Mike Huckabee said, “I don’t have to prove that marriage is a man and a woman in a relationship for life. They have to prove that two men can have an equally definable relationship called marriage, and somehow that that can mean the same thing.”

Well, Governor, I see how you came to this conclusion.  While we agree on many things, when it comes to this, I respectfully disagree.  When it comes to religion, you are correct. However, when the people in the history of this country, for some strange reason, decided to involve the government in marriage, then it shifted the burden of proof onto those who would tell citizens of this country that they do not have the same rights as other citizens.

So, here is the conundrum: We believe in equal protection under the law, and we believe in freedom of religion. So, how do we allow the people whose religion does not accept homosexuality to maintain their “sanctity” of marriage without discriminating against other citizens of our free nation?

My best friend and I were talking and had worked up a solution. I think the main point was his and we expounded on it enough that I will say it was his idea and I put some window dressing on it.

Anyway what we discussed was this:

First: The government needs to get out of marriage. It should not be defined by government whatsoever. Leave it to the individual churches to define marriage and then people can marry based on their religion. The GLBT community can choose churches where gay marriage is accepted and cherished. Those who oppose it can choose churches that feel the same and can continue to not acknowledge the gay marriages as they see fit.  Everyone can address marriage according to his or her religious beliefs.

Now, what about things like division of assets, custody, things like that? These are huge issues in today’s modern world. We have a solution for that. Each state can draft up a basic generic contract that divides all assets 50/50, grants medical power of attorney, and shares custody of any future children of the relationship.  This contract will be available for the price of the former marriage license. Go down to the courthouse, pay your money, sign the contract and have it notarized and you are good to go.  It’s that simple. But what if it isn’t that simple? What if it’s more complicated? Then you go to an attorney and draft the contract that you want. Then have it signed and notarized. This is essentially the same thing that happens with marriage now, only it reduces the government’s involvement to what it really should be and that is arbiter of the contract.

So now, we have equality across the board without the government getting involved in anyone’s religion. All it takes is the first state to sign on. That state could remove the government’s involvement in marriage. It could give it’s constituents 6 months to obtain a new contract. (For those already married, you could waive the fee. ) Then when someone moves into the state who is married, you could give them 3 months to obtain a contract. After that, they cannot divorce in the state and they have no marital rights in the state. Then maybe it would catch on. I think this would be a good compromise for everyone on both sides of this discussion and I hope we can discuss this more.

Internet traffic should be treated equally.[9] Net neutrality advocates have established three principal definitions of network neutrality: 

Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu: “Network neutrality is best defined as a network design principle. The idea is that a maximally useful public information network aspires to treat all content, sites, and platforms equally.”^[2] According to Imprint Magazine, University of Michigan Law School professor Susan P. Crawford “believes that a neutral Internet must forward packets on a first-come, first served basis, without regard for quality-of-service considerations.”^[10] 

Quality of service discrimination as long as no special fee is charged for higher-quality service.^[11] 

Tim Berners-Lee: “If I pay to connect to the Net with a given quality of service, and you pay to connect to the net with the same or higher quality of service, then you and I can communicate across the net, with that quality of service.”^[1] “[We] each pay to connect to the Net, but no one can pay for exclusive access to me.”^[12] 

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Well, the concept is very good and most free-thinking Americans both liberal and conservative support it…..in concept.  But therein lies the rub. When you start passing laws to require a thing, you have to put someone in charge of that thing to make sure the law is enforced. Still doesn’t sound bad. However, the last two bills introduced in Congress decided that the FCC should have jurisdiction over the internet in order to enforce net neutrality. The only problem with that, is that all of the other FCC powers would come with that. 

So what they are trying to do is allow the FCC to control the internet in the United States. That means it would be subject to the same rules that television and radio are subject to now. It would give them the power to decide what is and isn’t appropriate. So, while the net neutrality laws proposed take the power away from corporations, it doesn’t give it to the individual, but the government. As we have seen throughout history, a government takeover of anything has never been better. Remember that these are the same people who proposed last year and are pushing again this year to give the President of the United States a “kill switch” on the internet during a national emergency. 

So, this is why you see conservatives and libertarians arguing against something that seems like a no-brainer. Net Neutrality is a no-brainer. Government control of the internet can never be allowed.  Don’t be fooled by the hype, make sure you know what they are proposing under the guise of “net neutrality”. 

We had a great time, but we miss Aimée and will be glad to have her back.

A CBS poll showed that of those polled who identified themselves as Tea Party Supporters, 89% identified themselves as White and 8% identified themselves as non-white. I attempted to Contact the NAACP to discuss the demographics of their members, but the membership department was at the national convention and would not be returning calls for another week. So, I will simply ask the question, “Does the NAACP have more than 8% of it’s membership who is not colored?

