Secede From the Union

As we all sit around and look back at the re-election of President Obama, there are those who feel that the situation is so dire that they are calling for the United States Government to allow their state to peacefully secede from the Union.  At the writing of this article, people have filed petitions on behalf of 21 States on the web site “We The People.”  The major flaw in this action is that these people in no manner represent the citizens of the states they have filed on the behalf of, and it is highly unlikely that they will gain the 25,000 signature that they will need to force an official response from the United States Government and the President of the United States on the matter.

There is one major concern on the minds of these people.  The fact that President Obama was re-elected ending any hope of stopping Obama Care from taking its full effect.  People are genuinely scared that this mandatory health regulations and Obama’s socialist tendencies are going to drive this country into a Depression, killing more and more jobs and driving prices of products and services higher as the average income of the US Citizen continues to drop.

Add to this the fear that the liberal agenda of which Obama represents in the minds of many, will create a bigger welfare state than we already have, that gun control will become so tight that no one will be able to own a gun even to hunt for food.  There are people who fear that the Constitution of the United States is being taken away from the American people and there is nothing they can do about it.

Well, let me point something out to these people.  You focused on putting President Obama out of office.  Did you consider for a moment that if you removed the liberals from House and the Senate that you would actually wield more power for change?  The President of the United States only holds so much power.  It is the House and Senate that enacts or removes legislation.  You can elect a man into the office of the President, when on matter of the Health Care Reform put into place by the Obama administration, he is powerless without the necessary support of Congress.

Another thing that these people need to realize is how much these states depend on Federal Funding for Education, Roads and Bridges, and the many social programs that far too many citizens are drawing.   Many of the States being listed in the petitions to secede cannot afford to leave the Union, they are too dependent on Federal Funds.  And then there is the matter of Isolation.  If the United States Government should be forced into allowing certain States to secede from the Union, unless they have access to a shoreline or there is a line of “Free States” that give them access to a shoreline, they can become seriously isolated, and this isolation could be devastating for the citizens of that “Free State.”

So, while some may understand the desire to separate ourselves from the United States government at this time, for many of us it is a somewhat amusing look at the lack of thought that many people put into their political ideologies.  I would say it is slightly amusing, but I’m finding that I am getting less and less amused by the fringe of society who promote actions such as this.

DUI Check Point On Interstate - No Justifying Results

I have a problem with DUI Checkpoints on Interstate Highways.  The inconvenience that it places on Law Abiding Citizens when Law Enforcement jams up traffic is not worth the results that are being reported.  The DUI Checkpoint conducted by the Platte County Sheriff's Department and the Missouri Highway Patrol on Interstate 435 at 45 Highway has been reported to have stopped and checked only 691 vehicles between the hours of 10pm and 2am on a Friday night.  KMBC Channel stated that 1,200 cars were stopped in their report of the incident.  What was the results of this DUI Checkpoint?

6 - DUI Arrests

2 - Misdemeanor Drug Arrests

3 Misdemeanor Warrant Arrests

1 - Driver's License Summons

4 - Non-moving Violations

43 - Warnings

Out of 691 cars stopped at this checkpoint, 11 arrests were made, 5 tickets were issued, and 43 warnings (likely seat belts) were given out.  These numbers are nothing in comparison to the numbers that are normally netted when a DUI checkpoint is set up on a main street of a City, and you don't chance the hazard that come from backing up traffic on an Interstate.

What hazard am I talking about?  How many times have we listened to traffic reports about an accident on an Interstate and then listen to how there are one or two accidents that have taken place in the traffic backup?

Now, KMBC reported that no vehicles were stopped between 10:30pm and 12:30am due to heavy traffic, but a precedence has been set.  How long will it be before we see DUI Checkpoints on Interstate 70 between I-435 (Missouri) and Blue Springs?  What about I-435 between the State Line and I-35?  Heavily travelled K-10 between Lenexa and Lawrence?  Are the low numbers netted at such check points worth the inconveniences visited upon Law Abiding Citizens.  Are they worth the hazard they can create?

And let's face facts.  Legal Limits regarding Alcohol and Driving are becoming more and more controversial.  The limits are being lowered to the point that the average person cannot have a single drink and legally drive.   How many of the 6 DUI arrests were actually intoxicated?  Just because someone has a certain level of alcohol in their system does not mean that they are impaired.

No, I do not support drunk driving.  No, I do not drink and drive, in fact, I rarely drink.  But there has to be a point of reason in the laws of our communities.  There has to be that point of reason where the enforcement of laws for the good of all do not infringe on the safety and freedoms of others.  DUI checkpoints on Interstates have to potential of infringing on both.

