Posts Tagged ‘datechguy's magnificent seven’

18 to 20 year olds can fight and die for our country but they can’t legally smoke or buy alcohol

Posted: January 2, 2020 by Jon Fournier in Uncategorized
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The oppressive paternalism that has become the hallmark of Washington DC kicked into overdrive this past weak when President Trump signed a military spending bill that also raised the smoking and vaping age to 21 all across the United States.

I am not a smoker.   I have not smoked a single cigarette, or anything else, so this article is not about something I indulge in personally.  I strongly believe that government should not stop us from doing what we want to do, even if it is bad for us.  Allowing the bad along with the good is an essential ingredient to maintain a free society. 

I am well aware of the very negative health consequences of smoking.  I believe that individuals should make up their own minds whether they wish to smoke or not, not have their behavior controlled by the government.

Eighteen has always been the age where we consider individuals to be adults, capable of making decisions on their own.  That is the age anyone can enlist in the military so they can defend our country and die if necessary.  There has been a steady drift in this thinking, which has increased in speed the past few years.  This began with the drinking age, then spread to the age that some states allow the purchase of weapons, now it has spread to smoking and vaping.  It does a tremendous disservice to 18 to 20 if we strip them of their adulthood and coddle them.

Banning something never solves a problem, and if you study the prohibition period, you’ll see banning things only causes more severe problems.  Banning something from teenagers will only cause more demand.  The banning of tobacco products will only make them more appealing because they are banned.  This will result in a  black market for tobacco products and a lot of 21 and over individuals becoming criminals after purchasing tobacco products for those under 21. 

The US Constitution does not grant the federal government the authority to ban anything.  The federal government twisted the original meaning  of the Commerce Clause to unconstitutionally grant itself that authority.  The Interstate Commerce Clause only grants the federal government the authority to regulate the large scale movement of goods and services between states by imposing taxes. 

President Trump not only signed the age increase, he celebrated it with this Tweet:

This tweet really disappointed me.  It proved once again that President Trump is a big government Republican type who believes in banning things rather than a truly conservative or libertarian president.  He’s not perfect but he’s infinitely better than Hillary or any other progressive.

Report from Louisiana: Happy New Year!

Posted: December 30, 2019 by Pat Austin in Uncategorized
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By:  Pat Austin

SHREVEPORT – As this decade comes to a close, we are headed to south Louisiana to spend the last week of the year on Bayou Teche, quietly amongst our books and cats. I can’t think of a better way to bring in the new year.

It’s been a pretty cool year for football fans around here: our Number Nines (Brees and Burrow) have given us much to be excited about. This is a topic of conversation almost everywhere you go.  I know people who are really excited that LSU will face Clemson in the championship game, but I’ve talked to others who really wanted to face Ohio State. It’s going to be a great game on January 13!

Carnival season will be in full swing right about then and as the game will be in New Orleans, we can expect a lot of revelry and excitement around the event. Really, we don’t need much of a reason to have a bacchanalian party around here, but this one will do just fine.

I’ll leave all of that to others; I’ll be watching from the comfort of my couch.

Looking back at 2019, I guess I can say it’s been a really good year for me. I didn’t win the Lotto or anything, but I did get to travel all over the state to speaking events and book signings with Cane River Bohemia. That’s been a real kick! I’m really grateful for these experiences

I’m also really grateful that this blog, through the patience and perseverance of Pete and you, our readers, is still here and has recovered from the technical glitches that plagued us so through the year. Be sure to hit the tip jar if you get a chance.

So this is just a short post to say thank you for being here, for reading, and I hope every single one of you has a safe and prosperous New Year!

Pat Austin blogs at And So it Goes in Shreveport and is the author of Cane River Bohemia: Cammie Henry and her Circle at Melrose Plantation. Follow her on Instagram @patbecker25 and Twitter @paustin110.

The Virginia gun control proposals will result in violence

Posted: December 26, 2019 by Jon Fournier in Uncategorized
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Almost immediately upon gaining control of both houses of congress and the governorship of Virginia the Democrats announced rather extreme gun control proposals. The proposals are so extreme that a firestorm of dissent erupted from the people, sheriffs, and county officials.  There was so much dissent one representative threatened to sick the National Guard on sheriffs and county officials who refused to comply.  If the proposals are carried out I can see the whole mess resulting in violence.  I’m not the only who came to that conclusion, check out this Washington Times article Virginia Dem mulls National Guard to enforce upcoming gun laws, an idea likely to end in violence

Democrats in Virginia have already pre-filed bills to mandate universal background checks; to limit handgun purchases; to raise age limits on would-be firers; to redefine the term assault weapon and impose bans on buys of certain guns and magazines. And more.

And dozens upon dozens of county officials around the state have rushed to pass resolutions declaring their jurisdictions sanctuaries from the state’s gun control storm and announcing that their police chiefs have no intent of enforcing the Dems’ laws.

Democrat Representative McFachin kicked up the tension on the whole situation into high gear with this proposal.

“I’m not the governor,” said Rep. Donald McEachin, Virginia Democrat, according to a report in The Washington Examiner, “but the governor may have to nationalize the National Guard to enforce the [new gun control] law[s].”

