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Opinions December 20, 2007 |
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Guest Opinion
Constitutional Elk HuntingBy Steve CulleySo you think you have a constitutional right to go elk hunting. Well you don’t. I’ve read the second amendment and I can’t see elk mentioned once. In fact, after reading through most of the historical documents and diaries of the settlement of the west I see that as late as the 1820’s Peter Skeen Ogden was referring to elk as “red deer” and big horn sheep as “Ibex.” It’s the same for Chukars, introduced in the 1950’s, ducks, geese, rabbits and squirrels. There is just no mention of a right to go hunting. It’s good to know, though, that Dianne Feinstein, the famous gun grabbing senator from San Francisco said her gun control bills wouldn’t interfere with our right to go hunting. She will leave that to PETA and other urban lefty groups.
What the second amendment says is “A well regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free state, the right to keep and bear arms will not be infringed.” The founding fathers had an awful lot of lawyers among their ranks and one has to think that maybe they were looking out for their future security when they wrote that one sentence. They could have said, “All of the rest of the constitution recognizes the fact that the government is your worst potential enemy, that is why we divided it into three branches, reserved the rights not enumerated as powers delegated to the central government to the states and the people, and installed a civilian as commander in chief of the military. Therefore the people have the right and obligation to be well armed as a potential militia to remove a government that has become dictatorial. Government shall make no law restricting the right to keep and bare arms.”
The reason I mention this is that while you were chukar, deer or elk hunting, events moved on. A Washington, DC case is headed for the Supreme Court. At issue is that little clause, “a well regulated militia.” The urban left banning bunnies have tried for years to say that this means the National Guard, which incidentally didn’t exist at the time the Constitution was written. In fact some of the founders argued that if you were going to have a standing army it was essential that the populace be armed because they were very familiar with how armies tended to overthrow legally installed governments. Examples today might include Pakistan and possibly Venezuela. Arms have a way of being more powerful than government. I usually refer to the “ballots versus bullets” possibility. Thomas Jefferson referred to it in his “tree of liberty”writings. “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants” and “no free man shall ever be debarred the use of firearms.” In other words, having a well regulated militia, composed of disgruntled patriots, was a way to reestablish freedom if it was lost.
But the founders screwed up and didn’t write a lawyer proof clause and left open the possibility that what King George and Hitler couldn’t do with firepower, can be done with a well paid shill for the lefties who think all bad things will go away if you make the right to be armed an exclusive right of the state. That is what the DC case is about. The Supreme Court will hear the case in March and decide by June. One thing to look out for is a decision that allows the government to make “reasonable restrictions.” That little clause in a decision will open the door to an eventual ban because as is quite obvious the lefts “reasonable restrictions” are just about anything they think it should be. Look to Australia and England for a preview of that thinking. George Soros, a billionaire gun hater, will finance the first “reasonable restrictions” movement. And if you don’t pay attention while they gear up for the final push, go elk hunting or deer hunting or chukar hunting the next year and you might find out that ODFW is writing new regs on how big of rocks you can throw at them.
It could be that America is going to be at a crossroads. We could be headed down a path to an all powerful government without the ultimate check on power that the founders clearly envisioned. If you are a hunter you should be watching closely. If you are in the military you should ask yourself, “Why can I use this gun in combat, but not own one when and if I go home?” If you are in law enforcement and have been used to fighting bad guys, “Will I still work for a state that calls its gun owners bad guys? If the state becomes the enemy can I still work for them?” If I am in the National Guard, the lefty idea of a “well regulated militia,” will I shoot at uncle Joe if the state’s “reasonable restrictions” say he has to turn in his old elk rifle and he refuses to do it and is with those guys over there flipping the bird and waving their guns and calling themselves the founder’s idea of a “well regulated militia?”
