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Might COVID-19 Rescue Atlanta From This POC Female? Nothing Else Has.

by Black Man Thinkin'
Categories: ... 'bout Politics, Best of Site
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Published on: July 7, 2020

After Independence Weekend 2020, Atlanta is clearly a more dangerous place because of the reckless progressivism of Keisha Lance Bottoms, another in the line of liberal U.S. black females who use elected office to compromise public safety for the sake of their ideology.

You might recall how Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake had police stand down to give “protesters” free rein and others space to destroy in Baltmore in 2015, and the incompetent State’s Attorney, Marilyn Mosby, who, after vowing “justice for Freddie Gray, convicted no one and so discouraged Baltimore Police with her persecution that the city’s murder rate skyrocketed.

POC female office holders now have a record of disregard for public safety. Mayors like:

and prosecutors like

maintain adversarial relationships with their respective police departments, ignore crimes that hurt businesses and communities, and advocate more strongly for criminal leniency than for crime reduction. Keisha Lance Bottoms is now at the head of that class.

Bottoms entered office in 2018 with a police shortage. Though the Atlanta Police Department was authorized to have 2,039 sworn officers, it had as few as 1,650 officers available, nearly 20% less. Unsurprisingly, law enforcer shortfall didn’t help the city’s crime problems.

Two Keisha Lance Bottoms years later, Atlanta’s Police Department still has too few cops, and the ciity has too much crime. A department authorized for more than 2,000 sworn officers has but 1,770. And Atlanta struggles mightily under Bottoms when it comes to lawlessness:

  • Total Crime Rate is 111.15% above the national average,
  • Violent Crime Rate is 108.40% above the national average, and
  • A Murder Rate higher than all but 22 U.S. cities, nearly treble that for the State, and more than 3.5 times that of the nation.

Along the way, Bottoms made Atlanta a de facto Sanctuary City…and publicly lied about doing so to affluent white residents at a 2019 townhall meeting, while crime was spiking in their neighborhoods. That year got so rough for Bottoms that social media savaged her selection as Spelman College’s Commencement Speaker with a #NotKeisha hashtag.

And 2020 has not been kind to Atlanta, thanks in large part to the mayor.

When the Hypocritical Hashtag – #BlackLivesMatter – brought their “peaceful protests” to Atlanta, Bottoms said many “motherly” things, but did nothing to quell the violence. And when her understaffed police force acted aggressively to control what she had called chaos, instead of supporting them, she fired two officers and suspended three others – employing the standard Democrat (POC) female officeholder tactic of valuing the rights of (often transient) societal disruptors over those of citizens who make societies work.

Then came Rayshard Brooks, the probationer who, on May 24th told the world he knew his next transgression would send him directly to jail – without passing GO! or collecting $200. Despite that knowledge, Brooks showed up sloppy drunk, passed out behind the wheel at an Atlanta Wendy’s Drive-Thru on June 12th.

Officers called to the scene engaged Brooks for more than half an hour as the “happily married” man spoke of his daughter’s upcoming birthday, how his sister lived nearby, and of his girlfriend (not his wife) who was at the restaurant with him. The engagement took an unfortunate turn after Brooks failed a voluntary breathalyzer test.

Brooks resisted arrest, fighting the officers and stealing a taser before attempting to flee. When he pointed the stolen taser at the pursuing officers, he was shot and killed.

That was too much for Mayor Bottoms.

If, in the Mind of Keisha, tasing protesters who violated curfew and resisted arrest was excessive force, then fatally shooting a probationer who resisted arrest, stole a police weapon, and then turned that weapon on police officers must be murder. The officer who shot Brooks was fired and charged, apparently with everything not nailed to the floor in the District Attorney’s office.

And that was too much for Atlanta’s police officers.

In direct response to the charges, to the firings, to two years of the Mayor and City Hall showing how unserious they were about securing Atlanta against crime and disruption, or about supporting police officers, at least 8 officers resigned. At least, because the Atlanta Police Foundation had the number at 19 before the Atlanta Police Deparment “corrected” them, and others the Police Department could not influence put the number of police resignations at 70, and accusing city officials, including the mayor, of trying to minimize the issue. This is significant, because what the City wants to call a temporary job action might be more a permanent job search, as officers seek, not time away from their jobs, but new jobs away from a toxic work environment.

