My Apologies For Slack Writing Of Late

A FRIEND CALLED yesterday to ask why I hadn't put more taglines on the previous post, specifically the photos at the bottom of the post. I answered that I was having computer problems and lucky to have posted anything at all. Since I've been on the road, AOL has updated itself to something that reminds me of the unchecked growth of the federal government. The biggest problem is that I can't seem to refresh my edits and re-read them in a timely fashion. Yet when I go to Internet Explorer on my desktop to do it, AOL keeps popping up even when I've closed it down. The worse part is it automatically signs itself back online--- even when I haven't told it to. No doubt some techie somewhere in the habit of over-functioning, inserted this update, thinking it would be helpful. But it's not, for me at least. And at times, I simply don't have unlimited time or patience to fool with it.

Though my time on the road and with family is more limited at the moment, it's not for lack of trying that some of my posts seem a bit unfinished. Last night when I put up the photo of the fireball over the Midwest, I tried for 30 minutes to get the copy and links posted and finally gave up and went to bed! This will eventually get resolved when I have the time and motivation to get my genius to help me from a distance. Meanwhile, if you see a post and sentences that end mid-stream with no punctuation at the end, please know, I'm trying to get to that period! It's just that I may not get there for a while on my computer that has run away with me. It's all the fault of the Commerce Clause, no doubt!

On and Off the Appalachian Trail in Western Maryland

MEANWHILE, Iceland's Volcanic Ash Shuts Down Airline Travel In Europe and Britain.
IT WOULD BE HARD TO OVER-STATE HOW BEAUTIFUL THIS PART of the country is in spring. The Maryland section of the A T goes through some of the most beautiful, historic and interesting parts of our country. A great deal of the Civil War was fought here (from Antietam up to Gettysburg just north of Frederick) with huge casualties and untold sufferings on both sides. Above, I hiked the A T from the Potomac River near Harper's Ferry up to Weverton Cliff where the views were stunning and looked out over three states.

Tennessee's New Health Freedom Act Clears a Hurdle in State Legislature

THIS FROM Humphry on the Hill. I applaud the TN State Legislature. Of course the constitutional issue of whether new federal health mandates can be superceded by a state laws such as this will wind its way through the courts and remains to be seen. I believe this state law would be legal. Why else would our Founding Fathers set up a federal system, specifically enumerating and limiting powers of the federal government? This is truly a fascinating time to be an American and a Tennessean too:

THE TENNESSEE HEALTH FREEDOM Act was approved 19-11 today by a House committee where it had stalled a week earlier.

The bill (HB3433) by Rep. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, declares that Tennesseans can ignore a federal health care law that includes penalties for those who refuse to get health insurance. The panel also approved a proposed amendment to the state constitution that that has similar language (HJR745) to Bell's bill.

The bill also says the attorney general has a duty to fight the federal law in court, though Attorney General Bob Cooper said in an opinion last week that the bill, if enacted, would be invalid because it is preempted by federal law. Cooper also said he could not defend the proposed law in court.

The House Commerce Committee approval sends the measure to the Calendar Committee, where approval is typically routine. The bill, already approved by the Senate, could then be scheduled for a floor vote - perhaps as early as Thursday, but more likely next week.

Commerce Committee approval came after almost an hour of debate, which included defeat of amendments proposed by House Speaker Emeritus Jimmy Naifeh and Rep. Mike Stewart of Nashville, both Democrats.

Naifeh proposed an amendment that would have prevented Tennesseans choosing to ignore the federal law from receiving federal Medicare benefits as well. Stewart proposed an amendment to declare that the new law could not be used to expand the power of insurance companies to deny coverage.

In his concluding remarks, Bell compared the current state-federal government relationship to an "inspirational poster" showing a frog about to be eaten by a "large water bird, maybe a crane" that has grabbed the bird around its neck in a desperate effort to avoid being swallowed.

Winners and Losers of Tax Day

YOU MAKE IT, THEY TAKE IT.

Cautionary Tale for Our Times: Will the Real Cause of the Polish Air Disaster in Russia Please Stand Up?

WE'VE HEARD EVERY CONCEIVABLE THEORY FOR THE CAUSE of the crash in Russia that killed everyone on board---including Poland's President Lech Kaczynski and his wife. From bad weather to pilot error, equipment failure and sabotage--- none of the theories have quite added up to the kind of disaster that went so devastatingly down, in my opinion.

Until now.

When I got back to D.C. late yesterday, my intrepid host told me his news day had been filled with the new, most likely theory for the crash: VIP Syndrome. As I read about it in on the front page of The Washington Post, it did seem to make perfect sense: the president of a country running late who just had to get to a ceremony on time and threw his weight around to make sure he got there. In order to do this, he ordered his pilots to land in fog and zero visibility, against all recommendations or without permission from Russian air traffic controllers to divert and land at another airport.

The theory is that Kaczynski was too impatient to arrive at his destination to entertain any thoughts of diversion. Frustrated, he ordered the cockpit to land anyway. The rest is tragic aviation history.

Evidently, this wasn't the first time Kaczyski had thrown his weight around on a plane to suit his schedule needs rather than the safety of all the passengers on the plane, various news sources are now reporting. Last year, the Polish president tried unsuccessfully to have a pilot fired for not listening to his VIP orders to fly the plane in a manner that suited his schedule. The pilot refused and lived to tell the tale. He also won the case.

Unfortunately, the ill-fated pilots last weekend let VIP Syndrome over-ride their better judgment and orders from the ground. Theirs was pilot error of the gravest kind and cost them the ultimate price: over-riding principle for the sake of appeasing a so-called important person.

Time will surely tell us more when the contents of the black box are disseminated. But I for one think this will be the conclusion. I also think this is a cautionary tale for our times and all of our lives: We all think we're important and often will brook no voluntary delays in our mad dash to keep our schedules and get our needs met. But often delays and even cancellations are for our own good and can even spare us great harm or death. We ignore them at our great peril.

Will be interesting to see what a full investigation turns up. But my money's on impatience and VIP Syndrome. It's a global disease of our hurried, self-important times. It's a disease we all need to be aware of. Not getting there on time is certainly not the ultimate inconvenience as the Polish air disaster aptly proves. If no one else pays attention to this storyline, I hope and pray that I do.

MEANWHILE, the Poles are claiming it is ALL Russia's fault. Sounds like an international political incident in the making to me with no one taking responsibility.

Perfect Ending for Phil and Fans At the 2010 Masters

IT JUST DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!

LAST YEAR LIKE TIGER, HE DROPPED OUT OF THE PGA BECAUSE OF PROBLEMS with his wife. Unlike Tiger, whose sex scandals and serial infidelities to wife Elin almost undid his family and career, then two-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson took time off to support his beloved wife Amy in her struggle with breast cancer.

This weekend in Augusta, arch rivals Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were both back in the game. The ending to the four-day tournament couldn't have been sweeter or more satisfying. While Tiger's embarrassed wife appropriately stayed home and out of the limelight with her children as he took 4th place this afternoon, Amy Michelson was there to see her loving husband of 16 years take the winner's seat and get awarded his third green jacket for a five under par in today's round.

Sometimes things end as they should---and life for a moment seems fair. This weekend's ending at the Masters was just such a moment. I'm sure Tiger will make a comeback if he can get his shattered life back together over time. As far as I'm concerned, he shouldn't have won today. But Mickelson---a true champion on the field and in his marriage---won a victory all America can applaud and keep applauding. I am! We needed a great personal story like this after all we've endured from the exhausting and sordid Tiger Woods saga. Lefty won and everyone is cheering. And that long hug and embrace with his wife after it was all over was surely a sight for sore eyes.

Related: Near perfect golf with near perfect ending.

From the Fifth Floor Window Saturday

WHILE PLAYING WITH G-BOY AND BURPING G-GIRL yesterday, with parents taking a short break, suddenly from a cracked window choir music and singing erupted on the street below. I ran over to see what was happening, and to my surprise saw this grand procession first going out of the Russian Orthodox Church below, up the middle of the street and then back into the church fifteen minutes later. It was a majestic but somber affair, no doubt a ceremony mourning the deaths of the Polish leaders and friends on Russian soil this weekend. One of the things I noticed was that all the women had their heads covered with scarves. It was a beautiful and touching scene. The priests robes were stunning. May God have mercy on them all. How quickly life can change for any and all of us, in the blink of an eye. That's why accepting Christ is the only way, the only consolation. Seeing your loved ones again for all eternity no matter what happens here, is a promise worth banking on! On my way to church. More later.

Spring Comes To Manhattan

HOW GRIEVOUS THE NEWS OF THE POLISH AIR TRAGEDY IN RUSSIA TODAY. I mourn and pray for all these people who are directly and indirectly touched by this personal and national loss. We truly don't know how quickly our lives can change in the flick of an eye.

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I LAST FLED MANHATTAN IN AN EPIC SNOWSTORM IN LATE FEBRUARY. Now, less than six weeks later, I return to a blizzard of color and profusion of flowers and early spring green budding on trees. I also return to a precious wee granddaughter, AKA G-girl, whom I held for the first time and prayed over yesterday, as I did and do her older brother, G-boy. It's cooled off here in Manhattan after an early heat-wave left everyone tired and cross.

George Washington: The Guy Who Stole All Our Money Now Wants to Steal Our Paycheck, Too

UPDATE: THE VAT TAX IS AN ECONOMY-KILLER. BEWARE VOLCKER'S VAT

QUESTION: HOW MUCH LIGHT ARE YOU WILLING TO SEE SHINE on global financial markets---aka, the gargantuan global mess---we now find ourselves in?

If the answer is not much or I thought all that was over now, then I advise you not to go to my newest link on the sidebar---Zero Hedge. I admit that I've linked to it before, then delinked because after reading it for several months, I had to take a breather. Soft lighting and rose-colored glasses is not these writers' strong suit.

But if you're more afraid of the dark of midnight than the blazing sun of high-noon, then I encourage you to take a look at this no-nonsense site. Sure, some of it will be above our pay grade and too esoteric for most of us to grasp. Still, every now and then there will be light to see by and understand. Light that could help light our way ahead.

Take for instance the piece featured at the top of ZH tonight by George Washington: The Guy Who Stole All Our Money...

It's short, to the point and, well, it's written by George Washington for heavens sakes.

As to the comments, it's a wild place down there where even angels often fear to tread. But you can sometimes learn a lot on a topic you're interested in if you put your mind to it. Me, I like these guys and their bluntness. You'll have to decide for yourself. Meanwhile, I'll try to stay linked to them this time for the longer haul, though I still may have to take a break from the harsh bright lights of their financial markets reality show every now and then. But overall, I find it well worth my time and efforts to read and learn from the likes of GW and Tyler Durden.

This site isn't for everyone and that's as it should be.

As Our Political Divide Grows, Is It Time to Part Company?

SYNDICATED COLUMNIST WALTER WILLIAMS HAS BEEN asking the same politically charged question for over ten years: "If one group of people prefers government control and its invitable management of people's lives and another group prefers less government, more liberty and a desire to be left alone, should they be required to fight, antagonize one another, risk bloodshed and loss of life in order to impose their preferences on the other or should they be able to peaceably part company and go their separate ways?"

Williams believes our nation is fast approaching a schism of irreconcilable differences not unlike a marriage crisis that has come to the boiling point over broken vows, as in constitutional vows. Rather than continuing the power struggles, endless talk or escalating opposing differences to the point of violence, Williams wonders if it's not time to consider a separation:

I believe we are nearing a point where there are enough irreconcilable differences between those Americans who want to control other Americans and those Americans who want to be left alone that separation is the only peaceable alternative. Just as in a marriage, where vows are broken, our human rights protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution have been grossly violated by a government instituted to protect them. The Democrat-controlled Washington is simply an escalation of a process that has been in full stride for at least two decades. There is no evidence that Americans who are responsible for and support constitutional abrogation have any intention of mending their ways.

Williams certainly raises an interesting question. While peaceful separation sounds like a good idea to me, it begs the question of what such a separation would look like and how it would be constitutionally accomplished---peacefully? Would it be a separation or divorce? Would it involve peaceful secession, or is that an oxymoron? Would we divide up all the states into red and blue and have all the strict constitutionalists moving to red territories and all the nanny staters moving to blue?

It hardly sounds peaceful to me, since nanny state voters would need endless child/adult support from us tax paying citizens----most of whom would be high-tailing it to red strongholds holding onto whatever was left of their over-taxed assets.

Ah well, it's a great thought anyway. I like the way Williams is thinking. But I myself just don't see the words separation and peaceful together in our future anytime soon. It's a great thought though. And remember, all Scotch-Irish gun owners will all be going red--- peacefully or otherwise. I doubt that they'll go quietly into the night myself.

Masters Chairman Billy Payne Says What Needs Saying About the Tiger Scandal

GOOD FOR PAYNE FOR SPEAKING OUT before anyone tees off. The stodgy guys in green jackets were clearly not amused by Tigers massive indiscretions. They should reserve judgment for a long time and give Tiger no instant respect. Tiger has my well wishes, but he has not yet earned my respect----not by a very long shot.

BTW, I saw the NIKE ad with Tiger and his father's voice asking if he'd learned anything. I wasn't wowed at all, mainly because his father was a notorious womanizer himself who hurt his son by disappearing with other women, even when Tiger was with him. I rather wondered after watching the ad, Did Earle learn anything?

Tunku Varadarajan: Obama's Emasculation of America

I LOVE TO READ AND LEARN FROM GREAT WRITERS AND CLEAR THINKERS. Writers who say what I wish I'd said exactly the way they do with a minimum of words.

None of late has caught my fancy and attention more than the conservative man who writes at The Daily Beast from time-to-time whose name I can neither pronounce nor spell. Even my favorite tech invention Spellcheck freezes up when it tries to decipher his name in my copy.

Tunku Varadarajan is his name. (It suggests turnkey for his first name and gives up with no suggestions for the second.) From here on, I'll refer to him as TV. Anyway, TV has done a piece on Obama's nuclear weapons policy announcement that I think is extremely worthwhile. I couldn't agree more. He starts out saying what I said in my post yesterday:

Consider me unimpressed. Barack Obama’s ballyhooed “Nuclear Posture Review” has turned out, in truth, to be more “posture” than “review.”

As has been pointed out by a prominent parser of all things nuclear, the new policy actually changes very little: We weren’t going to nuke Brazil before the review and we’re still asserting the right to nuke North Korea if we need to. And even my nuclear-layman’s eye detects the thrust of platitude in the president’s assertion that, henceforward, the U.S. would “only consider the use of nuclear weapons in extreme circumstances to defend the vital interests of the United States or its allies and partners.” Does the president mean to tell us that his predecessors were free to consider the use of nukes in humdrum circumstances to defend trivial interests?

THEN TV's piece takes an interesting turn as he talks about the auto-emasculation of our country:

I despair of this latest episode of gestural theater designed to make the U.S. look exquisitely reasonable (should we call it “Jimmy-Cartesian”?), but which in truth results in the U.S. looking flaccid, or worse, complacent. After all, who gains from a presidential posture that has, in effect, stigmatized our most potent deterrent?

In terms of foreign policy—or, better put, foreign clout—the U.S. is going through a startling period of auto-emasculation. Barack Obama has discarded his predecessor’s big stick—the wielding of which should have confirmed the flaws not of big sticks but of his predecessor—and replaced it with a mission of almost messianic outreach to our foes and most adamant competitors (while, at the same time, snubbing allies like Britain, Israel and India....

I hope you'll read TV's entire piece. More than anything else, I grieve how Obama's policies continue to embolden our enemies, and also make our president look like a feckless neophyte hellbent on degrading and emasculating our country.

Short Subjects: Presidents Who Talk Too Much, Wives Who Refuse To Do Too Much

ALLAPUNDIT WEIGHS IN ON THE NUANCES
ROGER SIMON ASKS PRESIDENT WEIRDO THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

AT A TIME WHEN VENEZUELA IS COURTING RUSSIA BECAUSE IT WANTS NUKES AND IRAN SEEKS to annihilate any country with the letters 'I' or 'S' in its name along with its allies, it leaves me utterly slack jawed and (almost) speechless that our feckless president is announcing narrower limits on protocols for using nuclear weapons. More than anything else, that he would even talk about it publicly is shocking to me.

Let's be honest. Our country hasn't nuked any other country in peacetime or war for more than half a century. Our protocols for doing it ever again would have to be dire indeed. So no one doubts that our use of nuclear weapons would be an act of extreme and narrow circumstances that none of us ever, ever wants to see.

Yet, President Obama in his glib manner and utter naivete announces with a straight face that he wants to edge the world towards nuclear disarmament? He obviously thinks he has the personal charm and charismatic wherewith all to speak and have nations that would destroy everyone of us and our allies lay it all down at his wishful thinking. In doing this, he continues to put our country and all its citizens in grave, grave danger. And I for one grow increasing uneasy with this inexperienced, utterly idealist person in the White House. I truly wonder if he's living in the real world.

Wesley Pruden agrees and says it even better.

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I commend Tiger's wife Elin for not attending the Masters this year with him. The media scrutiny would be far too intense and ridiculous for her--- or us---to bear. It's bad enough that over 90 body guards are protecting Tiger from women who would turn themselves into live missiles for ten minutes of fame, not to mention whatever other nut cases are in the crowd. What a bore. Elin has kindly spared herself and us seeing the Masters turned into even a greater circus spectacle than it already is.

In the beginning and end, the fact that Tiger has done treatment and is now attempting to salvage his career does not even begin to speak to whether his marriage can ever be resusciatated. If it can be--- and I have grave doubts--- it will be a very long, road back for Elin and Tiger to rebuild trust, respect and rapport. While the drive-by media would love to spin endless stories of Elin's cheering him on at the Masters and forgiving him, at this point it would be a pathetic sham for her to be there. Forgiveness in this case should be a long process and one day at a time.

So thank goodness, Elin is staying home this year. It's honest and one less massive security problem to deal with.

Starting the Week Right: Do-It-Yourself Democracy!

AN IDEA WORTH NOTING: TECHNOLOGY FOR EXPANDING LIBERTY AND DOWNSIZING BIG GOVERNMENT

THIS IS VERY INTERESTING. Watch and be amazed! Now if we can just get the out-of-control Commerce Clause in the program or even a 12-step program we may have a chance!

And remember, if we don't do it, Nancy, Harry and Barack won't do it for us. Surely we know that by now.....

You've heard jokes for decades about 'government work.' Now you know that most newly created jobs in the last quarter were in the public sector. Below are three reasons that government work is killing the American economy. It's nice work these government workers have who are subsidized by taxpayers and underwritten by the strong arm of public union contracts. Getting a government job today is like becoming a permanenetly tenured professor. No amount of bad behavior, bad performance or incompetence can get you fired. And it's all compliments of us taxpayers.

The Empty Tomb, The Finished Work of Christ

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS IS WITHOUT DOUBT THE MOST RADICAL DOCTRINE OF ALL CHRISTIANITY. The full implications of the phrase He is risen! are almost unfathomable to the human mind, except with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Lon Solomon, at McLean Bible Church, talks on the most supernatural event in mankind's history which all followers of Christ celebrate today.

Sorry for such paltry blogging this week. Between my being far too busy and dealing with several crisies, now traveling--- still in transit---and huge connectivity problems today, I'm lucky to get anything up at all. It, however, is a glorious day and one that should give us all real and eternal Hope! I need this Good News today and also a day of rest and relaxation.

Will be back soon. Happy Easter!

Doctors Verses Gun Owners

A RARE EMAIL I POST. YOU DECIDE.

Doctors
(A) The number of physicians in the US 700,000.
(B) Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year are 120,000.
(C) Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171.

Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Gun Owners

(A) The number of gun owners in the is 80,000,000. (Yes, that's 80 million)
(B) The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is 1,500.
(C) The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.000188.

Statistics courtesy of FBI

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So, statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners. This is especially salient, for me at least, since the federal government has recently taken over healthcare. Moral of the story? Lock and load.

Good Friday and Spring Bursts Out All Over

DEATH PRECEDES RESSURECTION AND NEW LIFE. Never is this truth more evident than this time of year as wildflowers explode from every nook and cranny and dark days turn to light. The shift is remarkable this year after such a long cold--- dark yet productive----winter.

I will add some links here as I can. Meanwhile, this is the day, ordained from the beginning of the World that we mark Christ making a sinless sacrifice for our sins for all time, for once and for all. And darkness came upon the land. It appeared all hope was lost.....But waitIt's not the end of the story, by a very, very eternal long shot.....

Dances With......Eagles

WITH A ZILLION THINGS TO DO TODAY, naturally I choose to play hooky. You see, the sun, that great ball of light and heat that disappeared from view almost four months ago but is still rumored to be at the center of our solar system-- actually came out yesterday! So when a friend called and invited me to drive over to the Tennnessee River area today to look for bald eagles, how could I say no? In fact, Yes! I'll go and abandon my to-do list, writing and let everything else take care of itself! rushed out of my mouth instantly.

It was a good choice and even better day. Here are two pitiful pictures I took. But alas you can see the top of the head of the mamma eagle. You can also see blue skies, an almost endangered species. While my friend took more professional shots, tripod and all, I snapped these then found a good hill to hike. This is a female eagle nesting with her chicks in a tree overlooking the mighty Tennessee River near Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park. There's lots of Civil War history here too. All in all, a good time was has by all, and the sun shone brightly.

Monday: Lamar Nails It Sunday

AMEN, BROTHER

I LOVE LAMAR. Have known him----and even done some business with him---since he was governor. Sometimes I've been a bit frustrated with his moderate and left-of-center RINO positions. But in recent months he seems to have come back, especially with all the brouha over HR. Yesteray he nailed it on CNN. Go Lamar, speak up and out for your deep East Tennessee roots and for our battered, abused Constitution.

It's Bob Corker I'm worried now about with all this proposed bank reform and regulation he's gotten involved in. Bob needs to remember, when the federal government starts fiddling with things, it only gets worse. D.C. arrogance and the need to fix everything shouldn't rub off on him.

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IF YOU DARE to read about the latest dark influences surrounding the hearts and minds of little girls, then take a look at Chuck Colson's piece today on Planned Parenthood's association with the Girl Scouts. Drumming up business no doubt at an early age and with impressionable minds. Inexcusable.

Read Unhealthy and Unhappy.

H/T Bobbie At TN Eagle Forum

Palm Sunday: Christ Prepares to Make the Ultimate Sacrifice For Us

GOD'S UNSPEAKABLE FREE GIFT OF REDEMPTION THROUGH THE SACRIFICIAL DEATH OF HIS SON WHO PAID OUR PENALTY ON THE CROSS. This gift is for anyone who knows he/she is a sinner and is willing to humbly receive it.

SERMON: Dr. Michael Youssef asks and answers Can You Prolong Your Life?

Meanwhile Seen In Searchlight, Nevada

BAKST: The Courts Can Stop Obamacare (Under the Commerce Clause)---Americans Need Protection From Absurdity of Forced Purchases.

Shall We Wallow More in the Commerce Clause?

BETTER KNOWN IN LAW SCHOOL AS 'THE EVERYTHING CLAUSE'

IN MY NEW COMMITMENT to raise the flag of the Commerce Clause Run Wild Through the Land of the Once-Free--- with its monstrous, exponential growth effects on the Federal deficit, federal bureaucracy and onerous federal regulations into every aspect of our lives--- I want to link today to this piece in the Washington Times. It's written by Gary Galles, an economics professor at Pepperdine University, entitled A Chance to Refine the Commerce Clause.

This is the kind of thing I wouldn't read 20 years ago. Today I have it with my first strong cup of black coffee. It's essential that I'm better informed as to how we got in this mess and how we might get out. The bottom line, as far as I can tell, is that the Commerce Clause---as now used by our lawless Congress in Washington to rationalize any-and-every big government takeover it pleases, any-and-every redistribution of wealth stunt it can manufacture from the depths of its reptilian brain---has been wrecklessly misinterpreted and misused by federal lawmakers.

It's time this nonsense stopped. It's way past time, actually. The first step in my opinion is to educate ourselves. A little history from Galles piece above:

Under the Articles of Confederation, states were imposing duties on other states' goods. The Commerce Clause was designed to take that abusive power from the states by giving Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce; "regulate" meant "to make regular or normal" or "to remove impediments," but not to authorize federal control following the far different current meaning of "telling others what to do."

Federalist 11 indicates the Commerce Clause's intent as a limitation on states rather than federal carte blanche, "prohibitory regulations, extending... throughout the states," without which "this intercourse would be fettered, interrupted and narrowed by a multiplicity of causes."

He concludes his piece with tentative hope tempered with a chilling warning. I think we need to pray:

Health care reform offers hope that an important constitutional restriction will be taken seriously again. It also offers risk that it will be further gutted. That alternative is chilling for those without total faith in the federal government. As Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote in the 1995 Lopez ruling: "If we were to accept the government's arguments, we are hard-pressed to posit any activity by an individual that Congress is without power to regulate."

MORE SHOCKING INFO ON HCR with Tom Blumer at Pajamas

One of My Greatest Learnings

REPEAL: THE UNMITIGATED DISASTER OF OBAMACARE

REDISTRIBUTION 101: OBAMACARE WILL COST AT&T (CUSTOMERS) OVER ONE BILLION DOLLARS

OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, my online blogging experience has taught me so much as I've spent reams of time catching up on issues and historical realities I walked away from years ago as a knee-jerk, bleeding-heart liberal, and silly, arrogant newspaper reporter. Today I see things with a far, far different lens and historical perspective than I did back then. As such, I am often shocked by what I'm learning and the sea change I'm still going through. I know I'm not alone in this as many of my fellow bloggers---whacked out libs of the 60s---are waking up with me.

One of the greatest shockers for me is the gargantuan growth of the Federal government over our lives and the workings of various state governments within our federation.

In some ways I feel as if I'm just coming out of a very long sleep and wondering where I am and how I got here? Why wasn't I paying better attention for so long? Where was I? Where were we? Could we have done anything about it if we'd taken the time to read, to think, to re-evaluate our old positions sooner?

I now see my grown children deep asleep too, showing no signs of waking. I shudder to think what it will take for them to wake up as my generation has. It really frightens me to contemplate what has happened to us, our children and grand-children and whether we can turn this behemoth Ship of State around and steer it in a wiser, more sustainable direction for the foreseeable future. This wishful thinking I am engaging in goes far deeper than partisan politics and special interests. It goes to bedrock founding principle. I am not always optimistic.