If called by the governor to perform this odious duty the Virginia National Guard would be required to carry it out by law, however, the Virginia Bill of Rights protects the Right to Bear Arms for all citizens,

Granted, this act, signed in 1878 to prohibit federal troops from being used to enforce domestic laws, carves out exceptions for National Guard members operating under the authority of the states. But the spirit of the restrictions should still apply.

With his proposal,  McFachin proved that gun confiscation has always been the end result of Democrat’s plans.

But with one quick quip, McEachin took a situation that’s already boiling with tension and fear — namely, the realities of the new blue Virginia and the realization of Democratic-promised gun controls — and made it worse. He went there; he tapped the darkest worries of the gun rights’ crowd — the deep-seated belief that Democrats’ end game is to obliterate the Second Amendment and destroy citizens’ rights to own firearms. And in so doing, he actually let it slip that yes, Democrats will stop at nothing, even violence, to take the guns.

One Sheriff came up with a novel proposal, Virginia Sheriff Vows to ‘Deputize Thousands’ to Defend Gun Rights.

Every Sheriff and Commonwealth Attorney in Virginia will see the consequences if our General Assembly passes further unnecessary gun restrictions. “Red Flag” laws without due process will create enormous conflict as well.

America has more guns than citizens and murder has long been illegal. At best, the proposed gun restrictions will disarm or handicap our law-abiding in their defense and possibly cause a criminal to choose another tool for evil.

I remain very optimistic that our General Assembly will not pass the proposed bills. Obviously, if passed, there are many of us willing to challenge these laws through the courts. In addition, if necessary, I plan to properly screen and deputize thousands of our law-abiding citizens to protect their constitutional right to own firearms.

The resistance has spread across the state: Report: Over 90 Virginia Counties, Municipalities Declared 2A Sanctuaries.  This shows how seriously the people of this nation take their Right to Bear Arms.

A report from WDBJ7 shows that more than 90 Second Amendment sanctuary declarations have been made by counties and municipalities in Virginia.

WDBJ7 reports that Rockingham County was one of the most recent sanctuary declarations. Breitbart News reported that over 3,000 residents attended the Rockingham Board of Supervisors meeting to demand Second Amendment sanctuary status.

Hopefully the Virginia Democrats will take not of the heated opposition and back down.

Report from Louisiana: Christmas Cards

Posted: December 23, 2019 by Pat Austin in Uncategorized
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SHREVEPORT – One of the small joys I get from the Christmas season is receiving Christmas cards from friends and family spread across the country. I love the colorful envelopes, the pretty Christmas stamps, and the cards themselves: glittery snow, red Santas, cherubic angels, foil stars, the works.

I find in years when Thanksgiving is late and Christmas seems so quick, there are fewer cards in my mailbox: people run out of time for the task.

One of my childhood memories is of my mother going to the stationery store, selecting the annual Christmas card, and having them imprinted.  When they arrived, ready for addressing, she would pull out the address book and sit at the dining room table with stamps, pens, and get to work. Some recipients would get a brief message or note, and then she would address each envelope in her beautiful, perfect script. That handwriting got shakier through the years and eventually she quit sending cards altogether with the exception of a very few. Mom had a red and white felt Santa, trimmed in sequins, that hung on a door and we tucked all the cards inside Santa’s beard, which was a pocket.

With my own cards I am less formal. I select a box or two at the store that reflect my mood of the moment and in each I usually write a brief message. My cards this year reflect Santa in a pirogue as he poles up to a wooden swamp cabin, Spanish moss hanging overhead. Some years I opt for the traditional Christmas scenes, other years Snoopy.

I’ve never been one to send the generic Christmas letter but we do have some relatives who write three page epistles to tuck into their cards about every doctors appointment and children’s report card that happened through the year.

And it seems that almost every year there around this time there is a touching story of a terminally ill child who only wants Christmas cards and then the hospital is inundated with thousands of cards.

In more recent years, it seems Christmas cards have morphed into cardstock covered with photos of the sender’s beautiful and prosperous year. Many of these include photos of people dressed in khaki and white standing on a beach somewhere, everyone in matching shirts and color coordinated. The selfie-card is a close relative of the three-page Christmas letter.

The tradition of Christmas cards began in 1843 with Henry Cole according to The Smithsonian and has evolved through the years:

Cole hit on an ingenious idea. He approached an artist friend, J.C. Horsley, and asked him to design an idea that Cole had sketched out in his mind. Cole then took Horsley’s illustration—a triptych showing a family at table celebrating the holiday flanked by images of people helping the poor—and had a thousand copies made by a London printer. The image was printed on a piece of stiff cardboard 5 1/8 x 3 1/4 inches in size. At the top of each was the salutation, “TO:_____” allowing Cole to personalize his responses, which included the generic greeting “A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year To You.” It was the first Christmas card.

As we celebrate Christmas with our families and friends this week, I wish you all a Merry Christmas from Louisiana and I hope you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas.

Pat Austin blogs at And So it Goes in Shreveport and is the author of Cane River Bohemia: Cammie Henry and her Circle at Melrose Plantation. Follow her on Instagram @patbecker25 and Twitter @paustin110.

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