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Special Report

Piers Morgan and the Assault on American Liberty

By on 1.29.13 @ 6:10AM

The Spirit of King George III live on CNN.

(Page 2 of 6)

Let’s begin with an incident that took place on the night of March 5, 1770. An incident known in America as the Boston Massacre.

After endless provocations by the British government — more of which in a moment — angry Bostonians gathered at the government’s custom’s house, known in the day as the “King’s Chest” because it stored the revenue from custom’s taxes. The mob — led by among others an African-American runaway slave named Crispus Attucks — surrounded the lone British sentry and began to taunt him. Reinforcements arrived in the form of British troops. Insults were hurled by angry colonists who brandished clubs — but no guns. A soldier was knocked to the ground in the turmoil — and abruptly the command “fire” was heard.

In a blink, wrote Stanford University Professor John C. Miller in his 1943 book Origins of the American Revolution, “five Bostonians lay dead or dying” — one of them Crispus Attucks.

Faced with an armed attack — by guns in the hands of the government — Miller writes:

The streets echoed to the beat of drums and the cry of “To Arms! To Arms! To Arms! Turn out with your Guns!”

Deciding the best course was to back off, the British commander on the scene retreated until joined by an entire British regiment decidedly armed with guns. Between the retreat and the overwhelming show of British arms against an unarmed mob, the incident came to an end.

This may have been the first notable imprint on the American psyche of the need for guns to deal with a tyrannical government — but it wasn’t the last. Annually afterwards, the most prominent of Boston’s citizens would deliver “The Boston Massacre Oration” — and these speeches were in turn used to target the imposition of tyranny upon the King’s subjects in the colonies. John Hancock, who would later famously fix his unmistakably large signature on the Declaration of Independence, delivered the Massacre Oration in 1774. Hancock went out of his way to cite the government for tyranny, saying : 

“….I glory in publicly avowing my eternal enmity to tyranny.”

And there was no mistake: to fight government tyranny, the right to bear arms was a necessary and fundamental liberty.

A little over one year after Hancock’s 1774 Massacre Oration, the British army, in search of rebel stores of guns and ammunition, marched out from Boston to Lexington and Concord. Warned by spies that the government was coming to take their guns, the Americans were ready.

As British troops entered Lexington, marching in perfect formation in their scarlet red coats, musket bayonets glittering, British Major Pitcairn demanded in a yell:

“Disperse ye rebels, ye villains, disperse….Lay down your arms.”

Which is to say, the government was demanding of its citizens that they disarm themselves — or else.

To which the American Captain John Parker famously said to the armed men of Lexington as they stared out at the British:

“Don’t fire unless fired on, but if they mean to have war let it begin here.”

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About the Author

Jeffrey Lord is a former Reagan White House political director and author. He writes from Pennsylvania at jlpa1@aol.com.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (231) |

Robert Pinkerton| 1.29.13 @ 6:29AM

And what, then, is this Liberty? It is that clear space between the outer boundary of the compulsory (from any source derived) and the forbidden (from any source derived) within which clear space one may act or not as one wishes. If that is not preciousm then tell me what is.

drudge ette obama| 1.29.13 @ 6:50AM

I watched Patriot on television this weekend. It is easy to imagine this pasty & plump Piers Morgan as an extra on the English side, of course.

Who really watches this foolishness anyway? I certainly don't need the likes of a Piers Morgan to define my citizenship or rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Jack in Wi| 1.29.13 @ 8:39AM

The English disarmed the Irish, Scotch, Indians, Africaners, and eveyone else who showed a little fight for their own independence. They disarmed themselves now as well. There elites are afraid of an armed population. Ghandi said that one of the worst things the British did in India was to disarm the population. They took away the peoples right to resist tyranny. It is a good thing we resisted at Lexington and Concord. Sic Semper Tyrannis.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 2:35PM

Sissyboy confused Shapiro's little book, with the one written by Mao, that he keeps in his Pocket.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 9:25AM

I for one think it's clearly preciousm.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 10:46AM

As you can see from Tinkerbell's picture.

England is sporting Two Queens, these days.

I think that Purp could beat this guy, with one hand tied behind his back that will be rubbing Alan Brooks, while the fight is going on.

SCPOret| 1.29.13 @ 9:54AM

I must ask, what is your definition of "preciousm"? I researched several dictionaries and thesaurus and cannot find the word listed. Please enlighten me.

Von Mises Jr| 1.29.13 @ 11:05AM

From Von Mises who fled Hitler and the Nazis for his life writing in "Omnipotent Government:

“The state is a human institution, not a superhuman being. He who says “state” means coercion and compulsion. He who says: There should be a law concerning this matter, means: The armed men of the government should force people to do what they do not want to do, or not to do what they like. He who says: This law should be better enforced, means: the police should force people to obey this law. He who says: The state is God, deified arms and prisons. The worship of the state is the worship of force.”

flyovermark| 1.29.13 @ 11:22AM

No Robert. Liberty is not a "space between" anything. It is the space occupied by individual sovereignty, where one has the freedom to choose whether or not to give one's consent to the compulsory, or the freedom to decide for himself whether to obediently reject the forbidden or to accept the consequences for embracing it. Liberty is not "preciousm", a mere "space" unoccupied by "the compulsory" and "the forbidden" where one can do whatever one wishes, but a WHOLE OTHER space in which "the compulsory" and "the forbidden" both reside.

GobBluthe| 1.29.13 @ 4:54PM

As I have said before. The American left ultimately wants to overturn the American Revolution.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 7:02AM

I'm not sure I understand Mr. Lord's Manifesto. Seeing as I am only allowed 500 Symbals? That's about how many I allow myself to partake in, when reading these things.

I think he's saying that Effeminate Brit Boy is an Effeminate Brit Boy, which probably explains why he likes our Effeminate Halfrican Boy so much.

He doesn't like Freedom because he doesn't understand it. He doesn't understand it because he's never really had it. So, why do I think he knows everything about the Male Sex Organ?

What do we know about little Pierce Fauntleroy, other than he's not from here, is that he doesn't understand this Country and he hates the Constitution because it's "A Document of Negative Rights". He's never Served in the Military. Although he's never Forged any documnets to a Federal Judge? He has been involved in a Major Hacking Incidence. He's Pro Global Warming. Anti 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 14th Amendment. He's Pro Gay Everything and Anti U.S. Military. He likes the Arabs, Hates the Jews, and has been known to frequent the Gay Bathhouses in Chicago.

Birds of a Feather, eh?

Alan| 1.29.13 @ 7:44AM

There are too many individuals who have this seemingly bullerproof concept in their pea brains that "it can't happen here". What are you afraid of? It can't happen here. America is a perpeptual motion machine, it can't happen here. US government becoming tyrannical? It can't happen here. History has all the answers, but it seems that twits like this wimp from the island don't seem to grasp its lessons very well. The marchers to utopia just march blissfully along, totally ignorant of the name of the road their marching along and where it ends(the cliff, where it always ends)

CrackerHound| 1.29.13 @ 9:02AM

My wory is that even people such as ourselves....those who recognize that our liberties are being stripped away in real and tangible ways, will not recognize the fact that we HAVE slipped in to tyranny. Not that we are headed there, but we are in fact being ruled by a tyrannical goverment.

The progressive marxists in our midst are like Al-Queda in a sense. They are telling EXACTLY what they want to do, but as you say, people are not believing it can happen here. Piers Morgan seems to be another one with his head in the sand when he acts incredulous at the notion that citizens might need protectection from their own government.

When the government dictates how much money you can make, confiscates income directly to pay favors (mandated health insurance) to a favored class, attempts to shut down energy production and punish certain states (Texas)...announces a campaign to eradicate gun ownership (feinstien's drying up the supply comment) and possibly confiscation...it's time to wake up.

We have unelected czars and agencies with the power to tax and regulate at will and a media that is in effect the fourth branch of government and approaching North Korea level propaganda every day. We are CLEARLY headed towards tyranny. I can say this without fear of sounding like a nut because the evidence is slam dunk...The "progressives" have decided to dump the Constitution and rule over us for our own sake.

CrackerHound| 1.29.13 @ 9:08AM

Obama is a man trained by the very people who ruled over the USSR for most of the 20th century and it isn't even hidden very well

We will all wake up one day and realize we are spending most of our time worrying about how to keep from being on the government's bad side or worse yet, what the neighbors will tell the local commisar about our beliefs and public statements.

Will we STILL claim that we are a free country when that time comes? The pot is showing signs it might begin to boil but still the frog remains.

old white guy| 1.29.13 @ 10:34AM

you are correct. i think the level of ignorance in america today will be the downfall of the republic.

Albertus Magnus| 1.29.13 @ 11:11AM

Europeans in 1914 said "It can't happen." They also said, "There is too much to lose." And, "Business is good, no one will mess it up." Or paraphrases of these sentiments. What does happen when the irresistable force meets the immovable object? We may be about to find out.

Job| 1.29.13 @ 4:09PM

well there's been a referendum on the Bible, the family, the constitution, next up, a referendum on breathing.

this is about turning the keys to the US over to the UN for world government.

