Disappointment in Congressman Chaffetz (R-UT)

Disappointment in Congressman Chaffetz (R-UT)
By Charles A. Hall

22 October 2009

This is going to be a short little note but I want to just take a moment in expressing my disappointment in Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R) who represents Utah's Third Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. Why am I disappointed? Well, maybe it is too much to ask but I've never heard a single word back from Congressman Chaffetz since he won the Republican Nomination back in 2008 and has been in office since January 2009. Not one word!

Every issue (about five over the last nine months) I have written Senators Bob Benneth (R-UT) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on I have received a response from (e-mail or letter). Is it a standard letter? I don't know, I hope not, but I don't know. Nothing I've ever written Congressman Chaffetz on has every been returned with his stance and promise to do this or that.

I wrote former Congressman Chris Cannon on one issue and that was about an individual (I forget who it was and all I can remember is this person was a Republican) in the House wanting to reinstate the "Assault Weapons Ban Act of 1994." I wrote him expressing my disappoint in this Congressman and told him not to support it. I received a response back less than three weeks later. Again, I have never received anything back from Congressman Chaffetz and I'm very disappointed in him because of it.

Heck, I've even received things back from the White House and I don't even like the President! This was clearly a form letter, but it was something!

"I am here to serve the residents of the 3rdCongressional District, and so is my staff."

"If you’d like to contact me about a legislative issue, please e-mail me; or phone me at (202) 225-7751; or send me a letter by mail."
(http://chaffetz.house.gov/contact/index.shtml)

Yes, I've tried to contact you but you haven't returned my time as my elected representative.

Why am I bringing this up now to the general public and especially to those in Utah Congressional District 3? Because just yesterday ads started popping up here on Facebook about donations to Chaffetz Re-election Campaign for 2010. This has me thinking, "I want an open government, I want to be able to hear from representatives and know exactly what they are doing. Do I want to re-elect someone that isn't open to me?" Am I being unreasonable? It is unreasonable to want to get a response from my representatives? They aren't my leaders, they are my representatives. In the words of Ross Geller (played by David Schwimmer) in Friends, "IS IT?!" Or do I want to support another candidate that holds the same values and views that I do but who will be open to the people he/she serves?

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DC Voting Rights: Ignoring the Constitution

DC Voting Rights: Ignoring the Constitution
By Charles A. Hall

18 October 2009

In the 17 October 2009 issue of The Deseret News (a Utah based newspaper) talked about the once thought dead bill of giving the heavy Democrat friendly District of Columbia a full voting seat in the House of Representatives while giving a fourth Congressional seat to the State of Utah (DN, B1-B2)

In Utah who supports this bill:
-Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
-Congressman Jim Matheson (R-UT2)

In Utah who opposes this bill:
-Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT)
-Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT1)
-Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT3)

Who has it right? I’m going with Senator Bennett and Congressmen Bishop and Chaffetz. Why? Because to have a full voting seat in the House of Representatives that seat needs to belong to a state as stated fully in the United States Constitution.

Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 1 of the U.S. Constitution:
“The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.”

The several States DOES NOT equal the District of Columbia. In the United States of America there are FIFTY (50) STATES and NOT fifty-one (51) states.

The Twenty-Third Amendment of the Constitution states:
“1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.”

This is dealing with the Presidential Election and authorizing the District of Columbia to have three electors in the election. Nothing in this amendment, nor in any other part of the Constitution, states that the District of Columbia gets a voting seat on the House.

“Hatch, however, said the Constitution also allows federal taxation and jury trials only for residents of states, but courts have ruled such language also applies to D.C.” (DN, B2).

Here is a few things wrong with this:

1) The courts do not make law or amendments to the Constitution. They are to simply make sure that the laws passed by Congress and enforced by the President of the United States follow the Constitution (which we see they really don’t do that now days).

2) Senator Hatch needs to read the Constitution a little closer. Under Article 1, Section 8, Paragraph 17 it states: “To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States,”. Congress has the power to lay whatever taxes they want on the District of Columbia and say that federal taxes apply to it. That is granted by the Constitution!

3) Under the Sixth Amendment (Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses) of the Constitution it states: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law,” It mentions both “State” and “district” in this amendment. The “district” no doubt refers to the District of Columbia.

So maybe that is why the courts ruled the way they did on federal taxes and speedy trial, Senator Hatch? Maybe they were following the Constitution after all…?

“Chaffetz especially contends the bill is unconstitutional because the Constitution allows House representation only for states, and D.C. is not a state” (DN, B2). I agree with Congressman Chaffetz.

Where is this bill attached to? A defense bill. It is called a “rider”, something that has nothing to do with the bill as a full but added on at the end so it would pass with the full bill. These things can be good and bad. A rider to a credit card bill helped pass legislation to allow concealed carry permit holders to carry firearms in national parks (which I loved!). But with this same method this method could be used to pass a National Health Care System and this bill to give the District of Columbia full voting rights in the House of Representatives. What is the difference? Concealed carry in national parks is constitutional under the Second Amendment, National Health Care System and D.C. voting rights aren’t.

What can you do to stop this bill that would, once again, ignore the Constitution?

1) Write your representatives in Congress (both House and Senate) and tell them “NO TO D.C. VOTING RIGHTS! FOLLOW THE CONSTITUTION! NO TO D.C. VOTING RIGHTS!”

2) Pass the message along to your family, friends, neighbors, and others and have them write their representatives as well.

3) Post this information anywhere you can to get the message out!

Let me also set the record straight on this: I’m fine with voting rights for the District of Columbia IF it were a state! I’m not against them voting in the House of Representatives, but they need to be a state! If they ever did become a state (which I doubt they ever will be because the Founding Fathers didn’t want one state claiming the Seat of Government that is why they created D.C.) then they can have their full voting rights. Until then, the Constitution doesn’t allow it. Maybe look at passing an amendment or something like the 23rd Amendment? *shrugs*

Pass the message along and stop this bill!

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Gun Myth: Gun Control Reduces Crime!

Gun Myth: Gun Control Reduces Crime
By Charles A. Hall

Saturday, 17 October 2009

The debate about gun rights and gun control rages on on a daily basis. I receive at least two e-mails a day about “gun control this” and “gun rights that.” To me it is a literal battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. And I will tell you right now that the forces of good are those that want to protect gun rights, gun owners, and preserve the Second Amendment (National Association of Gun Rights, Gun Owners of America, Second Amendment Defenders of America, etc.). The forces of evil are those that want to not only limit the Second Amendment but completely and utterly destroy it (The Brady Campaign, Million Mom March, President B. Hussein Obama and his Administration, and almost every Democrat in Congress).

Yes, I have called these individuals The Forces of Evil. Why? Because instead of protecting the Constitution of the United States (which politicians make an oath to preserve, protect, and defend), our Nation, and Her citizens they are harming and destroying it one bill at a time until we, pro-Second Amendment citizens, don’t have the strength to fight anymore.

Watch the following clip from the 1970s show “All in the Family.” Archie Bunker (played by the late Carroll O'Connor) had it right and so did America:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLjNJI54GMM

“What was the first thing the communists done when they took over Russia? Answer: gun control.” This is a historical fact! The same can be said about China and Nazi Germany. But is this really a thing of the past? If you said “yes, it is” you are wrong!

In 1996, after several massacres, new laws were passed in Australia to basically ban all longarms, pump shotguns, and handguns from private ownership. Handguns can still be obtained after a huge waiting period, large fees, and you must be apart of a shooting club to get “permission” to have a gun for “shooting purposes.”

