Wait... Eric Holder said WHAT?

Yesterday, Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Senator Rand Paul asserting that the President "has the power to authorize lethal force, such as a drone strike, against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil and without trial."

I am NOT anything close to an expert in Constitutional Law, but I remember back to high school and a class or two at ITT Tech where I learned about the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which states: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that if the president orders a drone strike on an American citizen INSIDE the United States that would deprive the person that is the target life, liberty, or property without due process!

Then there's the Sixth Amendment which says: ...the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

If a person is killed by a drone it's difficult for them stand trial, be informed of the crime they are accused of, confront witnesses, or have a defense counsel!

And then there is the Fifth Amendment: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; ...nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Once again, this amendment says we as American Citizens can NOT be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process.

As I stated earlier, I am not a Constitutional Law expert, but it seems pretty clear to me that the rights given to us by God are Not meant to be taken away by our government, president, attorney general or supreme court!

But that's just my Humble Yet Correct Opinion. 

"Change We Can Believe In"

I know you are probably really, REALLY tired of political posts. So I promise this will be my only post about the election... Well, I'll probably pass along things of interest, but I won't post anything that I write other than this.

Most of my "friends" on Facebook feel the same way as I do, but this is for those that support Barack Obama for re-election. Please read this with an open mind. After all is said and done I hope we can still be friends.

In 2008 Mr. Obama won the election with about 53% of the vote. He was able to convince a HUGE portion of the country that he would make big changes. Well, he did make changes. Unfortunately those changes have resulted our once great nation becoming something less than it once was. To be clear, this change started before Barack Obama was elected in 2008, but I believe the decline has accelerated since he was elected. Mr. Obama promised he would cut the deficit, close Guantanamo, not allow lobbyists in the White House... The list goes on and on. I've often used this analogy: Obama did NOT start the fire. He promised to put the fire out. Once elected Obama proceeded to pour gasoline on the fire!

Here is a list of FAILURES:

Then there are gas and food prices. On the day Obama was inaugurated the average price of gas nationally was $1.84 per gallon. As of this writing, the average price per gallon is $3.53. That's almost double.

This post could go on and on, but I just don't have energy to write more and if any of you are still reading at this point I'm sure you want it to end, too! So me just add one last thing. I haven't heard too much about this in the media, but I really think this is important. Listen to Mr. Obama in his own words:

Click on Link Below to Play Video

Mr. Obama to outgoing Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, "After my election I'll have more flexibility."

"I'm curious, how many other countries has the president promised that he will have a lot more flexibility the morning he doesn't have to answer to the American people?" "I'm very, very concerned. I think the American people are going to feel the same way. This is a president who is telling us one thing and doing something else and is planning on doing something even more frightening." -Newt Gingrich

I do not trust Barack Obama. I do not think he has the best interests of the United States of America at heart. I think that if he is re-elected this country will fall deeper and deeper in to debt and we may never recover. 

Please look into these things and learn for yourselves. This is more than just feeling good about a slogan. "Hope and Change", "Yes We Can", "Change We Can Believe In"... They all sound so good, but offer no real substance. Obama doesn't seem to have any new ideas to offer. This election he is "promising" the same old thing... Almost word for word!

Click on the picture to see the video!

It's time to make a change. Obama himself said that if things weren't corrected in his first three years in office, he should be a one term president.

Let's give him his wish and make sure it IS ONLY ONE TERM!

That is just My Humble Yet Correct Opinion.

I Didn't Even Need A Calculator!

Right now our country is going through the same election process it goes through every four years. We, as a nation, are going to vote soon for a new president or for the current president.

MY opinion is to vote a NEW president into office. My reasoning is fairly simple. Even though I have never been good at math, the numbers I am about to present are pretty simple to understand:

Courtesy Senator John Thune

That's why I say it's time for Barack Obama to go! You can call me a racist. You can call me a "neocon". You can call me whatever you want. Bill Clinton won his election by using four easy words: "It's the economy, stupid!" That is more true today than ever before.

It IS about the economy. And right now our economy is on the brink of collapse. It's time for someone with a background in turning businesses, events, and economies around. It's time for Mitt Romney.

THAT is My Humble Yet Correct Opinion!

You Asked For It!

On October 24th President Obama was in my adopted hometown, Las Vegas. During his speech he said the following about his proposed jobs bill: "It's a bill that's fully paid for -- by asking those of us who make more than $1 million to pay a little more in taxes." and later said his plan would be, "...paid for by asking people who make more than $1 million to pay one-half of 1 percent in additional taxes.  For somebody making $1.1 million a year, that's an extra $500.  Five hundred bucks.  And with that, we could have saved 400,000 jobs."

I don't claim any special math abilities, but I believe one half of 1% of $1.1 million is $5,500 not $500. I'm not going to try and figure out the math in Mr. Obama's proposal, there are many people far more qualified than I to discuss that. (Here is one example).

