Preparing Deseret, one blogger at a time
On a semi-related note to preparedness, a friend of mine is hosting Stephen Pratt in Highland, UT this weekend, and asked if I could pass along the invitation. If you are interested in a great chance to learn more about personal liberty and self-reliance, this is a great opportunity.
KNOW YOUR LIBERTY
STEPHEN PRATT
Will be in Highland, Utah!
January 7-8, 2011
Continue reading “Stephen Pratt Presentation”
It’s no secret that the current administration does not approve of gun ownership by American citizens. So overall it came as no surprise when I found a video on a blog of the white house chief of staff, Rahm Emmanual, speaking to a conference for the Brady campaign about one of his ways of preventing firearm ownership.
Real world modern and historic data have shown that government efforts to suppress gun ownership negatively affects law abiding citizens while having little to no affect on criminals or the criminal use of firearms. Citizens of England and Australia have come to that realization, perhaps too late.
Listening to these people talk about the incremental way that their rights were first infringed upon, then completely taken away reminds me of a famous quote by Martin Niemöller:
“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I said nothing. Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat, so I did nothing. Then came the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist. And then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did little. Then when they came for me, there was no one left to stand up for me.”
As liberty loving Americans we need to stand up for not only our Rights but the Rights of others.
When I lived in Southern California, I began to get into long range target shooting. Through this hobby I met Tom Miller and Don Anderson, two of the nicest people you will ever meet. Tom is a retired ATF agent and FFL dealer. I bought my EDM Arms Windrunner through Tom as well as both of the Nightforce scopes that I own. His prices and most of all his friendly service are second to none.
Don was his right hand man, helping out at gun shows, but more than this, he was a regular at the monthly .50 cal shoot at Angeles Ranges. He allowed anyone interested to shoot his .50 cal, .408 CheyTac or .338 Lapua for free, just to promote interest in the sport. He invested in all the best equipment to reload .50 cal ammunition and would sell it to anyone at his cost to shoot in their own rifles. This of course represented a considerable amount of time he was giving away, just to help promote the sport.
About 2 years ago, a while after I left California, I found out that Don’s house had been raided by SWAT teams, the ATF and LA County Sheriffs. All his semi-automatic firearms were taken away. This was followed by two years of silence. Don had done nothing illegal and we all assumed that the DA and others were hoping they would be able to let it die without admitting they were wrong. Continue reading “Friend in need.”
Thanks to @cboyack for sending me this amazing video. A must watch, and must share about the 2nd ammendment.
This is important and will take you less than two minutes – and you don’t have to speak to a single person!
IMPORTANT – PLEASE VOTE ON GUN CONTROL BY PHONE AS DIRECTED BELOW ASAP! – TELL THEM YOU OPPOSE GUN CONTROL.
Subject: Gun control in Cook County, Illinois
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2008
Continue reading “You can vote AGAINST Gun Control RIGHT NOW!”
“The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.”
— http://change.gov/americaserves/
“Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
— Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Unfortunately the majority of Americans voting today are criminally ignorant when it comes to a reasonable understanding of the rights afforded them by the Constitution. Over the last couple of years I have been devouring as much information as I can find to study on my own. This study has included opinions from those believing the Constitution to be a static document and those who believe that it is a ‘living, breathing document’.
All the studying I have done has placed me firmly in the static camp. The founding fathers feared that clever words, exaggerated security fears and other ‘crises’ could cause the people to cede their rights to an ever more powerful government. To combat this, the power of government was severely limited with the power and therefore responsibility laid in the laps of the people themselves. If a change to the Constitution were actually necessary, the mechanism to amend it was created. However, this should be seen as a solemn, game changing event and as such is a long and very difficult process.
During the 219 years since the Constitution was created, only 27 amendments have been added, INCLUDING the original 10 of the Bill of Rights. This alone should demonstrate the intended nature of the Constitution. It is a sacred document unswayed by the temperamental winds of changing opinion. It is the duty of all citizens to learn what rights and responsibilities are placed upon us by our Constitution.
Now more than ever our rights are assailed by the government, special interests and those seeking to gain more power over your life and the very decisions you are allowed to make. Our state indoctrination centers (known as public schools to most) teach nothing of this, in fact this is where the idea that the Constitution should be interpreted anew by those in our power hungry government is most espoused. We must combat this by being informed and working to teach our children, family friends and neighbors.
I urge everyone to attend a lecture series like the ones presented here. Liberty and Learning