Appleby| 1.29.13 @ 7:31AM

I was in Cambridge, England for a Mensa colloquium once and stopped by a desk where rabid (okay, passionate) university students were soliciting signatures on a petition regarding Oliver North. I engaged him in what passed for conversation with a liberal socialist, explaining that I am an American and I supported North's actions vis-a-vis the Sandinistas. "Then you are a traitor!" he sniped. "According to your history books which you ought to try reading," I replied, "ALL Americans are traitors. We kicked your backsides in the 1770s and threw you out of our country, and y'all have never tried to take it back, oddly enough. Why do you think that is?" Needless to say, he was unwilling to debate actual history. Instead he sneered, "You're one of those Mensa people, aren't you?" and went back to trying to sign up the ignoranti who swarmed around. I took his photo because the picture of Oliver North that he had hanging from his table was the most mild-mannered nice-guy picture you'd want to see.

Matthew Quigley| 1.29.13 @ 7:40AM

Actually, they DID try. A little thing called the War of 1812. Had there not been the Treaty of Ghent (as well as the Battle of Chippewa, notably, and the --post treaty-- Battle of New Orleans) the British may well have snuffed out our Independence. Further, they did seriously consider intervening on the side of the Confederacy during the War for the Union (Civil War, War of the Rebellion, War for the Southern Confederacy...whatever...).

Don't sell those monarchist twerps short. There are some to this day who resent and deny our independence...they just lack the troops and cojones to try to terminate it.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 7:55AM

I can think of 60 Million of'em, right off the top of my head.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 9:47AM

The British Army is one of the greatest armies in the world. They've lost fewer wars than the United States Army, in a far longer period of time, through many wars.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 9:51AM

WAS, billy boy.

WAS.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 2:49PM

They have the good sense not to get involved in inconclusive wars, unlike us, who seem to have developed a habit of doing so.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.29.13 @ 4:30PM

What do the folks in Northern Ireland have to say about that?

spike59| 1.30.13 @ 5:54AM

"They have the good sense to let the US save their bacon whenever faced with a foe tougher than, say, Argentina..."

there, fixed it for ya

Matthew Quigley| 1.29.13 @ 10:23AM

Yeah, and two of those losses were to THE AMERICANS!

Or did you miss that memo?

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 10:50AM

Quigley's right. We're Undefeated against these pasty faced, Sissy Mary Milk Sops.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 10:51AM

Bill above mistakes. The United States military has never lost a war. The political power has betrayed the military and withdrawn even with its forces undefeated in the field, but that is a failure of political will, not a military defeat.

CJW| 1.29.13 @ 12:10PM

Al Adab
The Dem Congress, led by Teddy, cut off all funds to S.Vietnam effective Jan 1, 1975. You know what happened next. North Vietnam invaded in full force resulting in the loss, the boat people, the Cambodia killing fields, but the careers of Teddy and his gang suffered no harm.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 12:17PM

Not to mention the next Sec. of State, the great John (unindicted traitor and political whore) Kerry. That any GOP Senator approves this appointment is despicable.

CJW| 1.29.13 @ 5:28PM

Al Adab
In 2004 Kerry did not deny the charges made against him by his fellow sailors. He just said they were unfair and he was "swift boated."

He repeated the same charges in 2005 again defaming the American military in Iraq.
So in 2004 he complains about being "swift boated" and in 2005 he makes essentially the same charges against the military in Iraq.

It would be nice to see some Senators publicly state they would approve a traitor, even though the Dems have the votes to confirm.

McCain even considered running as Kerry's VP in 2004, will vote for Kerry as Sec of State.

Of course, given Obama's anti American leanings, from Rev Wright and terrorrist Ayers, having Kerry as Sec of State is consistent with his beliefs.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 2:16PM

I think one could fairly say that we lost the Vietnam War. That loss had a political component, but our military also failed in its approach to counter-insurgency. We never made much of an attempt to get close to the people, and as a result were always seen as invaders instead of as helpers. That was a material factor in our loss of our part of the war.

Pecos Pete| 1.29.13 @ 2:21PM

Bill8472: I call BS x 100. You obviously were not there.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 2:37PM

So, to you the Vietnam War was a draw? A victory for our military?

I think even our military people would disagree with you, both our military people from the Vietnam Era and from today.

Pecos Pete| 1.29.13 @ 7:51PM

Bill8472: We never lost a battle. The politicians didn't have the guts to fight a war.

Most of the time I agree with your comments. On this one I respectfully disagree.

Bill8472| 1.30.13 @ 9:30AM

Pleiku
LZ Albany
Ia Drang, a draw and we were the ones who abandoned the battlefield when the battle was over.

Frekki| 1.29.13 @ 3:35PM

We never fought the Vietnam War. If we had we would've nuked North Vietnam and removed the enemy from the field. The Vietnam War was the Beta Test for the American Way of Life.

Bill8472| 1.30.13 @ 9:33AM

That's true. Invading the north was the key to victory for us in Vietnam. But we also had a problem fighting the counterinsurgency war that Vietnam War was before Tet. Our failure to adopt a system of placing our forces among the people of the villes insured that the VC and later the NVA would dominate the countryside. The USMC actually had a strategic vision (as they've had in our wars in the Middle East) of making a real effort to get along with the local people, but not the Army in Vietnam. In a place like Vietnam, that failure spelled military defeat.

Seamus| 2.1.13 @ 9:38AM

If we didn't lose in Vietnam, then the Soviets didn't lose in Afghanistan.

Gr0w1er601| 1.29.13 @ 12:57PM

With total troop strength down to 80,000 I don't think they could hold onto Dover, let alone England. (Besides, an invading army wouldn't have to worry about an unarmed population,courtesy of their very own government, anyway.) Hell, the RAF has to rely on NATO fighter coverage for their own ADIZ (Air Defense Interception Zone) coverage. MoD will be HARD-PRESSED to defend the Falkland Islands, should the Argentines want to re-invade.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 2:17PM

Yeah, they said that after Dunkirk too. Maybe, maybe not.

Frekki| 1.29.13 @ 3:42PM

Without the US, Dunkirk would not be remembered today. Outside of the Nazi Bundeswehr's battle history class of course.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 5:01PM

After Dunkirk, they still had Winston Churchill. Who might play that role today?

To paraphrase;

Whatever happens we have got
Winston Churchill
And they have not.

loulou| 1.29.13 @ 9:51AM

It was the War of Northern Aggression.

Matthew Quigley| 1.29.13 @ 10:21AM

So the US Army fired on itself at Fort Sumter?

Odd...I missed that when reading my great great grandfather's diary...that he kept while a sergeant in the 9th TEXAS, CSA!!!! Don't give me that "northern aggression" crap, you revisionist troll! Are you saying the Confederates didn't have the gumption to FIRE FIRST?

Dolt.

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 11:10AM

Ding ding ding, we have a racist southerner that wants to defend the honor and pride of the slave owning Christians of the Confederacy. Thanks for clarifying what the war is called loulou.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 2:40PM

The Second American Revolution.

Seamus| 2.1.13 @ 9:37AM

The British were not trying to snuff American independence during the War of 1812. In fact, it was the U.S. that declared war on Britain. What the British *were* trying to do was beat Napoleon, and they didn't need a second war with the U.S. distracting their resources and attention from that goal. (If any of the two principals in the War of 1812 had designs on the other's territory, it was the U.S., which cast a longing eye toward Canada. To this day, the Canadians proudly maintain that they whipped our asses and maintained (or at least made possible) *their* independence.)

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 7:49AM

You were working in the Cloak Room at a Mensa Meeting?

That's fantastic.

Aren't ya glad that you didn't Drop Dead?

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 7:41AM

Piers Morgan is obviously Stalin, Hitler, the Pillsbury Doughboy, and Satan all rolled into one. How dare he be concerned about kids being shot, and actually have the facts to back it up that other countries have less kids shot by guns.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 7:53AM

They have a lot less of other things than we do, where DEMOGRAPHICS are concerned, as well.

But then, you're an Idiot, so what's the point?

Go kiss the Wiener on your Obama Doll, and go back to bed.

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 8:00AM

Oh that's right "The Limp Penis", according to you, African-Americans are not Americans, and therefore we should not be concerned about them.

You are racist to the bone, despite your Asian boy toy that bought.

Stephie| 1.29.13 @ 8:36AM

obama the Halfrican is not American. He despises this nation hence his "fundamentally changing it"
I believe Arnie, you are on the wrong site. The HuffPo awaits.

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 8:53AM

Hey Stephie, put your KKK mask down, then we'll talk.

loulou| 1.29.13 @ 9:53AM

There is no need to talk to you, lefty loser.

Von Mises Jr| 1.29.13 @ 11:25AM

You are correct loulou. There is no reason to talk to Perp. And quite frankly the fact that half the comments of the first 100 are either by this troll or arguing with this troll is why I will not comment much on this site anymore.
I like Mr. Lord, Mr. Ferarra and Dr. Thomas Sowell in particular and seek out their articles where ever they occur.
But with all due respect, if my friends at TAS wish to bicker with a moron propagandist paid by Soros, then you will do so without me.
I will be an AT where when a troll gets through; the people insult them and refuse to engage in the bullshit. At AT they have a "Liked" button so you can see if other trolls/guests are the ones that provide the few likes those idiots get. But the people at TAS continue to engage with trolls at the expense of constructive conversation.
I would prefer to read a book or discuss topics with honest brokers seeking truth. TAS blocked my friend TLP but doesn't seem to have the same fortitude to block trolls. Perhaps their software makes it difficult, but anyone who comments here should know better.

Pecos Pete| 1.29.13 @ 2:25PM

Von: While I agree with you about the time wasted with non substantial replies to trolls, I do find that most of the "reply to troll" comments are usually worth reading.

I agree that AT is an excellent site.

