednesday news (update =*)

State Government, Taxes, Legislation, Second Amendment

Liberal mindset, Tyranny

Big Government, EPA, Corruption

Budget Battle

Politics

Legislation

ObamaCareTax

 Looking Ahead

Media

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

NRA-ILA Alert: HB1588 heads for the House floor


Today, House Bill 1588, legislation that could criminalize private sales of firearms and lead to handgun registration, was amended and reported by the House Judiciary Committee by a 7-6 vote.  HB 1588 is now headed to the House Rules Committee before going to the floor of the state House of Representatives. It is imperative that you contact your state Representatives and the members of the House Rules Committee TODAY and urge them to oppose HB 1588.

Sponsored by state representatives Jamie Pederson (D-43), Mike Hope (R-44) and 36 other state representatives, HB 1588 could criminalize all private sales of firearms. This bill mandates a $20 fee (tax) to conduct a background check.  All private firearm sales would be required to be brokered by licensed gun dealers and it is unlikely that $20 would cover their cost.  A likely outcome is dealers refusing to process these transactions, potentially bringing all legal private firearm sales to a halt.

HB 1588 is unworkable in its current form, as it conflicts with federal law.  Furthermore, if it was able to be implemented as drafted, it would create a database of all privately sold handguns since ALL dealer handgun deliveries are registered with the state.

This bill is nothing more than a regulatory scheme that would create a huge burden for law-abiding citizens, would be unenforceable and would be ignored by criminals anyway. It is truly nothing more than a precursor to Universal Firearm REGISTRATION!

More below the fold:

The NRA: Never Again

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, local authorities in New Orleans set out to confiscate all firearms in the region. By doing so they created "gun free zones" where only criminals & law enforcement were armed. These officials seemed oblivious to the principle that, "gun laws only take guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens". Criminals don't obey the law. Criminals take advantage of situations where people are unable to defend themselves.

Watch this video, produced by the NRA, telling the stories of the citizens on New Orleans.

Part 1:



Part 2:

Tuesday Cartoons

Click and enjoy!


Tuesday news

Looking Ahead

It's The Economy

Big Government, EPA, Corruption

Media

Core Values

Liberal Mindset, Tyranny

Second Amendment

State Government, Budget Battle

ObamaCareTax

Monday, February 18, 2013

NRA-ILA Alert


Pressure is building in Olympia to pass HB 1588, which is a bill that could criminalize private transfers of firearms and lead to handgun registration. It is absolutely imperative for your state legislators to hear from you TODAY.

Yesterday, House Bill 1588 was heard by the House Judiciary Committee. Sponsored by state Representatives Jamie Pederson (D-43), Mike Hope (R-44) and thirty-six other state representatives, HB 1588 could criminalize all private sales of firearms. This bill mandates a $20 fee (tax) to conduct a background check. All private firearm sales would be required to be brokered by licensed gun dealers and it is unlikely that $20 would cover their cost.  A likely outcome is dealers refusing to process these transactions, potentially bringing all legal private firearm sales to a halt.

HB 1588 is unworkable in its current form, as it conflicts with federal law.  Furthermore, if it was able to be implemented as drafted, it would create a database of all privately sold handguns since ALL dealer handgun deliveries are registered with the state.

This bill is nothing more than a regulatory scheme that would create a huge burden for law-abiding citizens, would be unenforceable and would be ignored by criminals anyway. It is truly nothing more than a precursor to Universal Firearm REGISTRATION!  For more information on this misguided measure, please see our previous report.

HB 1588 is scheduled for vote in the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, February 19 at 10:00 a.m.  The contact information for committee members is provided below.

[Local note:  Terry Nealey, from our District is on the House Judiciary Committee, and plans to vote against him.  Express your thanks to him for his support of the Second Amendment.]

What's your view on HB1588?

What do you think of HB 1588, "Universal Background Checks"?  The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin has a poll up.  Take a moment, and express your opinion.

By Laws for the Walla Walla TEA Party Patriots

We adopted a set of by-laws for our group at the February meeting, as the first step towards formally incorporating as a not-for-profit education organization with the State of Washington.  A permanent link to the by laws are now on the sidebar. 

GOAL Post, 2013-5

Legislative Update from Olympia,  15 February 2013

POLICY COMMITTEE CUT-OFF NEXT FRIDAY
MORE NEW BILLS FILED
PUBLIC HEARINGS HELD
EXECUTIVE SESSION HELD
BILL(S) PASS OUT OF COMMITTEE
EXECUTIVE SESSION SCHEDULED
PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED

First, a brief tutorial on bill action.  A committee chair has almost total control over whether he or she chooses to act on a bill (there is a procedure to "relieve a committee" of a bill, but it's rarely invoked).  To move through the process, a bill must normally receive a public hearing, where citizens (and lobbyists) have an opportunity to testify orally or submit a written statement about a bill.  After consideration of the public input, the bill may be scheduled for "executive action" (a vote out of committee, usually done in conjunction with public hearings on other bills).  This is typically when bills may be amended to reflect approved changes.  Again, it is the committee chair's call as to whether to move forward with a bill or not.  If a bill is voted out of committee, a "bill report" is published, outlining any changes, summarizing testimony, and what the vote was (which legislators voted "aye" or "no" to move the bill.  A bill then goes to the Rules Committee to await a pull to the full chamber (House or Senate) floor for a vote, or to one of the fiscal committees if the bill has fiscal impact.

