GunRights4US

He shot a tractor ... and destroyed his own career

2012-01-25T05:35:00.002-05:00

Excerpt:

After receiving permission from his battalion commanders, Waddell ordered Marine snipers to open fire on the man, and he was hit. A group of Afghans rushed to the man, put him on a tractor and attempted to flee. Waddell ordered the snipers to hit the engine block of the tractor, disabling it so the man believed to be a bomb maker would not escape. The tractor was hit but no civilians were injured.

Then, about three weeks later, the civilians who helped remove the wounded man from the area were found to be teenagers.

As a result, Waddell was demoted from executive officer, and the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Seth Folsom, determined he had violated rules of engagement that governed when Marines could fire, and at whom. Folsom said Wadell "is not recommended for promotion" and "in violation of [combat rules] during an engagement." The report stated that "noncombatant local nationals" were in the area of direct fire and that "the engagement resulted in a damaged local national vehicle."

Read the entire article here

GR4U - Why the hell do heroic young men want to serve this rotten corrupt empire any longer? Please don't give me any of that crap about having to fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here! Our government is fighting US, it's own citizens! If freedom is being defended by our troops, then someone needs to redeploy our troops to every airport in America, because freedom is under a much more egregious assault in American airports than it is in Afghanistan!

Oh and here's another heroic young man who gave his life for "freedom" and will never see his newborn son

Of steaks, dry cleaners, and little old Japanese ladies

2012-01-23T14:50:00.003-05:00

Over thirty years ago I was stationed at Quantico Marine Base outside of Washington while attending Embassy Guard training. A large part of being an embassy guard is looking great in the uniform, and I remember changing uniforms at least twice a day while going thru that program. Consequently MSG students spend a tremendous percentage of their paychecks on dry cleaning costs.

There was a Japanese lady who owned a dry cleaners there in Q-town, and it came as no surprise that she drove a huge Cadillac sedan. She and her staff worked seven days a week, and they did fabulous work too. They weren’t cheap, but you got your money’s worth!

Too many years have gone by for me to remember those lady’s names, but I can remember their faces like it was yesterday. Owner Lady and her sidekick were all business – all the time, but they were always personable, and if they made a commitment to have something done by a certain time, they wouldn’t let you down.

After spending three months there at Quantico learning to be embassy guards and enriching the local cleaning industry, there came the day when me and my buddies received our orders and would soon be shipping out. So when we three came into the cleaners for perhaps the last time, we told the ladies of our impending departure.

Now… allow me to point out here that Quantico is the Marine’s educational command. That is where it trains all of its officers, embassy guards, and a host of other school programs. So young Marines are constantly coming and going there. Thus my friends and I were kinda surprised that the Japanese ladies seemed truly upset that we were leaving soon. After all – we were just three guys among hundreds or even thousands of Marines passing through.

Imagine a thick Japanese accent when reading this: “You boys numba one customa. You boys come by shop Sunday – 2 oclock. I fix you goin away meal!”

As promised, Sunday at 2 oclock we showed up the cleaners – not quite knowing what to expect. The first surprise was that the shop was closed. We knocked on the door which opened quickly and we were ushered inside. We followed our gracious host thru the back part of the building where we’d never been before, and out onto a sort of patio that was the utter contrast of the crowded and cluttered cleaning shop. It was a Japanese garden done in the zen simplistic style. We were bade to sit on mats around a low table and Owner lady served up steaks straight from the grill. We had all the fixings ta boot: salad, vegetables, and various dipping sauces as well.

Owner lady suddenly remembered something: “You… look in coke machine in shop. Door already open. I have beer inside for you boys”. I went and looked and sure enough, she had one whole slot of the coke machine filled with beer!

We were treated to a “numba one” steak dinner and all the cold beer we could drink. The ladies all bustled around waiting on us like we were kings. I have often thought of those ladies, and many times wondered what became of them. I have also wondered many times why they chose to entertain we three particular jarheads out of the hundreds that visited their shop regularly. At the time, to ask “Why us?” seemed liked an act of complete ungraciousness, and there was no way in hell we would have wanted to offend those very proper Japanese ladies by acting so boorishly.

It is a memory that I will cherish the rest of my days, of that I am absolutely certain.

Happy Birthday Old Man

2012-01-23T07:08:00.001-05:00

In memory of my father

In my humble opinion, the sexiest thing I have EVER seen

2012-01-18T05:41:00.005-05:00

Leaving behind for the moment all politics, and everything else that serves to grind down our existence, I thought I would share with you the sexiest thing I have ever laid eyes on: Selma Hayek as the Vampire Queen!

The Emerging One-Party Empire, and How to Deal With It

2012-01-12T05:17:00.008-05:00

This is a piece by Michael at the Southern Nationalist Network that I thought was very compelling. This passage in particular resonated with me:

There is nothing we can do to change Washington, DC, but we can work towards making the Feds and their connected institutions less relevant in our local area. We can marry younger and have more children, thereby preventing the elimination of our people. We can educate our own children rather than sending them to government schools, thereby transmitting our culture and values to another generation. We can engage in institution building rather than waste efforts trying to change institutions that are beyond reform.

Yes dear Reader - I am a hardcore Southerner. Once upon a time it was much easier to think of America as one country. But these days it appears we're heading for some kind of Balkanization of the former American Empire.

Considering that my fifth Great-Grandfather landed in South Carolina around 1732, and his sons and grandsons spent the next 280 years in SC, Georgia, and Florida, then is it any wonder where my allegiance should lie?

Some Pete, but mostly Repeat

2012-01-11T04:46:00.002-05:00

There really is such a thing as writer’s block ya know. I’ve had a case of it for some time now, and the desire to bang away at the keyboard has waned within me. Much of it is surely profound disgust at the way I see things going in the world around me. I’m starting to feel like a 5th century citizen of Rome! And how much can you say, that hasn’t already been said, about the fall of Rome\America?

In any event, I was looking back at some of the things I’ve penned here in the past (in attempt to find inspiration methinks) and stumbled across one or two things I’ve said that bare repeating - if I say so myself!

We are becoming a nation of squealers

Our kids have been brainwashed - The Gimmie Generation is here

2012-01-10T05:43:00.004-05:00

If you watch this video, and if you believe that the professor is telling the truth about what attitudes he found among his students, then America is truly doomed.

Thanks to Curtis for digging this one up

Pallywood

2012-01-05T08:15:00.001-05:00

How the news media MAKES the images that you see of the middle-east conflict.

Are guns & ammo the new Gold?

2011-12-24T06:03:00.003-05:00

Solid economic principals to be absorbed here (and in pictures for those of us "educated" in government youth camps)

Hat tip to Mr Codrea at The War on Guns for pointing this out!

The hour of Liberty's greatest danger is now

2011-12-23T18:39:00.006-05:00

All of the things the judge introduces with "What if?" are already the current state of affairs!

It's getting scary in America these days

I DEFY you to watch this - and then tell me with a straight face that we live in a free country!

2011-12-20T11:56:00.002-05:00

I wish that I could claim credit for having penned this

2011-12-20T04:41:00.002-05:00

Alas... I cannot. I found it here. BUT, I can agree with every last syllable of it!

What I believe

I believe that what I am witnessing in my own country absolutely disgraces the memory of those that sacrificed everything so that we could secure the blessings of liberty.

I believe the founding of this nation was a miracle,and unprecedented in human history.

I believe we have failed ourselves by not being jealous enough of our own freedom.

I believe democracy is incompatible with the concept of individual or minority rights.

I believe this nation was established as a constitutional republic.

I believe that individual rights are the reason this nation was founded and that any attempt to deny any individual their rights is an overt act of aggression.

I believe that self-defense is a fundamental,basic human right,and all arms control laws stand in opposition to that fact and are illegitimate.

I believe in self ownership and that no one has the authority to tell anyone what they may or must consume or purchase.

I believe that this country hasn’t operated under a free market system in over one hundred years.

I believe the failings we see in our economy today are the failings of socialism.

I believe what they call a public-private partnership today used to be called by its proper name,Fascism.

I believe that taxation of wages or income is modern day slavery.

I believe there is no such thing as a free lunch.Someone always pays the bill.

I believe that our own government is a much greater threat to our liberties than any group of individuals on the other side of the planet could ever be.I believe history bears out that fact.

I believe that at least 90 percent of what our federal government does is unconstitutional.

I believe that Madison was right when he said that if tyranny ever comes to these shores,it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.

I believe Thomas Jefferson was right on just about everything.

I believe Ronald Reagan did Americans a great disservice by banning open carry of firearms in California during his tenure as Governor,and by signing the Gun Control Act of 1986 as President.

I believe that we are witnessing the last vestiges of human freedom being stripped from us by evil conniving men and women who cloak their intentions with lies of fairness,equality,tolerance,moderation and sustainability.

I believe that those who wish to remain free must realize the truth that people can only be persuaded by reason or force.That when free men refuse to compromise their liberty,evil men ALWAYS resort to force,and that force must be met with force.

I believe that 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 effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

(I didn’t write that last bit,but I believe it nonetheless).

I believe the hour is getting late…

Joke of the day

2011-12-15T09:39:00.004-05:00

An Illegal Alien, a Muslim and a Communist walk into a bar.

The bartender asks, "What can I get you, Mr. President?

Something good from Straight Forward in a Crooked World

2011-12-13T05:53:00.003-05:00

Matthew doesn't post often, but when he does you can guarantee it's something you will want to read.

THE RIGHT TO KNIFE

Not for the faint of heart (but hopefully - no one who reads here is faint of heart any way!)

All in the name of security

2011-12-06T05:09:00.001-05:00

9 Examples Of Elderly Americans Being Strip-Searched Or Sexually Molested By TSA Agents At U.S. Airports

So... when are you going to start getting pissed off about this crap America? Or are you happy to remain SHEEP?

If solders are defending our freedom...

2011-12-05T05:22:00.001-05:00

Then why are we so "free" at the airport? Hell! Soldiers aren't free either! Watch this and tell me how free we all are:

Ron Paul's video exposing the fake conservative Newt Gingrich

2011-12-01T06:19:00.001-05:00

America's brightest being interviewed about Israel and the Middle East

2011-11-22T05:44:00.003-05:00

... and the kids don't know their ass from their elbow!

Mark Schiff interviews students at UCLA (sorry I couldn't get this video to embed)

Alarm at the office

2011-11-18T11:14:00.001-05:00

I watched a massive trophy buck canter boldly across an Alabama clear cut in broad daylight. The excitement built within me as I placed the crosshairs of my riflescope on his shoulder and my finger caressed the trigger.

The phone by my bed rang insistently and I was yanked from my pleasant dream into hearing my company’s alarm service telling me that there were multiple motion sensors being activated at my office; the police had already been notified.

Damn!

I jumped out of bed, pulled on my britches (the ones that did NOT contain my wallet with my DL and CWP) and headed for the door. The clock on the wall said 12:17 a.m.

My 21 year-old son was still up playing video games and I asked him if he wanted to respond to what seemed to be an obvious break-in at my office. He quickly dropped his game controller and grabbed his Glock and we headed out the door.

Twelve urban miles, and 18 minutes later we rolled up into the parking lot and found that there was a power outage in the area; everything was pitch dark except for a few battery powered lights inside the building.

There were no police to be seen as we circled the building looking for signs of forced entry. After a few minutes, and a brief discussion between us of how neither one could prove our identity (he’d left his wallet at home too), we wondered whether we ought to back off - or go in.

That’s about the time we spotted Barney Fife’s spotlight down the street searching for the address – and going the wrong direction.

Let’s do this.

We entered the front entrance and locked the door behind us. No sense in allowing Barney to come back and enter the building behind us!

By this point the power outage is no longer even on my mind. There is sufficient lighting from the emergency lights that we can see well enough. What IS on my mind are the three previous burglaries we’ve had in the previous eight years, one of which where the burglar surgically removed a pane of glass from an out of the way spot not easily seen from the parking areas.

I disable the audible alarm and we both think we hear something in the ensuing silence. Carefully we make our way down the main hallway with flashlights and pistols at the ready.

Suddenly the power comes back on.

In a microsecond the building goes from being quiet as a tomb to the sound of dozens of printers, copiers, fax machines, and PC’s powering up. In just a second or two it registered what was happening. But for the first half of that initial second as we listened to whirring, clicking, and assorted and sundry odd sounds from all around us, there was an involuntary puckering of the anus accompanied by the hair on the back of our necks standing straight up!

We cleared the building with no further incident and locked up and left.

The police department never made an appearance, and on the way home we had a good laugh at ourselves, but for that split second we both agreed:

“That scared the sh*t outta me!”

If ONLY he had let the thief come on in the house!

2011-11-17T05:23:00.003-05:00

This story leaves me absolutely speechless!

Man facing 105 years in prison for shooting at would-be thief

UPDATE: They've dropped the charges, but too late to recover ANY semblance of a normal life.

Thieves!

2011-11-16T13:47:00.002-05:00

This morning my receptionist came to work as usual. Apparently she had a doctor’s appointment around mid-morning and realized she’s left her insurance card at home. So she drove home to get it. She found her home burglarized and vandalized! What the thieves couldn’t steal, they destroyed. The bastards even killed the family cat. I have never met her husband, but she is a sweet girl that doesn’t deserve this kind of heinous act.

As you might imagine, this is the talk of the day around my office. The #1 big boss man then told me that last weekend the son of the #2 big boss man was laying on his couch dozing on a Sunday evening. His wife was in the shower. A sneak thief eased into the house thru an unlocked sliding glass door and tiptoed right past the man sleeping on the couch. He was awakened to the sound of his wife’s screaming as she encountered a strange man standing in her bedroom when she came out of the shower. The crook bolted past the dazed homeowner and was gone in a flash.

I hear that the FBI’s crime statistics report shows crime steadily decreasing these days… but that’s certainly little comfort to these homeowners who have had their very sense of security ripped away.

Come into MY home uninvited, and I promise you… if I am there, you will die a most wretched death!

War dead abominations

2011-11-10T13:17:00.002-05:00

The Empire has well-conditioned it’s subjects to honor the armed forces, and rendering homage to the uniform is a basic tenet of civic religion among the warlike right. I should know as I was a rock-solid believer for most of my adult life.

