Mike Benson’s Blog

Just got back from Jazz Fest in New Orleans, it was a blast. A friend of mine is getting married and had his bachelor party in New Orleans during Jazz Fest. It was a blast and not at all what I expected.

I was expecting a mini-Woodstock. You know, one big stage and a bunch bands playing all day on that stage. Instead there were 11 stages and concert tents. There were bands on all those stages all day and they were all excellent.

My favorite was the gospel tent, we went to the tent just because we had not been there. I was expecting some kind of hymn revival, instead I was treated to some grinding rock and roll gospel. It was awesome. It reminded me of some concerts I went to in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Grinding guitar, pounding drums loud vocals and accompaniment. I loved it.

If you love music you should go to the Jazz Fest. There is something for everyone. Just make sure you bring sun screen, a hat, and an easy to carry chair. It’s hot and you have to pretty much stand all day.

This is not considered important today, although that is largely to do with the fact that we have not had a war here in a long time. During the revolutionary war, citizens of the empire were required to quarter and feed British soldiers. This was viewed as highly offensive and in fact this amendment was more important to most people than the right to free speech.

The Third Amendment:

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

When we have another war on our soil, this amendment will be important again. Some people would do this voluntarily but some people don’t want to harbor the people they view as the enemy.

The most important amendment in the Bill of Rights. Without this amendment none of the others are safe. Without the ability to protect oneself against tyranny and oppression you will be subjugated.

The Second Amendment:

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.

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Okay, so I wrote about how few people actually know our rights as citizens. So I think I will cover my take on the Bill of Rights.

The First Amendment (Originally the Third Amendment).

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

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Here you go, check this out. Sad state of Affairs here in America. Here are some highlights:

…A new national survey released today at a US Senate hearing shows that when asked, more American teenagers:

can name three of the Three Stooges than can name the three branches of government (59% to 41%)

know the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air than know the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (94.7% to 2.2%)

know which city has the zip code “90210″ than the city in which the US Constitution was written (75% to 25%), and

know the star of the motion picture “Titanic” than know the Vice President of the United States (90% to 74%).

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Found this quote on a bulletin board…

As I continue to mature and grow in grace as I grow in age, I strive to strengthen myself where I am weak. This striving happens in bursts. Sometimes, I have the chance to indulge one or more of these weaknesses and tell a lie. Every time I don’t lie, I make that area of my life a little better. But I have a lot of room for improvement.

–BigV

Lately, I have been posting a lot of political stuff.  It’s mainly because I am becoming increasingly frustrated with our political system and our politicians.  This is a good place for me to vent this frustration.  Hopefully, things will get better and I can back off on my frustration level.

I am getting pretty tired of all the slamming for mistakes during combat. If you have ever been in combat you know, it’s a high stress fluid environment. It is just an accident waiting to happen. A guy busts through a door and you have milliseconds to decide if you should shoot or get shot. If you wait until the other guy fires it’s probably too late.

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This is wonderful, there are between 500 thousand and one million Illegal immigrants a year coming into America. These are largely unskilled labor from third world and developing nations. A large portion of these (estimated at 40%) are coming from Mexico.

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Ya I know, thats a cheesy title but it makes my point. My wife is sick so last night I thought we should rent a movie. I don’t have a blockbuster membership (swore them off a long time ago) and my Netflix movies were on their way back already. Read the rest of this entry »