Could be the time for slogans like “from my cold dead hands” move from the political to the real life on the ground actuality. Make a mental note. The press will have a few stories sandwiched in between the race for the White House next spring. When you are reminded what is at stake go buy a few extra boxes of ammunition and start thinking about those guys back in 1775 who told the wife to feed the cows and plow the fields that there was something more important happening at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill.
Letters
Strommer For District 60Letter to the Editor:This letter supports the announcement that I am resigning from the Oregon House of Representatives to serve in other pursuits. For the past nine years it has been an honor to represent you in Oregon’s Legislature. With my sweetheart wife, Darlene, as my Legislative Assistant, I have worked to protect your rights, promote effective and efficient government, and keep Salem regulators off your backs and out of your wallets!
The next logical question is, “Who will be the Republican to represent House District 60? We need a replacement who understands the unique needs of all of Southeastern Oregon. We need a successor who recognizes the importance of family, farms and forests. We want our State Representative to reflect our conservative social and fiscal values – someone who is prepared to work full-time in promoting and protecting our property rights and personal liberties.
From the many qualified men and women who are willing to serve, Deon Strommer of Baker City is my top choice to be our State Representative. I have known Deon for years. He is a strong family man and a capable business owner. Deon has a background of civic service in his Rotary Club and with Boy Scouts of America. He currently serves on his school board, the ESD Board, and in the past has served on several other community boards. Deon understands our farm and ranch communities and worked for several years as a ranch manager. He currently operates restaurants and owns other small businesses in Eastern Oregon.
If selected, Deon Strommer will be a State Representative we can trust. I’m convinced that as he maintains offices in both Ontario and Baker City he will be better able to dedicate his full time to fight for eastern Oregon in a legislature controlled by liberals from Portland, Salem and Eugene.
Please join me in supporting Deon Strommer as District 60’s next State Legislator.R. Thomas ButlerState Representative
Governor Is Draining Oregon’s Checking AccountTo The Record-Courier:In the words of Yogi Berra, “It is déjà vu all over again.” Looking at Saturday’s Oregonian article announcing “Governor boosts pay for state workers” was like reading an article I could swear I had read several times already this year. And in fact, I had.
Last week’s bonus pay announced by Governor Kulongoski for union workers is the third he has handed out this year. One of Oregon’s top union leaders called it a “win for the governor’s office and a win for us,” but the losers are Oregon taxpayers.
This most recent pay raise comes with a price tag of $20 million that Oregonians will have to pay. That is $20 million on top of the $125 million already dolled out for pay raises and health care increases for unions this year along with an additional $12 million in raises for state managers. The Governor’s sudden generosity to his biggest campaign supporters could not come at a worse time for hardworking Oregon families.
Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve chairman have stated that the country’s economic warning signals are flashing a cautionary color. The housing market is heavy with a two and half year’s supply of foreclosed and unsold homes. The stock market adjusted downward by 12% last week. Washington Mutual Savings and Loan is closing more than 500 offices across the country. These are the signs of pending economic troubles.
Meanwhile, the Governor led the charge to increase government spending by 21% last legislative session. Now he has turned a blind eye to the economy’s clear danger signals in order to hand out three separate pay raises to state workers over the course of a year. He is draining Oregon’s checking account.
These constant pay raises don’t represent the type of government spending that puts more teachers in Oregon classrooms, more textbooks in the hands of students or fixes potholes in the road. The Governor’s blank check to unions will yield only one measurable result: big deficits in future years.
Oregon’s leaders should be reprioritizing the way we spend. Taxpayer dollars should only go where they will do the most good and produce the best results. For too long government has spent without concern for rising costs, forgetting that every dime spent today costs us dollars in future years. This coming special session, many of my colleagues and I will be pushing for an Office of Government Accountability that actually measures the product of government spending while working to control costs.
I believe Oregonians are ready for a government that spends money based on a clear set of priorities, not the whims and dictates of special interests. That means rewarding high quality teachers for results in the classroom, putting cops on the road 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and zeroing in on identity theft. And with the possibility of a rainy day on the horizon, it means less spending and more checkbook discipline.
