In this essay, I’ll be discussing The Bill Of Convenient Privileges (Formerly Known As The Bill Of Rights.)
It is a sad day in a sad country. Ours was the only nation that was formed based on the concept of individual freedom and equal opportunity. (Not equal outcome.)
I am going to show how we the people no longer have rights, but only Government-granted privileges. And only when they are convenient to the government.
So let’s do this by the numbers: The first five Constitutional Amendments — Oops, I mean the first five convenient privileges.
Amendment #1: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and petition the Government for redress of grievances.
Wow, that sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? But now the reality of it: Let’s start with free speech. I know that this next part will annoy a lot of people but here goes: I believe that true free speech means a person can say anything. Now before you go crazy please hear me out. I said they can say anything, but both words and actions have consequences. If you say something inappropriate to someone and they beat the snot out of you, then you deserve it. But that doesn’t mean the Government should put you in jail for it. But that is exactly what the Government will do because it violated political correctness. Just try and make a conservative speech at a university. In today’s political climate that is not happening. And as for “hate speech”? You have a right to hate anyone, but again, there are consequences.
So much for Freedom of speech.
Now on to freedom of religion. To me, this means that you are allowed to practice your faith anywhere and anyhow that you please.
Sounds good right? Not so fast. Try sending your child to school with a Bible to read at lunchtime. That is not happening. One of the most misrepresented injustices to religious freedom is the oft-quoted “separation of church and state”. That is not mentioned in the Constitution but rather mentioned in a private letter written by Thomas Jefferson. It was because our founding fathers did not want a formal state religion — not because they didn’t want people practicing their religion on state property. Yet here we are, in the early 21st Century: No crosses, no nativity scenes, and no more proclamations of “Merry Christmas”. In the current COVID pandemic, the street protests are crowded and unrestricted but state governments mandate that our churches be closed. So much for religious freedom.
Next, Freedom to peacefully assemble.
This one is a little tricky because it all depends on what your assembling for. If you are assembling for a right to life rally, or a right to bear arms rally (we’ll get to that, later) then you will need a permit and insurance and provide your own security. You will also be charged with the cost of law enforcement to keep the counter-protesters from killing you. However, if someone is protesting against the police or just rioting for all the free stuff, not only do they not need a permit but they are allowed to attack the police and burn the city to the ground. So much for Peaceful Assembly.
Now, Freedom of the Press. This should be called suppression of the press. If you are a member of the Ministry of Propaganda (CNN, MSNBC, ABC, etc.) then you can and will say or publish anything you want without any repercussions or oversight. You can distort facts, you can make false accusations, and you can submit false evidence as true. In fact, you can lose your job if you don’t. On the other hand, if you are a real journalist and are seeking the truth and are presenting the facts. then you will be vilified in the press as a lunatic, or as a Conservative hack. You can have Judges issue a gag order or you can be put in jail for not revealing your sources. [JWR Adds: And often you will be wrongly told that you don’t have the right to film things that are happening in public. That is why I established CFAPA.]
So much for Freedom of Press.
Now on to the right to petition the Government for redress of grievances.
This one is easy: You can’t. You have to sue. But often you cannot sue, because government officials enjoy Qualified Immunity. Nearly every time a citizen tries to petition the Government, then a bureaucrat or a judge stops it. The last resort is a drawn-out legal battle. The cost of litigation puts this out of reach for most Americans. Without the backing of big money and the corrupt press, you have almost no chance of success. On the other hand, if you want to destroy the country, de-fund the police, and abolish the Constitution then corporations will throw money at you to accomplish this. [JWR Adds: $10.6 billion, according to one recent estimate published by The Economist.] So much for petitioning the government.
Amendment #2: A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
The National Firearms Act of 1934 was the first major violation of the Second Amendment. Instead of challenging the 2nd Amendment directly, they decided to tax and regulate the sale and possession of certain types of firearms. This tried and true tactic is still used to this day and is still just as unconstitutional as it was then. I know people will say “nobody needs a machinegun.” Believe me, I hear this all the time. But this is not about a need or a want. No, this is about Government Infringement of the Second Amendment. The repeal of alcohol prohibition did far more to prevent crime than the National Firearms Act of 1934. That first federal firearm law was grossly unconstitutional and opened up decades of further firearm restrictions at the local, state, and federal levels.
Now, on to “A well-regulated Militia.”
Progressives and Liberals now scream that this means the Government needs to “regulate” any Militia groups. This is not even close to what this phrase means. The words “well-regulated” in the 1700s meant well-trained and nothing more. The meanings of words change, over time. When told this, Liberals scoff and claim that is not so. That is, right up until you remind them that up until the 1960s, “gay” used to mean happy. And in olden times and even in recent times in some other English-speaking countries, a “fag” was a cigarette.