In picking through the debris of this healthcare debacle, reading piece after piece--- before, during and after--- the fact of this legislation nothing, NOTHING shocks me more than coming to understand one of the most virulent ways the Federal government has spread its boa constrictor tentacles into a smothering grip on our lives. And it's this:

The Commerce clause--its mighty use, rationale and almost unlimited scope for growing big government in our lives from cradle to grave. Is there any stopping this monstrous clause from taking over everything, like The Thing?

I certainly am no historian nor Constitutional expert. But it seems to me that the Commerce clause has been used more than any other phrase in the Constitution to expand, but never contract the scope and size of Big Government. It is the presiding principle on which the HCR was passed. Today it is also the main hope of those of us who wish to Kill the Bill or greatly limit its power over our medical lives.

As such, I intend to look around for good pieces on how HRC might be over-turned in the courts on the basis of The Commerce clause being over-used to force the people of this country to buy a product many don't want to buy. Surely there will be other constitutional challenges but this one is the most interesting to me.

To wit, I found this piece by Charles Lane in the Washington Post (via HotAir) that I think is both hopeful and well-written. I hope you'll take a look and also let me know if you find other articles that I can post here along these lines. Here's another good piece from the WSJ.

In closing I want to quote a favorite paragraph from Lane's piece I find salient:

In recent years, however, the court has also struck down federal laws banning handguns within 1,000 feet of a school and permitting women to sue rapists in federal court. In those cases, the court attempted to set an outer limit on Congress’s Commerce Clause authority, warning that Congress cannot touch non-economic activities, or claim economic impacts that require “inference upon inference in a manner that would bid fair to convert congressional authority under the Commerce Clause to a general police power of the sort retained by the States.”

Andrew Breitbart: 'The Second I Realized I Like Being Hated'.....

.....MORE THAN I LIKED BEING LIKED.....that's when the game really began. Time Magazine---are they still in business?---profiles Breitbart.

Then just to prove his point, Breitbart writes at Big Government 2010, A Race Odyssey or How the Civil Rights Movement Has Jumped the Shark.

I have to say, I can't really imagine anyone in their right mind preferring to be hated. That seems a bit of a stretch to me. I can say while I'd prefer to be liked, since I can't control other people's reactions, I hope to be at least neutral to whatever response I evoke and not to have to have it one way or the other.

Reason TV: Three Reasons HCR Won't Cut the Deficit

THESE THREE REASONS ABOVE WERE borne out with TennCare the generous state healthcare plan began two decades ago which has come close to bankrupting Tennessee state government. To review, when entitlements have to be cut---as they will certainly have to be done in today's monstrosity and did with TennCare---the predatory lawyers come in and sue the daylights out of the government and keep things tied up in court endlessly----forever.

Little G-Girl Arrives As Daffodils Bloom

ONCE THERE WAS A MOM AND DAD WHO WERE CRAZY ABOUT EACH OTHER. And soon they had the cutest little G-boy you ever saw. He's now 16 months and into everything. Today they gave him a little sister, a little G-girl. All are doing well in NYC. Daffodils are blooming. God is gracious and good to loan us this little girl to train up for His purposes. God willing, I'll be there with them soon.

Obama Reacts to the Healthcare Vote

THIS VIDEO is hilarious but when I embed it, it changes after a few hours to something completely different. Very scary. Nevertheless, I'll link to it and hope you can follow and enjoy this very funny piece of high comedy. Watch it and find out if you've still got a tad of your sense of humor. Me, I evidently do, for the moment.

MEANWHILE HAWKINS AT RWN: REPEAL OBAMACARE by cutting off the funds, until the real thing comes along.

DAVID BROOKS: Dems Rejoice As the Country Careens Towards Bankruptcy. Or why his heart is no longer with the Democratic party of old.

JIM TALENT: Above all else, we can't afford it.

At Mousetail Landing on the Tennessee River

THE SUN SHONE BRIGHTLY IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE TODAY. So much so that I decided to take another day off from my new hard drive and all the talking heads of the online netherworld before attempting to make a rational statement after our country's deep fall Sunday night. I went to the Tennessee River and Mousetail Landing and spent some time walking and thinking. I also soaked in some great sunshine.

