Thursday, April 30, 2015

Latest discussion of SCOTUS Marriage Case.

3 Things We Learned from the 
Supreme Court Yesterday
    
by Joseph Backholm


Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for two-and-a-half hours on two questions.
1. Is it constitutional for states to define marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman?
2. Is one state required to recognize legal marriages in another state?
 
While it is impossible to know what is going on inside the head of each justice, that won't stop observers from trying to figure it out.  Without trying to get too far inside anyone's head, here are a few important things we learned from yesterday's arguments.
1. Justice Kennedy may be hesitant to tell all of human history they were wrong about marriage.
Justice Anthony Kennedy is generally considered to be the swing vote in this case.  But his question early in the argument indicated that he may be hesitant to throw out the definition of marriage that has been used at all times and in all places.
"One of the problems is when you think about these cases you think about words or cases, and-and the word that keeps coming back to me in this case is-is millennia, plus time. First of all, there has not been really time, so the Respondents say, for the federal system to engage in this debate...But still, 10 years is -- I don't even know how to count the decimals when we talk about millennia. This definition has been with us for millennia.  And it-it's very difficult for the Court to say, oh, well, we-we know better."
This sounds like a very good argument to allow the question about the definition of marriage to be decided by the people through the legislative process rather than by these nine justices.
Chief Justice Roberts got Mary L. Bonauto, lead attorney for the effort to redefine marriage, to acknowledge that prior to 2001, no jurisdiction in human history had ever defined marriage as a relationship between people of the same gender.  He questioned whether there weren't actually rational reasons to define marriage in that way that had nothing to do with homosexuality.
2. The Court is thinking about the impact on religious freedom as well. 
Unlike the political activists who insist that same-sex marriage has no impact on religious freedom, the Supreme Court seems to be fully aware of the conflict between religious freedom and the redefinition of marriage.
The first exchange on the subject came when Justice Scalia asked Ms. Bonauto if clergy would be required to perform same-sex marriages. Bonauto insisted they would not, noting that Jewish Rabbi's are not currently obligated to perform non-Jewish weddings.
The second exchange came when Chief Justice Roberts asked the United States Solicitor General, Donald Verrilli, about the impact on religious schools.
"Would a religious school that has married housing be required to afford such housing to same-sex couples?"
Solicitor General Verrilli did not say no.  He just said that the issue would be handled on a state-by-state basis and depend on whatever "accommodations" the state was interested in giving to religious schools.
Later, Justice Samuel Alito asked Verrilli whether religious schools would maintain tax-exempt status, noting that Bob Jones University lost their tax-exempt status for refusing to allow interracial dating or marriage.  His response was telling:
"You know, I-I don't think I can answer that question without knowing more specifics, but it's certainly going to be an issue.  I-I don't deny that.  I don't deny that, Justice Alito. It is-it is going to be an issue."
Consider yourself warned.
3. Dignity is a major issue in this case 
In their opening remarks, both Ms. Bonauto and Solicitor General Verrilli talk about dignity.
Their primary argument seems to be that the current definition of marriage violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteen Amendment because it denies dignity to people in a same-sex relationship.
That is how proponents of redefining marriage want to convince the justices -- and the public -- to think about marriage.  Don't think about future generations, don't think about children, don't think about the implications of the reality that we are a gendered species, just think about what it does to someone when they feel "excluded."
Giving proponents of real marriage reason to be concerned about the ultimate outcome of this case, Justice Kennedy seemed to sympathize with the dignity argument. Attorney John J. Bursch, arguing against the redefinition of marriage, made the statement that the purpose of marriage is not to infer dignity. But Kennedy responded with,
"Just in - just in fairness to you, I don't understand this not dignity bestowing.  I thought that was the whole purpose of marriage. It bestows dignity on both man and woman in a traditional marriage."
So what's going to happen?
Ultimately, Justice Kennedy seems conflicted.  He seems to recognize that there are reason to preserve the current definition of marriage that have nothing to do with prejudice toward gay people (a position I agree with) which suggests he will preserve the right of people to define marriage for themselves.  At the same time, he seems to believe the purpose of marriage is to infer dignity upon private citizens (a position I don't share) which seems to suggest he would be willing to take the issue away from the people and settle it as a constitutional matter.
It might also be true that none of these questions are the issues that will ultimately decide this case.
What is the impact of this decision?
If the Supreme Court finds that marriage is unconstitutional, every state will be required to issue same-sex marriage license. 
If the Supreme Court determines it is constitutional to define marriage between a man and a woman, then the states would remain free to define marriage for themselves. 
The Constitutional amendments in 26 states that have been overturned by the courts would remain in effect. Only the 11 states that have redefined marriage by popular vote or through the legislative process would have same-sex marriage.
What can you do?
Pray for the court as they deliberate. Every day.  The implications of this decision are tremendous, but,
"The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wills." Prov. 21:1
You can listen to the entire, fascinating conversation, or read a transcript by clicking here.
Click here to read what was happening outside the Supreme Court while the arguments were being made.