Rites and Benefits Thereof

Apparently being a 32nd degree Mason doesn't mean BOLLOCKS to the new kids petitioning to be Brothers. Further, as is a rich Masonic tradition, if you dues aren't paid up, absolutely NOTHING of your past brotherhood matters. If you are not a 'brother in good standing' = your dues are paid; regardless of your degree or time in same, any pissant piece of shit can come flying up at you with no respect. Any little piece of shit at all.  (identity withheld)

I haven't felt compelled to talk about the Masonic Fraternity for a while, and my posts on the subject only remain online for a very short period of time.  Freemasonry is a subject that the fraternity does not really like to talk about openly.  Its not that they are trying to hide anything, its just that it seems whatever is revealed is taken and twisted into something to make Freemasonry look bad.

All of my previous Masonic Posts have been limited publication.  Normally posted for the benefit of a friend or a person who was looking at become a member of the fraternity.  I don't leave these articles up long simply because some Grand Lodges to frown upon any discussion of Freemasonry, especially its problems, via the Internet or other public forums.  I have refrained from posting any new articles on Freemasonry over the past year, but when the above statement was relayed to me via email ... well ... I'm sorry, I can't just walk away from this.

First things first.  If you are not a member of the Masonic Fraternity in Good Standing, you have no claim to the rites, benefits, or privileges of the Masonic Fraternity, and that includes recognition by those who are currently in Good Standing with their Lodges.  Ancient Traditions dictate that when it comes to "secret societies", you are either in or out, you are either a brother or you are not.  How you are treated by the Brethren after you have fallen from Good Standing will depend on (a) why you're not in Good Standing, and (b) how well you respect the tenants of Freemasonry and honor your obligation.

 It doesn't matter what degree you hold.  It doesn't matter if you were a member of the York Rite, Scottish Rite, or the Mystic Shrine.  It does not matter if you are a Past Worshipful Master of a Lodge, or were a Grand Lodge Officer.  If you are NOT a member in Good Standing, you are not entitled to the rites and privileges of Freemasonry, nor the recognition and acceptance of those who are in Good Standing.  So, the person who made the statement above, complaining about the fact that the new Freemasons are not giving him the respect he feels he is due is showing those who understand the tenants of Freemasonry that he has no understanding of the obligation he took and the tenants he agreed to.  It shows an arrogance that is often seen as undesirable in Freemasonry, one that is unfortunately common within the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Missouri AF&AM as many of its Master Masons over the past fifteen to twenty years did not, as some say, "earn" their degrees but took the easy method called the "One Day Chance to Advance Class." 

Dear sir.  It isn't that your past membership doesn't mean anything to the new people coming into the Fraternity.  They are honoring their obligation, the promise that they made to the fraternity.  They could be said to be paying respect to your past membership, remembering the commitment that you seem to have forgotten.  I am not offended when someone reminds me that we cannot discuss certain issues of the Brotherhood.  I expect this.  I remind those who know of my Masonic past of my current status.  I expect this even though I not only held the 32nd Degree AASR, but am also a Past Master.

So, dear sir, if your Masonic past means anything to you ... reflect on your obligation ... return to the brotherhood in your heart, walk from darkness to the light.  Light is not exclusive to any organization.

Beyond the Shadows ...

Let's face facts.  I couldn't care less about the troubles the Kansas City School District is having, and the fact that they may be heading for major trouble and take over by the State of Missouri.  What happens in the Kansas City School District has basically no affect on what is happening in my neck of the woods.  It is simply an amusement that the people affected by the School District are too complacent to stand up and demand that things change.  But then again, these are the same people that cry out what a poor innocent boy some kid was after he was shot trying to attack someone with a knife.

Let's face facts.  I couldn't care less about Sly James, his son, and his brother, or the fact that Sly James has essentially been little more than lame as Mayor of Kansas City Missouri.  That the city is being held back by advocates that claim to hold the best interest of the people in the urban core, playing up to the cameras then disappearing, never accomplishing little more than telling everyone around Kansas City that the problems with crime, drugs, and violence are not getting any better.

I don't care about Street Cars in Kansas City, the loss of businesses, the fact that Kansas City is over-run by people standing on street corners begging for money.  I don't live or work in Kansas City.  The problems of Kansas City have little affect on my life.  They serve more as a form of amusement that a population of people can be so complacent that they will sit back and let this happen to them.  Welcome to the welfare state of the 21st Century.  I don't care about what happens to the neighborhoods around me as long as someone else is paying my bills and I can just sit back and complain that I've been oppressed by the affluent white people around me.

So, no more talk about Politics in Kansas City.  No more talking about the Kansas City School Board.  No more pointing out the things that make me shake my head and ask myself how the hell we got to this state of stupidity.  We're going to get onto subjects that I really have strong feelings about.  Topics such as Abortion, Gay Marriage, Illegal Immigration, and other subjects that may just draw my amusement for the moment but aren't being beaten up by the local media.  You can come read my opinions and take them anyway you want, or you can lose my url and go amuse yourself someplace else.