Tag Archives: Examiner

Who Is Setting Up The Voting Machines?

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Last Wednesday I posted an article (rightwinggranny.com) about voting machines in Schaumburg, Illinois, registering a Republican vote as a Democrat vote. That story was based on a Fox News story. Yesterday the Examiner posted a story about voting machines in Maryland that are refusing to let voters vote for Republican candidates.

The article reports:

“When I first selected my candidate on the electronic machine, it would not put the ‘x’ on the candidate I chose — a Republican — but it would put the ‘x’ on the Democrat candidate above it,” reported Donna Hamilton.

“This happened multiple times with multiple selections. Every time my choice flipped from Republican to Democrat. Sometimes it required four or five tries to get the ‘x’ to stay on my real selection,” the Frederick, Md., resident said Thursday.

…two voters in Anne Arundel County experienced the same problem: A touchscreen voting machine switched their Republican votes to Democrats. The voters had to cancel theirs votes and start over.

Joe Torre, election director in Anne Arundel, called it a “calibration issue” involving a single machine.

Hamilton said she notified officials of the problem she encountered at the Frederick County Center, where she voted. “I’m not sure what was done about it. If someone is not paying close attention, they could end up voting for the wrong candidate,” she said.

No kidding. This is not a Republican or Democrat issue–this is an honest elections issue. Both parties need to make sure voting machines are calibrated correctly so that votes get counted correctly. As Americans, we need to be able to trust the integrity of our elections.

The Battle For The Second Amendment

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I apologize in advance for the fact that this will be a rather long article, but I missed the beginning of this story, so I need to catch up.

On March 16th Freedom Outpost posted a story about a raid by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on Ares Armor.

According to the article:

Ares Armor sells what are called “80% lower receivers” to allow a buyer to make his own AR-15 rifle. According to federal law,”The term ‘firearm'” includes “the frame or receiver of” a weapon, but one that is only 80 percent complete does not fall under that category.

When ATF agents began nosing around Ares Armor and started asking questions, the store obtained a temporary restraining order prohibiting the agency from seizing its product line and customer list. A hearing was scheduled for March 20 to litigate the issue.

However, on Saturday, ATF agents raided Ares pursuant to an ex parte order — an order obtained without notice to the other party, in this case Ares — and did just what Ares feared, according to the amateur video below.

You can see the video by following the link to freedom outpost. The article at freedom outpost also explains how the ATF managed to get around the restraining order.

Freedom Outpost posted an article yesterday showing the state government’s response to this raid.

The article reports:

On the heels of the illegal ATF raid on Ares Armor, Idaho Governor Butch Otter signed into law S1332, a bill which will effectively nullify federal gun laws. The nullification legislation will prohibit state enforcement of any future federal act that relates to firearms, accessories or ammunition.

S1332, or as it is commonly referred to as the Idaho Federal Firearm, Magazine and Register Ban Enforcement Act, passed both the house (68-0) and senate (34-0) unanimously.

The article further states:

Other states such as Alaska and Kansas have passed similar legislation. Missouri is in the process of pushing similar legislation through for a second time, after Governor Jay Nixon vetoed the Second Amendment Preservation Act last year. Several other states have introduced their version of the Second Amendment Preservation Act to nullify federal gun laws, including Florida, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Arizona.

The legislation rests on a well-established legal principle known as the anti-commandeering doctrine. Simply put, the federal government cannot force or coerce states into implementing or enforcing federal acts or regulations – constitutional or not. The anti-commandeering doctrine rests primarily on four Supreme Court cases dating back to 1842. Printz v. US serves as the cornerstone. According to that doctrine:
 
“The Federal Government may neither issue directives requiring the States to address particular problems, nor command the States’ officers, or those of their political subdivisions, to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program…such commands are fundamentally incompatible with our constitutional system of dual sovereignty.”

It is unfortunate that we have come to a point where the states have to defend the U. S. Constitution because the federal government is ignoring it.

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Law Enforcement In Connecticut Knows What the Second Amendment Says Even If The Lawmakers Don’t

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Yesterday The Examiner posted an article about the latest development in Connecticut’s war on gun owners.

The article reports:

Gun rights legal expert and activist David Hardy reported Friday that 250 law enforcement officers in Connecticut have signed an open letter stating that they will not enforce the new anti-gun and magazine laws, which they consider to be a violation of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

David Hardy is reporting that Tyler Jackson, the head of the Connecticut Peace Officers Association, has emailed him a letter stating that the head of the Connecticut Peace Officers’ Assn has released an open letter stating that the police will not “be party to the oppression of the people of the state by enforcing an unconstitutional law.” So far 250 LEOs have cosigned the letter.