Unfortunately, the Empire doesn’t practice the same degree of honor that it preaches for its war dead. Whether its gross mismanagement at the cemetery, or equally gross mismanagement at the mortuary, America’s war dead are not given the careful treatment and respect we’ve been taught they deserve.

Best book I've read in quite some time

2011-11-10T09:40:00.006-05:00

I know we are all inundated with books giving reasons for why our society is swirling in the bowl, but this one is particularly good.

Cop versus Cop

2011-11-08T13:38:00.007-05:00

This is unusual to say the least. A Florida Highway Patrol unit pulls a Miami County officer over for speeding, and pulls him from the car at gun point.

The FOP is coming down on the side of the Miami Cop, and FHP is standing by their patrolman.

A cursory read of the various comments trailing these articles reveals that the cops (as expected) are all firmly of the mindset that one cop should cover another cop – no matter what!

Conversely, the typical citizen commenter sees cops as being subject to the same laws they are subject to.

The patrolwoman Donna Watts is taking some fierce fire from her fellow officers it seems. She obviously has more belief in her principals than the typical tax feeding state-pensioner wanna-be.

Kudos for her I say!

Pure communism!

2011-10-26T10:37:00.004-04:00

These are the demands of the Occupy Wall Street (bowel) Movement as posted on their website:

Demand one: Restoration of the living wage. This demand can only be met by ending “Freetrade” by re-imposing trade tariffs on all imported goods entering the American market to level the playing field for domestic family farming and domestic manufacturing as most nations that are dumping cheap products onto the American market have radical wage and environmental regulation advantages. Another policy that must be instituted is raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hr.

Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system. To do this all private insurers must be banned from the healthcare market as their only effect on the health of patients is to take money away from doctors, nurses and hospitals preventing them from doing their jobs and hand that money to wall st. investors.

Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.

Demand four: Free college education.

Demand five: Begin a fast track process to bring the fossil fuel economy to an end while at the same bringing the alternative energy economy up to energy demand.

Demand six: One trillion dollars in infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Rail, Roads and Bridges and Electrical Grid) spending now.

Demand seven: One trillion dollars in ecological restoration planting forests, reestablishing wetlands and the natural flow of river systems and decommissioning of all of America’s nuclear power plants.

Demand eight: Racial and gender equal rights amendment.

Demand nine: Open borders migration. anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.

Demand ten: Bring American elections up to international standards of a paper ballot precinct counted and recounted in front of an independent and party observers system.

Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the “Books.” World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the “Books.” And I don’t mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.

Demand twelve: Outlaw all credit reporting agencies.

Demand thirteen: Allow all workers to sign a ballot at any time during a union organizing campaign or at any time that represents their yeah or nay to having a union represent them in collective bargaining or to form a union.

These demands will create so many jobs it will be completely impossible to fill them without an open borders policy.

===========================================

GR4U - These idiots want all the conveniences of living in a 21st century First World nation with none of the individual responsibilities associated with such a society!

Stocking up taken to a whole new level

2011-10-13T14:12:00.004-04:00

My eldest son, his pregnant wife, and his infant daughter moved back into my house a few weeks ago. What can I say - sign of the times!

Having just finished reading Mark Steyn's After America, which includes an in depth look into declining Western birthrates contrasted starkly with rising Islamic and African birthrates, it occurred to me that I'm actually in the process of stocking up on Americans.

Here's the proof!

I just found an old friend

2011-10-07T11:39:00.005-04:00

About 30 years ago I was a young Marine who had managed to make some bad decisions and gotten myself in trouble with the Corps. Being relieved from duty at the American Embassy in Kingston Jamaica, I was transferred to Beaufort SC and stuck in an office.

The Marines (as I assume is true of the other services) have a very long memory. If you ever screw up - it's never forgotten. There's an old saying: One aww shit wipes out a hundred attaboys. But in the service, one aww shit tends to wipe out all past AND future attaboys! And so I checked in to a new duty station and found myself very nearly a pariah among my "brother" Marines.

However there was a crusty old Staff Sergeant who watched me for a time, took my measure as a Marine, and decided that I was one of the good guys. He took me under his wing made me feel like I was still part of the team. That is NOT to say he coddled me. Far from it! He was a demanding hardass who had no compunctions about straightening out human error by getting loud and in your face. But he evaluated a man on his conduct in the here-and-now, as opposed to what one had done in the dim misty past.

For the record, my "crime" was to have a woman in the Marine House - a woman I eventually married and had two kids with. The Corps can be quite prudish you see.

Ssgt Dennis Hendry had once been a drill instructor on Parris Island. His tour of duty was not successful and he was - like me - relieved from this highly prestigious duty. I suppose that's why he tended to identity with me. He was destined to remain forever a Staff Sergeant, just as I was destined to never progress beyond the rank of Sergeant (and it took a ridiculous 3 years as a Corporal to get THAT far)

I don't know the circumstances of his relief from the drill field. I imagine his drinking problem played a role, though I have no direct knowledge that it did. By the time I knew Dennis in 1981, he had been off the drill field for a couple of years, and his drinking could well have been the result of his feelings about being relieved.

I do however know the circumstances of how Dennis handled himself in the office where I worked with him. He took care of his people! He was a Marine Staff NCO and those young enlisted Marines belonged to him. They looked to him for leadership - and he gave it. During working hours Dennis was all business and all Marine.

After working hours ... well... he came down among the troops and comported himself as one of them.

He knew that I loved to hunt, and that I had a personal rifle stored in the armory. So one Friday he asked me if I want to go hunting with him. Sure!

Shortly after working hours he picked me up at the barracks and we drove to Yemasee SC. Even though it was only an hour or so after we got off work, Dennis was already pretty well sloshed. That was a car ride I will never forget!

Arriving at a little isolated fishcamp / bar out in the South Carolina boonies, it was instantly apparent that a) Dennis was a regular patron, and b) hunting was NOT the primary purpose of our mission. For the next several hours we drank, played pool and socialized. As the night slipped away into the wee hours of the morning, and it was clear we were going to "close the joint", I began to seriously wonder where I would be laying my weary head.

Closing time did indeed come, and Dennis and I were escorted out the back by one of the bar matrons to a one room cabin that she occupied. I'm no shrinking violet, but I really did NOT want to assist my drunken boss in his coming carnal episode with this ... woman!

Inside I was shown the floor at the foot of the bed, and handed a rolled up towel for a pillow. Dennis flopped on the bed with his new friend, and the lights went out. To say I was uncomfortable on a variety of levels really wouldn't be doing it justice. I expected any moment to hear the symphony of dueling bedsprings accompanied by the sound of the beast with two backs.

There were some indistinguishable sounds, some muttering, and then a loud exclamation: "What? You ain't gonna gimmie no head?! Well F*uck you then!" In less than a second (it seemed) there was loud snoring to be heard and I was free to settle down somewhat restfully for the remainder of the night.

Being a natural early riser, I was awake at a hunting-appropriate early hour, and so I got up and flicked on the light (being somewhat trepidatious about what exactly I would see). My bleary eyes beheld a buck naked Staff sergeant spread-eagled and occupying 90% of the bed; his previous evening's temporary girlfriend forced to the very edge.

I slapped him on the foot, we got dressed, and hit the door in under a minute. I marveled at the man's ability to get moving apparently so effortlessly under the conditions of so little sleep and so much booze. But Dennis showed no signs of being discomfited. In fact, I'm pretty sure he was still drunk.

On foot we crossed the highway in front of the fishcamp / bar and set out down a dirt road for a short distance - me with a .30-30, and Dennis with a 12 gauge shotgun.

Maybe five minutes down the road an old cow bird rose up from a ditch off to our left and to my amazement Dennis shot at it.

He missed.

Not knowing what to say (remember he's my boss) I stood there noting the look of disappointment on his face. In a moment his remark was "Hell... there ain't no deer 'round here no how".

Without another word he turned around and led us back up the road, across the highway, and back into the now open bar. I think you know how the rest of this tale plays out.

Yes... Dennis was a character alright. I recognized his faults, but they were truly overshadowed by his good qualities. It was with genuine sadness that I rec'd the news of his death about four years later. His drinking mixed with his driving just one time too many, and he wrapped his car around a South Carolina oak tree.

Today he lies in the shade of another South Carolina oak tree in the Beaufort National Cemetery.

Rest in peace Staff Sergeant Hendry

Semper Fi my friend

OWEbama by the numbers

2011-10-05T05:40:00.001-04:00

Go here and absorb the awful truth

Gun voucher giveaway gets car dealer in a world of trouble

2011-09-30T05:39:00.003-04:00

Despite the White House harassment, and the loss of financing and insurance arrangements that came in the past, the Butler, Mo., car dealer who will be giving away AK-47’s again starting in October.

“Guess what? We are doing it again! It is the Fourth Annual Great Guns and Gas Give-Away!” said Mark Muller, the owner of Max Motors, whose July 17, 2009 interview with CNN’s Carol Costello about his promotion was great publicity, but brought him unwelcome attention.

Within days of the CNN broadcast, three agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrived at the dealership, he said.

Read the rest here at Human Events

GR4U - I applaude this man's courage!

OWEbama busy stimulating the economy... the Chinese economy!

2011-09-29T20:58:00.003-04:00

Rebuilding America's crumbling infrastructure is a growing priority, with President Obama highlighting construction jobs as part of his $447 billion jobs plan.

The president visited the "functionally obsolete" Brent Spence Bridge in Ohio Thursday and called on lawmakers to do their part in fixing America's infrastructure.

"Mr. Boehner, Mr. McConnell, help us rebuild this bridge," he said in a speech. "Help us rebuild America. Help us put this country back to work."

In New York there is a $400 million renovation project on the Alexander Hamilton Bridge.

In California, there is a $7.2 billion project to rebuild the Bay Bridge connecting San Francisco and Oakland.

In Alaska, there is a proposal for a $190 million bridge project.

These projects sound like steps in the right direction, but much of the work is going to Chinese government-owned firms.

Read the rest:

Bringing America Back: Are Infrastructure Jobs Being Shipped to China?

This weekend's hunting report: Wounded Buck feeds the swamp instead of me and my family!

2011-09-26T16:20:00.003-04:00

Well, I stuck a six point buck on Sunday morning with a crossbow bolt. I know I got a solid hit because there was a significant blood trail to follow. After hearing the “thunk” and watching him make like a furry lightning bolt, I waited in my stand for the prescribed thirty minutes before climbing down. I pulled the release on him at 0705.

I started trying to pick up the bloodtrail, and that took about 20 minutes before I found it. Of course it led out of the uplands area where you’re allowed to hunt, down into the main body of the Okefenokee Swamp. I went in maybe a hundred yards before caution demanded that I return to my truck for some flagging tape and a GPS. A few years ago I got lost for an afternoon in an area adjacent to the Okefenokee, and it is NO FUN. So I will take steps to keep from that ever happening again!

Once I reacquired the trail, I headed off into the thick stuff. Now when I say thick I mean THICK! There were many points along the way where I had to get down on all fours and crawl through. At least the ground (if you could call it that) was relatively dry initially.

After some distance I came upon where my buck had laid down for a bit and left quite a blood puddle. But whether he arose spontaneously or whether he heard me coming – I don’t know. All I know for sure is that when I reached the point where the blood trail came to the point where the occasional wet spot became a swamp with water as far ahead as I could see – I stopped, and would go no further. My handheld GPS told me that I was over a third of a mile back in the swamp proper.

It’s very disappointing to lose a kill that way. I have no compunctions about killing a prey animal, but neither do I want one to suffer and be lost and have its meat feed only the swamp creatures. I much prefer his horns decorate my wall, and his flesh decorate my dinner plate.

A few random thoughts as I head for the swamp in search of a big buck this weekend

2011-09-23T16:34:00.002-04:00

* For government to grow, Liberty must shrink

* Liberty is not a cruise ship, it’s a Man O War, and we are the crew

* You know it’s late in the day when small men cast long shadows

* Guns are the teeth of Liberty

* When government is willing to trust ME – I will again trust government

* A government that can give you everything, is also able to take everything from you

The Statist Dictionary

2011-09-20T05:02:00.001-04:00

The Old Jarhead, aka Robert A. Hall, has his Statist Dictionary published in The American Thinker.

An absolute MUST READ!

Hunting The Pocket inside Okefenokee Swamp

2011-09-19T15:48:00.005-04:00

I hunted inside the Okefenokee National Wildlife refuge this weekend for the second weekend in a row.

The list of rules is lengthy, and as you might imagine it's probably compiled by someone who has never in their life hunted for deer. For example, you're not allowed to use any sort of flagging tape or reflective tacks to help you find your way in the dark woods. I suppose that these things might utterly destroy the largest swamp in America. Finding your spot is a real challenge without them.

The other rule that is particularly onerous is the requirement that your treestand can NOT be left on the tree - even overnite. It must be packed in and out on every trip! Well... the noise created by this rule has probably cost me a shot at some deer. Not to mention what happened to me Saturday morning.

I hiked in (another rule - No ATVs) in the predawn darkness carrying my tree climber. Once at the base of the tree I had an equipment failure. My tree climber had a major malfunction. Nothing to do, but hike right back out. With only the one tree climber at my camp, I was forced to drive to my other hunting camp for a replacement; a roundtrip of 186 miles. Saturday was NOT my day.

Sunday I saw a group of deer feeding right by the main gate. Rules say no hunting within a mile of the main gate. Now... bear in mind this is an ARCHERY hunt - no guns! So all I could do was look at the pretty deer feeding peacefully there beside the road as I drove on my way.

Here are a couple of pics taken from the stand I sat in Sunday morning (Much closer to the road than Saturday's spot). Note the fire damage visible in the foreground.

The view behind me. That's some THICK stuff there!

Yours truly

PC virus has thrown me for a loop

2011-09-19T10:27:00.002-04:00

I've had a particularly bad virus on my home PC lately that I have gotten tired of battling. So I bought a Mac.

In a couple of days I'll learn my way around this thing a bit and resume blogging.

