Uncommon Sense

By Brad Bohnarczyk

This past week we heard from Hillary Clinton that she would like to see a ban on utoamatic weapons.  We also saw Senator Harry Reid call for increased background checks, after the shootings in Nevada recently, to try to prevent shootings from happening. However, these measures will not work, and have failed to work in the past.

There are, unfortunately, multiple cases in which background checks and/or a weapons bans have not worked. All of the shootings in the past few years had gunmen that either passed background checks, or acquired their weapons illegally.

As Breitbart News has pointed out, shooters at Fort Hood (both in 2009 and 2014), Arapahoe High School in Oregon, the Washington DC Navy Yard, LAX, and Aurora all passed background checks. Breitbart News also points out, the increased background checks proposed in congress are already in place, but would be applied to all sales, not just retail sales.

Increased background checks and weapons bans did not work for Newtown, Connecticut. Connecticut had the fifth strictest gun laws in the country when the tragedy at Newtown occurred. If we go even further back to the Columbine High School shootings, there was a national assault weapons ban. However, that did not stop one of the deadliest shootings in American history. Even now, Illinois has some of the strictest gun laws in the country yet Chicago has some of the highest gun violence rates in the country.

What could make kids want to turn a gun on someone or even themselves?

The NRA has served up that violent media is to blame. Violent movies, video games, and music lead to violent acts. The fact is, there are no scientific examples to back those claims up. In fact, scientific research has shown otherwise.

But then, what could be the cause for kids to do this stuff?

Let’s look at what we teach our children; let’s look at what our political ethos has evolved into. Look no further than our gun control debate. We always look to create villains. There always has to be an evil villain out there, but gun advocates and gun-control advocates alike are not bad people. They are just on opposite sides of a debate.

As a society, we like neat packages and look to position one side as wrong and one side as right. Yes, there are some absolute truths, but some debates have shades of gray. It is not always as easy as right and wrong. Even deeper than acknowledging shades of gray, different sides of a debate are not evil unless they seek to violate an absolute truth

We are taught to be scared of everyone. We are taught that we can’t trust our own neighbor. We are taught stranger danger, and that we should despise people who don’t conform to an introverted lifestyle. We are taught to not be trusting of those different than us. We are taught to always to be aware because danger is lurking everywhere.

The nightly news is a seemingly worst of humanity. 24-hour news stations are about arguing and finger pointing instead of serious intellectual debate.

We look down on people for being different or rebelling against and questioning the system. A young boy named Jacob Barnett was told that he is unable to learn. He is now a potential Nobel Prize winning author. Jacob’s IQ is higher than Albert Einstein’s, but because he didn’t conform to our education system he was deemed too dumb to learn. That gets me thinking, how many kids are routinely cast out because they don’t learn or think the same as other kids?

We wonder why kids go on rampages or turn a gun on themselves. When kids are lazy we don’t set them straight. When kids think differently we say they can’t learn. When kids are different we teach them to conform or they will stay outcasts. How exactly are you supposed to get over that hill at such a young age? Not just kids but the poor as well. They are looked at as lazy and useless.

We have set up a society that rewards those who stay in line, and only question the other side of the debate. While we may teach 1984 as a warning to guard against tyranny, it only serves the chance to have liberal teachers question Republicans and talk radio hosts to question Democrats.

We want to stop all of these violent outbursts? Take a good hard look at yourselves. Yes you Rush, Professor, MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, mom, and dad. Stop punishing differences and teaching that the only way to get even with someone you don’t like is retribution and ridicule.

We are only on the verge of societal collapse so long as we continue this societal trend. Everything starts at home. Stop teaching that the only way to think is one is good one is evil because for a while now both of you have been wrong.

Don’t blame guns, or the kids, or the video games. Just take a good hard look at us, and for God’s sakes make a change while there’s still time.

By Brad Bohnarczyk

Something that I’ve seen for a few years now is a growing disgruntled attitude with the establishment on the left and right. Polls show that, after the 2012 election, the American people were not happy with President Obama. However, many would not have changed their vote to Mitt Romney.

Another thing that I’ve also seen is a growing coalition between Libertarians and Progressives. Just a few weeks ago, Ralph Nader spoke of the need for Libertarians and Progressives to band together to overthrow the strangle hold the establishment has on this country. Nader, who in 2008 worked with Libertarian icon Dr. Ron Paul, has attempted to legitimize third parties in the US since the 2000 election.

Last June, one of the most senior Democrats in the House, John Conyers, and junior Republican congressman Justin Amash formed a coalition in the House to attempt to reign in the NSA’s spying power. They took House leadership by surprise and nearly passed the bill. Unfortunately, it fell short by just a few votes. However, it showed the growing potential this coalition could possibly have.

