Makes Me Wonder

It really makes one wonder why minorities continue to support democrat candidates.

In a decision handed down just this past week, a US District Court judge issued a ruling that bars a voter approved referendum from listing on ballots the party the affiliation of candidates running for office.

The reason given for the suit was that without the party of the candidate listed on the ballot, minority voters would not know who to vote for.

The organizations that filed or supported the suit are all left-wing and progressive. In other words, they vote democrat.

All my life, I have never had an issue identifying my candidate of choice and I don’t need to have a party affiliation listed next to their name for me to place the “check-mark” next to their name. But maybe I am usual in that I actually do some research and can identify a candidate not by their party but by what they stand for.

It is a crying shame that the people who run the democrat party really have such a low opinion of a minority being able to gather information and make an informed decision. Based on the ruling and it sure seem like they are saying that minorities are too stupid to read and review a candidate’s platform and make a decision based on whether or not they can support a candidate’s ideals.

Government Abuse: Rails to Trails

Over the course of the next several weeks I am going to highlight some government abuses that were done in the name of the greater good.

My source of this information was a paper written a few years ago that is chock-full of anecdotal evidence of government abusing their power just because they can. The paper is titled SHATTERED DREAMS: One Hundred Stories of Government Abuse by the National Center for Public Policy Research.

Many of you have heard of the Rails to Trails Act that authorized the government at both the state and federal level to seize land for the development of bike and hiking trails. These bike and hiking trails are being built on abandoned rail lines. There are several in my area that have been converted to such a purpose. Much of the land at one time was actually owned by private landowners, but was taken from them for the development of the railroads. However, when this land was originally taken, provisions and laws were written in such a manner as to return the land back to the original landowners. The railroads had no property rights to the land once they abandoned the land.

Here is one story:

Constitutional Rights Issue

How would you feel if a person put away for a sexual offense against a minor child but was allowed to view the pornographic materials he made while committing the crime? Accused sex offender Marc Gilbert, because he is acting as his own attorney, is being allowed to view the footage he allegedly made during his crimes while he prepares his case.

This created a great deal of outrage out here in Washington and State Senator Mike Carrell (R-Lakewood) is planning on introducing legislation that would prevent this from occurring in the future. But this effort might run into some Constitutional issues. A defendant and their attorney have a right to see all materials that are going to be presented in the case. In this particular instance, it is the video Gilbert shot.

While I am personally very disturbed by Gilbert being allowed to view this material, I am having a difficult time with the legality of not allowing the evidence to be viewed by the representation. There has to be smarter people than me running around out there that might be able to somehow prevent a guy like Gilbert from getting his hands on this kind of stuff, while protecting his rights.

If any of you that read my blog have legal experience, your input would be most valuable.

Judge Bans Prayer at Texas High School Graduation

Another example of how this nation is moving away from the values on which it was founded. In Texas, and judge has barred any form of prayer at a high school graduation.  Among the words banned are:

Prayer

Amen

Join in prayer

Bow their heads

The judge made is ruling “in response to a lawsuit filed by Christa and Danny Schultz.”

The judge declared that the Schultz family and their son would “suffer irreparable harm” if anyone prayed at the ceremony. (Source: Fox News)

The judge has also threatened jail time with a contempt of court charge if his ruling is not followed.

Stolen Valor Act Ruled Unconstitutional

This one is a little tough to take.  The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has declared the 2006 Stolen Valor Act as unconstitutional based on the right of free speech guaranteed by the 1st Amendment.  I know the 1st Amendment is by design a very broad brush, put in place to protect dissenting opinions, even if the opinions are more hyperbole than substance.  But I am kind of surprised that lying is protected under the same amendment that protects political speech.

What bothers me the most is that when an individual is caught wearing a medal they did not earn and do not deserve, there is no recourse to get these individuals to stop. This takes away from the real heroes like Army Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta or Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith.