Rights vs. Wants

There is a lot of confusion in America about the difference in what are guaranteed Legal Rights as opposed to things that people want, or want to take from someone else. There is an important difference in Legal Rights guaranteed to our citizens FROM the government vs those feel good, "basic human" rights that so many like to tout. There is a very important difference in these things because only Legal Rights have the force of law for protection thereof. "Basic human rights" are those that are provided for privately thru such institutions as churches, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army and are funded privately based on the individual callings of one's conscience.

This time of year is the best time to make this point clear. I know, some of you may say, Cristen, give it a rest, it's Christmas. We just want to get our presents bought, drink egg nog and watch Charlie Brown. However, (1) I will never give it a rest as long as our republic is in danger, and (2) this is a good time of year to draw the analogies necessary to help explain the point. Any of you with kids, or kids in your family, know the difference in the things those kids need and want. They need food, clothing, medical care, and shelter provided by their parents. They (apparently) want electronic hampsters and video games. Because you are their parents, you have a moral duty to provide food, clothing, medical care, and shelter. This doesn't come from any specific law (most of the time) but from basic moral values that you should take care of your family. However, you get to choose the level of their wants that are provided based on what you think they can handle. They want everything in the mall but there is very little in the mall they need.

It is from this that many people start to confuse the rights guaranteed to them by the U.S. Constitution, and mostly recently with the issue of health care. For a right to have the force and protection of law, under our representative republic, that right must be granted by the Constitution. Of course, the Supreme Court has over the last 100 years decided to shamefully expand these "rights" and have found many are "implied" in the Constitution. However, that is not how this government is supposed to operate. For those of you who attended private schools, I apologize for the repetition. For those of you who attended government-run public schools that either didn't teach history or taught PC revisionist history, this may be the first time you learn about what type of government we actually have. We have a small "r" republican government, a representative republic is the most accurate way to describe the American form of government. That means that we elect men and women from our states and districts to go represent our interests and our states' interests before the federal government. The powers given to that federal government are VERY limited and are clearly set forth in the U.S. Constitution. Slightly broader "police" powers were also therein granted to the individual states. ALL OTHER powers were reserved to The People. The only "rights" guaranteed to The People that may be protected by the force of law are those set forth IN the Constitution. If the right is not set forth in the Constitution, IT IS NOT A RIGHT. Rather, it is a "want", or more often than not, a political bargaining chip.

Liberal politicians, to secure their future elections and thus retention of power, convince the masses that there are other, "basic human" rights that are also protected by the force of law. These fuzzy wuzzy teddy bear, feel good, rainbows and unicorns wants don't turn into Rights merely because a politician or group decides that it should be a newly declared right. The ONLY two ways a right is recognized is if it's "found" in the Constitution or if The People decide to Amend the Constitution and create that new right. This is very hard to do for damn good reason.

Astoundingly, many people have forgotten this very basic civics lesson, even our "leaders" in Congress. Recently, Pelosi was asked where in the Constitution did she find the right to pass this most recent attempt at socialized medicine. Her actual response was "Are you kidding me?". Are you kidding me?!? WTF?!? She, and many others in DC, have forgotten that they took an oath to serve and protect that Constitution that they so lightly brush aside when it doesn't comport with their political agenda.

Instead, liberals, and that mostly means Democrats these days, have a complete disregard for the limitations of the Constitution and a complete misunderstanding of the actual rights provided to American citizens. Liberals decide to make up new righs when it's time to start thinking about the next election. Liberals then convince the poor, the minorities, or those who don't understand our form of government that these liberals should be elected and re-elected so ensure the gravy train doesn't stop. However, this is the worst thing you can do for the poor or "less fortuante". Democrats have convinced generations of people that they aren't capable of providing for themselves and must instead turn to the government for every single need in life, and when the governement doesn't give you what you want, many turn to crime because they've never been taught to fend for themselves, that they must work to provide for their and their family's needs, and that doing the right thing will reap personal and financial rewards.

The monster that this has created was most recently exhibited in a very sad story in New Orleans. Thugs in the 9th Ward recently stole computers from a public school in the 9th Ward. For those of you not from NOLA, that was an area that was completely devastated after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It is an area that remains devastated - partly because it has taken a LONG time to get the public and private funds necessary to rebuild, partly because of a lack of desire/will to rebuild the area, and partly because people are finally seeing that, geographically, that is an area where it is not very wise from an environmental/ecological standpoint to rebuild on what should be marshland. But, I digress, and that is for another post. To get back on topic, thugs stole computers from a very devastated area from CHILDREN?! Not just children, but children in their own community. What kind of person can do that? It's perplexed me. I know that the theives wouldn't be the thugs they were if they had a moral compass and so stealing from children is no different than stealing from someone else. However, it caused me to think about the issue far more deeply and to see how in many ways they have been failed by 'the system' - that is, the system put in place by Democrats that have created a new plantation system that keeps people in poverty for life.

