My commentary on a variety of issues that interest me including gun rights, individual liberty, illegal immigration, politics, religion, taxes, aviation, judicial activism, journalistic bias and laziness, environmental activism, education, family, health, gardening, history, Scouting, genealogy, etc.
I am a retired international airline captain. In real life, I strike fear into the US Department of Homeland Security as a right-wing extremist (in other words, I believe in God, go to church regularly, own a gun or two, oppose Al Gore and the environmentalist fraud, expect the government to aggressively enforce immigration laws, believe English should be established as the nation's official language, believe the US Constitution says what it says, seek a return to the limited federal government described in the US Constitution, and as a military veteran have sworn to support and defend the Constitution). To quote one of my heroes, Captain Moroni: "I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country." (Book of Mormon, Alma 60:36) In my spare time, I serve on the local Boy Scout District Training Committee. I coach a 4-H Shooting Sports club (see 4-H link below). I also teach the Utah Hunter Education Course, the Utah Concealed Firearm Course, and various other gun safety classes including most NRA courses (see Firearm Training link below).
Efforts have been underway to establish a small-arms treaty since 2003. The Bush II administration consistently opposed the treaty. The Obama administration has been participated in treaty negotiations, hoping to get it adopted. The treaty, if adopted, would severely restrict international trade of small arms (handguns, rifles, shotguns, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, etc). The supposed goal is to keep arms out of the hands of terrorists and citizens who would overthrow their governments. It would not be binding on the US unless ratified by the US Senate. (Warning: The US complies with several treaties that have been rejected by the Senate.)
The treaty allegedly would not affect the current ability to buy the types of guns we can already buy today. However, since the international trade in arms would be severely restricted, Americans probably wouldn't be able to buy foreign-made guns such as the popular Springfield XD, Berrettas, Glocks, Sakos, and many more. I suspect that anticipation of the treaty is why some foreign manufacturers (eg FNH, Walther) now have factories in the US so they can continue to sell at least a few models to Americans if the treaty passes.
The most recent UN talks on a global small-arms treaty collapsed in July, 2012 allegedly because they couldn't get a consensus. The failure to reach consensus most likely resulted from several US senators telling Secretary of State Clinton and President Obama that they would not vote to ratify the treaty. This treaty is dead -- for this year.
Obama's overall record shows he is clearly against individual gun rights. Perhaps his most favorable statement was, "As a general principle, I believe that the Constitution confers an individual right to bear arms. But just because you have an individual right does not mean that the state or local government can’t constrain the exercise of that right, in the same way that we have a right to private property but local governments can establish zoning ordinances that determine how you can use it." He doesn't seem to understand or accept the clause, "...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Regardless of whether the UN Small Arms Treaty is ever adopted, Obama troubles me only a little. Stupid voters (those who vote based on political party, bigotry (religion, skin color, sexual orientation [Christians, racial minorities, and homosexuals are often bigots too]), selfishness (redistribution of the producers' earnings to the moocher class), increase in government power, and/or emotion) concern me much more -- they are the greatest threat to our liberty.
Socialism is government ownership and/or control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc. A key element of Socialism is the denial or restriction of the individual's freedom of choice.
Modern examples of Socialism in the United States: Public schools (including most colleges and universities), many hospitals, and General Motors are all government-owned. When the President of the United States gets to pick who runs a business, you know there's Socialism.
Most of private enterprise is heavily regulated although government doesn't yet play a major role telling businesses exactly what products and services they must provide and how much or how often. Nevertheless, we have gone through periods of government-imposed price controls and of rationing.
Those who say we aren't a Socialist nation should try to provide a product or service without layers of government bureaucratic permission and see what happens. Or, try to buy an incandescent light bulb or a gas-guzzling muscle car or a toilet that works or gasoline that doesn't contain corn or try to board an airliner without government photo ID and the possibility of being groped, or develop private property that is alleged to be home to an alleged endangered species.
There is no authority in the US Constitution for the central government to "control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc." Indeed, the Tenth Amendment prohibits such intervention.
Those who deny we are a socialist nation are oblivious to, or accepting of, how far in that direction we have gone since the Morrill Acts and the introduction of Progressivism the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Unions could hardly be described as supporters of Conservative politicians and ideals. Even the largest union in my labor sector -- the Airline Pilots Association -- supports leftist politicians, and it is probably the most Conservative union in the nation! The SEIU (Service Employees International Union) is arguably the most Leftist of all the unions. This article shows just how far Left the SEIU is.
The SEIU is extremely involved in politics. That union saved Harry Reid's job in his last reelection. They were and are a major force behind Barrack Obama. They played a major role in the recall election against Scott walker in Wisconsin.
Now, consider this: The SEIU primarily represents government employees! The often-SEIU-represented Left has colonized and infested the entire government -- from the staff that sets the agenda for your local city council and school board to the staff that sets the agenda for Congress and the president's Cabinet members. The proportion of Leftists in government employment is substantially out of proportion with the population it presumably serves. Because they are surrounded by a majority of fellow Leftists in the workplace, they have little contact with, and understanding of, people of a different political mindset. And they decry the lack of diversity in the rest of us!
Leftist in government employment, like most of us, have an idea where the nation needs to go, but they are not political appointees and therefore cannot be replaced when voters replace politicians. The perpetual retention of Leftists in civil service like those represented by the SEIU is why the nation, the states, and our local governments continue the relentless march away from individual liberty and individual responsibility -- no matter who is actually in elected office! The SEIU, the NEA (National Education Association), and other public-sector unions are there to protect that march. And, the Leftist and lazy mainstream "news" media is there to protect the Leftist unions by failing to cover rallies such a the one described in this story.
If you like to see your government's employees waving Communist flags, as described in the above-linked story, then you'll also like this story -- and the Leftist public-sector unions that represent them such as the SEIU and the NEA.
It gets worse. It has been reported that the TSA (Transportation Security Agency) is hiring known deviants. I must assume that the TSA does this because the agency needs screeners who don't have any compunction about groping travelers, thereby violating each traveler's Fourth Amendment rights. TSA screeners are likely to be unionized in the near future. I predict that they will be represented by SEIU -- the Marxist subject of this essay.