The Bill of Non-Rights

[inkasnana]

I received this in email and thought it was worth sharing. The email claims it was written by State Representative Mitchell Kaye from GA, however Snopes.com lists the author as Lewis Napper, a self-described amateur philosopher from Mississippi who ran for a U.S. Senate seat in 2000 as a Libertarian. The "Bill of Non-Rights" was written in 1993.

The Bill of Non-Rights

'We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt-free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and other liberal bed-wetters. We hold these truths to be self evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim they require a Bill of NON-Rights.'



ARTICLE I:
You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.



ARTICLE II:
You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc.; but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.




ARTICLE III:
You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful; do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.



ARTICLE IV:
You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes.



ARTICLE V:
You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care.



ARTICLE VI:
You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair.



ARTICLE VII:
You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure.




ARTICLE VIII:
You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training aid before you to make yourself useful.



ARTICLE IX:
You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights.



ARTICLE X:
This is an English speaking country. We don't care where you are from, English is our language. Learn it or go back to wherever you came from.




ARTICLE XI:
You do not have the right to change our country's history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all; with no fear of persecution The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, TOUGH!

 

[aristotle]

Inky... that's good stuff.

 

[layoutshooter]

Send that to the current resident of the White House and see what his response is. Try the congress too. LOL. Wanna bet that they roll over and become responible? Layoutshooter

 

[mjolnir131]

actually article 10 is a breach in and of it's self

"In God We Trust" was added to the money and changed as the motto in 1956 it a new addition that replaced a much more important idea "Out of Many, One,E pluribus unum"

"In God We Trust" is a hold over from the red scare of McCarthyism not a particularly honorable event in our nations history

 

[layoutshooter]

The so called Red Scare was in response to some very real events. It was mis-handled, mainly because of fear and the lack of a good internal intell agency. Back in 1939 a high ranking Russain general (I cannot remember his name for the life of me. It has been close to 35 years since I studied this) devised a plan to infiltrate the U.S. at every level. He was of the opinion that he could bring the U.S. under the thumb of the Soviet Union without firing a shot. The plan was put into motion and might have been far more succesful than we originally thought. He suggested that they start by placing long term agents, doing thier recruiting in colleges. He wanted to train proffessors first, then have them train teachers and jounalists in the wonders of the Soviet way. He assumed that they could and would then be able to infiltrate our government and bring it down from within. The Soviets were also at that time tring to infiltrate some unions, mainly the UMW, since there were large numbers of Eastern Europeans in that union who were un-happy with the economic situation of the time. We did not have an agency to work on this then or now. That kind of intelligence is very difficult in an open sociaty. The F.B.I. handles it but they are not all that good at the intell game. Recent events are suggesting that the effort, which went on for more than 20 years, was very successful. We may yet end up under the "Iron Thumb" of a Soviet Style government. Russia is again becoming a very nasty world power. China is re-alinging with them again and both are supporting terrorist contries like Iran and North Korea. We shall see what happens. I fear that they have succeeded. I once worked with a former Soviet agent who defected in 1971. He defected after his family was murdered by the Soviet Government for having an illegal radio and allowing others to listen to "un-authorised" broadcasts. The Soviets kinda had a "Fairness Doctrian" too. You should have heard the stories he had to tell. Very interesting and VERY scary. Layoutshooter

 

[chefdennis]

Very relavent today.... Not something you will get the Dems and liberals and those sucking off the enlarging Government Welfare tit......you know , the "entitlement" crowd....

 

[layoutshooter]

Yea, they all read way too many Robin Hood stories. They all now want to "Steal from the Rich and give to the Poor". That does not make you a good caring person, it just makes you a thief. Layoutshooter

 

[inkasnana]

How did we become a nation of so many with the "gimme" attitude? Laziness has become a way of life with more and more people believing they are entitled to something for nothing, simply because they are a citizen. In my opinion, this attitude is most prevalent among those who are in the 2ond, 3rd+ generation of welfare recipients. Why work for a living to better your situation when you can build a family off of government money that sustains the quality of life that you have always known and are comfortable with?

In searching for information on the Welfare to Workfare reform, I found this article.

EMERGENCY COMMITTEE TO DEFEND CONSTITUTIONAL WELFARE RIGHTS, U.S.A.

which states in it's Mission Statement,

" Alarmed that under the United States federal Welfare Repeal Act of 1996* consequent massive relief deprivation and workfare imposition by the several states inherently and flagrantly violates the constitutionally protected rights of the involuntarily unemployed and their familial dependents to vital social security, and inherently and flagrantly violates the constitutionally secured rights of all working people against any imposition of or displacement by prohibited involuntary servitude (by the proscribed forms of forced labor), that thus contravenes both domestic jural standards and the positive norms of the obligatory international labor and human rights law, the "supreme Law of the Land" for the United States, the Emergency Committee to Defend Constitutional Welfare Rights therefore urges imperative judicial and legislative action to fully uphold all the so far unsuperceded labor-protective and welfare-rights law. "

My understanding on that paragraph is that anyone who is "forced" to gain employment in order to earn an income who does not wish to gain that employment is in fact forced into involuntary servitude. Wouldn't that be considered a form of slavery? Interesting. No wonder so many of the multi-generational welfare recipients believe that they are "owed" their way of life in the form of government checks.