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Shift Washington
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Team –

A lot happened and didn’t happen this month. The state House Democrats introduced and passed a $39 billion spending package. Then they refused to vote on the $1.5 billion in new taxes they needed to pay for their plan, forcing a taxpayer-funded special session.

The state Senate Republicans urged House Democrats to act on their bi-partisan transportation package before the end of the 2015 legislative session. Unfortunately, they did not.

And, Democrat State Auditor Troy Kelley lost the public’s trust after being indicted on 10-counts of criminal activity by a federal grand jury. Yet, he refused to resign.

Throughout this month, Shift has worked hard to hold Democrats accountable for their actions and inactions. We are committed to working just as hard next month, but we need your help—can you chip in $3?

The special session has already begun, and will be in full swing next month. We need your support to effectively challenge the higher spending and taxes message sure to be trumpeted by Democrats and their far-left supporters.

Will you help us meet our end-of-month goal? We need to raise an additional $2,105 so we can continue our work.
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Soft Tyranny

 Thursday, April 30, 2015
            Standing against tyranny

Alexis de Tocqueville defined soft tyranny in his book Democracy in America,
Volume II (1840), saying the government covers the surface of society with a
network where "The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided;
men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting.
Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence: it does not tyrannize,
but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each is
reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which
the government is the shepherd."

Arkansas businesswoman Jan Morgan is experiencing this first hand, and she
is standing against it.  Morgan owns a "live fire"  indoor shooting range.                                                   
Last September she wrote a blog about why she has banned Muslims from her
facility. This week the Washington Post reported that after the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Arkansas chapter of the American
Civil Liberties Union complained to the government, the Justice Department
sent a brief email to the Post confirming it was "monitoring the matter." 
This prompted a response from CAIR saying, "We welcome this positive
development and hope it leads to a thorough investigation of clear violations
of the civil rights of American Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim by
the gun range owner."

Morgan runs the Gun Cave Shooting Range as a private club,  with dues-paying
members.  According to the Post, "Because of this, Morgan believes her
decision to exclude Muslims is protected by a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives policy that gives range owners the discretion to turn
away potential customers who pose a threat to the safety of others."  Already,
people have been sent to become members that she has refused and they are
claiming she is profiling illegally. Morgan's blog gives 10 reasons why her range
is a "Muslim Free Zone,"  among them are the 109 verses in the Koran "
commanding hate, murder and terror"  of those not submitting to Islam.

Morgan says the US Constitution doesn't protect a theocracy.  She said,
"Islam is the union of political, legal, and religious ideologies. In other words,
law, religion and state are forged together to form what Muslims refer to as
"The Nation of Islam." It is given the sovereign qualities of a nation with clerics
in the governing body and Sharia law all in one. This is a Theocracy, not a religion."

Morgan is taking a logical, legal, and morally correct stance.  The pro-Islam
Justice Department and its terrorist-sympathizing "civil rights"  conspirators
are practicing soft tyranny against this US citizen.

Ephesians 6:13 says, "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that
you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

This is an example of soft tyranny.  Soft tyranny is evil.   Morgan is standing
against it.  So should we.

Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com
                                                               

NAGR

NAGR

Dear Larry,

"We're being sued by George Soros' pals.  They want us to turn over the names and addresses of every one of our members and supporters."

Dudley was straight forward with us in our staff meeting.

