A letter from Rhino Reader Alan Marshall
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their safety and happiness.
They have ignored and/or disregarded the Rights given to every U.S. citizen under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution at every level of government starting at local school boards and Councils up to and including State legislatures.
They have ignored and/or disregarded the Rights of every eligible U.S. citizen under the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States to keep and bear arms by attempting to limit the types of arms and placing unreasonable restrictions on those arms THEY decide we are ALLOWED to own and carry.
Elected officials at the National, State, County, City/Town/Village level in all government offices, (one example being school boards) have failed to perform the primary duties of their offices by engaging in playing partisan politics, made obvious by allowing a handful of said politicians (of both parties) to pressure them to comply with THEIR agenda instead of being representatives of The People, who elected them. These actions are made obvious by recorded votes on the floor of the House and the Senate along with the theatrics that they engage in on the floor of both Houses.
Elected officials overtly and obviously show they have more concern for illegal aliens, lawbreakers, by allowing them access to U.S. taxpayer money in the form of cash, services, and materials while U.S. citizens go with little or no assistance from the same elected officials. They allow the same illegal aliens to roam freely throughout the U.S. violating the law and even causing serious bodily harm and/or death with little to no consequences.
In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress, only to have our repeated petitions answered only by repeated injury.
Carpe Diem
Alan Marshall
More strawman arguments from someone who watches too much conservative tv or listens to too much conservative radio and is too ignorant to think for himself as he parrots conservative propaganda. (note the lack of any facts, data, or quotes from actual experts on a subject which is the norm for Alan). Just a hollow opinion from a tool of the fool.
The difference between conservatives and liberals when it comes to immigration is that liberals believe in the rule of law. Trumpers, like Alan, seem to be ok with ignoring the rule of law when it comes to ‘people they don’t like’ (or in Alan’s case has been trained to fear with lies about crime waves that aren’t happening).
The liberals actually tried to change to law to tighten border control. Trump just ignores the laws and tosses out anyone he doesn’t like. Including those with legal immigration or refugee statuses. While this strategy is effective in reducing immigration, it is inhuman and has the negative impact of pushing away legal immigrants that we require to keep our economy growing. (for example: student visa issuances to Indian students in February 2025, declined by 30% from the same month the previous year)
Rogier Quaedvlieg, a senior economist and author, notes: “A reduction in immigration is feared to increase inflation through at least two channels. The first, is that a tighter labor market increases wages. The second is that unfilled positions could lead to lower production and therefore shortages in supply of goods.”
So much for ‘all men being created equal’, as the Trumpers clearly think some people are less deserving than others when it comes to the rule of law. And this can only hurt America but in reputation and economically. So yes, liberals highly value immigration and believe illegal immigrants deserve to be treated humanely with the protection of due process of law in how they are treated.
But you be you.
“Liberals believe in the rule of law.” That comment, Chris, is so ignorant that the only words I have to describe them wouldn’t be allowed.
Give me example where they didn’t follow rule of law? Did they send some to a foreign prison who had a legal immigration status? Did they ignore a court order to store funding? Did they threaten to impeach judges because they didn’t like the court’s ruling?
Conservatives can never again claim to be the party of Justice.
You’re correct, Alan. Our rights have been ignored at every level of government.
If COVID has taught us anything, we can no longer trust a government that consistently places its citizens last. The betrayal was felt by those who once believed their political leaders upheld the principle that all men are created equal. The Covid “experts” chose the unscientific tyranny of lockdowns and mandates.
The Rutherford Institute’s president and constitutional attorney is also the author of A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State. Whitehead says that COVID is a substantial example of governments expanding their powers, violating Constitutional rights, abusing their authority, and further oppressing their constituents.
Whitehead said the nature of government, no matter which party is in power, is such that it invariably oversteps its limits, abuses its authority, and flexes its totalitarian muscles. Until now, the Police State has been more circumspect in its power grabs, but this latest state of emergency during COVID has brought the beast out of the shadows, said Whitehead.
As the Declaration of Independence states, we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights—to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness—that no government can take away from us. However, some, like Whitehead, argue that America’s response to COVID-19, particularly the widespread use of lockdowns and other restrictive measures, represents a significant shift in the balance of power. This transition, they claim, is moving us closer to a society governed more by the ‘strong arm of the law’ than by ‘we the people.’
