Category Archives: Articles

The Bill Of NON-Rights

Posted by diggercartwright on

The following has been attributed to Lewis Napper, a Jackson , Mississippi computer programmer.

He didn’t expect his essay — a tart 10-point list of “rights” Americans don’t have — to become an

Internet legend.

 

 

‘We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to  help everyone get along, restore some

semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure

the blessings of debt-free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try

one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt

ridden, delusional. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by

the Bill of  Rights and are so dim they require a Bill of NON-Rights.’

 

ARTICLE I:

You do not  have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth.. More power to

you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing  anything.

 

ARTICLE II:

You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means

freedom for everyone — not  just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different

opinion, etc.; but the world is full of dummies, and probably always will  be.

 

ARTICLE III:

You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be

more careful; do not expect  the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently

wealthy.

 

ARTICLE  IV:

You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be

found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation

after generation of professional couch potatoes who  achieve nothing more than the creation of another

generation of professional couch potatoes.

 

ARTICLE V:

You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing,

we’re just not interested in public health care.

 

ARTICLE  VI:

You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or

kill someone, don’t be surprised if the rest of us want to see you get the blue juice.

 

ARTICLE  VII:

You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or

services of other citizens, don’t be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place

where you still won’t have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure..

 

ARTICLE VIII:

You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along

in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational

training laid before you to make yourself useful.

 

ARTICLE IX:

You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE

happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier if you are  unencumbered by an overabundance of idiotic laws

created by those of you who were confused by the Bill  of Rights.

 

ARTICLE X:

This is an English speaking country. We don’t care where you came from, English is our language.

Learn it!

 

Lastly

 

ARTICLE  XI:

You do not have the right to change our country’s history or heritage. This country was founded on the

belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith

at all; with no fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history,

sorry if you are uncomfortable with it.

How can we hold parents accountable for their children?

Posted by diggercartwright on

If children don’t know how to act in public, it’s because the parents have failed to teach them and to discipline them.  This could be a function of just pure ineptitude of the parents or perhaps their parents didn’t teach them.  Parents are ultimately responsible for their children’s behavior, and there are really no excuses.  There’s no way to penalize the parents as a means of holding them accountable for their kids per se.  I think there are several points to make here. Continue reading →

Is political correctness infringing our freedom of religion (if you’re a Christian)?

Posted by diggercartwright on

Yes, there’s no doubt about that.  The liberal, anti-Christians want to religiously emasculate us.  You can’t say Merry Christmas.  It has to be Happy Holidays so you don’t offend someone else.  That’s bullshit.  If you don’t celebrate Christmas, that’s fine, but why get offended by it?  If someone wished me Happy Hanukah, I wouldn’t be offended.  I’d tell them thank you and same to them.  I think the underlying theme behind the holidays, regardless of which holiday you celebrate, is peace and goodwill, which I talked about at length in my speech yesterday at lunch.  So, why are people so worried about expressing the Christian faith during Christmas?

 

Maybe those who object also object to peace and goodwill?  Is that why they want to take away any mention of Christmas?  If you don’t believe in Christ, that’s your right, but if you don’t want to allow others to celebrate a message of peace and goodwill, what does that say about you and your tolerance?  If I celebrate Christmas and say Merry Christmas, that doesn’t mean you have to believe what I do or that you have to agree with me.  If, however, you’re offended by it, you need to get thicker skin, and if that’s the only thing you have to worry about, you need to get a life.  Instead of worrying about Christmas, how about focusing those energies on something productive like feeding the hungry or helping those who have been displaced or caring for homeless animals?

 

I really think we’ve allowed the entire political correctness issue to go too far, but I’ll not digress into that bigger discussion.  Clearly, we’ve also allowed the secularization of Christmas to go too far as well.  The argument that you can’t display the Nativity or just about any other sign of Christmas on some government property as a violation of the separation of church and state is ridiculous.  This country was founded by Christians, more devout Christians that we can probably imagine today.  Our Founding Fathers showed their faith through prayer and the numerous references to God in the federal government.  They mention the Creator in the Declaration of Independence.  Each President has placed his hand on The Bible and said “So help me God” at the end of the Presidential Oath of Office.  Yet there are still some who want to take all references to this away.