Right now before anymore on healthcare, I'd like to link to Joel Rosenberg who keeps up with his good friend Benjamen Netanyahu in Israel with news you won't find on ABC or the New York Times. Meanwhile, it looks like many brush fires are about to break out across the country and world. We need to all stay in shape for whatever is ahead. And we also need to stay in control of ourselves. It's easy to be angry, profane and vindictive at this stage. I want to keep my focus on what I can do, rather than spin out of control with vitriol though I am sick at heart as are so many of my fellow countrymen.

Changing the Subject

CHARTREUSE AND LIME ON GREEN. More.

Once, I was a decent tennis player. Then I gave it all up for fly fishing. I've never looked back, though I still love to see a great tennis match. This is a fabulous shot.

Chuck Norris: The Storm Coming To Washington

JON VOIGHT: OBAMA IS EMBOLDENED & WILL STOP AT NOTHING, OUR FIGHT HAS JUST BEGUN

SPECIAL EDITORIAL THE WEEKLY STANDARD: REPEAL, REPLACE

CARPE DIEM: Why Obamacare won't work: It'll be cheaper to drop insurance, pay yearly fines and buy insurance only if we get sick.

CHUCK NORRIS says it all at WND in the wake of the passage of this infamous healthcare takeover Sunday night. I want to publish his piece in full because I agree with every word and certainly couldn't say it any better:

RIDERS ON THE STORM
By Chuck Norris

I have so few words to express the depth of my disgust with the unconstitutional path and passing of Obamacare and the corruption in Congress. So let me just tell you about the storm coming to Washington.

The majority of the Americans have voiced ad nauseam grave concerns with and rejection of Washington's health-care bills. Like a host of commentators, I myself have written at least a dozen syndicated articles this last year addressing sound objections. And like you, I've joined rallies, signed petitions and passed along a plethora of reasonable nonpartisan negative critiques of Obamacare. But, at every turn, Washington has ignored us and demonized our opposition.

Obamacare will, once and for all, annihilate the federal government's 10th Amendment restrictions over states and U.S. citizens – which is why a whopping two-thirds of states across the nation are right now already legally battling whether federal law can trump state laws via Obamacare. Why can't Washington see the main problem with Obamacare is not its costs, coverage or faulty savings, but that the federal government should not be involved in the health-care business at all! According to the Constitution, such a matter should be left to the states, local communities and citizens.

But that's history now. One-sixth of our economy's gross national product will be controlled by the federal government – and we're supposed to blindly accept that's not a socialistic tendency. That fact is, despite projected deflated Congressional Budget Office savings, Obamacare will morph and inflate (along with its costs) in the years to come. Has any government program not? As President Obama admitted to Fox's Brett Baier in his interview with him last week, "Yes, it's one-sixth of the economy, but we're not transforming one-sixth of the economy all in one fell swoop." There are the key words: "all in one fell swoop."

Mark my words: The terms in this health-care bill eventually will be so far reaching that it will become a major foundation for a fundamentally different America from which will sprout many tentacles that will choke out other freedoms. This is not just a health-care bill, but a metastasizing tool and weapon for all forms of federal intrusion and takeover. Areas that the feds can't presently cover or control, absence and subtlety in the bill's language will provide the springboard for their future rule.

But the time for commentary and dialogue is over. The final hour has come.

Our Constitution is on life support, and the federal government is pulling the plug. Like before an impending death or brewing storm, there's a hush at the moment, but most of us sense that there's something very, very wrong on the horizon.

It reminds me of a few years ago, when Dr. James Foster, from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, tackled the question, "Is there really a period of calm before a storm?"
His answer: There definitely is.

Foster noted, "It was recognized long ago that before a severe storm, the air is still and the birds stop singing and go to shelter."

What's true with weather is also true with Washington.

Many patriots have stopped singing. Some have gone into hiding. Others are gathering wood as we trudge through this Valley Forge. But all will reawaken and fight for the republic our founders laid down for us.

The gray and black clouds are not governmental control, but masses of American citizens and patriots who will continue to swarm tyranny (Democrat and Republican) until it is squeezed out of our nation, just like it was during the Revolution.

For now, all Washington bureaucrats need to know is this: The forecast for the U.S. Capitol in the upcoming weeks and months is definitely thunderstorms. If you encouraged, affirmed, endorsed or voted for Obamacare in any form, expect a dark cloud to precede your exit as we vote you out of office. We will remember in November. That's not only a threat – it's a guarantee.

We, the people, have come to understand the profound wisdom of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote to Mrs. John Adams in 1787, "I like a little rebellion now and then. It is like a storm in the atmosphere."

Washington: Pack your bags. Run for shelter. The storm is coming.