For her part, Bottoms acknowledged that poice morale was low, though accepted no responsibility for why it was “down ten-fold”. She went on to speak of how she expected officers to “keep their commitment to our communities” without mentioning how she had spent more than two years showing no commitment to the Police Department, or to controlling crime.

And, channeling her inner Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Jenny Durkan personas, Bottoms gave a portion of her city, the area where Rayshard Brooks was shot, over to the destructive safe-keeping of #BlackLivesMatter. What could go wrong?

Well there’s this: in the 2015 Baltimore tradition, criminal violence in Atlanta increased in proportion to the increase in persecution of police officers, culminating in the 2020 Atlanta Independence Day Massacre, a July 4th that saw more than one person per hour shot; in the Seattle 2020 tradition, where #BlackLivesMatter is responsible for 4 shootings in 9 days, which wounded 4 and killed…wait for it…two black males, they blew way an 8-year-old black girl in the area Bottoms surrendered to the Hypocritical Hastage.

That’s what could – and did – go wrong and, yes, this is on Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Concluding Atlanta’s mayor to be a public safety incompetent, Georgia’s governor called up the National Guard, which have arrived in Georgia’s capitol. Bottoms complaint about the call up? That the governor had not sent face masks:

“The irony of that is I asked Gov. Kemp to allow us to mandate masks in Atlanta and he said no. But he has called in the National Guard without asking if we needed the National Guard.”

Bottoms believes getting facemasks to address a virus she did not need to control were more important thangetting the manpower to address violence she had failed to control. Just another glimpse into the Mind of Keisha.

Bottoms went on to tell ABC’s “Good Morning America” how she believed COVID-19 was a major contributor to the violence, not only in Atlanta, but throughout the country. You can’t make this up. Which brings us to the only positive thing for Atlanta to come of this sorry spectacle: Bottoms has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

Why is that positive, one may ask? First she’s unlikely to die; the death rate keeps falling like a polished safe, now at half a percent and heading lower.

It is positive because, if dealing with the virus takes any part of her attention OFF running the city of Atlanta, then someone might “sneak in” and give it the attention to public safety and leadership against crime that black females in elected office virtually never do.

Watching Melanin Fall…

by Black Man Thinkin'
Categories: ... 'bout Politics, Best of Site
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Comments: 7 Comments
Published on: January 19, 2020

To the extent this is credible – Oh, how the American black mind calcifies!

Blacks are pessimistic about, and choose to consider racist, an elected official who’s presided over:

Interestingly, Trump’s thinking and behavior toward blacks is virtually unchanged from what it had been before he sought the presidency, which represents a time when he was acknowledged for a “lifetime of service to African Americans” by one Jesse Louis Jackson. In an existence more public than most, Trump endured failed companies, failed marriages, ridicule, bankruptcies, and was called many things; however, ‘racist’ was not among them.

(I’m aware of the federal housing discrimination lawsuit; no one has shown that he did anything more than seek not to lease apartments to those he believed were unlikely to pay rent…and he wrote in one of his books,  “What we didn’t do was rent to welfare cases, white or black”.

I’m also aware of Trump’s stance regarding the Central Park Five…and I don’t care. Trump didn’t produce the case against them; NYPD and the District Attorney’s office did. Nor has anyone shown he might have acted differently had the perceived perpetrators not been black. Trump has mad love for NYC for many reasons, including business, and that crime was an assault on ‘his’ city.)

Donald John Trump is an out-sized personality who has supported blacks for decades, and that behavior continued after his unexpected ascent to the presidency. Trump hasn’t changed; however black perception of Trump has, and that change is more likely to condemn blacks than condemn the president, in the eyes of the nation and her electorate.

Begin with the poll finding blacks the most racist U.S. demographic, even in the minds of blacks.

Then consider public positions that blacks take which at least appear unreasonable:

Such hypocritical and nonsensical rhetoric damage black credibility. Couple that with disproportionately high illegitimacy, abortion, criminality, and STD infection rates, and it becomes reasonable to wonder about the current humanity of a people who just 6 decades ago led the nation on a moral crusade against inhumanity.

Blacks, as a group, are marginalizing themselves, with an especially virulent strain of  TDS that renders those affected all but incapable of rational thought or conversation where the president is concerned, that renders them deaf to anyone who’s not a progressive member of the Democrat Party, or a progressive agent of the mainstream (or left-wing) media. Other whites who attempt to engage them are labeled racists exercising white privilege; blacks who deign to approach are labeled “coons” or other pejorative terms.

