COWBOY'S CORNER

The 60's radicals had a saying, "Never trust a liberal. They'll give you money, pat you on the back, and tell you what a fine fellow you are, but when the (fecal matter) hits the fan, they're nowhere to be found." Perhaps we should remember this today.

Back when some people were registering black voters, the liberals would come with the patronizing "some of my best friends..." BS. When radicals were burning their draft cards to protest the war in Nam, the liberals were spending Daddy's money to stay in school and keep their student deferments. Sure, they might march for or against something, but they always did so in a group where they felt no personal risk. The whole idea was to look 'cool' and make them feel good about themselves, their typical form over substance routine.

Today, we have these same lightweights running the country. Bubba and his crew of wanna-be's have never believed in anything except campus socialism and their own self-interest, and have never done anything except make a mess of everything they've touched. And now they think they can tell the American people what to do, and how to run their lives. Frankly, it's enough to make me want to puke.

In my last column, I mentioned a few examples of their 'quick-fix' legislation. These laws are typical of the liberal mind-set. Instead of rationally attempting to solve the very real problems in our society, they, and their willing friends in the mass media, concoct a 'crisis' about an 'issue', and attempt to find a government quick-fix to make it go away (at least until after Election Day!) Although a huge percentage of them are lawyers, they ignore the old truism that "extraordinary cases make bad law." The one thing all their 'solutions' seem to have in common is the steady erosion of personal freedom. Anyone who questions them is accused of 'not caring', and is assured lots of bad press come the next election.

Particularly since the days of FDR's New Deal, they've targeted the Bill of Rights for the death camp. Let's take a brief look:

Amendment I

Although the mass media swear by freedom of speech and the press, these rights have been steadily eroded over the last couple decades. Don't believe it? Ask the students in Florida who were arrested for publishing an alternative school paper, which contained material which wasn't 'politically correct'. Ask the Ku Kluxers, who are regularly denied the right of peaceable assembly. These rights are meaningless unless they apply to unpopular, as well as popular, views.

Amendment II

The Founding Fathers, having just overthrown their lawful government by force of arms, knew the only way to guarantee the survival of a free people was for those people to have the means to physically resist an oppressive government. That's what the right to keep and bear arms is all about, not hunting, target shooting, gun collecting, or self-defense. The 'militia' mentioned is not the National Guard, but the unorganized militia, which consists of most able-bodied men (and these days, women), and is subject to call-up by the Governor.

Article III

Well, I guess they aren't quartering many soldiers in private homes without consent of the owner. Then again, this was pretty much a non-issue after the Revolution started.

Article IV

With no-knock laws, the steady erosion of the exclusionary rules, etc., the so-called 'war on drugs' is rapidly making the 'search and seizure' Amendment a distant memory.

Article V

You don't want to testify against yourself? Too bad. They'll give you limited immunity, then either try you in a different venue or throw you in jail for contempt. And as for depriving you of property without due process of law, how'd you like to have your car confiscated because the radio was too loud, or have all your money taken by the IRS (who firmly believe you're guilty until proven innocent) because someone got caught smoking a joint in your house? (The last actually happened to me some years ago. After several months, we were able to convince them that it was the rent money, not drug profits.) And if you feel protected against double jeopardy , talk to OJ, or the cops in the Rodney King case. If they can't get you one way, they'll find another.

Article VI

This one pretty much survives, but have you ever tried to get the G to produce the 'reliable informant' who snitched you out, or the undercover cop who claimed you're a bad guy? I've never had any luck with either one.

Article VII

Believe it or not, this one's still basically intact!

Article VIII

Cruel and unusual punishment means, quite simply, torture. No disemboweling, drawing and quartering, breaking on the rack. Today, it's an excuse for opponents of the death penalty, and cons with too much time on their hands. As for excessive bail, what's $10 million to someone on welfare?

Articles IX and X

These were the first two amendments to bite the dust. The Constitution has come to be interpreted so broadly (in favor of an expanding government) that the enumerated rights of the people have been eroded. The "powers not delegated to the United States" have been usurped on one pretext or another to increase the power of the central government an the expense of the States and the individual. For example, the interstate commerce provision (sixteen words in Article I, Section 8, mostly dealing with foreign trade and relations with Indian tribes) has been so loosely interpreted that it is the justification for sexual harassment laws, seat belt and motorcycle helmet laws, hiring quotas, the minimum wage, anti-gun and anti-smoking laws, and just about anything else Big Brother feels like sticking his nose into.

All told, that makes eight out of ten Amendments of the Bill of Rights, the ultimate guarantor of individual freedom, that have been perverted beyond anything their authors would recognize. Pretty grim, ain't it?

"I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive." --Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, 1787

Well, that's it for now. Coming soon to City2: "If this be Treason, get the cash up front" or "Chinese take-away, Washington style."

NEWS FLASH!!! The well-intentioned dummies strike again! Seems some genius decided it would be nice if there were some pretty flowers along the runways at O'Hare airport in Chicago. Fortunately, someone with a brain heard of this nonsense before they were planted. The flowers would have attracted birds and bugs, which would have been sucked into jet engines, endangering the lives of airline passengers and crews. But they would have looked nice!

P.S.

Upon further reflection, I feel a little clarification of my positions is in order.

The late 60's, when I was a young man, were very much a time of choosing sides. The country was polarized, with many people (mostly young) going to the extreme left in hopes of making the world a better place. Many others (mostly, but not all, older) thought things were pretty damn good as they were, and any improvements could be brought about by tweaking the system. (I used to tell my leftist friends that I was so far to the right that I met the extreme left on the other side. Today, that's called Libertarian.) Then there were the liberals. They were the ones who then, as today, JUST DON'T GET IT!!! I have never had any respect for that wishy-washy, wanna-be scum.

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