Friday Shakedown

The GOP is continuing it's ridiculous attacks on the President over the "non-conspiracy" Benghazi.  Bob Cesca posted a list of 13 more "Benghazis" that occurred during the Bush administration that Fox News did not seem to care about.  Go check it out.  It's pretty good.

Missouri has joined the league of states toying with nullification.  The bill that was just sent to Governor Jay Nixon (D) would render all federal gun laws null and void in Missouri.  Should the Governor sign the bill, which I think is unlikely, Missouri would become the second state to actually pass such a law.  Kansas was the first and Attorney General Eric Holder has already sent them a letter threatening to take Kansas to court over the issue.  

The bill would also relax other gun laws in the state by lowering the age to obtain a concealed carry license from 21 to 19.  It would also allow firearms to be carried by certain school personnel.

Another day, another child getting shot by another child.  In Camden, New Jersey, an 11-year-old boy shot a 12-year-old in the face.  The incident is being called an accident.  The child is being treated at an area hospital and is expected to survive.  There was supposedly an 19-year-old relative nearby when the accident happened but it is currently unclear how the children obtained the gun.

When does it stop?

Nullification Continues And What To Do About It

Alabama is rolling right along with its effort to subvert United States law.  I have posted several times about the nullification epidemic growing in some states across the country.  This is more than a little annoying.  These states actually think they can ignore Federal Law.  We fought a war over this notion.  I've covered that a lot here so I won't repeat myself here.

Kansas, Mississippi, Wyoming, Alabama, and a few more have/are contemplating nullification laws in their states either over Obamacare or gun control legislation.  We know this is happening but what do we do about it?

As with many issues, it's not a bad idea to follow the money.  The following is a map that shows how much money each state gets from the Federal government for every dollar it sends in taxes.

Wyoming and Kansas are not doing too bad.  They only take a little more than they give but then look at Alabama and Mississippi.  They both take close to double what they give and they feel they have the right to tell the Federal government what to do?  

Just for fun, lets look at tome of those predominantly liberal areas of the country.  New York, California, Massachusetts, etc. all give more than they get.

But for the states that want to decide that the Federal laws do not apply to them, what do we do?  Maybe we should stop giving them so much of our money.  Clearly, their conservative principles are not working if they have to ask for money constantly.  

Note: The figures on the map are from 2004, but I doubt much has changed.  If someone finds a map with updated figures, I'd love to see it.  Especially if it refutes my argument.

Let them secede, and we'll see who has the last laugh.  They need us more than we need them.

North Carolina Republicans Failed Civics

I thought South Carolina was the crazy Carolina but it seems North Carolina wants to give them a run for their money.

North Carolina is trying to establish a state religion.  You read that right.  They don't care that this is obviously against the first amendment.

The First Amendment:

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 peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The measure is supported by nine Republicans in the Legislature. They introduced this after a lawsuit took issue with Rowan county committee meetings opening with, way more often than not, an obviously Christian prayer.

They claim that they can pass this legislation because of that first word in the amendment: Congress.  And they are right in that the way the amendment is written, it would not be applied to North Carolina.  They also claim that the Tenth Amendment, which gives the states the rights to do things if the Constitution does not address it, does not stop them from establishing a religion.  The bill itself states that the Bill of Rights only applies to the federal government and does not stop states from passing any law that defies any part of the Constitution.

The Tenth Amendment:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Ok, ok, let's say I'm on board with all that.  It does not really mention anything about the establishment clause.  If only there were something that would explicitly state that the first amendment... no, it needs to be more specific than that... the establishment clause itself...

Everson v. Board of Education, (1947) was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court which applied the Establishment Clause in the country's Bill of Rights to State law.

WOW, look at that!  The issue has already been addressed!  I mean as long as it isn't before 1947...nope, I checked the calendar and we're good.  North Carolina can breathe a sigh of relief and not waste their time on a rehashing of previously decided case law.  But we all know they won't.

This follows a trend of Republican led legislatures in Red states of proposing, and sometimes passing, ridiculously illegal laws.  I have covered some of these laws in relation to gun control here on the blog. I really do not understand how they can continue with stuff like this.  Nullification, of which this is a cousin, cannot and will not stand.  

Maybe for fun the federal government should turn North Carolina loose, just as an example to the other states.  I really don't think they've thought it through.

Wyoming, Mississippi, And Now Alabama!

Seriously, this is getting ridiculous.  Alabama is now seeking their own unconstitutional bill to nullify federal gun laws.

Just like Mississippi, Alabama should know better.  750,000 people died in the Civil War that began because of nullification laws!  Stop it!

Of course, I don't think that several states passing unconstitutional laws is going to result in a new civil war.  There are a lot of reasons for why a civil war like we saw in this country in the 1860's will not happen again.  At least the same way that it did then.

The supremacy clause of the Constitution dictates that the states have to follow federal laws.  These states that are trying to pass nullification bills so they don't have to follow laws they don't like is rather ironic.  They are trying so hard to protect their constitutional right to bear arms* that they think it is acceptable to ignore other parts of the Constitution.  They can't have it both ways.

*This premise is open to debate whether that is what was even intended, but for sake of argument...

Wyoming Dives Headfirst Into Nullification

A couple weeks ago I wrote about Wyoming toying with the idea of nullification.  Well, today members of the state House of Representatives passed legislation that would nullify any new federal law passed in an effort to reduce gun violence.  They dove straight in and didn't listen to me.

It is worth it to point out that no federal law has been passed, much less introduced as a bill yet, but that didn't stop them from voting on their bill.  State Rep. Kendell Kroeker (R) said this is the reason the bill is not unconstitutional.  It's nice to see that someone out there is recognizing what they're doing.

The heavily Republican controlled state Senate will likely pass the bill as well.  It will be interesting to see what the federal government does in response to this should any new law pass.

Mississippi Forgets Its Own History

This week Mississippi has joined the call of many Republicans around the country. That's right, they think nullification is the answer to the Kenyan usurper all their problems. 

 Rep. Gary Chism (R), chairman of the House Insurance Committee, and Rep. Jeff Smith (no not that Jeff Smith) (R), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee have written a bill that is in the Mississippi state House called the Mississippi Balance of Powers Act. This is ludicrous for several reasons.

I have laid out the history, and failure, of nullification measures in thepast. They never end well and on one occasion ended in a great deal of bloodshed.


Mississippi, and the other legislatures around the country with such legislation in the works, does not understand what they are doing. The Great Debate is over and the Articles of Confederation are well in the past because they did not work. They did not create the environment for a great country to flourish. The United States would not be the country it is if people like Mississippi State Rep. Jeff Smith had his way in the beginning. We are the United States because we bucked the Articles of Confederation and came closer together. We do not function as separate countries, but that is essentially what this bill seems to want.


On second thought... let 'em secede again. They're too damn expensive.