Now, about the word “Infringed”:
I wish that I didn’t have to spell this out to some people, but it means no government involvement, of any kind! [JWR Adds: Any legal restriction on who, where, when, what type, why, or how you choose bear arms is an infringement. Any limitation on caliber, capacity, rapidity of fire, or anything else related to firearms or ammunition is an infringement. Any “background check” is an infringement. And furthermore, any tax on arms or ammunition is also an infringement.]
Amendment #3: No soldier shall, in any time of peace be quartered in any house without the consent of the Owner, nor in any time of war but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
This is one of the only one of the first five Amendments that still stands, for the most part. Soldiers don’t violate this Amendment yet, but SWAT teams do so, regularly. They will have a situation where they need to occupy a house or apartment for logistical or tactical use and move right in and sequester the property owners elsewhere “for their own safety.”) But enough of that.
Amendment #4: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
Can you say no-knock warrant? The constitution says probable cause supported by oath. So how is it that someone can be SWATed? The police get an anonymous call from some malcontent or some Commie neighbor claiming that the occupants of a house are selling drugs, or they are building bombs, or whatever. So even if the call can give probable cause then where on Earth is the sworn oath that has to go along with it? I know a lot of LEOs and they have an impossible job. But people are being killed for doing nothing more than protecting their homes. I am not talking about a crack house where an undercover officer has made a drug buy, I’m talking about some innocent citizen sitting on their couch playing video games and their front door is broken down and they get shot for not complying with orders because they have headphones on. I’m sorry, but this garbage has got to stop.
Amendment #5: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger, nor should any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
I’ll start this show with “due process of law.” The IRS rings a bell. When a Government entity can arrest you, seize your home, seize your business, seize your bank accounts without any trial, then is one of the most UNAMERICAN and UNCONSTITUTIONAL things being done today. I’m reminded of the Lord Acton quote: “….absolute power will corrupt absolutely.” The IRS has got down to a science.
I had a run-in with the IRS some 30 years ago. The agents came into a restaurant I worked at and threatened all of us with seizing our assets and jail time because we didn’t keep a daily record of our tips. Who knew? We sure didn’t. I was lucky I didn’t have any “assets” for them to seize. I was in my early 20s, but a lot of my co-workers who had been working there much longer were up a creek without a paddle. They brought us all in and read off all these violations and the punishments and thought it was funny. This was in Kalifornia. We were lucky that one of our regular guests at the restaurant was a tax lawyer, and a day later he took over. He told us that almost all the things that the IRS agents had cited were false. And he said that we would have to pay the back taxes and a fine but that we would not go to jail or have our assets seized, but only because we had a lawyer. It ended up costing me $5,000, including his legal fees. But the IRS had us in court for three years, just for fun. The IRS has got too much power and they know it.
Lastly, about eminent domain:
I feel this should never happen unless it’s for the defense of our nation. Too many times a person’s home or business is seized by local or state Governments “for the greater good” only to have the property turned over to a corporation or private contractor to build some hotel, parking garage, or restaurant not a hospital or police department or Fire station. People are never justly compensated for the loss of their land. People have had land that has been in their family for generations taken from them to build a resort or golf course. No one should have their property taken from them for any reason. It belongs to them, not the Government, and surely not any corporation.
Please feel free to correct me if you feel I’m wrong, but I’m calling it like I see it. The Constitution is the only thing protecting us from an oppressive government. But presently it is being twisted like a corkscrew.
Like a Frog in a Pot of Water on the Stove. Americans have Sat by as the Water Heats up. What is it going to take to Jump before the Lid is put on our Pot.
We Shall Hang alone if we Do Not Hang Togather
Henry- The answer is until the average middle to upper middle class American has their cushy life squeezed like an adolescent zit there will be no armed insurrection or overthrow of the .gov, whatever admin is in. Sorry that disappoints many preppers and constitutionalists.
I am deeply concerned by the number of gun owners stating that “My guns were lost in a boating accident”, or similar comments indicating their intent to hide their firearms, rather than use them to defend the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Remember this… in the aftermath of World War Two, the Russian people buried millions of guns, telling themselves that “someday”, they would be retrieved and used to free Russia from the communists. Those guns were never dug up. When the time comes to bury your guns, it’s already too late.
Couldn’t say it better than that.