The Second Amendment states:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Why is the State of Connecticut attempting to disarm its citizens?

Moving to North Carolina from Massachusetts has been something of a culture shock in a number of areas. One of those areas is the attitude toward guns. Generally speaking, I can assume that wherever I am in North Carolina there are probably at least three or four people around me with concealed carry permits that are carrying guns. Although I am not particularly interested in carrying a gun myself, I feel perfectly safe in the midst of people who do concealed carry. Actually, I feel safer than I did in Massachusetts. I know if someone comes into the mall with bad intentions, he will be met with a number of armed citizens with good intentions. That’s a good thing. Most of the mass shootings we have had have been in gun-free zones. People who intend to harm people generally like to do it where they will meet the least resistance. I have no problem with gun permits, but guns should not have to be registered, and they should not be subject to seizure by the state or federal government. Taking guns away from law-abiding Connecticut citizens is not gun control–it is disarming the civilian population–never a good idea!

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What Are We Teaching Our Children About America?

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The Examiner is reporting today on one of the lessons included in the sixth-grade class assignments of the Common Core curriculum.

The article reports:

The assignment made the assumption that the United States government has determined that the Bill of Rights “is outdated and may not remain in its current form any longer.”

The children were to assume the persona of “experts on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights” in their aim to ensure that “the pursuit of happiness remains guarded in the 21st century,” despite the fact that the phrase “pursuit of happiness” exists in the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution.

There is nothing in the lesson that explains how the Constitution is amended, and the mother of the child said that the child did not think the word amended had been used in the lesson. Wouldn’t it be better to teach the children the value of the Bill of Rights, how unique it was for its time, and how unique America is because of the Bill of Rights? If we continue to undermine the respect our children have for America, we will raise a generation that will not understand or work to preserve our freedom.

 

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Americans Need To Be Concerned About Protecting Their Rights As Citizens

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There have been a number of very disturbing stories coming out about the impact of the government shutdown on private citizens who are in no way involved in this dispute. Private organizations renting government land have been closed by the government, private businesses in national parks have been shut down, and now, private citizens are being evicted from their homes because of the shutdown.

Today The Examiner posted a story about 60 families kicked out of their private homes on Lake Mead.

The article reports:

Some 60 families have been kicked out of their privately-owned homes on Lake Mead by National Parks Service personnel as a result of the partial government shutdown, Newsmax reported Sunday.

“They are all vacation homes and everybody who lives in them are considered visitors,” said Lake Mead Recreational Area spokeswoman Christie Vanover.

“If anybody needs to gather their personal belongings, we’re not going to deny them access. They can go do that. They just can’t spend the nights there or have barbecues during the day,” she added. They need to get in and get out.”

This is disturbing.

The article further reports:

On Friday, we reported that a Park Ranger admitted being ordered to make life as inconvenient as possible in order to punish Americans during the shutdown.

“We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can,” an angry Park Ranger told the Washington Times. “It’s disgusting.”

Across the country, Park Rangers have been doing exactly that, closing down parks, roads, and even scenic bypasses on a whim.

Obama, meanwhile, fomented violence against Republicans Saturday when he called them kidnappers who “demand ransom” and “hold our democracy or our economy hostage.”

This is not acceptable. We need too find out who gave these orders and remove them from power. This is the government fighting the people of America. This is not the way America works.

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Permit Denied

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Today The Examiner is reporting that the “2 Million Bikers” non-stop ride through Washington, D.C., has been denied a permit. The non-stop ride was to take place on September 11, the same day a ‘Million Muslim March’ is scheduled.

The article reports:

The event organizers of this “2 Million Bikers Ride to DC” have quickly changed to plan B which will be an all-day event instead of just riding straight through the area. Its purpose has not changed. The central message is a show of strength in numbers to honor the people that lost their lives on that fateful day and to pay their respects to the many members of our armed forces that have lost their lives since. The ride is still likely to be traveling by all the veterans’ memorials in the area. Riders will now be stopping for traffic signals as a result of the no-stop permit being denied.

I can understand the denial of the no-stop permit, but the right to assemble is part of the U.S. Constitution. Best wishes to the bikers who are remembering this day as only they can.

