A while back, I posted a little rant I’d fired off to the Constitution Party of Spokane in response to their stance on Referendum 71 in Washington.

In the interest of fairness I wanted to post that their chairman, Bob Peck, wrote me back. We exchanged a couple of emails and he was very polite, articulate, and said I was welcome to post his words here. I’m not going to post the entire exchange, as it got rather lengthy, but I appreciate Bob taking the time to have a conversation about his views, even if we had to agree to disagree.

Allow me to preface this with: I AM SO EXCITED.

Posting the legal marriage story, and the addendum about the birth certificate, prompted me to follow up on some unresolved issues.

When the Girl Child was born, we, after much discussion, decided to go ahead and get her a Social Security number.

She’ll eventually need one, we figured.

It’s easier to do it ‘automatically’ on the birth certificate than it is to go in and prove citizenship later, we figured.

We might as well get the tax credit, we figured.

As soon as I sent the birth certificate off, I felt awful. I immediately regretted signing my kid up for a system she may want no part in. What a golden opportunity – the chance to live without a number unless she chooses to – and I, the homebirthing mother who doesn’t believe in routine infant circumcision or ear-piercing because “It’s their choice!”, had just signed her up for a government-run Ponzi scheme.

HORRIBLE.

Fast-forward over six months now, and we’ve never received her national ID Social Security card nor any communication from the SSA suggesting they’re aware she exists.

So, I called. After finally figuring out how to talk to a Real Person^TM, I hesitantly provided her name and date-of-birth so he could check for her records. (The Real Person^TM was thoroughly confused by the whole situation, because why in the world was I only just now asking, and hadn’t the hospital handled this, and what, there was no hospital?) A couple minutes of silence on the line later, he informed me that no social security number had ever been assigned for my child, so I should probably contact the local office and start getting this all straightened out.

Next, I called the Idaho records department, to find out if her birth certificate had even been processed. (I learned a few months ago they don’t automatically mail one; you have to request it and pay the associated fee. I never did.) Turns out, there was a hold placed on it because of a perceived error with the birth address. I am sure they thought we screwed up, since the birth address and my address were the same. Once they figured it out, they forgot to remove the hold.

So, there it sat. I asked the lady I talked to if she would mind leaving the hold intact. She sounded confused, so I explained that we had checked the box for a social security number, but I had changed my mind and do not want to apply for one after all. “Well, if you intend to claim her on your taxes, I think you’re going to need that,” she offered.

I told her I knew that, and that I also knew we wouldn’t be able to open a bank account for her, or (very easily) do several other things. But, I’m okay with that. I want her to be able to make the choice for herself when she’s older. Can we reverse that, or not?

She had to go check, since she’d “never been asked that before” – but she came back saying yes, she could hold it until she received a notarized letter verifying the change, and upon receiving said letter they would process the birth certificate without a social security number.

Holy second chance, Batman.

Whoever forgot to remove that hold: THANK YOU.

The Constitution Party, which has very little to do with the Constitution, and everything to do with trying to turn return the country to the roots of its ‘Christian founding.’

Except for the part where that is totally not what happened.

What brought this up? I just got an email from the Constitution Party of Spokane, which read in part:

Constitution Party of Spokane County

Principle Over Politics

REFERENDUM 71

For those who may not be aware, earlier this year our state legislature passed, and our governor signed into law, a bill granting “same-sex domestic partners” the same rights and responsibilities as married spouses – in other words, homosexual marriage by a different name. On May 4, the Constitution Party of Washington published a press release voicing our party’s support for a referendum to overturn this egregious legislation. Subsequently, defenders of God ordained marriage have filed Referendum 71 which will subject this matter to the will of voters, but first, R-71 NEEDS TO COLLECT 120,577 SIGNATURES by next Wednesday, July 22.