 

[cheri1122]

I agree 100% that everyone who is able to work, ought to. I've worked since age 15, and don't much care for paying taxes to allow some who could be working, to stay home instead.
BUT: first, there have to be jobs for people to work, and they have to pay enough to support at least a basic level of existence, such as rent, food, transportation, medical care, etc. The reality of today's world is that such jobs are simply not available. What jobs are available are low wage, part time, no (or few, and/or expensive) benefits - maybe ok for a single person, but those with families to support are in real trouble.
Here's a hypothetical (and pretty common) situation: a couple with 2 children, both parents working. One loses their job, then the other. Unemployment gets them through for awhile, but when it runs out, and neither has found a decent paying job, the stress of financial problems causes the marriage to break up. Now there's a single mother with kids to support, minus any help from the father, who can't afford to pay even if he wants to - what does she do? How can she pay for even the basics, plus child care (if she can find any) in a time when jobs that can be had don't pay enough to cover half what it costs to live?
It's real easy to blame people for being lazy, but that's not what the problem is, IMO. The problem is that capitalism has run amok the last 10 yrs, with profit becoming more important than anything else, sending jobs out of the country and leaving too many people stranded, looking for jobs that don't exist.
I've never collected welfare, or food stamps, but from what I've read (and experienced collecting unemployment, which I earned), it's neither an easy nor a pleasant process, and the benefits are not enough to cover even basic needs.
I know there is a mentality among some ghetto dwellers that welfare is as good as it gets, but I bet if you look into who is collecting the majority of government assistance these days, you'll find it's formerly working folks, who can't find a job to support their families anymore - because the jobs don't exist anymore.
That's the problem that needs to be addressed: there should be a job that pays a living wage for everyone who is willing to work, but there isn't. There should be more attention paid to training folks, through vocational schools, apprenticeships, work-study programs - whatever offers the chance to become qualified for a decent paying job should be taking priority these days - but is it?

 

[inkasnana]

I know there is a mentality among some ghetto dwellers that welfare is as good as it gets, but I bet if you look into who is collecting the majority of government assistance these days, you'll find it's formerly working folks, who can't find a job to support their families anymore - because the jobs don't exist anymore.

I completely agree that help should be available to those who honestly need it and are continuing to try to improve their situation, either through searching for employment or training. What I am most opposed to is the multi-generational welfare families that continue to expect and receive government assistance without trying to improve their lifestyle.

I definitely understand the need for temporary assistance when a person's current situation goes downhill. When my mother suddenly found herself a single mother with 3 kids to support she barely managed on her single income. That income was suddenly lost due to major health problems and government assistance was her only choice.

However, she retained that assistance only for as long as it took for her to obtain other employment. It would have been all too easy for her to develop the attitude of acceptance and complacency with the assistance and not bothered to look for ways to better the situation. Thankfully she didn't. As you stated, it's not a pleasant process and benefits are small. We ate a lot of Tuna Helper (in those days I think there were only 3 or 4 different flavors) and shopped at Goodwill and yard sales. I was a teenager at the time and the stigma of having a mother on welfare was also depressing.

That being said, I had a good friend who was one of 6 children in a single parent home where the mother had been receiving welfare since the first child was born. There had never been a father in the home as the mother had never been married. She regularly frequented bars and local bingo halls, had several different "boyfriends" in the time that I knew the family, and put no effort into finding employment.

Maybe my views of the whole welfare situation are tarnished because of my experiences with it, and with today's economy it may be more difficult than ever for families to remove themselves from the welfare roles, but I still believe there are those that considered themselves "entitled" to all the government assistance they can get without having to try and improve their life situation.

 

[layoutshooter]

I am so tired of the whinning about no jobs. The same people were whinning about no jobs when we were not able to find workers do to the high employement rates. I have moved my family 6 times for jobs and I have watched countless numbers of people sit on thier butts, never move where there was work and then I have to support them. What happens if it get bad? It is not all that bad now, I have lived through far worse. Look at the un-employment rates in '82, much higher than now. We lived. If things get worse and we lose everything, we will live. I am just totally fed up with the "gimmie bums". I have paid outragous taxes my entire working life to support those bums, I quit. They can pick up trash from along side the road for thier welfare, NO ONE ANYWHERE IN THIS WORLD IS ENTITLED TO MY HARD EARNED MONEY!!! I promise you, one more tax increase on me, like the $1.27 fuel tax increase that is being bantered about, I will stop all payments on my income taxes. If I am forced to pay for the killing of un-born babies, no income tax payments. Same goes for destroying embreos, I won't do it. P*ss on all of them. They have been ripping me off since the day I started working. NO MORE, I AM THROUGH!! Layoutshooter

 

[inkasnana]

I've stopped thinking about if/when things are going to get better or if they are going to continue to decline. I just go day to day and if I've made it through still standing, then I count it as a success. There are so many different reports from so many different people about the state of the economy and where we are heading, if it is or isn't going to get better and when, that it boggles the mind. There is so much double-talk coming out of Washington (nothing new there), combined with the media frenzy providing panic that you just don't know who to believe anymore.

I just wake up each morning ready for another day and to deal with what life throws at me as best I can.

 

[louixo]

Ink, it`s interesting that I posted the same topic as you, but under a different title, which was the way I received it. Makes one think that emails travel at the speed of light and the good ones get everywhere relatively fast. Also interesting, is the response generated by yours and nothing generated by mine, does that mean that your title was more interesting than mine, even though my entry preceded yours by almost 24 hours. Maybe you`re better looking than me. Any thoughts?

 

[MentalGiant]

Maybe you`re better looking than me. Any thoughts?

Well, I'm her husband and without even looking at ya, I would say she is probably better looking than you. lol

 

[inkasnana]

Ink, it`s interesting that I posted the same topic as you, but under a different title, which was the way I received it. Makes one think that emails travel at the speed of light and the good ones get everywhere relatively fast. Also interesting, is the response generated by yours and nothing generated by mine, does that mean that your title was more interesting than mine, even though my entry preceded yours by almost 24 hours. Maybe you`re better looking than me. Any thoughts?

Actually louixo, I posted mine on 2-28 and you posted yours on 3-03 which is, I'm sure, the reason mine has responses and yours does not.