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Progressives

Lunch With Sociologist Opining About Guns

“We’re uncomfortable about considering history as a science. It’s classified as a social science, which is considered not quite scientific.”  —Jared Diamond

Multivariate Social ScientistI had lunch recently with a close friend with whom I attended college some years ago. He continued his education and is now a PhD. He is not a “lefty” sort of guy, but he isn’t a conservative-libertarian either. But with Social Scientists now weighing in on the gun debate, attempt to convey clarity, ambivalence is the net product.  In our conversation over lunch he conveyed his thoughts about guns. Specifically,  this thought:

“All too often following one of these mass shootings that garners national attention, the attempt to meaningfully discuss solutions to gun violence in America is muted and we fail to find any meaningful consensus regarding what we as a society can do to address gun violence.”

To qualify his remark he added,

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Taxpayers Are Boring

  Representative Cynthia Chase (D) Cheshire Dist. 8 Keene ponders the bill seeking to increase the taxes on gasoline her constituents will pay has obviously decided her vote and deliberates and ponders further over a game of Solitaire on her iPad.

No Second Amendment Right Anywhere Else But America

“A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.” — George Washington

A weapons Guide for the uninformedThe never ending gun policy debate. Wrought with fraud and declared upon the graves of dead children and teachers, the Newtown Massacre has been the new genesis for the current debate over citizens right to own and possess firearms. In the current political climate, the quotidian quips of vociferous faux Expositors of anti-gun rhetoric abound endlessly with claims made of whole cloth and cherry-picked facts that belie logic and truth.

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Progressives: giving breaks to the lawless, declaring the guilt of the lawful

Lawful Gun Owners Will Be Punished

Hmmm.  When I first saw this, I went “yup”!  A warning to the lawless, the criminal class: “Now, now children, you need to behave.  Please follow the rules, please obey the law.  After all, it’s for the children.’  That seems to be the message – a slap on the wrist AND the expectation that it is all that it will take.  After all, this is just “guidance” to criminals to “perfect them” (after all, killing innocent children in a gun free zone is not a nice thing”.

And then Progressives are all happy to trust the criminal class to then behave themselves – cut them a break, as it were.  After all, it is the fault of Society that they are the way they are – we ALL are to blame for their actions.  And then go all agog when their expectations go awry again.  Rinse, repeat.  Always the “eternal second chances” as they are not responsible for their actions – they are implicitly part of the vast “identity victim class” that must be protected (again, it.just.isn’t.their.fault).

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Pediatricians And Guns, Part II

“It is a good thing for a physician to have prematurely grey hair and itching piles.  The first makes him appear to know more than he does, and the second gives him an expression of concern which the patient interprets as being on his behalf.”  —A. Benson Cannon

Kid_with_gunOn Sunday, February 3, 2013 more than eighty Granite State Pediatricians endorsed an open letter to legislators demanding passage of a cornucopia of gun legislation, perpetuating a plethora of myths, mistruths and confabulations currently being presented as, “sensible gun policy.” The letter, obviously an advertisement paid for by the Pediatricians, and featured in the February 3rd edition of the New Hampshire Sunday

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Granite State Pediatricians and Guns

“I am dying with the help of too many physicians.”   —Alexander the Great

pediatric_Lefty_anti_gunOver a month ago, a group of pediatric physicians in New Hampshire, “passed the hat,” and paid for a two-third-page advertisement in the New Hampshire Union Leader Sunday News, politically weighing in on the gun debate. For their roughly $3,000 spent, here is what they had to say in their February 3rd letter….

An Open Letter on Guns —

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“Idealists in a hurry”

Socialists
Some 20th century idealists who were in a hurry…

From an editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal: “Idealists in a hurry are an old story and the source of much human misery. Indeed, such misery is the end result of what the Journal called the “ends-justify-the-means logic” employed by every 20th century idealist out to change humanity and the world. Think about it:

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“I wonder how the other Groksters are faring in the midst of the destruction….”