Imagine if Libertarians and Progressives joined together on other issues. A bipartisan alliance could potentially be formed not seen since that of Republicans and conservative Southern Democrats in the 1950s and 60s.

Working together on issues such as marijuana legalization, reigning in our foreign policy, domestic surveillance, social issues, and issues relating to crony capitalism and corporate welfare. There have been instances in which we have seen this take place. Senator Rand Paul has had a dialog with Attorney General Eric Holder on drug sentencing reform. Paul also introduced an amendment with New Jersey Senator Cory Booker to stop the DEA and DOJ from interfering with state medical marijuana laws.

Recently, Glenn Beck spoke on this coalition. Beck points to the current and ongoing situation in Iraq as a possible defining moment. And it can be! We can turn this country around if we work together. We can make this a rallying point, and get things done that we want. Beck has gone under a transformation of sorts over the past year or so, souring on the establishment.

The possibilities could be substantial in changing the direction in which the country is going for the better. Not to mention much more exciting and meaningful elections. Real issues could be debated, and we would not just be left with a storyline of family dynasty vs. family dynasty.

Everyone who is upset with the establishment (Occupy Movement and Tea Party), let’s stand up once and for all. Let the media say that we ae purists and uncompromising. We’ve already proven differently. Let’s prove that we can work together to get what we want done.

We have a voice, and let’s show them what happens when you combine to form an unstoppable rebel force.

By Brad Bohnarczyk

The witch-hunt that has been undertaken recently is ridiculous. The crusade, led by Senate majority leader Harry Reid, is not only hypocritical but flat-out stupid. The crusade is against the supposed takeover of America by billionaire brothers, Charles and David Koch. Not only has the theory of an attempted coup been proven false, but it also does not make any sense whatsoever. In fact, their libertarian philosophy is completely contradictory with the theory of some kind of takeover.

While Senator Reid would like to focus on Charles and David Koch’s political contributions he conveniently forgets to mention their charitable donations. He also neglects to mention their $20 million donation to the American Civil Liberties Union to aid in their fight against the tyrannical Patriot Act. But I guess it must have slipped his mind.

Now recently, on the Senate floor, Harry Reid has claimed that the Democrats don’t have any billionaire supporters.

The hypocrisy of his claim is laughable. Senator Reid was asked about Nevada billionaire casino tycoon Sheldon Adleson’s political contributions, but Senator Reid found no objections. I guess when you benefit from someone; you have a hard time criticizing them for the SAME EXACT THING!

Senator Reid would not dare bring up liberal sugar daddy George Soros. I’m not one of those conspiracy theorists so let’s deal in proven fact when it comes to Mr. Soros. Not only does Soros donate millions to fund Democrats’ campaigns, he’s no boy scout either. The Koch brothers have been criticized for improper waste disposal. Mr. Soros nearly collapsed England’s economy (Google: Black Wednesday 1992). But we’ve established the Senator Reid has a faulty memory.

What strikes me as most ridiculous about Senator Reid’s takeover conspiracy is that their donations have, at times, been unsuccessful. I’ll prove it right now. We will never be able to debate the policies of President Mitt Romney’s administration.

But let’s ask one final question. What about what politicians may do with their campaign contributions? Shouldn’t that come into question? Senator Reid your crusade is that much more asinine when we take into account that you illegally funneled $17,000 in campaign funds into your granddaughter’s account for “holiday gifts.”

I guess like everything else, it must have slipped your mind.

The sound cut through the wasteland of deserted space like a knife slices through butter.  The noise shocked me – not so much because the silence was shattered but more because I did not expect to hear it.

My neighbor walked over to speak to me. She did not text me. She did not update her Facebook status to alert me that she was coming.  She didn’t even take to the Twitter airwaves to inform the masses of her intention to use her vocal chords.

Oddly enough the earth is still rotating on its axis and the end of civilization has not started.  I love Social Media because it is effective, informative and efficient.  I hate Social Media because it is teaching a generation of thumb abusers how not to communicate.

I’m a guy who loves the silence.  I like being lost in my thoughts with limited personal intervention.  However, I know that approach is a highway to a misperception about my character and will make going through Life infinitely more difficult so I try to be social.

Being social and Social Media are two different things.  My wife will roll down her car window in a traffic jam and talk to the motorist next to her.  That’s social. I typically listen to music, do my e-mail off my phone or text with someone.  That’s Social Media.