Unless you want to bear the responsibility for a future generation growing up in a society that treats sodomy as the moral equivalent of marriage, then you need to be actively helping R-71 get the signatures it needs in this last week of the signature gathering period. Has R-71 been circulated in your church yet? If not, then consider it your job to approach everyone you know, and don’t know, before and after church this next Sunday. If you can take the petition to work or around your neighborhood, then that’s a plus. One of our party members has already gotten 40 signatures by approaching people after church and she plans to get 20 more this next week, plus another 20 at her place of employment. There is no excuse for her efforts not being repeated in every church in our state, certainly in our county, and for sure in “YOUR CHURCH.”

I have been told that petitions are available at Fourth Memorial Church (located at Indiana and Standard, just west of Hamilton, 487-2786). I found petitions at the Christian Supply store on Sullivan Rd. in Spokane Valley – call a Christian book store near you, they might have it. You can also request petitions online from protectmarriagewa.com.

NOTE: Remember to sign the back of the petition before mailing it in. The address to mail the petition to is at the bottom of the front page, but there is a box on the lower left of the back page that you must sign or the secretary of state will not count the signatures on the petition.

…

While it would be desirable to see public officials attending such a course, the Institute on the Constitution is primarily intended for the average citizen who needs to rediscover the principles of Christian liberty and limited government that our nation was founded upon. Without a firm grasp of those principles, how can we judge candidates for public office or their proposed policies? The Institute on the Constitution will reset your political compass to a “Constitutional” course.

I replied. I’m sorry, I had to.

In case you were unaware, marriage licenses did not exist at the time of the signing of the Constitution. In fact, the institution of government-licensed marriage (as differentiated from common-law marriage) was used for many years to suppress the rights of racial minorities to marry or to intermarry with whites. Is this really a scheme we should embrace under the banner of Christianity? Not my brand, that’s for sure.

I’d also quote a treaty – the Treaty of Peace and Friendship with Tripoli – ratified under one of my favorite founding fathers, John Adams:

“As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion – as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen, – and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arrising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”

I’d also point out that another favorite founder, Thomas Jefferson, requested three things be listed on his tombstone, the life accomplishments he considered most important:

AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

You might want to take a look at the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Statute_for_Religious_Freedom which makes it quite clear Jefferson, despite any Christian leanings, did not believe one’s religion (or lack thereof) should influence their civil rights.

I will continue to advocate for an abolishment of government-sanctioned “marriage,” period – and civil contracts for all. Protect the sanctity of marriage within “YOUR CHURCH” – where it belongs, and keep your religion out of government-enforced contracts.

It makes me sad that people with these views and misunderstandings of the founding have co-opted the name “Constitution Party” – I know many freedom-minded individuals who could have used it to do good.

I don’t know how I wound up on your email list, but please take me off.

In liberty,
Laurel [Mylastname]

And now I’m grumpy.

Chris Shugart, on nutrition – an excerpt:

Dear government, if you want to help me:

1) Butt the fuck out of my life.

2) Get the fuck out of my way.

3) And if you really want to help me… stop trying to help me! “Help” is government-speak for “control.”

4) Stay away from my dinner plate. I will fucking bite your chubby fingers and suck the saturated fat right out.

Nom nom nom.

Worth noting: The article is just a rant, but Shugart writes good stuff on nutrition and fitness elsewhere on T-Nation, if you’re interested.

Mike and I woke up bright and early this morning to make progress on two fronts: He, to take the LSAT, and I, to complete my Idaho hunter education field day.

The field day wasn’t too horrible – though ‘field day’ is kind of a lie. It’s actually about 5% shooting, 5% safe handling of dummy rifles (like how to best carry when on line with hunting partners), and 90% classroom stuff that is totally redundant with what was already covered in the bookwork portion of the course. I was afraid I was going to be the only person in the room over the age of 12, but since it was a field day for folks who had taken the bookwork portion online, it actually turned out to be all adults.

We shot break-action pellet rifles – 25 yards, 20 rounds per person, five rounds in each of the four major shooting positions. Fortunately, I’m not so pregnant that prone was impossible – though it was a little uncomfortable. After my sitting shots, the instructor walked downrange to squint at two of the targets – mine and the guy next to me. I was convinced I’d managed to embarass myself that horribly. But nope! He walked back behind the line and I heard him tell one of the other instructors “I have a hard time seeing them when they’re all in the black.”

