PENTAGON IS TO FURLOUGH 800,000 CIVILIANS, is this a bad thing?

PENTAGON IS TO FURLOUGH 800,000 CIVILIANS If you just read the headline you'd think that 800,000 civilians were going to be laid off, wouldn't you.  But if you read into the article you come to this confusing sentence. 

As I understand it, this means that 800,000 employees, each of which could face up to 22 days of furlough spread out from now until next September, with 30 days notice beforehand.  I base my interpretation on the above sentence from the article. (see screenshot)

I'm not sure that my interpretation is correct but if it's not is because the "THE HILL" report is not very precise.  Either they're trying to be deliberately confusing, or they need a smarter reporter and better editors.

STAY IN THE GAME.

Data from the Tarrant County elections office shows that approximately 20,000 more voters voted in the 2010 Republican primary than in the 2012 primary.  The 2010 elections were a banner year for conservatives all over the country and in Tarrant County.  I am going to assume that all, or nearly all of the 20,000 people who are missing from the 2012 Republican primary are conservatives who decided to make the effort to make a difference in 2010.  And I'm going to assume that the reason they did not vote in the 2012 primary is because: they accomplished what they wanted to do, or they have become disaffected with politics because they didn't get what they wanted.  This message is for them.

To the folks who got what you wanted.  If you think you can come in, work real hard, fix things, then leave because the job is done; you've got another think coming.  In politics the job is never done.  Victory and defeat only last until the next election.  You need to remain in politics and consolidate your gains for the next election.

To the folks who didn't get what you wanted.  Please don't go.  It is very important that people like you, conservatives, stay in the game.  Don't give up on politics.  It has become one of the factors that most determine the quality of life for the citizens in the United States.  If you have become disaffected because of the sometimes blatant disregard for the rules, and the seeming overwhelming power of the other factions, just remember, they would not have had to resort to such tactics if you, and people like you hadn't been nipping at their heels.  This means you have power, build on it and change the Party from the inside.  Never give up.

To all of you conservatives who were missing from the 2012 Republican primary, I know it's a chore, and a huge bore, especially for true conservatives who only want to be left alone, but you need to remain plugged in to politics to protect yourself and your way of life.  Pay close attention to local politics, City and County.  It is in local politics that political culture movements, which are the most enduring of change, are born and carried forward.  Talk to your neighbors, talk to your friends, talk to your relatives.  Profess your conservative ideals, and live your conservative way of life in such a way that people will admire it and want to emulate it.  There are numerous political clubs in Tarrant County.  Search them out, attend some meetings, get acquainted with other conservatives, join in and volunteer to help.

We've allowed a lot of liberties slip away, in this country, simply because we didn't pay attention.  It's time for that to stop. And we may disagree about the settings, speed, gear, temperature, etc., on the political bus but one thing that we all agree on is that it remain on the right-hand side of the road and keep traveling towards Libertyville.



Hat tip to Glenn Bucy for his Facebook post that provoked this train of thought.


Note: This is my take on this subject.  If anyone would like to point out mistakes in logic, reason, or facts, please do so. I believe that the beginning of wisdom starts with the acknowledgement of one's own ignorance. Joel Downs 

Seattle Times article about gun bill is not, or is no longer true.

Update: 02.21.13, the referenced Bill has now been pulled.

Does Texas Need to Spend More Money On Mental Health?

This long-winded, Chicken Little, the sky is falling Dallas Morning News article goes on and on about how Texas ranks 49th in mental health spending without citing one example of why more money needs to be spent. The closest they come is in assuming that because there are more people in Texas now than 10 years ago, there are more people who need mental health services. Isn't it possible that when people come to Texas, conditions are so good that their depression lifts and they don't need it? Or, that people who are motivated to move to Texas are more mentally fit to begin with? Or, the native Texan is simply more clearheaded than people in other states, as evidenced by the fact that, in Texas, there are more Republicans in elected office than Democrats?  http://dallasne.ws/VbRcWr

What Happens when Guns are Banned/Unbanned

In an article published by the Wall Street Journal, former Washington D.C. prosecutor, Jeffrey Scott Shapiro writes about the effect a gun ban had on that city. Read the whole thing here.   Besides the descriptions of the lengths to which the D.C. police went to keep guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens, creating many injustices and human rights abuses along the way, the article also tells of the effect the gun ban had when it was implemented and when it was, partially, lifted. The two paragraphs that illustrate this are reproduced below.

