Category: Bob Small

DAR Has Modernized In Cumberland County

By Bob Small

This is the third in a series about organizations who made appearances at the 2021 Bill of Rights Banquet.

The Cumberland County chapter of the DAR (Daughters of The American Revolution, is a woman’s volunteer service organization. Projects include collecting personal care items for the Lebanon Valley DAR project andfor the DAR Project Patriot for the US Army Base in Vilseck, Germany.

They have also placed a bench near the American Revolutionary War Exhibit along the Army Heritage trail by the Carlisle Army Heritage Center. See their project page and Molly Pitcher for other examples and information.

What I never knew was that Cumberland County was formed in 1750 from Lancaster County.

The Cumberland County DAR  was founded on May 9, 1895 with 12 Charter Members.

The National DAR itself had their first meeting  on Aug. 9, 1890 and was founded when the Sons of the American Revolution refused to allow women to join their group.

Unlike many legacy organizations, the DAR has found ways to reinvent itself.  The Christian Science Monitor elucidates this.

In 2020, the national DAR created the E Pluribus Union initiative which seeks to include previously excluded Patriots.  This project, for instance, includes an exhibition titled “Remembrance of  Noble Actions:  African Americans and Native Americans in the Revolutionary War”.

The first Afro-American was accepted by the national DAR in 1977. In 1984 their by-laws were rewritten to ban discrimination “on the basis of race and creed”, after previous incidents of exclusion.

More than 5,000 Afro-American men served in the Revolutionary War, along with Creoles, Frenchman and Mexicans.

Perhaps the most important test of any organization is whether they can include the truth of history as it really happened, not just as previously understood.

DAR Has Modernized In Cumberland County

Paramilitary Police Lead To Fear And Mistrust

By Bob Small

Students called Twitter rather than 911 during the Jan. 21 school shooting at Magruder High School in Montgomery County, Md.

The Washington Post failed to note this in the article I read. Further. there was a statement from Lee Holland, spokesperson from Montgomery County Police Union, making the point that the removal of school resource officers from the county’s schools was a failed social experiment with “no plans to secure our schools”. 

Could this be due to either a lack of trust in and/or  fear of the police? 

Maybe Antifa should have been called, then.

Seriously, how have we arrived at this place, and how do we move from here.

Is this yet another argument for returning to virtual learning or is social interaction more important than safety?  Is freedom to go to physically attend school the most important item?

Now the pace of police reform has proceeded at various paces, from measured to snail, throughout the country.  We do need the police, but the question has become which police do we need.  Do we still need the paramilitary police, sometimes answerable to no one, and trained to be  civilian soldiers, most ready to kill, rather than civilian policeman, ready to apprehend criminals, alive when possible.  In that vein, why on earth do police forces need tanks and other military equipment?

Is part of this the cultural matrix around the police?  Have the expectations around police changed that much from Dragnet to, say, CSI.  I don’t remember Jack Webb shooting to death every miscreant.  If we want to return to a time when we feel safe to call the police, and arrive at a time when minorities feel safe in calling the police in the first place, this requires the police, and the Courts to change.  When the police commit crimes, they must also be held responsible, just like any of us.  Period, end of sentence.

Hat tip Scott R.

Paramilitary Police Lead To Fear And Mistrust

Pedophilia Is Soul Murder

By Bob Small

Sometimes the easiest way for society to deal with the incurable is to “normalize” it.  In certain cases, where the behavior is between “consenting adults” and does not cause harm to anyone, such as gay love, this becomes easy.  Furthermore, this may be something,  love between adult consensuals, that could and should have been legalized decades, if not centuries ago. 

Obviously, there are some to whom the LCB and/or the GLBT community will never be “alright”, just as there continues to be prohibition advocats and religions.   Parenthetically, war as a solution to conflicts was “normalized” centuries ago.  And so on,

But now there have been consideration as to what to do about pedastry, or pedophilia, sex between adults and children, understanding that children can never give their consent,  due to the power imbalance in their relationship.  However this happens, it is a form of rape, whether physical or psychological.

So now there are moves afoot to “normalize” this behavior.  However, what this does to the child  involved is a certain form of murder of the soul, if not the body, whether by a priest, a scout leader, a relative, or a stranger.  