This would not be a testimony against blacks were they not faring measurably better under Trump than than they fared under his predecessor. Blacks show less regard for a white president who serves them well, than for a black one who made them at best a third priority, behind homosexuals and illegal immigrants. And the country saw and took note of the obvious racism and lack of logic.

Consequently whites, Latinos, and Asians are becoming less likely to engage with blacks on issues that impact the country at large…because blacks reduce the areas  of objective American commonality between themselves and other citizens. Even Jews, longtime allies with blacks on political and social issues, are re-evaluating their relationships with blacks, in the wake of rising – and violent – anti-Semitism from members of the black community.

Meaning blacks, through every fault of their own, will see their part in the national conversation decrease. While there remains a call for national unity, many blacks opt to be the ice block in the Great American Melting Pot – critical of the good economy, critical of not being at war, critical of the military, (hypo-) critical toward God, critical of anyone or anything that runs counter to what they espouse.

And what far too many blacks accept, without claiming to so do, represents a cultural posture that cannot help them…or anyone else:

Many born-in-America blacks have chosen a backward-looking mindset that prevents fully benefiting from what their country offers; instead of opening their hands to America’s current and future opportunities, they would rather shake a clenched fist at America’s past,  detaching themselves from Americanism and making themselves adversaries – if not enemies – of the state. That is a ruinous prescription for every black person inclined to get it filled. and that is what currently destroys black influence – political, social, and cultural – in America.

Fortunately, a small but increasing number of blacks want a new drug.

The temptation, fed by the media, is to see black support for Trump as an embrace of the president himself. It is likely not that; it stems from a realization that the political path for blacks need not be charted by those who are false friends to them, and who hate the country itself.

The number of blacks who will side with America will not eclipse the number whom Malcolm Little described as “political chumps and traitors to their race” anytime soon. But it would be un-American (and ungodly) not to hope, fervently, that it one day will. Just as abolitionists held out hope for decades that enough would agree with them so chattel slavery would end. Just as many hoped, for nearly a century following Reconstruction, for  laws encoding segregation into American society to fall. In both those cases, holding out hope was warranted though, at the time, it may have seemed pointless.

My thought is that hope will prove warranted in this instance as well, that the majority of blacks will embrace the political and ideological postures that underpin American confidence and success, and I believe they will. However, until that change occurs, America will continue to witness a decline in the fortunes of her black population; a decline which the nation will find painful to observe, but one that it cannot stop…because it’s a Black thing.

A Case of Misplaced Sympathy?

by Black Man Thinkin'
Categories: ... 'bout Politics, Best of Site
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Comments: 4 Comments
Published on: August 22, 2012

Perhaps you’ve seen this video of Tony Farmer, a rising senior at Garfield Heights High School in Ohio and a top college basketball prospect, reacting to hearing a judge sentence him after he pleaded guilty to several crimes, including 3 felonies:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3295O40Vfbg[/youtube]

There it is! Another young black man going to prison instead of college! Another hateful white judge, ignoring the pleas of teachers, coaches, family members, and even the crime victim not to send Tony Farmer to prison! This is what’s wrong with America – killing opportunity for young black people even before they can realize their potential! This situation requires immediate action. People need to organize. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson need to travel to Ohio and speak to this situation. Recall Judge Pamela Barker! . . .

Ok, forgive me. I put my “social justice” hat on for a moment; only way to complete that rant since that “social justice” stuff can make people say and write strange things. The hat’s off now; back to reality.

First, Farmer’s attack on his former girlfriend, Andrea Lane, was caught on surveillance video. Farmer faced charges of kidnapping (perhaps dragging Lane by her hair back into the lobby of the apartment building was a bad idea), felonious assault (might have been that kick to Lane’s head as she cowered in fear in a corner), and robbery (dude took Lane’s cellphone, a bank card, a laptop computer and her car keys).

Second, a grand jury who, no doubt, viewed the video of Mr. Farmer’s antics, indicted him. So, even though a decent district attorney can, as the saying goes, indict a ham sandwich, ordinary citizens also concluded Farmer’s case warranted criminal charges.