Sorry for the non-posting of late.

Quote of the day

2011-09-13T16:42:00.000-04:00

Optimists are buying stocks. Realists are buying ammo

Unknown

My comments on Sept 11th

2011-09-08T14:07:00.010-04:00

I'll be in the woods on Sunday taking advantage of the opening of bow season. So I felt maybe I should go ahead and make my 9/11 post.

On this the anniversary of the Sept 11th attacks, I felt compelled to join the throng of commentators on the current scene and add my views to the mix.

Here in the heart of GunRights4US, there is no sorrow, no remorse, no introspection, no hope for world peace. Little doves are not winging in circles about my head, and my thoughts are not clouded with scenes of America feeding refugees in some foreign land. I’ll tell you what you would see if by magic you could directly access the inner machinations of my mind. You would see boiling rage and anger aimed at three parties when it comes to 9/11.

>

The first and obvious target of my angst is the followers of that devil-god Allah. And not merely for the “radical” variety either. The distinction of “moderate” versus “radical” Muslims is false label applied by a media and political class that desperately wants to deny that we are engaged in an old-style religious war. War can be waged by one party against another party whether or not that second party is willing to acknowledge that war is being waged.

Deny reality if you will – but the consequences of denying reality will NOT be long denied. In short, Islam is not a religion but a political movement that masquerades as a religion. It is, in every way, anathema to all freedom loving peoples anywhere, and it knows no compromise of any kind. Islam divides the world and everyone in it into the house of Islam, or the house of the un-believers, and its solution is very simple: conversion, slavery, or death. This is a fundamental tenant of Islam. So the more closely a Muslim adheres to Islamic doctrine, the more likely he is to slit your infidel throat!

The next target of my vitriol is the political class that has mishandled the Islam issue as surely as it has mishandled every other crisis for the last couple of generations. The last time an American politician dealt properly with Islam was in 1801 when Thomas Jefferson declared “millions for defense, but not one penny for tribute”. He then backed up his high sounding rhetoric with Marines on the ground in Tripoli. Since then, the political slugs aspiring to rule this great land have embraced the concept of tribute and a mindset of stark dhimmitude (If you don’t know the meaning of that word you’re part of the problem). When George Bush stood before Congress and declared that we are not at war with Islam, he made himself (and America) the fool for all to see. He also clearly communicated to our enemies that their deceptive plans are working – keep it up.

American politicians are kissing Islamic arse like never before. When it was discovered that Trijicon scopes used a Bible verse based system of model numbers, the military establishment went bonkers and threatened to stop buying one of the best combat scopes ever made. In the brass’s mind apparently it’s okay to bomb, incinerate, and machine gun Muslims – but for Pete’s sake let’s not offend them! And were you aware that American troops in Afghanistan were ordered to burn Bibles?

Finally, I harbor a deep loathing of the politically correct citizenry and media that refuses to pull its head out of the sand and hear what the members of Allah’s death cult are saying out loud. Muslims are using this pervasive degree of ignorance among Westerners to advance their sect’s plan for dominating the world. By the way – you DO know that lying to advance the cause of Islam is another fundamental aspect of this “faith” right? That’s something that our media has latched onto – though not in the way you might think. The talking heads are lying to you Joe Sixpacks out there (about more than just Islam), and they justify it with the notion that the ends justify the means. If ONLY we would be nice enough to the towel heads, they’ll stop trying to blow us up! When I see one of those asinine COEXIST bumper stickers, I see red with pure anger. I want to yank the driver out of his or her automobile and scream in their face “Are you STUPID?” It's the same mindset displayed by the people busy turning the Flight 93 memorial into a giant red crescent honoring - THE HIJACKERS!

The Hindus, the Zoroastrians, the Sikhs, the Jews, and the Christians are not trying to slaughter everyone who doesn’t believe like they do (the very definition of a religious war)! That bloody form of evangelism is exclusively the province of those moon-god fanatics who are stuck in the 7th century; and who demand that everyone else on the planet join them there – or die.

In closing, let me make one final point. Islam is a danger to a degree far beyond anything ever posed by communism or fascism. But here in America, the fascist political class is using the very real threat of Islam to leverage up their own power (think The Patriot Act). The Osamites out there want to enslave me, humiliate me, rob me of my substance, and ultimately force me on pain of death to accept their ideology. The Obamites want the EXACT same thing of me, and they’re IN CHARGE of my country!

Remember September 11th (and remember that your own government sees you as a terrorist Mr & Mrs white middle-class American)

Marines ban audible farting in Afghanistan

2011-09-06T13:04:00.003-04:00

I knew that political correctness was making inroads into the military. I knew the Marines weren't the same as when I served. I knew being "offensive" was fast becoming a crime among the perpetually and professionally aggrieved. But this is getting just plain ridiculous!

As far as I'm concerned, if a young Marine can put his life on the line and possibly give his life for the "spread of freedom and democracy" and all of that crap for the Afghans, then by God he ought to be able to FART!

Read about it here.

Facing 75 years in prison

2011-08-31T07:19:00.001-04:00

... for filming police officers - without their consent!

Book Review: Mark Steyn's After America: Get Ready For Armageddon

2011-08-27T07:41:00.006-04:00

I’m reading Mark Steyn’s latest book: After America, Get Ready for Armageddon. If you’re unfamiliar with Steyn, know that his talent is twofold (in my opinion). First he can make complicated topics much more understandable. And second, he has a wonderfully witty style that makes even reading about the end of Western Civilization enjoyable.

I heartily recommend this book, as well as his America Alone: The End of The World As We Know It

Here’s an excerpt where Styen elaborates on a quote from Tom Wolf’s essay The Me Decade:

[Wolf] “Most people, historically, have not lived their lives as if thinking, “I have only one life to live.” Instead they have lived as if they are living their ancestors’ lives and their offspring’s lives and perhaps their neighbors' lives as well. They have seen themselves as inseparable from the great tide of chromosomes of which they are created and which they pass on. The mere fact that you were only going to be here a short time and would be dead soon enough did not give you the license to try to climb out of the stream and change the natural order of things.”

[Steyn] "Europe climbed out of the stream. You don’t need to make material sacrifices: the state takes care of all that. You don’t need to have children. And you certainly don’t need to die for king and country. But a society that has nothing to die for has nothing to live for; it’s no longer a stream but a stagnant pool. How fair thou hast been – but only for the moment, and the moment is passing. Europe’s economic crisis is a mere symptom of its existential crisis: What is life for? What gives it meaning? Post-Christian, post-nationalist, post-modern Europe has no answer to this question, and so it has 30 year old students and 50 year old retirees, and wonders why the small band of workers in between them can’t make the math add up."

'You can't do anything to me...

2011-08-26T05:15:00.003-04:00

... Obama runs this country!'

The Stand - a Hunting Tale

2011-08-25T11:01:00.000-04:00

This story was originally posted in 2004, but as hunting season approaches I tend to think more and more about getting in the woods.

You know, not every “hunting” story involves shooting a big buck. There’s a lot that goes into getting ready for hunting season, and this is one of those little adventures that precedes the ultimate adventure of getting that granddaddy whitetail.

Last hunting season I had placed a ladder stand along the St. Mary’s river. It was a 15-foot tall stand and I positioned it about 50 yards from the bank of the river. Recently I secured lease rights to a prime piece of property up around Milledgeville, Georgia, so it was necessary to go recover my best stand so I could take it up to my new hunting grounds. My 14 year-old son went with me to help retrieve it and I’m sure glad he did too because I’d have never been able to manage it alone.We drove up early on Saturday morning, and when we got to the boat ramp we were shocked to discover that the boat ramp, picnic area and parking area was all under about 9 feet of flowing water! The road down the hill to the parking area had become the de facto boat ramp. So we went ahead and launched my little boat there and proceeded on up river to where we thought the ladder stand would be.

The St. Mary’s was higher than I’ve ever seen it in ten years of exploring it in motorboats and canoes. The water had risen to approximately 14 feet above normal obscuring the banks on both sides. The river literally extended back into the woods and out of sight. Talk about current! Boy we had plenty of it, even back in the flooded woods. It was all my little 10-horse kicker could do to take us upstream.

When we finally reached the bend in the river where the stand was located, another problem presented itself. The piece of flagging tape that I had tied about 6 feet up a tree was completely underwater. With the river spilling over its banks to such an extent, nothing looked familiar. It took about a half an hour of cruising back and forth until we spied the stand back among the trees. I had fully expected to be wading in a couple of feet of water while retrieving the stand. Now I was shocked to see that only the top three or four feet of the 15-foot stand was visible above the water! Clearly this would be, at least in part, an underwater operation.

I aimed the boat at what looked like the best avenue of approach through the flooded trees, gunned the motor to get some momentum, and then killed the engine. We got to the stand with a combination of paddling and pulling ourselves along using tree limbs. There was actually a respectable amount of current to be considered as well so it was necessary to tie up next to the stand. I even dropped the anchor! Sitting there in the boat we were perfectly level with the seat of the stand. Obviously the floodwaters were over our heads.

Because of the hour’s drive followed by a twenty minute boat ride, I had emphasized to Josh that we needed to bring along everything we could possibly need while there. Toward that end I had even brought along a large pair of bolt cutters in case the padlock on the chained stand refused to cooperate after ten months of exposure and non-use. It was at about this point that Josh pointed out that we should have brought along some swim fins and dive masks if we wanted to be fully prepared. I could hardly argue with him.

We removed the chain with no trouble and while still seated in the boat. Thankfully the lock worked with no difficulty. So did the strap and ratchet assembly that secured the upper part of the stand firmly to the tree. However, somewhere down below the swirling water was another ratchet and strap coupled with a stabilizer pole that had to be dealt with, and there was no way to do that while remaining dry. So…Josh and I stripped down to our skivvies, and he led the way by climbing out onto the top rung of the submerged ladder stand and down into the dark water of the flooded St. Mary’s river. I toyed with him for a second by staying on the boat and urging him to hurry up and dissemble the stand. But his look of outrage at the very idea was enough to get me on down into the water.

As we both attacked the stand while treading water, I was struck by the thought that this would be exactly the time that we wouldn’t want to entertain any visits of the local reptilian variety, namely snakes and “gators”. I said as much to Josh and watched the look on his face change to grave concern. We continued working on disassembling the stand and after a few moments I extended my leg under water and purposely bumped him on the thigh. The response was immediate! He hollered and almost leaped vertically out of the water. My roar of laughter was enough to change his fear to anger, but later when we were safe and on our way home he agreed that I “got him good”.

Piece by piece we managed to deconstruct the heavy metal stand and get it into the boat. The final indignity was when it came time for me to hoist myself back into the boat without the benefit of having anything underwater that I could stand on. With just upper body strength I managed to heave myself aboard, but I was certainly pretty well spent by that point. I’m sure not as young as I used to be!

The ride back to the boat ramp and the drive back home were uneventful, except that we decided we should go ahead and drive on up to the hunting lease and get our stands in position since hunting season’s opening day would rapidly be upon us. So early the following morning we made the four-hour drive to the area near my brother’s home outside Milledgeville in order to go ahead and place our stands. It was a beautiful morning, and the drive and the time spent with my son were both great. Evaluating the exact location for putting up the stands was now much easier since it wasn’t being done in the pre-dawn darkness of opening day. And even the short visit with my brother followed by another four-hour drive home was enjoyable since it was quality time spent with my boy.

I’ve hunted all my life, and I’ve had lots of great and some not-so-great experiences while hunting. At this point in my life, I’ve also learned that the actual experience of the kill is not the only enjoyment to be had. The camaraderie of being around other hunters, the preparation for and anticipation of the coming season, and time spent with your son, are all aspects of an enjoyable hunting experience. And now I’ve also learned one additional lesson: the next time I go to recover a tree stand placed along a river, I’ll take some scuba gear with me.

How to get off some of the people search websites

2011-08-19T05:47:00.002-04:00

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the internet is full of people search websites that sell your personal information. There are a plethora of these sites like MyLife.com, Intelius, iSearch, White Pages, etc. And for a price, anyone can discover your age, address, cell phone number, shopping habits, etc.

Here's a page with information on how you can Opt Out of many of these sites. I haven't tried this yet - but you can bet I will over the next few days. So as always... your mileage may vary.

HOW TO REMOVE YOURSELF FROM PEOPLE SEARCH WEBSITES

What the hell is wrong with people today!

2011-08-11T14:44:00.003-04:00

Everyone seems to have a theory about the motivations of the London rioters. CS Lewis once said:

"We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and then bid the geldings to be fruitful."

He was damn sure right!

We scoff of the idea of Sunday School for our children, and yet wonder why they lack a moral compass.

We have made an institution out of shifting responsibility for every human action, and wonder our young people refuse to accept responsibility for themselves. Consider the increasingly common phenomenon of grown and healthy adults who persist in a state of perpetual adolescence; living with their parents well into their 20’s or even 30’s.

We pretend there is no difference between men and women, and then stand idly by while social engineers emasculate and feminize whole generations of school boys.

We mock the idea of absolute values, and then have to gall to be angry at our politicians who dishonor their oaths.

We undermine the authority of our school teachers and principals by thoughtlessly taking the child’s side in any dispute with authority, and then can’t understand why little Johnny grows up with an attitude problem and cannot accept direction from anyone.

We shower our children with whatever their little heart’s desire (buying their love?), and then struggle with why they grow so readily into self-centered adults who appreciate nothing and expect everything to be handed to them for free.

We let the glowing electronic box babysit our children for years at a time, and then wonder why they have no ability to think for themselves.

The destruction of the family unit, and the rejection of the Judeo-Christian ethic of morality, is now bearing a bitter fruit. We are reaping what we’ve sown.

I added a new blog to my list of regular stops

2011-08-11T09:51:00.003-04:00

This came to my attention thanks to the diligence of Concerned American over at Western Rifle Shooters Association (a MUST add to any list of regular stops in its own right).

The new blog (to me anyway) is called Whiskey's Place. There are two essays to be found there that are absolutely excellent regarding the current fate of the Former Great Britain, and the overall decline of Western Civilization in general. Do your mind a favor, tear yourself away from the GOOBERment's propaganda screen, and read:

England Falls

and ...