Pecos Pete| 1.29.13 @ 2:36PM

Von: As an example: Rockabilly| 1.29.13 @ 12:22PM below.

Stephie| 1.29.13 @ 11:20AM

Ahh....Arnie my boy, those were democrats who created and implemented the KKK, not the Republican right.
You obviously need some non-revisionist history teachings. You're accusations of RAAAAACISM is so worn and torn that it means nothing any more. It's all the left has to defend the half white president. THAT is the side I despise. His WHITE half that was taught communist doctrine by his mama and his white grandparents before they shuffled him off to the communist,child molesting Frank Marshall Davis. So please take your charges of racism to another site. Nobody here takes you seriously anyway.

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 11:30AM

You are right Stephie, the Democratic right, or the conservative Dems started that stuff. Otherwise today known as a typical southern white Republican.

I'm part of the Democratic Left, ala liberals from Massachusettes and New York. You know, the States that wooped the shit out of those worthless southern ones.

Kwan| 1.29.13 @ 12:23PM

Awnie da Homo is back and once again he demonstrates like his fellow leftists, that being an ignorant fool is all that is required to be a member of the great Leftist Movement to Progress America back to the stone age.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 8:51AM

Who said anything about Blacks? I didn't.

Apparently this is something in Your Head. This is something that You Believe.

But, since you brought it up? Let's talk about it.

Are Blacks, Americans? Of Course they are. Just not very Productive Ones.

Are they a Drain on the Economy? I'm thinking that they are. Run the Numbers. Are they more apt to give Birth out of Wedlock? Are their Kids more apt to Drop out of School, Commit a Violent Crime, and be Housed in a Government Penal Fascility? I'm thinking that it shouldn't be too difficult to look all of this stuff up.

I'm not picking on'em. I never used any inference to them in my original Comment. YOU did.

I'm talkin Everybody. Every year we have less and less people here, with any affinity for this Country, let alone, Love. They fly THEIR COUNTRY'S FLAG from their rear view mirrors, and from their Apt. windows, not The Stars and Stripes. They DEMAND that they recieve Preferential Treatment because of their Race, Creed, and Etnicity. They Segregate themselves in College. in the Dorms, and in their Studies. They Segregate themselves into the Black Caucus, the Hispanic Caucus, the Asian Caucus, and on and on and on.

Asia is KICKING OUR ASS, because they are United by their Genealogy. We will soon take our place right next to Yugoslavia, as a Fragmented Group of Smaller Nations, who once used to be United.

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 8:59AM

Then I apologise TLP, I didn't understand your vague comment. So what Demographics do other countries have less of than the USA? I guess you mean all minorities. Please straighten my thinking on this one. So are you saying that the US would be better if it was just composed of whites. I admit, maybe I'm interpreting your seemingly racist comments incorrectly.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 10:05AM

I don't expect you to understand. You're an idiot. You don't have any points. You just mouth the words you hear on The View, or on Colbert, or from some other Leftist Ass.

You want this Country to be a Third Worlder. You want Revenge upon this Country for the Crime of Murder against the Nazis, the Fascists in Italy, the Communists all over the World, and the Innocent Muslims who would give your Head a Danny Pearl, right after they finished Purping You from behind, if they ever their hands on you.

Who could have a discussion with someone like that?

Nobody, that's who.

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 10:47AM

TLP, your brain is overheating because it can't even explain its ridiculous notions of the world. It's clear that you are a racist and delusional. Period. End of discussion

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 11:08AM

Here's another perfect example.

I have explained it. And, you know I'm right.

You just can't allow yourself to be nudged from your Ideological Dogmatic Path.

Liberalism is a Cult. You, alone, are proof of that. Purp, vtwin, DRed, RCV, Jackass from London.

You're like the Octagenarian Russians, who still Light Candles to the Memory of Stalin, his Forced Starvations, his Purges, his Work Camps, his Gulags, his KGB, his Iron Curtain, and his Mass Graves.

He did what needed to be done for the good of the Masses. And, if he had to Kill a Million here, and a Million there? So be it. He works in Mysterious Ways. His ways are not my ways. And, I am not worthy to bask in his light, let alone question his Methods.

Now, just replace Stalin with Obama, and Kill with Unemployed, and you've got where we are right now.

And, you don't care.

In fact: You Defend It.

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 9:01AM

Actually China has many different ethnic groups, they just look the same to you.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 9:55AM

They all look the same to you, too.

You just can't bring yourself to say it, cause you're a Punk.

And, what demographics do they have less of, than we do?

All of them.

That's why they're Kicking our Ass.

Now, go Kiss that Obama Doll's wiener.

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 10:48AM

You are not making any sense. You have completely lost it. It seems you blew a circuit.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 11:22AM

And that's what I'm talking about.

When dealing with the Arnie types, one find that sooner or later they run out of Talking Points.

And, even as Flucked Up as they are?

Deep down in their Subconscious, a voice in their head, that they've not heard since before their Indoctrination Days, tells them that the battle's over. "Your position is Indefensible against the Hard Facts at your opponent's disposal."

Then you get: "You are not making any sense. You have completely lost it. It seems you blew a circuit."

"You're off your Meds."

And, of course, the Obligatory Race Card, Misquotes, and Passages from the very same Bible that they Mock the rest of us for Believing in, that they don't believe in, and that they Despise for being just ANOTHER Document of Negative Rights.

SUBVET| 1.29.13 @ 12:03PM

Come on Tim..........this POS is trolling and you keep trying to catch the bait....unfortunately all he's got is an empty hook.

Stephie| 1.29.13 @ 11:24AM

No, actually he's right on the money Arnie. You just refuse to see what the world is really like now. Not just America but the entire ball of wax.
It ain't pretty.

Stan Redmond| 1.29.13 @ 3:00PM

Shapiro slapped Piers correctly for standing on the bodies of those kids. The bodies weren't even in the ground and he and his anti-gun statists were celebrating how this horrific act presented new opportunities to take on the 2nd amendment. Hello Ed Rendel?

Jack London| 1.29.13 @ 7:43AM

Thank you Jeffrey. Without you we would soon forget how important it is for people like Adam Lanza's mother to have a cache of semi-automatic weapons so that her son can shoot little children multiple times in the head at point blank range.

Nancy in NC| 1.29.13 @ 8:22AM

And what is your point? You can't control people who act stupidly. Mrs. Lanza paid the ultimate price for her stupidity and it's a tragedy so many others did as well.

If we created a country where the massacre in Connecticut could not happen, it would look like North Korea. If that's what you want, go to North Korea. I'm sure they will take you in.

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 8:37AM

Or Jack could just move to Australia. It's a really nice place, and with better beaches than North Korea.

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 8:50AM

And if you missed my point, they have lots of gun control there Nancy.

CrackerHound| 1.29.13 @ 9:29AM

Arnie,
Nancy is correct...I'm sure you do things or enjoy a hobby that someone could deem detrimental to the country. Do you want the federal government to threaten to remove all traces of it?

Better yet, we are talking about the Second Amendment here. What if the govenment in collusion with the media, went on a campaign to eradicate free speech and started pointing to a series of incidents that rationalized why we need to regulate speech?

Yes...we would not have as many murders if there were no guns, but we would also be less free and more vulnerable. You know the saying...those that are willing to sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither......

You know full well that guns are part of the far left agenda or else they would be talking about outlawing fertilizer, box cutters, automobiles, trampolines, large sodas, oil, gas....oh...wait..maybe it is just a bunch of self righteous, over "educated" (propagandized) left wing radicals who sincerely just want to attack the freedoms of fly over folks and DEMAND freedoms for themselves and punish those who oppose.

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 9:34AM

No, Nancy is not correct, because Australia is a good example where you can have sensible gun regulation and a free country. And it's just one example out of many. In fact, the US has been more of a police state than most of Europe for several decades, despite all you guys having your guns.

flyovermark| 1.30.13 @ 1:04PM

Prior to the American Revolution, we were a free country with "sensible gun regulations" too, but our experience with it doesn't do much to support your claim that you can have both for very long.

Jack London| 1.29.13 @ 9:52AM

We do have harm prevention programs for other things so why not guns? And I'm pleased to see you admit we have more gun deaths - but the scale of the problem is huge - 1300 shot dead since the school massacres, including quite few kids shot by accident.

And Arnie's right: we are one of the top police states. Just look at our jail population.

dominic1955| 1.29.13 @ 10:54AM

Jail population has nothing to do with a country being a "police state".

Stephie| 1.29.13 @ 11:28AM

A large percentage of those shot Jack, were perpetrators. Shot by LAW ABIDING CITIZENS WITH LEGALLY OWNED FIREARMS, defending themselves, their kids and/or their property. I know in the UK that is illegal but here, it isn't. Do you not want to be able to defend yourself from some crackhead breaking into your home? Really?

capatolistmom| 1.29.13 @ 12:15PM

We have large prision population because of a "constitution". We administer "justice". They just shoot you in other countries. In China they shoot you and charge the family for the bullets. Perhaps we should just let them all out!!! Are you as dumb as you sound??? Or are you just uneducated?

Pecos Pete| 1.29.13 @ 2:27PM

And not wasting time with appeals courts either. Nothing like a timely beheading to keep the law.

capatolistmom| 1.29.13 @ 12:09PM

Can't go to Australia now. We have placed 5,000 troops their and are setting up joint missel development programs. They can't protect themselves either so we are going in to start to show some mussel as China throws its' weight around.