*smirk*

I ended up ‘winning’ an Idaho hunter education canvas bag thingy for being a top shot. I’m thoroughly stoked to use said canvas bag thingy as a reusable grocery bag at the hippie food co-op.

Anyway, I passed everything and am now an officially educated Idaho hunter, complete with a super-awesome ‘Idaho Hunter Education Graduate’ blaze-orange trucker cap. Since I needed to pick up some .22LR while in Lewiston, I went ahead and got my license and whitetail tag at the same time.

It is so on, Bambi.

—

As for Mike’s LSAT – he’s scored between 154 and 167 on practice tests over the last couple of months (I think his average has been ~160) so he was relatively confident going into it. He also swore up and down there was no way the logic games – his worst section – could be the extra/experimental section on the test. I told him not to be so sure. GUESS WHAT THE EXTRA SECTION WAS! Anyway, he said he feels like he probably scored somewhere in the range he’d seen on the practice tests, but he really didn’t have a feeling about how high or low.

He said a chick behind him at the test had a t-shirt on with a giant Obama face on it, which kind of freaked him out. I asked, “Like one of those Che Guevara looking ones, the Latin American communist propaganda kind?”

“Yep,” he said. “I wanted to thank her for the extra motivation, but didn’t really feel like getting into it in the middle of the LSAT.”

—

Last but not least, I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Idaho’s newest residents: The wonderful, freedom-loving Ellie and Barry (and their pups, Gus and Raisin). They just relocated from southern California to Boise; Ellie has accepted a position at Boise State. (I’m going to let that part slide.) Neener-neener, California – we’re taking all the good ones! Y’all are so screwed.

Welcome to free America, friends!

I was just checking out a forum that is populated primarily by crunchy parents, mostly women. Depending on which sub-forum you’re in, they range from raving Obama liberals to preparedness homesteaders. Anyway, I was perusing the financial forum (which seems to lean toward the conservative prepared types), and came across a thread about buying gold. The author was asking whether it’s better to save money by buying in 1-ounce increments, or spend extra to get 1/10 ounce coins that would be more spendable in times of need.

Someone replied:

“In an economic depression, you are better off having goods to trade (food, clothing, gas/oil, etc), and weapons to protect your cache of goods. If people are starving, it won’t matter how much gold you have on hand – people can’t eat gold.”

Then the original author replied, and here’s part of what she said:

“thanks for the heads-up guys!! good point about stockpiling other goods! we’re not allowed to bear arms in australia… “

As the title says: Count your blessings… and keep your powder dry.

In case you haven’t heard, Ron Paul endorsed… well, anybody but the major party candidates:

Earlier, Paul called the presidential elections a charade and said voters are faced with the “lesser of two evils.”

The majority of Americans, about 60 percent, are unhappy with their choices in the race, Paul said. He urged the three third-party candidates to bring all their supporters together to vote against the “establishment candidates.”

Mike just came in and pointed out something totally obvious that hadn’t yet occurred to me in this context: While Ron Paul may be pretty fringe-y, HE IS A FRIGGIN’ REPUBLICAN!

Obviously RP wouldn’t have been an “establishment candidate” had he won the (R) nomination, but it is a little ridiculous that he’s been playing the GOP game all this time and is now temper-tantruming against the two-party system.

Sorry, Ron. This is one time I can safely say you’re part of the problem.

John Stossel has a great article up on Townhall.com about the importance of the oft-misunderstood speculator in the economy.

An excerpt:

The prices of commodities often change unexpectedly, making business risky. The speculator brings a degree of certainty to otherwise risky ventures. When supplies of a commodity are plentiful and prices low — but speculators expect the price to rise later — they buy — cushioning the collapse of prices. When supplies become scarcer and prices rise, they sell — easing the shortage and lowering the price. Also, speculators may agree to buy a commodity in the future for a price locked in today. This reduces the risk for an oil producer or farmer who fears investing because he doesn’t know what price his product will sell for next year.

