Edmund Burke and His Relevancy Today

The Right Honorable Edmund Burke (born January 12, 1729 and died July 9, 1797) was an Irish statesman who served for many years in the British House of Commons as a member of the Whig party. He was considered one of the finest political and philosophical orators in Britain . He is remembered for his support of the American colonies in the struggle against King George III that led to the American Revolution. Burke founded and published the Annual Register, a political review, and he is thought of as one of the philosophical founder of modern conservatism.

Some of my favorite Burke quotes and how I either interpret them or see relevancy today:

“The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedience, and by parts.” This is almost like Burke is standing among us today and commenting upon the degradation of civil liberties, excess regulations that squash business and anti-constitutional acts committed not only by the Obama Administration but by other by editions of the White House and Congress as well.


“By gnawing through a dike, even a rat may drown a nation.” This explains Burke’s view of the method of destruction of this Nation,…the slow, blow by blow whittling down of this Country’s great institutions, foremost among them the Constitution.


“Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny.” From everything this side of environmental protection laws to gun laws, the People, their pursuit of happiness,……and the recovery of our economy is over burdened by a Federal Government way too large and who grabs too much power in their own interests of self perpetuation.


“Facts are to the mind what food is to the body.” This is a concept that many liberal commentators and legislators just do not understand. We see example after example of this with such notable liars and truth benders, such as Obama himself, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Gibbs the White house Press Secretary, etc., not letting facts get in their way.


“Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing.” When I read this, I see “Hope and Change”. And to copy someone else’s quip,….how’’s that hope and change coming for you?


“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” By far my favorite Burke quote, this serves as a rallying cry to us to stand up and be counted,…at the polls, through legislative contact,..letters to the editors, educating our children,…. and just plain talking to people. Ultimately, this is the founding reason why the Tea Party was created spontaneously across the country.

I'm Done Here!

Sent to me by a reader, who is also a Christian Pastor. Although the picture is meant to be humorous, there is a lot of truth in in.

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. Tolerance is a crime when applied to evil."

National Association of Gun Rights Article

This is from the National Association of Gun Rights (NAGR)

http://www.nationalgunrights.org

Note: Cowboys and Tea Parties are not familiar with the National Association of Gun Rights, so therefore have not yet formed an opinion on this organization. We do however support the 2nd Amendment and the right of all law abiding Americans to own firearms.

ATF Tries to Revoke "Montana Made" State Sovereignty Laws

We all predicted this would happen.

In a move typical for that fear-mongering organization with an ever-swelling acronym, the BATFE has written gun dealers in the states of Montana and Tennessee to let them know the BATFE will be disregarding the states' sovereign gun laws.

The "Montana Made" law, just like Tennessee's Firearms Freedom Act, is very simple.

Much of the claimed federal authority to regulate firearm sales and transfers stems from a liberal interpretation of every American tyrant's favorite subterfuge, the "interstate commerce" clause. In essence, this is what gives the BATFE its nasty teeth.

With this in mind, Montana correctly understood that any weapon made in Montana by Montana residents and sold in Montana to Montana residents is Montana's business and Montana's business alone.

Montana thus sought to take charge of its firearms industry with the application of a simple truism:

Any gun made in Montana by Montana residents and sold in Montana to Montana residents is intrastate commerce, not "interstate commerce," and thus does not fall under the purview of the federal government.

Potentially, the state would be able to say goodbye to NICS checks; Brady background checks; NFA taxes, bans and NFA databases -- and most importantly, federal "assault weapons" bans, which Montana and Tennessee rightly anticipated.

In effect, the "Montana Made" law would have permitted Montana gun companies to manufacture any kind of weapon banned by federal law -- including so-called "assault weapons" -- and sell them to fellow Montana residents.

Moreover, in this scenario, no one -- neither the manufacturer nor the dealer nor the buyer -- would have to kowtow to the BATFE by paying them a $200 tax and surrendering one's privacy to their notoriously inaccurate and oft-abused National Firearms Registry.

It was a new day for freedom -- and other states besides Tennessee were thinking of following suit: Alaska, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas.

Well, the BATFE -- never one to have its power downplayed (or acronym belittled)-- has written letters to both Montana and Tennessee gun dealers letting them know that they proceed at their own risk.

We can only guess what new horrors those words portend -- probably more dead housewives and children as disgruntled ATF thugs shoot-to-kill anyone suspected of perhaps owning a firearm not properly taxed and regulated by Washington, D.C., power brokers.

What else would be new.

A few of our members expressed interest in contacting the BATFE to vent some righteous anger -- the same thing we did when the Department of Defense said they were going to ban all once-fired military brass for resale.

Remember how the DoD reneged on that commitment after just a few days due to the widespread backlash from gun owners and law enforcement?

Well, this is a bit different. Writing the ATF and providing them with your information is akin to giving thieves your home address and the hours you won't be home.

We're going to take a different, less dangerous approach.

We've been talking to state officials from both Montana and Tennessee today to try to figure out the best way we can help these state laws succeed.

Please stay tuned to updates on this supremely important issue in our future emails.

For now, click here to read Luke's commentary on his blog and leave a comment as this development unfolds.


In Liberty,
Dudley Brown
Executive Director
National Association for Gun Rights