It wont be a Taxi Driver summer

There's a story here

2011-08-10T10:14:00.003-04:00

Even in my current jaded and cynical state, this photo strikes a nerve in me.

Read the whole story here

May God bless the Republic

The Problem in a Nutshell

2011-08-08T17:45:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Old Jarhead for pointing this out:

THE REAL PROBLEM WITH OUR GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM - - - -

The folks who are getting free shit,
Don't like the folks who are paying for the free shit,
Because the folks who are paying for the free shit,
Can no longer afford to pay for both the free shit and their own shit.

And, the folks who are paying for the free shit,
Want the free shit to stop.
And the folks who are getting the free shit,
Want even MORE free shit on top of the free shit they're already getting!

Now..... The people who are forcing the people who PAY
for the free shit to pay for ever more free shit,
Have told the people who are RECEIVING the free shit,
That the people who are PAYING for the free shit,
Are being mean, prejudiced, and racist.

So .... the people who are GETTING the free shit,
Have been convinced they need to HATE
the people who are PAYING for the free shit
by the people who are forcing the people who are PAYING
for the free shit into GIVING them the free shit in the first place.

And - - - - - that's the straight shit!

A Post-American Planet

2011-08-03T07:47:00.001-04:00

By Mark Stein

Today's must read

And the can tumbles a bit further down the road

2011-08-02T06:20:00.003-04:00

They'll get their bill passed. Do you doubt it? Well, I only have time for bullet points this morning.

- No current CONgress can bind the actions (spending) of a future CONgress. So the PROMISES to cut X dollars over Y time is really just equal to BS.

- This is more of the same “Reductions to the rate of increased spending = Spending Cuts” nonsense.

- This bill creates a concentration of power in the form of a “Super Committee” that effectually shuts out the remainder of CONgress, and in so doing greases the skids for future spending increases. All this Kabuki Theatre-style debate slows things down – there’s MONEY to spend By God!

- The Tea Party, let’s face it, has utterly failed. The moment these freshmen CONgressmen and women hit the poison air inside the beltway, they’re instantly transformed into Gollum – no exceptions

- 80% of US T-Bills sold since 2009 have been purchased by … THE FED (with freshly printed fiat currency)

- The Chinese have asked us TWICE in about the last 30 days to stop devaluing our currency (and their assets)

- And when the crash comes, never you fear, because there’s a plan in place whereby the Imperial FEDGov will still be able to operate right on in the face of the “Emergency”: NSPD-51 (Thanks George W. Bush!)

The only question that remains is what are we going to do about it? More of the same?

Million, Billion, or Trillion

2011-07-27T07:26:00.003-04:00

When you get up into the really big numbers, regardless of what's being counted, it's difficult sometimes to wrap your mind around the concept. Well someone has compiled a visualization of the magnitude of the US Federal Debt that even a caveman can understand!

Check out WTFnoway.com

I LOVE the domain name by the way!

In all seriousness though... can ANYONE not see the crash we're racing towards?

Book review

2011-07-25T09:49:00.003-04:00

This wonderful book has been around for many years, but the advice it contains is absolutely outstanding. Some of us "action oriented" types might have difficulty with waiting for the "right time". Claire Wolf's book offers many different ways to channel that pent-up fury, making the "wait" more bearable.

Enjoy:

You can buy it here

He's not just a liar - he is a LIE

2011-07-19T05:43:00.003-04:00

Found this comment here, and it resonated with me:

We have a LIE in the White House. He's not just a LIAR. He's a LIE. That's why he needs a VAULT, in Hawaii, to seal his life's story away.

Raised in Indonesia til the age of 11. All those years in Muslim Schools. All those years going to Muslim Mosques. All those years kneeling on his Prayer Rug, praying to Allah. Yet, he says he's a Christian.

His School Records are still LOCKED AWAY. Who seals their School Records? Who seals their College Loan Paperwork? Their Entrance Exam? Their Medical Records? Their Transcripts and their Thesis?

"He's the smartest guy that ever lived."

Is he? Nobody knows.

"He never heard Jeremiah Wright say all those things."

Really? In 20 YEARS in the pews?

He never knew what Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn were all about?

Does he know that his Science Czar - Bill Holdren - wishes, very much, that we would put STERIENTS in to the Drinking Water?

Does he know that his Medical czar - Ezekiel Emanuel - wishes that we could implement the Chinese ONE CHILD Plan?

Does he know that his FCC Chairman admires the way that Hugo Chavez shut down the Opposition on Venezuela's Airwaves, to ensure the success of "His beautiful Revolution"?

Is Obama out to fulfill "The Dreams From My Father"? The MARXIST/MUSLIM who abandoned his Wife and Child (Typical Black Man) HATED this Country and it's European/Israeli Allies, and DIED DRUNK, in a Kenyan Gutter?

Did he really go after our ALLY - Honduras - after they Constitutionally, threw out Hugo Chavez wannabe - Zelaya - for trying to stage a Putsch, after he was DENIED a referendum on eliminating that Nation's Presidential Term Limits? Did he really go after them to "SEND A MESSAGE" to Hugo Chavez, and the other FAR LEFT MARXIST REGIMES, in South America, that "They could WORK with him"?

That's what Wiki-Leaks says happened.

How is it that, a guy who's been FOCUSED LIKE A LASER BEAM on JOBS, for so many years, can be so inept at creating any? Doesn't he WANT us to have jobs?

How can a President of the United States LAUGH at the fact that his "Shovel Ready Jobs, weren't so Shovel ready, after all"?We're hurting, out here. He's yucking it up.

He tells us all that we've got to "Share in the Sacrifice, even as HIS FAMILY takes one Exotic Vacation, after another. Even as he GOLFS, while we wonder how to pay our bills. Even as HE gets ready for a LAVISH, Star Studded, nothing but the best, BIRTHDAY PARTY. Even as he jets off, once again, to FUND RAISE for more MILLION$ for his Re-Election, while every
Economic Indicator in this Country, CRASHES.

He's not just a LIE. He's the BIG LIE. And he will bring this Country down.

SIC SEMPER TYRANNUS!

The issue of gun rights / or How to See Right thru a politician!

2011-07-14T15:52:00.002-04:00

Why Did it Have to be ... Guns?
by L. Neil Smith
lneil@lneilsmith.org

Over the past 30 years, I've been paid to write almost two million words, every one of which, sooner or later, came back to the issue of guns and gun-ownership. Naturally, I've thought about the issue a lot, and it has always determined the way I vote.

People accuse me of being a single-issue writer, a single- issue thinker, and a single- issue voter, but it isn't true. What I've chosen, in a world where there's never enough time and energy, is to focus on the one political issue which most clearly and unmistakably demonstrates what any politician—or political philosophy—is made of, right down to the creamy liquid center.

Make no mistake: all politicians—even those ostensibly on the side of guns and gun ownership—hate the issue and anyone, like me, who insists on bringing it up. They hate it because it's an X-ray machine. It's a Vulcan mind-meld. It's the ultimate test to which any politician—or political philosophy—can be put.

If a politician isn't perfectly comfortable with the idea of his average constituent, any man, woman, or responsible child, walking into a hardware store and paying cash—for any rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything—without producing ID or signing one scrap of paper, he isn't your friend no matter what he tells you.

If he isn't genuinely enthusiastic about his average constituent stuffing that weapon into a purse or pocket or tucking it under a coat and walking home without asking anybody's permission, he's a four-flusher, no matter what he claims.

What his attitude—toward your ownership and use of weapons—conveys is his real attitude about you. And if he doesn't trust you, then why in the name of John Moses Browning should you trust him?

Read the rest of this excellent essay here.

Regarding the Casey Anthony trial and verdict

2011-07-13T06:29:00.005-04:00

Recently I’ve been wanting to comment on the Casey Anthony acquittal, but life’s kinda hectic these days and I’ve not had an opportunity until now.

Let me start by saying that this post isn’t about a mother murdering her child, and getting away with it. It’s about the reaction of the public.

For the record, I did not watch this trial. The whole affair was absolutely repugnant to me, and I just couldn’t bear to watch the unfolding of the case. Also for the record – I believe the woman is guilty as sin.

Caylee Anthony, murdered and thrown away like so much garbage

All over America people seem to be outraged that Casey Anthony was acquitted of murdering that precious little child and dumping her body like it was so much trash. I have got news for you America: Casey Anthony might have been acquitted in an earthly courtroom by jurors with room-temperature IQs, but there will come the day when she faces an all-knowing, all-seeing judge. And her sentence will be just in every sense of the word. She has not escaped justice – she has merely deferred it. So for that reason, I can’t get too worked up about justice being done.

My real point is the reaction of the American public to this verdict. I hear that death threats are coming thick and fast against any juror that can be identified. Presumably people are angry that a child was murdered and the killer got off scot-free. Now Casey Anthony owed a duty to her daughter to love and protect her, and clearly she was an epic failure on that account. But Casey Anthony (and her brain-dead jurors) owed nothing to society at large.

Our elected officials at every level most certainly DO owe us a minimal degree of fidelity to the Constitution and to our laws, and they owe the American people honest stewardship of our economy, our border, our culture, and our sovereignty. Is it not clear that they are failing on ALL of these accounts? And is it not equally clear that generations of American children are being condemned to poverty, ignorance, shorter life spans, political oppression, and generally a reduced standard of living by every conceivable measure? That Americans are stomping mad over one murdered child – yet at the same time are so complacent over millions of children – just boggles my mind!

Little Isabelle - my precious granddaughter

Where is the outrage America? Why aren’t indignant Americans holding their elected officials to account? In fact – why aren’t millions of people marching on state capitals and the national capital with torches and pitchforks right now? I think about 98% of politicians of both parties need to be at least tarred and feathered and run out of office; at the very least! And most politicians are probably so egregiously guilty of violating their oath that they ought to be decorating light poles and feeding the buzzards.

Wake up America!!!!!!!!!!!

Obama and his 'Professional Politicians'

2011-07-12T09:10:00.003-04:00

What I hear him saying is "You The People are too stupid to understand all this!"

Last flight of the space shuttle

2011-07-08T14:43:00.003-04:00

I have two thoughts pertinent to this, the final shuttle launch.

1. Good riddance! Like we can afford to piss taxpayer's money all over the solar system.

2. NASA may just be the first GOOBERMENT agency in a long time to actually shrink. See point number one above.

My latest pet peeve

2011-07-06T14:10:00.007-04:00

Today’s rant is about something that I know is the smallest of issues - given all that’s facing us these days, but it’s something that just fries my catfish nonetheless!

I am an extremely early riser on most mornings, and usually I’m out walking: exercise for me and my pooch. And when I walk I like circuitous courses that don’t require me to cover the same ground if I can manage it. One such course that I used to enjoy took me thru a local park that includes a public boat ramp. I expect due to the boat ramp that park was generally open 24 hours a day. Like so many public properties now a days, this park has its own “live in” LEO on the property too. The city gives this poor underpaid servant of the people a place to lay his weary head, rent free, in exchange for the crime deterring effect of his mere presence.

The other morning I was walking in the direction of the boat ramp park, only to discover that the park gates have been chained and locked! Needless to say I wasn’t overjoyed at having my route involuntarily re-directed.

My attitude simply stated is this: Public Property of a recreational nature (which includes ALL parks and boat ramps) should never have their access restricted. And so much the more when there’s a LEO domiciled on the property. I mean after all – what’s he there for if not to ensure law & order?

I am so damn sick and tired of this knee-jerk reaction because someone screws up – EVERYBODY thereafter must be discomfited as a result. Yes, I know parks have been used by lovers for rendezvous points, or teens doing some late night partying. But so what! Does this then always mean that such taxpayer funded locations must be restricted to taxpayers’
use only during daylight?

Apparently so.

There’s more. Last year the city decided that having only one park with a dock and boat ramp within a half-mile radius of each other was just barbaric. So near the first existing park, they built a massive dock that I would bet cost the taxpayers upwards of a million bucks. I know from inside sources that the parking lot, road access, and elaborate gate system, cost the city another cool $400,000. And like the original park, this one has a strictly controlled access monitored by another LEO who lives about a block away.

Why in the hell do we have to have two parks so close one another, and why the hell do they have to close at sunset? If I am walking thru there at 4 a.m., and someone accosts me, then they’ve taken their life in slippery fingers. I certainly don’t need LEO to come to my rescue. And not only did I NOT need the cost of such a park, but I don’t need the never ending labor costs (at what $30 or $40 bucks an hour) to have some uniformed yahoo come around day and night locking and unlocking gates that never should exist in the first place!

The city bureaucrats are proud that they filched your taxes to pay for this facility. One sign bragging on funding sources wasn’t enough. They had to have two signs that identify this park as the property of Jacksonville Florida’s taxpayers.

Yet at the same time, they make it clear in the lengthy list of rules that “Management reserves the right to close park facilities to the public”. Note rule # 2:

Look at that list of rules will ya! I'm surprised they don't say "Fun not allowed at this facility. If you are caught having fun you will be arrested, beaten, tasered, and locked away as a felon!"

First of all, I am of the humble opinion that Governments don’t have “rights”, they only have “duties”. And second of all, if I paid for it – I ought to be able to use it whenever I so desire!

Government is totally out of control my friends. As if you didn’t already KNOW that!

Miscellaneous

2011-07-05T09:12:00.008-04:00

Here's someone else who thinks (like me) that celebrating July 4th is pretty assinine these days.

And how exactly does the daughter of a prominant muslim family from Saudi Arabia end up married to a power hungry jew inside the Washington Beltway. This is a MUST READ today!

Speaking of the Religion of Slaughter, here is an insightful piece on exactly how far America has gone down the road toward dhimmitude.

Bear in mind dear readers (both of you) that I fear Washington far more than I fear Islam. That does NOT mean I advocate turning a blind eye toward Allah worshippers here and abroad. I just point this out as a matter of perspective.

By the way... here's the T-shirt I wore to a 4th of July gathering last night. There were several people whose facial expressions told me that they were horrified. :)

Whoopie it's the 4th of July (Yawn)

2011-06-29T19:39:00.006-04:00

Now is the time for all good little Americans to rally round the flag and sing the praises of non-existent Liberty.

