How Barry Bonds and Michael Vick could help Ron Paul win the election. by John Armstrong
(libertarian)
Friday, December 14, 2007
I stumbled across http://www.travisandjonathan.com/RedStateUpdate today. While it is a little disturbing to see my home state's flag in the background, it is still pretty funny. One of the comments the guys made on there about the Michael Vick case was a very adroit observation about how many black probably view the Michael Vick conviction:
"Black People like black people more than they like dogs. White people like dogs more than they like black people."
The statement hits on three significant themes. 1. The perceived racism in our legal system and society 2. The idea that only white people make laws. 3. The possibility that a person who cares more about a person and a person's rights than an animal's rights could be a popular candidate for these disaffected individuals.
Regardless of how you feel about dog fighting, the issue that isn't being discussed is this:
Why was this FEDERAL GOVERNMENT matter? The 10th Amendment to the Constitution (in case you've forgotten as it seems many have, the Constititution is the contract between "We the People" and our government) states this:
Amendment X
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.
Since Dogfighting isn't really mentioned in the Constitution, the state of Virginia made their own law against it. Michael Vick may have still gone to prison for what he did (exactly how deciding to voluntarily use your property--a dog is property--not a person, and thus has no Constitutional rights in conjunction with someone else's property constitutes a crime for which one should be imprisoned is still a mystery to me; but it is in every state and if people wanted to change the laws at the state level they could) but he wouldn't have had to "bargain" his way to a 23 month federal sentence. The point is this; the Federal Government has no right to put laws on top of laws that are already reserved by the State. The only candidate who seems to recognize this is Congressman Ron Paul.
Part of the reason Vick received a longer sentence than the 12-18 months the prosecutor suggested was that he had used marijuana while out on parole; which leads me to Barry Bonds. This is another black hero who is perceived to be getting a raw deal by the black community. Do you realize that if this were 1988, Barry Bonds wouldn't be facing imprisonment for lying to a federal grand jury? Why? Because the federal law that was being investigated when he allegedly perjured himself was established in 1990 as a reaction to Canadian Ben Johnson's Olympic steroid scandal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabolic_steroid. And it was created despite nearly all government agencies testifying before Congress that steroids should not be classified as a Schedule III controlled substance.
That War on Drugs is working really well. I thought it was supposed to stop all drugs from getting into the country and stop people from using them. Since we've already locked up so many drug dealers, and we've been doing so for over a generation now; it seems like we should have caught them all by now; maybe if we keep at it and don't "retreat" or "surrender" we'll actually have them all thirty years from now. I'm flabbergasted that Michael Vick would even be able to find marijuana to smoke or that Barry Bonds' trainer could find steroids for him to use.
Oh well, if we keep locking up everyone that sells or uses drugs, I'm sure eventually we'll be able to keep people from making these destructive personal decisions. Then we can move on to making sure the federal government prevents us from making other horrible personal decisions. Maybe we could use those bored federal agents to come in before anyone has sex and make sure they use a condom. Or maybe they could camp out at McDonald's and dinner tables across America to ensure we don't consume more than the FDA's recommended calories per meal so we can win the "War on Obesity." After we make sure that everyone is making good personal decisions, we'll have time to worry about silly little issues like people who have actually harmed other people voluntarily or deprived them of their property or rights as a citizen (like finding out where my golf clubs went from the guy they found driving my car he had stolen a few years back); perhaps we'll even have time to allocate resources to inconsequential things like the dollar's collapse and securing our borders.
As an American citizen, all I can say is that I am so excited that my tax money is being put to good use. I can't tell you how much better I slept the Monday night of Vick's conviction knowing that my Federal Government had locked away that dangerous felon Michael Vick in order to protect me and my pets from him and his evil fighting dogs. I also certainly hope that we will spend whatever it takes to make sure Barry Bonds is convicted and sent to prison as well.
Neither one of these men really accomplished much to prove that you could be black and successful. They didn't really provide much hope. They didn't do much to help their local communities. They didn't deprive anyone of their rights to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness, but they did break Federal Laws (that were all created within the lifetime of most of you reading this) and for that they should be deprived of their God and Constitutionally given rights. As soon as they are, I will rest more peacefully. And I feel quite confident that Osama bin Laden (wherever he is) will as well.
For the love of God and Country, please wake up America. All of these laws were passed because they were popular and something "had to be done" and the Federal Government had to get "tough" on (name any so called political hot-button issue of the day here). Nobody in Congress (except one doctor from Texas who is running for President) actually stopped to ask themselves "Do we have the contractual--Constitutional right to make this law?" If you want your government to be your church and tell you what is right or wrong, keep the status quo. If you want your government to protect your freedoms, educate yourself and others on these issues and vote for the candidate who has 20 years worth of voting records to show that he will uphold the real "Contract With America."