Make sure to read the whole thing – it highlights John McCain’s admitted lack of understanding of economics, which scares the hell out of me. 

1. I realized (a bit late) that not everybody knows that Patriots’ Day is celebrated on the anniversary of April 19, 1775 – the day the shot heard ’round the world was fired at Concord bridge. If you’re unfamiliar with the significance of Lexington and Concord, educate yourself here. (My dear Inconvenience would argue that the war began long before April 19, perhaps with the Boston massacre or HMS Gaspée affair – but we celebrate Patriots’ Day all the same!)

April 19 also marks the anniversary of the siege at Waco (1993) and the Oklahoma City bombing (1995), neither of which I find occasion to commemorate. I believe both of those events were clashes between two sides generally lacking in sympathetic characters.

Anyway, we observe Patriots’ Day with shooting and festivities to honor the American traditions of independence and marksmanship. Last year, the Inconvenience proposed (on a bridge!) and we followed it up with shooting. This year, we happened to have access to Tannerite, so we had a bit of fun with the effigy of a Redcoat. I of course have no intention of blowing up any actual subjects of the Queen. :)

2. I really hope you’re all watching John Adams, or making arrangements to procure the DVDs. It is simply incredible. I dare you to watch this – just the intro – and try to avoid coming away inspired:

The casting is brilliant, the script is excellent… it’s truly history come alive. It’s also caused me to have a bit of a crush on Thomas Jefferson (as if I didn’t already), played perfectly by Stephen Dillane. The Inconvenience has been pleading Hamilton’s case for months, but it’s falling on deaf ears… And the miniseries isn’t helping. I hate that sleazy little self-serving parasite. I’m totally on Team Burr.3. In addition to spending copious amounts of time fangirling over the founding fathers, I’ve also:

• Continued on in my position at the ice rink, with new and improved summer duties.
• Helped found the Palouse Sons of Liberty.
• Organized a team for and participated in the Relay for Life – for which, by the way, I also owe late donation thank-yous to JJ and Brody. :)
• Kept an eye on Heller, the elections, and other news and current events with the potential to affect our lives profoundly. Idaho Republicans will finally get around to holding the primary on May 27th (when it totally matters, hurrr…) – but there’s still an ongoing pissing match about the closed primary rule, so who knows – maybe I won’t even get to vote.
• Gotten rather involved in a potential lawsuit and am developing a cursory involvement in another… Don’t worry, I’m not in any trouble, nor is the Inconvenience. I’m just a fan of putting my time and money where my mouth is, and as much as I’d like to elaborate at this time, I can’t. Trust me… they’ll be intriguing stories sooner or later.
• Started talking about an entrepreneurial opportunity with a friend. This, too, is in the works, with more details to come once I have a clue what they are!
• Been running here, there and everywhere with this friend’s party and that friend’s shower and on and on… May is only going to be worse. Out of nine weekend days in May, I currently have plans for eight. *thud*

So anyway, those are my lame excuses for severely neglecting the politics, guns, and politics-as-pertaining-to-guns portions of this blog lately. Forgive me?

4. Don’t forget, those of you who have occasion to be on a college campus this week – the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus Spring 2008 “Empty Holster Protest” is currently in full swing. You can find details here, along with guidelines for safe, effective participation.

5. On a personal note, I’d like to congratulate Mike – my dear Inconvenience – on his new job, which he started today. He’s also preparing to graduate on May 10th with his B.A. in History, with a Political Science minor… and a 3.5 GPA! ‘Bout damn time one of us graduated. ;)

US Dollar Goes to Pot

A choice excerpt:

Second, it is essential that we peg our currency to some commodity that is universally recognized as valuable. Sure, gold or silver would work, but the fact is that precious metals are a little old school. After all, we’re running a 21st century economy here, not a pirate ship. We need a commodity that is sufficiently rare, and yet considered valuable by today’s sophisticated and educated citizenry. We suggest marijuana.

I LOL’ed at the pirate ship part!