SnakeRiverLib

To give a hint as to the original form of government.  Let me use a quote often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, one of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. Democracy is two wolves and a sheep getting together to decide what is for lunch. The intent of the Constitution is a Republic, or a Federal Republic.  Three branches.  Compare intent, to see how they stack up today. The legislative branch writes the laws. The executive branch enforces the laws. The judicial branch interprets the laws. Does that work today?  I would say no, and the main reason?  In my opinion, it all tracks down to one thing. The Seventeenth Amendment.  This amendment switched the election of Senators from the states, to the people, sort of creating a second popularly elected legislative body.  Why is this important? When the Constitution was ratified, the legislative branch was set up with two bodies.  The House, which represents the people.  The Senate, which represents the states.  Tha

Notice that the one person that they didn't ask about how they would cut government spending was Senator Paul ?  He just kind of laid back, and pounced when the opportunity provided.   If you are a fan of liberty, if you think that the government should not be tapping your phone, you should support Senator Paul.   If you believe that there are no sacred cows in DC, when it comes to budgets, then you should support Sen. Paul.   If you believe that we should have a strong military, being used in accordance with the US. Constitution (Declaration of War, instead of  make believe Authorizations of Use of Military Force, you should support Sen. Paul. The others?  Obviously opinions will vary, but I feel that the ones that had the most to lose tonight were Senators Rubio, and Cruz.  I feel that they were damaged.  Irreparably?  Probably not.  Cruz wore the badge of being hated by the DC Cartel as a badge of honor.  He struggles making his past agree with what he interprets it as bein

I don't know where to turn, calling Rand Paul.  I just heard Ted  Cruz say we need a strong executive to roll back what has happened in the past several years.  No, not a quote. A strong executive, Senator?  We are where we are because of a strong executive, not because we don't have one. Congress has rolled over on its responsibility to legislate laws, leaving it to the Executive Branch to fill in the blanks.  What we need is an executive that will not allow that to happen.  That will not only veto legislation that delegates authority to unelected bureaucrats, but will dump all the regulations on the Congress to vote on the mountain of regulations that the elected Representatives didn't write.  I would write an Executive Order that would cancel those regulations in two years if they aren't voted on.  Senator, really?  that is an answer that I would expect from Trump or one of the establishment candidates.  As I wrote previously, I suspect that a deal with the establi

What wouldn't I do?  Recommend a rated R movie. (Excluding Blazing Saddles, or course) Today I went to watch 13 Hours, the Secret Soldiers of Benghazi .  I rank it with other rated R movies such as The Patriot , Saving Private Ryan , Schindler's List ,  Gladiator , and Passion of the Christ . This movie IS a true story, based upon the book 13 Hours by Michael Zuckoff, who took the witness accounts and wrote the book.  The movie puts  into picture their stories.  It is not political, in that POTUS is mentioned only once, and Secretary Clinton not at all.  I would caution of the graphic nature of the violence, and language.  It stages the six members of the security contractors, in Benghazi, shows the dangers in that city, their lives, and their professionalism.  For those who think that this is a made up story that they collaborated, I would point out that they earned medals from the CIA for their actions in saving 26 CIA station members, as well as 5 State Department emplo

I can't really comment on the debate, I was watching Rand Paul on line.  I find Trump's line of reason interesting regarding Cruz. He uses the logic of a longtime Clinton supporter, Lawrence Tribe, to sow doubt about Cruz's eligibility to even be President.  Remember that, he is using the argument of a Clinton supporter.  As I was thinking about that, I thought about what is happening, and how the future Republican Party will function. Unless something happens that no one expects, the race comes down to two, not three like most commentators think but Trump and Cruz.  So where does that leave the Establishment?  I wonder if it leaves them going to Trump. Cruz has a great campaign going.  It is simply putting Trump in context.  He is pointing out to those that will listen that Trump is no conservative.  His ads simply have Trump on record.  Trump has a huge record of being for all sorts of things conservatives might find distasteful.  Here are a few examples. Not just p

I was initially going to write this post in regards to the pathetically weak response by Secretary "Swiftboat" Kerry to the hostage situation in Iran regarding the capture of two US flagged ships.  Thanking the Iranians? For what?  For stealing our technology from our boats? For forcing the one female member of the crew to wear a scarf?  For coercing an apology?  Or maybe for the photos and videos of US Sailors on their knees, hands over their heads in a surrender position. No wonder the Saudis, even though they are worried about the price of oil and their economy, are reaching out to make a deal with the Pakistanis, probably for nukes, in exchange for economic aid.  The US has become a non player in the Middle East, and there is only one person to thank.  When you consider the fact that the Saudis are being more open in collaborating with Israel, they aren't the only ones.  They all realize the US preference seems to be swinging to Iran. Will it take a strong Republi

Those who are elected and go to DC with the intent of shrinking government, whether they are members of Congress, or a President, have a serious problem.  When a leviathan has been created, it is next to impossible to shrink.  Why?  The American people themselves are conflicted.  Right now, the vast majority of Americans think that the government is the problem.  But if you were to suggest to eliminate this piece, or that piece, an immense howling will begin, even before you actually act.  We will hear about how essential they are, and how, without them, the nation collapses. Tax reform is an extremely popular policy stance.  Tens of thousands of pages of law, regulation, and tables.  All GOP candidates have proposed some form or other of fixing the tax code.  People hate the IRS.  Right?  How hard can it be?  Tax preparation, planning, etc, is a hundreds of billions of dollars industry.  Can you imagine the talk of jobs lost?  Can you imagine the stories of how "the rich"

Orrin Hatch, R-UT was elected in 1976, to the US Senate.  When he arrived he was a tireless warrior for the conservative movement.  He is one of the people credited, or blamed, depending on your persuasion, for shutting down the ERA.  For years he was reviled by the left for his championing conservative causes. Marco Rubio, R-FL was elected in the Tea Party year of 2010, mostly riding on his anti-amnesty positions.  He was a powerful Speaker in the Florida legislature prior. John McCain, R-AZ, having lost the presidential election in 2008, mostly be being an establishment, beltway republican, saw the handwriting on the wall in 2010, and had a moderately serious challenger in the primary of J.D. Hayworth, a member of the US House.  He was astute enough to see the Tea Party wave, and even though had consistently been an establishment type, needed to rebrand.  He needed to look no further than his running mate for 2008, Sarah Palin, who was a leader in the Tea Party movement.  She cam

I haven't written in a while, I have been somewhat busy, and struggled to frame any thoughts on the scene.   This week the President started his lame duck year by issuing several Executive Orders, and holding an invitation only, questions pre-screened, town hall meeting.  He started off by making some noise about how he was a Constitutional Law professor, and wasn't wanting to take anyone's guns.  He paraded children, and families of victims of gun violence, not unlike Stalin, Castro, Mao, and Hitler, and countless other dictators.  If I could have asked a question of the President, it would have been: Mr. President, what is the purpose of the 2nd Amendment, and do you stand by your statement that it is an individual right, not a collective right as many of your party's members believe? The Democratic Party members in the Congress are considering introducing legislation making derogatory remarks of Islam a crime.  While I agree that it is rude to mock another