Paineful Truth

The liberal left and the mainstream media (but I repeat myself) have long been fans of and experts at playing identity politics. This is one reason Obama had some of the successes he had. If you criticized Obama, you were instantly labeled as a racist. If you’re for border security, you hate Mexicans. If you believe in traditional marriage, you’re a homophobe and a hater. And the list goes on. However, recently added to this list: If you disagree with young people spouting ill-advised, illogical liberal talking points regarding unconstitutional gun control , you hate children. *Sigh* Ok, folks. It’s time to realize 3 things: 1. When You’re Wrong, You’re Wrong Your experience does not make your right. Your background does not make you right. Your credentials do not make you right. Your skin color, age, national origin, gender, physical ability, etc., etc. in no way validate your argument. David Hogg and the rest of the “March For Our Lives”/”# NationalWalkoutDa...

Well, they did it. Our saviors in D.C. averted yet another terrible, evil, apocalyptic government shutdown. In this nick of time, like Tom Cruise saving the world from yet another nuclear holocaust in yet another impossible mission, our Congress swooped in to save the day. The only difference - Tom Cruise makes money when he saves the world, Congress spends $1.3 TRILLION. Government Shutdown? Yes Please! We’ve discussed before how government shutdowns are not that big of a deal. The media and politicians hype it up to be the end of the world, when in reality a few non-essential government services cease to operate and a few paychecks get delayed a week or two. I personally get a bit excited when I hear about the possibility of another shutdown. Maybe if the government does shutdown for awhile, people will start to realize how bloated and useless most of the federal government is because of its unconstitutionality . But then I awake from my daydream. Welcome to the real ...

This week there was an organized effort by some high school students to protest the 2nd Amendment. A lot of back and forth has happened.   On the one hand there’s long been a complaint that apathy is a big problem in the next generation and we want to see them passionate and involved. Yet on the other hand, having individuals who are ill-informed regarding important issues spouting off can be problematic. So where do we find the balance? Here’s 3 things you need to know about #NationalWalkoutDay. Passion Does Not Give You a Right to Lead Seeing young people fired up, passionate about a subject is a good thing. However, passion does not make you right. The cause with the largest protest march is not necessarily the right cause. In fact, historically speaking, the minority has often come out on the correct side of an issue while the majority took awhile to catch up. Good Leaders are Informed Leaders The students who walked out in protest of gun violence were merel...

It seems like an eternity ago, but it was just 6 months ago that Trump gave Congress a hard deadline to “do something” about DACA . That deadline was March 5. 4 days ago. And yet somehow the world continues to turn. This episode of yet another “hard deadline” is nothing new. Politicians use this flawed logic all the time. And more often than not, it has extremely negative results. Creating a sense of immediacy is a sales tactic that has been used for ages. And while it may work well for selling blenders on TV (“ORDER NOW and get this magic blender cleaning thingy for FREE!”), it has terrible consequences when used in public policy making. Burning the Midnight Oil It’s a scientific fact - you do not think as clearly in the dead of night after being up for a whole day. Yet despite this fact, we constantly hear about Congress passing legislation in the middle of the night because of some “hard deadline”. Indeed, some studies seem to show that a lack of sleep puts your brai...

As a conservative, I hold to certain fundamental, eternal principles that uphold freedom. These principles are the foundation of this country and the reason we have had the success we have had. They are as follows -  Principle 3 could also be termed limited government. When government is limited to its proper role, freedom is expanded. The problem with freedom is often we disagree with people on how they use their freedom. Kroger recently joined Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart in raising the minimum age to purchase a rifle to 21. This is Principle 3 operating exactly as it should. If you’ve read much of my work, you know that I am staunchly pro-2nd Amendment . And while I would love to see all sporting goods stores encourage responsible gun ownership, I am also staunchly pro-liberty.  Individual stores have the freedom to regulate themselves as much as they’d like. The problem comes when government is the one trying to regulate our rights out of existence inst...