On previous occasions I have expounded my views on the 4th, the flag, and on the pledge here and here. (One should keep it firmly in mind that I make a sharp distinction between the US Government, and America. In my view they are NOT the same thing! Like the bumper sticker says, I love my country, but I hate my government.)

I just want to add that the annual celebration of the remembrance of the Colony's Declaration to King George, when considered in the deepening shadows of an overarching Leviathan government, has moved beyond being just hypocritical. It is more likened to the obscenity achieved by smearing with make-up the face of a most gruesome moldering corpse, and holding it close in a passionate embrace.

Our Forefathers must surely be disappointed with what passes for "Liberty" and "Freedom" these days.

Oh, and ... final thought:

The Last Word on The Pledge

2011-06-22T05:50:00.003-04:00

Pledging Allegiance to the Omnipotent Lincolnian State

by Thomas J. DiLorenzo

The US Supreme Court's recent decision to review the constitutionality of the "under God" wording in the Pledge of Allegiance provides an occasion to educate Americans about the ideological purpose of the Pledge. A good place to start would be John Baer's book, The Pledge of Allegiance: A Centennial History, 1892-1992 (Free State Press, 1992). In it one would learn that the author of the Pledge was one Francis Bellamy, a defrocked Baptist minister from Boston who identified himself as a Christian Socialist and who preached in his pulpit that "Jesus was a socialist."

Bellamy was the cousin of Edward Bellamy, author of the extremely popular 1888 socialist fantasy, Looking Backward. In this novel the main character, Julian West, falls asleep in 1887 and awakens in the year 2000 when the socialist "utopia" has been achieved: All industry is state owned, Soviet style; everyone is an employee of the state who is conscripted at age 21 and retires at age 45; and all workers earn the same income.

Francis Bellamy said that one purpose of the Pledge of Allegiance was to help accomplish his lifelong goal of making his cousin's socialist fantasy a reality in America. He further stated that the "true reason for allegiance to the Flag" was to indoctrinate American school children in the false history of the American founding that was espoused first by Daniel Webster and, later, by Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln falsely claimed that the states were never sovereign and that the union created the states, not the other way around. (But as Joe Sobran has remarked, the notion that the union is older than the states makes as much sense as the idea that a marriage can be older than either spouse. It is impossible for a union of two things to be older than either of the things it is a union of).

Read the rest HERE

If the Titanic Sank Today

2011-06-20T14:00:00.002-04:00

Here's how the President, the media and Wall Street would spin it:

Al Gore: That iceberg wouldn't have even been there if the polar caps weren't melting.

The Congressman: Quick, let's pass a new law that says ships shall not sink.

President Obama: The Titanic isn't sinking. It's merely engaged in "aquatic action."

Former President Bush: Icebergs are weapons of mass destruction planted in the ocean by terrorists. We must avenge the iceberg terrorists!

The Federal Reserve: We have decided to dump more water onto the ship in the hope of making it float.

Be sure to read them all here

Quote of the Day

2011-06-17T16:43:00.001-04:00

"The single most prevalent form of child abuse in this country is the act of sending a child to a government school. We worry incessantly about the separation of church and state. We would do well to devote half as much attention to the separation of government and education. "

Neal Boortz
Dec 26, 2003

Calif. seizes 1,200 firearms possessed illegally

2011-06-17T13:37:00.007-04:00

If you want to read this article without my running commentary - go here. (But if you don't want to hear what I have to say about the matter, why come here in the first place?)

Calif. seizes 1,200 firearms possessed illegally

By DON THOMPSON

Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California law enforcement agents have seized 1,200 firearms from people who cannot legally own them because of mental illness or restraining orders.
However, Attorney General Kamala Harris said Thursday that more than 34,000 handguns and nearly 1,600 assault weapons are still believed to be held statewide by people who should not have them. [ Seized? As in kick the door down with a SWAT team seized? The other thing to note is restraining orders can strip you of your 2A rights. Amazing huh? ]

Most people bought the weapons legally but were later prohibited from owning guns.
But 12 people were arrested on suspicion of illegally owning assault weapons or grenades during a six-week sweep by the state Department of Justice in April and May.

Harris said 90 percent of the people who had guns seized were barred from owning weapons because of mental illness and 10 percent because of restraining orders or convictions usually related to domestic violence. [ Mental illness by whose definition? If I pitch a hissy fit because I'm having a bad day on the job, and my boss suggests I seek some counseling on handling stress; does that make me a "looney tunes" and cost me my gun rights? ]

"They were known to be a danger to themselves or society," Harris said. "We obviously have put a dent in that, but there is a lot more work to do." [ If they're truly a danger to themselves, why aren't they in a rubber room already? ]

She used a news conference at the California Highway Patrol's Sacramento headquarters to promote SB819, a bill that would expand the use of a $25 registration fee collected by gun dealers to pay for the department's Armed and Prohibited Persons System. [ This reminds me of making condemned men dig their own grave. The fishing license I begrudgingly pay for also funds the wildlife officer who comes out and hassles me when I'm peacefully fishing somewhere! ]

The system was created 10 years ago to cross-reference five databases to find people who legally bought guns and registered assault weapons but are now barred from owning the weapons.
It has found nearly 18,000 people who shouldn't have weapons. [ That's five databases that are probably like every other government database: chock full of errors! But that's what they'll use to strip you of rights the Declaration of Independence says are "inalienable" ]

However, Harris said local law enforcement and state agents don't have the time or personnel to track down their addresses and conduct the high-security operations needed to safely seize the guns from people who are presumed to be dangerous. Many of them own more than one weapon. [Oh but it won't be long before they WILL find some revenue source that will provide them with the ability to conduct those wonderful little "high-security operations" that these power mad son's of bitches crave! ]

The last time California conducted a similar sweep was in 2007, when a third as many weapons were seized. [ Read that to mean they are doing three times as many seizures as they were in 2007 ]

The bill being carried by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would let Harris seek to use nearly $1 million from a $5.5 million surplus in the registration fee account to train local police and hire five more state agents to aid the 20 already assigned to the firearms program. [Ahhh there's that additional enforcement revenue we were talking about! ]

"Resources are needed to do this type of work," Leno said against a backdrop of seized weapons.
[ It's God's work and we need to be about it - FOR THE CHILDREN! ]

"How many lives are going to be saved?"

[ How many lives are going to be LOST when they start kicking down the doors of folks like me who ARE paying attention, and have NO INTENTION of being disarmed? ]

His bill cleared the Senate and is awaiting a hearing in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on Tuesday

==========================================

GR4U - First of all, you'd never catch me living in the socialist paradise of California. But this nonsense is coming to the rest of the country soon enough. I pray to God Almighty that when it's my turn, I give a good accounting of myself.

My pledge of allegiance

2011-06-14T16:44:00.003-04:00

I have written my own pledge of allegience that I think is better and more accurate than the one written by a socialist flag salesman.

I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the united States of America, and to the Republic for which it was created to serve: a voluntary confederation of sovereign nation states, united in their common belief in the inalienable God-given rights of the individual, and the necessary restraint of human government.

And I reckon it would be appropriate to have a new rag to go with my new pledge:

Whose freedoms are our armed forces defending? Not mine!

2011-06-13T12:04:00.003-04:00

I found this at "who's your nanny", a blog I frequent. Brutus makes a compelling point - namely that we routinely give honor to our servicemen and women for "protecting our freedoms", but in case you hadn't noticed lately our freedoms have become as rare as whores in Sunday School!

I have to admit, as a former Marine, making ANY criticism for our military comes hard for me. But if you a) keep it firmly in mind that the US government is NOT America, and b) that we have all been fed a steady diet of Kool Aide for many years, then it's slightly easier to call a spade a spade.

Please read:

Dear Soldiers, I'll Honor Your Sacrifices When You Actually Defend Our Freedom

Four dirty secrets about clean energy

2011-06-07T05:53:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the slow blogging of late. The things I CAN say have already been said. And the things I WANT to say will bring the enemy to my door (at 3 a.m. - dressed in black)

Here's a must read that I felt compelled to share:

Four Dirty Secrets about Clean Energy

Hat Tip to Eternity Road

Public Unions Vs. The Taxpayer: There Will Be Blood

2011-06-04T06:39:00.001-04:00

This is just too funny

2011-05-24T13:35:00.002-04:00

This from Peter Fonda in an interview given in Cannes:

“I’m training my grandchildren to use long-range rifles,” said the actor, 71. “For what purpose? Well, I’m not going to say the words 'Barack Obama’, but …”

He also said:

"... we are heading for a major conflict between the haves and the have nots."

The reason for this Leftist poster child to get his panties in a wad:

Fonda - a keen environmentalist and co-producer of the film which centres on the explosion of the BP oil rig Deepwater Horizon, the ensuing spill and its consequences - accused Washington of trying to gag reporting on the issue.

"I sent an email to President Obama saying, 'You are a f------ traitor,' using those words... 'You're a traitor, you allowed foreign boots on our soil telling our military - in this case the coastguard - what they can and could not do, and telling us, the citizens of the United States, what we could or could not do'."

Hmmm... I wonder if Peter has talked to his treasonous sister about all this.

One of the comments at the link I just linked to had THIS insightful thing to say:

Well if that ain't the "pot callin' the kettle black". So,,,it's NOT about Barry's Chicago ways. And it's NOT about Barry's ethics. It's NOT about Barry's hatred of America and England. It's NOT about his Marxism and his 20 years in a church that teaches Black Theology. Nor is about the Union thugs he hangs out with or the cozy relationship with George Soros. It's NOT about the message he sent the night he was elected when the whole family showed up dressed in black and red. Nor is it about his statement the day he became Pres...."5 more days until the fundamental transformation of the United States of America"! And, what a surprise..it's NOT about the war in Libya he got us into. Hanoi Jane must be disappointed in her brother :d What it IS about is....his GREENIE AGENDA! What a complete moron.

Exactly!

Jeff Cooper quote

2011-05-24T11:16:00.003-04:00

"Not long ago it was easy to tell who the bad guys were. They carried Kalashnikovs. Now it is much more complicated, but one thing is sure - any man who covers his face and packs a gun is a legitimate target for any decent citizen."

Jeff Cooper, June 1993

Uh... yeah... I see what you mean Jeff!

Something damn sure isn't right!

2011-05-22T08:39:00.005-04:00

Ghost32 makes one hell of an observation!

Speaking in reference to the Marine murdered in his own home by the PIMA county SWAT team:

It's going to take some extremely serious evidence to convince this old cowboy that Guerena deserved a shoot-on-sight order, with or without a weapon in his hand. Our troops in Afghanistan are not allowed to shoot bomb-planting terrorists unless the terrorists shoot first, yet here in America the police are authorized to mow down (without warning) a citizen in his own home who hasn't even taken the safety off his rifle?

Read the whole thing. It's on target!

Ordered his wife and baby into the closet, and then was shot 60 times IN HIS OWN HOME!

An Israeli take on Obogo's middle east policies

2011-05-22T08:18:00.001-04:00

I remember one time…

2011-05-20T10:59:00.005-04:00

I was living in all-services base housing in Kansas City Mo. in the early 80’s. As a young Marine, it was my first time living in a house, with a yard, that I could call my own to any extent. Prior to that time, all my dwellings since leaving the paternal abode had been in the form of barracks, trailers, and apartments. So as bizarre as it may seem, I took a large degree of pride in my hootch, and the yard came with it.

The base housing authority supplied all the fertilizer and grass seed you ever wanted. Water was on the government’s nickel as I recall, and all I had to provide was the lawnmower and the sweat equity. Within a few months, I was in serious competition for “Yard of The Month”. Looking back over the years it’s absolutely hilarious that such a thing would be of such importance to me. My, my… how the times have changed!

One Friday afternoon I came home to quarters and was horrified to see a crew of utility workers tearing the hell out of a corner of my precious lawn. They may as well have walked up and keyed my brand new truck! How dare them son’s of bitches make a mess of my beautiful lawn! I was white with rage.

I glared lightning bolts at the workers, who returned my dagger looks with stark indifference, and then I went inside.

In those years I was working on developing my alcoholism with the same fervor I was focusing on my lawn. Only a short passage of time passed between the closing of the front door behind me and the vigorous consumption of a prodigious amount of Bacardi Rum. The combination of the booze, my anger, and my general disdain for all civilian pukes now produced an act of sheer stupidity on my part – one that if was repeated today would have doubtless sent me to the pokey!

With a .30-.30 Marlin rifle in hand, I stepped out onto my front porch where the yard wreckers (now half-heartedly clearing away their mess) could see me clearly – and I jacked a shell into the chamber.

I hollered out “You damn well better put it all back like you found it!” I didn’t point the weapon towards them; instead I perched the butt of the stock on my hip and directed the barrel skyward. But the threat was obvious – and reaction was instantaneous! You never saw a bunch of guys scramble so fast to toss their remaining gear in the truck and haul butt outta there! (The indifferent looks on their faces disappeared pretty quickly too as I remember!)

Had that scene played out in 2011, the next sound I would have heard would have been the SWAT van pulling up and a bullhorn (maybe) telling me come out with my hands up.

As it was, I found myself standing tall in front of the Commanding Officer at 0800 the following Monday morning. Large chucks of my posterior were vigorously removed, and rightfully so - of course.

Ahhh… to be young – and stupid. LOL

A fishing tale

2011-05-12T14:00:00.001-04:00

I was thinking how I wanted to just do a little lite blogging today, maybe something that didn’t in any way refer to the ongoing and accelerating meltdown of our society. As I pondered the range of topics it occurred to me that I hadn’t gone fishing in quite some time, and even though I am a terrible fisherman, it’s still something I enjoy tremendously – assuming of course the fish are actually biting.

My mind wandered back to the all-time greatest fishing experience of my young life:

About eight or nine years ago my then eleven year-old son and I put a little boat into the Saint John’s River here in Jacksonville and set out for a day of inshore fishing. We fished for several hours at a variety of spots with little to show for it, and we’d given up and headed for the boatramp. On the way past a sunken river jetty I decided to anchor up and try one last time.