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Prepare For An Exponential Increase In Government Intrusion

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Yesterday The Examiner posted an article about a provision of ObamaCare that has not gotten a lot of publicity. The provision allows government agents to engage in “home health visits” for those in certain “high-risk” categories. Doesn’t sound too ominous until you look at the “high-risk” categories.

The article lists the categories:

• Families where mom is not yet 21;
• Families where someone is a tobacco user;
• Families where children have low student achievement, developmental delays, or disabilities, and
• Families with individuals who are serving or formerly served in the armed forces, including such families that have members of the armed forces who have had multiple deployments outside the United States.

Missing from the list given in the article is families with firearms, but that is now included in the questions your doctor is supposed to ask you.

The article explains how this program will totally invade the privacy of Americans and undermine the authority of American parents:

Constitutional attorney and author Kent Masterson Brown said that despite what HHS says, the program is not “voluntary.”

“The eligible entity receiving the grant for performing the home visits is to identify the individuals to be visited and intervene so as to meet the improvement benchmarks,” he said. “A homeschooling family, for instance, may be subject to ‘intervention’ in ‘school readiness’ and ‘social-emotional developmental indicators.’ A farm family may be subject to ‘intervention’ in order to ‘prevent child injuries.’ The sky is the limit.”

Joshua Cook said that while the administration would claim the program only applies to those on Medicaid, the new law, by its own definition, has no such limitation.

“Intervention,” he added, quoting Brown, “may be with any family for any reason. It may also result in the child or children being required to go to certain schools or taking certain medications and vaccines and even having more limited – or no – interaction with parents. The federal government will now set the standards for raising children and will enforce them by home visits.”

The Health and Human Services Department has allocated $224 million for these home visits.

This needs to be stopped before it begins.

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Abuse Of Power As A Way Of Life

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Yesterday the Examiner posted an interview with Tom Francois. “Who is Tom Francois?” you ask. Tom Francois is a carpenter who has been making cabinets for 38 years. When his business declined during the Obama recession, Mr. Francois began making twitter and facebook posts critical of the Obama Administration. That’s not all that unusual–I’m not on twitter, but there are a lot of people on facebook who are not fond of President Obama. To be fair, there are also a lot of people who like the President and think he is doing a good job.

However, the Secret Service chose to visit Mr. Francois. They also visited his daughter and ex-wife.

The article reports:

In an exclusive interview with the Examiner, Tom Francois said that the Secret Service acknowledged that there was no threat, but were concerned over Tom’s ‘large Twitter following.’ The bizarre rationale leads one to believe that Tom must be holding something back. But in speaking with this gentleman personally, he comes across as an articulate and rational person who simply dared to voice his outrage about the Obama administration over social media.

…The Secret Service agents asked Tom about his weapons, and whether they were loaded. This law-abiding gun owner was then delivered a thinly veiled threat that they might be taken in the future. The agents told Tom that they would hand over his ‘file’ to Eric Holder. Tom said, ‘I have been critical of Holder, as well!’

Please note that the story says that the Secret Service acknowledged that there was no threat. Then why were they visiting this person and talking about taking his guns away? I have no problem with the Secret Service following up on a possible threat, but this is simply harassing political opposition–similar to the misuse of the IRS.

This is simply wrong. So what is the solution? We have an election next year. The only way to stop this sort of abuse of power is to elect people who will hold the Obama Administration accountable. Any Democrat who does not protest this behavior should be resoundingly voted out of office. That is the only way this behavior will be stopped.

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Sequestration Cuts Program That No Longer Exists

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Yesterday The Examiner reported that the Obama Administration has warned that as a result of sequestration the National Drug Intelligence Center would lose $2 million of its $20 million budget. The only problem with that statement is that the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) closed on June 15, 2012.

The article reports:

The fear-mongering over the cuts, which amount to a pittance of the overall budget, has become the source of humor for many.

A post at Twitchy noted that the Washington Post had to “poke fun at its own coverage of the (nominal) effect of scheduled budget cuts on the critters at the National Zoo.”

“Won’t someone think of the kittens?” Twitchy asked.

“To listen to the White House if the GOP does nothing by Friday baby seals, baby kittens, baby lambs, baby puppies and baby calves will DIE,” tweeted Rich Galen.

Last Friday, ABC’s Jonathan Karl said that “officials have warned of more forest fires, workplace deaths and, heaven-forbid — chicken shortages.”

Now, we learn that an agency that has been out of business for eight months will have its budget cut.

“Might there be other errors in the OMB‘s report?” Riggs (Reason’s Mike Riggs) asked.

Yeah. There might be.

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