Someone should tell the Governor. Senator Ted Ferrioli
Know Your CandidateTo The Record-Courier:I am sure many have noticed the attacks on Christianity today. It comes from people who believe they know more than God Himself, or in some cases do not understand or PURPOSELY MISQUOTE it. Some even think or teach He doesn’t exist! What a surprise you are in for one day!
Attacks come from elective people in power. From Hollywood with anti-Christ movies, their hellish ways and lies. The one that really upsets me is the one seen on news channels from time to time. This so called church, if you can call it a church, calls itself Baptist but preaches nothing, but hate. Also demonstrating against our men and women in uniform who protect this country. “Saying God hates them, God hates the homosexual.” Jesus said, “if he be lifted up, he would draw ALL men” to Him not push them away. As a born-again believer I would like to know just what Bible they read if any? Their gospel sounds more like the Koran then the Christian Bible. This is what happens when you are led away from the truth and don’t study for yourself. God hates NO-ONE! He is LOVE of the highest degree! God hates SIN, not people, and He’s made a way to overcome sin through Jesus. Any other teaching is FALSE, a LIE and God is not in it! God loved mankind enough to send Jesus to the cross for us all. When are Christians going to take a stand and attack ALL false teaching and Satanic lies and bring the truth of the REAL Gospel to a hurting world?
There is another fight coming up also. Gun owners and hunters you had better know who and what you are voting for this Presidential election! Hillary and Obama both want your guns. Both are NRA. Gun control will be a priority. Hillary wants to restore the Bill Clinton gun ban, wants universal firearm registration and gun owner licensing. (Me thinks Billy is also running for a 3rd term.) Obama wants just about the same thing. Pelosi, Schumer, John Conyers... All Democrats, ALL on same team. Being fair minded there’s one Republican who has been in favor of gun control also. All the time Giuliani was Mayor of New York, he was pro-abortion and anti-gun, which makes this writer think he may be a Liberal in Conservative cloth? If the Democrats win, here’s what could happen. Prosecution to bring down ALL lawful commerce in firearms, undo the protection of lawful commerce in arms act, to pack the court with anti-Second Amendment judges. Schumer, Pelosi want a federal judiciary that will declare our Freedom belongs to government not to the people. He wants a federal judiciary that will subject the U.S. Constitution to FOREIGN law.
In closing PLEASE use your knowledge of a candidate when voting, not like or dislike or their personality. Because we ALL count on YOU!Richard FoxBaker CityRemembering Christmas TraditionsTo The Record-Courier:With all the preparations for the holidays, it seems to give something special for us to reflect on. My father-in-law who barbered for many years, before his passing, had a favorite saying “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” I remembered the little wreath stickers he passed out at this time to his customers, etc.
It seems we all have a tradition of sorts during the holiday season so I decided to share a few to see what I could do to rouse those who like reading my letters. Our tradition in our home, probably more me if anything, is un-wrapping and re-wrapping. There is validity to all this. In the old way of doing things at Christmas time like the 12 days before or after, you had a special little gift for each of the children and it was supposed to be something different each day before Christmas for entertainment to be satisfied with anticipation. Then I had an e-mail that came to me and talked about the yule log and the representation of the 12 logs and how they were celebrated. In making reference to the above this was all fine, until they caught on and ousted me. So the few who do give us Christmas presents are very creative to make it more of a challenge for me. They make them so beautiful wrapping or lots of tape to see how perfected I can be at it. Even my husband has smartened up and waits till I can stand it no longer like the day of or until after all is said and one with the later being more so. So I’m sure, some of you are just as guilty as I am. We all have stories to tell when it comes to traditions.
Christmas is celebrated in different ways for every family as with all holidays, even His resurrection. For us and probably for most it is the celebration of Jesus’s birthday. My tradition in this case is coffee anyone, or eggnog? Happy Holidays.
Eggnog anyone?Brenda DickisonBaker City |
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