Jackpot!

What happened over the next hour or so was phenomenal. As fast as we could bait a hook and get the line into the water was how fast we were landing fish! We were catching a whole range of species too. Trout, snapper, sheephead, angel fish, reds… you name it; we were catching it! Other than a trip to stocked trout pond once when I was a child, I had never seen fishing like this. It was a novice fisherman’s dream come true.

At first I was trying to identify each fish as we reeled it in. After all – Florida regulates upwards of seventy varieties of fish and sea creatures. There are minimums, maximums, catch limits, and off limits to be considered. There’s no possibility anyone other than a hardcore commercial fisherman can possible know ALL those stupid-assed regulations! But I initially gave it a good faith try.

Pretty soon I realized I could catch fish – or I could read regulations – but not both. So I gave in and “went with it”. Running out of bait finally spelled the end of the outrageous thrills we were having. By this time we had two full five-gallon buckets of every kind of fish imaginable, and we pulled up anchor and headed for the barn.

As I approached the ramp I noted that a Florida Wildlife Agent was inspecting each boat and their catch as they pulled up. We were no exception and the stern-faced government employee walked up and without a word reached into my boat and removed both buckets. Without even a hint of requiring my acquiescence he dumped all my fish out on the ramp and began pushing them around with his foot.

“Uh oh” was all he said. His attention was drawn to a fish the species of which I was unfamiliar with. He produced a tape measure and carefully measured the “evidence”.

“Too short by a quarter of an inch” he announced.

Next he produced a camera and he photographed the fish next to the tape measure. Once done, he tossed the fish into a cooler of ice he had sitting nearby [I suspect the man eats alot of fish for dinner!]. Then he produced his ticket book, asked me for my license, and starting writing up my love note from the State of Florida. It’s about here that I registered a complaint; something along the lines of: “You’re NOT gonna write me up for a quarter of an inch are you?”

The change in the man’s demeanor was instantaneous. He straightened up, took a step back, placed his right hand on the handle of his pistol and demanded to know if I was “going to resist”!

“No I’m not resisting you. I’m just bitching about a ticket. Isn’t that a pretty normal reaction?” says I.

“Bitch at the judge” was his response and he was off to catch the next ravager of the environment.

Angry at the whole business I decided to take the man’s advice, and the following week found me at the appropriate court to contest the matter. After being frisked and herded in distinct bovine fashion into the inner sanctum of “justice” we were addressed condescendingly by another uniform who reminded us to rise from our seats and refrain from scratching ourselves when the judge appeared. The judge did appear shortly thereafter and made a little speech that went something like this:

“I only want to hear you say ‘Guilty’, ‘Not Guilty’, or ‘Nolo Contendere’ when I ask you how do you plead. Anything else out of your mouth and I’ll send you to a cell. If you plead ‘Not Guilty’ know that you must be here each time your case comes up on my docket, even IF we don’t hear your case that day – and the average number of times before it appears is about five times”.

Well… being a working man, I can’t afford to take that much time off from the job to fight this mess! So I resolved to accept my fate and move on. I was then stuck waiting for all the cases in front of me to be processed.

Now in that room there were the following “crimes” represented:

Trespassing
Aggravated Trespassing
Shoplifting
Possession of marijuana
Fish & game violations

It was interesting to note that the fine assessed for the first four “offences” was $149. The game violations (there were two of us) were $200! Wow – what an eye opener! By this measurement, I was worse than a shoplifter!

And the final indignity was the addition of $20 in court costs; and thus ended the tale of my greatest fishing trip ever. Or so I thought.

Roll the clock forward about two years when I am interviewing for what has become the best job of my life, and one where I hope to work until retirement. I had been through several interviews and clearly I was in serious contention for the position when the employer calls me and asks me to explain something he found on my background check. He only tells me it’s something to do with a wildlife violation. So I tell him the tale just as I have told it to you dear reader. And my future boss says “Okay that’s all well and good, but what about this charge of resisting a Marine Patrol Officer?”

Jonah Goldberg asks: What's the rush?

2011-05-11T07:33:00.002-04:00

Yes, killing Osama bin Laden is a big secret that would be hard to keep for long. Certainly Pakistan would grow agitated if we simply said nothing about the incursion, though sweating the Janus-faced Pakistanis with silence for a couple of days might yield its own intelligence rewards. In other words, even waiting 24 hours might generate some interesting "chatter." The Pakistanis working with Al Qaeda certainly would have been the first to spread the news that Bin Laden was dead or captured.

But the real treasure trove would be that "college library" of intelligence. And while reports are pouring out from a gloating White House that's leaking like the Titanic in its final hours, one can only assume our analysts have barely begun to exploit the data.

Couldn't they have at least tried to give the CIA a week, a day, even a few more hours to look at it all before letting Ayman Zawahiri and the rest of Al Qaeda know about it? Why give him the slightest head start to go even further underground?

Read the article here.

14 signs ...

2011-05-04T05:56:00.005-04:00

...that the collapse of the modern world has begun.

#1 - Tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis
#2 - The silence of the bees
#3 - The failure of nuclear science
#4 - The vicious pursuit of Wikileaks
#5 - The rise of the medical police state
#6 - Increasing frequency of food shortages and crop failures
#7 - Runaway destruction of the world by energy companies
#8 - The continued GMO contamination of our planet
#9 - The criminal crackdowns targeting real food (raw milk)
#10 - Escalation of the counterfeiting of the money supply
#11 - The plummeting intelligence of the masses
#12 - The utter fabrication of the mainstream news
#13 - The ongoing pharmaceutical pollution of our world
#14 - The radioactive contamination of global food supplies

If purely cultural signs were also considered, this list would be much longer still.

God save us from Statist Bureaucrats

2011-05-03T06:06:00.003-04:00

Vin Supryowicz has done a couple of back-to-back columns on his trip to renew his driver’s license in the state of Nevada. They are both required reading for those of us who already are aware of the extent personal liberty is being destroyed in this formerly free country. They are certainly recommended reading for people around you who need to WAKE UP to what’s happening!

It seems that Nevada’s legislature soundly rejected the Real ID Act – but the bureaucrats that run their DMV didn’t get the memo. Here in Florida the state legislature DID approve Real ID and renewing your driver’s license can best be described as having “your nose rubbed in it” by the petty tyrants who have overdosed on authority.

Anyway… give these two excellent columns a read, and start hammering your state legislature and governor to knock it off! (Meanwhile continuing to fantasize about burning down the local DL office, and tarring and feathering every government bureaucrat who ever had a hand in this thing getting started!)

AN ALIEN IN MY OWN LAND

DMV SCOFFLAWS IMPOSING ‘REAL ID’ AFTER LEGISLATURE SAID NO

Buried in Accordance with Islamic Tradition!!!

2011-05-02T16:35:00.004-04:00

I am pleased as punch that Osama Bin Laden has been sent to the great beyond, and with extreme prejudice. However there are a couple of things that irk me.

First of all, Obama Been Lying standing up there and doing his dead level best to take credit for this galls me to no end. That slimy arrogant bastard turns my stomach every time he opens his mouth. Wasn’t this really the legwork of the same intelligence apparatus that Obama once ordered his Attorney General to investigate? Oh but when their efforts produce a potential political bonanza, Obongo is quick to try and commandeer that for his own personal benefit.

The other thing that irks me is the continuing sensitivity to the followers of Islam. Excuse me! The corpse of Obama….er ….Osama was WASHED and handled “according to Islamic custom”? Have we as a nation become so pussified? If Islamic custom was to kiss a corpse’s ass, would US military officers have ordered those Navy SEALS "turn to" if the Poser-In-Chief had so ordered? It sure makes me wonder!

I don’t recall the followers of Allah ever showing the slightest sensitivity to Western customs. Do you remember March 31, 2004 when the Allah-worshippers in Falujah Iraq ambushed four Americans at a bridge. It wasn’t enough to kill them. They mutilated the corpses, burned them, hung them up, and then made photos and videos as they jumped and pranced around like kiddies at an ice cream party!

My memory also contains scenes of a dead American serviceman being dragged thru the streets of Mogadishu Somolia in 1993 by mobs of … yes, that’s right, Allah worshippers; the adherents of that wonderful Religion of Peace!

Okay, I will admit that for a moment my mind entertained the fantasy of feeding OBL’s carcass to some hungry pigs on live television – in front of the site of the WTC. But I am okay with tossing it out into the ocean like so much garbage.

But could we at least refrain from kissing his ass – even if only figuratively?

The magic phrase: "I was in fear for my life"

2011-04-28T05:43:00.002-04:00

Your natural rights of self-defense, and any residual rights that the Constitution and Bill of Rights once guaranteed, go straight in the crapper when a Cop says: "I was in fear for my life"!

Oops Wrong House: Cops Mistakenly Confront a Judge, Her Family at Gunpoint

Broward Circuit Court Judge Ilona Holmes, her sister and her sister’s family says they were ordered at gun point by several Broward Sheriffs Deputies on Easter Sunday to come out of her sister’s home with their hands up.

It was no evening of peace for the Deerfield Beach family, who’d just finished dinner with friends and family, and sent extra Easter dinner to a needy family connected with their church. Then, at 8:20 p.m., police got a call about a possible burglary next door. But a bad address caused police to go to the wrong home.

“Do I feel safe?” asked Carmita Scarlett, the homeowner and sister of Judge Holmes. "No, absolutely not. No, no. So much confusion, so much anger. So much, almost like, resentment. You know, ‘you made the mistake and,’ I told them, ‘I'm the victim and you're upset with me?’”

The call to police said there might be a burglar inside 235 Southwest 4th Street. But there is no 235. Only 236 and 230.

Arriving police outside spotted someone inside 230 – Neville Scarlett was in the kitchen cleaning up the Easter dinner plates - and thought he might be the burglar.

He was not.

Moments earlier, the same person who called police also called the Scarlett’s to warn them about a possible burglar outside. Fearful, Carmita lowered the kitchen window shade. That’s when she heard someone hit the window with something metallic. She says she saw a gun pointed directly at her.

"There's a man with a gun and he's going to shoot me!!" yelled Carmita. “I thought it was the robber!" Her sister, Judge Holmes, came running to the kitchen. The judge carries a legal firearm and immediately pulled it out and held it in her hand.

"She said ‘Who are you!? What are you doing?!’ He said ‘this is BSO.’ She said, ‘this is Circuit Court Judge Ilona Holmes!!’” Carmita said.

"'I'm the owner of this home. I'm Carmita Scarlett. Why are you at my home?’ I kept saying that. They said ‘put your hands up and come outside,'" she said.

Judge Holmes, perhaps borrowing from real life conflict she sees in her own courtroom, immediately cautioned deputies that she was armed so there’d be no misunderstanding.

"They said, ‘Come out with your hands up!’ She said, ‘I am Circuit Court Judge Ilona Holmes. I am armed.'"

They all slowly went out through a side door. “She was putting the gun down. They yelled, ‘put the gun down! Put the gun down!’ Right there, the cop had his gun pointed at her.”

Judge Holmes, surrounded by deputies with guns drawn, slowly put the gun on the grass, announcing it as she went. She was holding a cell phone in the other hand. When she began to place that on the ground, police began yelling.

"When she went to put that down, they yelled, ‘Get away from the gun!’ She said ‘everybody calm down. I'm putting my cell phone down’."

At that point, a higher-ranking deputy recognized her and called on his team to lower their guns, according to Carmita.

“The one that first recognized her, he picked the gun up, opened it up, took the bullets out, he started giving her a speech: ‘Judge Holmes, you know, these guys may not know who you are. I know who you are. This could have been so different.’ And my sister said, ‘everyone of ya'll know me. Ya'll been before me’.”

Oh my, what an Easter Sunday Carmita had. She and her husband and granddaughter have seen stuff like this on TV and never believed it. "There's no way that cops would really - because I've never had a run in with the cops - really go in and do stuff like that," she said.

And now what does Carmita believe?

"Oh God.” She buries her face in her hands.

It was a communication meltdown from the beginning. The neighbor across the street originally called police to say she thought there was a burglar in the home of Pastor Brown across the street because the caller thought she saw lights going on and off. Instead, police went to the house next door, the Scarlett's home.

Judge Holmes, one of the very few black judges in Broward County, saw justice from a whole new perspective. Tuesday night she was in her courtroom conducting a late–running trial and would not comment.

Judge Holmes has hired former U.S. Attorney and old friend Kendall Coffey, who says they're concerned about what happened but won't say whether she is considering legal action. He cautioned against reading too much into the fact that she brought him in to represent her and field questions while she’s in trial.

A BSO spokesman wouldn't comment Tuesday night but did confirm the timeline, address and original burglary call. Police in South Florida often say they routinely must make certain people confirm who they say they are before lowering their weapons.

But Carmita was downright angry. Remember the man outside her kitchen window who pointed a gun at her? Still wearing her pajamas and footies, she approached him afterward. “I said ‘you had a gun pointed at me!’ He said ‘because I felt threatened.’ I said ‘threatened how?'"

She said other officers explained to her that they have families, too, and they want to make it home alive each night. But she says they did so in a condescending way, lecturing her as if she’d done something wrong.

“I know no one apologized, OK? And, to me, if you want to make amends for something, you want to make peace, you apologize, you shake, you leave, you say ‘I'm sorry,’" she said. "And, you know, the cop that had his gun on me, he said ‘well, I was fearing for my life.’ I said ‘really! You were fearing for your life? Really?’ He said ‘forget it - I'm out of here.'"

Carmita says she just wanted someone that night to apologize.
==================================

Being LEO means NEVER having to say you're sorry! Welcome to OUR world judge!

If you read nothing else today...

2011-04-27T05:42:00.006-04:00

Please go and read this article by John Galt, aka Shenandoah. be sure to watch the embedded video clips as well.

Focus people! There WILL be a test!

The Largest Detention Camp in World History is Almost Complete

A hard look at the evidence of Easter

2011-04-24T10:16:00.003-04:00

The English journalist, Frank Morison (real name Albert Henry Ross) was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, in 1881. He died in 1950.

