Aux Barricades!!!

Tribute to the US Marine Corps

2011-11-10T14:25:00.000-05:00

I received an email this morning from a college friend and rugby mentor, a retired career Marine aviator, in reply to my email wishing him a happy 236th USMC birthday. He shared with me the toast offered at the 1978 Marine Corps Birthday Ball, by then-Commandant General Louis Wilson, affectionately known as the "Smiling Cobra" (as an aside, just how bad do you have to be to earn a nickname like "Smiling Cobra"?) I feel obliged to share it with you here:

GENERAL WILSON'S USMC BIRTHDAY TOAST

On the occasion marking the birthday of the US Marine Corps, 1978, onboard

Camp LeJeune, and in the presence of several thousand Marines and their

ladies, General Louis H. Wilson, CMC, arose to deliver his long awaited
address to the troops. He approached the rostrum, nodded to the CG's
(Base, FSSG and Division) and proceeded to explain to the captive masses
that he would be short on words that night - then turned to his bride, took a
glass and, amid absolutely DEAD SILENCE, offered this toast - and
promptly SAT DOWN.

LOVE

THE WONDERFUL LOVE OF A BEAUTIFUL MAID,
THE LOVE OF A STAUNCH TRUE MAN,
THE LOVE OF A BABY, UNAFRAID,
HAVE EXISTED SINCE TIME BEGAN.

BUT THE GREATEST OF LOVES,
THE QUINTESSENCE OF LOVES,
EVEN GREATER THAN THAT OF A MOTHER,
IS THE TENDER, PASSIONATE, INFINITE LOVE,
OF ONE DRUNKEN MARINE FOR ANOTHER.

THE WHOOPIN AND HOLLERIN WENT ON FOR A GOOD TEN MINUTES

God Bless the United States Marine Corps and keep them safe

Don't Laugh at the French Anymore

2010-06-16T17:43:00.000-04:00

We have surrendered. Surrendered with barely a whimper, just like the French. That's right, surrendered part of our Nation's sovereign territory to Mexico, by way of the Mexican drug cartels. This is what was posted today on the Fox News website:

"Federal officials make 80-mile stretch of Arizona-Mexico border -- including part of national wildlife refuge -- a virtual no-man's land as violence by drug smugglers and illegals runs rampant."

So what would you call it? A foreign entity has crossed our border and now controls part of the United States of America to the extent that a Department of the US Government has warned American citizens not to go there. What is it going to take for the Obama Administration to do it's constitutionally mandated duty and protect us from our enemies? Send in the military and don't tie their hands with asinine rules of engagement. Just shoot the bastards. I hope we have plenty of radiological detection equipment there as well because this surrender of 80 miles of US border territory is a clear signal to the jihadis that the backdoor to America is now wide open for them to bring in a nuke.

Would we be willing to surrender the border from Pebble Beach to Ragged Point? How about from Cape May to the Barnegat Light? So why on our southern border?

So much for the illegal immigration invasion just being "poor people just trying to make a better life for themselves and their family." I think the movement to reclaim Aztlan has taken a giant step forward.

How To Fix the BP Oil Well Mess

2010-06-04T09:35:00.001-04:00

The massive leak of crude oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico from a broken pipe almost a mile below the surface is a continuing disaster, threatening to reach epic proportions. Now six weeks into the crisis, multiple attempts to stem the flow or capture the leaking crude have been unsuccessful to date. If the latest attempt fails, it could be August or later before relief wells are drilled to fix the problem.

They have been going about it all wrong from Day 1.

I'm not a scientist, geologist, or oil drilling expert. You don't have to be for my solution. What is needed is comprehensive oil drilling reform. Oil that has already reached the shores of Louisiana and Mississippi must be allowed to remain - after all, it's come a long way to get there. Trapped more than a mile below the sea floor for millions of years, it just wanted to come to America to fuel our cars, planes and factories and be a part of the American Dream. It just went about it the wrong way. Are we going to collect all the spilled crude and force it back under the ocean floor and make it return via the usual manner? We must be realistic. It had the best of intentions in coming to America's shores, which we know reigns supreme. Regardless of the devastating effects to the fragile ecosystem, to the Gulf fishing industry and to Gulf Coast tourism, it's too simplistic an approach to just stem the flow. We must all join together to craft a comprehensive reform measure.

The Gun is Civilization

2010-05-07T16:33:00.001-04:00

Insightful piece that has been around, but still worth reprinting

The Gun is Civilization

by Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it.

In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.

When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force.

The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.

There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger's potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat--it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential victims are armed.

People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.

Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser.

People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level.

The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply wouldn't work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable.

When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation... and that's why carrying a gun is a civilized act.

By Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)

So the greatest civilization is one where all adult citizens are armed and can only be persuaded, never forced.

San Diego Bay Tsunami Storm Surge Video

2010-02-27T22:17:00.000-05:00

Thanks to San Diego Urban Search & Rescue - California Task Force 8 (CA-TF8)

Some Good News for Maryland Gun Owners

2010-02-18T16:41:00.001-05:00

SB 516 - Assault Weapons Ban 2010 has been withdrawn from consideration. However, a number of other onerous pieces of anti-gun legislation remain to be defeated. They think they can throw us a bone and we'll drop our guard, allowing one or more of these to get through. We must redouble our efforts and defeat these attempts, such as those in previous posts, to infringe on our Consitutional rights.

Molon Labe!

The Mount Vernon Statement

2010-02-18T09:49:00.005-05:00

**********

This speaks for itself - go here to sign if you agree

Constitutional Conservatism: A Statement for the 21st Century

We recommit ourselves to the ideas of the American Founding. Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law. They sought to secure national independence, provide for economic opportunity, establish true religious liberty and maintain a flourishing society of republican self-government.

These principles define us as a country and inspire us as a people. They are responsible for a prosperous, just nation unlike any other in the world. They are our highest achievements, serving not only as powerful beacons to all who strive for freedom and seek self-government, but as warnings to tyrants and despots everywhere.

Each one of these founding ideas is presently under sustained attack. In recent decades, America’s principles have been undermined and redefined in our culture, our universities and our politics. The selfevident truths of 1776 have been supplanted by the notion that no such truths exist. The federal government today ignores the limits of the Constitution, which is increasingly dismissed as obsolete and irrelevant.

Some insist that America must change, cast off the old and put on the new. But where would this lead — forward or backward, up or down? Isn’t this idea of change an empty promise or even a dangerous deception?

The change we urgently need, a change consistent with the American ideal, is not movement away from but toward our founding principles. At this important time, we need a restatement of Constitutional conservatism grounded in the priceless principle of ordered liberty articulated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

The conservatism of the Declaration asserts self-evident truths based on the laws of nature and nature’s God. It defends life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It traces authority to the consent of the governed. It recognizes man’s self-interest but also his capacity for virtue.

The conservatism of the Constitution limits government’s powers but ensures that government performs its proper job effectively. It refines popular will through the filter of representation. It provides checks and balances through the several branches of government and a federal republic.

A Constitutional conservatism unites all conservatives through the natural fusion provided by American principles. It reminds economic conservatives that morality is essential to limited government, social conservatives that unlimited government is a threat to moral self-government, and national security conservatives that energetic but responsible government is the key to America’s safety and leadership role in the world.

A Constitutional conservatism based on first principles provides the framework for a consistent and meaningful policy agenda.

* It applies the principle of limited government based on the rule of law to every proposal.

* It honors the central place of individual liberty in American politics and life.

* It encourages free enterprise, the individual entrepreneur, and economic reforms grounded in market solutions.

* It supports America’s national interest in advancing freedom and opposing tyranny in the world and prudently considers what we can and should do to that end.

* It informs conservatism’s firm defense of family, neighborhood, community, and faith.

If we are to succeed in the critical political and policy battles ahead, we must be certain of our purpose.

We must begin by retaking and resolutely defending the high ground of America’s founding principles.

State of Maryland Continues It's Assault on Gun Owners

2010-02-10T17:57:00.001-05:00

The following is from an email just received from Maryland Shall Issue - www.marylandshallissue.org - a gun owners rights group. Liberal anti-gun activists in the Maryland Legislature have been unrelenting in their assault on the legal gun owners of Maryland. This is a call to arms for Maryland gun owners and anyone who loves liberty and respects the Constitution.

*********************

Maryland General Assembly Introduces Gun Safety Act of 2010

- Or the Scarlet G for Gunowner Bill of 2010

Senator Brian Frosh (D), District 16 Montgomery County and Chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, and Delegate Sandy Rosenberg (D), District 41, Baltimore City have introduced the Gun Safety Act of 2010.

This proposed legislation would fundamentally change the face of gun ownership in the State of Maryland as no bill has in the last 10 years.

Now that the text of the bills have been released, we can give you our full response.

HB820

SB645

Highlights :

1. An individual with more than one DUI conviction may not purchase a firearm within 5 years after an alcohol-related conviction.

2. Maryland State Police shall inspect each state-licensed gun dealer at least once every two years to ensure compliance with gun law. Cost of inspection shall be covered by licensing fees, which may be increased as necessary.

3. Gun dealers shall provide records of their inventories and sales to aid State Police inspectors.

The records shall include:
(I) the name and address of each person from whom the dealer acquires a firearm and to whom the dealer sells or otherwise disposes of the firearm;
(II) a precise description including the make, model, caliber, and serial number of each firearm acquired; and
(III) the date of each acquisition, sale, or other disposition.

4. Law enforcement officials may use body-wires to collect evidence against gun traffickers and would be traffickers.

5. Penalties for illegal sale or transfer of firearms increased from 1 year, $1,000 to 5 years, $10,000.

6. Ignorance of the requirements to conduct background checks of firearm purchasers shall not be a defense for individuals charged with illegally selling guns.

7. Individuals buying handguns shall secure a handgun purchasing license before acquiring a handgun. Licenses may be issued by local police or Maryland State Police. Police shall secure fingerprints, verify IDs, and conduct background checks. Licensing fees shall be set at a level to cover costs.

(the following is paraphrased in places)

(A) A regulated firearms dealer or person may only sell or transfer a handgun to another person if the purchaser or transferee presents to the seller or transferror a valid Maryland driver's license with an approved handgun
purchase designation or photographic identification card with an approved handgun purchase designation issued to the purchaser or transferee by the Motor Vehicle Administration.

(B) A person may only purchase or receive a handgun if the person:
(1) Possesses a valid Maryland driver's license or state issued ID as outlined in (A).

(C) The MVA shall issue a driver's license with an approved handgun purchase designation or photographic ID with an approved handgun purchase designation.

(D) In order to obtain the required driver's license designation or state issued ID card an applicant must submit the following to a state or local law enforcement agency.

(1) A completed application on a form provided by the Secretary (of the Maryland State Police)
(2) A non-refundable fee set by the Secretary
(3) Proof of satisfactory completion of a firearms safety training course approved by the Secretary
(4) A complete set of the applicant's legible fingerprints to be taken by a state or local law enforcement agency
(5) Any other identification or documentation required by the secretary
(6) A statement made by the applicant under the penalty of perjury that the applicant is not prohibited under federal or state law from possessing a handgun

(G) Provides for the revocation of the handgun approval designation and the surrender of the driver's license or state issued photographic ID if the Secretary determines that the licensee no longer meets the qualifications set forth in the rest of the bill.

8. Felons illegally possessing any firearms shall be subject to a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Our analysis, corresponds to items under "Highlights"above:

1. The penalties for the DUI convictions are not usually as harsh as the 5-year prohibition on firearms ownership proposed by this bill.

2. An obvious ploy to drive up dealer costs and force them to bear the financial burden for a new level of bureaucracy in the hopes of bankrupting them. The open-ended fees are blatantly punitive. This provision of the bill will also create opportunities to revoke or suspend dealers' licenses for minor record keeping errors.