Unfortunately, the law-abiding gun owner down the road from you will be picked off by stormtroopers, and you’ll probably sit there with a “sucks to be you” look on your face, as you bury your guns or lose them in a “boating accident…”
You don’t think that will happen? MILLIONS of patriots in California have been begging for help fighting back against the Left for DECADES. “Sucks to be you” was all we heard. Now, with Joe and the Ho’ taking office, “California” has gone national… ‘Time to bury your freedom, I guess… ‘Sucks to be all of us now…
Not here in Louisiana. And we told y’all to move to a free state. If you stayed in California you must like the laws there. I have open carry, full capacity magazines and msr here in Louisiana
“And we told y’all to move to a free state… AH-HEEL-HEEL!”
Yeah; right. Maybe I’ll sell and move to within a stone’s throw of your place… No? ‘Didn’t think so. Right; I’m gonna move to a place where no one wants me around, regardless of the fact that I’m trying to escape the lunacy of the Left. The locals will jack up the prices of the houses ‘cuz everyone knows folks from CA “have money.” Then, THEN… the locals will be ticked off at me because “I” jacked up the prices of the houses so that THEY can’t afford them, when in fact it was the GREED of the LOCAL SELLERS who did just that.
No, you just don’t get it. “The People” just cheated… er… VOTED into the White House the vehicle by which Left Wing tyranny that’s metastasized in CA will become a part of your life as well… all because folks like you said “Ain’t our problem!” when we needed help from our fellow patriots; our fellow AMERICANS…
For the record, do a search on the number of people in California who voted for Trump. I’ll save you the effort; 6,005,961. And that doesn’t even account for the cheating in favor of Joe and the Ho’. The population of Louisiana is 4.6 million. That means that even if EVERYONE in LA voted for Trump in 2020, there would have been over TWO MILLION more Trump voters in CA.
It’d be interesting to get back with you in four or five years to see if you STILL “have open carry, full capacity magazines and msr (there) in Louisiana…” Most likely, you won’t. Also most likely, you’ll blame it on California…
This was well written, reasoned and extremely good!
Thank you!
Very well layed out. Thank you.
Well written and timely. Thank you, JH!
The word “erosion” comes to mind over and over again. Our rights have been eroded over time, all while Americans were attending too much to that which matters little, and not nearly enough to that which matters most.
Now we find ourselves in a very real Constitutional crisis that could lead to the downfall of the Republic, and this at the hands of the political minority which forms the Communist Left, an unelected Deep State, the Marxist Media, and ancillary officials (most assuredly including Republicans) who are corrupted by Communist interests here and abroad.
It’s not over, and we must fight forward to preserve the Constitution and our Republic. …but conditions are very difficult, indeed.
Remember! Do not give up. Do not give in. Do not give an inch. Our willingness and ability to persevere will lead us to victory if we remain committed to victory. Do not allow the Radical Left to dishearten or dispirit you. We remain on the right side of history.
for decades we have given a inch…..and now it has grown to a mile. I agree, it’s better to push back than to do nothing, but, too much damage has already been done, we are on the downside of the slippery slope, and I fear past the point of no return in restoring Constitutional rights.
Too many people are willing to admit the reality that the Republic is in a irreversible decline…and headed towards being melded into the one world system that the Bible promised would come.
The most important thing you can do is get right with God. Repent and turn from sin and seek the Lord Jesus Christ while you still can. Today is the day of salvation. Know HIM, and be known by HIM.
This world is passing away and our lives are but a vapor, but eternity is, well, eternity. It where you will spend it that really matters.
Amen!
Excellent article. Thank you. Never hurts to revisit the basics.
Your article is well written and presented very well. However, the good ol’USA has way too many easy chair quarterbacks and not enough Red Necks who are willing to give up their lives, fortunes and freedom to correct what we have allowed to be stolen from us. I’ve had enough, I am approaching 77 years young and would rather die fighting for a righteous cause than dying in a nursing home. Cleaning the swamp is no longer the answer, its time to flush the swamp like a commode and then clean the bowl with acid. I live in Texas, but I will not state where, and for the first time in my life I am seeing Patriots meeting to discuss “what can we do to clean up this mess in Washington and Austin”? Common folks, professionals, educated men and women are scared and pissed off with the direction we are heading. I hear Trump is going to do this or that, well, we better get off the fence and roll up our sleeves and do it ourselves. Talk is cheap, it is time to do something. I suggest much time in prayer on our knees asking for direction from our great God. Ya know, Samson didn’t have a committee to answer to, he did not have an AK47 or M4 carbine, all he had was the jawbone of an ass, and he slew 5,000 Philistines. Patriot, rise up and be heard! Our enemies have used our weakness and sympathy to their advantage, it is past time to turn the tables and correct the direction of this country. “These are the times that try men’s souls………”.