He told us two groups funded heavily by anti-gun BILLIONAIRE George Soros -- "Campaign Legal Center" and "Democracy 21" -- had just filed lawsuits against NAGR.

The gun-grabbers saw how effective NAGR was at stopping Obama's anti-gun agenda in Congress and EXPOSING anti-gunners at the polls in 2014.

So they want our members and supporters to sit down and shut up heading into the 2016 elections.

The good news is, we're doing everything in our power to protect the privacy and identities of our supporters -- including filing a counter-assault in Federal court.

Will you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with NAGR against this assault by Soros and his anti-gun cronies?

Please sign your NAGR Legal Defense Survey below and let Dudley know you support our efforts to FIGHT BACK.

Larry Killion
NAGR Legal Defense Survey?
## MISSING ENTRY ##

NAGR

Fighting this out in Federal court isn't going to be cheap, especially if it goes all the way to the Supreme Court.

We're still short $74,731 of our goal of $350,000 by our April 30 deadline.

That's why after you sign your Legal Defense Survey, please consider chipping $10 or more today.

Thank you for standing with NAGR in this important fight!

-- Team NAGR


The National Association for Gun Rights is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, single-purpose citizens' organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the Constitutionally protected right-to-keep-and-bear-arms through an aggressive program designed to mobilize public opposition to anti-gun legislation. The National Association for Gun Rights' mailing address is P.O. 7002, Fredericksburg, VA 22404. They can be contacted toll-free at 1-877-405-4570. Its web address is www.NationalGunRights.org/

Not produced or e-mailed at taxpayer expense.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

weapon retention:

 

April 29, 2015
Where Do I Put My Hands?
Main Article Image
 
ShareDo you know what to do with your hands, and your gun, during a fight while your weapon is drawn but you aren't shooting? The proper technique could save your life.

Where Do I put My Hands?

Do you know what to do with your hands, and your gun, during a fight while your weapon is drawn but you aren't shooting? The proper technique could save your life.
There will come a time in every gun fight when your weapon will be drawn but you are not shooting. How do you protect your gun and yourself during this time?
It's important to know proper shooting technique because, well, making the right moves will save your life. In reality, making the right moves when not shooting will also save your life in an altercation.
How do you best protect your gun? How do you best protect yourself?
Check out the video above to make yourself more ready and more protected. After all, proper gun presentation and retention is the key to avoiding the need to use your gun at all.

Yoho Resolution

04/29/2015
Dear Larry,
Representative Ted Yoho (R-FL) has introduced a House Resolution (HR 198) that specifically defines what the constitutional term "High Crimes and Misdemeanors" means so the House will be able to bring coherent and supportable charges against wayward politicians and other office holders.
Mr. Yoho's resolution has been referred to the Judiciary Committee and America must join forces to compel this committee to pass it out to the whole House immediately.
Once HR 198 is passed by the entire House, Obama will no longer be allowed to declare amnesty for illegal aliens, hide documents from Congress or ignore the laws on the books without risking impeachment.
This is the most aggressive move toward impeachment that any House Member has made in the past six years, so we must seize this opportunity.
We need to let every Representative know that they will have America's full support if they pass the resolution and enforce it against Obama!
This is a day that many Americans, myself included, have been waiting for!
Send your FaxGrams to the House Judiciary Committee immediately. Tell them to support and pass HR 198!
Image of Charles Benninghoff, Founder
Charles Benninghoff, Founder
A House Resolution defines how the House of Representatives conducts its business.
Senators cannot filibuster it and Obama cannot veto it!
HR198 describes 11 specific actions as impeachable offenses.
Here are seven of the offenses that will be impeachable under HR 198:
  • Issuing "executive orders" that circumvent the Constitution
  • Failing to faithfully execute laws through signing statements or willful non-enforcement
  • Launching wars without congressional approval
  • Killing Americans on US soil without due process
  • Spending tax dollars in defiance of congressional appropriations
  • Refusing to comply with subpoenas for documents or testimony
Send your FaxGrams to the Judiciary Committee today and demand that it pass this resolution!
As Psalm 1:2-3 states it, "But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law does he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth fruit in his season; his leaf shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper."
The rule of law -- righteous law based on God's word, such as the laws found in our Constitution -- is the bedrock of a peaceful, civilized and prosperous society.
Obama's thwarting of the law has gone on far too long and is leading us down the road to moral, spiritual and fiscal bankruptcy as a nation.
This is why you must keep the pressure on Congress to hold Obama in check, as the Constitution requires of the legislative branch.
Send your FaxGrams to the House today!
Send Faxes Now Image
Then, please tell others about this amazing effort to finally define "high crimes and misdemeanors" by sending them this link:
Finally, after you have sent your FaxGrams, contact your Representative in Congress at 202-224-3121. Tell him or her to vote in support of HR 198 which defines High Crimes and Misdemeanors once and for all.
Sincerely,
Charles Benninghoff Signature Image for Email