Jack London| 1.29.13 @ 8:49AM

Nancy - why should those parents have to pay the price for Lanza's stupidity? If you want to shoot an AR-15 keep it securely on a range. These things must not be kept at home and I'm sure that in future we'll see them banned from home ownership and we'll all be a bit more free.

A. C. Santore| 1.29.13 @ 9:54AM

Well done, Jack London. Spoken like a true blinkered liberal Brit!

If Americans locked their weapons up "securely on a range," (1) we wouldn't have them available to defend ourselves and our homes, and (2) we'd be doing 95% of the federal gun-confiscators' work for them by putting them all together in far fewer places.

There'll be a medal in it for you.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 11:19AM

Jack commits another error in his perception of reality. Since the bandidos along the border, the drug cartels, have AK-47s - some provided courtesy of the US Govt. - should not the citizens attempting to defend their homes and ranches from attack have the same or better weapons? It is their right to protect themselves and their property, a right recognized by the Constitution as belonging to them not from the Govt. but by virtue of their liberty. Do we really expect those facing such weapons in the hands of criminals and invaders to limit their defensive ability to a revolver?

Jack London| 1.29.13 @ 12:37PM

So you think 'bandidos' are shooting up Americans with AK47s. Show me. What I can show you is three dead Americans and one dead teenager shot with AK47s in Queens, New York, last year, a long way from the border.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 1:42PM

Dead rancher in AZ. Dead jet skier on the lake in TX. Dead border patrol agent. Areas of national parks, etc. off limits to Americans as too dangerous to visit due to bandit activity... Do we really need to attempt to engage and educate you? Eric Hoffer defined the True Believer long ago. You might want to read the book.

Pecos Pete| 1.29.13 @ 2:30PM

Stupid Communist Village Idiot Jack: I thought AK47s were illegal in New York City? Where did they come from?

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 3:18PM

Pete,
I know it will come as a shock, but criminals do not obey the laws. BTW, living where you do I can assume, for my own safety, you are well protected. None of my (or the governments) business of course.

James Baker| 1.29.13 @ 2:15PM

You want to the be the first to try and get mine?
Pass your laws, it will be time for passive and active resistance until we prevail AGAIN in establishing freedom. I have zero issues in defending myself and all true Americans from all enemies to life or liberty, Molon Labe!

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 8:55AM

If you missed Arnie's Point, Nancy?

It's at the top of his Stupid Head.

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 9:03AM

Hey TLP, your dick, and your head, are still limp.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 9:49AM

Am I the only one who gets banned, around here?

loulou| 1.29.13 @ 9:55AM

Just ignore the creep. He has no value.

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 10:56AM

Yes.

Stephie| 1.29.13 @ 11:30AM

loulou meant you, Arnie.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 2:50PM

Yes.

Drunken Sailor| 1.29.13 @ 11:02AM

Jack, Jack, Jack. There you go again trying to tie everyone up with emotional, not logical arguments. Yes, guns were the weapons used, and yes it was a tragedy. But you always leave out the part that perhaps if his mother had been able to get him the medical treatment he so desperately needed this whole thing would not have happend.

You always leave out the fact that it was liberals, who were so concerned about the rights of the mentally ill, that they made it almost impossible to hospitalize them against their will when they present a clear and present danger. Instead there are a mountain of legal hoops to jump through first. And in the case of Adam Lanza time ran out before his mother could have him committed.

Does it even cross your mind that even if there were no guns he would have killed the kids anyway? The total number of kids may have been less, it may have been more. Depends on how he decided to kill them. Either way it would have been a tragedy that children were killed. You on the left seem to think that it is a tragedy simple due to the numbers. If Adam had been hospitalized as his mother wished at a earlier junction, those children would have been alive today.

That should be the real issue.

Jack London| 1.29.13 @ 12:30PM

Are you now trying to tell us that his mother knew he had homicidal intent and still kept an AR-15, Glock etc in the house? Don't be absurd. And don't pretend he could have done anything like he did with a kitchen knife.

Drunken Sailor| 1.29.13 @ 12:59PM

Now who is being absurd. Do you wait until someone admits homicidal intent before you take safety measures? Do you deny she was trying to have him commited?

And as for pretending he could have done it with a knife. Is that the only weapon you can think of to kill large amounts of people? Home made bombs, pipe bombs, etc. are easy to make and anyone can find out how to do it on the internet. Ever heard of the Anarchist cookbook?

Do you honestly think, even for a moment, that if all guns were outlawed mass killings would not happen? Do you honestly think that if all guns were outlawed they would suddenly dissapear?

Are you really that delusional or just that simple?

Jack London| 1.29.13 @ 1:22PM

I presume from what you say that if she was alive you'd be cool with her keeping weapons.

If you right about how easy it is to make bombs we'd see them used all the time just as with guns. We don't, we won't and other countries don't.

Try this: the next time you have a Drunken argument with your partner and want to kill them there and then is it easier to reach for your Glock or go build a bomb?

Drunken Sailor| 1.29.13 @ 2:00PM

I see logical arguments are too much for you so you go on a name calling rant. Fine.
Yes, I would be cool with her having guns as long as she took safety precautions. At this time, it is unknown if she did.
Yes, it is easy to make explosives. Ask Timothy McVeigh or any of dozens of people arrested each year with pipe bombs.
I see you still avoid the issue that if his mother had been able to access mental health care easier for him this whole situation could have been avoided. Care to address this before you throw another straw man up?
A gun is just a tool. Nothing more. It is the intent of the person wielding it that is the danger. You can kill just as many people with Molotov cocktails. You can kill many people with machetes available at any Wal-Mart for less than $20 and no ID.
Adam Lanza was showing anti social tendencies. He demonstrated very little empathy for others. He had begun burning himself with a lighter. He also was immersing himself in violent video games, which have been shown by studies to affect people’s minds and their proclivity toward violence. Yet oddly you are Ok with that.

Drunken Sailor| 1.29.13 @ 2:00PM

Using functional MRI, Vincent Matthews and colleagues at Indiana University studied 28 students with no video game experience. Those who played a violent video game for a week showed less activity in brain areas that are responsible for emotions, attention and inhibition of impulses.
Mitchell Scott Johnson and Andrew Douglas Golden, who on March 24, 1998 massacred five people and injured another ten in an Arkansas’ school, rehearsed the killing with video games.
Norway mass-killer Anders Behring Britvic confessed using the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, to train for the crime that left 77 dead in the summer of 2011.
As for my drunken partner, see neither of us drink much. 1-2 a week and unlike you my partner is my wife. Also unlike you I do not rush to violence my first resort. See I understand that violence is sometimes a necessary resort but it should always be the last one.
Next straw man?

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 2:22PM

On Lanza's mother keeping firearms in her house, the NRA advises people who keep firearms in their homes to keep them unloaded, locked up, and in a separate place from the ammo that makes the firearms deadly.

Evidently Lanza's mom fell short on the security front at some point.

Stan Redmond| 1.29.13 @ 3:08PM

Do we really know how he got a hold of the weapons? There has been no report of what happened in the Lanza home. It seems everyone is automatically assuming these guns were just sitting around fully loaded ready to go. Do we know if he put a knife to her throat and threatened her to open a safe? Did he sneak a look at the combo or steal the key to the safe? We don't know. We won't be told because it doesn't advance the goal of eliminating the 2nd amendment.

Drunken Sailor| 1.29.13 @ 3:40PM

Stan,
I have not been able to find anything on how she stored them or how he got his hands on them.

Stan Redmond| 1.29.13 @ 3:06PM

Obviously you don't trust yourself around firearms because you are an unstable irrational person who can't control simple impulses. Get the guns out of your house and leave the rest of us alone.

Stan Redmond| 1.29.13 @ 3:05PM

This tired old crap again? If it's for the kids ban hotdogs, swimming pools, and automobiles. Thank you for reminding us you are for killing children by providing them food, drowning them in swimming pools, and riding in automobiles. MURDERER

Joellen| 1.29.13 @ 7:47AM

Part II: On the bus we had three vocal & loud democrat ladies.

As the bus was returning from DC, they started with how the Irish loved Bill Clinton because of his part in solving their own beef with the English.

I calmly said; "You mean they love Bill Clinton who raped a woman, Juanta Brodrick". They looked at me aghast and asked what I was talking about.

So I patiently explained while Clinton was being impeached, it was brought out by the FBI that he raped a woman. "Well how can that be, the people elected him"? I responded, "how did Ted Kennedy keep winning, he murdered a woman".

Another woman chimes in, "because of Clinton we had a great economy". Of course I corrected her with the facts (Rep Congress/Newt). The women's response "but he signed it didnt he".

I then INFORMED them, because of course they didnt know, he TWICE signed a bill to legalize Partial Birth Abortion. I informed them of his cowardly inaction to capture Bin Ladin the first time, which resulted in 9/11; Mogadisha, the USS Cole, etc.

YOU HAD TO SEE THEIR FACES!

These woman, who are pro life, keep perpetuating anti LIBERTY/FREEDOM because they dont know what is going on.

HOW CAN THIS BE?

They watch the mushface Morgan, CBS gushing over the two people who dedicated themselves to Satan (obama & clinton); etc.

My one true fear is we will lose the battle if we dont effectively expose the truth to the ill informed about the media who is Piers Morgan.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.29.13 @ 8:01AM

Good job, Joellen. Among the reasons that the likes of Clinton and Obama win is that too few people are aware of the actual facts surrounding their achievements, leading them to be what we now call low information voters. While many will continue to reject the truth, the more times that we expose them to it, the harder it will be for all to keep their heads buried in the sand.

