Gratuitous Common Sense

“This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it.”

- Abraham Lincoln; Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861

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And do you know who grew me? The Bush Administration. That’s right. I am a homegrown terrorist, thanks to the for-profit entity currently occupying the executive branch of our government - BushCo.

But they won’t get blamed for their malfeasance… I will. They planted the seed, they plowed the field, and they made sure I (and others like me) had plenty of sustenance upon which to feed. And now, with the help of the other party that controls the government, the responsibility for cultivating this brand of terrorism will rest squarely on my shoulders.

I am a homegrown terrorist.

Doesn’t quite seem fair, does it?

In a previous post, in the process of describing the unprecedented power claimed by the current administration, I made a passing mention of the fact that we were only “one rubber-stamped, unread law away from instituting the thought police.” At the time, I must reluctantly admit, I was completely unaware of the existence of H.R. 1955, and the fact that it had almost unanimously passed the House vote a month earlier. This is a bill sponsored by a democrat, a California democrat no less, a member of the same party that has derided the USA Patriot Act for its encroachment on civil liberties and abuse of power. I know they didn’t read the Patriot Act, but what’s going to be their insufficient excuse for this piece of shit? You can’t try to excuse your vote for it if you wrote the damn thing!

But I digress…

I am a homegrown terrorist, as defined in the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007:

The term `homegrown terrorism’ means the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States or any possession of the United States to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.

I state here, unequivocally, that I am an individual born, raised, and operating primarily within the United States. I also state that I am purposefully and willingly threatening the United States government with the use of force and violence in and effort to intimidate them and coerce them in furtherance my political objective of protecting the Constitution of the United States.

In case I’m not being clear enough, let’s have just one example. If a government employee attempts to enter my house, procure my papers or effects, or in any way touch me or my property, whether it be owned or leased by me, without a warrant issued by a court or probable cause to do so, I am actively planning and threatening the use of force in defense of my political agenda that includes coercing and intimidating them into obeying the limits set by the 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

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In the following video, Ron Paul says, in his own words, exactly the point I was trying to communicate in my last post and the subsequent comments. You know… in case the video of him saying it in that post wasn’t enough for some people.

Personally, I value the separation of church and state. “Congress shall make no law…” And I think that in oder to keep from prohibiting free exercise of any and all religions, government should completely disassociate itself from any religion. For any relationship between the two is the first step on that slippery slope that the first amendment was written to guard against.

I believe that a woman has a right to choose, because until a fetus becomes able to sustain itself outside of the mother’s body it is merely an extension of the woman - part of her body and under her control.

I believe that some system that provides healthcare for every one of our fellow citizens (though I have no idea exactly how to achieve it) is a worthy and necessary goal.

I think that some federal departments and programs are useful when they are restrained and kept from the abusive power and control that corrupts their intended function.

I believe that people should be able to marry whomever they choose. I don’t think the federal government should care about the ratio of y-chromosomes in the relationship (the church can care their little hearts out), so long as the union is entered into willingly by both parties and without undue pressure or influence.

And I don’t think the so-called “free market” is the answer to every one of our societal ills (Note: even though it’s not an end all be all solution specifically espoused by Ron Paul, it’s a charge he is often leveled with because people like categories and generalizations, and since he is more libertarian than anything else, it’s a label that people choose to give him).

Given that I hold these personal philosophies that are often pigeonholed as ‘liberal’, and the fact that they are almost completely at odds with how some people see Ron Paul’s beliefs, make those people think that I should be afraid of Ron Paul. But as I tried to explain before, I can still wholeheartedly support his candidacy for president precisely because of what he says here…

Again and again, Ron Paul proves that he understands the job of a president better than any other candidate that is running or has run in a long time. Make no mistake, it is absolutely different and separate from his job as a congressman. In case you’ve been confused by all the times that Bush Jr. has redefined his “job” for the American people, please take another look at the promise that these presidents make to the American people before they take office:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

…A promise that has not been kept.

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