David Huntwork

Living the Bill of Rights
Preparedness: Hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst
Wikileaks War
The Rise of the Tea Party
Why I Signed The Manhattan Declaration
Boycott The One
Into a Twisted Future with Gary Wolf
We Shall Not Go Quietly Into The Night
Dancing Under the Ugandan Skies - A Book Review
The 99 Most Memorable, Interesting and Outrageous Political Quotes of 2008
Obama's Natural Born Problem
The Giggle Monster Lost His Giggle (A children's story)
Victory at any Price
The History of the Huntwork Clan
Palin and those "scary" Christians
Our "Little Barracuda"
Civility at Saddleback
The Top Ten Reasons Obama Should Not Be President
The Coming Fascist State
You're to Blame for Everything
Hillary's Close Call
The Jerry Springer Party
Christianity, Obama, Identity Politics and Liberation Theology
Tis the Season to be PC
I Am NOT An Animal
The Sad Saga of Amanda Marcotte
The Left attempts to define Political Correctness
In Defense of Blackwater and the Modern Day Merc
Some Thoughts on the Senate Sleepover and the Iraq War
The Salt Lake Shooter and Sudden Jihad Syndrome
Successes and Setbacks in the "Long War"
The Rise of the Anti-Jihadists
The Little Boy and the Magic Snowman (A Children's Story)
Exploiting Children in the Name of Climate Change
Workshop of the Second Self: A Book Review
The Mystery of 9-11, Dr. Graham and Jamal Khan
2996: A tribute to the victims of 9-11
Myths (and Truths) of the Illegal Immigration Invasion
Out of Control Teacher Reinstated after Anti-US Rant
Alternating Worlds: A Book Review
Defending Christmas
The Execution of Terri Schiavo
The Saga of SpongeBob SquarePants
Civility at Saddleback
Embedded Reporters: A Bad Idea
Death of a Monster: Yasser Arafat
Immigrations Unarmed Invasion
Post 47 and RAthERGATE
September 11th: Lives Lost and Lessons Learned
An Alliance of Evil
The Holy Land - A Book Review
The Nature of the Enemy
The Embracer: A Book Review
Final Battle of the Culture Wars
They Say Trevor Made a Mockery of MLK Day
Did You Lie to Your Kids at Christmas?
The Twists and Turns of the Jessica Lynch Story
Valley of the Dry Bones
Rush and Race
What's Wrong with the Caucasion Club?
The Seductive Temptress
A Just War
Living the Bill of Rights
The Institutionalism of Liberalism
Triumph of the Bush Doctrine
New Alliances for a New Century
The Real Reason for the Iraq War
The Family Historian
There Once Was A Little Brown Bug (A Children's Story)
Happy Birthday Ronald Reagan
The U.N. Agenda
Powell the Pacifist

Over Independence Day weekend I threw my Chinese military issue SKS semiautomatic "assault rifle" in the back of the family mini van, grabbed my snub nose .38 revolver, picked up a friend and headed out to the Pawnee National Grasslands here in Northern Colorado. We proceeded to unleash a torrent of firepower on some aluminum cans and one old TV that we stumbled across once we arrived. It was a great way to celebrate the birth of our country. But what seemed so fun and downright American, an afternoon of shooting free of trigger locks, registration, cosmetic restrictions or paranoid regulations, is now illegal or extremely difficult in many states.

Firearm ownership is a right that is enshrined in the constitution of the United States as well as my home state. A right that was designed to not be infringed upon, let alone questioned or regulated by government bureaucrats.

I am neither a hunter, a member of law-enforcement nor have I ever served in the military. But I strive to become what the Founding Fathers had in mind. One of just millions of self-armed citizens capable of defending his family, friends, community and country against criminals, riots, robbery, civil insurrection, and foreign invasion or government tyranny. Free men own guns, slaves don't.

Every right enshrined in the Bill of Rights is there to be used and practiced by free men. The Bill of Rights is what distinguishes our Republic from every form of tyranny and government that came before it. The writing and publishing of this column without government censure or regulation is another example of living the freedoms that we have in this country. There are many countries where the ownership of a firearm, publication of a controversial opinion or the gathering of people to worship their creator results in arrest, imprisonment and even death.