CJW| 1.29.13 @ 8:11AM

Joellen
I keep repeating, you are a great American, and God bless you.

Albert is correct. There are many voters that just do not know the facts. I have had similar conversations with people who do not know, or say, about Teddy or Clinton's harassment, rape, disbarrment, etc, or Hillary's $100,000 scam, or Obama's Rezko scam and the hospital that paid Michele $350,000 a year because of O.
Maybe they just do not want to know and are comfortable in their ignorance.

loulou| 1.29.13 @ 9:57AM

Good job!

Pecos Pete| 1.29.13 @ 8:03AM

Stupid Communist Village Trolls and their Leftist/Liberal/Progressive/Marxist fountains of knowledge don't like the Constitution because the Constitution guarantees freedom.

These anti-Constitution people could ask for a Constitutional Convention or try to pass Constitutional Amendments. But no, they won't do that because they would lose. They want to dictate their warped demands for social change, it is easier and faster that way.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.29.13 @ 8:20AM

It is often an interesting moment when honest liberal intellectuals (a true double oxymoron, for sure) have to concede, when confronted with the actual history, that the Second Amendment does protect the rights of individual citizens to possess the types of arms that individual riflemen possess, that as a next step, they want to abandon the Constitution (though not its unenumerated penumbras that deny personhood in utero).

Jack London| 1.29.13 @ 8:52AM

Pete - I'm happy to amend the constitution - the 2nd is way overdue an overhaul. Those who think the constitution is inviolate should remember that we have a lot of amendments in any case and it's a document for today and not 200 years ago.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 9:11AM

So, amend it.

None of us are opposed to that.

It's all of the Circumventing of it, that we despise.

The Constitution is what keeps the Mob outside the Gates. If they would Violate the Constitution? If they would disregard the Checks on the Federal Government's Power? What's to prevent them from doing WHATEVER the feel like doing? Who could stand in their way?

Oh, I know: An Armed Citizenry.

We have already witnessed the Thing in the Oval Office, spit on it with his Illegal Drilling Moratoriums, his Illegal Gun Running Operations, his Illegal War on Libya, and his Unconstitutional Appointments of Union Hacks to the NLRB.

And now he gets 4 more years to Wipe His Ass with it, some more.

How Stupid you must be, not to understand that.

Anthony| 1.29.13 @ 9:32AM

Yep, you're a lefty Ivy League Con law professor allright Jack. Only a troll with a atrophied brain and a capacity for being a jerk could make such as assinine comment about the Constitution.
The Founders had great foresight, they knew of ass**** like you, and gave us the protection to swat your kind away like the annoying nats that you are.
It's not the Constitution that needs amending, it's a certain segment of our population.
Oh well, all in good time.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 12:26PM

Do not overlook gentlemen, that even repeal of the 2nd would not take from the people their right to possess weapons and to defend themselves or to bear arms as members of the militia formally recognized or not. The rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights are not grants from government, but represent rather the governments recognition of and obligation to protect, those rights.

John Navratil| 1.29.13 @ 1:13PM

Al Adab,

Was it Madison who complained that the positive Bill of Rights would imply a negative for those not specifically listed? It is TRULY amazing how many people look to the law for their privileges.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 2:15PM

Without looking it up first John, I believe you are right. It is part of American exceptionalism that we and our government recognize that our rights are not granted but inherent. Government exists to protect the rights citizens hold, not to grant or eviscerate them. Should it begin a long series of usurpations, then the citizens may alter or abolish it. Those who try to equate U S government with other governments around the world would do well to understand this vital difference.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 2:18PM

As we speak, anti-gun groups, Brady foundation among the leaders, are demanding that the executive use the regulatory power of the EPA and other agencies to further control weapons and ammunition. Such action would no longer be the rule of law (if it still survives anyway) but would become the rule of men. Power would justify and the ends justify the means.

PeteM1999| 1.29.13 @ 1:38PM

Jack London,
So you get your way and you amend the constitution and remove the 2nd amendment. And all of us have to turn in our weapons and then what?
What if you are wrong and once we are disarmed the government does become dictorial or tyrannical? Do you think they will give you a mulligan and let you put the 2nd amendment back and let us rearm? Not no, but hell no!
And we will be stuck with it. Will you have the intestinal fortitude to stand up and say you were wrong that you and your kind sold us all down the river. Again not no, but hell no! You will do what your kind does best, you will sit there wringing your hands and wonder how you lost all of your rights including Free Speech and never once will it cross your mind that you gave it all away.
Having said all this I know I am pissing into a fan because a liberal mind set such as yours is to inept to realize that our forefathers knew exactly what they were putting on paper and that one day we would be faced with the likes of you and your kind and that we would be in a fight for the survival of the republic.

Pecos Pete| 1.29.13 @ 2:34PM

PeteM: The Village Idiots always piss uphill into the wind.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 2:44PM

Contest on Friday.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 3:22PM

When they're not pissing up a rope.

Stan Redmond| 1.29.13 @ 3:09PM

The founding fathers didn't know about automobiles. Get the automibile banned then you can speak with authority about protecting the children.

spike59| 1.30.13 @ 6:01AM

you must be one of those idiots who thinks that the right to keep and bear arms comes from the government, via the second amendment-not true AT ALL-the second amendment states that the government may not infringe on that already existing right

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 8:04AM

So Bill Clinton was convicted of rape? Hmmm...missed that one.

Joellen| 1.29.13 @ 8:21AM

"So Bubba was CONVICTED of rape?.....missed that one". Of course you DIDN'T miss that one Arnie.

By the way - where and when did BUBBA ever cry out "LIBEL" on Juanta's claim?

Joellen| 1.29.13 @ 8:26AM

Sorry, no disrespect to Juanita Broaddrick, I spelled her name incorrectly.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 9:37AM

Arnie's just being a good Muslim.

Never mind that she accused him of Raping her, on the #1 Show in America - 60 Minutes.

Never mind that 60 Minutes felt comfortable enough to Run It.

Never mind that Slick Willey never answered her charges, against him. Never mind that Monica Lewinsky's Boyfriend was asked, and refused to answer the one question he received. Never mind that Juanita Broaddrick was never SUED by The Real 1st Black President of the United States, and his Super Team of Super Lawyers.

Imagine: You're the President of the United States of America, and some Broad just accused you of RAPE on National Television, and you do nothing? You have the Best Lawyers in the Universe, free of charge, and you do nothing?

That's not enough for Arnie.

Arnie wants her to have 4 Male Witnesses, as well.

She doesn't have that, so she's a Lying Wh*re, in Arnie's World.

You're not surprised, are you?

Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.29.13 @ 10:50AM

"Ya might wanna put some ice on that".

spike59| 1.30.13 @ 5:58AM

it wouldn't be his only rape, either...at least more are known: one was a student he raped while at Cambridge, the other was a former Miss America-ironically, the only woman he seems to have 'had' that wouldn't require at least a 12 pack of beer, a pint of whiskey, and a sturdy bag to 'appreciate'

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 9:38AM

He misses a lot of them.

Rockabilly| 1.29.13 @ 12:22PM

At age 67 I have of late noted a dangerous idea taking root to the effect that the Constitution is outdated and is an impediment to what government needs to do for the "good" of the masses. Obama and his minions have hinted at this and only pay lip service to the freedoms protected by the Constitution. The forefathers are mocked and many in the so called intellectual media increasingly show disdain for the Constitution except for press freedom and the 14th amendment. As a retired attorney the Constitution to me is a work of genius. Perfect? No, but it is a document that recognizes well the weakness of men and the danger of concentrated power. It disburses power between and among the three branches of government. It insures against tyranny of the minority, the majority, of any individual,or of any one branch of government by a clever system of checks and balances. One house of Congress represents the masses, the other each state with its' own interests. The executive is powerful but subject to limited powers and checks. Congressional action is subject to veto and many executive powers are subject to advice and consent of the Senate. It protects us against the folly of one leader, party, or other entity from thinking IT has all the answers. At the same time it enshrines individual liberties. It is truly an amazing document that while flawed remains as relevant today as it was when first adopted.

Hardcard| 1.29.13 @ 8:33AM

I see media matters is still sending the checks out. Say arnie was that you in Zabars Sunday morning? You better be quick, it might be that lunch money thing again.

loulou| 1.29.13 @ 10:01AM

He wouldn't go to Zabars. He's a Muslim.

Anthony| 1.29.13 @ 10:07AM

Naw Harcard, we've established that Arnie is not from New York. He insists he's not from San Fran, either.
However, the more I look at the photo of Piers Morgan attached to this article, the more I'm convinced Piers was a towel boy at Arnie's and vitwin's favorite English bath house.
Actually, I think Piers Morgan might have done a better Margaret Thatcher than Merrill Streep.

JimH| 1.29.13 @ 8:38AM

So that Piers Morgan. I had not seen him before. I though this was a picture of Stephan Fry.

A Grin without a Cat| 1.29.13 @ 11:17AM

Stephen Fry has more talent.

Anthony| 1.29.13 @ 12:49PM

Indeed Mr. Fry does. On second thought, Piers would have made a great Mrs. Doubtfire.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 8:38AM

Its a simple matter that many prefer quiet and security over the promise of Liberty. A free self-governing people are not ones likely to sail a placid lake. They seek outlets for their imagination and energy. It is they, not passive peoples, who have built western civilization and given the world an example of the [potential of mankind. It is they who have built a material culture with wealth beyond imagining. It is they who find the spiritual fulfilment of mankinds hopes and dreams through art and literature.

