Closing Guantanamo

Obama says he wants to close Gitmo, but insists that Congress won't let him. But does he even need permission from Congress? The answer to that boils down to this: Is the detention facility under the jurisdiction of the Cuban government or the US government? Legally, Cuba maintains sovereignty over the bay, but the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903 gives the US the power to lease Guantanamo in perpetuity. The Castro regime wants the US to leave and insists that they have the right to terminate the lease and evict the US Navy. If the State Department decides to recognize that Cuba has jurisdiction, Obama can close the base on the grounds that we don't have permission to stay. On the other hand, if the United States has jurisdiction over the bay, then everybody there is protected by the Bill of Rights. The President can and should place the Constitution over the wishes of Congress in this matter.

4-15-13

Yesterday, someone set off a couple of bombs at the Boston Marathon. At the time of this writing, we cannot be sure of a motive. But I strongly suspect that the perpetrator just felt like hurting people. Whatever cause that monster claims to support, he will be forever defined by the actual monstrosity of his actions and not his motives. He might claim to be a better person than common street thugs, but he is not. Yesterday was Patriot's Day in the home of the original Tea Party. It was also Tax Day, and the Libertarian Party of Allen County commemorated the day in the usual customary manner, through peaceful, nonviolent protest.






While I am glad that my tax dollars help pay for the FBI investigation of yesterday's bombing, there are a lot of federal programs that do nothing to make us safer or improve our lives.

Annual Tax Protest on Monday

The Allen County Libertarian Party will have a tax protest north of the downtown Main Post Office between 5pm and whenever crowds thin, April 15, 2013. We will hold up signs and hand out a flyers showing each US citizen's share, and each taxpayer's share, of the national debt and obligations -- each a shocking amount. LPAC Chair Doug Horner will be available for quotes or interview.

UNCOVERED Secret Anarchist Plans For Collapse of Federal Government

The best conspiracies can't be proven, because competent conspirators are good at maintaining plausible deniability. Yet this conspiracy is so large, that a majority of the US population is either in the loop or have been duped have into furthering the anarchist agenda. But it's quite simple really. Smart anarchists know better than to resort to violence. Take the government head on, and you'll just end up dead or in prison. But by causing the government to attack other countries and factions, these anarchists can get these people to do their dirty work for them. Another strategy is to get the government to go as far into debt as possible. Once the government defaults, nobody will want to loan it money anymore. How will we bailout our patriotic banks and oil companies when that happens, let alone maintain public order?

Make the kill list public

There has been a lot of talk and concern about drones. Some states are even considering legislation against these machines. Drones might seem scary, but the military has been using unmanned aircraft against targets since World War II. Drones are not the deadliest weapons in the US arsenal. I am no more anti-drone than I am anti-gun. I don't object to weapons, but I do object to the manner in which they are used. There is no moral difference between sending a drone to kill someone, sending a stealth plane to drop a smart bomb on them, or sending a special ops team to shoot them.

 What we need is the US government to declare publicly who it plans on killing and why. To be sure, Osama Bin Laden knew he was wanted for murder. He was given ample opportunity to turn himself in. Ultimately he got what he deserved. All people accused of murder should be extended the same courtesy of being given the chance to surrender. If our government thinks someone is a threat, that leaves two possibilities: (1) That person is very dangerous and the whole world needs to know that. (2)There is some horrible misunderstanding, and that person needs to get this unfortunate matter cleared up.

Pocket knives aboard airplanes

This is a millimeter-sized step in the right direction. The repealing of this rule has a few people hot and bothered. I've read a number of comments in articles where people pointed out that knives and boxcutters were used to hijack airplanes on 9/11. But the practical reality is that pretty much all airline passengers and crew now know that anyone who is trying to force his way into the cockpit isn't doing so to give the pilot directions on how find LAX. Today, a terrorist who wants to fly an airplane into a building would have to kill every able-bodied non-pacifist adult on board before he can sit at the controls. That is not a feat that can be accomplished with a pocketknife.

FWPD has automatic license plate readers now.