Tim posed that question yesterday, my answer is “Not too shabby, actually”.  Sure, just like the Federal Government, I had to take a 2% haircut financially earlier this year (1/1/13) as  Obama decided that His Progressive policy to “better perfect” tax policies, decreed that I had to give up not paying the FICA tax that His Highness earlier had decreed was necessary to “better perfect” our tax policies.  I still am not sure which was the better “better perfect” perfection I’m supposed to believe in.

Go figure – Progressive Perfection policies; how do they keep straight faces with this kind of stuff?  In the mean time, I had to “perfect” a lesser personal budget quick.

Then I had to do it again (“better perfect” my personal budget).  You see, even while the Feds haircut just started yesterday as His Excellency decreed that His Progressive policies had to “better perfect” our healthcare, my cost went up – and a whole lot more than by 2%.  In fact, string a bunch of 2% cuts together and that adds up.  Plus, with his “perfection” of His Progressive energy policy, my weekly grocery bill has soared (as corn crops are  turned into ethanol that eats our car engines) and my gas bill is mirroring it.  So, I have to make do with even less.  I guess this is the way that Progressives wish to “perfect us” to be better people.  Maybe I am doing more shabby than I thought….yet, His Head Honchoness is still crying that that SequesApocolypse would crash society simply because Government programs and bureaucrats would get 2.4% less to spend: 2 cents out of every dollar.

How come that 2% out of their Government wallet means more to them than they think it is taking it out of our wallets?

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Guest Post by Susan Carroll, Rochester 912 – “Lie after Lie”

Yes, tonite is Guest Post nite – and can be almost any night.  We try to have new and interesting content on the ‘Grok each and every day – but we Groksters all have full time jobs and full time families (to whom are are grateful in allowing us to soldier on in the fight for Liberty & Freedom).  Part of our mission to engage and increase those that would be willing to stand with us – and if they wish to write, well, doing guest posts is the Right thing to do and are happy to do so!

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Lie after Lie

As a country we are at a critical juncture: which path will we take? I love America, just not the America I find myself in today. The lines of community vs. collectivism have blurred. Generosity is now taken out of your neighbors pocket not your own. Much of what we see happening today is the direct result of lies, outright blatant lies. Lies spread by those who wish to “transform” America, change America into what it is not, and they are succeeding. The seeds of these lies have been disseminated for many years.

First lie: Democracy. Every pundit and talking head, left or right, states we are a “democracy”. Indeed we even profess to be spreading democracy in the Middle East! Our Founders are rolling over in their graves as they went to every possible extent to enshrine a Constitutional Republic, a Nation of Laws. They knew all too well the failings and evils of democracy. They classified “democracy” as two wolves and a lamb deciding what is for dinner”. Liberty is an armed lamb contesting that vote. The only thing “democratic” about our form of government is our elections process. In a democracy the majority can take the rights away from the minority. In our Republic, our rights come from our Creator as stated clearly in our Declaration, and are protected by our Constitution. Rights are not privileges; rights that you are born with and are protected by these documents cannot be taken by a tyrannical government. In a Democracy, if 51% of the people decide that all people who are 5’3” with green eyes should be exterminated it can be done: not so in a Republic. In a Democracy if 51% of the people think the other 49% should pay to support them, it is done…this is what democracy breeds. It is where we are today.

Second lie: Separation of Church and State..

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What are those definitions again, Democrats?

Having Government  Ownernship makes you, by definition,  Socialists.  Having Administrative control, by definition, makes you a Fascist. Really. (H/T: Liberal Logic 101)

“Gun Control has Racist Roots” … Wait. What? Part II

Grokster Scott’s post was not what I was expecting and certainly the folks in the video were speaking their hearts.  But in putting up some of the quotes, I think he missed one – and the one that makes the most importance, so I transcribed it.  Rev. William Owens Jr., Founder, “God, Guns and the Constitution” start speaking at 2:07 (and ends the clip) has the following to say (emphasis mine):

This Administration is far from the truth. The agenda is becoming more and more obvious to all, that it’s a distraction. It’s a reason, an excuse to carry out an ideology that is more evident every day, every week that goes by, that it is anti-American. And when you touch the Second Amendment, you can’t become more anti-American because America would not be without her guns. And guns would not be necessary without her God.