What you said makes you and me a dangerous, old grump. Waiting in a nursing home hoping that someone notices my diaper needs to be changed does not appeal to me. I could go on but be it known, that I have your backside…
I’m with Elmer Fudd. Standing idly by watching and saying what can we do isn’t getting results. If millions got together and acted responsibly yet firm and forceful I think folks would listen and MANY would agree and join the cause.
You said it well, brother: “Trump is going to do this or that, well, we better get off the fence and roll up our sleeves and do it ourselves. Talk is cheap, it is time to do something.”
Carry on
Ammendment #1
No, it means that you can practice your faith as you as long as you aren´t disrespectful to others.
Not it means not, that you have the right to slander other people, even if they have the right to thrash you for it, which would mean it would only the strong have this right
I fully believe private people absolutely have the right of their person including being not recorded and publicized against their will.
In the military I forbid the military to use my pictures in the public.
Amendment#3
I don´t see how this relates to police emergency use at all on principle.
If it would, it wouldn´t be relating to quartering but to combat use including observation points, command posts, medical posts etc.
I must respectfully disagree. These are God-given rights, the constitution is to protect the people from the government infringing on those rights. There are no qualifications on those rights. Yes, I can slander someone if I wish, they also have the right to sue me in a court of law for damages. What do you consider “disrespectful to others” when practicing your faith? Again there are no qualifications with respect to religion and “the free exercise thereof.”
That means you don´t´ve in the US the “so called god given right” to slander somebody.
You cannot for example come in or near my graveyard during a burial to to sing your prayers over loudspeakers, disrupting the quiet and dignity of the place.
@Vegas
Show me the Swat Team that uses Artillery, MBT etc
Some Techniques for SWAT and some Military Units may overlao, surprise Special Units of the Military Police or Military UNits that do äquivalent Missions like the SAS, but that should it be
I can absolutely show you video of a SWAT team that used a helicopter to drop a bomb an apartment complex, I think that was Philadelphia.
In answer to my own question, it is simply a legal distinction between the two at this point.
ThoDan,
SWAT units and military units these days differ in name only. They use the same tactics and weapons, including armored vehicles. Without insignias or uniforms you would likely be hard pressed to tell the difference.
The real kicker is the people, including here, who defended such heavy handed federal tactics in Portland, etc., lately because “communists” or some such nonsense.
J.H. Thanks for the article. I think it is paramount that we begin to understand that we a living under a ‘dual’ government. Most of us are under the misconception that we are living under the Constitutional Republic that was in visioned by our Founding Fathers, such is NOT the case. We are living under a corporate government established by the Act of 1871.
The Act of 1871 established the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. What? No the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA was established by Continental Congress on September 9th, 1776. No, The United States of America was established by the Continental Congress! It looks like the same thing but it is NOT. It’s kind of like a GMO tomato, looks the same BUT IS NOT. The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (in all caps) is a corporate designation for ‘The United States of America’ which was the Organic Constitutional Republic.
We are currently living UNDER the control of a CORPORATE ENTITY that is NOT the Constitutional Republic established by our Founding Fathers. It is still there, tucked away from sight and mind in the dust bin of history. We are ‘chattel property’ of this Corporate State.
Have you ever wondered why your ‘legal name’ is in all caps? Maybe you haven’t even thought of it. Look at your drivers license or any ‘legal document’ with your name on it, it’s in all caps! That is because of your ‘Birth Certificate’ which is really a ‘Certificate of Value’ it is owned by the Corporate State. We as an ‘Individual’ ‘Physical’ ‘Entity’ can still be FREE persons but we must extract ourselves from the Corporate State and reestablish the Constitutional Republic as our operational form of government.
The other item that BINDS us to the Corporate State is our Social Security number. The SS# literally changes our status as ‘State Citizens’ to Federal U.S. Citizens, that doesn’t even sound WRONG any more, does it? Think about it! If you asked George Washington or Thomas Jefferson what there citizenship was, how would they have answered? Would they have said they were a U.S. Citizen? Heaven forbid, they would have been aghast to even think of such a thing! The would have said “I am a Virginian” and every other founding father would have claimed their given State as there Citizenship.
We are so far removed from the basic understanding of our Founding Fathers and our TRUE history that it will be a great up hill battle to regain an iota what has been lost and swept under the rug of FRAUD that is called the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! I will defend to the death the Constitution of The United States of America and fight to the death to release us from the chains of the corporate state.
Excellent Article! Eminent Domain should be used for the public good only (such as building a highway) not as it was a few years ago at the New Jersey shore so the local government can steal people’s multi-generational houses so a developer can put up much higher ratable condos! An abuse of judicial power, as the judge(s) sided with the town. This, of course, set up a legal precedent in the state for further abuses.
