Mark and Debra Kuhn of Asheville, North Carolina were arrested and charged with assault on a government employee, obstruction and flag desecration.

The Kuhns were flying a flag upside down on their own property with signs pinned to it explaining why it was being flown in that manner: being upside down represents a sign of distress. A picture of George W. Bush was also pinned to the flag with the text “Out Now” printed underneath. The Kuhns apparently desecrated the flag by pinning signs to it, not by flying it upside down.

According to the Sheriff’s office, deputy Scarborough informed the couple that they were illegally displaying the flag and attempted to issue Mr. Kuhn with a citation. Kuhn allegedly refused to show I.D. and slammed the door on Scarborough’s hand causing a glass pane to break, which cut the deputy’s hand.

The Kuhns have a different story to tell. They claim that they shut and locked the door and that Scarborough intentionally broke the glass with his fist in order to reach in and unlock the door. He then proceeded to enter their home, without a warrant or permission, and placed them under arrest.

Flag desecration is protected under the First Amendment of the constitution as free speech; a fact that is supported by two U.S. Supreme Court cases. Any law prohibiting it is blatantly unconstitutional.

Mark Radford, the National Guardsman who issued the complaint about the flag, does not seem to care about the Supreme Court or the constitution he swore to uphold.

“The law is the law, and if we don’t follow the rule of the law as a society, where does it go from here?” he asked.

Ever heard of civil disobedience Mr. Radford? A principle employed by Samuel Adams and many others in the founding of our country. A principle exploited by Martin Luther King Jr. in his quest for civil rights. Have you learned about the Boston Tea Party? How about the Revolutionary War? Does any of this mean anything to you?

When there are bad laws, they need to be broken and any law — whether constitutional or not — that restricts free speech is a bad law. Civil Disobedience and Jury Nullification are the last strings for citizens to grab at if they wish to change the laws that oppress them. That is, after all, how the prohibition of alcohol was essentially ended.

I would like to personally thank the Kuhns for standing up for their rights and subsequently the rights of every citizen of this country. If we lose the right to free speech, unpopular being the most difficult to protect, then we really have no rights at all. Expression is the most essential human freedom.

digg it | shout it

Stevens, 83, is under a federal investigation for his relationship with Bill Allen, an oil field services contractor who was convicted this year of bribing state lawmakers.

CNN and YouTube are holding a debate on September 17th for the Republican candidates.  It will follow the same format as the recent Democratic YouTube debate; the questions will be submitted via YouTube videos created by everyday users of the site. 

Most of the Democratic candidates showed up to their debate.

The Republican version might turn out to be a different story.  At this time, Ron Paul and John McCain are the only two candidates who have agreed to attend the debate.

So where are the other candidates?

Mitt Romney criticized the Democratic debate saying to the Manchester Union Leader, “I think the presidency ought to be held at a higher level than having to answer questions from a snowman”.

I hope Mr. Romney realizes that the question he is referring to was not actually asked by a snowman.  Rather, it was a creative way for an average person to get their question into the debate by being entertaining.  Get a sense of humor man!

It might be better for the John McCain and Ron Paul campaigns if the ‘front-runners’ do not attend the debate.  This will allow them to get more of the speaking time that is usually reserved for those candidates.

Besides, I’m sick of hearing Giuliani’s fear mongering anyway!

shout it

A great article from The Onion. Probably one of their best yet. There’s really nothing else for me to say… just read it!!

On a recent trip to Iowa, Rudy Giuliani was asked about HIV funding.  He responded with fascinating verbal ju jitsu bringing his answer around to a solid dose of homeland security with allusions to 9/11:

“My general experience has been that the federal government works best when it helps and assists and encourages and sets guidelines… on a state-by-state, locality-by-locality basis. It’s no different from the way I look at homeland security.  Maybe having been mayor of the city, I know that your first defense against terrorist attack is that local police station, or that local firehouse.”

I guess he really can bring any question back to 9/11.  I just don’t understand how people buy into this tripe.  The man was mayor of a city that experienced the worst terrorist attack on US soil and that somehow makes him a expert on the subject?  This is the same guy who will not aknowledge blowback as a possible cause for our problems with the Middle East. 

Ron Paul has received more contributions from the military than any other candidate. Fox News reported on this but seemed to imply that people were lying about their occupations when donating to Paul’s campaign! You can bet they would be singing a different tune if it were McCain or one of the other ‘front-runners’ on the top of this list.

digg it | shout it | reddit

Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq:

On July 17, 2007 elected Federal Bureaucrat George W. Bush issued an executive order declaring that he and other members of the federal government have the right to seize the property of any person who undermines efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq. The vague, far-reaching language in the order does not name any specific groups that the rules apply to. This means that protester can now have their property seized for “undermining” efforts to promote “political reform” in Iraq.

The definition of undermine according to Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: un·der·mine

1 : to excavate the earth beneath : form a mine under : SAP
2 : to wash away supporting material from under
3 : to subvert or weaken insidiously or secretly
4 : to weaken or ruin by degrees

Definitions three and four seem to be most fitting for the language of the bill — unless we are somehow “excavating earth” beneath ideas. Can protests “subvert or weaken” “economic reconstruction” or “political reform”? What about writing anti-war blogs, articles, or letters? It seems as though the answer is ‘Yes’ which means that this order is a direct violation of the Fifth Amendment:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Not to mention the First Amendment which guarantees the right to free speech. But I guess these amendments only apply when you aren’t talking about Iraq. So much for protecting unpopular speech.

Examining this and the executive order that allows Bush to declare himself dictator of the US if there is a ‘national emergency’ reveals that we are sliding down a slippery slope towards tyranny and it needs to stop. A great step towards achieving this goal would be eliminating Executive Orders all together. They give the president the de-facto authority to pass laws without proper approval from congress which seems to be direct a violation of the constitution in the first place.

Why do we even have the constitution if the bureaucrats do not need to follow it? In recent decades it has been reduced to nothing more than an inked piece of parchment with slight sentimental significance. It seems as though the people are compliant as long as they believe they are protected by the constitution. The fact that it truly means nothing anymore seems to be lost on the masses.

shout it