Third, Farmer rejected a plea bargain which contained less prison time than he ultimately received. Interestingly, Farmer’s attorney, Joe Dubyak, said he expected his client would receive probation after his guilty plea.

Now, I’m no lawyer, I don’t play one on TV, and I don’t live in Ohio, but a cursory review of state law makes Mr. Dubyak’s comment seem strange. According to the Ohio Revised Code:

    • Kidnapping is a first degree felony, Chapter 2905.01(C)(1),
    • Felonious assault is a second degree felony, Chapter 2903.11(D)(1), and
    • Robbery is a second degree felony, Chapter 2911.02(B).

The code speaks of mandatory sentencing for those convicted of, or pleading guilty to, the first two crimes. The code also prescribes definite prison terms of 3 to 11 years for first degree felonies, and 2 to 8 years for second degree felonies (Chapter 2929.14(A)(1) & (2)).

Mr. Dubyak’s client pleaded guilty 3 felonies, 1 first degree felony and 2 second degree felony, with two of those calling for mandatory incarceration. It is hard to fathom why he believed probation was a possibility. Judge Barker showed leniency to Farmer, imposing minimum sentences and allowing all sentences to run concurrently. This spared Farmer at least another 4 years and 9 months in prison, and as much as another 24 years and 9 months.

Of course, none of these facts are apparent when watching Farmer collapse as he sees his college hoops aspirations evaporate. There is one other thing that is not apparent, at least not immediately, in the dramatic courtroom video:

The woman Farmer dragged by the hair, the woman he beat and kicked in the lobby of her own apartment building, the woman whose property he stole after assaulting her, is also black.

With so much “concern” of late over attacks on women through the words of politicians, I can only wonder where is the concern over this real attack on a woman, involving fists and feet, all because that woman no longer wanted to have a romantic relationship with the man who would attack her? Is there truly a stronger reaction to what this young man lost than there is to what he did to another black person?

I hate to see young black men go to prison, but can anyone condone Tony Farmer’s crimes? Make no mistake: giving ANYONE who commits 3 felonies against a black woman anything other than prison time is unconscionable. To my thinking, giving anyone who commits 3 felonies against a black woman minimum sentencing, that effectively condenses three crimes into one, also devalues that black female victim, and minimizes the ordeal she suffered.

Again, I hate to see young black men go to prison. However, I cannot say, in good conscience, that what a young man can do with a basketball should entitle him to a pass when it comes to kidnapping, assaulting, and robbing another person. For a violent attacker of a black person to have his talents put aside, the same way he put aside the humanity and dignity of another human being, affirms the value of black people in American society. I always promote human dignity (which all people have) over human talent (which not all people have).

I have no clue why Tony Farmer did what he did, nor do I care, though I hurt for the immediate opportunities that he has sacrificed. My sympathies lie with the woman he attacked, who had a 6′ 7″, 220-pound man drag her by the hair, beat her, and kick her in the head. Anyone who would do that to another human being doesn’t belong on a college campus or on a college basketball team. Anyone who would do that to another human being looks good in an orange jumpsuit.

Copyright 2012. blackmanthinkin.com

Something About Forgiveness

by Black Man Thinkin'
Categories: ... 'bout Faith, Best of Site
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Published on: August 21, 2012

Fred Taylor

Fred Taylor is a 36-year-old former NFL running back. As a collegian at the University of Florida, he helped the Gators to a National Championship in 1996. As a team captain in his senior year, Taylor earned 1st team All-Southeastern Conference honors, 1st team Walter Camp All-American honors, and his teammates’ nod as Florida’s most valuable player.

In the NFL, Taylor rushed for 11,695 and 66 touchdowns, and caught 290 passes for 2,384 yards and another 8 touchdowns, in 13 seasons, retiring in 2011.

Taylor is doing well. That should surprise no one; talented people who work hard and perform well often translate their skills into material success.

Tank Black

The man with the… aggressive… tie is William “Tank” Black. Black was an assistant football coach at the University of South Carolina before starting Professional Management Incorporated (PMI), a sports agency, in 1988. Black set a record in 1999 for a single agent by signing five of that year’s 31 first-round NFL draft picks, plus three second round draft picks. Within a year of that record, he stood accused of improperly funneling cash to college players, money-laundering, involvement in a Ponzi investment scheme, and of involvement in a stock swindle.

