If this isn’t totalitarinism I don’t know what is.

Personal Freedom and Prosperity 110: The Rule of Law

A government with moral and legal authority promulgates written rules and universally, impartially and uniformly enforces the rules, which provides a predictable and stable legal order on which to base economic and personal decisions. The law prevails, not the proclamation or arbitrary decision of a ruler, government bureaucrat, the enforcer (e.g., policeman) or judge.

The Internet: 5 People to Decide It’s Future!

Our Constitution delegates to Congress the power to make the laws. Our President has the power to veto a law passed by the Senate and the House. Once a law is enacted, it is the duty of the President and his administration to faithfully implement the law. For years, the big debate has been over what laws should govern the Internet. What laws would control companies like Google, Verizon, Facebook, Comcast as well as individual users…if any?

Appointed by President Obama, Tom Wheeler is the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, and is one of the five, FCC voting members. In November, Mr. Obama publicly prodded the FCC to declare the Internet a public utility and to impose regulations. In accord with the President’s request, Mr. Wheeler reversed his previous decision to not regulate the Internet. Presently, Wheeler and two other members of the FCC intend to make rules impacting every American.

“.. almost all websites and apps would be subject to regulation,”

opines L. Gordon Crovitz of the Wall Street Journal after reviewing previous Supreme Court decisions dealing with public utilities.

Absolutely un-American! Violating the legislative process of the Constitution, the proposed FCC rules will be voted on before they are fully revealed to the American people, which is typical for this administration. Mr. Wheeler arrogantly told The Verge, “You’ll notice that I have not addressed any of the specifics.” Wheeler continued to temper his remarks by saying, “You have to wait until February to see the specifics.”

The FCC is leaking some of provisions, however. According to the Washington Post, these are some of the gigantic power grabs of the FCC:

• Broadband providers would be explicitly banned from blocking content or creating fast lanes for Web services that can pay for preferential treatment into American homes.

• In addition to covering fixed broadband providers such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable, the draft rules would cover wireless providers such as T-Mobile and Sprint.

• The rules would also make speeding up or slowing down Web traffic — a tactic known as prioritization — illegal. And it would ban the blocking of Web traffic outright.

• The draft rules seek to impose a modified version of Title II, which was originally written to regulate telephone companies. It will waive a number of provisions, including parts of the law that empower the FCC to set retail prices — something Internet providers fear above all.

• … the draft rules will also keep other parts of Title II that allow the FCC to enforce consumer privacy rules, extract funds from Internet providers to help subsidize services for rural Americans, educators and the poor.

• … make sure services such as Google Fiber can build new broadband pipes more easily, according to people familiar with the plan.

• Internet providers won’t be asked to contribute to the subsidy fund, known as Universal Service, right away. The draft rules merely open the door to that obligation down the road should the FCC determine that step is necessary.

These enormous and complicated decisions are for Congress – not three political appointees. Americans must be made aware of the issues and the potential consequences of three people’s decisions. It is crucial we have an open debate, which allows our citizens to communicate with their Senators and Members of Congress. Three, politically selected members of the FCC should never replace the due process of the Constitution.

Less than a year ago, Wheeler claimed the FCC did not have the authority from Congress to make these decisions. Then, President Obama asked him to change his mind. Thus, on February 26, without revealing the proposed rules, five members will say yay or nay to very important, complex and competing issues concerning the Internet. If a majority vote in favor of the proposed rules happens, years of court battles will follow as will uncertainty – ala ObamaCare. This would be a terrible violation of our constitutional delegation of powers and the Rule of Law.

http://www.freedomworks.org/content/internet-5-people-decide-its-future

Our New Fort Sumter

On the early morning of April 12, 1861, the newly formed Confederate army under the command of  General P. G. T. Beauregard, attacked the Union Garrison of Fort Sumter, South Carolina. This was the first crisis the recently elected Abraham Lincoln had to confront in his effort to stabilize the United States of America due to the secession of 7 southern states over State’s Rights.

The battle raged until mid-day of April 14th when the Union soldiers surrendered to Confederate troops. No life was lost during the battle. Following the battle, there was widespread support from both North and South for further military action. Lincoln’s immediate call for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion resulted in an additional four southern slave states also declaring their secession and joining the Confederacy. The Civil War had begun. This war between brothers and countrymen raged until 1865 and resulted in the death or wounding of between 620,000 to 700,000 men. The total of U.S. deaths for all other wars combined is only about 200,000.