A police state is characterized by excessive widespread surveillance, militarized policing, suppression of dissent, restrictions on assembly, authorities exercising extreme levels of control over society, government officials and law enforcement being exempt from punishment, and a legal system that prioritizes control over civil liberties. In essence, it’s a society where the government’s power is unchecked and can be used to oppress its citizens.
Whitehead supports his statements by citing the 1994 Crime Bill that led to mass incarcerations, police militarization, the enormous growth of SWAT teams for routine police matters and no-knock warrants, a barrage of surveillance, free speech censorship, intimidation, excessive police force, and over-criminalization.
When the government turns its power against its people—through surveillance, retaliation, censorship, and intimidation—it ceases to serve the public and instead becomes a weapon of oppression.
All very valid statements salt life. But as I have said in the past, politicians will creep ever so slowly into our lives under the pretext of the old warning from the great Ronald Regan “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” The primary source of blame is We the People. WE allowed it to happen and only WE can stop then reverse it.
The only way it can be reversed is to put down the remotes and the phones, get off our fourth point of contact and rally together with the old line from NETWORK, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” WE have the power of the vote, but fail to properly (if ever) use it. Imagine what would happen if we did.
One more thing salt life, your last paragraph was brilliant and dead on, and Patrick and I would like permission to use it now and then.
Feel free to use anything I post, Alan!
You comment of “unscientific tyranny” is a false depiction made up by conspiracy nutters using 20/20 hindsight. It wasn’t unscientific tyranny as much as it was an overly cautious approach while government leaders (republican and democrat) waited for science to convert data into facts (which takes time). Did governments overreact? Not really given how little they actually knew at the time of the lock downs when hospitals were struggling to keep up with covid patients. 20/20 hindsight long after actual data was studied, it was clear that many early policies were ineffective but juding the actions of leaders in time of a crisis based on 20/20 hindsight is unfair and disingenuous.
You make claim it is a constitutional violation, yet the constitution grants states the power to enact laws to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens. The lock downs were temporary and were not converted into permeant law. Funny how conservatives were ok with locking out people (locking down) from other countries but didn’t think it worthwhile to lockdown ourselves for our own people’s wellbeing.
But you aren’t wrong that we are heading to a police state. Trump is taking fast action to push us there. For example, I worry how Trump is violating 1st amendment by wanting to silence critical media with threat of jail or fines, control scientific reporting on results he doesn’t approve of, and silencing any protests he deems in appropriate. Or his violation of the 6th amendment where he believes he can lock up those he doesn’t like without due process of law. Or his violation of the 8th amendment where he wants to send US citizen to foreign prisons. or the 12th amendment where he wants do overrule states’ rights for voting policy and procedures etc… etc…. Or how Trump thinks he can override a constitutional amendment with an executive order when he attempts to overturn Birth Right Citizenship.
Covid was a public health issue. Trump is a constitutional crisis.
But you be you.
Chris (aka Chicken Little),
“I worry how Trump is violating 1st amendment by wanting to silence critical media with threat of jail or fines, control scientific reporting on results he doesn’t approve of, and silencing any protests he deems in appropriate.”
Site SPECIFIC instances where this was done. Not ‘well he said…’
“Or his violation of the 6th amendment where he believes he can lock up those he doesn’t like without due process of law.”
Again, site SPECIFIC instances where this was done. Not ‘well he said…’
“Or his violation of the 6th amendment where he believes he can lock up those he doesn’t like without due process of law.”
Again, site SPECIFIC instances where this was done. Not ‘well he said…’
“or the 12th amendment where he wants do overrule states’ rights for voting policy and procedures…”
Again, site SPECIFIC instances where this was done. Not ‘well he said…’
“Or how Trump thinks he can override a constitutional amendment with an executive order when he attempts to overturn Birth Right Citizenship.”
Any child that would have been allowed to take U.S. Government in high school (something I was REQUIRED to do before being allowed to graduate HS) can tell you an Executive Order CANNOT overturn a Constitutional amendment just like your hero Uncle Joe cannot forgive student loans, but in his case he actually TRIED to do it creating a lot of problems for a lot of people.