This has been brought to my attention. 1. I hope that this isn't used to track the movements of law abiding citizens. If this gadget records and saves every license plate it ever sees, that could be potentially used for abuse. An officer could potentially used such a database to say, learn his estranged wife's daily routine. So license plates that police are not actively searching for should not be recorded by this device. 2. This could reduce the potential for mistaken identity, although police still need to apply common sense and caution when the device says it has a match. Maybe snow and road grime can make a "1" look like an "I" to HAL 9000. Or maybe a fugitive who drives the same make and model as I do decided he likes my license plate more than the one the BMV gave him. (Now that has occurred to me, I'm going to start checking my own plate every time I go out.)

Should saving a wild animal be illegal?

In Indiana, killing and eating a deer is legal with the right permit. But apparently saving the life of a deer is not.

Upcoming Events!!

So since not a lot of people were at the last meeting due to my screw up on the calendar I wanted to give you a basic run down of our schedule for the next couple of months so everyone can be at least aware of our tentative planning:

February Social Meetup Bowling
(This is still being planned out because of drastic cost regarding reserving lanes and event turnout etc. at our initial preferred locations)

March 23rd LPAC Convention ACPL Main in the Globe Room from 2-5pm

April 15th Tax Day Protest @Main Post Office from 4-8p (depending on weather conditions)

April 19th-21st is @LPIN State Convention in Columbus, Indiana
The Clarion Hotel and Convention Center is providing LPIN convention attendees with their choice of a Double Queen or King bedded tower room at the nightly rate of $89.00. As an added bonus up to two breakfast buffets are included per room! Reservations must be confirmed before March 19th to receive the group benefits. Please call as soon as possible 812-372-1541 and ask for the Libertarian Party rate. All reservations will be confirmed with a credit card and allow for cancellation without penalty until 6Pm EST day of arrival.
(delegates will be picked in March at LPAC Convention)

No Social Meetup for the month of April will have a Joint Business Meeting 
and Social Meetup in the first part of May.

Jeanette Jaquish is working on getting us a website in addition to our blog and our facebook page.

Our old facebook page will be eliminated today.

Sometimes you Wade other times you Roe ... Unfortunately we keep sinking the boat before we make it to dry land. How long can we tread water?

Regarding the March For Life this Saturday I would like to provide both a libertarian and personal commentary as we approach the 40th Anniversary of the Supreme Courts decision in Roe vs. Wade which legalized a woman's equal access to terminate their unborn child. ~Kenneth White, Jnr.

Even the Early Church Fathers and St Augustine and Jerome (both contemporaries and Doctors of the Church) considered Aristotle's theories of a gradual intellect being formed up to 40 Days after Conception as the child being non human or not having been ensouled yet; the Greek Septuagint (LXX) translation of the Hebrew text, a pre-Christian translation that the early Christians used, introduced a distinction between a formed and an unformed fetus and treated destruction of the former as murder. (wiki: Ensoulment) Certain readings of Sacred Text would limit the definition of "Life Being Present" to the sixth month mark (John The Baptist in his Mother's womb danced), or when the baby takes its first breathe and "Breathes in the Spirit", or the reverse from Jeremiah's perspective is held true as well: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you. ~Jeremiah 1:5 (NABRE, USCCB.ORG)" etc., which asserts preconception knowledge not just post conception awareness. All are equally valid arguments based on particular interpretations of the same over all Sacred Volume of Texts. 

Unfortunately for those holding to which ever position they so choose, and citing which ever passage they prefer, the Courts cannot legislate morality from Scripture or Philosophy only justice from law and Supreme Laws. Those same limitations which allow one to hold any of those if not more positions, are countermanded by the the same protections which prevent the Courts from viewing this mandate from an authentically questionable alternative source and restore permission back to the individual to terminate a pregnancy without  any other scrutiny then a legal or scientific viewpointe.  

Scientifically speaking the modern very basic definition of life at least exists from the ninth month all the way back to the first week after Conception. I, as most rational thinkers also, have a problem with people taking the assumption then that the basic definition of life is still defined scientifically within the first week, as no evidence still exist nor can it be measured. So for lack of a better phrase, it would be scientifically heresy to make that leap of seven days prior in defining life as sacred, from the very moment of conception; and therefore a logical fallacy to do so within legal definitions as well, even taking it back to two weeks prior to conception for certain birth control legislation, as profoundly ridiculous, let alone unconstitutional to the hilt.

