"I, Charles Ziegenfuss, having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of Captain do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God." (DA Form 71, 1 August 1959, for officers.)

You'll notice that my oath does not bind me, in any fashion, to any political office. The constitution appoints the President as My commander in Chiuef, so I follow his orders. My allegiance is not to him, the man, nor to his office, but to to principles outlined in the constitution. I am bound by it into his service, provided his orders are lawful and within the bounds of the consttuion.

Now, having absorbed all that, I'll let you in on a dirty little secret. Congress -- acting, of course, only in the interest of "clean" politics -- passed a ban on ads that mention federal candidates' names in the window 60 days before the general election, as part of McCain-Feingold in 2002.

More in depth commentary on that here at RCP and here. (Kim got me started on this topic.) Basically, any law passed which conflicts with the constitution I am duty, honor, and constitutionally bound to ignore. What I'm getting at is the very first precept of our constitution, the thing which allows me to Blog freely, without fear of repercussion (until I run for Emperor, that is, then all this will come back to bite me in the ass.) Since McCain and Feingold are sure to be reading this blog, I'm going to remind them of something. It goes like this: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

It says jack shit about time limits around election dates, primaries or the like. If I want to call John Murtha a Murthafucker on his birthday I can, and I can also call him that at the polls (provided I do it outside of the boundary established for lobbyists.) If I want to tie a candidate's name to the way he voted on an issue, or what he's said on issues, that's my right.

As far as rights go, people need to realize that the Government does not grant you rights. They are inalienable, they belong to you, the individual. The constitution doesn't grant these rights, and does nothing to "limit" them, the constitution delinineates them for the purpose of putting the government on notice that they can't screw with your rights.

I will hold true to my oath in word and deed. McCain and Feingold can crumple their campaign finance reform bill straight up their asses. If they want to debate me, I'll be happy to nail a copy of the constitution to their heads before we begin the debate. Moreover, I will permanntly oppose them on the blog with my little left-banner ad. I'll support any organization who wants to campaign against McCain, Feingold, Murtha, Kerry, or other dingbats as I see fit, all they have to do is ask. If I agree with their platform, I'll gladly put thier little ad on my page.

I am not the pawn of any political group. I support candidates whom I agree with. I throw rocks, mud, and facts at those whom I do not agree with. I don't vote simply along party lines or affiliation, I vote for the person I think will best do the job.

I will speak my mind, I will put up ads, banners, and posters, I will exercise my rights to the maximum ability possible. Too many have gone before me and sacrificed too much for me to dishonor them by doing otherwise. I will vote in every election, and ask others to vote. I will dime out incompetence in government. But above all, I will do my duty.

--Chuck

Speaking of Sacrifice, Good luck and Godspeed to my Brother in Law and in Arms Rich Collins, who left this morning with the 82nd for a year in Iraq. I'll watch out for Sis and the three crumb-catchers, come home safe (really, I don't wanna share the limelight with you if you get blowed up too. :)