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61
Current Events / Are federal judges ruling on cases not within their power?
« Last post by Jim Nunziato on February 27, 2014, 09:16:05 AM »
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  — A federal judge declared a same-sex marriage ban in deeply conservative Texas unconstitutional Wednesday, the latest in a series of victories for gay rights activists who are challenging bans in dozens of states around the U.S.

Judge Orlando Garcia issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday after two gay couples challenged a Texas constitutional amendment and a longstanding law.


Why is this case in federal court? Have not the people of Texas (as well as those in many other states, including North Carolina) amended their STATE CONSTITUTION to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman? Is there not also a state law in Texas that defines the same?

If anyone, anywhere, in any state of our nation wishes to get married, I have never seen a problem, unless there was an age or kinship issue, and I have never heard anyone argue about those restrictions. Civil unions have been allowed for years, and it is generally accepted that whatever two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own home is nobody else's business. Any two people who live together, whether married or not, can take out insurance policies naming each other as beneficiaries, and each can will their estates to the other.  How many employers now provide benefits to "significant others"?

If two un-married people wish to live together, regardless of their gender, are they in any way forbidden to love each other, based solely upon their gender?  So, what then, is the issue?

Continuing on with the good judge's decision:
"Without a rational relation to a legitimate governmental purpose, state-imposed inequality can find no refuge in our United States Constitution," Garcia wrote. "These Texas laws deny plaintiffs access to the institution of marriage and its numerous rights, privileges, and responsibilities for the sole reason that Plaintiffs wish to be married to a person of the same sex."

I disagree with the good judge. These Texas laws do NOT deny ANYONE access to the institution of marriage. They are perfectly free to marry anyone they like, no differently than anyone else in the state. As I see it, the problem is that they want to REDEFINE the institution of "marriage" to suit themselves. And, if one continues to read further, "love" has nothing to do with it.

The Supreme Court, in its decision last June, declined to rule on the merits of a voter-approved California law that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. The effect of the decision was to allow same-sex unions to resume in California, but the high court said nothing about the right to marry. It did order the federal government to recognize valid same-sex marriages by striking down the part of the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act that denied same-sex married couples the federal benefits and rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples.

Wait, I think I see the focal point: "...denied same-sex married couples the federal benefits and rights..." So, THAT in a nutshell, is what it's all about; "benefits and rights," not "love."

In our country, our Constitution is our supreme ruling document. The tenth amendment, in fact, reads: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

As many times as I have searched, I have never found the word "marriage" in our Constitution, not even one time. So if no "power" of marriage is delegated to the United States by the Constitution, should not "marriage" and anything to do with it be reserved to the States respectively, or the people?  Have not the PEOPLE of many of the States amended their own State Constitutions to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman?  Does the will of "We The People" mean anything in today's United States?

What do you think?

 
 
62
Government Governance / Re: What should be the roll of government?
« Last post by Jim Nunziato on February 23, 2014, 09:54:41 AM »
Hello Andrew,

   Welcome to the forums!  I totally agree with you. The scope, size, and power of the federal government is very well defined in the Constitution.  But it seems that in today's world, the Constitution is viewed as an "obstacle" to those who seek an ever expanding and more powerful federal government. They seem to constantly invent new ways to get around what it says and what it means, so they can further their own agendas instead of ours. I don't blame either party, as both parties are just as guilty. If we keep sending the same people to Washington to represent us, and they continue to represent their own interests instead of ours, who is to blame?

   I have said for years, the only way anything will change is for the mindset of the voters to change.  I see the current mindset of the people as the obstacle to restoring the federal government and the Constitution to their rightful places.  I think the first step is to educate the people. It's been a L-O-N-G time since I was in school, but it appears that our school system is no longer teaching the history of our country, the Constitution, or how our government is supposed to work. How can we possibly make intelligent choices, if there is no understanding of how the system works, or who we send to Washington to make it work?

  Is this all part of a "plan" to destroy our country, or is it just apathy? Have we become so complacent, and taken so many things for granted, that if we vote at all, we just pull any old lever in the ballot box, and go on our merry way?  If anything is to change, we have to inform and educate ourselves, our neighbors and our friends.  This is why I look forward to our meetings of the Sentinel Patriots club. I have learned a lot at our get-togethers, and Ron & Henry always get you thinking... and that's always a good place to start. As we continue to learn and think for ourselves, we can try to pass on what we've learned. If enough of us are successful, perhaps, we can turn the ship around and get back on course again.