“If you say something inappropriate to someone and they beat the snot out of you, then you deserve it”
I’m sure that happens. I suspect the people doing the beating are surprised when they are hit with criminal or civil punishments for their crimes. It is illegal to respond to words with violence. Just saying.
Hey J.H., thank you for using the word Consequences. The number one reason people give me for not wanting to live in a country which has true Freedom (i.e. an absolute right of private property which would be stated in paragraph one of page one in its constitution) is that we’d have total anarchy. They’re so used to living in a country where far too many people get away with murder (politicians, Big Corporations, and a lot of little guys, etc.) and aren’t made to live with the consequences of their actions, that they couldn’t imagine living in a country where everybody has to live by the consequences of their actions. We wouldn’t have anarchy if we had Freedom + responsibility (as defined by living up to the consequences of our actions.) People would self-regulate just like 98% of people already do because people are basically good and it’s the decent way to behave. The huge difference would be that there’d be no penalties if no victims were created. We wouldn’t have to start sweating every time a LEO car was behind us on the road because we wouldn’t be in the process of creating any victims so they’d have no reason to pull us over and force us to pay money to some government organization.
If we had true Freedom, the government couldn’t possibly get as large as it has because they’d have no way to steal our private property from our paychecks each week to support it. There’d be no lobbyists, no money to bail out politicians’ cronies in Big Business who can live financially irresponsible lives because they know they get all the benefit and the taxpayers take all the risk by bailing them out. If they blew their fortunes, they’d have to face the consequences of their actions. That alone would cause them to self regulate just like it causes all of us little guys to self regulate.
Before you start knee-jerking your response on why Freedom sucks, we all want the 2nd Amendment to work this way, why not every single other aspect of our lives? Most of us want to own any kind of firearm we want, without licenses and permissions, take it anywhere we want (concealed or otherwise) unless a sign is posted on private property that no guns are allowed. We all self-regulate and the fraction of a percent who don’t are why we say “If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.” How do we get conservatives to see how that concept applies to every other amendment as well and to all aspects of Freedom? Why do we claim to love Freedom but support a government who forces us to pay them $300 every time we just barely roll through a stop sign without creating any victims? Because we falsely believe that government can keep us safe. They can’t, and the best they can do with all their laws is increase our safety by a fraction of a percent. That fraction surely isn’t worth giving up our Freedom which Americans have so gladly done. If you believe the safety BS of the anti-freedom argument, and 95+% of Americans do, then wouldn’t we have that same fraction of a percent of increased safety if we all turned in our guns? No accidental self-inflicted wounds, none of our kids accidentally shooting the neighbor kid, no crimes of passion where we blow away the neighbor’s dog or the neighbor himself. Don’t answer, I know your response because mine is the same as yours. But answer me this: why do you support the absolute Freedom mentality with the Second Amendment but flush it down the toilet with every other type of Freedom we should have? I’ll propose a reason: Because our parents brainwashed us from the time we could talk about the sacredness of the Second Amendment, and thank goodness they did, and we let liberals, the media, schools, and government entities to brainwash us on every other aspect of Freedom.
That isn´t total freedom, because you would´ve to respect my property rights even if they would be endanger you.
People would regulate like they did regulate slavery or genocide in your history?
Had slaves the right to own weapons in 18th century USA, ´d persons of colour citicen or even human rights in the USA in the 19th century?
You pay the fine for the victims this sign should prevent
Hey ThoDan, contrary to popular belief in the US, the Founding Fathers set up a freer nation, not a free nation. They had no intentions of granting us true Freedom (the absolute right of private property), so your example as I understand it is out of context (with all due respect) and actually underscores the point I’m making. When the right of private property is not respected, and not enshrined in paragraph 1 of the constitution, then things like slavery can occur, which in my book is the worst possible violation of the right of private property, even worse than murder which I won’t address in this comment. There are no such things as “human rights,” only the right of private property, our bodies being the most important piece of private property we own. When you break things down into human rights, women’s rights, gun rights, etc, it only obscures the true meaning of Freedom, which his exactly what the PTB want to happen, including the Founding Fathers. Name a right, if we lived under true Freedom, that doesn’t fall into the category of private property?
“That isn’t total freedom, because you would´ve to respect my property rights even if they would be endanger you.”
We can’t force anybody to respect our property rights, only hold them accountable when they do. Often times our property rights are violated accidentally, such as when I hit a patch of ice and crash my truck into your 200-year old beech tree and cause damage. Other times they are violated in moments of passion, in which case the violator needs to be held accountable.