In 1997 under the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 private gun ownership in the United Kingdom became illegal. All British subjects had to turn in their firearms. Did you know that even the United Kingdom’s Olympic Shooters can’t train in their own country? They have to go to neighboring countries that allow private gun ownership to train so they can represent their country to the world, but as long as it isn’t on British soil. The 2012 Summer Olympics this ban will be lifted ONLY for shooting events in the Olympics, but not for British citizens.

Here is a news report about the gun registrations and then gun bans in both the United Kingdom and their former colony of Australia:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b1c_1228321106

And just coming to my attention this evening was that Canada, our northern neighbor, passed a law (C-68) that as of 1 January 2001 all guns must be registered in the Canadian Firearm Registry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Canada#Laws_and_regulation), failure to do so results in no more guns and off to jail for you. Canadians can still purchase a firearm as long as you wait for your Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) and be a member of a certified range. “Canada's federal laws also restrict the ability of persons, including most security guards, to carry restricted or prohibited firearms in public, although generally carrying non-restricted firearms is permitted (although subject to other restrictions such breaching the peace if carried in manner that might alarm bystanders, such as in a city setting).”

Watch this video on Gun Control in Canada and tell me this can’t happen in America:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmrqT9SIkQw

Now we show that gun control and gun registration isn’t a thing of the past, it has happened in three different countries in the last thirteen years. All three countries have already seen an increase in crime rates since they have instituted their bans on private gun ownership. Why? Because the law-biding citizens have given up the fight and have turned in their guns, the criminals have not. Who is gun control protecting: the innocent or the guilty? If we just look to these three countries it is the criminals.

In the movie above about Gun Control in Canada you heard it from police officers/constables themselves that such laws are ridiculous and don’t work, almost “unenforceable” as one constable put it. It only disarms the innocent and protects the guilty. Now here are a few other videos from ABC News series “Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity with John Stossel” that look at gun control right here in the United States:

Myth: Gun Control Reduces Crime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_YTM_eAWnQ

(A great part about the video about it shows that the gun ban in Washington, D.C. didn’t stop crime, it increased it!)

Gun Myths
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR9RN_iSKtg

What I like in these two videos is that the criminals they interview in a maximum security prison say they will still carry a gun even if the law says they can’t, that the law will not stop them.

Criminal #1 (Video 2): “When I had a gun, I didn’t care what laws they had… I’m not going into no store to buy a gun so I could care less if they had a background check or not.”

Criminal #2 (Video 2): “I bought it on the street.”

It is true that most every criminal buys their firearms on the streets on the black market. Instead of targeting gun shops and law-biding citizens with gun regulations why not focus effort on tracking down black markets and getting those guns off the “streets” (literally)?

During the 2008 Presidential Election I was talking to some individuals about then Senator B. Hussein Obama (D-IL) running for President of the United States and his anti-gun/pro-gun control record. A person that overheard our conversation said, “He isn’t going to take our guns away.” I’m sorry to say but this person is very naive.

In February of this year President Obama’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, seemed to have “jumped the gun” announcing that the President would be seeking to reinstate the “Assault Weapons Ban” that was signed into law by President William Jefferson Clinton in 1994 and that expired in ten years later in 2004 due to its “sunset clause” under President George W. Bush. As shown in the ABC News videos the assault weapons ban didn’t decrease crime, it increased it! Holder backed off as the pro-gun rights movement went on the attack, having already known it was coming and were prepared to head it off before it could go any further. Good move, Attorney General Holder, stay away from our guns!

All three countries and their citizens that I have listed have said the exact same thing: Do not believe for one second that it can’t happen in the United States because you are next. And right they are.

House Bill 45 (also known as Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009) will do exactly what has already been talked about from the British, the Aussies, and now Canadians. Not only will this bill start the process of taking private firearm ownership away but will also invade your right to privacy via your home and medical records. Here is National Association for Gun Rights Executive Director Dudley Brown about this bill:

NAGR – H.R. 45
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yz6FwMJmMM

He identifies the following in this bill:

--Written exam before firearms purchase (I thought they couldn’t do this to exercise your right to vote, but they can for your right to keep and bear arms?!)

--Releases medical records (No more right to privacy there!)

--Two day waiting period

--$25 tax on any gun purchase (More taxes! YEAH!)

--A National Database of Firearms Owners (just like Soviet Union and Nazi Germany!)

--Massive, new penalties against the firearms industry (Destroying capitalism?)

--A Federal ban on any private gun sales (No more grandpa’s giving a .22 rifle to their grandkids and teaching them to shoot!)

Now I will be honest that I haven’t read the whole bill (I let groups like NAGR do that for me most of the time) and I will be looking it over soon myself. A myth I have heard about this bill (that I will verify at a later date if it is myth or fact) is that it will allow the police and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) to come in and make sure your firearms are locked up and out reach of children. Now if they aren’t (like I have a firearm right now on my desk that stays there, but won’t be there after my first child is born in April 2010) they can hull your butt off to jail and say goodbye to your Second Amendment right along with all your other rights.

This looks like liberty and freedom to me! NOT!

In April of this year President Obama went to Mexico and came back with a little unknown treaty that would institute a national gun registration to help in the “War on Drugs and Cartel” in Mexico because some say that the cartels are getting their guns from the United States and shipping them back to Mexico. So to protect Mexico the American people will suffer.

Obama Pushes Anti-Gun Treaty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9X2VbhSH9o

In Article VI of the United States Constitution it states in the second paragraph, quote: “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every States shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any States to the Contrary notwithstanding.”

The watered down version of this part of the Constitution: If the Senate ratifies the treaty it will create a national gun registration without the vote of the House of Representatives or debate by The People. How damaging is that?! Is that what the Founding Fathers wanted with this part of the Constitution? I am attending a six-week class called “Know Your Constitution” and instructor Sheryl Devereaux says, no, it isn’t. This part of the Constitution is about the safety and security of the United States, mainly in regard to treaties to end conflicts.

At this same class when we were talking about the Second Amendment one individual said she would like to see assault weapons banned and out of the hands of citizens. I had to pipe up and say that we can’t allow even that to happen because if you give the anti-gun movement an inch they will take a mile. Any gun legislation is bad because it just keeps opening the door for the gun control and anti-gun movement to get in a little further and further. We have seen it in England, Australia, and Canada. We can’t give them anything because if we do, if we let our guard down, amen to our rights!

There are a few lines I like to use when people ask me why I carry a firearm:

“Because I can’t carry a cop.”

“When seconds count the police are just minutes away.”

“A gun in the hand is better then a cop on the phone.”

There is a coming storm and it is just off the coast of the United States. We see the storm coming from Mexico, we see the storm from Washington D.C., we see it in state capitals across the United States, there is a storm coming. We must head it off as quickly and as fast as possible, just as hotshots in California Wildfires do.

The Myth: Gun Control Reduces Crime!
The Fact: It Increase Crime!

The Myth: Gun Control Will Make Our Streets Safer!
The Fact: It Will Make Our Streets More Dangerous!

The Myth: The Second Amendment Is A Thing Of the Past!
The Fact: The Second Amendment Is Alive And Well In The 21st Century!

The Myth: Pay No Attention To The Man Beyond The Curtain!
The Fact: Throw That Curtain Open And Watch With Both Eyes! (Unless he is in the shower, then keep it shut.)

The Myth: H.R. 45 Will Never Pass!
The Fact: That Is What They Said In Australia, England, And Canada! If Unchecked It Will Pass!

The Second Amendment protects all of our other rights. It is The People’s Check on the government!

Thomas Jefferson: “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

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The Idle "Y" Generation

The Idle “Y” Generation
By Charles A. Hall, “Tony”

Friday, 16 October 2009

Let’s go through the generations since The Greatest Generation.