BANNED

UNBANNED

It is my view that the proposed Federal legislation concerning guns is nothing more than a veiled attempt to disarm the American people. It does nothing new to address the actual problem. It is only a rehash of past legislation. The Leftist politicians who consider us to be children and want to take away our rights and liberties "for our own good" could accomplish that task so much more easily if we were defenseless.

Hey, Bud Kennedy. I beg to differ.

In a scorn filled, contemptuous column entitled " Texas sheriffs' boasts about guns nothing but hot air " Bud Kennedy denigrates Texas sheriffs in general then zeroes in on Collin County Sheriff Terry Box to portray as the wood whittling, domino playing, hayseed politician intent on hoodwinking his much smarter constituents.  It is somewhat of a brain twister, trying to understand how a dumb hick persuaded the smart voters of Collin County to return him to office for 37 years but I reckon cognitive coordination isn't one of Bud's strong points. Bud must feel that, as a good Progressive, he is duty bound do battle with anyone who offers resistance to the ongoing, and so far, futile effort of the Left to disarm the American people.

Kennedy makes the assumption that Sheriff Box is stating that he won't enforce federal gun laws only as a ploy curry votes in the next election. I take the Sheriff at his word; that it is his deeply held belief that Americans have the right to keep and bear arms.  Add that sentiment to the undeniable fact that federal laws go unenforced all the time, and couple it with the very real prospect that the sheriff and his deputies will be the ones charged with enforcing any new laws, he then, is only stating what flows logically from those conditions; that Federal gun grabber laws will go unenforced in his jurisdiction.

Don't believe me? Then take a look at the illegal alien statutes, a panoply of federal laws that go mostly unenforced by local cops, ...and the Feds, and the President.  This is so widespread that some cities pass ordinances that specifically forbid local law enforcement to take action based upon them, then proudly pronounce themselves "Sanctuary" cities.

According to this, story, a county sheriff has the power to defy federal coercion.  But even if a sheriff doesn't have the legal right to not enforce laws he views as unconstitutional, as a practical matter, if he doesn't like it, if it doesn't serve an enforcement purpose, it will not be enforced.  The unofficial precedent for not enforcing an unpopular law was established when Officer Oop decided that no real crime had been committed and let somebody walk.

From the cop on the beat on up to the highest officials in the law enforcement infrastructure, they all have tremendous latitude when it comes to enforcement of individual statutes. Bud Kennedy's huffing and puffing notwithstanding.

Is the Star telegram attempting to groom Wendy Davis for bigger things?

Today there was a fawning article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram entitled "Is Senator Wendy Davis poised for a statewide race?".  About halfway through, there is a paragraph that links two freshman Tarrant County state representatives, Jonathan Strickland R-HD 92, and Giovanni Capriglione R-HD 98, with Davis.  The reporter, Dave Montgomery, stated that she was teaming up with Stickland on a companion bill, and was a Senate sponsor of Capriglione's bill.

It seemed odd that two Tea Party backed, freshman Republicans, who had defeated, or run off, a long serving incumbent would make common purpose with a Democrat who had gone out of her way to garner Republican antipathy in the last session.  So, I decided I would check.  It was easy enough to go to the Texas Legislature online and find out if Wendy Davis had indeed had anything to do with the legislation of these representatives.

Of course, the first person I checked on was my own representative, Jonathan Stickland.  He has written and filed five bills so far.  Representatives Krause and Sheets are listed as co-authors of the military family bill, HB 202   No mention of Davis on this page but I wasn't expecting it.  The article stated that she was the author of a companion bill.

Then I went to Senator Davis' webpage and looked up her legislation expecting to find a companion bill as stated in the article.  I did find a companion bill, but not for Stickland's legislation.  Wendy Davis has authored exactly one bill, SB 178,  which turned out to be the companion to Capriglione's bill, HB 524.  That's all, she has not co-sponsored a bill, co-authored any bills, or authored any other bill besides that lonely one.

So, I guess you could say that the Star-Telegram got it one quarter right.  They said she wrote a companion bill for Stickland, and was a Senate sponsor for Capriglione.  What can the officially verified through Texas Legislature online is that she did nothing for Stickland, and wrote a companion bill Capriglione. There is no such category as "Senate Sponsor".

If the Star-Telegram is going to try to foist a liberal Democrat upon the citizens of Texas, it should at least get the details right.