3. Obtaining dealers' records of sales will allow the Maryland State Police to create de facto registration lists of all firearms sold in Maryland. They can then start cross referencing your purchases of ammunition and gun supplies against their registration list and use them to continue their midnight raids. We saw this with the ammunition logs in the past that we have all but eliminated. There's no indication that they will not continue to abuse their power with this either. The Maryland State Police has demonstrated that they can not be trusted with this sort of power.

4. "Would-be traffickers". That is you. In their eyes, every gun owner in this state is a "would-be" trafficker. Do you relish the thought of there being state agents tapping your gun club meetings, gun shops and shooting ranges? This will give them basically unlimited license to use a wire to record your conversations if you fit their definition of a "would-be" trafficker. The section of Maryland code where this provision is contained lumps us in with murderers, rapists, sex offenders, pornographers and kidnappers. Furthermore, let's also not forget that the Maryland State Police has already been implicated in illegal surveillance of peace activists and death penalty opponents.

5. This sounds great, except that provision #6 above would lump the citizen who accidentally runs afoul of the law in with the hardened criminal who deliberately seeks to circumvent the law. Case in point: A person moves to Maryland from another state where face to face sales of all firearms are permitted and decides to sell part of their lawfully purchased handgun or Maryland regulated long gun collection after moving here. This person, unaware of our convoluted laws, now faces 5 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine just as a person actively engaged in the deliberately illegal sale of guns would be. While ignorance of the law is never an absolute defense, this provision would seemingly prohibit it from even being used as a mitigating factor in a defense.

6. See preceding comment.

7. This is the nuclear option in this bill. It essentially brands all purchasers of handguns (and we would presume regulated long guns) with a Scarlet G for Gun Owner on their drivers license. You will have to jump through an entirely new set of hoops just to be approved for jumping through the hoops that we already have to navigate in order to purchase a handgun. We would expect this to also be applied to regulated long guns.

Where to start on this aspect of the bill?

This is proposing that anyone wishing to purchase a handgun actually have a designation added to their driver's license that labels them as being licensed to purchase that firearm. This means that you have essentially been branded for being a gun owner.

This should be an outrageous affront to any civil liberty minded citizen even aside from the gun issue.

There have been numerous times in the history of the world where citizens have been singled-out for what they thought, what they believed, what God they prayed to or didn't pray to, or who they associated with and it has never ended well. Whether it be a yellow star, a tattoo or a special designation on a government-issued ID, governments have time and time again demonstrated that they simply can not be trusted when it comes to singling out designated undesirables from the general population.

All rhetoric aside, this bill is fraught with pragmatic dangers for the gun owners of Maryland as it increases not only the bureaucratic difficulties of lawfully purchasing a handgun, but also increases the financial burden for these citizens. How many Maryland Families will be deprived of their right to protect themselves because they do not possess the means to meet this new financial burden?

In response to item (D) above, we raise the following specific concerns:

Section D will be a de facto handgun ban for huge swaths of the Maryland population. The Maryland State Police are only accepting fingerprints done on the LiveScan system that can, with one exception in Baltimore, only be done at a few privately-owned locations across the state. Citizens without the means to access one of those locations, either due to geographic distance, financial hardship, disability or a combination of the above would be out of luck. Not clearly defining either the forms required or the costs associated with the applications gives the Secretary free reign to make the process as expensive as possible and gives the Secretary unlimited power to dissect our personal lives as they see fit

Commentary:

The Scarlet G for Gun Owner aspect of the bill alone, if passed, would most likely bring about a landmark lawsuit against the State of Maryland because of the blatant effort to create so much financial and administrative hardship for citizens to exercise a Constitutional right that it equates with a government led effort to ban the individual possession of handguns. Per the usual modus operandi of the anti-gun wing of the Maryland General Assembly, we can expect that they will expand this to first include all firearms and then all ammunition.

In a time of an unprecedented financial crisis for governments and citizens alike, Senator Frosh is proposing a monstrous addition to the Maryland State Police's workload and then asking cash strapped citizens to back it so that they can be granted the privilege of exercising a fundamental right. In addition, such a law, if passed, would certainly be challenged in court, forcing the state to spend even more of its limited resources trying to defend indefensible regulations. Given that Senator Frosh is rumored to have his eye on the Senate Presidency, we have to question the judgment of an elected official who ignores the budgetary exigencies of both the State and citizenry in the name advancing a personal radical anti-gun agenda.

