The Sanctity of Marriage

The Sanctity of Marriage!

by Leon Howard

Now, before you get your panties in a twist, I am not homophobic; I do not want to tell anybody how they must live; and I try to love all People for who they are!

Recently a friend challenged my stand for marriage – His challenge: “I'd like to hear your constitutional argument. In a republic all individuals are equal under the law. If marriage is to be held as a public institution (which I believe it should not) it must be accessible to all. Why is it that the state should allow one type of person to make a contract, but not another?”

An honest question and I hope I can answer it adequately. I am a Constitutionalist and a Libertarian; that should speak to the fact that I do not care what lifestyle a person chooses as long as it doesn’t infringe on my rights! I am also a Christian and do not believe it would ever be the intent of our founders to redefine the Biblical definition of “marriage”!

I want everybody to remember what Patrick Henry said, “It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”

Going back to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitutional Convention, and the drafters of our Bill of Rights, a majority of the signers were religious; holding seminary or Bible school degrees, active clergy, or, like George Washington, deeply religious in words and deeds! I hope one day to be as devout as George Washington but he set a very high standard!

I bring this fact up because, like my friend, Elijah, I do not believe the State has any business in the “marriage business”! Marriage is a religious term and has had but one meaning since before the coming of Jesus Christ: One man and one woman can be married in the eyes of God! In written history, marriage has been between man and woman; not man and man; not woman and woman; not man and horse; not woman and goose; not man and child; and not woman and child! Case in point: Utah could not become a State of the Union until it ended it’s practice of polygamy and the U.S. Supreme Court agreed in 1879, that the federal government could outlaw polygamy as it had under the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act. So there is case law history and court decisions upholding it.

I mention this because it shows a consistency in meaning of the term “marriage” for over 4,000 years! It wasn’t mentioned at all in our founding documents because there was no need to! And I do not believe we have the right to redefine a time-honored word to show tolerance to a very small minority of people choosing a different lifestyle!

Why did the State get involved in the Marriage License business in the first place? Is marriage illegal? Because the only reason a “license” is issued is to allow something that is illegal to be done by someone or something without an arrest and/or fine levied: In this state, you must have a license to sell guns commercially but I don’t need a license to sell my own gun. The last time I checked, it is not illegal for a man and woman to live together so why do they need a license to get married? Answer: They don’t!

The “Marriage License” is nothing more to the State than  another revenue generator! It serves no other purpose, as far as the State is concerned and that is as it should be – That is why I do not understand why our elected officials, on both sides of this issue, haven’t come to the conclusion to just end the “Marriage License” scam!

The People of the State of Washington enacted a law to sell “Domestic Partnership Contracts” to any 2 consenting adults so they could start building their estate in a Community Property State – It’s written in such a way that is covers exactly the same thing the so-called Marriage License does but gender isn’t the criteria. If these same “legislators” would repeal the Marriage License law, a couple can buy the Domestic Partnership agreement and then, if they are so inclined and can find a minister willing to perform the marriage, they can be married in the eyes of God!

By doing what this rogue legislature did, they blurred the line – No, they erased the line of what constitutes a “marriage” in Washington state! Already, one household,from a 'reality' TV show, is filing suit to declare the “Marriage Laws” discriminatory because they are a “family” practicing polygamy! Their “logic”? “If the State can redefine marriage to include same-sex marriage, why can’t the definition include any loving ‘family unit’? The State is discriminating against my family!”

Admitting the State has no power in what people do in the privacy of their home as long as they are consenting adults and admitting marriage’s rich religious history and ending the “Marriage License” scam, places the onus back on the churches to decide who can be married in the eyes of God!

This controversy shows clearly the intent of the First Amendment: In this instance, the State is redefining a ceremony repugnant to the teachings of the Holy Bible – Sounds to me like the first step in establishing a “State Church” – Clearly not the intent for religious freedom! Plus they are violating the religious choices of private businesses who won’t cater, rent or sell wedding apparel, or other wedding trappings to same-sex “marriages”!

