Rational Nation USA

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth It was bound to be said. For at least one republican politician, Iowa State Senator Joni Ernst, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, the UCSB shooting was an accident . A strong 2'nd Amendment supporter (nothing wrong with that) endorsed by the NRA she made a couple very concerning comments during a televised primary debate. "Mrs. Ernst, a viewer wrote us saying in light of the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, the shootings at the Aurora, Colo., theater, and most recently at the UC Santa Barbara campus, 'we have a Joni Ernst in the television ad that is running continuously on all local television stations that contains violent imagery pointing a gun directly at the viewer and vowing to quote ‘shoot them down’ and hateful language directed toward their opponents. Is this really what politics has become in this country?'" the moderator said. "Mrs. Ernst, what do you say to this viewer?" ...

from: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth No matter how much we argue about the details of its meaning today, in the opinion of many, the Constitution signed in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787 represents the greatest expression of statesmanship and compromise ever written. In just four hand-written pages, the Constitution gives us no less than the owners' manual to the greatest form of government the world has ever known. We have no tribal council, nor can we vote anybody off the island. But, we do live in the land of the free, and as long as the Constitution stands, we always will. Yes, the 2'nd amendment establishes the right of the nation's citizens to keep and bear arms, a right I personally agree with. When handled by responsible sensible individuals who keep there firearms and ammunition secure firearms in theory at least are as safe as knives, hatchets, axes and such. In 1787 the framers of our Constitution recognized the need for a wel...

From: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth Now, for some great music by a legendary artist. Rational Nation USA dedicates this tune to FreeThinke . We know how much he enjoys Rock-n-Roll! By request 5/29/14 Okay Shaw, this one's for you. And okjimm, one for you as well.

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth Special interests at play in the political arena. Money does indeed talk and what it buys is usually not good for this floundering democratic republic. When a federal judge blocks an investigation into the possibility of illegal spending during a recall election it should raise some eyebrows, especially when the judge orders all the evidence gathered destroyed. If you're thinking the name Koch figures into this somehow you'd be correct. PR Watch - The federal judge who ordered a halt to Wisconsin's "John Doe" criminal investigation into spending during the 2011 and 2012 recall elections has regularly attended all-expenses paid "judicial junkets" funded by the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, and other ideological and corporate interests. On May 6, federal District Court Judge Rudolph Randa blocked an ongoing John Doe criminal probe into a...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth In the spirit of Patriotism no doubt 'Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher in one breath offered condolences to the slain victims of the UCSB shooting and in the next declared that "your dead kids don't trump my Constitutional rights . Technically I suppose he's right. Depending of course on how one interprets the 2'nd Amendment. Support for the 2'd Amendment and the right for the populace to bear arms for hunting and sport is something I believe the majority of of Americans are fine with. But this right must be regulated and uniformly applied across the nation. Our patchwork of gun regulations and laws have done little to control the firearm violence that has spread in recent years. Firearm manufactures with their money and lobbyists, along with the NRA have effectively stymied any reasonable, responsible, and needed national policy to improve the public's safety with respect to firearms and the...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth Some say money is speech. At one time I argued that money was speech and corporations, individuals, political parties, and organizations (special interests) ought to be able to spend freely to "get their message out." After all isn't that one way voters keep informed? My position has, shall we say evolved. Money can be considered speech if all parties have the same ability to spend large sums of it to get their voices "heard." Of course we all know this is not the case and realistically it never will be. The larger the corporation, the more wealthy the individual, or the more flush the super PAC the bigger voice they have. So, what does this mean from a practical viewpoint? In a word INFLUENCE . Money buys influence. Money combined with influence is power. And the more money that is available the more influence and power can be bought. So if you're the average person on the street, the small bus...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Ration USA Purveyor of Truth The tolerance hyperbole of Howard Dean. Wants republicans to move to Russia. Personally I am hoping for Howard to figure continue to speak out vocally. And loudly. Very loudly. The public just might get to see another Howard tirade like the one that ended his presidential aspirations. h/t : Libertarian Republican