Perhaps the most misinterpreted part of the first amendment is the free exercise of religion. As the son, grandson and great-grandson of ministers of the gospel the freedom to worship and share the good news is one liberty that is sacred to my family as well as myself. I have attended church, Bible studies and home gatherings of fellow believers and will always do so in spite of any attempt by government entities to regulate, restrict or impose "hate speech" codes or any other interference. Christ commanded his followers to go into all the world and share the gospel, even the "controversial" parts, in spite of any attempt by men to stop them.

The phrase "separation of church and state" does not appear in the Bill of Rights. It does not exist except in the minds of Leftist pundits and the opinions of liberal activist Supreme Court justices. It is clear that the intention of the Founding Fathers was that every sect and denomination of Christianity be allowed to proselytize and worship without government regulation or interference. The establishment clause was included to prevent the establishment of a state church such as the Church of England in Great Britain and to prohibit the type of persecution that had caused the flight of the Pilgrims and Puritans to the shores of the American continent. We are blessed to celebrate freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.

Increasingly, the freedoms once taken for granted are under assault from many sides or pervertedly twisted from their original intent. The last fifty years has seen the rise of those who do not value the rights so bloodily wrenched from British bayonets. In their endless quest for a socialist, multicultural, politically correct society the new elite of education, justice and media have rejected their rich heritage. It is up to the average citizen to live the life and liberties that is rightfully theirs.

Freedoms not enjoyed forcefully, vocally, and universally will inevitably be restricted and regulated away. Every American must do their part to protect and practice their traditional rights and responsibilities that we as a nation and as a people were entrusted with by those who lived, fought and died so long ago.

Participation in the full range of freedoms is an opportunity that should never be ignored. Petition signing, peaceful protest, publishing of letters to the editor and guest columns, maintaining your own website, printing and distribution of political pamphlets and posters, attending rallies, going to church, voting, defending the rights of others and even some much needed target shooting are just a few examples of what each and every American has the right and obligation to practice.

Each of the God given rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights was won with the blood of American patriots who died so that we may truly live. Every one should be defended and exercised vigorously and deserves our respect, admiration, protection and participation. These should not be taken lightly but should be exercised responsibly, knowledgeably and frequently. We do not have the just the freedom to practice them but also the obligation to do so at every opportunity.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."

- President Ronald Reagan

 ”I will not cede more power to the state. I will not willingly cede more power to anyone, not to the state, not to General Motors, not to the CIO. I will hoard my power like a miser, resisting every effort to drain it away from me. I will then use my power, as I see fit. I mean to live my life an obedient man, but obedient to God, subservient to the wisdom of my ancestors; never to the authority of political truths arrived at yesterday at the voting booth. That is a program of sorts, is it not? It is certainly program enough to keep conservatives busy, and Liberals at bay. And the nation free.”

—William F. Buckley Jr.

"Liberals want to regulate just about everything: where we live, what fuels we use, what car we drive, whether we can drive or be forced to use government mass transit, where we send our kids to school, what doctor we see, and even to what extent we express our approval or disapproval of others’ lifestyles. It’s hard to find something liberals don’t want to regulate. Is that a world you want to live in?” 
 

"At such a time in history, we who are free must proclaim anew our faith. This faith is the abiding creed of our fathers. It is our faith in the deathless dignity of man, governed by eternal moral and natural laws. This faith defines our full view of life. It establishes, beyond debate, those gifts of the Creator that are man’s inalienable rights, and that make all men equal in His sight. "

Dwight D. Eisenhower

"And if we elect a government that subverts or weakens or ends our war against terrorism, we can count on this: We will soon face enemies that will make 9/11 look like stubbing our toe, and they will attack us with the confidence and determination that come from knowing that we don’t have the will to sustain a war all the way to the end."

- Orson Scott Card

"In response to skyrocketing gas prices, liberals say, practically in unison, 'We can’t drill our way out of this crisis.”' What does that mean? This is like telling a starving man, 'You can’t eat your way out of being hungry!'  'You can’t water your way out of drought!' 'You can’t sleep your way out of tiredness!' 'You can’t drink yourself out of dehydration!' Seriously, what does it mean? Finding more oil isn’t going to increase the supply of oil? It is the typical Democratic strategy to babble meaningless slogans, as if they have a plan. Their plan is: the permanent twilight of the human race. "

-Ann Coulter

"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
 
-Samuel Adams