I guarantee you that if you ask the computer thief thugs who they voted for in the presidential election you'd get one of two responses - either they didn't vote because they're clueless idiots or they voted for Obama because they've been convinced that only Democrats will take care of them. If they didn't vote, 99.9% of everyone they know voted for Obama for the same reason. They certainly didn't vote for, and don't know anybody who voted for, the conservative guy who's spent his whole life in brave, courageous service to this country. However, what that group of people has probably never been told is that it was Republicans who ended slavery, Republicans who fought for womens' right to vote, Republicans who pushed thru the Civil Rights Act, and Republicans who dug us out of the hole Carter put us into. On the other hand, it has been Democrats that have for decades put programs in place that discourage individual achievement and teach the "greater good" is more important, that take from whose who will work and give to those who will not, and that teach class and race warfare with every single issue to keep the focus off the real issues and thereby ensure liberals stay in power. Public education has been taken over by liberals, unions like the NEA on whose website it's recommended reading is Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals". Teachers are told to not use red pens because that's just too 'hurtful' to children. Everybody gets a trophy in little league so that little Johnny who can't play at all doesn't feel bad about himself. You know what? Little Johnny needs to understand early on that he will fail at some things but needs to learn how to deal with that failure and work hard to find out what he is good at and develop that gift. Our system has failed many, and mostly the poor, because they feel they can't pull themselves out of poverty. They in fact can NOT under the current leaders' plans either.

The "health care" bill currently being debated is the worse piece of legislation to come out of DC in decades. Ignore the campaign-style ads on t.v. and campaign-type slogans from the talking heads. Instead, look at the actual bill. When you do, all 2,000 pages thereof, you'll see that people will be forced to join this plan, will be fined for not doing so, and will eventually be put in prison if they don't join. It's in there. Don't take my word for it. Read it. I implore you, READ IT!! I have and it's very frightening. This will also make small businesses lay off even more workers because they won't be able to afford the costs of mandatory enrollment, or the fines for refusing to do so. There ARE rationing boards planned. No, there aren't "death panels" saying kill Granny after such-and-such age. However, there are provisions for making 'costs assessments' to treatment. When you have 150 million plus on a system this WILL LEAD to rationing and VERY long lines. The Canadians and Brits have warned us. We need to take heed. There are NO provisions for denying the taxpayer-provided care to illegals. It's NOT in there. There are NO provisions to ensure that abortions won't be provided at taxpayer costs. Also, don't be fooled by "blue dog" Democrats and traitors like Cao saying they're working to make sure this doesn't happen. The House or Senate leaders will put whatever they want in a plan to get that version voted for and then strip it or add the offensive provisions back into the bill in Committee.

Cap and Trade - Oh, there's another monster created by Democrats to "redistribute the wealth." This essentially caps and taxes certain "evil" output by Big Evil Corporations. In Obama's own words, from I believe Jan 08, youtube it, this will "necessarily" make energy prices skyrocket?!? Why would you do this??? For every "green" job, how many coal, oil or nuclear jobs are lost?? Cap and Trade will fit in nicely with the current "One World Order" Environmental Treaty being discussed in Copenhagen and at the U.N. That Treaty seeks to "punish producers" of evil carbon dioxide (the biggest producer of which are actual human beings) and other so-called contaminants by manufacturers and redistribute that wealth to "developing" countries to go green. First of all, now is definitely the time to STOP funneling money thru the corrupt U.N. Anybody recall the VERY corrupt "Oil for Food" program thru which the Husseins lined their pockets??? Second, many of the countries that would be the beneficiaries of this redistributive wealth are actually our current enemies or they can't be trusted b/c of their relationships with our enemies.

Yes, I said enemies. There is evil in this world that seeks to destroy America and anything American. We'll always have enemies because of jealousy primarily and also because of religious hatred by radical Islamic Muslims. However, America has gotten it right many times on many issues and that is why we're the richest nation on Earth. However, our current "leaders" are doing everything within their power to take America down a notch. From Obama's international apology tours to his and other Democrats' policies that are destroying or at least discouraging American exceptionalism, they are fundamentally changing America but in the WRONG direction.

Please join me in the fight to stop the further spread of radical liberal policies that are destroying the fabric of this nation, and destroying the very important fundamental principles on which we were founded and that made us the greatest country on Earth and of all time. Help me to educate those who have been bamboozled by the left into thinking that liberal policies are the only things on which they can depend. Help me to spread the word that only true conservative principles will help us ALL succeed if left alone by the government to do so - those most cherished principles of life, liberty, freedom, and individual rights AND responsibilities.