Being prolife or prochoice?

And that is where the rubber fell to the floorboards. The scientific definition while a little more stable than the religious interpretation and philosophical exercise that this debate has turned into is also not definitive when it comes to a Court of Laws. The Law has four main documents that it can look at: The Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation (Under the United States Code as part of the "Organic Laws") and of course primarily the Constitution of the United States as well as any International Treaty which also has the ability with Constitutional force to override any law at the state or federal level. The Courts are bound by what we wrote down so many years ago whom we considered a life and alive.

The question the Court must ask, pertaining to the Constitution is not, "Whom is a Life"; it is, "Whom is a 'Person'?"

"Persons" are one of the two main classes which are the subject of rights, powers, and duties, the other being "citizens". Persons may be "natural" or "corporate". "Citizens" are a subclass of "natural persons". Only persons have standing as parties under due process. Each government has the power to define what is and is not a "person" within its jurisdiction, subject to certain restrictions of Common Law and the Constitution, the 15th Amendment to which requires that it not exclude anyone based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Under Common Law existing at the time of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, "natural personhood" was considered to begin at natural birth and end with the cessation of the heartbeat. But technology has created a new situation, opening the way for statute or court decision to extend this definition and set the conditions under which personhood begins and ends. (http://constitution.org/powright.htm)

I think both arguments limit the discussion to the pointe of fierce contention rather than conversation. While I do have my concerns over multiple theological, scientific, and legal, definitions of life, and I also know that while life is sacred, the question of when life begins and whom has rights over that life need to be examined without shouting and propagating misinformation and vilifying another fully formed mature conscious equal human beings right to have any opinion or Society to evolve in its consensus regarding the issue.

If you want to claim Pro Life ... Be Pro Life!

I also hold that we have a twisted moral and legal compass when it comes to assuring life within this Country. For instance, were you aware that, right now in the State of Indiana, a Father has no legal rights over a child, unless a DNA test is performed and validated by the Courts. I believe that Fathers deserve at least a 25% stake in the legal remedies for their offspring. This would prevent so many children from being left in a quasi abusive or neglectful maternal living situation overnight, and give fathers one leg to stand on with surrogacy and adoption issues too. Please note with all emphasis that, just because your name is on the kids birth certification doesn't mean jack squat when dealing with Police, DCS, or the Courts until a DNA test has been certified!!

Like I said many times before that if we truly treasure life we would compensate mothers and or fathers with a moderate stipend around ($14-20,000), housing allowance, and reduced cost technical training, for the first two years so that they can focus on raising their child without having to worry about when their next meal comes in, or where they lay their head at night, and what they are going to do for the next twenty years to support and raise their children, because it is in our best interest as a Civil Society. As a Society bound together by our Sacred Honour to "Secure the Blessings of Liberty for ourselves and our posterity" to say with one voice we want you to not just pursuit happiness but achieve it and succeed to make this Nation better for all of us .... Plus if we help in the beginning we wont have as big of a mess to clean up afterwards when they become teenagers or grown up into adults.

There is a big difference between being an Activist and being an Active Participant In Society! 

Both are necessary but the later will make this one of the most beautiful Cities and Counties in America bar none!! That is the true libertarian message we look out for each other and dont just rely on government to do everything and anything for everyone and take care of one another rather than sticking them in a program that doesnt even begin to meet their needs without making them jump threw twenty hoops to get a loaf of bread, a two dollar pound of bologna, and maybe a couple squirts of mayo on the side if they are lucky in some cases. Fortunately though Allen County has several great food bank network that serves at least a 25,000 households per week; but like any network or agency, they can always use some tweaking and oversight.

So instead of marching, I am going to assist a single father I've known for fifteen years in securing him and his three sons housing by writing a letter of recommendation and sponsoring his application process so that they can actually begin to excel in life around our three rivers not just exist. I will also donate my limited resources to Charis House, and many other charities that help fledgling and struggling families get threw another week a little less stressed than they were before. 

If you do choose to parade around the Courthouse and threw the streets this time though look down the alley and invite the person raiding the trash can behind the restaurant or grocery store to feed his family of five something other than mac n cheese or an item from a fast food chains value menu over for a wonderful homemade dinner and show them what Hoosier Hospitality is all about. You could also volunteer to take someone to Miss Virginia's or any of the other food banks throughout the week so they and their children will be able to eat better frequently.  