What I have a problem with is the repeated assertion that Mr. Obama is going to "ask" for these millionaires to pay their *fair share by imposing a tax. By definition a tax is "a sum of money demanded by a government". That's right, it is demanded, and those that don't pay face penalties like fines or imprisonment. That doesn't sound like a request to me.

I hope, although I don't really expect it, that in the future Mr. Obama will stop using the rhetoric that he is going to "ask" for someone to pay more, he is going to do his best to FORCE them to pay more. That is a pretty big difference. And in my opinion it won't be long before he DEMANDS more from all of us!

So I guess in addition to getting the president a calculator we need to get him a dictionary, too. Christmas is coming, or Kwanzaa, or Hanukkah, or Ramadan (I'm trying to all inclusive), maybe we can all pitch in and Mr. Obama a gift.

That's just My Humble Yet Correct Opinion.

(*Maybe we can discuss the definition of "fair" in the future.)

Remembering September 11, 2001

Like most adults, I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing on 9/11/01. Watching the specials on TV today and reading all the posts online have brought back a flood of memories from that day. I honor those that died that day. The First Responders, the Police, the Fire Departments, and those that just showed up to work that day. The Military and Civilian employees at the Pentagon, the Airline Crews and the Passengers. All of them are victims of some the worst evil to ever show itself in this World.

I pray for their families and for our Country.

One thing that has struck me again in the days leading up to the 10th anniversary of the attacks is that the World Trade Center twin towers should have been rebuilt as soon as possible and built to look the same as they were before the attack.

The Twin Towers as they were...

I realize it's easy for me to say how billions of dollars should be spent. I'm sure somewhere there was plan to rebuild the towers, and someone decided it was better to build a memorial. I don't know if the decision was monetary or if it took into consideration the survivors and families of the victims. In the interest of full disclosure I admit I do not know anyone that was directly involved that day. No one I knew was killed, injured, or even in New York.

The Ground Zero Memorial.

My point is, I think the Towers should have been rebuilt within a couple years as a way to show the terrorists and the world that, yes, the US can be hurt, but it won't stop us. You knocked down two buildings, and we rebuilt them. It's a matter of National Pride. To me that would have been a much better memorial to honor those lost ten years ago today.

That's just My Humble Yet Correct Opinion...

Swearing In Public Is So Vulgar

Swearing in public, on TV, and just about everywhere has finally reached a boiling point as far as I'm concerned. I don't think of myself as a "prude" even though I do my best to keep my tongue under control. I DO actually like swearing in movies, some movies just wouldn't be the same if the stars didn't cuss a bit (but I am trying really hard to not watch those movies anymore!).

Heck, I've even let an expletive fly in a moment of weakness, like when I hit my thumb with a hammer or some similar circumstance, but even those incidences are few and far between.

What bothers me is the pervasive use of vulgarities that has become so commonplace it seems most people not only don't seem to notice, some even condone it! Most reality TV shows have more "bleeping" than actual dialogue it seems. I have included a link to "Hell's Kitchen", one my wife's favorite shows. I don't enjoy it for many reasons, not the least of which is the language used by both the star, Gordon Ramsey, and the contestants. Please be aware that even though MOST of the bad language is edited, there are still a few words that made it through. The Best of Gordon Ramsay from Hell's Kitchen Series 3

My final straw came today in the grocery store. There was a woman pushing her shopping cart with a little girl in it that I estimate was no more than two years old. The little girl was holding something the woman had place in the cart, and the woman was obviously not happy about it. She literally yelled at the the little girl, "If you open that I'll pull you out that cart and whip your a$$ right here!". I gave her a dirty look, and that's really all I could do since she didn't actually hit the child in front of me.

Then, to add one more straw to the camel's back (as in the straw that broke the camel's back), as I was sitting in the back yard this evening grilling some burgers for dinner, I could hear from the front of the condo where we are living a father yelling at someone, I think it may have been his nine year old son and seven year old daughter. While I couldn't make out everything that was said, I know I heard "mother f-er" several times. It was loud and in the common area of the homes here, it echoed and made it sound even louder. This person obviously didn't care about anyone else, the kids or adults that might object to this language. I think he is just so desensitized to this vulgar way of communicating that he doesn't even notice it... but I did and I know my kids and wife did too.

I think George Washington may have said it best: "The foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing is a vice so mean and low that every person of sense and character detests and despises it."

I don't think of myself as a person of sense or character, but I really do detest the use of vulgar language in public. I hope that we as a society will elevate ourselves, in mind and speech, and stop using these coarse words.

But that's just my humble yet correct opinion.

In My Humble Yet Correct Opinion: The Car Is In The Ditch

In My Humble Yet Correct Opinion: The Car Is In The Ditch: "During the last election cycle, President Obama was fond of comparing the economy to a car being in a ditch: “After they drove the car into ..."