Let’s look at the websites for both organizations:

The following is taken from the NAACP website under the Advocacy and Issues section. The sections are in bold.

Civic Engagement

From voter registration to census participation, the NAACP has been on the front lines of educating and training communities to become active and engaged in their communities and in civic life.

Climate Justice Initiative

Global climate change has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color in the United States and around the world. The NAACP Climate Justice Initiative was created to educate and mobilize communities to address this life or death issue.

Economic Opportunity

Fairness plays a role in any economy, and for that reason, we have developed a number of programs designed to elevate civil and human rights as they pertain to economic opportunity. As the nation recovers from the worst fiscal crisis in more than three decades, the NAACP will be there to ensure that this is done in a fair and just manner. Please take a moment to discover the program descriptions and resources available on this site. We will update this site with announcements, information, and materials as they become available.

NAACP Financial Freedom Campaign Center
The mission of the NAACP Financial Freedom Campaign Center is to facilitate the enhanced capacity of African Americans and other underserved groups to obtain affordable and competitively priced credit and financing, including mortgage loans, small business loans, and consumer loans. The Center will be designed to monitor lending practices to ensure fairness and to provide African Americans and other underserved groups with knowledge and information to effectively manage their personal finances and credit in today’s economic environment.

Education

The NAACP National Education Program strives to ensure that all students have access to an equal and high-quality public education by eliminating education-related racial and ethnic disparities in our public schools

Federal Advocacy

Since 1941 the NAACP has been the premier civil rights advocacy entity on Capitol Hill. The NAACP was a leading force behind the enactment of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the 1968 Fair Housing Act, the 1991 Civil Rights Restoration Act and the 2002 Help America Vote Act, the most current reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act among countless others.

Alerts

Here is a sample of the list of Alerts in order from the website Below the alert, some have an excerpt from the alert itself.

First: Both houses pass resolutions saluting NAACP on 101^st birthday

Second: WHITE HOUSE ESTABLISHES CLAIMS FACILITY TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES COPE WITH EFFECTS OF OIL SPILL

NEW PROGRAM IS CRUCIAL FIRST STEP TO HELP SMALL RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS

Third: NAACP SUPPORTS LEGISLATION TO HELP STATES REDUCE PRISON POPULATIONS

H.R. 4080, THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE REINVESTMENT ACT, WOULD HELP STATES DEVELOP INCARCERATION REDUCTION STRATEGIES AND REINVEST MONEY SAVED

The United States is the world’s leader in incarceration with 2.3 million people currently in the nation’s prisons or jails — a 500% increase over the past thirty years. These trends have resulted in prison overcrowding and state governments being overwhelmed by the burden of funding a rapidly expanding penal system, despite increasing evidence that large-scale incarceration is not the most effective means of achieving public safety. This over-reliance on incarceration has also had a disproportionately serious impact on communities of color: 57% of incarcerated inmates are racial or ethnic minorities and 88% of inmates are male. Specifically, as of mid-year 2009, whites represented 42.5% of all incarcerated inmates; African Americans, 39.2%; and Hispanics, 16.2%.

Health

The NAACP is committed to eliminating the racial and ethnic disparities in our health care system that plague people of color in the United States. African Americans continue to have the highest incidence, prevalence and mortality rates from chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Additionally issues like HIV and infant mortality have continued to overwhelm the Black community. Systemic imbalances in the health care delivery system disproportionately affect African Americans and Latinas more than their White counterparts.

Justice

We Can Build a Better America Together

The United States is home to the world’s largest prison population. As “tough on crime” laws have put an unprecedented number of non-violent offenders behind bars in recent years, our neighborhoods feel no more secure.

The NAACP advocates for smarter, results-based criminal justice policies to keep our communities safe, including treatment for addiction and mental health problems, judicial discretion in sentencing, and an end to racial disparities at all levels of the system.

Litigation

Legal History: In 1909, the NAACP commenced what has become its legacy of fighting legal battles to win social justice for African-Americans and indeed, for all Americans

Media Diversity

The NAACP has fought against negative portrayals of people of color in film and television since “Birth of A Nation” in 1915.

Today the NAACP Hollywood Bureau is a satellite of the National office that deals with issues of diversity programming and minority employment in Hollywood, and oversees the production of the NAACP Image Awards.

Now, this is Mission Statement and Core Values listed on the Tea Party Patriots Site:

Tea Party Patriots Mission Statement and Core Values

Mission Statement

The impetus for the Tea Party movement is excessive government spending and taxation. Our mission is to attract, educate, organize, and mobilize our fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with our three core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets.