The best example I can think of off hand about people self regulating deals with car insurance. Last time I checked, New Hampshire was the only one of 50 states that didn’t force people to buy car insurance. Good thing, otherwise they’d have to change their license plate to “Buy Insurance or Die.” If what everyone says is true: that people won’t self regulate and they won’t do certain things unless they are forced to, then we would expect New Hampshire to rate 50th in the US on a list of % of motorists insured by state. Last time I checked they were the 17th most insured state in the country. This points out to me that A.) people will self regulate when they realize what the cost would be when they are held accountable for an accident, and B.) people are more likely to do the smart thing when it’s left up to their free choice instead of force and the threat of incarceration. The other 49 states only force you to buy insurance because they got into bed with the big insurance corporations long ago, but that too is a discussion for another day. People self regulate on car insurance because who wants to risk paying $100K out of their own pocket for an accidental death, hitting a brand new Rolls Royce, etc? The other reason people give for the why we need forced insurance participation is so that if we get hit by someone who is uninsured, we won’t be up the creek. Not so. If we let people self regulate, most will buy insurance. And to cover those who aren’t insured, if that bothers us, we can buy coverage which includes an uninsured motorist. That would keep everyone’s Freedom intact and everyone would be happy except the insurance companies. The real kicker is, if forcing people to buy insurance is such a success, why do so many states force you to also buy uninsured motorist coverage?
Best regards,
You put nearly everything i call human rights under private property
Hey ThoDan, I made the comment, “Name a right, if we lived under true Freedom, that doesn’t fall into the category of private property?” and nobody named any.
The concept is very simple, my body is my private property, as is my real estate, my finances, all my personal possessions, etc. The most important of these is my body, which makes my life and existence possible. True Freedom is when nobody has the right to violate my property rights. That means they can’t enslave me, can’t force me to do anything, can’t steal my land or money, and can’t force me to rent my own home from the county in the form of property taxes.
A “right” is super easy to define. Many of what people call rights clearly aren’t and there’s a simple test to see if something is a right or not, all based on the concept of private property.
If somebody states that something is a right, ask yourself a simple question: “Can that ‘right’ be exercised without violating the rights of others?” If it can, then it’s a right. If not, then it’s not a right.
The UN lists the following as Human Rights, let’s apply the test to see if they really are.
“Freedom of speech, privacy, health, life, liberty, and security as well as an adequate standard of living.”
Freedom of speech, no argument. My body, which is my private property, can exercise free speech without violating the rights of others and nobody has to give me any of their private property in order for me to have free speech. That makes it a right. Ditto with the concept of privacy in our homes and on our property.
Is health a right? Absolutely not. I have a right to take care of my body, to work by the sweat of my brow to buy property in the form of food and medicines and pay for doctors etc. But if I cannot provide those for myself, in a free society I have no right to steal your money to pay for my health maintenance. So health is not a right and many people will experience poor health where Freedom reigns.
Life and Liberty are certainly rights because my life is my private property and true Liberty can only exist where my property rights are respected and nobody can take my property from me by force.
Where true Freedom exists, security in the manner the UN is talking about is absolutely not a right. Providing security for my family is my right because I ask nothing from anybody to help me provide that and I do it via my private property: fences, defensive weapons, working hard to provide food and shelter security, etc. Security for my next door neighbor who cannot provide it for himself is not a right. In order for it to be provided, the property rights of others must be violated by taking their money to pay for security for my neighbor, which is how non-free societies provide it.
An adequate standard living cannot possibly be a right because the only way to provide that for a lot of people is via theft of private property from people who have worked for it and redistributing it to people who lack an adequate standard of living. Minimum wage laws provide a base income for workers but it is not a true right since it violates the principal of managing private property as the owner sees fit. If I pay too little, they have a right to seek other employment. If I pay way way too little, nobody will come and work for me. Where Freedom exists, I have no right to force them to work for me because I would be violating their private property rights, and they have no right to force me to pay certain wages because that would violate my right to manage my private property (my money and my business) as I see fit.
“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what’s for dinner.” Whether that’s a million wolves voting or 10 million, they are clearly violating the rights of the lamb. We’d never violate the rights of our neighbors but we lose sight of Freedom when we allow a group of people known as “rulers” and “leaders” to do exactly that.
You’ve already mentioned how terrible slavery was at one point in the US’s history. I wholeheartedly agree with you. So if we take society down to an extreme level, just you and I living on an island and you’re incapacitated for whatever reason, I would have to become your slave in order to provide you with the necessary property to make sure you have your full slate of what the UN is calling basic human rights. True Freedom would not require me to forfeit my property to take care of you. Morality and decency would require it, and I’d be more than happy to take care of you, but it’s certainly not your right to be provided for because it would violate my property rights.