 

If you don’t celebrate Christmas, that’s ok.  You’re not obligated to do so, but don’t tell me that I can’t celebrate it openly as we have done in this nation for hundreds of years.  And, if you’re a foreigner here and you’re of another faith, learn to live with it.  I sincerely doubt that your homeland would scrap any celebration of your faith if I went there and objected to it.

 

What is sad as well is that businesses of all sizes are getting sucked into this ‘Happy Holidays’ nonsense lest they potentially offend someone and that someone may not do business with them.  These business owners need to get some guts.  I don’t care what holiday people celebrate.  I do business with them based on their reputation, their honesty, their quality, and so on.  I’m certainly not going to be offended if I go into your business and you’re celebrating another holiday.

 

Let’s get real people.  Time to stop this nonsense.  Quit trying to secularize Christmas!

Read more here at Thinking Outside The Boxe

Is it time to re-think a space program?

Posted by diggercartwright on

I don’t think so.  NASA’s budget is something like $17 billion per year.  What do we get out of this program?  Frankly, I don’t see a whole lot of benefit to the American people.  Over the last fifty years, NASA has spent over $500 billion dollars cumulatively, and what do we have to show for it?  We allegedly went to the Moon.  We don’t have a shuttle program.  Seems like an awful waste to me.  There is a certain appeal to the space program, but let’s let the private sector take over.  If there’s a market to go to Mars or to build a base on the Moon, let some private entrepreneur or aerospace company spend their money.  I don’t think we should be using tax dollars from American taxpayers to fund a program that is yielding little these days.  I’m always for spending cuts in the federal budget, so let’s cut the spending on NASA as a first step in shrinking the size of the federal government and eliminating wasteful spending, fraud and waste.

Read more here at Thinking Outside The Boxe

Is it time to audit lottery monies used for state programs?

Posted by diggercartwright on

I think they are already being audited, but I think the issue is how the money is being spent and is it being spent judiciously.  Many of the state lotteries are supposed to fund specific projects or causes—senior citizen programs, education or scholarships, and so on.  I think this is all great, but when you’re dealing with the amount of money generated by the lotteries for these programs there is bound to be fraud and waste.  I have long preached against fraud and waste in both government and the private sector, but sadly to no avail most of the time.  I do believe that each of these state lottery programs should face very difficult scrutiny in how the funds are spent.  That’s not to say that we should consider every scholarship awarded or every senior center built.  We need to make sure that the stewards of these programs aren’t wasting money on unneeded centers or fraudulent scholarships.  We need to make sure that the programs aren’t being manipulated by special interests.  The site of senior center shouldn’t be decided by a politician or the landholder.  Administrative costs and salaries should be minimized whenever possible.  I’m not suggesting we micromanage, but I’m suggesting we have stringent oversight of the overall programs and how the money is allocated to projects.  Overall, politicians should never dictate how the funds are spent and shouldn’t even have a hand in the process.  The oversight should be handled by independent bodies comprised of normal citizens who don’t have any special interests and audited by independent accountants and independent government watchdogs.  It’s probably idealistic, and I know that.  There’s a lot of money at stake, and that money does a lot of good.  But that money can do a lot more good and can go a lot further if we don’t allow it to be misappropriated and misused.

Read more here at Thinking Outside The Boxe

 

Should we re-negotiate student debt? If so, why? Does this create a moral hazard?