The Greatest Generation (World War II Era) – These were young men (and women) that stood up against pure evil. Yes, evil, and answered the call to defend their country, their liberty, their families, and the cause of freedom. They stormed the beaches at Normandy, France. They fight in the cold of winter at The Battle of the Bulge. They fought through to Berlin, Germany and into Austria. They were truly The Greatest Generation. They sacrificed so that we could enjoy freedom and liberty.

The Baby Boomers (late 1940s to early-mid 1960s) – These is where the author’s parents hail from (though they claim to be Generation X). These are the off-spring to The Greatest Generation, the generation born with a literal “silver spoon” in their mouths. The days of “Leave It to Beaver” and “Happy Days” where there were nice middle-class houses with white picket fences but then came the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Some of these Baby Boomers answered the call of their country yet again but as we see through the 1960s there seems to have been more whining, complaining, and moaning. Lost was the sense of patriotic duty to country (at least in the opinion of the author’s take on history).

Generation X (early-to-mid 1960s to late 1970s) – The “Baby Bust” Generation where the population increase rate dropped. These started off somewhere in the early-to-mid 1960s. They lived mostly through the Cold War and still (in the opinion of the author) were a bunch of misfits always whiny, complaining, and moaning about the government. Some have even called it “The Doom Generation” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_X).

Generation Y (mid-to-late 1970s to early 1990s) – Enter the author’s generation! This generation is also known as “The Milleniums”, “The Echo Boomers”, Generation Next, or Net Generation. “Members of Generation Y are primarily the offspring of the Baby Boomers” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y).

Now we have an overview of generations spanning the better part of the second half of the 20th Century. But this article/blog (whichever you wish to call it) is not focusing on The Greatest Generation, The Baby Boomers, or Generation X but is focusing on the author’s own generation: Generation Y!

Some have called Generation Y as “Generation ‘WHY? Why have them?”. Well, the point of this article isn’t about answering that question because the author doesn’t have an answer to that question. The point of this article is to look at the latest generation that is now all of age to be active members of political society in the United States of America.

(Switching from third person to first person talk now.)

My wife often makes fun of me that I’m “too” political, I spend too much time online talking and reading politics. Well, I disagree with her on this. I believe that members of my generation, Generation Y, need to be active in the political realm. Why? Because what is going on right now in Washington, D.C. and State Capitols will effect us for the REST of our lives. The youngest member of my generation is around 18 to 20 years old of age. They are individuals that can now vote in Presidential, Congressional, State and local elections. But do they? Well, let’s look at some numbers.

In the 2008 Elections there were about 231.2 million eligible voters in the United States and only 56.8% (132.6 million) of eligible voters turned out to the polls to vote (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html). That is 109.5 million voters that didn’t cast their vote and let their votes be heard.

There are over 60 million born in the Y Generation. According a 20 July 2009 release from the United States Census Bureau only about 49% of voters between the ages of 18 to 24 voted (http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/voting/013995.html). Now I’m not a math major and there could be “finer” points but for the sake of argument we are going to cut use the following number dates and numbers:

Generation Y
Dates: 1979 to 1994 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y#Demographics)
Age Range (2008): 14 to 29
Eligible Voters: 44 million

How did I get the rough number of eligible voters? Again, I’m not a math guru but I used the following formula:

60 million / 15 years = 4 million * 11 years (18 to 29 years of age) = 44 million voters

Generation Y – Ages 18 to 24
Dates: 1984 to 1990
Eligible Voters: 24 million

I got the above numbers using the same formula as above.

Out of 24 million only 11.76 million (49%) voted. That is 11.76 people that didn’t have their voices heard! Not even half did have their voice heard through the Ballot Box! Something is wrong with that…

Did you know that there was only a spread of 8.5 million votes between Barack Hussein Obama (D) and John McCain (R) in the 2008 election?

Obama – 66.8 million votes (53%)
McCain – 58.3 million votes (46%)
(http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/president/)

Now one could argue that those 11.76 million people that didn’t vote could have made it even a bigger win for Senator Obama or it could have swung the election to Senator McCain. Then we look at the Electoral College and States and everything else! We won’t go into all the factors but what I’m getting at it that too many individuals, especially from my own generation, aren’t being involved in the political society of the United States.

Movements like “Turn Out The Vote” and other political action committees/groups work hard to get individuals out to vote. I believe that voting is the most patriotic duty one can do (other than laying down one’s life for their country) in the United States of America.

What is the point of this article? The point I’m trying to make is that individuals in my generation, and every other generation, need to get involved. They need to not stand idly by and not do anything. So what can you do?

1) Register to vote and keep your voting registration current (like if you move).
2) Vote in local, state, and national elections when the time comes.
3) Sign up for e-mail alerts from your elected representatives (yes, they say something intelligent every now and then).
4) Join /sign up for memberships/e-mail alerts from organizations that fit your political ideals (there are plenty out there).
5) Write your elected representatives and tell them what you think about issues and tell them, not encourage, how they are to vote and not the way their party would have them vote. Even if you are a member of one party and have an elected representative from another doesn’t mean you should be silent. Continue to speak up and be heard.
6) Encourage others around you to do the same.

I have a friend that doesn’t vote. He doesn’t understand why it is so important. I watched part of a PBS presentation the other day on the Constitution of the United States. One of the ladies they interview brought up this point of why you should vote:

1) Do you own or plan to own a car?
2) Do you know you are going to have to register that car?
3) Do you know you are going to have to get a license?

Those are all “yes” answers. She said, “Those are three reasons why you should vote.” Her point was that your elected representatives effect your car registration payment, requirements to get your license, etc. That is just something very basic people don’t think about, she said, and she is right.

Make sure you vote, make sure you stay informed, make sure you have your voice heard. Now is the time to get involved more then ever in the history of the United States. “One voice can and will make a difference.”

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Traitor in the Republican Party

 

This note is going to be brief, but I need to say it.

Yesterday (Tuesday, 13 October 2009) the Senate Finance Committee passed America's Healthy Future Act of 2009 through committee. The vote was passed by a 14-9 vote with Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) being the only Republican to vote that bill. Why? Here are her words:

"...when history calls, history calls."

She herself said she didn't agree with everything in the bill but "history was calling". ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! She is more worried that she had her vote as an "AYE" for that bill because she wants her place in history? Yes, okay, but it WILL NOT be the history she hopes for. If passed, her name will be infamous for destroying the HealthCare system in America and possibly America itself. HealthCare WILL rip this country apart. How do I know? I look at history, the very history Snowe hopes for herself, and that HealthCare was a prime target for Lenin and the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. HealthCare is at the heart of every nation and if the government can control it they control the people.

The People of the United States are suppose to control the government but with ANY HealthCare bill the people will not longer be in control but the Government will be.

Did you know that this bill that was passed brings the entire burden of providing HealthCare is on the citizen and not the employer. Employers ARE NOT required to help their employees with HealthCare. My wife and I make it okay now but what happens if her company dumps her health coverage? We WILL NOT be able to afford it. And since we can't afford it the Federal Government WILL increase my taxes and if I can't pay that they are going to give me FINE AND PRISON TIME! How is that helping the American people?

Senator Snowe has secured her place in history but it will be the History of the Downfall of the Republic.

What do I say: "When In Doubt Vote The Bill Out!"
Meaning: If you don't like even a little bit of the bill for the benefit of the people your represent to its fullest and that of the American People you don't vote for the bill! You vote it out of committee, out of the docket, out, out, out!

ROTTEN Hall Children!

So as many my know my wife and I are expecting our first child (we want five, by the way). We were coming back from dinner and were talking about college, Latter-day Saint missions, cars, weddings, etc. We wanted to do the numbers and see exactly how much these kids would cost us and here is what we came up with:

NOTE: I did what I called the "WORST CASE SCENARIO", meaning this is what I would love to be able to provide for ALL my kids. So some may look at this and laugh, saying, "Wishful thinking!" Again, "WORST CASE SCENARIO" if I could provide everything they need when they "come of age."