So all true rights can be defined very simply by the concept of private property.
Best regards.
Excellent!
@Funogas
No, I didn´t because it would be a discussion about how many Angels could dance on a needle Point, beginning with what is the point of what is a needle.
We differ on a very basic philosphical level.
I consider my self part of a community i call state(which IMPOV is a service Organisation for it´s citicen´s), it starts with my town goes up to county, state, nation and EU.
As a member of these communities my rights as a citicen´re protected, i´ve the rights of services offered by these communities and my fellow citicen´s
But with those rights come duties , be it taxes that the volunteer firefighters´ve the kit and training available to do it save and efficient – be it military service to protect the rights and liberty of my people, be it emergency service in case of an emergency.
I once read a sentence in a book
Only a barbarian wouldn´t care for his (societies) elderly and ill.
I found that an insult, for the barbarians.
Remember on of the Names for my people is aleman, which comes from the tribal federation of the same name and means all men which refers to the fact that every free men of community, of kin ´d the duty to fight in it´s service
As part of a people i´m bound to their fate, our wyrd – i never considered it an option to cut my self lose from them.
Which means i accepted the social contract with my communitiy and part of this social contract is that we ´ve an obligation to the community included the weak who needs help.
Maybe you should look on the history of the HREGN especially the time period of the turkish wars, the Nobles Republik of Poland and while you´re at it how the colonies supported your american revolution not with words but with men, weapons and all other needed ressources.
“…until the 1960s, “gay” used to mean happy. And in olden times and even in recent times in some other English-speaking countries, a “fag” was a cigarette.”
So what you’re saying is that in 1920 if you smoked a fag you merely got cancer. If you smoke a fag in 2020, you get twenty to life.
Freedom lets me call people with a certain lifestyle a fag, but common decency and self-regulation prevent me from personally using that term. For people who do choose to use that term, the recent saying applies: “Your feelings don’t override my rights.”
Freedom lets me blow people away if I so choose, which I fully support, but Consequences require me to pay a price to the victims, not the government, and if the victims want me to be executed, I wholeheartedly support that. The goodness of people in general, as well as common decency, causes all of us to self regulate. We don’t have a right to blow people away, just the Freedom to do so, just like we have now. Putting a guy in prison for 20 years, then stealing money from people who don’t give a rat’s behind about that murder and forcing them to pay for that 20-year incarceration, is wrong in every aspect related to Freedom. No, I don’t want to pay for that incarceration “even if it will stop just one murder,” and neither would 99% of other people if they had to sit down and write out a check every year for 20 years. We’ve lost all common sense as we’ve tossed our Freedoms into the compost heap.
I’ll shut up now and go do something productive.
Eminent domain is a local issue right now. A local hospital system decided they needed to build a new hospital. Officials decided it had to be built downtown causing multiple businesses to close/relocate. This is being done to “revitalize” the downtown area. The aforementioned hospital system already owns property with enough acreage to build the new hospital without infringing on other people’s rights.
Did the location ´ve any advantages for the service of the hospital like area access ?
Not particularly. The main reason is to “revitalize” the area. This means closing /relocating dozens of businesses. The other location is about a mile (1.6km) away with multiple major road access.
That makes then so perfect sense, closing local businesses for an hospital instead of e.g. giving an area better – faster emergency cases, giving the hospital better access to resources like an airport …
Neither location has an accessibility advantage and the nearest airport is over 15 miles away. After the new hospital is built, two older hospitals will be closed. This will result in fewer beds available including intensive care and emergency room services. I know for a fact our current two hospital system that our emergency services are overfilled (patients in the hallways) and sometimes even have to wait to a bed in intensive care because it is full. I understand the need for modern hospitals but trampling on someone else’s rights for the good of a corporation is unacceptable especially when it results in a reduction of necessary services.
Yes, I agree and i need a cynical smiley
So a tax lawyer just happens to be around, and tells a bunch of people that they will go to jail unless they hire him and collects legal fees in the process… Gee I wonder who made that anonymous complaint…
Timely and Well Written. One thing you might want to check on: I heard on a popular talk show that The house of representatives has a rule that allows a Bill to be passed and delivered to the Senate. After that, Any Representative can add an addendum to that bill within 24 Hours. I checked on House of Reprehensive web site and did not find anything.
I have heard this many times and believe it; just look at the tons of money added to the latest covid Bill; Nothing but boondoggle.
This Amerikan corrupt government needs a MAJOR Reboot!!!