If the black citizens of the United States realize that the real reason these two heroes are being prosecuted isn't because they are black, but instead because of overreaching federal laws that violate EVERY American's rights as an individual, and that there is a candidate who would do everything possible to restore and protect these rights--the entire election could really be turned upside down. If you aren't willing to support the rights of the smallest minority (the minority of one known as the individual), how can you claim to support the rights of any minority?
You can go look up the voting record, but it really isn't necessary. If Congress had voted the way Dr. Paul would have on all of the "laws" these two men broke (or in Bonds' case is accused of breaking), Michael Vick would be subject to the Virginia Court System and the court of public opinion and Barry Bonds would be subject only to the court of public opinion because he would have never been in a postion to break the laws he is accused of breaking. Maybe some of the tax money sent to Washington to prosecute two black heroes could have been kept at home to support, oh I don't know, an after-school football or baseball program which may have, GASP, actually helped prevent debilitating drug addiction by giving a young black man or woman something to do after school.
To summarize this entire issue, one needs to only look at these three statements made by the guy who authored the Declaration of Independence:
Of liberty I would say that, in the whole plenitude of its extent, it is unobstructed action according to our will. But rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add "within the limits of the law" because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.
Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.
Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.
Like this article? Thumb it. Want to send it to friends? Send it to yourself and then forward it to them if you don't know their address off the top of your head.
Did you like this article? If you did, Thumb It! 32
thumbs so far
The views expressed
in this article are those of John Armstrong only and
do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
John Armstrong is solely responsible for the contents
of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated
with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Another example of the federal government overstepping its bounds. Just like they do with the interstate commerce laws, income tax, and a whole host of other things.
As a side note Red State Update rocks!
What does Ron Paul think about animal cruelty? Does he support the libertarian nonsense "I don't like animal cruelty but everybody should have the right to brutally torture animals in any way they like because animals are things"?
Every normal person understands that animal cruelty should be punished. It's common sense. It doesn't matter if it's against the holy theory. Extremists who think a book or a theory is more important than common sense or humanity can go to Saudi-Arabia.
You know, I thought I was awake! Until I read this article, I have been a Ron Paul supporter from the get go, but this article really made a great point about violations in civil liberties, stick to the Constitution, it is our God given inspiration and what makes America the Best.
Posted By: John Armstrong
Date: 2007-12-31 17:03:21
MMT,
I wrote another entry to you last night, but I wanted to respond on here as well.
I want you to really think about this:
A MAN is in PRISON because of a DOG. Let me repeat that a MAN is in PRISON becuase of a DOG.
You said:
Every normal person understands that animal cruelty should be punished. It's common sense. It doesn't matter if it's against the holy theory. Extremists who think a book or a theory is more important than common sense or humanity can go to Saudi-Arabia.
I have no idea what in the f you're talking about regarding "holy theory" or any of that stuff, but I do understand that "humanity" refers to humans.
I do understand that Michael Vick broke Va State laws. He should have been punished under those laws. I'm not disputing that.ÂÂ
But a Dog is not a Person. Even though we give them names, talk to them, "adopt" them and everything else you do, at the end of the day a dog is not a person. If you want to believe that your dog is a person, that to me is a hell of a lot more nonsense than thinking a dog is a "thing" because that is exactly what it is. Property. That you buy. That you care for. That you own. That you feed.ÂÂ
Since a dog obviously has no constitutional rights, but you do, and if Mike Vick and Killer came over and trespassed at your house and killed Fluffy, you would have an issue and could seek recourse. If you want to give a dog constitutional rights, then you have to assume they are human-like.ÂÂ
You know what you call humans that can be bought, sold, kept, restrained, that you feed, and whose actions you are responsible for? SLAVES. You can spin it any way you'd like, but if you are going to treat a dog like a human, you have to realize that you are a SLAVEOWNER regardless of how well you treat them. And the Government certainly has different views on this as well since humans can't be euthanized yet millions of dogs are each year.
 When people like you wake up and understand that beating dogs sucks, and that if your dog is beaten YOU have rights, but your dog doesn't individually have rights because it is a DOG--and you stop depriving PEOPLE of the rights they have because of what they do to dogs, we can be a better America.
Good article John. A slight point of disagreement though in facts and not in principle: while overreaching Federal laws are encroaching upon every American and thus it should greatly concern every American, Blacks get arrested, convicted and incarcerated at an extremely disproportionate rate vis-a-vis their Caucasian counterparts in America. Such inequality should serve as a red-flag to Blacks and to those who love justice in general. While Michael Vick and Barry Bonds may not have been victims simply because they are Black, these overreaching Federal laws are being used to excacerbate the racist policy interests of statists.
Want to comment on
this article? Leave your comment
here. Your email address is required to track your
comment. However, we will neither publish your email
address nor distribute it to other organizations or
persons. The only reason we might use it would be if
we needed to contact you regarding your comment. All
comments are subject to our
terms of use policy.