His finest work, still in print, was "Who Moved the Stone?" - essential reading for anyone who doubts the truth of the Easter story.

Influenced by the skeptics of the time, Morison began writing his book to prove that the Resurrection of Christ was a fabricated story. The more he probed, the more he came to believe in its authenticity. In fact the first chapter is entitled "The Book Which Refused to be Written".

When I first read "Who Moved The Stone?" I was struck by the forensic skills which Morison used to assemble both the case for the prosecution and the case for the defense. It is investigative journalism at its best.

The book includes a moving and vivid description of the betrayal by Judas, Christ's trial and death, and the accounts of the Resurrection. Some of the chapter titles give a flavor of the style of the book: "The Real Case Against The Prisoner"; "What Happened Before Midnight on Thursday?"; "Between Sunset and Dawn"; and "The Witness of The Great Stone."

For a person to honestly appropriate the title of Skeptic, shouldn't that require a good faith and objective review of the evidence presented beforehand?

Concerning rainbows, unicorns, Marxists and useful idiots

2011-04-22T06:10:00.005-04:00

The Earth worshiper’s supreme holiday is upon us, and the faithful are as dogged as ever in pursuit of their goals. What goals you say? Well judging by the comments of a few of their “high priests” I think it’s fair to summarize their goal as the complete eradication of any technologically based human civilization, and perhaps even the elimination of the human species entirely! (I use the religious metaphor because I do see the enviro-whacko crowd as religious fanatics. They have all the irrational fervor of Muhammud Ata crashing his plane into the WTC)

The right to have children should be a marketable commodity, bought and traded by individuals but absolutely limited by the state.

—Kenneth Boulding, originator of the “Spaceship Earth” concept (as quoted by William Tucker in Progress and Privilege, 1982)

We have wished, we ecofreaks, for a disaster or for a social change to come and bomb us into Stone Age, where we might live like Indians in our valley, with our localism, our appropriate technology, our gardens, our homemade religion—guilt-free at last!

—Stewart Brand (writing in the Whole Earth Catalogue).

We must make this an insecure and inhospitable place for capitalists and their projects…. We must reclaim the roads and plowed land, halt dam construction, tear down existing dams, free shackled rivers and return to wilderness millions of tens of millions of acres of presently settled land.

—David Foreman, Earth First!

Everything we have developed over the last 100 years should be destroyed.

—Pentti Linkola

What we’ve got to do in energy conservation is try to ride the global warming issue. Even if the theory of global warming is wrong, to have approached global warming as if it is real means energy conservation, so we will be doing the right thing anyway in terms of economic policy and environmental policy.

—Timothy Wirth, former U.S. Senator (D-Colorado)

I suspect that eradicating smallpox was wrong. It played an important part in balancing ecosystems.

—John Davis, editor of Earth First! Journal

We advocate biodiversity for biodiversity’s sake. It may take our extinction to set things straight.

—David Foreman, Earth First!

Human happiness, and certainly human fecundity, is not as important as a wild and healthy
planets…Some of us can only hope for the right virus to come along.

—David Graber, biologist, National Park Service

(Note that many of these people are ALREADY in positions of authority over you!)

These are but a few of the comments. Go to the source and read them all, and marvel at the raw insanity of these people! And keep it solidly in mind that most (if not all) of them still drive their cars to work, live in air conditioned homes, and drink “city” water. Hypocrisy thy name is Environmentalist!

I’m going to reveal my own brand of religious fervor here: God must sit and gaze in amazement at His own creation which arrogantly strives to shove Him off His own throne and take His place. I seem to recall that Lucifer tried that same thing and was rewarded with an ass whooping of epic and eternal proportions! See Isaiah 14:12-17

There is ample evidence that if you scratch an "earth worshipper" there is a marxist or communist underneath.

Something for the Confederates among us

2011-04-21T14:45:00.004-04:00

The following is an anonymous comment made in response to Arctic Patriot’s Request for Perspective. Though that post inspired many great and thoughtful comments, this particular gentleman has perfectly captured my own view, and I thought it worth sharing with you my readers (all two of you).

To the anonymous author: If you read this, drop me a line @yahoo. I want to ask you about cemeteries, deer hunting clubs, and pickup trucks! [wink]

AP, first off let me say that I have read your posts and believe I have read enough to say you have my endorsement as an adopted Southerner. It is more of a state of mind than a physical location. Second, slavery was wrong and I believe the South would have voluntarily abolished it although it would have taken many more years. The great irony to me is that blacks today are on a much more sadistic and evil "plantation" than they ever were on a cotton, sugar or rice plantation. Back then at least they weren't patronized and played for fools the way they are by the present day democratic party whose main interest is keeping them impoverished while telling them something else.

I was born in the great state of Georgia (the southern part) and have lived here my whole 39 years. While I do have a college education and am a bit on the higher side of the intelligence bell curve I make no effort to hide my southern accent. My family reunions sound like Gone with the Wind and many of my family are buried in a graveyard alongside CSA veterans.

All through my "education" I was taught how we were wrong and the north was right. I then began to think for myself more, and read, and use common sense and the Constitution as anchor points and grew to understand why there is a faint undercurrent of resentment always present as it pertains to the "war of northern aggression". The more I learn the more I despise that bastard Lincoln and when my kids get older will make sure they know he wasn't the saint he is portrayed to be. Don't even get me started on Sherman, there are still reminders all around where I live of what that sorry no good son of a whore did. I hope he burns in agony in hell to this day and for another thousand years.

Most of us stay pretty quiet and tend our own business. Many Southern boys have fought and died under the United States flag and we will defend her today but rest assured many of us would muster pretty quickly to the tune of "Dixie", not to enslave anyone but rather to divorce ourselves from the moral relativism rampant in urban society today and this oppressive behemoth of a FEDGOV. These boys on Wall Street and DC (ETC.) can keep figuring ways to screw people and shopping for $400 pairs of shoes. We'll keep growing things, distilling things, shooting and catching things, sharpening things and doing things. I believe the next one will be a little different because of the number of us who are Southerners in our hearts even in places like Alaska and the plain fact that the ones who do want Uncle Sugar to grow have gotten damned soft in the last 146 years.

I drove past Ft. Sumter today but couldn't attend because of other business. My heart was with them though as I know what yesterday and today mean. I wish I could sign off here with a Confederate battle flag because it is not a symbol of hate, to me it is a symbol of individual states rights that have been stomped on for a long time now and the time will come again when those states rights are reasserted.

And the American Police State marches on...

2011-04-20T03:05:00.002-04:00

Michigan: Police Search Cell Phones During Traffic Stops

ACLU seeks information on Michigan program that allows cops to download information from smart phones belonging to stopped motorists.

The Michigan State Police have a high-tech mobile forensics device that can be used to extract information from cell phones belonging to motorists stopped for minor traffic violations. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan last Wednesday demanded that state officials stop stonewalling freedom of information requests for information on the program.

ACLU learned that the police had acquired the cell phone scanning devices and in August 2008 filed an official request for records on the program, including logs of how the devices were used. The state police responded by saying they would provide the information only in return for a payment of $544,680. The ACLU found the charge outrageous.

"Law enforcement officers are known, on occasion, to encourage citizens to cooperate if they have nothing to hide," ACLU staff attorney Mark P. Fancher wrote. "No less should be expected of law enforcement, and the Michigan State Police should be willing to assuage concerns that these powerful extraction devices are being used illegally by honoring our requests for cooperation and disclosure."

A US Department of Justice test of the CelleBrite UFED used by Michigan police found the device could grab all of the photos and video off of an iPhone within one-and-a-half minutes. The device works with 3000 different phone models and can even defeat password protections.

"Complete extraction of existing, hidden, and deleted phone data, including call history, text messages, contacts, images, and geotags," a CelleBrite brochure explains regarding the device's capabilities. "The Physical Analyzer allows visualization of both existing and deleted locations on Google Earth. In addition, location information from GPS devices and image geotags can be mapped on Google Maps."

The ACLU is concerned that these powerful capabilities are being quietly used to bypass Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.

"With certain exceptions that do not apply here, a search cannot occur without a warrant in which a judicial officer determines that there is probable cause to believe that the search will yield evidence of criminal activity," Fancher wrote. "A device that allows immediate, surreptitious intrusion into private data creates enormous risks that troopers will ignore these requirements to the detriment of the constitutional rights of persons whose cell phones are searched."

The national ACLU is currently suing the Department of Homeland Security for its policy of warrantless electronic searches of laptops and cell phones belonging to people entering the country who are not suspected of committing any crime.

===============================

GR4U - I think that the next time I hear someone say "Well it's a free country", I'm gonna punch 'em right in the nose!

I am an aggressive driver, I admit it

2011-04-13T05:49:00.002-04:00

I have to admit that I am prone to road rage. There are certain behaviors among drivers that absolutely drive me nuts! Driving too slowly in the lefthand lane, tailgating, and two cars driving side by side for long distances are some of the things that tempt me to throw caution to winds and crash my vehicle into the offender.

This article from the National Motorists Association really spelled it out pretty well.

Are you a Clover Driver?

I think this paragraph hit the nail directly on the head:

The true Clover, you see, is not merely a bad driver. He is a bad driver on a tear; angry at the world and in particular, anyone who who doesn’t view the world in through Clover-colored glasses. That would be anyone who doesn’t automatically worship The Law (any law; every law) or who isn’t consumed by a desire to make sure everyone else obeys The Law.

What I learned in the Marine Corps

2011-04-11T07:21:00.000-04:00

The Marine Corps taught me the sort of practical things that all men should know but don’t these days like how to shoot a weapon, survive in the wilderness, navigate by compass and map, and take care of your feet.

The Marine Corps taught me the true meaning of words I had only before read about in Shakespeare: honor, obligation, courage, fidelity and sacrifice. These were no longer merely a part of some story from an epic script on war, but real memories about real men in war.

In the Marine Corps I learned what it means to be truly happy and what it feels like to be truly sad. And I realized neither had anything to do with me but both had everything to do with the unit and the definition of a meaningful life.

In my travels I learned that life isn’t very easy for most people in this world. And that we are blessed to have won life’s lottery and to have been born in this country.

I learned that freedom is impossible without sacrifice and neither matters very much without love.

I learned that it’s not what’s on your chest that counts, but what’s in your chest.

I learned that standards matter. I was taught the importance of discipline. And of letting go from time to time.

I learned that all it takes is all you got.

I learned a good NCO is worth his weight in gold…a good Staff NCO is absolutely priceless.

I learned it is important to write letters to yourself along the way because the details will escape you.

I learned there is a difference between regret and remorse.

Phase lines help you eat an elephant. Which is true with so much in life I suppose.

I learned that apathy is the evil cousin of delegation.

The Marine Corps taught me about physical courage, team work, the absolute virtue of a human being’s great adventure and that all men fall.

With respect to tactics, I’ve found it most critical to never say never, and never say always.

I learned the importance of a good story shared among friends. Or a good glass of scotch enjoyed in solitude. Or of the importance of sailing away until you cannot see the coastline anymore…and then coming home, a better man.

I learned that faith matters. And that aside from the importance of believing the universe is so much bigger than any one man could ever comprehend, I learned that I truly believe in the power of a great bottle of wine, the courage of the enlisted Marine and the tenets of maneuver warfare.

I discovered my morality.

I learned how to fight in the Marine Corps…and my time in bars with my brother-Marines has taught me that contrary to our own self-perpetuated mythology, not all blood that Marines shed together is on the battlefield.

The Marine Corps taught me how to think aggressively. How to respond under pressure. How to perform. How to live excellently and that nothing is more important than the mission or the Marine.

The Marine Corps taught me how to laugh – deeper than I ever thought imaginable – and how to cry. And that a warrior’s tears reflect his soul.

Finally, the Marine Corps did more for me than I could have ever done for it…it gave me an extraordinary adventure to live that is mine and that I will never for the rest of my life forget.

And then there’s this last irony…

That I would have the honor of spending these years studying and practicing the discipline of warfighting alongside the wonderful modern Marine-hoplite only to realize that what I learned had so much less to do with war and so much more to do with love.

How do I feel in the 72 hours since I’ve left the Marine Corps?

I miss it already.

Read the full article here

An extraordinary compilation of Obama's lies and goofs

2011-04-08T07:52:00.004-04:00

The Old Jarhead has put together the best list yet of the Mighty Kenyan's lies and verbal blunders. It's definitely worth a couple of minutes of your time. We cannot allow our fellow citizens to forget what a dirtbag this man really is! By the way... if you haven't already made The Old Jarhead a regular stop - you're missing something really good.

This date in history....

2011-04-07T12:46:00.003-04:00

Today, thirty-three years ago, I raised my hand and swore an oath to defend and protect the Constitution against ALL enemies. That long ago morning, my vision of “enemies” was pretty much limited to people who marched under the red flag of communism. Now these many years later it’s much more clear that the enemies wear business suits and sit in buildings where the stars and stripes are flown overhead.

The Constitution was/is not perfect by a damn sight. I know that smacks of pure heresy to the legions of conservative document worshippers out there. At the risk of descending into a discussion of its failings, allow me instead to point you Boston T Party’s excellent book Hologram of Liberty. Many conservatives and right wingers will find its central theme very disturbing, but after re-reading it many times over, and extending my reading into biographies of the most relevant figures I have come to the conclusion that the document was grievously flawed from the outset – and deliberately so.

That being said, I still swore an oath; certainly not under duress but definitely under the influence of ignorance (which I have since cured). I am not relieved of that oath as best as I can tell. And the document’s shortcomings notwithstanding, there remains that huge crowd of elected officials who routinely wipe their ass on the same Constitution they swore to protect and defend.

The bottom line is that all those sorry bastards who have dishonored their oath to the nation and the Constitution, should be either shot – or hung. Washington’s many monuments should be decorated with the dangling corpses of all those many corrupt scumbags who helped to shovel the American Republic into an early grave.

Awww you have GOT to watch these videos!!!!

2011-04-04T19:56:00.002-04:00

...and she uses BACON to bookmark her copy of the Quran! LOL

This deserves to be passed on!