The problem with Social Media is it’s not social.  We hide behind “Likes”, posting inane pictures of food, or posting non-descript one-liners about how our day is going.  We fool ourselves into believing that sharing arcane information no one cares about is being social.  It’s not.  Interacting with humans – or barnyard animals if that’s your taste – is being social.

By the way, what is up with posting pictures of food?  I think it’s the silliest thing and being a wise guy from New Jersey I have an idea.  I want to take a picture of a food I am about to eat and then take a picture of it once my body has processed it.  I then want to post the picture of the food next to the picture of fecal matter it turned into as a before and after shot.

But I digress.  Anyway, thanks to social media I can keep up with up my small circle of friends.  I know things about them that I did not know when we actually spoke to one another. However, I am lulled into a false sense of friendship and I no longer hear their triumphs, fears, or desires.  What kind of friend have I become?  A passive one that gets frequent updates of what they are doing on a daily – sometimes hourly – basis.

I know more about them but I no longer know them.

By Brad Bohnarczyk

It was all over. The fat lady was singing. Elvis had not only left the building, he was in his car on his way home. The media had written off the Tea Party as dead in the water. Then it happened, Tea Party challenger, David Brat, upset Congressman Eric Cantor. Brat, who from what I can gather from his campaign website, is a liberty minded Tea Party member. He seems to be more in tune with the libertarian (Rand Paul) wing than the social conservative (Sarah Palin) wing. He is part of the movement to limit government spending as well as government spying. He also upset the number two Republican in the House.

Taking all of this into account, were the claims of a diluted Tea Party true?

For the past year or so, following the 2012 election, the media has talked about the Tea Party being on its way down. Yet, we saw the Tea Party’s finger prints all over Washington and politics nationwide.

The government shutdown was carried out by the Tea Party, led by Tea Partiers in the House and Tea Party folk hero Senator Ted Cruz. Also in the House, during the voting to decide who would be Speaker of the House, another Tea Party stalwart, Congressman Justin Amash, led the charge to attempt to oust John Boehner as Speaker. In doing so, Amash picked up a few votes for himself, and gained some notoriety in the process. Amash also led the charge to attempt to strip some spying power from the NSA, along with senior Democrat Congressman John Conyers.

Then there is the Tea Party titan, the man on top of the polls for 2016, Senator Rand Paul. Paul has gone a lot of places where no Republican has gone before. Paul has visited liberal colleges, Silicon Valley, and plans to continue this trend throughout the summer. Paul began his journey to prominence in March of 2013. It was then that Paul held a 13-hour filibuster of President Obama’s secretive drone policy. Since then, Paul has never really left the public eye. He has earned praise from both sides of the isle, and, not only leads national polls, but is in the top tier in polls in early states (Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada). Rand Paul also currently leads Hillary Clinton in the battleground state of Colorado.

To talk of the end of the Tea Party is premature. If their end is coming, or if we are currently in a GOP civil war, time will tell how the Tea Party will fare. However, as Mr. Cantor found out, if you count out the Tea Party you are in for a rude awakening.

Should Rand Paul win the presidency, or even the GOP nomination the media will have been proven completely false.

By Brad Bohnarczyk

Big government has run roughshod over this country for decades. However, for the past couple of years it has reached a fever pitch in terms of causing problems. Focusing on four instances that have made headlines for the past year or so such as Benghazi, the Justice Department confiscating documents from the Associated Press, IRS targeting of political groups, and the Veterans Affairs backlog have all created trouble for citizens in our country.

One of the most egregious results of bureaucracy out of control is the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Four Americans were killed and we are only left with questions. Who was in charge? President Obama? Apparently this was not the case. Was it Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, head of the department in charge of foreign affairs? While Hillary may have taken credit for failing to do her job, many continue to claim it to be those within her department. So then, are we to believe that bureaucracy is so out of control that heads of departments don’t have control over the department itself?

Four Americans were killed, the cause, an uncontrollable bureaucratic nightmare.

Benghazi is certainly not the only bureaucratic failure. It was originally reported that the Internal Revenue Service was targeting conservative political groups. When the scandal broke, people initially looked to President Obama for answers. It was again found to be the bureaucracy under him. Now, after these abuses, we are left to trust this agency with collecting the individual mandate fees that are associated with Obamacare.

The Department of Justice already had blood on its hands with the Fast and Furious scandal. Therefore, you would think that the DOJ would be a tad more timid and conscientious with the way that they go about their business. Apparently, timidity to the DOJ is confiscating a “massive and unprecedented” number of files from the Associated Press.