We call upon Americans, both black, white, Hispanic; Republicans, Democrats, Independents and even those that are not of our faith to agree upon this: without God, without guns, without the Constitution, America’s end will come with haste.

For when they change our Constitution, they will take our guns. And when they take our guns, they will also seek to take our God. That’s when America will fight back.

All of what the Reverend says is true.  Read that last paragraph, for that is what Obama and his Progressive perps are in the process of doing.  Wilson, TDR (at the end), FDR, LBJ – Progressives all and made no secret at all that the principle reason for the Constitution was to limit people like them.  Is the fence of the Constitution standing like an armored wall, or more like a bulging fence whose bottom is being pushed out more and more?

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Ways that Progressives are bound & determined to get rid of guns – including a visit to your home

Molon Labe - AR-15Well, it is well known that the Left is going bat crazy in trying to rid the American populace of any guns that are of any consequence in defiance of the real purpose of the Second Amendment – defense against a tyrannical govt.  Much has been made that the Founders could not have foreseen modern sporting rifles (aka “the scary looking guns that have Progressives changing their panties often”), so we should be limited to muzzle loading muskets.  I thought this observation is truer to the real intent “to have comparable arms to the modern British soldier” – kinda puts that snarky musket comment in different light, eh?

Any ways, we’ve seen all kinds of machinations around the theme of “Progressives don’t trust ordinary law abiding citizens with cool looking guns” whose main technological capability, being semi-automatic, is well over a 100 years old. We’ve seen the list of banned guns, we’ve seen the list of approved guns.  We’ve seen the craziness of the number of rounds in a magazine (where 30 rounds for an AR is the STANDARD size, not a high capacity size) to limit them as low as 3 (and NY has made it 7 for any firearm taking a detachable magazine).  Cosmetic stuff too – shrouds, foregrips, variable stocks, thumbhole stocks; stuff that have no different in making the basic technology “more lethal”. Gun registries – either legally (as in NY) or de facto (at the national level).

But there have been other stuff proposed that are less well known – but just as useful in removing the ability for lawful citizens to exercise their Second Amendment Rights to contemporary and well known & distributed firearms. So, lets review a few of the more flagrant ones.

From US Senator Diane Feinstein’s S.150 – “To regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes”.

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Want a concrete example of how NHListens is listening to other “Masters” rather than citizens?

Listening – or evangelizing on behalf of other Masters?  Yes, NHListens is tracking the ‘Grok as I pointed out here.  I decided to point it out because it does seem that NHListens and the Carsey Institute (two peas in the Progressive Pod and definitely not organizations exactly loving NH Traditions or the Live Free or Die philosophy) have been upping their activity in “persuading” the public that their citizens believe in certain outcomes.  It is the opinion of many here in NH, especially when one examines their “fellow traveler organizations”, that these groups are merely another manifestation of the outside the State Progressive money pouring into NH to fundamentally change the culture and structure of the independence that we enjoy and ‘guiding us’ to a more collective outlook (and of course, with the Progressive mantra that we all too stupid to figure things out for ourselves, they are the PERFECT people to “guide us”).  Here’s a good example from MathWizards (emphasis mine) of NHListens trying to interject ‘social justice’ into math education:

At the request of a Pittsfield and Winnesquam resident, I attended two community sessions hosted by “Pittsfield Listens and NH Listens”.

Pittsfield Listens asked members of the community to attend a meeting a couple of months ago. They wanted members of the community to discuss some of the changes happening in the local schools. I attended the small meeting with the knowledge of what the Delphi Technique was and how it’s used to manipulate attendees. (http://www.vlrc.org/articles/110.html Delphi explained)

I arrived a little late for the meeting but when I walked in I noticed there was a small number of people in attendance. I’d say roughly 10 people were there to participate. I also noticed that there were a number of people who were there as either members of Pittsfield Listens or from The Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. The head facilitator was Keith Catone: http://annenberginstitute.org/

As the facilitators began the meeting, I noticed a phrase that was used in the presentation called “student centered learning”. Knowing exactly what this meant, I figured it should be defined so the other people in the room would understand. I raised my hand and asked for a definition. The facilitator asked for help from a Pittsfield teacher who was attending the meeting and she gave the audience her version of “student centered learning”.