Tank Black represented Fred Taylor when Taylor came out of Florida in 1998…and lost $3.6 million of Taylor’s money to scams by 2000.

Taylor was so distressed that he considered retiring from the NFL in 2001. Black spent 82 months in federal prison for money-laundering. Taylor overcame Black’s betrayal to enjoy a long and lucrative career, and the comfortable position he enjoys today. Tank Black left prison in 2007, and left a halfway house in 2008.

Needless to say, the events caused a rift between the two men. But that’s not the story.

Fred Taylor recently called Tank Black to forgive him and to thank him, indicating it was something he had to do.

When Taylor asked Black, “What happened?” Black said he was misled into a Ponzi scheme. Taylor doesn’t know if he believes that. Black apologized profusely and broke down crying during the call.

“I just sat and listened,” Taylor said. “It didn’t do anything for me. It didn’t do a thing. I thank God for giving me the courage to do it. Men show up.”

THAT is the story.

Intentional or not, Fred Taylor experienced a key truth regarding forgiveness: it does nothing for the one who grants it. It isn’t supposed to. Check out Luke 7:36-47 KJV

The creditor wanted his money returned, but there was none to collect. God wanted obedience in return for His goodness, but the woman disobeyed. No doubt the debtors made an appeal for mercy from their creditor. The woman’s broken and tearful wiping Christ’s feet with her hair is a legendary example of sacrificial love.

However, scripture is clear, And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22 KJV)

Clearly, the Lord did not get what he wanted from the woman. While the creditor likely received much love from those who owed him, it is as Ray Charles sang:

Your love gives me such a thrill –
But your love don’t pay my bills –
I need money . . . That’s what I want!

When viewed from that perspective, Fred Taylor’s reaction to Tank Black’s apology and tears is understandable: “It didn’t do anything for me. It didn’t do a thing…”

Again, it’s not supposed to. Tank Black’s remorse can only benefit Tank Black: pride abandons the man offering a sincere apology, and his tears are to cleanse his stained heart. Fred Taylor left open the possibility of another phone conversation and even a face to face meeting with Tank Black. Should either occur, then Taylor’s forgiveness can continue to work on Tank Black.

The only thing Taylor can ever expect to receive is…Tank Black, so says Matthew 18:15. The next 2 verses in Matthew 18 make it clear that forgiveness is not about helping the wronged party cope, but rather about convincing the wrongdoer to repair broken fellowships.

It is never a given that a wrongdoer will acknowledge their wrong, let alone seek forgiveness. It is also never a given that the wronged party will regain whatever was lost. Consequently, it is hardly reasonable to believe that granting forgiveness will benefit anyone other than the wrongdoer. Granting forgiveness does nothing for God; He is no more divine when He forgives, and He is no less divine should He not forgive. As the apostle wrote: For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. (Romans 9:15 KJV)

Forgiveness does nothing for those who grant it; it requires something from them. It requires mercy; it requires compassion. It also requires kindness and a tender heart. These are difficult things for a wronged person to show.

I don’t know what Fred Taylor expected to receive from calling Tank Black; he says it did nothing for him. I for one, never believed it would. But Taylor also thanked God for giving him the courage to make the call. I also thank God for also giving Fred Taylor the mercy, compassion, kindness, and heart to dial a number and listen as the man who stole from him apologized and cried.

Taylor also said “Men show up.” In this case, when there was noting for him to gain, a man most certainly did show up. Thank you, Mr. Taylor.

Copyright 2012. blackmanthinkin.com

Why Don’t They Tell Us This About Taxes – And Why Won’t We Hear It?

by Black Man Thinkin'
Categories: ... 'bout Money, ... 'bout Politics, Best of Site
Tags: , ,
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Published on: August 4, 2012

Recall this portion of the April 2008 Democratic presidential debate regarding taxes:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CYn2NWuLhQ&feature=relmfu[/youtube]

Credit Charlie Gibson for attempting to make a point: History consistently shows tax revenues are higher when the tax rate is lower. Obama twice sidestepped Gibson’s question, first talking about “fairness” (huh?), effectively saying that lower rates are unfair, no matter how much more money they raise. The second time he questioned the historical link between low tax rates and higher tax revenues by saying “… uh, eh, eh-eh, That MIGHT happen, uh, or it might not…” Hillary Clinton simply answered a different question than the one posed.