The AP believes some of this info could include information about secret sources. We are, again, expected to trust the department that is supposed to be the highest prosecutor in the land despite the fact that it has just violated the right to free press.

What may be the most atrocious of all bureaucratic violations is the backlog at veteran’s hospitals. The Department of Veteran’s Affairs is to blame for this, spanning both the Obama and Bush administrations. If there is any function that the government should serve it is taking care of our veterans. Instead, we see cover-ups and a fear of reprimand.

That’s right, grown adults are more concerned about being reprimanded than showing true concern for the health and well being of those who have served our country. So if you’re wondering just how grotesque the bloated bureaucracy in this country can get, there you have it. The people who protect and secure our freedom are discarded as not as important as whether some bureaucrat is yelled at.

Everyone who has been critical over these scandals has missed the mark. Pointing the finger at Barack Obama and George W. Bush are not looking at the true culprit- an over -bloated, out of control bureaucracy.

Editor’s Note:  Brad Bohnarczyk, a student at Quinnipiac University, joins the staff at Uncommon Sense.  This is his first blog post.

He ran towards me after I called him an anal orifice.  The home plate umpire stepped in between us as the bevy of 14 and 15 year old boys giggled at the site of two middle aged men making fools of themselves.

Unaware of the irony, he was screaming obscenities as he demanded my ejection for cursing on the field.  He even strongly suggested I partook in sexual relations with my mother which no doubt gave the teenage players a visual they did not want.

I’m not sure where or how two men devolved into primal beings but I think it has something to do with getting an eight dollar trophy at the end of the year.  Is this what we have become?

It started innocently enough. Two teams of teenage boys playing baseball as parents sit alongside the fence dreaming of college scholarships or being drafted by a pro team.  Us volunteer coaches do it for the children. That is a load of hogwash perfected by striking teaches come contract time.

Anyway, my team was not doing well and it was obvious to everyone in the ball park my team was outclassed by our opponent.  When faced with such a lopsided ordeal the only motivating advice one can drum up is to play for the love of the game.

That bit of advice is hard to project when the team is texting with their friends and, in some cases, teammates on the bench.  The boys were pre-occupied with important matters like where we will stop to eat on the way home.

Meanwhile, the other team is running the core up on us.  I had no pitching so my poor leftfielder turned pitcher was in the midst of his fourth consecutive walk and the other manager was stealing home in a 15-2 game.  That was his third steal of home.in that inning. Needless to say, that went over like passing gas in church with some on our team and the chirping intensified between the sides.

During a pitching change the umpire called both managers to the side to try and stem the bickering. One thing led to another and words were exchanged about the sexual proclivity of the other’s mother and I called him an anal orifice.

Youth Sports is out of control in America. The easy answer is to point to the pressures of getting a higher education and the paths people take to ensure a scholarship. That may explain why the parents are nut jobs but does not explain why the coach’s check into the asylum. I think some coaches believe they will be the next YouTube sensation and a college program in desperate need of a coach will hire them on the spot. It could be the coaches are re-living their childhood with the mistaken belief they have control this time.

Whatever it is, the one thing that is becoming abundantly clear is Youth Sports is not about the kids. Perhaps we should ponder that concept and let the umps ump, coaches coach and kids play. After all, it is about the kids.

The ball flutters in the air with the grace of a moth that just passed gas and lands silently into the awaiting catcher’s mitt. There is momentary silence in the crowd as parents eagerly await the umpire’s call.

“Ball” says the man in blue with the conviction of a meek teenager asked his favorite color.

The hitter is relieved and his manager sheepishly smiles knowing he got away with one. The pitcher is perplexed, the catcher confused, and their manager makes a snide comment about the umpire’s need for eye surgery.

This is typical scenario at a youth baseball game but what happens next is the point of this blog. In between innings, I sauntered over to the umpire to inquire about his strike zone. He proceeds to tell me that four pitches were indeed strikes but that he was not going to call them a strike because the pitcher threw a knuckleball to the eighth place hitter and that was not fair.

I cannot reveal the subsequent conversation because this is a family blog but suffice to write it involved his genealogy and a physical impossibility involving himself. It ended with me telling him “I have an idea I coach my players and you fairly ump the game.”

The scary part is in his mind he was umping the game fairly because he felt obligated to singlehandedly even the playing field. I guess this is the fallout of Liberalism gone mad. I can hear the cries now from Liberals screaming my pitcher had an unfair advantage because the coach taught him how to throw a knuckleball but the other did not teach his hitter how to hit a knuckleball.

I also guess that is the next step in the war on winners and losers. The Liberals stopped youth sporting events from having declared winners, but are slowly realizing the players knew the score. So I guess they want to regulate what pitchers can throw so everyone has a fair chance.