Busted ... but still beligerent

2011-03-21T14:35:00.004-04:00

Well I stumbled into a revenue trap yesterday.

I was driving near my home and came upon one of those silly three-way stop signs. It’s not a four way because the side street dead ends at the main thoroughfare. And from long experience of driving down this particular road, I know that the side street in question produces extremely low amounts of traffic.

So why then does it have a stop sign all its own? I am absolutely convinced that it is for the sole purpose of revenue generation.

I pull up behind another car who has stopped pretty far out into the intersection. I’m almost at the crosswalk line painted on the roadway when I come to a complete stop. The car in front of me goes, and I pull out right behind him.

That’s when I first spot PoPo who has parked back up the street a block or more. At the precise moment I spotted him, his lights come on and I know I am about to be robbed by the state!

I drove a good distance before pulling over. The street has high curbs and I’m NOT stupid enough to come to a stop in a lane of travel!

When I pull over I’ve already got my DL in hand for inspection by Herr Officer. He approaches me real gingerly, never really squaring off in front of my passenger window. Instead he chooses to remain well behind me at an extreme angle as we have our little exchange.

“Sir… I am pulling you over because you ran that stop sign back there” says the Gooberment agent.

“Well I strongly disagree with that Officer! I came to a complete halt and was in a good position to ascertain that the intersection was clear before proceeding” I sharply opined.

“Sir, you allowed no interval of time to pass before following the other car in front of you through the intersection” says the armed and badged thief.

“And I suppose that interval of time is more important to you than whether I could see my way was clear or not?” I retorted.

“Sir…it’s the law” he intoned with much gravity in his voice and demeanor.

“Fine! Go write your fookin ticket and get it over with” says I.

After an inordinate length of time, that I suspect was partly consumed by him running every check possible on me, he returned with my ticket.

When he explained the part about driving school and the possibility of avoiding the three points being added to my license I pointed out that it wasn’t the points I found so galling: “It’s the tribute to Caesar that I hate to pay!”

No reaction from the highwayman to that comment.

As he finished his scripted lie about how I could go to court and fight the charge, he handed me my ticket and my license, and without another word he turned and walked back to his GOOBER-mobile. I leaned out the truck window and with as much vitriol and spite in my voice as I could muster I said: “You are doing SUCH a fine job keeping us all safe officer!”

Oh how I despise the badge and gun toting, revenue collecting, head shaved agents of the state!

Obongo then ... and now

2011-03-21T13:32:00.003-04:00

THEN: Remarks in an interview with the Boston Globe in Dec 2007

"The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation. As Commander-in-Chief, the President does have a duty to protect and defend the United States. In instances of self-defense, the President would be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent. History has shown us time and again, however, that military action is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the Legislative branch. It is always preferable to have the informed consent of Congress prior to any military action."

NOW: Remarks made in a radio address from Brazil (where he is on vacation ... AGAIN!)

"Today I authorized the armed forces of the United States to begin a limited action in Libya in support of an international effort to protect Libyan civilians."

Well, as I have pointed out a number of times, what this jackass says means NOTHING. You must watch to see what he DOES.

Subtle threat of violence?

2011-03-11T05:59:00.003-05:00

Apparently during the recent protests in Madison, someone scattered .22 rounds around inside the capitol building. I read about it in some blog comments somewhere so I did a search. Of course I can only seem to find mention of this event on minor news sources. Imagine if this had been a Tea Party event - and ammo was found scattered around? It would be front page news on the NYT.

Clearly this is a hint of violence. The message being sent is “We’re going to start shooting.” The wonderful thing about messages like this - is that messages can be sent in both directions.

Quote of the day

2011-03-10T09:45:00.004-05:00

"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil."

— C.S. Lewis

If you have not read something authored by CS Lewis, you are denying yourself a taste of real wisdom. And speaking for myself, I would take a thimbleful of wisdom over a boxcarful of knowledge - any day!

I heartily recommend:

THE GREAT DIVORCE
MERE CHRISTIANITY
THE SCEWTAPE LETTERS

What people think is important

2011-03-10T08:33:00.003-05:00

Back around the time of the Superbowl I made the observation that far too many Americans knew all about sports, but little else about current events that affect their lives.

Neal Boortz makes a similar observation about American's obcession with celibrity shenanigans. His target: Charlie Sheen

From Boortz...

In the entire Charlie Sheen saga that's been playing out over the past several weeks we really are seeing what is wrong with this country. Charlie Sheen is a drug-crazed drunk who is in the process of destroying his live while bringing down several around him. He deserves no more than a curious glance, yet he is basically the number one story in our media.

We have:

Democrats and Republicans playing grabass with each other in Washington while refusing to launch any serious attack on our spending deficit and our national debt.

A New York Congressman is under fire because he dares to hold hearings on the radicalization of Islamic youth in the United States.

NPR executive Ron Shiller is caught on tape saying that the Republican Party believes basically in a white, Christian, gun-toting America ... all the while being paid in part by taxpayer dollars.

Teacher's unions are fighting back at any public official who dares to question their power .. .and the head of one teacher's unions is saying that the solution to our education problems is to just let the teacher's unions handle the teachers and everyone else should just back off.

Gas is costing $4.00 a gallon while The Community Organizer rejects any attempts to increase exploration for oil in our country and off our shores.

The quality of American education continues to decline while we continue to spend more and more on the useless Department of Education

We're getting more details on how Obama and his sycophants cooked the books on ObamaCare to convince us that his scheme would reduce our deficit. It won't. It will increase it.

I could go on with this list for pages ... but I have some interviews to do with some of my affiliates, but you get the point. There are things going on out there that will actually have some effect on your lives - not to mention the future of your children; but America is absorbed by the meltdown of a Hollywood slob that will have no effect on anyone outside of his rancid little circle.

They say that people generally get the type of government they deserve. Sure looks like that's true.

You think you've got it bad?

2011-03-09T10:50:00.001-05:00

Try walking in someone else's shoes for awhile.

Fire kills seven children in central PA farmhouse.

I cannot imagine the horror of such a loss.

How many ships does the US Navy have now?

2011-03-04T13:31:00.004-05:00

Before reading this article, take a guess on how many active vessels in the US Navy.

The Decline of US Naval Power

Now... here's the Google search using the phrase "China military buildup"

Still willing to reap the so-called "Peace dividend"?

Obama backhandedly threatens to intervene in a dispute between millionaires and billionaires

2011-03-04T07:55:00.005-05:00

I heard this as a sound clip on the drive in to work this morning. Here’re Obama’s comments on the NFL labor talks:

"I'm a big football fan, but I also think that for an industry that's making $9 billion a year in revenue, they can figure out how to divide it up in a sensible way and be true to their fans, who are the ones who obviously allow for all the money that they're making. So my expectation and hope is that they will resolve it without me intervening, because it turns out I've got a lot of other stuff to do."

First, note the part about “divide it up”. That’s the die-hard socialist talking there!

Next, get the part about being true to the fans. He recognizes that the fans are the funding source for ALL those many billions. Too bad he doesn’t recognize the taxpayers as readily for all those OTHER billions!

And finally, get a load of the arrogance (I don’t believe for a moment he was joking here) that HE, Obama the Great, Barack the Magic Negro, might divert himself from the business of wrecking a once great nation, to take a hand in another union-versus-management dispute.

Television programming is awash in the glorification of the police state

2011-03-02T20:35:00.004-05:00

Either the typical American has a fixation with cop and lawyer shows, or TPTB think it’s expedient to fill the airwaves with fantasy bullsh*t which lionizes the enforcers, and vilifies everybody else!

I rarely watch Stupid-Vision, and this is a good example why. All these cop / investigator / lawyer shows were on at the same time as I panned thru the guide just now.

WITHOUT A TRACE
BONES – Federal forensics
LAW & ORDER – Cops, lawyers and courts, Oh My!
NCIS – Cop in the Navy
CAMPUS PD – Cops in a different setting
OUT OF TIME – Denzel Washington is a Florida Keys police chief
CASE CRACKERS – Investigators sift clues
OPERATION REPO – Repo men versus the dregs of society
MOST DARING – Cops, doors, cars, etc.
DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER – more scumbags and the scumbags that chase them
LEGALLY BLOND – The female Forrest Gump of the legal profession

Can it be possible that so many Americans are THIS caught up in glamorized cops and all things “justice”?

I fail to understand it. Tax feeders of all varieties disgust me, but none more so than the tax feeders that put on a badge and gun and LIVE to enforce the will of the rotten political class. How can people be entertained by the rise of a police state, complete with a world class propaganda machine?

I suppose it’s a measure of how effective that propaganda has been thus far.

On blogging and other BS

2011-03-01T10:32:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry y'all, but I just ain’t felt much like blogging lately. The things I WANT to say would land me in jail, and all else seems spurious by comparison.

I started a post this morning about the most popular Right Wing myths. We’ll see how that plays out. I fully intend to slam the hell out of the typical conservative worldview – that’s for sure.

On another note, I went to the rifle range this last Sunday and found it fatally infected with what I will call safety-itis. Safety-itis is the condition whereby all other thoughts of practicality, common sense, liberty, rights etc. are subordinated to the principal of no one must get hurt under any circumstances. It first found fertile ground in the mind of a mother somewhere, and in recent years has taken hold in society at large (to the eternal detriment of Liberty).

When I first went to this range about two years ago it offered a striking contrast to another range I had patronized for many years. That other range had an incident of a round going over the berm and striking a parked aircraft on a tarmac some two miles away. Management there went absolutely bonkers and put in place the most ridiculous set of rules imaginable, and in so doing destroyed any desire in yours truly to ever shoot there again. Now my alternate range has apparently gone the same sad route.

I guess the only solution is to buy a piece of property and build my own damn rifle range!

Diary of a morning squirrel hunt

2011-02-27T06:32:00.005-05:00

I arrived at the starting point of my morning squirrel hunt just a little later than I would have preferred. It’s long been my habit to get into the woods a bit before sunrise and sit down somewhere and wait for the squirrels to wake up and get active around me. But my tardiness today would force me to use my forest-ninja skills.

It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the previous day’s rain, and the heavy morning fog, had left the ground cover nice and wet. Moving quietly would not be an issue at all.

As I entered the woods I was thinking of my last squirrel hunt a few weeks ago wherein all the squirrels had taken the midnight flight to Cleveland. Areas of the forest normally alive with tree rats (during deer season) had been completely devoid of squirrels, and I was hoping desperately that today’s hunt wouldn’t play out the same way. Within about two minutes I was assured that today would be entirely different matter. The trees were well stocked with my favorite furry-tailed, acorn eating rodent!

The first shot from my Henry pump .22 dropped a squirrel a short distance away and I carefully marked his fall before scanning the vicinity for my next customer. Seeing nothing immediately I moved forward to recover my kill. Unfortunately, he had fallen into a thicket and it required me to make quite a bit of noise to get to him. The squirrels closest to me were alerted to my presence so I eased further into the swamp for the next round.

Sixty or seventy yards further along I noted a lot of noise coming from an area off to my right. Standing quietly for a few minutes and observing I spotted what appeared to be about half a dozen tee rats in full eat and play mode. So I turned toward them and began a five minute ease to get into position.

My Henry rifle has a nice Burris 2.5 X 7 X 28mm scope that is extremely bright, and of course the rifle itself is well zeroed with its favorite subsonic ammo. So the next several shots – which were ridiculous misses – I can only chalk up to my own excitement at being in a target-rich environment. I’ve been squirrel hunting for over forty years, and I get just as excited today as I did the first time I ever shouldered a rifle and shot my first squirrel. I love it that much!

“Ok Guns, just settle down and get it right” I told myself.

Following my own advice I dropped the next three squirrels in the space of about ten seconds.

Again, one of the three fell into a palmetto cluster that would make enough noise to wake the dead when I waded into it to retrieve my squirrel. A long time ago I learned that if you shoot more than about three squirrels in a row without recovering them, you risk forgetting their location in all the excitement. I truly hate not recovering a kill, so as bad I wanted to keep shooting, I resolved to not shoot more than three without going to pick them up.

After I had gathered up the carcasses I moved forward another sixty or seventy yards and got still and quiet again.

Scanning the trees all the time, looking for movement, I spotted the silhouette of a squirrel on a tree limb out to my front at a range of nearly seventy yards; a very long shot for a squirrel! So I braced my rifle against a tree and took a bead on him. I used the second horizontal crosshair and placed it right at the top of his head and gently squeezed the trigger. I was rewarded with a clean kill that fell straight into … another clump of palmettos!

Recovering my longest shot / kill of the morning from the biggest clump of palmettos yet, now I faced a swamp bottom out in front of me that was deeper than I had expected. For the next few minutes I was more absorbed in crossing the swamp (without bogging up to my ass) than I was in spotting more squirrel. But once across I resumed scanning for movement.

In just a few minutes I spotted a couple of squirrels in a tree just a short distance out in front of me. A few easy steps forward, while they were playing with one another, and I was in shooting position.

I dropped the first while the second was out of sight behind the tree. He stuck his head out to see what was going on – and I missed the second shot. Damn!

Spotting me the squirrel ran down the backside of the tree and stopped at the base of it. I eased forward at the ready, fully expecting him to dart off along the ground, or maybe to run back up the tree. But for some reason he did neither. Thinking himself hidden he stayed right at the base of the tree. With the help of the sodden and silent leaves I closed to within about ten feet before I spotted just the tip of his tail sticking out on the left side of the truck. So I began tracking to the right very slowly, keeping my rifle at the ready. When just the top of his head came into view – I blew it off from about eight feet away!

Now I realized what it was I had forgotten to bring with me this morning: my game bag. I was toting all these dead squirrels by the tail, and doggone if they weren’t beginning to get heavy! I had no wish loose one while walking so I stashed em on the trail with the intent to come back with my four-wheeler and pick them up.

On the walk back to the four-wheeler I killed another one that I spotted while he sat stock still high on a limb.

Squirrel hunting with a 22 rifle is both fun and educating. It’s great training in stalking, target acquisition, and marksmanship. And when it’s all over – you get to eat them!

Keep an eye out for this bumper sticker!

2011-02-18T12:54:00.002-05:00