I can say believe I can overrule the the Town Council of Jamestown but obviously it doesn’t mean squat.
So settle down Chicken Little and take a chill pill. President Trump consistently talks about doing things but rarely acts on them. He just likes pulling the chain of members of the Democrat Party. (YANK, YANK)
What he WANTS to do and what he DOES is two completely different actions that have no similarity to one another.
Funny you have to clarify to exclude ‘what he says’ as I thought Trumpers liked him because he does what he says. LOL
Restricting science communications:
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/02/13/nx-s1-5297177/cdc-scientists-publications-trump-administration
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-review-cdc-papers-report-2025000
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00367-x
https://www.cnbctv18.com/world/us-cdc-orders-pullback-of-new-scientific-papers-involving-its-researchers-19551559.htm
Locking people up without due process of law
– Duh….the ‘man from Maryland story is top of the list
– Plus all the others Trump has deported (sent to Max Security Prison) without hearings or any judicial oversight. Federal judge, James Boasberg, issued an emergency order pausing the deportations of a group of hundreds of Venezuelan and Salvadoran men to the supermax CECOT prison in El Salvador, and ordering any flights already en route to El Salvador with these men to return to the United States. The Trump administration flouted his orders and instead launched a propaganda campaign seeking to have the judge impeached.
Violating 12th amendment:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/judge-blocks-portions-of-trump-order-that-seeks-to-overhaul-us-elections/ar-AA1Dysdr?ocid=BingNewsSerp
Trump writes an EO to specially override the Constitution of the United States and your excuse is ‘well he knows that won’t work? Wow. How much of a tool can you be?
Trump’s ‘Talk’ is an embarrassment to the United States. His actions are even worse.
– On again Off again Tariffs (as if the will work the 3 or 4th time…..)
– Catering to Putin over his authoritarian invasion of Ukraine.
– His ignoring court orders and threatening to impeach judges that rule against him
– Threatening to send American’s to foreign prisons
– Firing and re-hiring thousands (I lost count) of federal employees
– Renaming internal body of water at random
– Wanting to ‘take over’ Canada as the 51st State
– Wanting to ‘buy’ Greenland
– Appointing an anti-science guy to head public health
– Scamming people with a pump and dump Crypto coin
– selling visas for $5 million each
– Suspending refugee status of people he already claimed where eating pets because news coverage hurt his feelings
– Deporting US citizens
– Disrupting Gaza peace talks with expressing desire to build resort in Gaza and displacing the entire population that isn’t already dead
– on and on and on and on….its getting hard to keep up with all his stupid.
in case you were wondering how it is going: New pole from FoxNews reporting showed he has the lowest first 100 day approval rating than any other president in history. Know who has the second worst approval 100 day approval rating? Trump! LOL
Trump is clown and so are those that defend everything he does.
Chris,
“Restricting science communications:”
The common point in each of those is gender identity…Hmmm
“Locking people up without due process of law
– Duh….the ‘man from Maryland story is top of the list”
the “man from Maryland” is (not suspected, IS) an illegal alien with STRONG ties to a gang designated a terrorist organization, who has documented charges of spousal abuse and suspected in transporting fellow illegal aliens across several state lines. You cannot “deport” someone to a ‘Max Security Prison’. A MILITARY flight (singular, not multiple FLIGHTS as you attempt to imply) was outside the jurisdiction of a civilian judge. And on that subject, where is your outrage over AMERICAN CITIZENS being jailed (not detained, jailed) and denied due process? Oh, that’s right, they’re of the wrong political slant.
“Violating 12th amendment… Trump writes an EO to specially override the Constitution of the United States and your excuse is ‘well he knows that won’t work? ”
Any child that has taken U.S. Government (a requirement for graduation from HS when I attended) knows that an EO written by ANYONE (short of God Almighty IMO) has no power over the Constitution. Contrary to what you seem to believe, he knows that. And BTW, President Trump won both the Electoral College vote AND the popular vote.