This change also violates Article I, Section 11, of the Washington State Constitution, which says, in part: “Absolute freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment, belief and worship, shall be guaranteed to every individual, and no one shall be molested or disturbed in person or property on account of religion; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices inconsistent with the peace and safety of the state. …. ” This ‘redefining’ of “marriage” clearly violates the stated right to an even greater extent than the U.S. Constitution.

This legislation also violates Article I, Section 12, of the Washington State Constitution because priests, pastors, rabbis, etc. are exempted from performing the marriage ceremonies for gay couples but they made no exemptions for church buildings, or businesses who cater to weddings! This section clearly states: “No law shall be passed granting to any citizen, class of citizens, or corporation other than municipal, privileges or immunities which upon the same terms shall not equally belong to all citizens, or corporations.”

Referendum 74 garnered enough signatures for the November ballot and will allow the People to speak. I hope they speak loud and clear and tell this State's "legislature" they have more important things to do to improve our economy than trying to second guess God!

Think for Ourselves and Prepare for the Worst!

Think for Ourselves and Prepare for the Worst!

by Leon Howard

Okay, why is it the American People must hear it from a "talking head" before it gains any credibility? I ask this because of the following article and something that happened today on Rush Limbaugh's show and was discussed tonight on "The Five" on FOX News. Because of the violence happening over the Quran burning in Afghanistan and because now the Taliban is demanding that the American servicemen who burned the defaced Qurans be arrested and put on trial, Rush is now saying we should just pull everybody out and let the Afghans kill each other! So, on The Five tonight, Bob Beckel, a 'progressive', and the rest of the crew, all supposedly 'conservatives' agreed with Rush Limbaugh that we need to get out! Hallelujah!!! Roughly half of the board of directors of the Tri-Cities Tea Party have advocated getting out of Afghanistan, especially since Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by Seal Team 6; in fact, I wrote a Blog article after that titled "We Won, Bring 'Em Home!", making the point that we supposedly went into Afghanistan to get Osama and his 'leaders' for the 9-11 attack, and now that the creep was dead our objective for being there in the first place was accomplished and we are not into 'nation building'! I don't care what Mr. Bush thinks! These backward, violent tribes have never progressed beyond the 7th Century and we aren't going to make them progress any faster by staying there! We have turned it into another Viet Nam and getting our future leaders killed in an unwinnable war because we are fighting a war of containment and we have no national interest there to turn it into a Constitutional War to win! Wel-l-l, there is the poppy crop ...

After reading Michael Savage's article here, I am starting to feel like Glenn Beck and I am certain I am not the only one! Many of us have said this pretender to the White House, President Zero, was a Marxist and doubt we will even have an election this year because of the very points Mr. Savage makes here and the other evidence that is available to anybody interested. But now we will hear others finally start worrying about the forthcoming dictatorship because Michael Savage is willing to bring the subject up. Why is that? What has happened to us that we keep electing these elitists who want to rule us instead of serve us; and why is it we refuse to hear it or read it until a talking head brings it up? Have the majority of the American People become the American sheeple? No answer required ... The evidence is overwhelming!

Interesting View Point- from Michael Savage

Here is another viewpoint. You may not agree, but read it - and think about the possibility.

Could 2012 be America 's Last Presidential Election?

I've asked this question to a number of people and most them respond as if I were crazy for asking. They tell me that this is America , land of the free and that there will always be elections. I tell them that we are no longer the land of the free and that if Obama gets re-elected in 2012, that this just may be America 's last election.

In the past three years, the Obama administration has been very carefully crafting the nation for a political take over by his Marxist regime and this isn't just my opinion.

Popular radio talk show host Michael Savage is the son of Russian immigrants and is very familiar with Soviet and European history. Savage warned his listeners this week saying,

"I have to tell you that if this man, God forbid, is the next

president of the United States, we're going to be living in something along the lines of 'people say Europe .. I don't believe it's going to be like Europe; I think it will be closer to Chavez's South American dictatorship.