from: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth Voltaire Quotes worth reflecting on, and, it seems the more things change the more they stay the same. I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it. It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere. Man is free at the moment he wishes to be. What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly - that is the first law of nature. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to another. It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong. Of all religions, the Christian should of course inspire the most tolerance, but until now Christians have been the most intolerant of all men. Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy the mad daughter of a w...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth Texas Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX) proving once again there really are looney tunes populating the the republican party. Really folks, dudes (and dudettes) with beliefs like this are trying to take America back to 1950. All we can hope for is a bolt of lighting to strike them (from above guided by the divine hand of their god)) and transform them into reasoned beings. So it is amazing that in the name of liberality, in the name of being tolerant, this fascist intolerance has arisen. People that stand up and say, you know, I agree with the majority of Americans, I agree with Moses and Jesus that marriage was a man and a woman, now all of a sudden, people like me are considered haters, hate mongers, evil, which really is exactly what we've seen throughout our history as going back to the days of the Nazi takeover in Europe. What did they do? First, they would call people "haters" and "evil" and...

from: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth Fascism, a word tossed about frequently. Conservatives will say progressives lean fascist and progressives will say conservatives lean fascist. So, what's the truth? Or is there some truth both display some if not all of the characteristics? Dr. Laurence Britt , a political scientist who studied the fascist regimes of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Suharto, and Pinochet and found common themes running through of all these. He compiled a list called "The 14 Points of Fascism." 1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism 2. Disdain for the importance of human rights 3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause 4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism 5. Rampant sexism 6. A controlled mass media 7. Obsession with national security 8. Religion and ruling elite tied together 9. Power of corporations protected 10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated 11. Disdain and suppr...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth It has been fairly common knowledge that the majority of journalists are democratic leaning. But the percentages that are was surprising, even to me. The shift away from a more conservative or middle of the road (note the 70's) to a more liberal or progressive journalist pool explains at least in part why Obama and democratic candidates running for office are generally given softball questions. It also explains why the administration gets as many passes as it does from the MSM. Unfortunately this trend is likely to continues unless and until the conservative movement and the republican party gets it's act together and puts forth a positive, sensible, and realistic vision for America in the 21st century. Americans is not happy with the democratic leadership just as it is unhappy with the current republican leadership. This provides an opportunity for conservatives and republicans to formulate a no nonsense agenda of f...

from: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth Found while giving thought to our founding principles and one of the giant's of the revolutionary era in America, Thomas Paine. The article, 'The Moral and Political Thought of Thomas Paine" , was written by Maurice Bisheff, Ph.D. , it is a good read for anyone interested in Paine. Thomas Paine and his views are as relevant today as they were during his era, erhas even more so. Now, for the teaser. Tom Paine thought of himself as a "gardener of ideas". Thomas Paine's moral and political thought raises the question, "How can we become a more self-governing society?" Paine's vision of self-governance can be seen in his moral and political thought which is relevant today to each and all. I. Reason and Self-Governing Individuals Self-governing individuals are necessary to have a self-governing society. By self governing is meant the willingness of individuals to consciously cho...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth In a nation where any and everything goes the drama by Wisconsin democratic candidate for governor Brett Hulsey is NOT at all surprising. Sometimes theatrics serves a valuable purpose. Sometimes not. Candidate Hulsey's approach may have a positive effect. We'll never know unless somebody tries it, right? What is interesting troubling is that in the 21st century America apparently is incapable of having the honest dialogue that might move our nation forward forward to a place where discussion is no longer necessary. More likely than not the fringe elements will continue to fester and grow. Because in the USA it seems more and more each day that is what we do. Did I mention Hulsey is a democrat? MADISON, Wis. - Democratic candidate for governor Brett Hulsey plans to hand out white Ku Klux Klan-style hoods to Wisconsin Republicans as they gather for their annual convention Friday to highlight what he says a...