Next Friday is the first chamber policy committee cut-off.  Nominally, all bills that have failed to get a hearing and be voted out of the policy committee are dead for the session (again, exceptions can be made).  Most of the gun bills filed this year have NOT had a public hearing and will likely die next Friday (22 February).  The following week I'll cull the "Bill Status" listing to reflect only those bills still in play -- still under consideration..

Several new bills were introduced this week (keep in mind there is only one week left before the policy committee cut-off).  HB 1839 by Rep. Roger Goodman (D-45) completes the action taken two years ago when successful completion of a federal NICS check was added to the requirement for issue of a Concealed Pistol License.  ATF approved Washington as a NICS-alternative state, meaning anyone with a valid CPL issued on or after 22 July 2011 did not have to undergo a new NICS check to purchase a firearm.  This final step amends Washington law to waive the NICS check.  HB 1840, also by Rep. Roger Goodman (D-45), expands the number of restraining or protective orders that include prohibition of firearm possession.  HB 1908 by Rep. Elizabeth Scott (R-39) amends Washington's "gun free school zone" law to allow firearm possession by contract security personnel and adds an exception for transiting school property to enter hunting areas.  SB 5737 by Sen. Ed Murray (D-43) is a reprise of the "assault weapon" ban bill that failed to pass out of committee several years ago, with a new twist: it bans ANY barrel with a threaded muzzle than can accept a suppressor.  Duh!  Suppressors are LEGAL in Washington, Senator..

Yes, Sadly So


Monday Cartoons

Click to enjoy!


Monday news & opinions

Politics, Corruption, Big Government, EPA

Liberal Mindset, Tyranny, Chicago, Communism

It's The Economy

Bill of Rights

State Government

Media

ObamaCareTax

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Economic Indicators prove Reagan was right and compassionate conservatism is wrong

Courtesy of Liberty Bell,  here is "Seriously?  A Layman’s Look at How Political Ideology Impacts the  Economy And Other Interesting Stuff," by Lawrence Farey (unpublished report).

It's lengthy, but worth a read.  Here's the report abstract:
Using generally accepted economic indicators, President Reagan's traditional conservative policies had a three times better success rate for the economy than any president since Reagan.

If President Bush 1 and President Clinton continued to follow President Reagan's policies the Federal government would have had a surplus one year earlier than President Clinton's surplus.

Compassion conservative policies yield the same results for economic indicators as modern Liberal policies. Economically there is no difference between compassionate conservatives and modern liberals.

Are we becoming Europe? Economic indicators prove we are already there.

The data sources for this report are: Fiscal Year 2013 Analytical Perspectives from the Budget of the U.S. Government Office of Management and Budget, US Census Bureau, The Tax Foundation, IMF, World Bank, UN, OECD, CIA World Factbook, Internet World Statistics, The Heritage Foundation and Transparency International.

SUPPORT THE 2ND AMENDMENT

The Oregon Council on Firearms Rights will host a rally on Saturday, February 23, 2013, at 12:00 PM at Til Taylor Park in Pendleton, Oregon.

Supporters need to make a visible showing in support of the 2nd Amendment. Umatilla County Sheriff, Terry Rowan, will be a speaker.

Sunday Cartoons

Click and enjoy!


Friday, February 15, 2013

Light posting again

Have a great weekend!

Friday Cartoons

Click and enjoy!


News for Friday!

Politics

Tenth Amendment, Big Government, EPA

It's the Economy, Taxes, Unions

ObamaCareTax

Elections

Liberal Mindset

Foreign Policy

State Government, Budget Battle

State Of The Union

Media

Education

Second Amendment

Liberal Mindset, Tyranny

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Shall Not Be Infringed

New Jersey and Colorado are looking to ban weapons and magazines across the board, as nearly draconian as New York and California.  Other states are in line to do so:


Not all of them are certain to pass.  But it's clear that this is a concerted effort.  It is happening here in Washington.  It is happening in the United States.

Contact your Congressional and State representatives.  Urge them not to support gun control laws.  Links are on the side bar.

    Thursday Cartoons

    Click and enjoy!


    Thursday news & opinions

    State Of The Union

    State Government, Taxes, Second Amendment

    It's The Economy, Taxes, Budget Battle

    Bill of Rights

    Media

    Politics

    Liberal Mindset

    Wednesday, February 13, 2013

    Wednesday Cartoons

    Click and enjoy!


    Wednesday news & opinions

    Big Government, Bill of Rights, Corruption

    ObamaCareTax

    State Government, Agenda 21

    Budget Battle

    Foreign Policy

    Politics

    State Of The Union

    Media

    Liberal Mindset, Tyranny

    Second Amendment