Posted by diggercartwright on

Absolutely not.  These people entered into a legal agreement.  They were given money for college, and they used it to get an education.  And you know, they’re able to get loans for an amount that far exceeds the actual cost of tuition and books?  So, they get the maximum loan and then use the excess to party or to live on or to buy a new flat screen TV or a new car.  Just because they can’t get a high paying job once they graduate doesn’t absolve them of the liability.  If you go to the bank and get a mortgage for a house but then can’t afford the house, the bank keeps what money you paid and they take the house. Continue reading →

How do we stop the flow of illegal immigrants through our borders?

Posted by diggercartwright on

I know there are some people who think this issue is as simple as closing the borders.  There’s no doubt that we need to tighten up the U.S.-Mexico border.  We’ve got people just walking across into the U.S., bringing kids here or having kids here, then expecting us to take care of them.  Let’s load up the border with drones, the military and border patrol and turn these people away.  I won’t hesitate to say we shoot them if they are sneaking across the border; that sends a powerful message.  Plus an increased military presence and a shoot to kill mandate will help with the paramilitary drug cartels just across the border.  We’re at war with the terrorists but we’re also at war with the paramilitary drug cartels in Mexico.

 

There are plenty illegals here who actually came here legally, most of them on student visas who stayed after the visa expired.  We need to round them up and send them back where they came from, even if that isn’t a politically popular thing to do.  These people have broken the law.  They need to face the consequences.  Then, we need to fix the broken immigration system.  We need a better way to track the people who come into this country.  With the technology we have today, let’s look to biometrics to keep track of people who come here.  When their time is up, if they haven’t left the country, we track them down or make it very difficult for them to survive here.  Make it difficult for them to get a job, rent an apartment, drive a car, and open bank accounts, and so on.

 

I’m not opposed to people immigrating to the United States.  However, there is a legal way for people who want to immigrate here to do so.  They need to follow the law to immigrate here.  If they do that, I welcome them.  If they break the law and stay here illegally or sneak across the border, they need to face stiff consequences.

Read more here at Thinking Outside The Boxe

Should pet owners be able to deduct a portion of their pet care?

Posted by diggercartwright on

Absolutely!  If people can get deductions for having kids, why can’t I get deductions for my cats?  My cats are my kids.  In fact, my cats are better than most people’s kids.  They get great care from me, and they don’t use any public services so to speak.  They don’t go to school.  They don’t use the roads.  Where we have a problem is that people can’t be allowed to hoard animals in order to get more deductions and we’re not sure how well the animals are being treated.  In order to get deductions, I think you need to show that your pet is up to date on all their shots or vaccinations or that your pet gets their annual checkup with the vet.  Just as the government wants children to be well-cared for, they should also want pets to be well-cared for and treated humanely. Continue reading →

Should the government be allowed to terminate trademark rights for material some may deem “offensive” (Washington Redskins controversy)?

Posted by diggercartwright on

No, this is a gross miscarriage of justice.  This is an overreaching federal government that has no respect for private property rights or the Constitution.  This administration is driven by emotions and far left liberal ideology.  As I said before, if the free market feels a trademark is offensive, consumers won’t buy the product.  The ticketholders don’t have to go to the games and no one has to buy tickets.  At the end of the day, the fans don’t have the moral outrage that the media and this administration have.  Most people don’t care.  I know a lot of Redskins fans, and they’re outraged that their team is under attack. Continue reading →

Should the government be involved in the politics of sports (LA Clippers, Washington Redskins, etc.)?

Posted by diggercartwright on

The government shouldn’t be involved in private business matters unless the law has been or is being broken.  Let’s look at Don Sterling and the Clippers controversy.  It’s not the government’s right to attempt to strip private property just because liberals don’t like what someone said.  First off, I could care less what he said.  We still have freedom of speech as guaranteed by the 1st amendment to the Constitution.  If you don’t like what he said, don’t patronize the Clippers.  I find it quite ironic that despite the controversy the fans didn’t abandon the team.  The fans were still filling the seats.  The players didn’t quit.  They still played each game.  If what he said had been so egregious and inflammatory, the players should have all quit and the fans should have boycotted the team and the games. Continue reading →