However, Charlie Gibson’s question misses the real point. So also does the fact that each of the four times federal income tax rates were lowered (following World War I, in the 1960’s, in the 1980’s, and the 2000’s), income tax revenues increased. So also does the current debate about extending the current income tax rates or returning to the higher rates of the 1990’s. Finally, the excited rumors of pending tax reform also miss the real point.

The real point is these 30 words: “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”

That is the entire text of the 16th Amendment to the US Constitution. Congress’ received this power less than a century ago, in 1913, part of an early 20th century wave of progressive government reform which also included: the direct election by voters, rather than selection by state legislatures, of US Senators; the prohibition of alcohol; and women’s suffrage – these were the 17th, 18th, and 19th amendments. But let’s not lose focus as did Mr. Gibson when trying to question Hillary and Barack.

Without the 16th Amendment, there is no 2008 debate question regarding national capital gains taxes. Without that amendment, there would be no discussion of the Clinton era versus Bush era income tax rates. Without the 16th Amendment, no private citizen would deal with the IRS regarding income taxation; they would address such matters with the state taxing authority.

The 16th Amendment’s ratification robbed US citizens of a significant constitutional protection. Prior to it, the American people’s incomes were safe from Congress. Congress could levy whatever taxes they saw fit, however it was for the states to determine how to raise what was apportioned to them. Sales taxes, excise taxes, fees, income taxes – whatever worked best financially, economically, or politically for that state. The federal government could not harass individual citizens about federal income taxes – there was no such thing. Consequently, there was a barrier between citizens and the federal government regarding the private property known as their incomes.

Why did that protection matter? Well, there was less federal stress for Americans. Also, citizens had more input into what taxes were paid. Additionally, well… look at this graph of public debt from 1900 and projected through 2016. The debt hardly registered before the 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913. Though the numbers then were small by today’s standard, between 1913 and 1916, the debt grew nearly 30%. Some may blame World War I, but the US did not enter that war until 1917.

Fast forward through the 1920’s (when the federal government ran a budget surplus each year, after lowering income tax rates) and look at the period 1940 through 1946. The more than four-fold debt increase is understandable – World War II was on. However, the US had no armed conflict during the 1930’s; what is to explain the more than 70% increase in debt during that decade?

Try this: once the 16th Amendment was ratified, Congress and the Senate went from protecting citizens from the excesses of federal spending to advocating the federal position. There was no limit on Congress’ power to tax incomes, and the taxation process by-passed the inputs of the states. The feds were free to tax as they pleased, and the constitutional check and balance between the states and the federal government regarding income taxation was all but removed.

Worse yet, federal finances became a discussion that occurred entirely inside Washington, D.C. Since Congress no longer relied upon state governments to provide the major part of their income, they no longer paid attention to state government input regarding federal spending. The result, though indirect, can be directly seen in the growth of public debt since the ratification of the 16th Amendment.

I’ll end with a couple of questions. If Congress still had to apportion taxes to the states, then do you think we would have spent the last three years without a federal budget; would the states have readily accepted an apportionment of taxes without knowing the total bill? If Congress had to depend upon the currently cash-strapped states to pony up its money, does anyone doubt there would be a bit more resistance to the idea of the federal government borrowing 40 cents of every dollar it spent?

The 16th Amendment disrupted what the Founders designed as a state and federal government dialog regarding the national finances. That dialog was to be dominated by the states, being the major sources of federal income. Less than a century after the change was made, and with the states largely out of the national financial discussion, the US government owes more money than the US economy produces in a year. At no time before the 16th Amendment did the US debt ever become this much out of hand. I have a difficult time believing this to be a coincidence.

Regarding what should be done regarding this, I favor the word of the prophet, “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein” (Jeremiah 6:16).

The way to walk is to repeal the 16th Amendment. I only hope the national sentiment is not reflected in the last sentence of that verse.

Copyright 2012. blackmanthinkin.com

Do Y’all Know What Ice-T Got Just About Right?

by Black Man Thinkin'
Categories: ... 'bout Politics, Best of Site
Tags: ,
Comments: 1 Comment
Published on: July 25, 2012

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txuTBE6QQzQ[/youtube]

Ice T, soundin’ a bit like a Foundin’ Father.