Old video clip of BO


Listen to what BO said in 1995.



Pro-Life News


Equal Treatment


The Clintons have been running a tax-exempt "charitable" organization 
for years that does almost nothing for charity even while collecting huge donations!
Every single entity on that list lobbied the State Department for political favors while Hillary Clinton was Obama's Secretary of State.

The State of Qatar and "related entities" donated up to $5.8 million to the Clintons while Hillary Clinton was the US Secretary of State.
What are those Muslim "related entities" and who is in them?
We do not know, but we do know that the State of Qatar is part of the Wahabi Sunni sect of Islam, the same brand of Islam followed by Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.  The Clinton Foundation has received a free pass to conduct itself as a charitable organization while REAL Christian groups have been bullied by the federal government.

Samaritan's Purse, the Billy Graham Evangelical Association and the Biblical Record (a news publication of the Southern Baptist Convention) were all audited by the IRS.

Dr. James Dobson's "Family Talk Action" organization had its tax-exempt status unfairly delayed by Lois Lerner and Obama's IRS.

Authentic Christian groups and churches are kicked around and persecuted by Obama while the Clintons are allowed to take in cash and not even report it in many cases!

The best way to prevent this abuse and protect Christian churches is to treat the Clinton Foundation the same way under the rule of law! The federal government will stop bullying churches if we demand the same treatment for liberal pro-abortion groups masquerading as charities, like the Clinton Foundation!
The type of corruption that ensues from bribery of public officials is so great that the Bible condemns the practice in at least 65 verses, such as Exodus 23:8, "You shall take no gift (bribe): for a gift blinds the wise and perverts the words of the righteous."

If Muslim "related entities" donate millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation while lobbying Hillary Clinton at the State Department, how else could anyone see it?  

These are bribes!

Hillary Clinton hopes to be the next president of the United States and it is clear that she is unfit for office! This type of influence-peddling represents everything that is wrong in Washington, D.C. and the only way it will stop is if you speak out!
Click here to tell the Ways & Means Committee to direct an audit of the Clinton Foundation!
Send Faxes Now Image

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

SCOTUS hearing arguments today

There are two legal questions the court is taking up.

1. Does the 14th Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between people of the same gender?

2. Does the 14th Amendment require one state to acknowledge a valid marriage from another state?

Fundamentally, the question for the court is not whether same-sex "marriage" is good policy, but whether the public is allowed to debate the issue through the democratic process.

The text of the Constitution is silent on the issue of marriage.

As you are well aware, one side argues that marriage is a relationship designed to confer a series of legal rights and benefits and give societal approval to the life-long commitment adults make to each other. As such, it is inappropriate to distinguish between commitments.

The other side argues that while people should be free to form whatever relationships they desire, marriage exists not primarily for the benefit of the adults but to connect one generation to the next. The fact that all children have a mother and father justifies encouraging the one kind of relationship that makes that possible.

Either the court will conclude that this is a political issue to be decided through the legislative process, or it will decide that the Constitution forbids such a debate because there is a constitutional right to marry someone of the same gender.

If it finds a constitutional right to marry someone of the same gender, it would become illegal for a state to specifically promote the arrangement that makes it possible for a child to know both their mother and father.

Same-sex "marriage" would then be compulsory in all 50 states.

Either way, the debate won't be over soon. But it could be intensified if the Supreme Court tells one side of the debate their ideas have been banned from consideration.

