7/03/2016

Thoughts On A Sunday

The Fourth of July weekend started with great weather and it looks like it's going to continue past the Fourth. We've been hearing fireworks, both 'legal' and local since Friday and the weekenders arrived in droves starting late Thursday afternoon.

Listening to the local fire dispatch center which handles 30+ towns, it was a busy day and an even busier evening yesterday. Lots of falls, burns, breathing difficulties, allergic reactions, brush/grass fires, and at least one severe beating. (The first two and the last can probably be attributed to overindulgence in alcohol.)

Out first-responders have been kept quite busy so far,. I didn't hear this kind of call volume during the busiest time of Motorcycle Week a couple of weeks ago.

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It was interesting to see a report showing that Miami, Florida is considered the rudest city in America, with Phoenix, Arizona taking the second spot, and perennial (and former) rudest city, New York, dropping to third place.

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I wondered how long it would take before Hillary was questi...err...interviewed by the FBI about her questionable practices while serving as Secretary of State.

The interview lasted over three-and-a-half hours and dealt with one specific issue, that being whether she mishandled classified information on her unsanctioned and unsecured e-mail server.

Should the FBI go forward, I have no doubt AG Loretta Lynch will quash any indictments.

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One unintended consequence should Hillary skate on any charges dealing with her lackadaisical security of her classified e-mails? A lot of otherwise law-abiding Americans are going to start seriously questioning the Rule of Law. And why shouldn't they? If the big wigs in government can ignore the laws of our land with impunity, then why can't everyone else.

As the saying goes, a fish rots from the head down. If government officials break the law and get away with it, then any laws they try to enforce will be seen as hypocritical and selective enforcement. One of two things will happen as a result – the Rule of Law will be replaced with cronyism, anarchy, and/or tyranny, or there will be a revolt and the people will restore the Rule of Law by force, displacing those in power with those who will enforce the laws equally.

Neither outcome is desirable and can be avoided if the present government stops showing preference to the political class and starts enforcing the law across the board. No one should be immune from the Rule of Law.

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As is often the case after a tragedy or near-tragedy, the perpetually aggrieved start with their usual plaint - “Do Something!” - even though no action one way or the other is either needed or wanted. The latest tragedy being exploited is, of course, the shootings at the Pulse club in Orlando.

The congressional Democrats played their parts, trying to evoke memories of the 1960's sit-ins as a means of moving poorly crafted or innately unconstitutional legislation through Congress.

The usual platitudes are voiced, the most odious one being “If it only saves one life, it's worth it!” But in the process of saving that theoretical “one life”, many others are lost and rights we've held dearly since the beginning of the Republic are eroded away.

One of those rights they have been trying to eliminate is that of due process. Call it a back-handed means of weakening or eliminating the Second Amendment by making it easy to add citizens to the so-called “No Fly” list and then denying them the right to buy or own guns because they're on the list, didn't know they were on the list, and have no means to appeal their inclusion on the list.

They know they'll have little or no luck coming right out and openly pushing to eliminate the Second Amendment in its entirety, so they'll do it little by little, piece by piece, hoping no one will notice until it's too late to do anything about it.

Such is the long term goal of our political 'betters'.

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I saw this over at Maggie's Farm.

The question asked is “What do most Americans do that most other people do not?”

A few answers:

- Americans have bake sales to raise money for their kids' schools
- Americans start businesses, fail, and try another one
- Americans start charities for people who died of rare diseases and have bike rides and runs to raise money
- Americans love to support their high school sports teams just for the fun of it
- Americans have millions of clubs and churches, and join them and work at them
- Enjoy many firearm sports
- Americans are ashamed to receive charity, and ashamed when they do not contribute to their community in positive ways.
- Bitch about government constantly
- Give hundreds of thousands of our sons and daughters to die for the freedoms of others, and ask nothing in return
- Americans are peculiarly patriotic when compared to most countries

What are some of yours?

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Also by way of Maggie's Farm comes this little bit of trivia: Hillary Clinton is spending about $500,000 a day on TV ads while Trump is spending zero.

Yet some of the latest polls show Clinton and Trump running neck and neck.

So who's the stupid one?

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And here's one last bit of wisdom to close out this week's edition of TOAS by way of Granite Grok:

The left loves power, not people. Repeat: The left loves power, not people. If that is not understood, the left is not understood.

Indeed.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where celebrations of our Independence are in full swing, there is nary a pound of hamburger or a package of hamburger rolls to be found anywhere, and where the smell of meat on grills wafts across the lake on every breeze.