Every American Is Morally Obliged to Own a Gun

I have previously blogged about the Federalist 29 in which Alexander Hamilton discusses the militia. The militia, the body of citizens which could muster to protect the state and to protect the people, was necessary in Hamilton's view not only to protect the nation from external threat but also to protect the people from tyranny. It is evident that he saw widespread ownership of guns as a fundamental safeguard against governmental tyranny. The Second Amendment, part of the Bill of Rights, was adopted to placate not Federalists but anti-Federalists. There was no serious questioning of this view by any American, Federalist or anti-Federalist, during the time of the adoption of the Constitution. The Founders viewed the widespread ownership of guns as an important safeguard against tyranny then. The Second Amendment says that each American is responsible to own a gun. And the protection of freedom from the US government remains as fundamental today as it was in the time of Jefferson, Hamilton and Brutus.

The basis of American society is not the US government nor the Constitution, but freedom. Freedom adheres in the people. The United States can happily exist without the current form of federal government. But it cannot exist without freedom.

The Civil War fulfilled the American belief in freedom by freeing the slaves, but the war was fought not over freedom but over union. Slavery was not the main point for Lincoln and the North, and the freeing of the slaves a military tactic, not a moral statement. While the post-bellum period was unsuccessful in dealing with race, and the problems that resulted from the North's indifference and the South's resistance to equality reverberate today, the North's insistence on union changed the emphasis of American belief from freedom to union. The Republicans did not intend to dismiss laissez-faire, but by insisting on union they opened the door to enhancement of federal power. The federal government would remain limited in their view, but union, hence government, was to take precedence over individual and local choice. This was not new, as Andrew Jackson, the most laissez faire and localist of all presidents, had refused to permit nullification of tariffs by the states. Yet, the Civil War's magnitude and scope asserted centralization and federal power in a way that the founders had not intended. This change in psychology resulted from practical events, but it had philosophical ramifications that few at the time could have anticipated.

The Civil War's thrust toward centralization was re-enforced by the Progressives. This was a philosophical shift that elites advocated. The public was never entirely convinced by Progressivism, but has accepted the transformation of American government that Progressivism initiated. Nevertheless, the fundamental foundation of freedom as the cornerstone of American life and the fundamental principles on which the Constitution was based were never rescinded. The changes that Progressivism and the New Deal wrought were applied piecemeal, and never fully understood. As a result, the question of the state's threat to freedom looms larger now than it has ever before. The central government's arrogation of power appears increasingly inconsistent with the principles on which a legitimate American government based on freedom can be based.

In order to be moral Americans must live up to their responsibilities. Americans have a moral responsibility to protect the public from tyranny. The federal government threatens tyranny. Ownership of a gun, then, is fundamental to each American's responsibility. The Second Amendment says that it is the moral responsibility of Americans to own guns. It is in this light that the Second Amendment needs to be understood:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

A free state is secure only if it is protected from tyranny and external threat. The public must own guns to protect itself from the tyrannical state as vested today in the federal government.

Just Say No to Perez Hilton

I have written the following e-mail to the Miss USA Beauty Pageant. I have been subjected to the kind of harassment in academia that now raises its head in Miss USA and Kitco. It is critical that Americans voice their opposition to the offensive harrassment of heterosexuals in which the left is engaging.

I am personally offended by Perez Hilton's question to Carrie Prejean, Miss California. I firmly believe in beauty pageants, as most supporters of gay marriage probably do not. But I oppose ideological litmus tests, which most supporters of gay marriage seem to support. Perez Hilton saw fit to impose an ideology on contestants: the ideology of homosexual marriage. This is offensive. If everything offensive is a form of discrimination, then Hilton discriminated against Prejean and your pageant is unfair. The leftists in Hollywood might think themselves clever, but their ugly discrimination against conservatives puts them on the same level as those who formulated blacklists in the 1950s. Perez Hilton is an ugly thug, and you should be ashamed of yourselves for allowing a bigot to be one of your judges. I have stopped paying to watch movies because of Hollywood's moronic, left-wing views. The thought that anyone who disagrees with the moronic, left-wing ideas of Spielberg and Hilton cannot find work disgusts me. You need to clean house.

Nancy Razik on Carrie Prejean

CARRIE PREJEAN IS MY NEW SUPERHERO!!! SHE DIED TO HER DREAMS TO HONOR JESUS CHRIST!!! GOD BLESS CARRIE!!!

Kitco Bans Gay Marriage Opponents

What does gold investment advisor Howard S. Katz have to do with Miss California? Recently, Perez Hilton, a gay judge in the Miss USA contest, asked Miss California, Carrie Prejean, whether she believes in gay marriage. Prejean suggested that marriage ought to be between a man and a woman. There has been speculation that Prejean lost Miss USA as a result. Suppressive intolerance against all who disagree with extremist dogma is reminiscent of the the Fascist trial of Antonio Gramsci. The left has whined about McCarthyism for more than fifty years, yet it does not hestitate to apply McCarthyite tactics, ruining careers with ideological litmus tests, when an individual's views do not conform to left wing or homosexual dogma.

Howard S. Katz has been working on gold investing since the 1960s. He has successfully navigated gold, lumber and other commodities markets for 40 years, and frequently publishes on Gold Eagle, Goldseek, and other gold websites. Recently, on his personal blog that he had linked to a Kitco article, Katz mentioned that he opposes gay marriage. He did not write this in the Kitco article. He simply voiced the view that he opposed gay marriage in his blog, which was linked to the article.

Because Katz failed the Code of Gay Fascism, Ms. Cambone wrote Katz the e-mail below. It saddens me that the gay community and Kitco have taken to witch-hunting and McCarthyite tactics, such as attacking people's livelihoods because they merely store and do not lubricate their gold bars.

Does this mean that all current writers on Kitco support gay marriage? I will inquire. Please stay tuned.

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Subject: commentary
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:35:50 -0400
From: dcambone@kitco.com
To: howardkatz@hotmail.com

Dear Mr. Katz,

We have run into quite a few complaints with your latest article. It seems that when our readers clicked the link to your website, they found a blog against homosexual marriages. This has insulted many people. We at Kitco realize that your commentary did not make reference to this fact but we cannot be associated with individuals who share these viewpoints.

You are a longtime contributor to Kitco and we appreciate your commentaries. Unfortunately, we cannot publish commentator’s who have points-of-views that are offensive to readers.

If you would like to discuss this matter in further detail, please feel free to call me.

Sincerely,

Daniela Cambone
Content Specialist
Marketing Department

Kitco Metals Inc.
Direct Line: (514) 670-1317
Cell: (514) 928-5820
Fax: (514) 875-2579
dcambone@Kitco.com
www.kitco.com