Most recently USA Today had an article in which Old Dominion University Professor Allyn Walker, (soon to be ex-professor) had a book on Pedophilia subtitled “Minor-attracted People and their pursuit of dignity”.  Part of this may be due to what seems to be a fact that pedophilia has a low rate of “recovery”, a la Can Pedophiles Change.

This is not only a male problem, as a recent article in The Daily Beast made clear, though this is still primarily a male issue.

If we don’t normalize this “condition”, then what do you have?  I would propose you have both a crime and a disease, and we need appropriate responses to both.  If someone has raped a child, that is a crime and should be punished.   If, however, someone comes to his, or her, Psychiatrist saying that “I have a desire to have sex with children and I haven’t but I need help to find a way to have normal desires”, where should we go with this, knowing this, like diabetes, etc, does not yet have a cure.

In a future post, we can look at how society has “approved” this vile behavior.

Pedophilia Is Soul Murder

Explaining Susan B Anthony List

By Bob Small

At the annual Bill of Rights Banquet, previously mentioned, we learned about The Susan B. Anthony List named after the great American suffragette.

Their flyer mentioned hiring pro-life field representatives at $15 per hour to canvass in Pennsylvania. The following is from a conversation with Kimberly Kennedy, a field director.;

“The Susan B. Anthony List team fights for the election of women and men who will fight for life. We fight for laws that safeguard the innocent, and we develop research to demonstrate the good that flows from society from their protection,” said Ms. Kennedy.

 “We are canvassing the entire state of Pennsylvania and reaching out to Pa pro-life voters encouraging and informing them by pointing out the extreme pro-abortion position on candidates running for Governor and Senate,” she said.  “Many people do not know this and have said they will be sure to not vote for pro-abortion candidates.” 

For information on how to be a canvasser, contact Kim Kennedy at kimberly@sbalistfield.org or 484-557-7655

If she could speak directly to Joe Biden who is a Catholic and pro-choice?

“I would ask him to reflect on the truth that all humans are made in the image of God.  Whatever stage of development a person is at, in this case still developing in the womb, they are an image of God, “ she said. and cited Gen. 9:5-6 Whoever sheds man’s blood by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man. 

Politically, she thinks “Generally speaking, the Republican platform still maintains it is pro-life.  There are factions within that promote abortion though.  The DNC is totally pro-abortion.”

“Today, there are so many help agencies that can come alongside a pregnant mom who is at risk of aborting.  From churches helping women/families in crisis pregnancies, adoption agencies, to crisis pregnancy centers offering help, there are so many resources to choose from today.  “

She listed the following :

https://www.sba-list.org/pregnancy-help and https://www.sba-list.org/

“I think that pro-life people have much to be optimistic about,” she said.  “There were very good questions asked from Brett Kavanagh in particular that showed he had thought a great deal on the issue.  There should be a ruling by early summer.”

SBA list does not deal with the death penalty.  Their services are not restricted to any specific religions.

She ended with “Everyone can help the unborn in so very many ways.  Being a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves is important and needed!”

Explaining Susan B Anthony List

Trump Second Term, A Speculative Fiction

By Bob Small

Now that I’ve joined a monthly third Friday fiction writers group, this requires me to read other’s fiction. Mostly it is speculative fiction. The perpetually unfinished novel I’m working on, for instance, has to do with President Gore’s wars

But that’s not what this is about.

What, I thought, if Donald Trump had been the declared winner rather than what’s his name? It led to what is called a writing prompt. To quote Dana Loesch: “Trump did have some good ideas, I still despise him. Biden is no better for this country, maybe much worse.”

Here’s some of what popped in my head:

Foreign Affairs– 46 would continued his rapprochement with North Korea. Also we would have had a more nuanced relationship with Russia. On the other hand, our relationships with Western Europe, NATO and the UN would remain rocky.

January 6th-One speculates that there would still of been a January 6th, with a similar level of violence, perhaps, but the names of Antifa and RCP (Revolutionary Communist Party) would have entered the pages of history instead.

Voter ID legislation-Since the perception was that the GOP voted in person and the Dems by mail, the Democrats would be the ones supporting Voter ID, especially in our own state assuming we had turned Red.

Congress-Almost nothing would get through Congress, though there would be continual efforts to impeach 46, as he would now be called, If at first you don’t succeed….

Energy-By the time Trump left office the United States was the top exporter for oil and LNG.”From Dana Loesch’s Substack Chapter and Verse: Trump was good for energy if you’re a climate change denier who sees coal and oil as eternally renewable.