A SINGLE HALL BOY
First Car - $2,000
Mission - $15,000 (two years + suits + passports + etc.)
College - $50,000 ($12,500/year for four years)
Wedding - $1,500

Total - $68,500

Now we included a "wedding fund" for a boy because we still have to buy stuff for The Groom's Dinner, tuxedos, etc. so we wanted to prepare ahead.

A SINGLE HALL GIRL
First Car - $2,000
Mission - $15,000 (If she decides to go on one : two years + dresses + passports + etc.)
College - $50,000 ($12,500/year for four years)
Wedding - $5,000 (Anything more she is paying!)

Total - $72,000

IF we had FIVE BOYS and NO GIRLS: $342,500
IF we had FIVE GIRLS and NO BOYS: $360,000

Let me say one thing: THESE KIDS ARE GOING TO BE SPOILED IF I CAN AFFORD THAT MUCH! THAT IS A DANG NICE HOUSE! THEY BETTER EARN IT!

Am I going to give handouts to my kids? Nope, not at all. They are going to work, help pay for their missions, cars, etc. Do I want to be able to help them out? I sure do.

WOW! $343k to $3460?!?! Wow! They better be worth it in the end! Well... I know they are. :D

And as my wife just said, "You'd better get a pretty dang good job." Well, I'm working on that as well. :D

Where is the Constitutional Authority?

Where is the Constitutional Authority?
10 September 2009
By Charles A. Hall, “Tony”

I believe I’ve become a U.S. Constitution Watchdog and an activist for the Supreme Law of the Land – the Constitution of the United States of America – to be followed and no longer ignored. In American politics I believe in two things: The People and The Constitution. Please note that order: The People and The Constitution. The first three words of the Constitution clearly state “We the People”. It wasn’t “We the Federal Government” or “We the States”. No, it was “We the People”. The People did “ordain and establish [the] Constitution of the United States of America.”

I have read the Constitution in its complete form within the last two months and I believe that is more than can be said for probably the President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Democrats and Republicans in the United States Congress.

I was listening to the Glenn Beck program last week and a caller called in and talked about how she and others hand addressed envelopes and provided a mailer out of their own pocket to members of the United States Congress. This mailer had a piece of paper about their mission for the mailer, a copy of the Constitution of the United States of America, and a small 3x5 card that they asked for them (Congressman and Senators) to sign that they would read the Constitution. She received only one card back. She did this back at the beginning of the year. Why is it so hard to read the Constitution and send a card back making a promise you’ll read the Constitution and live by it? Very interesting, right?

The People of the United States of America ordained and established the Constitution of the United States of America because they had been oppressed by King George and the British Empire. The Founding Fathers – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, and many others – didn’t trust a strong Federal Government! They wanted the powers of the Congress to be limited to those outlined in Article 1, Sections 8 and 9 (http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#A1Sec8 and http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#A1Sec9).

“Now wait, Charles, the last line of Article 1, Section 8 states: To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.”

Ah, yes, the “necessary and proper” clause. Okay, let us look at that. It says they can “make all Laws which are necessary and proper for carrying into the Executive the FOREGOING Powers.” [Emphasis Added] What is FOREGOING powers? They are the ones listed in Article 1, Section 8! How about the “Constitution for Dummies” version: “To make laws to carry out the powers listed above in Article 1, Section 8.” That is quite simple, right?

“Now wait, Charles, the first line of Article 1, Section 8 states: “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;”

Does the “general Welfare” mean a National Health Care system? NO, IT DOESN’T! Look at the beginning of the clause: “To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.” It is giving Congress the power to do that awful “T” word: Tax. By laying (making tax law) and collecting taxes Congress is to: pay off National Debt, provide for defense and security (armies and navies found later on in Section 8), and general welfare.

“Now wait, Charles, again, what is ‘general Welfare’?”

I couldn’t say it any better then this: “Unlike most General Welfare clauses, however, the clause in the U.S. Constitution has been interpreted as a limitation on the power of the United States Congress to use its powers of taxing and spending” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Welfare_clause). Does that sound like National Health Care is allowed?

In 1791 Alexander Hamilton wanted to create a “National Bank,” meaning it was run by the Federal Government. “However, as early as February 1791, Hamilton had treated the subject of the general welfare in his ``Opinion on the Constitutionality of the National Bank''--written after Washington's Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, and his Attorney General Edmund Randolph, had both declared the creation of a national bank unconstitutional” (http://american_almanac.tripod.com/welfare.htm). Now if they, the Founding Fathers (namely Thomas Jefferson – Author of the Declaration of Independence and Third President of the United States), in 1791 thought the creation of a National Bank was unconstitutional though Hamilton cited the “general Welfare” clause how then would the Founding Fathers now view present-day Congress trying to create a “National Health Care System” under the same clause. I believe they would strike it down in a heartbeat.

I’m taken back to a line in the movie Batman Begins where, after twenty years since Thomas Wayne (Bruce Wayne’s father) was murdered, they (Wayne Enterprises Board of Directors) were talking about heavy weapons manufacturing. One board member said, “I don’t think Thomas Wayne would have view heavy-weapons manufacture as a suitable cornerstone for our business.”

The Chairman of the Board says, “That was twenty years ago, Fredericks. I think after twenty years we can allow ourselves to stop thinking about what Thomas Wayne would have done.”

Do you think that President Obama and members of Congress are thinking the same way? “I think after two-hundred plus years we can allow ourselves to stop thinking about what the Founding Fathers would do.” I certainly hope not!

What has the Office of President and the United States Congress done that isn’t listed as a power in the Constitution?

-Bank Bailout (under President George W. Bush)
-Auto Bailout and “Stimulus” Package (under President B. Hussein Obama)
-The House passed Cap-and-Trade
-Government takeover of General Motors
-Health Care Reform

Those are the major issues they have used their non-existent powers on!

James Madison, Founding Father, Father of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, said this in Federalist #45 (http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa45.htm):

-Powers delegated to the Federal government are few and defined
-Powers remaining in the State governments are numerous and indefinite

The powers delegated (given) to the Federal Government are “FEW AND DEFINED” [Emphasis Added] and the “REMAINING” [Emphasis Added] powers to the States are “NUMEROUS AND INDEFINITE” [Emphasis Added].

Here is the Father of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights clearly stating, “Congress! These powers are it! You have no more and no less powers then these powers right here! No More, No Less! Everything else is to the States!” How much more clearly can you get then straight from the horse’s mouth?! The Father of the Constitution should know, shouldn’t he? “If it doesn’t list it here it isn’t yours!”

The Tenth Amendment in the Bill of Rights clearly states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” What powers are those? The ones found in Article 1 for Congress! The ones found in Article 2 for the President! The ones found in Article 3 for the United States Supreme Court! NO MORE, NO LESS! “If it doesn’t say it’s yours then it is theirs, the People and the States!”

I don’t read anything in the Constitution of the United States that says the Federal Government, the President, or Congress can pass any legislation or sign any legislation on bank bailouts, automaker bailouts, cap-and-trade, government takeover, health care reform, or any other brilliant yet unconstitutional “idea”! They don’t have the power to do it so don’t do it!

Here is a great video to watch on Article 1, Section 8 that I found put out by a U.S. Constitution Patriot and Watchdog like myself:

Article 1, Section 8


They, the President and Congress of the United States of America, DO NOT, repeat DO NOT, have the power to do even 95% of the things they do! We need to stop ignoring them and start checking them out! Yes, vote them out! Place term limits on them! Make them follow our governing document. The Constitution was created of some really bright guys, brighter then anyone in Congress or the President is now or ever will be!

