Forty Years of Emergency Powers Unmasked

Hey, Coronavirus Emergency, am I right? ♪♫ My Corona!♫♪ Yep, everyone's just stunned to death about the unprecedented assault upon their rights... yehhh... about that. It's tough to find a recent report that does more than throw Trumpasms, but this article from 2014 noted that we were at that time operating under 30 separate national emergencies, each of which have given the POTUS extraordinary powers over us (some more info here), and one of them had been renewed by each president from Jimmy Carter thru Barack Obama (I'm not sure if Trump has, but I wouldn't be surprised).

Yes, our ability to exercise our individual rights is in peril, but the biggest threat by far, IMHO, comes from our not knowing what they even are, let alone what they entail, and - except for the conveniences and political squirrel of the moment - our lack of interest in ensuring that our laws should limit government's role and powers to upholding & defending our individual rights, lives and property.

'Social Distancing' is soOo drastic... right? Let me ask you, which do you think expresses a greater disregard for your individual rights and liberty, the state's power to make a person wear a mask, or its power to forcefully come between a parent and their child? Do you know who already knows what your answer to that is? Uncle Sam, and he knows what your answer to that is, because way back in 1909 a key designer of America's school systems, said that "Each year the child is coming to belong more to the State and less and less to the parent.", and that power has increased every year for 111 years, and today there's not a state in the union that doesn't consider a parent to have less of a claim to their child, than the state does. And that power needs no emergency to excuse its being used.

And a mask is what you're freaking out over?

Yeah, your ability to exercise your individual rights is in peril. Surprise.

If you want Uncle Sam to be concerned about how you feel, first you've got to show some sign that you understand why he should be.

/rant

MONA - Defending Your Rights Away

The Kansas City Star has done a good job of smearing Missouri activist Ron Calzone over his opposition to a proposed bill 'that would add protections for LGBTQ Missourians'. But whatever you might think of Ron or his reasoning on this, what you really should consider is that laws such as these do not add to anyone's rights, they take away from everyone's rights and add to government's power over us all.

I oppose this Missouri Nondiscrimination Act (MONA) for the same reasons that I've opposed all of the various RFRA's (Religious Freedom Restoration Act), because they infringe upon the liberty of everyone. Each of these 'protections' implicitly presume that you and I lack the right and power to make our own decisions unless we have 'legitimate', govt approved reasons, for doing so, despite what the the 1st Amendment, and the 9th Amendment, and the 10th Amendment and the Contract clause of Article 1, Section 10, Clause 1, have to say on the matter.

The law, properly, defines the boundaries of our actions, not what they should be or how pleasing they have to be to popular sensibilities, moral or otherwise - that is the very meaning of the 1st Amendment! When we err and violate that hard rule 'for the greater good', we then put govt in the position of defining the morality which we then all Must adhere to - which has the affect of eliminating the moral quality from it. Worse, because we've given Govt the Power to make that choice, having made it, it can then change its mind as it sees "legitimately" fit, whichever way the popularity needle happens to point to in the shifting demographics of the day.

Whatever good intentions a bill like this might ride into law on the backs of today, you can be sure that there will be those in power tomorrow who, caring not one whit about the 'good intentions' which put that power into their hands, will wring every drop of power from it to serve their own purposes tomorrow.

Obama and the far left: Not even lying

Everyone it seems, from all walks of life, are upset that the Obama Administration has not only lied about -and take your pick of NSA, IRS, Benghazi, ObamaCare - but shows no regret for having done so. Jon Stewart is driven nuts by it:, even Bill Mahr is calling them out over it. The UK's Daily Mail is appalled over the 29 (I think it's closer to 37, but who's counting) repeats of 'If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period.', and while White House press secretary Jay Carney isn't quite clear on what the issue is, even Congress, which you'd think knows a thing or two about lying, is flustered by their behavior.

My reaction? You've got to be kidding me.

Jon, Congress, UK, guys... your surprise shows that you're missing something important here; something important about this administration, and, to some extent, about yourselves as well. These guys are  not doing what you on occasion (some more often than others) do, telling lies, in truth they aren't even lying.