Pro Choice/Pro Life-The battle for the Supreme Court’s soul would continue with neither side listening to each other. Eventually 46 would probably appoint enough conservative Judges to tilt the balance to repeal Roe V Wade.

Covid-He would get more critical of Anthony Fauci, doing everything he could outside of directly firing him. He might even read RFK Jr’s book.

46 would claim Executive Privilege when possible.

The Democrats blame the Democrat Sanders. He would try to blame the Greens if he could remember who their candidate was.

By the end of the first year, some GOP might start quietly looking for an alternative.

Trump Second Term, A Speculative Fiction

Voter ID Has A Downside

By Bob Small

While researching the Proud American Patriots Network  I discovered they were boycotting the The Civic Alliance companies. 

 The Civic Alliance, like Walt Whitman, “contains multitudes”, but one of its main functions is as an anti-Voter ID group.  They are supported by Democracy Works,  which according to Influence Watch, is funded by “numerous left-of-center foundations.”  Influence Watch lists numerous organizations, the majority  left of center, but it also lists the RNC.

The boycott of some 200 Companies comprising the Civic Alliance is also for their  failure to speak up about human rights violations in China and other places.  

Now, some thoughts on Voter ID, one  non-political:  Do any of us, need one more card to fall in the back of the car or end up being dry cleaned?  At the very least, this would be easily misplaceable and not easily replaceable.

Secondly, isn’t voter ID a form of government mandate, the same governmental overreach many of us have been railing against. Some feel Voter ID is a solution in search of a problem.  This is not to say that voter fraud does not exist. Only that would explain many or our current and previous officials.

However, creating voter ID, and, of course, a Department of Voter ID, we must have that, then, isn’t it like killing a flea with a hammer?

Thirdly, the fine state of Georgia has not had a third party US House candidate on their Ballot since 1943, due to their restrictive Ballot Access Laws.  By the way, that ruling has been overturned, but is still being appealed.

 I e-mailed the Civic Alliance a week ago, assuming they would share my alarm about this, since they’re busy pillorying Georgia politics anyhow, but it doesn’t seem to raise alarm bells in their brainpan.  Is it incorrect to maintain that only permitting two Parties on the Ballot is, if not voter intimidation, a form of voter suppression?  Sometimes, both major Parties offer a choice that, as the British say, “is a Dog’s breakfast”.  Maybe more than sometimes.

If most people are locked out by the primary system from even being considered, be they renegade Dems, GOP, Independents or Third Parties, then think that should be one of the battles.

As said previously, most of what the Proud American Patriots Network does deserves support, so I would urge people to go to their website and support them.

Voter ID Has A Downside

Right And Left Have Surprisingly Much In Common

By Bob Small

At the annual Bill of Rights Dinner, Dec. 15, in Lancaster County — not to be confused with any ACLU commmemoration — I jotted information from various groups with the intent to research them. 

One lesson I’ve learned in my previous and current time in the Lefting, is that you can support a group if you agree with their main goal(s), even if not all of their 75 sub-goals.  This applies to any group I support unless their sub-goal is bringing back slavery or becoming a subject state of Communist China.

The Proud American Patriot Network of Warwick, Pa .  has a goal to elect “at all levels of government of candidates who will uphold the principles of the Declaration of  Independence, the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights”. They also support small business over large corporations, term limits for Congress members, and US manufacturing. 

These are all goals we, left or right, can agree with.

Another component they have is a disaster response team, which is a fairly unique team for a Political Organization to have,  Again, we should all be able to support this.

On to some more questionable efforts, to some people, would be their Kyle Rittenhouse National Scholarship. My support for Kyle has been unashamedly public and a source of controversy among some of my friends, so this depends on how you view Kyle

As to their previous support of the Three Percenters, President T. J. Kosin said that when he realized that disaster relief was not their mission. “the relationship ended”.

When you learn new information, then that is the time to change your opinion and/or your affiliations: Proud American Patriots presidents shares beliefs

 Lastly, they are anti mask mandates, and will probably be in DC on Jan. 23.  While I, personally, choose to wear a mask in certain settings (esp, in high-risk areas like Swarthmore).  I don’t believe in mask mandates, or in most mandates that are discussed,  My more feminist friends wonder if they should be called persondates, but that’s a discussion that may never have its time.

Right And Left Have Surprisingly Much In Common