STOP MAKING UP CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY THAT DOESN’T EXIST!

Question: Where is the Constitutional Authority?
Answer: It doesn’t exist!

Respectfully,

Charles A. Hall, “Tony”
www.charlesahall.com

Double Standard of Free Speech

I had the opportunity of having an online debate with members on another website this past week. Let me get a few things straight upfront:

First, let me be very straight forward on saying that the debate was about a NOH8 Campaign (http://www.noh8campaign.com) public service announcement and the hotly debated California’s Proposition 8.

Secondly, let me be very straight forward that I don’t know the ages of the individuals I was debating against. I asked that at the beginning of the discussion and never received a response.

Thirdly, let be very straight forward that I debated two things and two things only during this debate: 1) That marriage is not a right; it is a privilege, and 2) The Laws of Nature.

Now you’re probably interested to know where this debate took place. Well, in all honesty it took place on a Blink-182 fan website (http://www.182online.com). Right now many of you are thinking or saying out load, “Tony! Why did you waste your time on a punk rock band’s website debating Proposition 8?” I like to try to set certain things straight when it comes to Proposition 8 and the so-called “marriage right.”

You can view the full debate on the 182-Online Debate Forum at:
http://www.182online.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=3570

Here is the NOH8 PSA that sparked this whole debate and I have taken the time to provide a transcript of this ad.

NOH8 PSA – “I’m Coming Out…”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7KUENa4OrQ

----------------

Woman 1: I'm coming out.

Male 1: I'm coming out.

Woman 2 and Male 2: We're coming out for equal rights.

Woman 3: Denying a minority the same rights you were born with...

Woman 4: Is hate.

Male 3: Refusing to separate church and state...

Woman 5: Is hate.

Woman 6: Spending millions to eliminate someone's right to family...

Woman 7: Is hate.

Woman 2: Prop 8 is just the beginning.

Male 4: Our fight goes deeper then marriage equality.

Woman 4: It's about human right.

Woman 3: Same rights for every America in every State.

Woman 8: Thousands all over the country are speaking out.

Male 2: But it's not enough.

Woman 4: Now more then ever it is time to get involved.

Woman 9: That's where you come in.

Woman 1: Start a dialogue.

Woman 6: Stand up for your peers.

Woman 8: Get educated.

Woman 3: Keep an open mind.

Male 5: Talk to your friends.

Male 4: Talk to your family.

Woman 7: Write your representative.

Woman 5: Be heard.

Woman 9: No matter where you are.

Woman 2: Tell them who you are.

Woman 1: Tell them what you stand for.

Several: Fight, fight for equal rights, equal rights. And together, together we can make our voices heard. No hate, no hate, no hate.

Announcer: Learn more about how you can be heard through our silent protest at www.noh8campaign.com

----------------

I would like you to note that I am not against the NOH8 Campaign's right, yes, right, to the First Amendment - The Freedom of Speech and of the Press. This isn't what I argued in this debate. I argued two things in this debate at 182-Online: 1) The so-called "marriage right", and 2) Laws of Nature.

I will not bore you with details to that debate. If you'd like you can follow the link above and read the debate for yourself.

What sparked my interest in this advertisement is several things:

1) Six times in the first part of this ad the word "right" was used.

2) Nine times it mentions about speaking out, start a dialogue, talk, write, and be heard.

Well, if there is a fight for "equal rights" why then the very ad these individuals were defending did they say this (please forgive the language):

----------------

* "FUCK THE PEOPLE WHO ARE AGAINST GAY MARRIAGE, ITS NOT YOUR LIFE, ITS THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO GET MARRIED. Sorry for the caps, but honestly, people who are against gay marriage...just piss me the fuck off."

* "i mean really, it's all preference. everyone has their own rights. just keep it private (that's my opinion)"

* "I advise you to educate yourself before you come on here and start a debate on such a topic."

* "None of your points have made an impact on me, and it just makes me push farther to voice my opinion for gay marriage and eradicate the intolerance against it. I don't even think you understand what it means. Your points are strongly biased, and clearly you're not supportive of their lifestyle. There's essentially no point of debating this further for me."

* "Charles A. Hole, you are wrong, you are a bigot, you are wrong, your views are totally wrong, thats it, thats all there is to it."

* "stop beating around the bush A. Hole, sorry, A. Hall, either your pro gay marriage, or your not, which is it?"

* "Holy shit batman! Charles, you are fucking retarded in every sense of the god damn word. Everyone stop replying to this non sense, he is not looking for a debate. He's just trolling."

* "My suggestion is that you keep your opinions to yourself or just to your website."

* "Jimmy he is your brother so you are instantly biased....obviously he can defend himself and his views on his own, so don't be all like "Oh you guys are all hypocrites" STFU"

* "It was discussed for four pages, so it's not like we silenced anyone." (See several comments above about wanting to silence the debate and me.)

* "The words "go fuck yourself asshole" come to mind."

* "...therefore your a dumbshit, you cant make up your own mind so you live your life by a made up story book, your an idiot."

----------------

What shocks me is that there is such a Double Standard of Free Speech in the United States of America as shown above.

Right now there are Town Halls happening all over the United States about Nationalized Health Care (AKA ObamaCare) and people are protesting the bill (HR 3200 is just one of them). Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have called these people "un-American." The Democratic National Committee have called these people "The Right-wing Extremist Mob."

I spoke out on this NOH8 Campaign PSA and I was met with some debate, but was mainly attacked on the grounds everything I was "supposedly" saying was religious when in fact I never said anything about religion because I learned that lesson when I was a senior at Sequim High School.

There is a double standard to Freedom of Speech in America and it is ridiculous! If you have an issue you want to present you should expect that the opposite view will come about. Don't say that you are being denied a right that doesn't exist and then turn around and deny someone their actual right of free speech (i.e. "My suggestion is that you keep your opinions to yourself or just to your website.").

I want to speak out against Nationalized Health Care (AKA ObamaCare) and I am "un-America."

I want to speak out against this so-called "right" to marriage and I am displaying "hate."

Where does it end? Why is it only one sided? Why is it that if they (Pelosi and NOH8) speak out that is okay and when I speak out with an opposite view I'm "un-American" and a "hater" of Americans. Why? Why? Why?

There is a Double Standard to Free Speech in America and it is one-sided those like Pelosi and NOH8 Campaign it is okay, but those on the other side should be silenced.

I went to bed last night (Sunday, 23 August 2009) very sad, on the verge of breaking down and crying because of what I'm seeing in America (ask my wife!). A country divided when our current President Barack Hussein Obama (ON THE RECORD: I didn't vote for him.) promised to "unite" the country but has done nothing but further divide it through Cap and Trade and now through Nationalized Health Care. I am feeling depressed and sad on what I am seeing. But you know what? Since I am a Conservative and from the other side of the fence I should be denied my First Amendment RIGHT - The Right to Free Speech.

Yes, I'm sorry but when someone says "My suggestion is that you keep your opinions to yourself or just to your website" is an attack on my Freedom of Speech, whether you agree with me or not.

There is a Double Standard of Free Speech in America and it is just shocking...

Not a Christian Nation?

Not a Christian Nation?

I had someone recommend a book to me entitled “American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation” by Jon Meacham and so far it is an interesting book. Not too long ago I was in a discussion on the Our Country Deserves Better PAC Facebook group discussion board about a statement given by President Barack Hussein Obama in Turkey:

“President Barack Obama stated at a press conference in Turkey last week that we Americans “do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Muslim nation, but rather, a nation of citizens who are, uh, bound by a set of values.”” (http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/election/1003)

The discussion I had with several individuals was using the base of America’s founding documents: the Declaration of Independent and the Constitution of the United States of America.

