by Bob Barr | Mar 13, 2019 | Uncategorized |
Townhall.comThere is a video of Bernie Sanders and his wife on their 1988 honeymoon in the USSR, in which a shirtless Bernie is shown singing “This Land Is Your Land” with a bunch of drunk communists. It is a vignette apparently welcomed nowadays by the Senator from Vermont, who proudly represents true, “old school” socialism. Sanders’ doctrine is a far cry from the “bubblegum socialism” eagerly embraced by many 21st centuryMillennials, including the Congresswoman from New York’s 14th congressional district; but it must be taken just as seriously, if not more so. Today’s socialism is no laughing matter.Socialism is socialism; and in whatever form is completely at odds with free political and economic enterprise that are at the core of our system of government. This holds true whether one considers the dry and pedantic old-school variety hawked by Sanders, or the bouncy, bubble-gum iteration gleefully spouted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. And while it is easy to dismiss the latter, with its inane talk of “farting cows” or “garbage” capitalism, we do so at our peril; for the appeal of such nonsense is finding an easy mark in much of today’s American youth.With socialist Venezuela visibly dying under the burden of a dictatorial socialist government, we might properly expect that “socialism” should be getting trounced in public opinion polls; yet the concept continues to draw voters to its siren song, especially younger ones.At the most basic level, this phenomenon is actually not difficult to comprehend. For more than two generations, Americans have come of age being told that government is the solution to every one of society’s ills (real...
by Bob Barr | Mar 12, 2019 | Townhall Article |
The Daily CallerThe chemical DNA — or as it is more scientifically but less-commonly known, deoxyribonucleic acid — was first discovered in 1869 by a Swiss chemist. Now, 150 years later, DNA has become for government what the dog is to man — its “best friend.”Government is working feverishly to take full advantage of the power of this chemical — which provides the basis for human genetics — as a means to surveil its citizens. Arizona is the latest example; the state’s Republican state Sen. David Livingston proposed a bill that would create a statewide DNA database to track anyone who applies for a position that involves fingerprinting — including parent school volunteers, teachers, real estate agents and foster parents. The DNA could be shared with virtually any other government agency in the country. After widespread backlash, Livingston reportedly amended the bill to require DNA only from those who care for patients with intellectual disabilities. Regardless of what happens, the march toward ever-broader collection and data-basing of DNA materials by government at all levels is certain to increase. In this sense, Arizona is simply following a fast-growing trend of genetic curiosity.What once was available only to highly trained scientists working in massive research facilities is now available to virtually anyone with $50 to spend. In 2017 alone, some 12 million DNA “test kits” were sold to individuals; mostly in the United States. The key questions asked by privacy experts — but far too infrequently by purchasers of DNA test kits — are: What happens to all that extremely revealing and personal information gleaned from testing one’s saliva? Where is the data stored? For...
by Bob Barr | Mar 6, 2019 | Uncategorized |
Townhall.comIn an iconic scene from the 1980s comedy classic “The Blues Brothers,” Jake (John Belushi) and his brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) are being chased by the police when Elwood attempts to allay Jake’s fears by asserting, “They’re not gonna catch us…we’re on a mission from God.” Today’s real-life Democrats believe themselves to be on a similar quest; one they claim is essential to “save democracy.” And, like Elwood, they believe they will not (cannot?) be caught before the mission is complete. For the sake of our nation, they must be proved wrong.It remains unclear exactly from whom, or from what, Democrats want to save democracy. Nevertheless, and perhaps just by coincidence, this crusade has been the Party’s obsession since being shocked by Hillary Clinton’s 2016 defeat. Curiously ignoring the fact that this same democratic process was working fine when electing Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, Democrats now are convinced the system is completely broken, and have assumed for themselves the responsibility to repair it in advance of the 2020 elections.One such fix, H.R. 1 — the “For the People Act” — was approved by the House Administration Committee last week, setting up a likely floor vote later this month. The bill comes with much ballyhoo from Democrats, and contains numerous election “reforms” long coveted by liberals; including, for starters, automatic voter registration and expanded early voting. There are other insidious measures lurking within the legislation’s pages. The bill includes provisions carefully crafted to undermine the 2010 Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which was a major victory for free political expression during election cycles. In a gut punch to nonprofit organizations’ ability to engage in...
by Bob Barr | Feb 27, 2019 | Uncategorized |
Townhall.comThe year before what likely will be the most contentious presidential election in modern history is not a good time to suffer an identity crisis; but that is precisely the position in which the Democrats finds themselves right now.While the Party may try to put on a happy, unified public face in opposing President Donald Trump, the full throes of such an identity crisis are wreaking havoc behind the scenes. To describe it as a conflict of “multiple personalities” would not even explain the half of it. Democrats are in a complete existential meltdown.Let’s start with a quick overview of where the Democratic Party is today. The two Establishment front runners for the 2020 Presidential Sweepstakes nomination are Sens. Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren. The first is a former prosecutor criticized by Liberals for having been tough on minorities by locking up gang bangers; the other is a woman who employed what the Left has labelled “cultural appropriation” to portray herself as a minority in order advance her career.Then there’s the “people’s favorite” (as measured by small donor-fundraising) – Sen. Bernie Sanders, a septuagenarian socialist whose popularity soared by rebuking the Democratic establishment, represented by Sens. Harris and Warren.Things are no easier for Democrats in the House, where an aging Rep. Nancy Pelosi struggles to maintain control over a crop of freshman Members who have made clear their desire to not play by the rules. Tensions bubbled to the surface earlier this month when Pelosi threw a bucket of cold water on Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s “hot” Green New Deal. “The green dream, or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it...
by Bob Barr | Feb 25, 2019 | Uncategorized |
The Daily Caller3:00 PM 02/25/2019 | OPINIONBob Barr | Former Congressman (R-GA) Have you ever been trapped in one of those endless automated answering service loops? A new background check system for firearms purchases proposed by a group of gun control advocates in the House of Representatives would make going through a background check far more frustrating.However, instead of preventing you from reaching a real person to assist you in solving a problem with an insurance or a credit card company, the “Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019” may stop you from exercising a right guaranteed you by the Bill of Rights.This legislation (designated “H.R. 1112”) is sponsored by South Carolina Democrat James Clyburn and a number of other Democrats (including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), along with a lone Republican gun-control advocate, and is fast-tracked for a vote by the full House as early as this week. It is being paired with another bill, “H.R. 8,” that would achieve the perpetual Holy Grail of gun control proponents — mandated “universal background checks” for virtually all gun transfers.It is the insidiously clever H.R. 1112 that is the real wolf in sheep’s clothing; having the potential to fool perhaps a number of Republicans into voting in favor because of its seeming benign language. Aside from its soothing title, H.R. 1112 appears on its surface to simply add seven days to the current, three-day period (often referred to as a “safety valve”) after which a licensed firearm dealer may sell or “transfer” a firearm to an individual so long as no “red flag” is noted by the FBI-administered National Instant Criminal...