Let us look at something here, the “rebellion” of the southern states. Most of us  were taught in public school that the “Civil War”, as northerners like to call it, was about slavery. In a way it was, but only marginally. We in the South still correctly refer to the War Between the States as the War of Northern Aggression. This very famous war in our country was about State’s Rights. And that is State’s Rights as laid out in our Constitution wherein all powers not specifically delighted to the Congress, Executive branch, and Judicial branch, are reserved to the various states to be carried out in the way that is deemed correct by the citizens of that state. The people of the South correctly thought that the centralized Federal Government was over-stepping it’s Enumerated Powers as laid out in the `Constitution and they were willing to take action and die if necessary to hold the Federal Government accountable for it’s over zealous seizure of power.

In a word it can be said that they ‘believed’ in the founding principals of the the United States. So much so that they elected to disengage from the path the Federal government was taking in putting limits on freedom and ignoring the Constitutional principals upon which this country was founded and seeking to impose it’s “will” on people through the use of force. Remember that Robert E. Lee was a colonel in the Union Army and President Lincoln called him back from the field to Washington to offer him command of the Union Army for the purpose of invading the South, to put down the rebellion. Lee responded “Save in the defense of my native State, I never desire again to draw my sword.” Upon which he resigned his commission, returned to Virginia, and started the formation of the Army of Northern Virginia.

The War of Northern Aggression was a pivotal point in the history of our country, and a pivotal point in the history of freedom. In my mind, true Freedom died on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox, Virginia,  when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War and setting in stone the ability of the United States Federal government to do as it wishes with our freedom. Every since then the freedom of our citizens has steadily declined to a point where there is none. At least none as laid out by our Founding Fathers.

150 years later, we have unlimited spying on citizens by the government, a gestapo like IRS who at a whim confiscates property, forced participation in health care with prison time if you don’t, a militarized police state that is wholly unaccountably for the daily murders that they commit, the suppression of free speech, the White House importing Muslims by the thousands and actually sending arms and money to Muslim jihadists, and the list goes on and on and on. Where are the people on this?  They are for the most part only concerned with who did what to whom in Hollywood, what sports idiot is famous today, who said what on Facebook, and how much beer is in the fridge. It’s disgusting to me to see and hear such apathy when it comes to our freedom and liberty. Where is the spirit that enabled half a nation to try and stop the advance of a fascist like, totalitarian government? I only see that spirit in a very few individuals.

It’s time to find that spirit again, stand up, and do something significant and drastic because we have almost no time left to make a difference.

RUTH BADER GINSBURG ADMITS SHE WAS DRUNK AT SOTU

In a lighthearted moment before an audience at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., Thursday night, the 81-year-old Ginsburg cracked up telling the story that she “wasn’t 100 percent sober” before going to the State of the Union.

“The audience – for the most part – is awake because they’re bobbing up and down all the time and we sit there stone-faced, sober judges,” Ginsburg said. “At least I wasn’t 100 percent sober…”

Well, I’ll admit that if had to listen to Obama drone on about himself (which I didn’t) I suppose I’d need to be “medicated” too.

Of course, I’m not a whackjob Leftard admirerer of Obama’s policies like she is, so it speaks volumes that she decided to get plastered beforehand.

In some ways I have to admire her tenacity. The Democrats would like nothing more than for her to retire so that Obama can appoint another, younger Leftist to the Supreme Court.

By hanging on, it’s possible that the next President may be a Republican who appoints a Conservative, thus giving the Rightwing a solid majority on the high court.

Let’s hope she doesn’t croak in the meantime.

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2015/02/13/ginsburg-i-wasnt-100-

OBAMA’S 322 PAGE PLAN TO TAX AND REGULATE THE INTERNET IS CATASTROPHIC

February 14, 2015 · by blazingnash · Bookmark the permalink. ·

Obama’s 322 Page Plan To Tax And Regulate The Internet Will Slow Innovation, Decrease Speed And Increase What You Pay For It..

It’s obamacare for the internet. Except worse.

In any of these 322 pages are the Feds building the Web Service every small Internet business will need to keep track of every one of the bazillion tax jurisdiction sales tax laws? Didn’t think so.

http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/06/republican-fcc-commissioner-slams-obamas-332-page-plan-to-regulate-the-internet/