Paragraph one of the Declaration of Independence: “…Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them...”

Paragraph two of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Paragraph thirty-two of the Declaration of Independence: “…appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions…”

Final paragraph of the United States Constitution: “Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth. In Witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names.”

“Nature’s God”, “Creator”, “Supreme Judge”, and “Year of our Lord” … They all reflect God, but which God? Do Christians, Jews, and Muslims worship different gods? I do not believe so. Were the Founding Fathers talking about just the Christianity? America was called the “great melting pot” or maybe not. But do I believe that America was established as a Christian nation in the “new world”? I believe so!

Again, the argument is that the Founding Fathers were not talking about the Christian God, just a god. I disagree. I had this thought: there are three major religions in the world today (Christianity in all its varieties, Judaism, and Islam). Now let’s go back to 1776, the year of American Independence was declared.

According to page twenty-eight of “The Churching of America, 1776-2005: winners and losers in our religious economy” by Roger Finke and Rodney Stark they list the number of congregations in America in 1776. After checking out several of the different congregations listed I found that many are off-shoots of Christianity but they only list that there were five congregations that were Jewish and no Islam congregations in America at that time.

So it is a viable defense to say that America was never a Christian nation at the time of its founding? I would say no, because there really wasn’t any other religion in America at the time of the founding other then Christianity. Yes, I would agree that we are a “melting pot” of people in the United States of America in this day and age, but I do not agree that we should abandon the principles in which the Founding Fathers established the United States of America on: a belief in God and a basis of Christianity.

Divorce Agreement

My wife just sent this to me in a chain mail and I liked it:

DIVORCE AGREEMENT

THIS IS SO INCREDIBLY WELL PUT AND I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT'S BY A YOUNG PERSON, A STUDENT!!! WHATEVER HE RUNS FOR, I'LL VOTE FOR HIM.

American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists
And Obama supporters, et al:

We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course.

Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

Here is a model separation agreement:

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military.

You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell(You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them).

We'll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood .

You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us.. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.

We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N.. But we will no longer be paying the bill.

We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.

You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right. We'll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World.

We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot. Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.

Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you Answer which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.

Sincerely,
John J. Wall
Law Student and an American

P.S. Also, please take Ted Turner, Sean Penn, Martin Sheehan, Barbara Streisand, & Jane Fonda with you.

P. S. S. And we won't have to press 1 for English.

Prophecy By Nikita Khrushchev Coming True!

A few weeks ago my wife and I were traveling from Utah to Washington State to see my brother come home from an LDS ("Mormon") Mission in Richmond, Virginia. I was listening to Glenn Beck on those travels and he brought back A VOICE FROM THE DUST to speak to us today!

Ezra Taft Benson (13th President of the LDS Church) served as Secretary of Agriculture (21 January 1953 - 20 January 1961) under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America (January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961).

At the request of President Eisenhower Secretary Benson met with Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchev). I could sum up the meeting between Secretary Benson and Secretary Khrushchev, but it is better that you hear it in Secretary Benson's own words. Here are several clips I want you to hear:

Glenn Beck play clip of Ezra Taft Benson


Ezra Taft Benson-Warning


SHOCKING 1966 BUY Devotional Warning on Socialism


Stand Up for Freedom- Ezra T. Benson


OVER 40 YEARS AGO A LEADER OF COMMUNIST RUSSIA TOLD A MEMBER OF THE UNITED STATES CABINET PROPHESIED THIS DAY, OUR DAY, THAT WE WOULD LIVE UNDER SOCIALIST/COMMUNIST RULE! THIS IS HAPPENING! A FULFILLMENT OF PROPHESY!

CAN WE CONTINUE TO SLEEP?

CAN WE CONTINUE TO BELIEVE NOTHING IS WRONG?

CAN WE CONTINUE TO THINK OUR LEADERS HAVE OUR BEST INTEREST AT HEART?

CAN WE ALLOW OUR VOICE TO DIE WHEN WE HAVE BEEN WARNED BY THOSE THAT KNEW COMMUNISM FIRST HAND?

CAN WE ALLOW AMERICA, THE MOTHER OF US ALL, TO DIE AT THE HANDS OF THOSE THAT SEEK TO UNDER MIND FREEDOM AND FORCE FEED US SOCIALISM?

CAN WE ALLOW THE "SLEEPING GIANT" KNOWN AS AMERICA DIE WITHOUT A FIGHT?

SOCIALISM, COMMUNISM, A LARGE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: This form of government was not the intent of the Founding Fathers! They wanted liberty and peace, a government that served The People, not the people serving The Government. They wanted the Rule of America in the hands of The People and The States, not the federal government.

If we do not Stop This Hurricane Obama and his followers Communism, OVER ONE MILLION AMERICANS WHO HAVE DIED IN ACTIVE COMBAT FROM THE TIME OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION TO THE WAR ON TERROR (94,000+ IN KOREA AND VIETNAM ALONE FIGHTING COMMUNISM!) WILL HAVE DIED FOR NOTHING BECAUSE WE HAVE FAILED OUR ANCESTORS AND OUR CHILDREN!

*Gets off his soup box*

E-mail to President Barack H. Obama - 27 July 2009

Dear President Barack H. Obama,

I understand there is a need to help lower health care costs for the American Public, but the current Bill (HR 3200) is NOT THE WAY! If passed by Congress and signed into LAW by YOU, President Obama, you are taking control of my life and taking away my liberties as a Citizen of the United States of America.

If you need help reading this bill in your busy schedule here are the bullet points that you might want to read:

“Pg 22 of the Health Care Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self-insure!!

Pg 30 Sec 123- THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get.

Pg 29 lines 4-16 - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!!

Pg 42 - The “Health Choices Commissioner” will choose your HC Benefits for you. You have no choice!

PG 50 Section 152- HC will be provided to ALL non-US citizens, illegal or otherwise.

Pg 53- Severability (KEY GEM)

“If any provision of the Act, or any application of such provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of the provisions of this Act and the application of the provision to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected.”

Pg 58 - Govt will have real-time access to individual’s finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued!

Pg 59 lines 21-24- Govt will have direct access to your bank accounts for electronic funds transfer

PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community organizations (ACORN).

Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange to bring private HC plans under Govt control.

PG 84 Sec 203 - Govt mandates ALL benefit packages for private HC plans in the Exchange

PG 85 Line 7 - Specs for Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration your Healthcare!

PG 91 Lines 4-7- Govt mandates linguistic appropriate services. Example: Translation for illegal aliens

Pg 95 Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps to sign up individuals. for Govt HC plan.

PG 85 Line 7 - Specs of Benefit Levels For Plans. #AARP members- Your Health care WILL be rationed

PG 102 Lines 12-18- Medicaid-Eligible Individual will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.

pg 124 lines 24-25 No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No “judicial review” against Govt Monopoly.

pg 127 Lines 1-16- RE: Doctors- The Govt will tell YOU what you can make.

Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto-enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE

Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.

Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Employer w/ payroll $400k & above who doesn’t provide public option pays 8% tax on all payroll.

PG 150 Lines 9-13- Biz w payroll between 251k & 400k who doesn’t provide pub. opt pays 2-6% tax on all payroll

Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who doesn’t have acceptable HC according to Govt will be taxed 2.5% of income.

Pg 170 Lines 1-3 Any NONRESIDENT Alien is EXEMPT from individual taxes. (Americans will pay)

Pg 195 -Officers & employees of HC Admin (GOVT) will have access to ALL Americans financial/personal records

PG 203 Line 14-15- “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax.” Yes, it actualy says that.

Pg 239 Line 14-24-Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor will be affected. Expendable.