As for the rest of your ravings, are you sure you’re not related somehow to the famous P.T. Barnum
Pastrick seems to be ok with editing any scientific study, paper or document that covers a topic he doesn’t personally agree with….so you don’t support 1st amendment either. Got it. Not shocked.
Show me a court ruling that confirmed his conviction as a gang member. Doesn’t exist. Just because you believe the court of public opinion doesn’t justify skipping the rule of law. Note, the supreme court agree with me, not you. Hence the 6th Amendment that you and Turmp seem to be comfortable skipping. What American’s have been denied due process. They certainly, I will certainly defend that right. Name em. or are you thinking the Jan 6th protesters that had their days in court and lost. Saying they didn’t have their day in court is a lie but not shocked a conservative tells a lie. Not shocked.
Trump wrote the EO attempting to overrule the constitution of the United States and your defense is ‘he didn’t mean it? Head in sand is typical strategy for conservatives when faced with the facts about Trump. Not shocked.
Your refusal to refute my other comments is just you knowing you can’t defend his embarrassment as our President. Typical conservative approach to attack the commentor versus address the facts presented. Not shocked.
But you be you.
“Pastrick seems to be ok with editing any scientific study, paper or document that covers a topic he doesn’t personally agree with….so you don’t support 1st amendment either.
Show me where I ‘edited’ one of your scientific papers. I simply pointed out a common item/theme in each one. So you are calling me a liar.
You said “Show me a court ruling that confirmed his conviction as a gang member. Doesn’t exist.”
What I actually said was “…the “man from Maryland” is (not suspected, IS) an illegal alien with STRONG ties to a gang designated a terrorist organization,…” In other words, you are calling me a liar. Remember, when you point a finger at someone, three more are pointing back at you.
“Note, the supreme court agree with me, not you.” Your statement is a non-sequitur. I never advocated skipping the rule of law.
Several Jan 6th prisoners are still awaiting their appeals while still being held in prison, while violent illegal aliens have been processed and released or are about to be released after very short prison stays without ICE being notified.
Although Alan has told me how he has decided to quit wasting time arguing with a fool I choose to do otherwise. Now I see why he did and probably should take his advice.
So you agree Trumps EO violates the 1st amendment? Just say it then.
Appreciate your dropping your silly argument about his attempt to overrule the birth right as protected by the constitution with a simple EO.
In the US you have a hearing before you held in jail to await prison. You are also held in prison to await your appeal. Both of these scenarios follow the rule of law as it is held in the US. Help me understand why you believe it is not.
They were not ripped off the street, locked up and sent to a foreign prison without ever having the chance to face a judge or work with an attorney to protect their rights…which is a constitutional right in the US.
So you agree Trump is wrong in sending this man to prison? and all the other? as it violates the constitution. Then just say so versus using a false deflection (which I had to pull out your false example as conservatives aren’t hard to read as they try to avoid saying what they really believe because they know they are wrong in principle).
Alan doesn’t argue with me because he can’t make any argument to support his biased opinions that he repeats from Foxnews and conservative talk radio. He really isn’t a very bright guy.
Looks like you either agree or can’t defend against the argument that Trump has no respect for the constitution of the United States. Maybe you should give up to.
A correction to my previous post…
“Or his violation of the 8th amendment where he wants to send US citizen to foreign prisons.”
Again site SPECIFIC instances where this was done, Not ‘well he said…’
Apologies to the readers.
Temporary lockdowns, eh? Only two fools in the country, no matter the party, think it was temporary, you and Fauci. Long-term is defined as over a year.
What was locked down over year? If not temporary, are you arguing the lock downs are still happening? Weird.
salt life,
Let me assist you my friend
Google search…During the COVID crisis were any American schools locked down for a year
Answer from Google search, specifically AI Overview…
“Yes, during the COVID crisis, some American schools were closed for over a year. While the exact duration varied, some schools remained closed for extended periods, with some not reopening for more than a year. In fact, nearly every school in the country was closed, and many would not reopen for a significant amount of time.”
Now add to the ChatGPT prompt and “clarify if were schools shut down or just went remote?” And ChatGpt admits that schools were not shut down in the sense that they stopped teaching, but that they went remote.
But you be you
Get used to it, Chris. Trump may be out of office when his term is up, but MAGA will live forever.