Darkness Is Coming Fast: Proposal To Legally Silence Christians & Conservatives And To Label Christians As White Supremacists, Endorsed And Presented By 14 U.S. Democrat House Representatives To Biden Transition Team
https://allnewspipeline.com/Darkness_Is_Coming_Fast.php
As interesting as this article is it is fatally flawed; there are 12 articles of amendment in the Bill of Rights, not 10 as we have been told. The first two amendments laid before Congress for well over 200 years before enactment of the original 2nd amendment as the 27th amendment ““No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened.”
see https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-xxvii/interps/165
The original first amendment is still up for ratification. It should at the very least be brought to the light of day if only to show how corrupt and deceiving Congress is, and has been, for generations. Once the amendment is brought before the State Legislatures for enactment of ratification, or to fail, the difference will be in how we should have a House of Representatives.
This amendment would alter the current Constitutional mandate that the size of the Congressional House Districts be limited to 30,000 constituents, with at least ONE Congressional Representative if less than 30,000 constituents (as was common in 1791) and boost the population base to 50,000 constituents in a district. Under the present Constitution UNAMENDED for example, my State of Alaska should have at least 25 or 26 Congressional Districts and that many Congressional Representatives. Should this amendment be ratified that number would reduce to about 15 or 16 Congress-critters. (This will also alter the number of Electors in the Electoral College as well)
So why is it we have only ever had one Representative in Alaska? How was the Constitution totally ignored and subverted by the powers that be which are the DEEP STATE PUKES who seek to destroy a free people? Congress by an act amended the Constitution ( ignoring the article 5 mandate for amendment process) to limit it to the size we have today.
Be it also known that if you do your research and are diligent in your education the 16th and 17th amendments were NEVER ratified in accordance with Article 5 of the Constitution either.
So try as you may to educate folks about the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence unless yo get the truth in the mix all you’re doing is perpetuation lies and deceit by the monsters who have sought from the very beginning to enslave us.
You cannot solve a problem without first understanding the FULL problem in TRUTH.
And like Jesus, once you know the TRUTH you have to decide if you accept it or reject it; if you do either there are consequences; choose wisely.
Keep learning, but ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into the full truth; then choose to live the truth. Anything less is a lie, and there is no lie that can live in the presence of TRUTH.
Also, the original 13th amendment should be enforced as well … it would solve lot of our problems. http://www.amendment-13.org/index.html
I wonder how the thousands of members of long standing black Christian churches will like be labeled as “white supremacists”? Gray Fox
Well said sir, thank you kindly A refreshing remembrance of the basics written in our Constitution, which was based on predominately “common sense”.
There is no corner of our lives not presently controlled in one form or another by a gobbermint agency or regulation.
As the new year approaches reality, a new administration looms on the horizon, whatever it may bring, things for all of us are about to change, perhaps very drastically.
How they change and how many of those pesky “freedoms” we are allowed to keep, (I’m opting for ALL of them) is at this point, anybody’s guess.
Soon good folks, very soon…..
Good Day Sir!
Long Live Our Republic!
Agree. We have no rights unless we are ready to truly stand up for them and I dont see that on a large scale.
If you are not willing to fight for your God given rights, you will not have any!
It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Ben Franklin
Speaking of rights: I urge you watch this extraordinary ten-minute video of a young Serbian man who has never been to America but who loves this country, our values, and our freedom (probably more than many Americans). He knows what it’s like to have elections stolen, and he understands, firsthand, how socialism never lets go once it takes hold. He speaks with extraordinary power that skitters along the edge of seething emotion that, for the most part, he keeps in check as he pleads with us to act now before all is irretrievably lost.
Quote from the young man from Serbia:
“They are never going to be as weak as now. And you are never going to be as strong as now.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=748_YY0TB6E&feature=emb_logo
Two comments by others come to mind.
1) “A Republic, if you can keep it” by Ben Franklin, and
2) “The Die is Cast” by Caesar when he crossed the Rubicon.
Both are true today.
What I find with some of the comments made regarding when freedom loving Americans will rise up and rebel against the gradual usurpation of our constitutional rights is this: no one, including the most vocal and adamant ( from the comfort of their homes ) among us wants to be the first one opening up the shooting at whichever egregious.gov type pisses them off the most. Everyone asks when are we saying enough is enough and going to act, but honestly what is the trigger point? There is no single action that causes a total uproar but a thousand little cuts that don’t seems so threatening. Ending private gun show sales? Is that the trigger( sorry ) to armed insurrection? To much leeway to BLM rioters? Granting unfettered access to immigrants if they so choose to come here? Will that do it? I’m guessing not. We need to have a dramatic and so egregious.gov action that finally spurs the type of armed resistance that so many of you say we need. But be careful what you wish for. Those are times that will try men’s souls. God bless into 2021.