Pg 241 Line 6-8- Doctors, doesn’t matter what specialty you have, you’ll all be paid the same.

PG 253 Line 10-18 Govt sets value of Dr’s time, professional judgment, etc. Literally sets the value of humans."

And there is more to be found at http://rightsoup.com/twittering-obamacare-horrors-in-the-bill/.

If you need the complete bill you can find them here:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.3200:
http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf

DO NOT SIGN THIS BILL INTO LAW, PRESIDENT OBAMA! YOU ARE DESTROYING AMERICA AND TURNING IT INTO A SOCIALIST COUNTRY! I WANT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! I DO NOT WANT EUROPE, THE SOVIET UNION, OR ANY OTHER COUNTRIES HEALTH CARE OTHER THEN AMERICA! DO NOT SIGN THIS BILL! STOP PUSHING THIS AGENDA! STOP DESTROYING AMERICA!

Respectfully,

Charles A. Hall, "Tony"
www.charlesahall.com

E-mail to Congressman Chaffetz - 22 July 2009

Dear Congressman Jason Chaffetz,

First, let me thank you for representing me and my family located here in Utah's Third District. Both my wife and I voted for you and I am so far very pleased with your voting record during your Freshman Year in the House of Representatives.

Second, thank you for voting against HR 2454 (Cap and Trade). Though it did pass the House I already have personal word from Utah Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett that they will be voting against it in the Senate. Thank you for your effect to defeat the bill.

Third, I would like you to vote against Universal Healthcare being presented in the House (and Senate) at this time. I do not agree with it and I believe it is overstepping the boundaries of the Federal Government. It is taking away my freedom of choice, my wife’s, focusing more taxes upon me and my wife in an already difficult time for us. Vote No!

Last, I have a few questions about Constitutional Authority on several issues:

1. Where does Congress get its authority for Cap and Trade under the Constitution of the United States?

2. Where does Congress get its authority for universal health care under the Constitution of the United States?

3. Where does the United States Attorney General get his authority to issue arrest warrants for Taliban insurgents at the request of the President of the United States under the Constitution of the United States?

I would very much like you to get me those answers as I have not yet found them.

Again, thank you very much for all your do representing me and Utah's Third District.

Respectfully,

Charles A. Hall, "Tony"
www.charlesahall.com

A Disassembled Firearm: No More Than A Paper Weight…

With Heller vs. District of Columbia (2008) the United States Supreme Court found that the Second Amendment was an individual, not collective, right. Shortly after that ruling the District of Columbia Mayor, Attorney General, and Chief of Police issued a statement and the last line of the sixth paragraph is said, quote:

“In addition, although the Court struck the safe storage provision on the ground that it was too broadly written, firearms at home should be kept either unloaded and disassembled or else locked except for use in self-defense in emergencies” (http://dc.gov/mayor/news/release.asp?id=1325&mon=200806).

Well, I decided to test this line with both the “unloaded and dissembled” and “locked” part “except for use in self-defense in emergencies.”

I tested this with my Kahr CW40. Below are pictures of it completely unloaded and disassembled:



This picture shows all the individual parts of the firearm. On the top you have two unloaded six (6 round magazines and the slide to the Kahr. On the bottom of the case you have a box of ammunition, the barrel, handle with trigger lock, spring, rod, and pin.

Below that is the two locks and keys to secure the case.

Here is everything as it was packed into the case:



Here is it completely locked:



This is where I put it in my closet in my bedroom:



The dresser and where the key was to get to that firearm:





Now that you see where everything was I will give you the diagram of steps (distance) and everything to get upstairs to be able to put together a firearm to defend myself and my family:

-Six (6) steps to the stairs from my computer desk (about 18 feet)
-Fourteen (14) steps on the stairs
-Nine (9) steps to the dresser (about 27 feet)
-Three (3) steps to the dresser (about 9 feet)

I ran the experiment three times. Here is how long each run took:

First – 1:50.27
Second – 1:51.77
Third – 2:05.85

The reason the third experiment took fifteen (15) seconds longer was because I had trouble getting the pin in to complete the firearm.

Each time I would race upstairs from my desk, lock the bedroom door, get the key from the dresser, get the case from the closet, drop to the floor and unlock the case, assemble the firearm and test it, grab the box of bullets and load a magazine, load the magazine into the firearm rack the slide to put a round into the firing position, load a second magazine, stand and face the door to confront my attacker.

Now as you watch the video below you will see the exact distance I had to travel to perform this experiment:



My conclusion: An unloaded, disassembled, and locked firearm will do you no good when an intruder enters you home. This experiment may be very different to others and their homes, but for my home it doesn’t work. I would have to move pass my front door, probably where an attacker would come from, to get to my bedroom. An attacker would only need to go upstairs in a few short steps and kick in the door before I even got the case unlocked.

Gun laws and policies such as those of the District of Columbia and others are only protecting one person: the attacker/intruder. With an unloaded firearm they have nothing to fear.

This is why in my home I have a firearm within reaching distance at all times. As I write this I have a Springfield XD40 and Kahr CW40 on my kitchen table, no more then four feet away from me.

Why did I conduct this experiment: to show that these types of gun laws and policies do not work. We as armed citizens and as Defenders of the Second Amendment must fight these types of policies. We have to write our representatives and tell them to not pass gun laws that only harm the innocent, but protect the guilty.

Global Cooling Defeating Global Warming Scandal

I got the Deseret News today (Friday, 10 July 2009) and one of the last parts of Section A was an article entitled "Global cooling evidence should quiet the alarms raised by warmists" by Deroy Murdock.

The first paragraph said, quote: "As cap-and-trade advocates tie their knickers in knots over so-called "global warming," Mother Nature refuses to cooperate. Earth's temperatures continue a chill that began 11 years ago. As global cooling accelerates, global-warmists kick, scream and push their pet theory - just like little kids who cover their ears and stomp their feet when older children tell them not to bother waiting up for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve."

I was taught in my eighth grade Physical Science class with Mr. Fairchild at Sequim Middle School (Sequim, Washington) that the sun goes through an eleven year cycle of releasing less energy and more energy.

Example: Take a small rubber band and twist it until you can't twist it anymore. Then release it. The rubber band will go everywhere.

The same is with the sun. As you twist up that rubber band you are conserving energy but building it up the same energy to be released later. As you twist the rubber band you are releasing very little energy and then as you let it go all the energy is released and produces more energy. (Something close to that point).

The Global Warming crisis is a scandal. It is a way to tax and take control of America.

If I learned this almost a decade ago as a middle school (junior high) student how come scientists with doctorate degrees and post-doctorate degrees can't understand this either?

And on a side note: Prince Charles says we have ninty-six months until the world dies. Well, that is about eighteen months longer then Nobel Prize winner Al Gore gives us.

The 5th of July

On the 4th of July I sat on the side of the road looking down on Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah. Before the fireworks began to commemorate the Independence of the American Colonies I looked around Utah County. I saw fireworks being set off across Utah Lake to the west at Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs, more to the south in American Fork and Provo. I sat thinking of what we were celebrating, a declaration to the most powerful government of the 18th Century that the American Colonies would no longer be ruled by King George III and the British Empire, that the American people would be free. I sat there thinking if the meaning behind this celebration had been lost to the American People in our day.

Was it just another day off work? Was it a day to catch up on house chores? Was it a day to be with friends and family with no thought of the Founding Fathers and that with their signatures on the Declaration of Independence they were branding themselves traitors to the Crown and basically signing their own death warrant?

How was it for the Founding Fathers and the Patriots of the American Colonies the day after they signed their fates, on the 5th of July? Were they scared? Were they having doubts of what they had just done?

How was it for us, the American People, the day after this last 4th of July? Was it now just a normal Sunday, a day to get up, get dressed, and go to church?