What is most sad is that so many who reap the benefits find it all so frightening and fearful. It is those who assail the arrogance and power of both the U S and the West as a whole. It is they who seek to return to another age of tyranny. Why? Because Liberty demands exertion and involvement. Those who see themselves as victims will never accomplish what freedom allows.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 8:38AM

Its a simple matter that many prefer quiet and security over the promise of Liberty. A free self-governing people are not ones likely to sail a placid lake. They seek outlets for their imagination and energy. It is they, not passive peoples, who have built western civilization and given the world an example of the [potential of mankind. It is they who have built a material culture with wealth beyond imagining. It is they who find the spiritual fulfilment of mankinds hopes and dreams through art and literature.

What is most sad is that so many who reap the benefits find it all so frightening and fearful. It is those who assail the arrogance and power of both the U S and the West as a whole. It is they who seek to return to another age of tyranny. Why? Because Liberty demands exertion and involvement. Those who see themselves as victims will never accomplish what freedom allows.

Jack London| 1.29.13 @ 8:55AM

"A free self-governing people"

What does that mean, Al? Sounds like a definition of anarchy to me if you mean no democratic government body of any sort anywhere.

Riff Raff| 1.29.13 @ 9:07AM

No one means that, dolt. That is a straw-man argument. Grow up.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.29.13 @ 9:10AM

While Mr. Adab is more than capable than explaining his remarks, your lack of understanding of the importance of the two adjectives together pithily illustrates what is critically lacking in you. People are not free if a majority can vote away the rights of the minority (or even a majority, if it is packaged deceptively in an attractive way), which is why our democratic (self-governing) and other processes are enshrined in a constitution, which all office holders are required to take an office to uphold, support and defend.

Jack London| 1.29.13 @ 9:26AM

You can't be 'self-governing' if you elect office holders to make laws on your behalf.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 9:45AM

And you can't pretend that you're anything but a Pretentious Bore who would give Arnie's left nut if Obama would just promise to use your face as a Toilet for a week, when all you write is Crap.

You should know that, already.

A. C. Santore| 1.29.13 @ 10:03AM

Clear proof again - as if it were needed - that you have no idea what the Constitution is about.

The people who drew up that self-governing document knew that a full democratic government was impossible (even then) and CHOSE a representative democracy.

And - watch carefully now - the framers wrote into that document two important elements (1) that the people are supreme, above both federal and state governments, and (2) have the right and the power to change that document if and when they agree to do so.

You're in over your head, London.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 10:42AM

Our friend from the arctic apparently has not read enough about the American theory of government to understand that the citizenry is the sovereign and the government, limited to its enumerated powers, is conducted by representatives of the people and of the States through the Senate. The president is an executive officer not an elected representative of all or a dictator.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 10:48AM

Furthermore, such a government only holds legitimacy by the consent of the governed. The sovereignty, that is the citizens, retain the right to withdraw that consent and to establish another government more to their liking should they chose to do so. A government which operates beyond its limitations and without that consent perhaps in spite of its withdrawl (should that occur) loses its legitimacy and becomes thereby a tyranny. Such a government becomes a usurpation and obedience to such is no longer required.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.29.13 @ 10:55AM

Apparently, while listening to Obama's sequel to the Gettysburg Address last week, young Master London apparently forgot that in the original, the phrase "government of the people, by the people and for the people" was prominently featured, which is another way to describe free self-governing people.

As I noted before, that he fails to understand that is fundamental to why Jack London is wrong about just about everything else.

Jack London| 1.29.13 @ 11:43AM

Ah so easy to make you people look foolish. I'll wager I've deeper understanding of the constitution than you'll ever have. I'll just say that another notable republic - France- also has "government of the people, by the people and for the people" in its constitution and that the phrase "self-governing" applies to any democratically elected government that isn't also a monarchy. There's nothing particularly exceptional about us although one could certainly argue that the state representation rules of our federal system are anti-democratic.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.29.13 @ 12:35PM

“France- also has ‘government of the people, by the people and for the people’ in its constitution”

It’s a good thing you didn’t make that wager, Jack; you’ve already lost. “Government of the people, by the people and for the people” doesn’t appear in the Constitution, it is from the Gettysburg Address. Your lack of reading comprehension is only exceeded by your lack of knowledge of basic Civics, and the US Constitution specifically.

Jack London| 1.29.13 @ 1:01PM

Yes I do know that Albert. I said 'another republic' and to make it clear I should have said 'actually has' etc. The fact remains that there is no great exceptional freedom or truths about the US when compare with the constitutions of many other countries.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.29.13 @ 1:14PM

That you agree with Ruth Bader Ginsburg about the lack of US exceptionalism or the superior quality of the US Constitution is no surprise; that is the summary of what I have been inferring.

What is significant is that we are still using the same constitution (albeit often increasingly ignored by Obama and others) with amendments 235 years years after it was first adopted.

Would you care to list any other founding documents in continuous use since a nation first gained its sovereignty, and still in use after more than 200 years?

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 1:28PM

Hmm, 27 amendments implies it far from perfect at the start. And those amendments were pretty important and altered the face of the nation. I will say this, is that the US constitution has great tools to allow it to change, and allows the country to change with it.

Now, if you are implying this is a better process than other countries have, where drafting a new constitution is no big deal...perhaps. But Iceland's recent process was a wonderful example of democracy. Plus, the US style tends to be slower and more cumbersome, good or bad. Remember, a lot of Europe had ended slavery and enshrined other rights for all men and women sooner than the U.S. Just saying, it's really a question of style, not really if one system is better than the other.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 2:20PM

See my 2:15 above regarding American exceptionalism. You will disagree, but in doing so you will be mistaken.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 2:50PM

Actually, the fact that the Founders put in place a system, wherebye THE PEOPLE could make changes to the Constitution, as time went bye, proves its Perfection, and your Stupidity.

mike 3/505| 1.29.13 @ 2:44PM

The president is an executive officer not an elected representative of all or a dictator.

Correct. He is our employee.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 2:51PM

Contest on Friday.

mike 3/505| 1.29.13 @ 3:46PM

Contest? Cool...I missed a couple...I was out of town...sighting in my new S&W HP15 at a friend's farm.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 3:21PM

It is as you say. We must remember.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 9:21AM

Anarchy by definition necessarily involves not having a government.

That's why anarchists have a bumper sticker for their cars, that says: "There's No Government Like No Government."

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 8:40AM

Wtf is Zabars????

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 9:47AM

That's where your Mother goes to make $20 a pop, in the Alley.

Anthony| 1.29.13 @ 9:06AM

An insignificant lefty twit who has latched upon the Newtown situation in order to gain some degree of recognition, and of course, boost his pocketbook. He is as relevant as John Wilson. Who you ask?? Precisely my point.
This effete ass wouldn't recognize the greatness of the Constitution if it was shoved down his throat, or better yet, up his Neville Chamberlain ass.
He gloats in his pomposity and relishes the opportunity to be provocative. In other words, he's a typical leftist ass****.

Anthony| 1.29.13 @ 9:15AM

And I see his fellow trolls are out today in force. Must be take a troll to breakfast day.
I see troll Arnie doesn't know what Zabars is. Well, we can now establish that troll Arnie is not one of the NY Occupy Wall Street scum.
I guess that means he lives with Purp and vtwin in San Fran. Figures.

Arnie| 1.29.13 @ 9:30AM

Anthony, I'm not from San Fran. In fact, I've never been there.
Is it nicer than your home?

Anthony| 1.29.13 @ 9:44AM

For trolls like you Arnie, San Fran is a state of mind, not necessarily an actual place to live. So yes, you do live in San Fran.
San Fran is actually very beautiful, more the pity, but like many places, is in need of a debugging, as the infestation has become overwhelming.
My home is quite nice, but you'll never know that for a fact, ever.

Albertus Magnus| 1.29.13 @ 10:48AM

There is a saying known to a few of us who live near (but not in) San Francisco: "Smells like a San Francisco Parking Garage." San Francisco has been called "the World's largest outdoor running sewer." Over the last 30+ years I have come to the conclusion that San Francisco is not worth visiting anymore. A once great and metropolitian City has degraded into a camp for human waste and degradation. There are nice places to visit and see in San Francisco, but the filth one must wade through to get there is for the most part not worth it.

Anthony| 1.29.13 @ 11:58AM

It drove my dear friends from San Fran 10 years ago, to northern Calf. They said the same thing about their once beloved city.
My wife and I made a brief visit a year ago, it had been 10 since my last visit.
It still looked beautiful, but some butthead named vtwin kept pestering me for money and sex.

SUBVET| 1.29.13 @ 12:13PM

Anthony.......I was thinking HUNTERS POINT....sf.

Riff Raff| 1.29.13 @ 9:07AM

Here we go again. I see the twin dweebs of "Jack London" and his protege "Arnie" are back with the same drivel as before. These two dolts are impervious to empirical information and rely on emotive prejudices as the basis for their posts. Neither is very bright, or capable of intelligent debate, and frankly not worh the time.

In all the "debate" about Morgan, Seidman, and others who question the People's "reverence" for the Constitution, there is really only one needed response: The Constitution is not merely a "document" to be revered or not revered. The Constitution is the LAW. It is the Law superior to any statute Law that Congress may write. Government does not simply have to "honor" or "revere" the Constitution, it must OBEY it. Government is subject to the Law, not superior to it. Piers Morgan clearly does not understand this simple concept.