Tracy Marrow, also known as Ice T, went on TV in the UK after the “Batman Rises” shooting in Colorado to defend the 2nd amendment. Check out the video above.

What got my attention were these words: “The right to bear arms is because that’s the last form of defense against tyranny. Not to hunt. It’s to protect yourself from the police.” The brotha sounds downright Jeffersonian. In fact, Thomas Jefferson said, “The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”

Our current gun laws serve the purpose of making it more difficult for the law-abiding citizen who wants a gun to keep and bear one. Of course, the idea is to make people safer by having guns in the hands of very few people…outside the government. Does anyone believe that works?

When the SCOTUS, in 2008, declared Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban unconstitutional and sent Chicago’s gun ban back to a lower court, the local governments went into overdrive to keep their cities safe from guns and gun violence. Predictions were for blood to run in the streets as everyone turned already violent cities into a re-incarnation of the Wild West.

But a funny thing happened while the politicians were wringing their hands, telling us to fear…we wound up with less to fear.

It seems that where you have more gun-toting, law-abiding citizens, you also have more law-abiding, period. Perhaps because good people can only be made into victims when outgunned, either by the government, or by other people who aren’t so good.

So why do politicians fight so hard to limit gun ownership? To stop incidents like the one in Aurora, Colorado? As if the guy could not have used his government assistance to buy illegal weapons and ammo, instead of the legal ones he used in the massacre? Yeah, right.

Try this: maybe politicians fear being pushed around by a citizenry that not only does vote, but also is armed to protect itself from governmental excesses. Maybe Ice T got it just about right.

Finally Jefferson also said, “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.” I live in a nation where people are afraid of the IRS, the EPA, the ATF, the CIA, and the FBI – each of those government organizations are packin’ (yes, the IRS has armed agents.). I also live in a nation where many fear outlaws who break the law to exercise their 2nd amendment rights, while they themselves are discouraged from even having a gun. It’s clear to see who is under tyranny. It is also clear to me what we should do. What’s clear to you?

25 July 2012, 1:52 AM, Pacific Time

Copyright 2012. blackmanthinkin.com

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  • But You Say, “It̵… by Black Man Thinkin'

    “It is enough that the people know there were deaths. The people who die determine nothing. The people who say how they died determine everything.”

  • Watching Melanin Fall… by Black Man Thinkin'

    To the extent this is credible – Oh, how the American black mind calcifies! Blacks are pessimistic about, and choose to consider racist, an elected official who’s presided over: The lowest level of black unemployment ever recorded, Collaboration with a black Senator and a black entertainer’s spouse to advocate for and enact criminal justice reform,[…]

  • America Finally Won An Election by Black Man Thinkin'

    [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdoLcdMJBUY[/youtube] The nation was told not to expect this. From the moment Americans found a 2016 presidential candidate through whom they could speak, they were called racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic, misogynistic, or all of the above… Oh, you thought those were representations of Donald Trump? You poor soul. Virtually every event, good or bad, of Trump’s[…]

  • Need to Drain the “Ch… by Black Man Thinkin'

    It is possible that the “No Christian should vote” movement, regarding either major party candidate in 2016 is primarily a social media phenomenon However, I have reviewed enough articles and had enough personal conversations to doubt that. It is almost certain that anyone with even a remote church affiliation has heard the “ain’t neither of[…]

  • And Then There Was…A … by Black Man Thinkin'

    A picture of America’s modern presidential campaign model. Candidates seek to: • Segment the electorate into as many groups as practical, particularly at the state level, • Empathize with sympathetic groups to create the illusion of a supportive coalition, • Ignore conflicting interests within their coalition, speaking only of common goals, • Hurry to the[…]

  • It’s Not About Trump;… by Black Man Thinkin'

    My “pen” is largely silent during the 2016 presidential campaign and I would prefer it remain so; few things distract more from, while doing less to meet, this nation’s challenges than the two-year kabuki dance of those seeking the presidency. However, something so brazenly foul now occurs that it compels me to comment. Donald Trump’s[…]

  • Regarding New York Values by Black Man Thinkin'

    My late father was born and raised in New York City… Over the course of 79 years, he became a military man, the husband of one woman for more than half a century, a baptized Catholic, the father of 3 and grandfather of 5, a decorated war veteran, a Southerner…and someone who, by choice, never[…]

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