I believe the meaning of so many holidays in the United States of America have lost their meaning to the American people, especially Independence Day. Christmas is now so commercial and presents that our children no longer understand it is about the birth of Jesus the Christ, the Savior of the World. Thanksgiving is about turkey and mash potatoes and not about the pilgrims coming to America seeking religious freedom. Memorial Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day… how many can really say they understand what those holidays are?

Independence Day – The 4th of July – was one of the single most important moments in the history of the world and we have forgotten it. It is now another day in which we no longer have to work, we can sleep in, and do whatever we wish with no thought to the Patriots of the American Revolution. The 4th of July is the 5th of July, just another day in the heart of the American People…

As I sat looking across Utah County and seeing those fireworks being set off in the night sky I was saddened that the true meaning of Independence Day has been lost. Why do we set off fireworks on the 4th of July? I believe it is this part of the United States National Anthem “The Star Spangled Banner,” written by Francis Scott Keys in 1814, is why:

“And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
“Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.”

It shows that the United States of America is still here, we are strong, and we are free!

As a nation we are loosing our identity. We are becoming just another nation on the face of the earth. We are no longer America, but america. We must retake Our identity as Americans! We can no longer allow Our most important day in Our Nation’s history to be treated as the 5th of July.

E-mail to US Senators Hatch & Bennett

My e-mail to the United States Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett - Senators for the State of Utah - on the upcoming Cap and Trade Bill (which I've nicknamed the Crap and Traitor Bill) that passed the House of Representatives and being introduced in the Senate.

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Dear Senator Orrin Hatch/Bob Bennett,

As one of your constituents in the Great State of Utah I am very concerned about the upcoming American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454) being introduced in the United States Senate. It recently passed in the United States House of Representatives in a 219 - 212 (Roll no. 477) vote, making it one of the largest tax bills in the history of the United States of America.

In my own research it will increase my family's taxes nearly $1000 a year! This isn't what America needs in this time of economic crisis!

When this bill is introduced in the Senate I want you to vote "NO!" on this tax bill! It basically increases the taxes of every American in the United States and gives more control of the country to the Federal Government, appointed - not elected - persons in the Executive Branch, and more!

VOTE "NO!" ON H.R. 2454!

Thank you for your time and service as my elected representative in the Senate. I and many other Utah will be will be following your vote on this damaging bill very closely.

Respectfully,

Charles A. Hall, "Tony"
www.charlesahall.com

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This bill must be stopped at all costs!

The Global Warming Scandal!

Originally Posted 27 June 2009:

I do not believe in the Global Warming Scam! An official statement from me to everyone that believes in man made global warming! I do not believe in the Global Warming Scam!

Around this time last year (2008) conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh talked about how the same scientists were screaming "GLOBAL COOLING!" in the 1970s are the same people now screaming "GLOBAL WARMING!" He pointed out that for several decades now the countries in Europe have been taxing their citizens to "solve the global warming crisis" but they have nothing to show for it except increasing people's taxes.

With a vote of 219 to 212 the passage of HR 2454 - "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (AKA Cap and Trade Act)" - in the United States House of Representatives yesterday (Friday, 26 June 2009) showed that our elected representatives are following the same course Europe is, taxing the citizens of the United States in a scam! It all comes down to the all mighty dollar (even though the United States Dollar is losing its mighty value).

In the three hour debate yesterday Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) said, "I rise today in support of HR 2454, which really does send a clear... message that polluting our planet, our communities, and our livelihood no longer comes without cost." That cost is your hard earned dollars! If you breath, if you turn on your computer, if you do ANYTHING you are polluting the planet, community, and livelihood! You must pay for your living!

Just today I learned on the Facebook Group Our Country Deserves Better of a video produced and aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom called "The Great Global Warming Swindle."

Here is the 10 minute version of the highlights of the video, called "The Global Warming C02 Scam":



Here is the full version of "The Great Global Warming Swindle":

Global Warming is a scandal that has struck to the very heart of almost every government in the world. It is a scandal that has gone all the way to the Oval Office in the White House! It is a scandal that stretches across the global.

What I do believe is that greenhouse gases, the sun, and other NATURAL factors are the causing of the warming of the earth. Co2 is a natural part of our every day life. As you sit there and read this you are breathing, producing natural Co2 gas. Why is it natural? Because breathing is a natural thing to do. If you do not breath you do not live. Even when you die and when you body breaks down Co2 is released. Co2 is natural!

I encourage all to watch the videos above (more so the full version then the highlights) and see what is not being said in the American mainstream media.

Again, I do not believe in the Global Warming Scandal! We can no longer allow a scandal, a scam, a flat out lie to control our government and our lives!

Why I Will No Longer Remain Silent!

Since Tuesday, 20 January 2009 when President Barack Obama took the Oath of Office of the President of the United States the entire country has seen several events happen already in the first five (5) months of his Presidency:

-The Federal Bailouts
-Uncontrolled Federal Spending
-Bankruptcy of Major Auto Companies
-Tea Party Campaigns

That is just some of the things that have been happening. What gets me more then anything is the ratings of the President and the United States Congress.

Here is a picture of the latest Rasmussen.com President Approval Index:

(http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll)

Look how they are coming so close to each other! According to a Gallop.com poll posted 23 June 2009 “Americans' approval of the job Congress is doing has slipped to 33% this month, down from the recent high of 39% in March, but still significantly higher than job approval ratings of Congress over the last several years” (http://www.gallup.com/poll/121208/Congress-Approval-Rating-Drops-33.aspx).

It is shocking me how the country is shaping up right now. What I’m really shocked about is the activity the Citizens of the United States of America are showing! The big one has been the Tea Parties happening across the nation! The People of the United States are finally speaking up! They are fighting for Their rights and putting in check Their representatives in Washington, D.C.

I created a Facebook Group called “Second Amendment Defenders of America” (http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=39739559476) on Saturday, 21 December 2008 because I knew that after the Obama Administration was in place they would be coming after and destroy the Second Amendment – The Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms – of the United States Constitution. Though the membership numbers a few join every day. Why? Because average Citizens are tired of the uncontrolled nature in Washington, D.C. and They are finally speaking up! It is at the grassroots, in Our local community, where REAL CHANGE is made!

I have written letters to My representatives in the United States Congress, left messages for the Utah State Governor, and others because I will no longer remain silent! Because the People of the United States are no longer remaining silent!

One of my favorite television shows was the remake of SciFi channels Battlestar Galactica. In the Series Finale “Daybreak, Part II” Lee Adama (played by Jamie Bamber) says, “If you don’t participate in the political conversation then you’re giving up your voice, you’re giving up your right to have a say in the way that our society is run.” I could not agree more! You have to engage in the political conversation! You have to have Your voice heard by those You cast Your vote for!

I will not give up My Voice! My Voice is more powerful then My representatives voice at the local, state, and federal level. If We, the People of the United States, do not speak up then our voice will be lost and only Theirs’, our elected Representatives, will be heard.

This is why I will no longer remain silent! I will not give up My Voice! I will have a say in how My country is run!

E-mail to Governor Huntsman

Dear Governor Huntsman,

On your desk from the State Legislator are two very good pro-gun bills that are awaiting your signature to sign into law. Those bills are:

House Bill 357 and Senate Bill 78

As a person that voted for you in the last election I am requesting that you sign these two bills into law. They are very key in maintaining the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section VI of the Utah Constitution. These two bills will be restoring these rights that so many are trying to take away from law-biding gun-owners like myself.

Defend the Constitution of the US and of the Great State of Utah and sign these bills into law!

Respectfully,
Charles A. Hall, "Tony"
Founder, Second Amendment Defenders of America
www.charlesahall.com