Core Values

Fiscal Responsibility

Constitutionally Limited Government

Free Markets

Fiscal Responsibility: Fiscal Responsibility by government honors and respects the freedom of the individual to spend the money that is the fruit of their own labor. A constitutionally limited government, designed to protect the blessings of liberty, must be fiscally responsible or it must subject its citizenry to high levels of taxation that unjustly restrict the liberty our Constitution was designed to protect. Such runaway deficit spending as we now see in Washington D.C. compels us to take action as the increasing national debt is a grave threat to our national sovereignty and the personal and economic liberty of future generations.

Constitutionally Limited Government: We, the members of The Tea Party Patriots, are inspired by our founding documents and regard the Constitution of the United States to be the supreme law of the land. We believe that it is possible to know the original intent of the government our founders set forth, and stand in support of that intent. Like the founders, we support states’ rights for those powers not expressly stated in the Constitution. As the government is of the people, by the people and for the people, in all other matters we support the personal liberty of the individual, within the rule of law.

Free Markets: A free market is the economic consequence of personal liberty. The founders believed that personal and economic freedom were indivisible, as do we. Our current government’s interference distorts the free market and inhibits the pursuit of individual and economic liberty. Therefore, we support a return to the free market principles on which this nation was founded and oppose government intervention into the operations of private business.

The NAACP does nothing but talk about race and encourage racial tension in this country while the Tea Party doesn’t even talk about race. In fact, the only time you hear about race and the Tea Party is when someone else is talking about it. I’ve been to Tea Party events. I’ve been the MC at a Tea Party rally. I have never seen a sign of racism. But every time I encounter the NAACP they are complaining about white people.

So, tell me, who is the racist organization?

Many solutions have been offered to no avail. Please call Jerry Cameron at St. John’s County and urge them to save Cyrus!

Cameron, Jerry  phone: (904) 209-6198  fax: (904) 209-6199 email: jcameron@sjcfl.us

All others: This could be your state.

I received this information from our friends at Stand Too.

Emergency Health Powers and Procedures – authorizes on the basis of one man’s opinion – the governor – forced medical examinations, forced isolations and quarantines, forced relocations, prohibitions of firearms, and forced vaccinations!

Forced Vaccinations – HB 492 – The General Assembly of Pennsylvania – Session of 2009 – Emergency Health Powers and Procedures – authorizes on the basis of one man’s opinion – the governor – forced medical examinations, forced isolations and quarantines, forced relocations, prohibitions of firearms, and forced vaccinations. See attached copy of legislation and please do not miss the following:

“The public health authority may, for such period as the state of public health emergency exists, compel a person to be vaccinated” – HB 492, Pg. 28, Line 29 to Pg. 29, Line 3

“A person who fails to comply with this section commits a misdemeanor of the third degree.” – HB 492, Pg. 29, Lines 20-21

“The public health authority shall have the power to enforce the provisions of this article through the imposition of fines and penalties, the issuance of orders and such other remedies as are provided by law.” – HB 492, Pg. 36, Lines 22-25

Based on the above, it appears that a patient who refuses vaccination may be incarcerated and fined under the above provisions. Further, scientific evidence is now clear that vaccines can and have done harm to the patient and have even caused death. If the vaccination actually harms the patient, government officials and health care providers are exempt from civil damages except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, facts very difficult to prove.

“State immunity.-Neither the Commonwealth, its political subdivisions, nor, except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, the Governor, the public health authority or any other State official referenced in this article shall be liable for the death of or any injury to persons or damage to property as a result of complying with or attempting to comply with this article or any rule or regulations promulgated pursuant to this article.” – HB 492, Pg. 38, Lines 5-12

“During a state of public health emergency, no private person, firm or corporation and employees and agents of such person, firm or corporation in the performance of a contract with and under the direction of the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions under the provisions of this article shall be civilly liable for causing the death of or injury to any person or damage to any property except in the event of gross negligence or willful misconduct.” – HB 492, Pg. 38, Line 25 to Pg. 39 Line 2

The State also assumes the power to destroy property and as was just referenced, the Commonwealth nor any of its agents can be held accountable or liable for damages. This provision violates the clear rule that private property cannot be taken for public use without just compensation.

“The public health authority shall, for examination purposes, close, evacuate or decontaminate any facility or decontaminate or destroy any material when the authority reasonably suspects that such facility or material may endanger the public health.” – HB 492, Pg. 12, Lines 3-7

The State’s emergency powers further include the power . . .

“to control, restrict and regulate by rationing and using quotas, prohibitions on shipments, price fixing, allocation or other means, the use, sale, dispensing, distribution or transportation of food, fuel, clothing and other commodities, alcoholic beverages, firearms, explosives and combustibles” – HB 492, Pg. 18, Lines 18-24

Similar legislation was introduced in Massachusetts and made national news and has met with much resistance.