Enforce the Law to Change the Law

President Grant - NOT the one I was named for
(That was Heber J.)

Now we compare President Obama to the troubled President, but great Civil War Hero, Ulysses S. Grant. Arguably, Grant was the man who saved the Union by the shedding of blood to free the Slaves, along with Lincoln who shed his own blood in that cause (the myth of the 'lost cause' be danged!). But that's not what we're going for here.

We are all becoming unglued because the government is collecting mega-data on our Verizon cell phone calls. I don't think they are actually reading our Facebook postings over our shoulders to watch our cat videos. But it's the cable news crisis du jour forgetting that we already knew about it all as part of the national security laws including the deceptively-named "Patriot Act." It even connects directly to the big NSA facility under construction right here in Utah where the data will be stored on big flash drives and analyzed by security techno-guys and gals graduating from their moms' basements and much video game training (OK, mostly guys).

Thomas Jefferson Said . . . . (!?#*)

Credit to my buddy Phil at The Liberty Tree
(And Tom didn't really say that!)

It happened again! This time a comment on one of my blog pieces about guns. (So far, I'm getting a lot of interesting material from gun advocates but not a lot that makes much sense). There was another one of those made up quotes attributed to one of the Founders. This time, Thomas Jefferson:

"The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first."

Congressman Bishop and I Agree on Something!

Wow!  Usually I call Congressman Rob Bishop's Office to disagree or complain. And when I see him in parades (4th of July, Pioneer Day, etc.), I just yell at him (if Linda doesn't clamp her hand over my mouth first). Tomorrow, I'm going to call his office and thank him for a vote.

Apparently he joined today with a tea party faction to vote against an extension of certain aspects of the so-called "Patriot Act." This is big. At least it's something on which I think my friends who are Libertarians, Liberals, or true "small-government" Conservatives, and I can all agree.  It's one area where I disagree with our President.

Sadly, I think it may just be a symbolic vote as the the Washington Post explains.  The Republicans apparently can change the rules from a super-majority requirement to a simple majority vote on this which they will likely win.  But still, maybe I won't yell at him at the next parade.