Professor Seidman's advice of ignoring the Constitution is intellectually questionable and in a practical sense extremely dangerous. If government can simply dismiss the Supreme Law of the Land and pass whatever bills it pleases, then we have effectively ceased to be a Nation of Laws and have become a Nation of Men. A Nation of powerful, self-styled "leaders", of egotistical "great men," tyrants exercising autocratic power, a la Russian Czars, Communist Premieres, and Caesarist Dictators.

Riff Raff| 1.29.13 @ 9:15AM

With over 3,000 years of recorded humn history to examine, the notion that great leaders exercising autocratic power will lead to peace, prosperity, and happiness, is ludicrous in the extreme. The bottom line is easy enough to understand: WE the People are the Supreme Power in these United States, NOT any government. WE the People choose to be armed as a bulwark against the inherent tyrannical impulses of politicians. The Constitution is the LAW and we demand that government obey that Law.

The argument to disarm Law abiding Citizens in violation of our Rights is based on lies and distortions. The studies have been done. The facts are known. The conclusions are obvious: Gun Control kills innocent people. Gun Control disarms victims, not criminals. Newtown did not happen in spite of gun control, it happened in part BECAUSE of gun control. The blood of Newtown is on the hands of Dianne Feinstein, Charles Schumer, and their insipid acolytes, "London and Arnie."

Stephie| 1.29.13 @ 11:45AM

Wonderful post Riff Raff.
Thank you.

Joellen| 1.29.13 @ 6:25PM

Riff Raff, your name is not suitable - you shall forever be known as "Most Deserving of Respect".

I LOVE MY PEOPLES here at TAS!

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 9:16AM

Examples of the U.S. government turning on the citizenry:

Shay's Rebellion
The Civil War
The suppression of the Bonus Army
Kent State
Jackson State

Now, not all of these rebellions was praisworthy. But they all are examples of the government using armed force to put down our own citizenry.

Anthony| 1.29.13 @ 9:51AM

Let's not forget the great FDR's internment camps for Japanese-Americans.
Oh, and Obozo's and Holder's direct involvement in the death of agents Zapata and Terry in Fast & Furious, and Obozo's and Hillary's criminal neglect in the death of 4 Americans in Benghazi.
Yes, the American left have quite a bit of blood on their hands.

Joellen| 1.29.13 @ 6:28PM

Remember the infamous 3:00 Raid for Elian Gonzalez - led by Bubba and Janet Reno - with military weapons against a group of people who only wanted F R E E D OM!

Anthony| 1.29.13 @ 7:35PM

Good one Joellen.

Stephie| 1.29.13 @ 11:47AM

Don't forget Waco where children were burned to death at the request of Slick Willy and carried out by the man/woman Janet Reno and the killing of Randy Weavers wife by the FBI. Shooting her in the head as she stood in the doorway of their home holding her infant child. They also shot their teenage son in the back.

Riff Raff| 1.30.13 @ 2:56AM

You should watch the infrared aerial video taken by government airplane during the fire at Waco. You can clearly see automatic rifle fire being directed in to the rear of the building (away from TV cameras) as people try to escape. Chalk up another one for Bill Clinton the courageous, the Hero of Waco.

Seamus| 2.1.13 @ 9:51AM

You missed the Whiskey Rebellion.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 9:19AM

Oh, I also forgot the several instances of governmental armed forces being used to put down strikers at various times during the organized labor movement. McKees Rocks is one that springs to mind; also the Ludlow Massacre.

Louis Jenkins| 1.29.13 @ 9:19AM

Piers Morgan is an out and out liar, a slimmy limmey, a man so wrapped up in himself he hears nothing but his own voice. And CNN hired him.

Let's not be deceived, the broadcasting company decided to go out and hire an immigrant to boost their ratings. Unfortunately he first ran into Alex Jones who basically said "I'm gonna kick your a$$, cause we'll have 1776 all over again," then he ran into Ben Shapiro and made the comment about the "little book" which contained perhaps the greatest document ever conceived, next to the Bible, and I lost all interest in the English fool. Piers Morgan has insult our intelligence just by showing up.

The jist is that liberals know what is best for America. Unfortunately, they have not counted the Americans in flyover country, and that is a big mistake. Liberals, royal crown holding British citizens, communists, they are all the same. The British got the US into two World Wars and we've felt beholding to help them out with blood, money, and mental energy. Do we still owe those house row living socialist believers? "Fly over country" living people say to he-- with you people from Britain, and Europe. We can take care of ourselves, afterall, it's been over two hundred years.

A. C. Santore| 1.29.13 @ 10:08AM

When my British friends found out that there was a petition to have Piers deported, they shouted in a panic that they did not want him back under any circumstances.

Good riddance to bad rubbish! And we're stuck with him. For now.

Col Bat Guano| 1.29.13 @ 9:39AM

"We remember why, too."

Or starting to remember why. Concern over tyrannical sounds emanating from The DC are growing. Schools like Hillsdale College are offering free online classes on the Constitution. Hopefully this Second American Revolution will just be the peaceful awakening and education of a slumbering citizenry wondering why in the midst of plenty they feel an overwhelming sense of angst.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 2:28PM

Do you ever carry spare change into combat?

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 9:50AM

Let's hope that Hillsdale College has better Con Law instructors than Constitutional Law instructor Barack Obama. He seems to know nothing.

I was taught Con Law by Henry Holzer, now THERE was a good Constitutional lawyer.

loulou| 1.29.13 @ 10:02AM

Obama wasn't a REAL ConLaw lecturer. It was a sinecure arranged by his handlers.

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 10:30AM

Ya ever notice how Evil always has "Handlers"?

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 2:25PM

In the case of President Obama, the need for him to have had handlers while he was coming up seems painfully obvious. Without them, where would he be?

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 2:52PM

In a Gay Bathhouse, in Chicago.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 3:23PM

Delivering towels, no doubt.

RCV| 1.30.13 @ 2:06PM

Ah, TLP, your thoughts are in their usual place.

cowgirl| 1.29.13 @ 10:37AM

Go ahead make my day. Take my guns away. Shutdown gun shows, Bass Pro, Cabela's and Cheaper Than Dirt. I live about 50 miles from Oakland, California. There is a beautiful park there called Lake Merritt. There you can buy firearms (all types including military weapons) and all the ammuniation you can afford. There is no paper work and no waiting time. Oh yes, you can also buy weed, coke, meth, herion and just about any other illegal drug one can dream up....

Pecos Pete| 1.29.13 @ 11:54AM

Directions, please. Thanking you in advance.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 12:36PM

Cowgirl, Pete:
Hard to believe the report that people buy and sell illegal products all the time. Isn't that against the law? We need to make it against the law the violate the law. That would stop all of this.

BTW, see my 11:19 above regarding the arms people need to possess. I don't know about the need in the bay area Cowgirl, but I suspect Pete on the upper Pecos needs at least similar firepower to that the bandidos have.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 2:32PM

Just declare Lake Merritt a Drug- and Gun-Free Zone. That should stop that unlawful selling from going on.

Plus, selling drugs in a gun-free zone will be MUCH safer.

Pecos Pete| 1.29.13 @ 2:42PM

Al: Being a believer in winning, I try to have at hand greater firepower than the bandidos.

Bill8472| 1.30.13 @ 9:39AM

Not always easy. I shoot in a National Forest area where occasionally gang-bangers come to shoot too. I've heard firearms being fired on full auto. That is a bit worrisome. Cutting loose like that, they could hit anything, including me. Also, I bet a search of every shooter in the area would turn up not one single full-auto license (what do they call them, Class 3 licenses? Something like that).

mike 3/505| 1.29.13 @ 2:52PM

Big Al,

We need to make it against the law the violate the law.

Naaah...We just need to ban violating the law. Back to my single malt now.

Regards,

Mike

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 3:22PM

Mike,
Laguvulin or Laphroigh?

mike 3/505| 1.29.13 @ 3:47PM

THE Dahlmor my friend. Heheheheh.

dominic1955| 1.29.13 @ 11:13AM

The liberal mindset is telling when it comes to discussions of principle. This reminds me of our own arguments in the Catholic Church-the orthodox revere what came before as authentic teaching. The "boundaries" free us from the despotic will of faddish prelates. Even should they gain power, there is an objective standard that will push back and fix the mess they make. There is no expiration date on teaching-what was true in the past in matters of principle and/or faith and morals is still true today. The progressives view the "old" teaching as a straight jacket for all their wonderful ideas. They just cannot fathom that the boundaries are our best friend-they defend Christian liberty against the chaos and tyranny of whatever spirit of the age happens to be in ascendency.

The same applies to liberals in governmental matters. They look at the Constitution as something that just gets in the way of all their great ideas, we see it as a necessary boundary that protects our true freedom from liberal license. They want to do whatever Ideology demands, including driving the car off the cliff, consequences be damned. We know true freedom and justice are only attainable in actual liberty-which is fostered by virtue and objective truth. The Founding Fathers knew this as well, that's why the Constition is perennially valid-most of the principles that provide for its foundation are timeless.

Robert Pinkerton| 1.29.13 @ 11:25AM

In the standard keyboard, "m" is immediately to the left of yje comma. My aim was off.

Who Knows?| 1.29.13 @ 11:52AM

“Every Communist must grasp the truth, ‘Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.’" Chairman Mao, 1938

Substitute Statist, or Democrat (meaning the American who self-identifies as a member of the party of Obama, et al), and you have the bottom line truth---they KNOW this, which is why taking away guns from people who “aren’t with their program” is their basic need.