We must unleash a response to this abomination unlike any in the history of our community. The damage resulting from the passage of this bill will set back our efforts for decades. We must flood their emails, their snail mail boxes, their fax machines and shut down their phone service. MSI can only provide you with the information and the tools that you need to stop this. It is up to each of us as individuals to take the fight to them and stop this before it ever gets heard in committee.

Snail mail letters are best and can easily be done with the Activist's Tools.

Phone calls are good.

Emails are easy and a good follow up to the above actions.

Here's what we need you to do :

•Contact your Senator and let them know that you oppose SB645.

•Contact the members of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and let them know that you oppose SB645.

•Contact your delegates and let them know that you oppose HB820.

•Contact the members of the House Judiciary Committee and let them know that you oppose HB820.

•Contact the press. Here is one resource.

•All of the information you need in order to easily make mail contacts can be found in the Activist's Tools below.

•Remember to stick to the facts when making your contacts. Avoid over emotional rhetoric that only fuels their stereotypes of our community.

Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Phone Numbers

Brian Frosh - Chair
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3124 (toll free)

Lisa Gladden - Vice Chair
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3697 (toll free)

Jim Brochin
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3648 (toll free)

Jennie Forehand
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3134 (toll free)

Larry Haines
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3683 (toll free)

Nancy Jacobs
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3158 (toll free)

Alex Mooney
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3575 (toll free)

Anthony Muse
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3092 (toll free)
Jamie Raskin
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3634 (toll free)

Bryan Simonaire
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3658 (toll free)

Norman Stone
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3587 (toll free)

House Judiciary Committee Phone Numbers

Delegate Joseph Vallario - Chairman (D-27A)

(410) 841-3488,

Delegate Sandy Rosenberg - Co-Chair (D-41) Lead sponsor of HB820

(410) 841-3297

Delegate Curtis Anderson (D-43)

(410) 841-3291

Delegate Benjamin Barnes (D-21)
(410) 841-3046

Delegate Jill Carter (D-41)
(410) 841-3283

Delegate Frank Conaway Jr. (D-40)
(410) 841-3189

Delegate Kathleen Dumais (D-15)
(410) 841-3052

Delegate Don Dwyer Jr. (D-31)
(410) 841-3047

Delegate William Frank (R-42)
(410) 841-3793

Delegate J.B. Jennings (R-7)
(410) 841-3698

Delegate Kevin Kelly (D-1B)
(410) 841-3404

Delegate Benjamin Kramer (D-19)
(410) 841-3485

Delegate Susan Lee (D-16)
(410) 841-3649

Delegate Gerron Levi (D-23A)
(410) 841-3101

Delegate Susan McComas (R-35B)
(410) 841-3272

Delegate Tony McConkey (R-33A)
(410) 841-3406

Delegate Victor Ramirez (D-47)
(410) 841-3340

Delegate Todd Schuler (D-8)
(410) 841-3526

Delegate Luiz Simmons (D-17)
(410) 841-3037

Delegate Michael Smigiel Sr. (R-36)
(410) 841-3555

Delegate Kriselda Valderrama (D-26)
(410) 841-3210

Delegate Jeffrey Waldstreicher (D-18)
(410) 841-3130

Activist's Tools

HOUSE OF DELEGATES TOOLS TO ASSIST YOU:

•Quick email tool

•Find your delegate

•Pre-formatted mailing labels for the House Judiciary Committee

•How to create mail merge letters using pre-formatted labels

SENATE TOOLS TO ASSIST YOU:

•Quick email tool

•Find your senator

•Pre-formatted mailing labels for the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee

•How to create mail merge letters using pre-formatted labels

Maryland Shall Issue.org

P.O. Box 314

Libertytown, MD

21762-0314

ph. 240-446-6782

Mission Statement

"Maryland Shall Issue is an all volunteer, non-partisan effort dedicated to the preservation and advancement of all gunowners' rights in Maryland, with a primary goal of CCW reform to allow all law-abiding citizens the right to carry a concealed weapon; and to the education of the community to the awareness that 'shall issue' laws have, in all cases, resulted in decreased rates of violent crime."