No matter the circumstances, Cherish and Nourish Life! and please don't forget about Liberty either!

Please check out these websites for more information to form your own opinion:
http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-12-weeks
http://www.livestrong.com/article/226391-baby-development-at-12-weeks-in-utero/

Andrew Horning would like you to join him in a protest assembly outside of a gun show in Indy on the 19th

THIS WILL BE INTERESTING!!

I believe that balancing the Constitutional view and thoughts and practices by 
the Congress and Executive Branch is specifically what the Supreme Court is for 

...!?ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION?!.... 

What we need to consider in my honest opinion is Amendding the 22nd or 25th Amendment 
and the Third Article of the Constitution to:

1. Add term limits of twenty five years for the Supreme Court 
    with possibly an exception for the Chief Justice 
   (while we're at it lets slap a 25 year term limit on Congress too.)

2. Rotate the position of Chief Justice for five to ten year terms 
    based on seniority with a primary deliberation privilege cap at about 70

3. Increase the amount of Justices from 9 to at least 11 if not 15
   This will gain a true consensus body of the Common Sense interpretation 
   mixed with a diversified American experience not just a body of lawyers 
   trying to preserve their own agenda.

ITS BEEN TRIED BEFORE.....

.... The Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937, frequently called the court-packing plan, was a legislative initiative to add more justices to the Supreme Court proposed by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt shortly after his victory in the 1936 presidential election. Although the bill aimed generally to overhaul and modernize all of the federal court system, its central and most controversial provision would have granted the President power to appoint an additional Justice to the U.S. Supreme Court for every sitting member over the age of 70½, up to a maximum of six ....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_Three_of_the_United_States_Constitution

..... MAYBE ITS TIME TO TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN.

I wonder how many Conservatives are going to bitch about it being an FDR idea, lol?

NEXT BUSINESS MEETING REMINDER

13th of January, 2013 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
at Little Turtle Branch of the Allen County Public Library
off West State Blvd 1 block south on Sherman Blvd.
http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/littleturtle/index.html

A couple thoughts on school security

1. There shouldn't be a one-size-fits-all plans and procedures for every school. Criminals try to learn the routines of security personnel and try to predict an emergency response. Even schools with identical building plans need different protocols for this reason.

2. Some parents might believe their kids are safer with an armed guard or police officer around. Some parents think their kids should learn inside a gun-free zone. Both strategies have there merits and drawbacks, and maybe some communities can have both types of schools in the same town so that parents can have a choice. More than 99.99% of the time, it won't matter whether there are armed guards at a school because school shootings are rare.

3. If a school is going to call itself "gun-free", it should be prepared to enforce it. No matter how tough a law is, if it is not enforced then it is just a suggestion. There will likely be metal detectors at the entrances and security cameras in the hallways. If adults don't have a 2nd Amendment right to bear arms, kids don't have a 1st Amendment right to privacy.

We don't need new federal laws to prevent shootings.

The only way Congress could have prevented the Newtown shootings is if some armed Representatives or Senators were physically present at the school during the incident. Evil is not stopped by legislation alone. The man who attacked Sandy Hook Elementary School did not even need a rifle to commit that atrocity. He could have used a baseball bat or a homemade bomb. He had 20 minutes to do whatever he liked because that is how long it was before police showed up. Instead of asking for new federal laws, the people of Connecticut should discuss how police response times can be improved. For all practical purposes, laws are just suggestions until someone shows up to enforce them.

 The man who shot firefighters on Christmas Eve had previously been convicted of killing his own grandmother with a hammer in 1980. As a result, he served a 17 year sentence for manslaughter. Instead of asking for new federal laws, the people of the state of New York should ask if 17 years is a long enough sentence for killing an elderly woman with a hammer.

Violence in America....

...has been in decline for quite some time, even as the population grows.

Note, the 9/11 attacks are excluded from the 2001 data because they are considered an act of war.
Source: http://www.ucrdatatool.gov

This is not to downplay the recent tragedy in Connecticut, but in emotionally difficult times, it's important to keep things in perspective before advocating new policies.