“Revolutions and revolutionary wars are inevitable in class society, and without them it is impossible to accomplish any leap in social development and to overthrow the reactionary ruling classes and therefore impossible for the people to win political power.” Chairman Mao, 1937

Once again, a core Democrat belief.

An Obama ABSOLUTELY is a True Believer, and what is THE key belief? There are totally distinct classes, and he and his minions are in the Enlightened elite class, born to rule, and his opponents are merely “re-actors”, always and already standing in the way of progress.

Hey---as WFB, Jr put it: “Stand athwart history, yelling stop.” Even Limbaugh makes his living as a bottom feeder, essentially REACTING to recent history---the daily leavings of OTHER commentators, as well as politicians.

The battle is EVER joined. And, there are ALREADY hundreds of millions of guns in the hands of hundreds of millions of Americans.

Try and pry---never happen, GI.

capatolistmom| 1.29.13 @ 12:02PM

TLP why don't we start a boycott against the main stream media? Specifically against their major sponsors? If they don't have the money it gets more difficult to support their propaganda. Pick five majors that are on all the major liberal media and stop supporting them. Be it products or services - Create a alternate media day. Listen and support the alternate media as a unified force. Everyone support their top major sponsors during a specific time frame as long as they are not on the main stream media. All these people understand is power. Power comes from position and money. Cut out the money from the "traditional" sources and see what happens to their power. If no one watches 60 minutes, Meet the Press, CBS this Morning, ABC on Sundays (can't even remember what they call it now) - just watch Fox News Sunday for a month and see what happens!!! Make it one of your contests Tim - see who has the "real power". Lets give them a kick and show them they can't keep messing with our freedoms!!!

TLP| 1.29.13 @ 3:00PM

I have said this many times.

I remember when I was selling the Patriotic Shirt that I make, at the Motorcycle Shows, and the State Fairs where I live, I would hand out a Flyer that I printed out, naming all of the French Companies that did business in this Country.

France had done something to Screw Us Over, (The whole American Fries, instead of French Fries thingy) and I was pushing for a Boycott of these Companies.

I agree. BOYCOTT every business that advertises on the MSM Shows.

But, you have to Contact these Companies, and let them know that you're Boycotting them, if you wanna get any Traction on it.

You have your Marching Orders.

Now, get busy on it.

I'm with you.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 3:28PM

Boycotting French fries probably wasn't one of those issues that got a lot of traction.

Petronius| 1.29.13 @ 12:11PM

Most people are just beginning to notice that Our Constitution and Bill of OUR Rights has been eviscerated to the extent that Her Majesty's Government has nullified the entire content of Magna Carta. Both Documents are architectural in nature, and exist to limit the power and its use by those who possess and wield it. But what are they in reality? Words on paper have no innate physical force. People disregard and break the Law. So what's the difference? Government is parasitic and despotic by nature. Only those among us who want True Freedom understand that. And idiots like Piers Morgan really believe that if firearm ownership is prohibited, nobody will be able to shoot his infantile ass. As to allowance and ability I have two little words for him and every other weenie; black market. His crowd believes government exists to take care of them, and shield them from the vicissitudes and rigors of competitive life. Life is competition. And the government is not supposed to be a substitute for Mommy. And no matter what form of weaponry it forbids to be possessed by the general lawful populace, shooting, stabbing, bombing, and any other form of mayhem is Not impossible.
Piers Morgan should be told about the First Ordinance the Virginia Companie pronounced concerning the first African slaves it transported to the Colonie which forbade them to possess any object that could be utilized as a weapon.

Seek| 1.29.13 @ 1:56PM

Jeffrey Lord is way factually challenged.

He cites the French Revolution as having happened in the 19th century. What ganja weed has he been smoking, man? That revolution occurred during 1789-95 -- as in, we're still in the 18th century, sports fans. He also cites the French Revolution as an example of a government turning against its people. Actually, it was exactly the reverse. It was the Monarchy and its loyalists, not peasants or artisans, whose necks felt the swift and terrible slice of the guillotine.

Lord, as his incompetence would have it, also cites the Franco-led Spanish Falangists as an example of a government turning against its people. Say what? The pro-fascist Falangists were revolting against the Republican government, executing thousands of suspected Loyalist sympathizers in the process, even before eventually achieving victory in 1939.

But I'll say one thing on Lord's behalf: Anyone who listens to that arrogant little blowhard, Ben Shapiro, is bound to get his facts wrong. It could happen even to the best of us.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 2:27PM

Well, but it's also true that Napoleon, acting in his role as a revolutionary military leader, fired upon the people and used that moment to catapult himself into being emperor. Just another demonstration of how revolutions so often degrade into tyranny and authoritarianism.

Bill8472| 1.29.13 @ 2:45PM

I really don't care a lick for Piers Morgan's opinions, but still the question crosses my mind: what does Piers Morgan think of the English Civil War? Was that particular armed uprising in his home nation a good thing or a bad thing?

Petronius| 1.29.13 @ 3:05PM

King Charles was beheaded on This Day, 29 January, 1649 after being convicted as a Tyrant. He bankrupted His Kingdom and violated both Magna Carta and His own Coronation Oath in so doing. But after the fact it is a great irony that John Cook, who prosecuted Him is credited as the Father of our 5th Amendment to Our Constitution. Read the Tyrannicide Brief by Geoffrey Robertson.
Would that we had a Cromwellian figure who could unite the honest productive people of these United States to take out the trash embodied by the predators, perverts, parasites, and idiots in Our midst and who now have total control of all institutional authority.
I also hope to march again with my Regiment in the parade held the last Sunday every January from St. James Palace down the Mall and Horse Guards Parade into Whitehall to commemorate this event at Banquet House.
Hail Blackwells.

Al Adab| 1.29.13 @ 3:24PM

Hmmmm, violated his oath of office eh?

Seek| 1.29.13 @ 9:59PM

Keep dreaming. As for Cromwell, I suspect the Irish have a somewhat less affectionate view of the man. Perverts? We're all a little perverted.

Jeesh. What passes for liberty these days.

sickofit5| 1.29.13 @ 6:03PM

It is sad that Chief Justice Roberts, who is sworn to defend our constitution, may very well be the hapless idiot that has sped it's demise and our path to indentured servitude. Obamacare is the vanguard of the attack on our liberty. It will impact and control almost every aspect of our lives. Thanks SCOTUS

megalass| 1.29.13 @ 8:14PM

When convenient, Piers Morgan pretends that he is a Catholic. His own co-religionists were barred from owning firearms by the British. Which got them:
The Penal Laws : “a machine of wise and elaborate contrivance, as well fitted for the oppression, impoverishment and degradation of a people, and the debasement in them of human nature itself, as ever proceeded from the perverted ingenuity of man.”- Edmund Burke.
Catholics/Dissenters were barred from:(partial list).
1. Most public offices.
2. Intermarriage.
3. Holding firearms* or serving in the armed forces .
4. Election to the Parliament of Ireland or Great Britain.
5. Voting.
6. Obtaining education overseas.
7. Entry to universities or legal profession.
8. Conversion from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism on pain of forfeiting all property estates and legacy to the monarch and imprisonment at the monarch's pleasure.
9. Buying land under a lease of more than 31 years;
10. Being granted custody of orphans.
11. Inheriting Protestant land.
12. Owning a horse worth over £5 (in order to keep horses suitable for military activity out of their hands).
13. “Publicly or in private houses teaching school, or instructing youth in learning within this realm.”
14. Building churches from anything but wood. ( easier to burn down, harder to defend.)
*Item 3 made all the others possible.

Sue| 1.29.13 @ 10:07PM

Which president was it who rounded up citizens of the United States and sent them to concentration camps supposedly for their own "protection" violating all of their constitutional rights?

Bill8472| 1.30.13 @ 9:42AM

Internment camps, not concentration camps. While the term "concentration camp" originally denoted a camp where people of a given group were placed, it has come to mean, thanks to the Nazis, an extermination camp. Our camps for the Japanese in American weren't anything like that. No doubt they were no fun, but we didn't treat the Japanese internees like Jews, Slavs, and Communists either.

Job| 1.30.13 @ 12:29PM

The Germans in our many American POW camps faired way better than the Aleuts who were US citizens who were also "interned/evacuated;" this was an atrocity.

sameth| 1.31.13 @ 2:57AM

I'm making $86 an hour working from home. I was shocked when my neighbour told me she was averaging $95 but I see how it works now. I feel so much freedom now that I'm my own boss. This is what I do, Great70 D O T c o m

Seamus| 2.1.13 @ 9:49AM

Lord could have picked better poster children for liberty that the victims of the Boston Massacre. One of history's clearest lessons is that when an angry mob starts throwing rocks and similar potentially deadly missiles at young men carrying firearms issued to them by their government, causing them to fear for their lives, the people in that mob are front-runners for that year's Darwin Awards. People in Massachusetts have a hard time understanding that with respect to the British soldiers in Boston on March 5, 1770, but strangely enough, they understand it keenly with respect to the Sixth Massachusetts Militia, which fired on a similar mob in Baltimore on April 19, 1861. More recently, there is the example of the Ohio National Guardsmen who fired on a mob that was throwing rocks at them at Kent State. And the mob that was attacking the soldiers in Boston was a lot closer to the soldiers than the mob was at Kent State, and the British soldiers therefore had even greater reason to be fearful for their lives. Crispus Attucks and his buddies were asking for it, and boy did they get it.

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