A liar is someone who, at the very least, is aware of, and is concerned about, what the truth. is. If there is one thing a liar knows, it is what the truth is! And in telling lies, the liar is concerned about what the truth could do to them if it became widely known. While a liar will do everything they can to hide it, they still have a healthy fear of and respect for, what the truth actually is.

We should be so lucky as to have liars in, and supporting, this administration.

What do I mean? Ask yourself, what is the typical reaction of a liar when called out on their lies?

Anxiety, embarrassment, panic, desperate evasion, bluster, and, at least over being caught, regret... right?

Can you really call out the Obama administration and those of like mind on those points?

Early on, well after telling the American people 'If you like your healthcare, you can keep it' numerous times, the president said bad politicos had slipped some language into the ObamaCare bill which put that oft repeated promise in jeopardy. And then, he and his fellows went right on saying that 'If you like your healthcare, you can keep it', time and time again.

Get clear on that. He acknowledged that it was no longer possibly true. The Truth of the matter was out there. Then he went right along repeating the same usefully comforting, but untrue, assurance.

Think.

Only now that it has become common knowledge that that is not, and cannot be the case, have they now modified their comment to 'If you like your healthcare, and it hasn't changed, then you can keep it', which they are now earnestly repeating as if that was what they had meant all along.

Not only is there no plausibility here, but there is no fear of being revealed as having been, and currently telling, words which convey no measurable amount of truth in them.

Why?

Because they aren't even lying. They aren't concerned with hiding the truth, they are only concerned with creating the result they want. To them, truth and falsehood are simply adjectives of marginal interest (when useful), to be applied only as useful means for achieving their ends. Period.

Liars respect the truth and work around it. This bunch, within and without the White House, do not. They have no regard for, or thought for, what is true... or even any sign that they acknowledge that such a thing is of importance. What they do have, is a set of goals they want to achieve, a plan for achieving them, and whether or not those goals will accomplish what they say they will, doesn't even enter into their plans or considerations.

They know where they are. They know where they want to be. Even their goals are only a means of getting what they want. They know what they want, and based upon what that truly is, they are pursuing the only means to achieving them: Power. They pursue power, and what they want, is power, for it's own sake, and happiness, let alone the pursuit of it, doesn't figure into their plans at all.

That leaves quaint issues such as 'lies' and 'truth', as little more than useful things to be noted here and there only in so far as they sway you into helping them achieve their ends, and they will say what they think needs to be said, and in what manner, in order to get there. If denial seems to be useful, they'll deny. If apologizing seems to get them what they want, they'll apologize. If, like Hilary, they think a show of frustration might be useful, they'll give that a whirl and see what difference it might make; they'll cheerfully trot out whatever words seem most likely to help them accomplish their next step. Not because those words have any relation to being true, and not with any concern for whether or not some or all of them might be false. They know where they are, they know where they want to be, and they have a notion of what they need to say in order to cause the right reactions in a select set of useful people... and for them, that's what the purpose of words are.

To get you what you want. For the greater good. Not only is that, in their eyes, justification enough, it is all they are concerned about, and being the ones who define just what 'the greater good' is, ensures that it won't interfere with what they want.

And that my friends is what they mean, when they tell you that their words depend upon what the meaning of Is, is.

Not whether or not something is good, or beautiful or true - but because they want it, and whatever it is that you think their words mean, is only a means for them getting what they want.

That's not lying.

Liars know what is true. Liars respect the truth. Liars fear the truth. Liars are concerned about what is true and what is false. When you use words without respect for what is true or false, when you use words as a means of weaponizing those who hear those words, in order to achieve your ends, that's not lying.

That's not even lying.

That's the pursuit of power for power's sake. And for those with enough hubris to believe that they can handle power, that they are capable of wielding the power to do whatever they think is best for others without restraint... their language doesn't even rise to the level of lying - it simply works the levers of public opinion and moves them closer to getting what they desire... their precious.

Is the Obama administration a pack of liars?

Don't I wish.