63
Government Governance / Re: What should be the roll of government?
« Last post by Andrew Johnson on February 22, 2014, 09:12:51 PM »
The only role our government should have is defending our natural rights and freedom. As far as institutions are concerned, the only legitimate ones are the military, police and court systems. Even these should be scaled back drastically, by changing our foreign policy from imperialism to one of non-intervention and free trade (not to be confused with isolationism). The police and justice system should stop prosecuting victimless crimes, such as nonviolent drug users. The department of education, welfare system, and many others should be eliminated entirely, leaving such functions to families, communities and the church.
64
Help Desk / Notifications
« Last post by Administrator on February 20, 2014, 05:22:19 PM »
When you registered for an account here at our forums, someone with administrator privileges had to approve your account. Once approved, you gained full access and the ability to reply and start new topics.

When your account was created for you, the default setting for "Notifications" is inactive. It is, however, very easily changed at will.  I have instructed my fellow administrators to activate "Notifications" on all accounts they approve.  This means that if you reply to a topic, or if you start a new one, any further replies, edits, or other actions taken by an administrator will generate an email to "notify" you. Fortunately, there is very little editing or other action taken by administrators, so most emails will be generated to alert you that a reply has been posted to either a board or a topic you are watching or with which you are involved. This setting should prove to be the most popular with most users, and no further action on your part should be necessary. 

But if you wish to change the operation of your notifications, you may do so at any time:

If you have a favorite board you wish to monitor, click on that board, and you will be shown a list of topics contained therein. At the top and bottom of the list, you will see a few buttons. "New Topic" "New Poll" "Notify" "mark Read"... By clicking on "Notify," you will be asked to confirm that you want to enable notifications for new topics on this board. By clicking "yes," you will be notified every time a new topic is started on that board only. If more than one new topic is started, you will only be notified of the first. (We don't want to fill your in-box with a LOT of notifications) If you wish to monitor more than one board, you must  enable notifications for each board in which you are interested. You may toggle the state of notifications for any single board on or off ant any time, with the same procedure.

But what if you are interested in one and only one thread on any given board? No problem. Click on the board that contains the topic, and verify that notifications are off for that board. (The button will say, "Notify." If Notifications are active, the button will say, "Unnotify".) Click on the individual topic, and, guess what! another "notify/unnotify"  button, and it works exactly as it does from the board level, but this one controls notifications only for this single topic. Usually, if you reply to a topic, "Notify" for that topic is turned on by default. This is to notify you that a reply has been made, and you may come back to continue the conversation.

But what if you just don't want any notifications on ANYTHING, period!  There's an app option for that!  From anywhere on the forum, locate and hover your mouse cursor over the "Profile" button on the main navigation menu bar, and slide down to, and click on "Forum Profile." This will take you to your profile settings. We encourage you to pick an avatar from our gallery, update any information you feel comfortable with, and if you make any changes, be sure to click the "Change Profile" button.

To change your "Notification" settings, click on "Notifications" from the "Modify Profile" menu. You will be taken to the page which allows you to fine-tune your notifications. You may uncheck the first two boxes, "Turn notification on when you post or reply to a topic." and  "When sending notification of a reply to a topic, send the post in the email (but please don't reply to these emails.)" to turn off ALL notifications, or you may change to what and how your are notified. If you change anything in the top section, be sure to click "Save Settings" to keep the changes.

In the lower part of the page, you are presented with a list of topics and boards to which you are currently being notified. Here, you have the ability to select which to either remain on, or turn off. As always, if you make any changes, be sure to save your new settings.

Now you know everything there is to know about "Notifications," and may use them at your pleasure.

 
65
Help Desk / How to add an avatar to your account
« Last post by Administrator on February 17, 2014, 12:48:32 PM »

If you would like to add an avatar to your account, hover your mouse cursor over the "Profile" button on the main navigation menu bar, and click on "Forum Profile" from the dropdown menu. You will go to the page where you can edit your profile.