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Maybe the start of a Revolution? Pushback against the faux “freedom” of Progressivism?

This paragraph from Tim’s post on Zero Hedge really caught my eye:

There is no other culture on earth that has the capacity, like Americans currently do, to defeat centralists, defend individual liberty, and end the pursuit of total global power in this lifetime. We are the first and last line. If freedom is undone here, it is undone everywhere for generations to come. This is our responsibility. This is our providence. There can be no complacency. There can be no compromise. There can be no fear. It ends on this ground. One way, or another….

Indeed; if not me, who?  Ronald Reagan’s statement on freedom comes to mind:

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

My answer to that is simply read what I write here – I (and the other Groksters) do fight in the arena of ideas every day here at the ‘Grok.  That said, there is no doubt that another incipient pushback beginning against Progressively driven Government that is, more and more, shoving itself into all aspects of our lives.  This morning I learned that Cheaper Than Dirt, Templar Custom, and EFI all have effectively said “if your civilians can’t buy our products, your government can’t either”.

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That Pesky Second Amendment

“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.” —Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, adopted on December 15, 1791

SECOND_AMENDMENT_DELETE_smallIn a world where liberals view the constitution as a, “living document”, whereby the meaning changes with the (downward spiraling) values of the nation at large, it is no wonder that so many contorted meanings emerge regarding the second Amendment.

And who can blame them? Our second amendment is the very antithesis to

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Status of the Union – a very sorry affair

I tweeted during the whole thing and I’ll put them up later on.  In quickly reviewing them, I think this one sums up the speech the best:

There’s NOTHING that the Federal Government can’t do – and nothing that Obama won’t refuse to have it grab. #GROK #TCOT #NHPOLITICS #SOTU

But you all knew that already, right?  You know that his idea of a perfect community is just you, and government.  Nothing else, for in his Progressives eyes, nothing else  matters or should be needed.  You see, the story of Julia that Obama released during the campaign, how she would rely on government, was not the whole story, was it?  At no time, then or tonight, was there a mention of family helping out, of neighbors helping out, or voluntary associations between other citizens in fraternal organizations or churches, was there?  That act of citizens helping each other OUTSIDE THE SPHERE OF GOVERNMENT that De Toqueville said was the vital strength of America – absent.

No, that kind of America does not exist in your Utopia, does it Mr. Obama?  Instead, it is only a small individual and a Big Government surrounding that person 360.  The intent may be to protect, but that 360 degree wall can also be seen as a cell wall.

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Talking Head Show Doodlings – Assorted

NH Democrats have Nancy Pelosi Values - and they used to be proud of that.
NH Democrats have Nancy Pelosi Values – and they used to be proud of that.

I DVR and watch the “Talking Head Sunday Morning shows” like Meet the Press, This Week, Face the Nation, and even WUMR’s Closeup”; why?  Somebody is bound and determined to say something stupid.  Well, it is still early and have only gone through Fox New Sunday, but Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi did not disappoint.  In talking with Chris Wallace, the topic of gun control came up.  Leaving aside her takeoff on why gun murders are so low in Japan (“noexplanation for that, except that they may have good gun laws”).  Of COURSE, all acts of violence depends on taking her kinds of guns away from people she doesn’t like like.  And she stands on the BEST part of the Constitution / Bill of Rights for “allowing” guns, too!

No further sales of assault weapons, what’s is the justification for an assault weapon? No further sales of those? No further sales of the increased capacity 30 rounds in a gun. We’re talking background checks which is very popular even among gun owners and hunters.

We avow the First Amendment. We stand with that and say that people have a right to have a gun to protect themselves and their homes and their jobs, where ever, and that they…and their workplace, for recreation and for hunting and the rest.

So we are not questioning their right to do that.

Sigh…shades of “Are you serious?”  This women used to be the Speaker of the US House and now is the Minority Leader in the US House.  Is it too much to expect that she’d get which Amendment speaks to what issue on one of the top issues of the day?

Then there was Stephanie Cutter (“Propaganda for Obama”) on This Week:

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