“This is the most corrupt, incompetent, dangerous tyrannical administration in American history. It's not politics as usual. It's not just Democrats versus Republicans. Obama has a long history of being at odds with American values and with America itself and the core principles of this country. They don't want government-sponsored opinions. They only want government-sponsored 'Pravda.' That's exactly what the government-media complex tells you on a daily basis 'nothing but the government-media complex party line.' Pay attention. Your freedom may be at stake."

Over the weekend, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum told a small group of people in an Iowa coffee house that, "Barack Obama is not incompetent, ladies and gentleman. He knows exactly what he's doing and why he's doing it. He sees America differently than you see America.

"[Obama] has gone out of his way to divide this country in a way I haven't seen since the Great Depression when Franklin Roosevelt went around to divide his country. That's his hero. What makes America great [in Obama's mind is that] the government takes money from somebody and gives it to somebody else. No, that's what makes America, France ."

With his control over the Executive and Judicial branches of the government, the stage is set for a complete takeover of the government. Think about it.

Since taking office, instead of helping the economy, Obama has purposely escalated the economic crisis by plunging the country into unprecedented debt. He has a number of programs that are designed to go into effect in January 2013, just in time for his second term of office. The economic burden and increased taxes on everyone will be enough to cause the final economic collapse of the country. As soon as that happens, Obama declares Martial Law and assumes dictatorial control of the nation.

The Department of Justice has already been subverting federal laws to strip us of a number of freedoms. The Supreme Court and many of the other federal courts have been seeded with socialistic liberal judges that will rule in Obama?s favor on virtually anything, thus ending constitutional rule and law.

He's already changing the face of America's military. Allowing homosexuals to openly serve along with changing the retirement program is causing many conservative military leaders to resign commissions and leave the military. Some Pentagon officials are also noting that an increase in the enlistment of radical Muslims into the US military where they get all the training they need on weapons and defense systems. We have no idea how many of them there are in the armed forces or in what positions they may hold.

Obama has been wielding executive powers this past year as if he were already a dictator. When Congress is not doing his bidding, he simply bypasses them and used an executive order to accomplish it anyway. This has set the stage for his disbandment of Congress. He would not be the first world leader to take control of a nation and disband the legislative branch of government.

He has been effectively using the media to anesthetize the public to the dangers he poses. Like a patient being prepped for surgery, people are numb to the changes and won't have a clue what took place until they wake up in recovery and realize that free America has been removed and replaced with a regime that may parallel those of Stalin, Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler, Chavez and Castro.

For the sake of our children and grandchildren, I earnestly pray that we are spared from what seems a certain future and that Obama is overwhelmingly defeated in 2012. Otherwise, heaven help us!

The Fools We Elect to "Serve" Us

The Fools We Elect to “Serve” Us

By Leon Howard

From time to time, the fools we elect to “serve” us violate their oath of office and the People suffer because of it – This happens more often than would seem reasonable for, supposedly, intelligent officials.

Case in point:

The Stormans family, who owns Ralph’s Thriftway pharmacy in  Olympia, has spent over $500,000 of their own money to defend  their right to not sell the Plan B “morning after” pill, arguing that  it disregards their deeply held religious beliefs. After a 5 year protracted battle in which the state government  spent over $300,000 per year fighting against this family-owned  small business to force them to violate their Constitutionally- protected right of conscience, a federal judge definitively ruled  that the state is wrong. (And they wonder why we have a budget  “shortfall”?) In this landmark case, Judge Leighton ruled that the law in  question violates the First Amendment right to free exercise  of religion: “The Board of Pharmacy’s 2007 rules are not neutral, and they  are not generally applicable. They were designed instead to force  religious objectors to dispense Plan B, and they sought to do so  despite the fact that refusals to deliver for all sorts of secular  reasons were permitted.” In his rebuke of the state’s breach of the Constitution, Judge  Leighton continued, “The Board’s regulations have been aimed at Plan B and  conscientious objections from their inception. Indeed, Plaintiffs  have presented reams of [internal government documents]  demonstrating that the predominant purpose of the rule was  to stamp out the right to refuse [for religious reasons].” Attorney General Rob McKenna and his office erroneously  argued on behalf of the State that if exceptions were made for  religious beliefs, the state would be establishing religion, in  violation of the First Amendment.  McKenna’s legal team  recently spent 11 days in federal court trying to convince a  Judge to force the owners of Ralph's Thriftway to provide  medicine that they believe will take a human life. Undeterred by this week’s ruling, the Governor is now  conferring with the AG’s office on the best path to an appeal.  The question for McKenna now becomes – “Do I continue to  spend state taxpayer money to appeal this decision, or do I  back off and give Mr. Stormans the dignity he deserves?" Shahram Hadian, candidate for Washington State governor,  voiced it best: “The ramifications of this case are huge. If the state continues  with its witch hunt and ultimately prevails, it opens a Pandora’s  Box. Any government agency could force individuals to violate  their right of conscience in any matter. Governor Gregoire and  AG Rob McKenna, STOP your persecution of our constitutionally  protected religious freedom and right of conscience.” I believe Shahram Hadian has covered the point Mr. McKenna  needs to address in this case but an even bigger question for  me is: If AG Rob McKenna, who wants to be Governor, cannot  respect the First Amendment as Attorney General, what other  inalienable rights will he “interpret” against the People if  elected to be Governor? Who will be the next victim of an  over-reaching elected official and will they be forced to spend  their savings to fight for our rights? For me the answer is obvious - I will gladly endorse and  support Shahram Hadian to be the next Governor of  Washington State!

G.O.P. - Rest In Peace

G.O.P. – Rest In Peace

by Leon Howard

I know some will be offended by the following but it has to be said and it needs to be said sooner, rather than later! When we started the Tea Party, it was because we saw a "2-Party System" that was morally and fiscally bankrupt - It still is! 

Many of us thought we could possibly make the Republican Party viable again because their Party Platform stated real American values ... It is a sham! 

The Republican Party will not even hold their own candidates to their Platform ... That makes them 'progressive-lites'! Not friends of Liberty!

How can I state that? An A.G. candidate (Reagan Dunn) advocating same-sex marriage? Our current A.G. (Rob McKenna) trying to force a family-owned pharmacy to carry birth control drug, including the "morning after" pill to abort a fetus when it violates this family's religious values and he's running for Governor? A state "representative" voting for same-sex marriage? Can you say, "R.I.N.O.!!!!"? I knew you could ...

I am coming to this rather stark conclusion because of the party "leadership" does not change - Oh, it switches positions and even adds a new face now and then but their wimpy stances on issues never changes! We, the People, sought out candidates espousing the Tea Party ideals and core principles; actually, they found us: Clint Didier, admired by the People - the George Washington of our time - Shut out by the party "leadership" for a 2-time loser who became their 3-time loser!

Shahram Hadian, a true conservative, cannot even get recognized by the party "leadership" - They've already 'endorsed' "their guy", Rob McKenna, who is running against a 'progressive' liar, Jay Inslee; but if you close your eyes while both McKenna and Inslee are speaking, it sounds like Gregoire-lite in stereo!

Any hope nationally? It started out with a couple of conservatives and several claiming to be conservatives: Dr. Ron Paul, Gary Johnson, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Santorum are fiscal conservatives; Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, and Jon Huntsman, wanna-be conservatives. Who is left: Ron Paul and Rick Santorum – Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich – Who do you think will be their candidate? Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich advocate Agenda 21, so that debacle will continue to expand if either is elected!

I predict we will have a 3rd Party by 2014 and the GOP will go the way of the dinosaur! The Republican Party has become the Party of R.I.N.O.'s and pussies to the Democrat Party! They don't even qualify as 'paper tigers'!

I am certain this made me friends - Oh, well ...

Yours in Liberty! Not “Party”!