Wow. Walter Steed is NOT a radical progressive! Certainly, I've had my disagreements with Steed, as well. But it is wrong to misrepresent him in this way. I could just imagine if you or I had said something like this about Steed, Tom. There would be requests for a public apology -- and in this case, for good reason. The claim is absurd.<br>
<br>This shows that the rift discussed in "Suicide Conservatives," the NY Times column that Art posted earlier today, is present here, too. But we knew that. Don't local political groups help to elect ultra-conservatives in the primaries, who are then unelectable on the state level? This is kind of phenomenon about which the NY Times articles article comments.<br>
<br>Apparently this is a common dilemma across the country. On the one hand, there are old school conservatives (fiscal conservatives, genuine libertarians) who (like Karl Rove) care more about simply getting conservatives elected; on the other hand, there are the new kids on the block (tea party) who care more about "principles" than winning elections.<br>
<br>I put "principles" in quotes because whether they adhere to principles is debatable. They swear to uphold the Constitution but they don't seem to understand either the first or the second amendment; they don't seem to understand the separation of church and state; and they speculate that we have rights that are not found in the Constitution, rights that override governmental rights. There is a lot of complex stuff going on here.<br>
<br>The Palouse Liberty Project is built on the 9-12 Project, which focuses on 9 Principles and 12 Values supposedly derived from "the principles of the Founding Fathers." For instance: <br><br>Principle 4: "The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government." <br>
<br>What does this mean? This seems to bestow a right that overrides governmental authority. Does the Christian Scientist have the right to withhold medical treatment when her children are sick? There are clearer cases (abuse) where governmental authority overrides parental authority.<br>
<br>More importantly, what on earth does Principle 4 have to do with the US Constitution, or Delegates to the Constitutional Convention like Alexander Martin who never married? Further, I don't see how if the family is the "ultimate authority," the government could restrict formulations of the family by restricting who we marry. Likely this only shows that even the Palouse Liberty Project doesn't REALLY endorse the principles they say they endorse.<br>
<div class="gmail_quote"><br>On Sat, Feb 9, 2013 at 11:10 AM, Tom Hansen <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com" target="_blank">thansen@moscow.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto"><div>Courtesy of the Palouse Liberty Project's Facebook page at:</div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-size:15px;line-height:19px;white-space:nowrap"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/palouselibertyproject?ref=stream" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/palouselibertyproject?ref=stream</a></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:15px;line-height:19px;white-space:nowrap"> </span></div><div><img src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=5dd8f4c73e&view=att&th=13cc09d185fa6aae&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=d13e13071d64be35_0.0.1.1&zw&atsh=1" alt="image.jpeg" height="983" width="640"></div>
<div><br></div><div><div>Seeya there, Moscow, because . . .</div>
<div><br></div><div>"Moscow Cares"</div><div><a href="http://www.MoscowCares.com" target="_blank">http://www.MoscowCares.com</a></div><div> </div><div><div>Tom Hansen</div><div>Moscow, Idaho</div><div><br></div>
<div>"<span style="font-size:medium">There's room at the top they are telling you still</span><span style="font-size:medium"> </span></div><span style="font-size:medium">But first you must learn how to smile as you kill </span><br style="font-size:medium">
<span style="font-size:medium">If you want to be like the folks on the hill."</span></div><div><font size="3"><span><br></span></font></div><div><font size="3"><span>- John Lennon<br></span></font><div> </div></div>
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