If someone asks you, "What's wrong with gay marriage?" ask them, "What's wrong with square circles."

They may be offended simply because, for a certain segment of the population, being offended is an involuntary reaction to encountering ideas they disagree with.

Still, the question makes a point all of us defending real marriage need to remember.

The fact that marriage is not a relationship between two men is not a judgment, it's an observation like saying, "An orange is not an apple." The debate over which one is better or worse (or neither) is distinct from the acknowledgement that they are in fact different kinds of fruit.

If the Supreme Court makes it illegal for the law to recognize the fact that some relationships are different from others, people will still figure it out.

"What kind of marriage?" we'll ask.

Of course, that question might soon lead to protests and pickets. So the world will adapt signals or handshakes that allow the kind of information that was once communicated through a wedding ring to be shared without incurring the wrath of those who think belief in gender difference should be verboten.

Sweet, sweet tolerance.

But the idea that the world will soon be blind to gender is fanciful.

Pray that the Supreme Court doesn't repeat the mistake of Roe v. Wade, which inflamed a cultural debate, by silencing the people's voice on the matter.

However, even if the Supreme Court takes the position that the Emperor's new clothes are stunning, know that you won't be the only one watching the parade who knows better. 

Aloha

Today's Daily Escape is from Kauai, Hawaii. http://bit.ly/1bzGPa5

Monday, April 27, 2015

the plain tatoo

In Memorial
image1.jpeg

It is now 69 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 Million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated.
Now, more than ever, it's imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again. Can you say "ISIS "?
This e-mail is intended to reach 40-million people worldwide! Join us and be a link in the memorial chain and help us distribute it around the World.

Please send this on to people you know and ask them to continue the memorial chain.

PSCU

Each week we get more people asking to join the Puget Sound Conservative Underground. That's great! We're approaching a wonderful number of members - 1776! Who will be this magical numbered member? Suggest to your "right-minded" friends/family to join.
It's important to note what you're asking to join (as our "Underground" title is scarier than our actual purpose)...
The PSCU has these three basic objectives:
1. Promote Conservative Principles.
2. Provide Conservative Fellowship.
3. Encourage Conservative Action.
Members are asked to share ideas, information, and be encouraged by other conservatives as we try to stay sane in this crazy, liberal area we live in. It's important to get together (virtually and in-person) with other likeminded individuals in the greater-Seattle area to network, rant, and build friendships.

As Ronald Reagan said:
"The future of our country, the direction that we go as a people, whether we move ahead to meet the challenges of the future or slide back into the irresponsible policies of the past, will be determined by those who get involved."
Psalm 13 explains why Conservatives need a group such as the PSCU:
"Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm."
Please note:
a) As the moderator, Dan Michael will remove any postings with foul language or that repeatedly ridicule or berate fellow conservatives.
b) When asking to join the PSCU, if you have a closed Facebook page and it can't be easily assessed that you indeed are a full spectrum Conservative (social conservative/fiscal conservative/strong national defense conservative), please message Dan to provide information to confirm such. We keep membership restricted to Conservatives, as we don't want our group to be "infiltrated" by liberals....or by Ron-Paul-Libertarians or by mushy moderate Republicans smile emoticon
...and we want you to feel comfortable in our group.
Like · Comment · · 152

Is it real?

Perception vs Reality...
 
Hi Larry
 
In every discipline there's always a difference between what we "perceive" to be true. . . 
and actual "reality."
 
Recently TFT Master Instructor Chris Ranck-Buhr writing on our TargetFocusTraining 
blog and Charles Staley, TFT's resident fitness & strength coach over at our  TargetFocusFitness website each addressed this conflict in separate posts. . . 
without knowing what the other had written.
 
You'll find Charles’ latest, What You Think Really Matters vs What Really DOES Matter 
by going here.
 
Chris' blog, It's not What you Think: Subjective vs. Objective Reality, can be found by clicking this link.
 
Different approaches, different examples, different lessons. . . yet each walking you 
through the oft-times difficult process of evaluating your own "perception vs reality."
 
To a safer, stronger & better 2015 through more accurate 'vision,'
 
Tim Larkin
Creator & Founder,
Target Focus Training