Chicago Politics at work in Washington - Followup to Reuters Retraction

2010-02-07T00:24:00.000-05:00

It looks like Chicago political thuggery is flourishing in it's new digs at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Remember the Reuters story from Monday that was pulled 4 hours later after a complaint from the White House? The one that talked of all BHO's backdoor tax increases? It seems the reporter, Terri Cullen, has left the employ of Reuters - no details given. Below is a story in Sunday's NY Times "Media Decoder". Watch your back, Ms. Cullen.

******************************************
February 5, 2010, 6:37 pm

Journalist Whose Article Was Retracted Leaves Reuters

By RICHARD PéREZ-PEñA

The journalist who wrote an article on Monday that turned into an embarrassment for Reuters and a cause for some conservatives has left the wire service, the company said Friday. A Reuters spokeswoman declined to say whether the journalist, Terri Cullen, left voluntarily, or why. “I can’t really go into any detail,” said the spokeswoman, Courtney Dolan.
Ms. Cullen stepped down less than a month after being hired for the newly created position of wealth management editor. She had worked for more than a decade for The Wall Street Journal Online.
Her article said that President Obama’s budget amounted to a backdoor tax increase for middle-income and even lower-income people, based largely on the scheduled expiration of income tax cuts passed in 2001. But the president had actually proposed keeping those cuts in place for all but high-income families.
After a complaint from the White House, Reuters withdrew the article, stating that it was inaccurate. But by then, some prominent conservatives had seized on the article, and a few — notably Rush Limbaugh — insisted that the retraction meant simply that the media were protecting the president.

The Detestable Peace Sign

2010-02-05T15:22:00.001-05:00

People still flash it to this day, this icon of 60's/70's anti-war hippie lore. It was stolen from Churchill and bastardized. Sir Winston Churchill flashed it all across war torn Britian, London in particular, as "V" for victory, a rallying cry against Nazi Germany. Now there's a true leader, a giant among history's greatest leaders.

Bastardized - by the radicals of yesteryear, many who are, unfortunately, our political leaders of today or deeply entrenched in the vast bureaucracy that is destroying our Great Nation from within - bastardized into the "Peace Sign". Typical leftist ploy - "I just want peace, man... how can you be against peace?" Just like "the children", or "clean air and water". This would be bad enough, but it's much worse.

The peace sign IS the icon of the radical left of the Vietnam Era and those who followed them - those who cheered their megaphone chants of "Hell No, We Won't Go", who joined their marches, protests and sit-ins for whatever reasons, be they true believers, just wanted to be cool, or trying to cash in on some of that "free love". The peace sign IS the icon of those who spit on our military when they returned from battle, who called them baby killers. I find it to be the ultimate symbol of disrespect to the 58,156 brave Americans who paid the ultimate price, the 303,704 who were wounded, and the over 9 million who served during the Vietnam Era. That's what it really means to me, and always will.

New Maryland Assault Weapons Ban introduced

2010-02-04T13:57:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Senator Mike Lennett (D), District 19, Montgomery County, has introduced SB516, the Maryland Assault Weapons Ban of 2010. The following is the response of Maryland Shall Issue, a grassroots 2nd Amendment group, of which I am a member. I encourage you to join or support their efforts in any way possible. Their contact info can be found at the end.

Molon Labe!!

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Why should you care?

Even if you do not own an AR15 or anotherf irearm specifically threatened by SB516, the reality is that this is merely the first stage of the process of outlawing the possession of all guns in the state of Maryland. We’ve witnessed this sort of divide and conquer strategy before and we need to continue to show them that Maryland gun owners stick together. Maryland legislators and anti-gun lobbyists have adequately demonstrated that they will not stop until they have done away with all gun ownership here. They have already shutdown the National Capital Trap and Skeet Club for bogus claims of environmental impact and have attacked other ranges for trumped up noise and safety violations. Now they are going to try to divide us as they ban classes of firearms one by one. There are 65-80 million gun owners in the United States, making us one of the largest voting blocks in the country. They know that they can not usurp our rights in an outright, all inclusive ban, so they are seeking to fracture us and destroy us little by little. We must support all firearm rights, regardless of our chosen discipline or they will fall, one by one.