The first item you can change is "Personalized Picture." It defaults to "No avatar."

You can click the "Choose avatar from gallery" radio button, which will open our local gallery. There are many contained therein, and they are sorted by category. As you click on the name of each avatar, you will see it displayed. When you have selected the one you want, leave it displaying,  scroll down, and click on the "Change Profile" button.

If you desire a personal avatar that is not in our gallery, you my upload it. Maximum size is 100 x 100 pixels. Click the "Upload an avatar" radio button, and a file navigation box will open, allowing you to navigate to the avatar file on your local computer and upload it to our server. When the transfer is complete, scroll down and click the "Change Profile" button.

Your avatar will now appear to the left of all notes you post, or have posted in the past. If you change your avatar, your new avatar will replace your old one globally on the forum, and will be used until you change it again.

You may also update any of the other attributes of your personal profile while on that page. Just be sure to click the "Change Profile" button to save any changes you have made.

Enjoy.

66
The Living Room / New Bumper Sticker
« Last post by Jim Nunziato on February 16, 2014, 08:39:40 AM »

Check out the newest bumper sticker...






67
The Living Room / Papa takes the kids to the movies - A salute to our milatary
« Last post by Jim Nunziato on February 15, 2014, 02:36:26 PM »

The kids of today are so completely engrossed in their iPhones, their music, and whatnot, they seem to be totally oblivious to those who fought for the freedoms they take for granted today.

This is a tribute those who fought for those freedoms.  "I fought for you."


68
Just For Fun / Subaru commercials
« Last post by Jim Nunziato on February 15, 2014, 11:45:29 AM »

I like commercials. Some of them. Some are downright obnoxious, and some others are better than the programs which their companies sponsor!

Here's a few of the latest series of Subaru commercials. Thy're pretty cute.

1. In the Doghouse.
2. Road Trip Convenience Store.
3. Teenagers.
4. What's All The Fuss About?


I think there are at least 28 commercials in the series. There are just a few.

Enjoy,

Jim






Edited to remove dead links
69
The Living Room / Bad snow storm
« Last post by Jim Nunziato on February 12, 2014, 11:30:49 AM »

This looks like it's going to be a bad storm; at least for the south. Being a native of New Jersey, 3 feet of snow was "gettin' on up there."  There were lots of shopping centers that used to ice up, and we learned a lot about how to recover from a skid in those parking lots. We'd get up a little speed, and put ourselves into a skid, and try to recover. It was fun, and to this day I credit what I learned in those parking lots with saving me from a bad accident.  One time, I was travelling a just teeny bit (  :o ) too fast, lost traction, and found myself out of control, in a skid.

I just don't understand the mentality of some of these clowns (I try to avoid) driving on icy roads today. They seem to think that because they are driving a 4-wheel drive, they can drive as if they were on dry pavement. It doesn't matter if you have EIGHT-wheel drive, if you're on ice, you don't have the traction to stop.  As one local radio announcer here used to say, "If you have to drive on the roads today, just pretend like you have a little common sense." 

My best advise is to stay home if you can. But if you must drive in this weather, the number one thing to remember is, "Slow and easy." Don't make any sudden moves. Accelerate slowly, and allow lots of following distance so you can brake very gently and easy. Try your best to not to loose traction with your tires. If your wheels are locked because you have your foot on the brake, you have zero steering control.

Be careful, be safe.

Oh yeah, why is it that whenever there's a bad snow or ice storm, you never see or hear from Al Gore?

70
Current Events / Affordable Care Act
« Last post by Jim Nunziato on February 11, 2014, 11:17:39 AM »

I was wondering if anyone has tried to actually READ the "Affordable  ???  Care Act."

Well, if you'd like to give it a whirl, I wish you luck.

Here is a link to the certified Full Text Version, and here is a link to the certified full text version to its reconciliation.  Love or loathe it, it is now the law of the land.

So, my question is, if this is now the law of the land, and in this country, we're all covered equally under the laws, why are there so many exemptions from it and so many subsidies to people so they can abide by it?  If this law is so great, why are the very people who implemented it, exempt from it?  The executive branch of our Federal Government is charged with executing the laws. Why is the executive branch making so many changes to it without involving the legislative branch?

Oh, I'm sorry... That's three questions...
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