We cannot celebrate a win too loudly because it makes the other team feel bad. By that, I do I do not mean taunting the other team. Does anyone doubt someone in politics is thinking about outlawing high fiving a win?

The above scenario with an umpire actually did occur but the rest is an exaggeration to make a point. Why is it not OK to regulate what pitcher’s in a youth baseball game can throw but OK for the government to dictate various aspects of our lives?

There are certain absolutes. Pre-meditated murder, robbery, rape, and assault are a few examples. What light bulb I want to use, whether I use a bicycle helmet when I ride, or whether I use a seatbelt is a choice. Politicians need to know this distinction and proceed accordingly.

If they do not we need to proceed accordingly and move them out.

By Michael Lordi

Many believe in the virtue of taxation. Inexplicably they often justify this insanity by pointing to St. Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus opines about taxation giving it his blessing by saying, “ . . . Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s . . .” To those I offer this powerful refute from the Christ himself. It is recorded in the little-known Gnostic text called “Acts of Peter” (Vercelli translation) where Jesus appears to Peter in Rome and clearly articulates what he truly meant.

His friends having entreated the Apostle to save his life by leaving the city, Peter at last consented, but on condition that he should go away alone. But when he wished to pass the gate of the city, he saw on the Appian road a vision of the Christ there to meet him. Falling down in adoration Peter asked of Him “Lord, quo vadis,” (which means, ‘Whither goest thou?’ ). And Christ replied to him “I am coming to Rome to be again crucified.” This vexed Peter greatly, and thus spake Peter again, “Lord, wilt Thou again be crucified?” And the Lord put forth his hand and He shew Peter the hole through which the nail had bound him to the cross. “Look upon this and learn,” sayeth the Christ whereupon he smacketh Peter upside the head.

“Hello . . . Estate taxes! That’s how a man is crucified twice! Duh!” And with these words the Lord ascended into Heaven. And Peter, afterwards corning to himself, understood that it was of his own passion that it had been spoken, and that in a world ruled by bureaucrats, even God would suffer death and taxes.

The art of pitching a baseball is to make it look like a strike until it is too late for the batter to adjust that leads to an out. It is the same thing in politics where perception is reality until the prism of time proves otherwise. The only problem is by the time people learn the truth it is too late to correct anything.

Take Social Security. Theoretically, it was a good idea with good intentions but we allowed politicians to raid the funds and a temporary program is now an anchor slowly sinking America. Welfare and Food Stamps provides the same lessons but that did not stop us from stopping the politicians.

Obamacare creates the same scenario. President Obama pitches the idea by positioning anyone against the scheme as uncaring, greedy, mean-spirited elitists who want the masses to eat cake. Anyone who raises the small detail of the nation not being able to afford such an albatross is talking to a wall.

The people who benefit from a freebie will not care about the nation’s ability to pay for the program because they are getting it free. And why should they? Would you? It’s the rest of the nation that is being duped. They fall for the pitch.

Everyone believes Robin Hood is a hero. But if you strip away the romantic notion of the Have Nots getting even with the Haves than you realize Robin Hood is a thief. Chances are he illegally entered Sherwood Forest to boot

So why does a good portion of the nation fall for these lies? It is all in how the Liberals present the case. Conservatives talk about budgets and the nation’s inability to afford such monstrosities. That is like talking to a child about Spinach when he is eying candy. They are right in what they are saying but few are listening.

The media paints Conservatives as religious fanatics, who are sexist, racist, homophobic that carry guns. The media goes out of its way to find the lone nut that shoots up a school and blames the entire Conservative population. Yet, we cannot portray Muslims as religious fanatics, who are sexist, racist, homophobic that carry guns because we shouldn’t judge an entire population because of a few bad apples.

The media defends the rights of woman to have an abortion because no government should tell a woman what she can or cannot do with her body. Yet, the same media trumpets Liberals who want to ban smoking, guns, large sodas, or someone’s right to say a prayer in public.

And people fall for this all the time.

If Conservatives want to get attention, they need to start talking about something the masses can relate too like jobs. Talk about their inability to buy the big screen TV, iPhone, or anything frivolous because they a work less hours. They need to start running TV ads called “Thank you Obama” where a person cannot buy something, and turns to the camera and says “Thank you Obama.”

It’s stupid and not really important in the scheme of a nation hurtling towards self-destruction but the masses will listen. It is time the Conservatives stop allowing others to portray their views and speak in terms of the masses.

Isn’t it ironic to get to the truth we have to spin a story!