What can you do?

Get involved! Remember: The decisions that affect all of us are made by the few that show up!

1. Write letters and make calls to your state senators and delegates and let them know that you oppose all antigun legislation which punishes law abiding citizens who are already purchasing their guns lawfully. You can find your legislator at:
http://mdelect.net/electedofficials

2. Contact the sponsors of SB516 and let them know that you oppose the bill:
http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/SB0516.htm

3. Educate yourself on the ongoing efforts to infringe on your 2nd amendment rights.

4. Sign up for the MSI email alerts at marylandshallissue.org

Lie #1: The AWB Won’t Affect “Sporting Guns”

The sponsors of SB516, The Maryland Assault Weapons Ban of 2010, would lead ou to believe that the firearms covered by the proposed legislation are somehow different than those guns used for sporting
purposes such as hunting and target shooting. This is the favorite technique of the anti-gun members of the General Assembly and the anti-gun professional lobbyists that prop them up. This BIG LIE technique assumes that if they repeat the lie enough times it will start to sound like the truth and will drive a wedge between Maryland gun owners. The old axiom of “we must hang together or we will surely hang separately” has never been more true than right now. Once they establish that assault weapons are banned in the state, they only need to expand the definition of an assault weapon to add other firearms to the prohibited list.

Lie #2: AR15s have no sporting purpose

That’s what they would like you to believe. The AR15 is the #1 firearm used for rifle target competitions ranging from local NRA matches to the world class Civilian Marksmanship Program matches held at Camp
Perry. The .223 Remington cartridge fired by the AR15 is permissible in some areas to be used on game as large as deer.

Lie #3: Assault weapons are machine guns:

Another example of the BIG LIE technique. The firearms covered by SB516 are semiautomatic firearms, not machine guns. They fire one cartridge for every pull of the trigger just like all non-machine guns such as sporting arms. Machine guns are regulated heavily by legislation in existence since 1934 and 1986 and are not affected by this bill.

Lie #4: SB516 only affects AR15s and other “Evil Black Rifles”

The text of part of SB516 now says assault weapon...not rifle....and defines an assault weapon as, “the ability to accept a detachable magazine” and any of a number of cosmetic features that have nothing to do with the function or power of the firearm. Attorney General Gansler, a Ceasefire MD advisory board member, will take the strictest interpretation of the law to limit your access to many firearms in addition to the AR15.

Facts 1 and 2: “1 in 5” and “Blood in the Streets”

Despite the cries of “1 in 5” police officers killed with assault weapons and “blood in the streets” since the lapse of the 1994 Federal AWB, neither of these occurred. The FACT is that not one Maryland police officer was shot and killed by a rifle of any kind in the period 1980-2009. The other FACT is that in the year 2000 rifles accounted for only 3% of homicides in Maryland. The number of “assault weapons” in that 3% is even smaller.

Fact #3: The FBI does not trackthe use of assault weapons in crimes.

Supporters of the AWB will affirm that the FBI tracks the use of assault weapons in the Uniform Crime Report. The simple FACT is that they do not. The LIARS simply decide that any .223 Remington cartridge recovered from a crime scene must be from an AR15. Would recovering a .30’06 cartridge automatically
mean that it was from an M1 Garand?

Fact #4: The Maryland State Police has said that the AWB is a non-issue for them.

The Maryland State Police has previously testified that the possession of the sort of firearms named in this bill are not an issue that concerns their officers.

*************************************
contact:

Maryland Shall Issue.org
P.O. Box 314
Libertytown, MD 21762-0314
ph. 240-446-6782

http://www.marylandshallissue.org/
Mission Statement

"Maryland Shall Issue is an all volunteer, non-partisan effort dedicated to the preservation and advancement of all gunowners' rights in Maryland, with a primary goal of CCW reform to allow all law-abiding citizens the right to carry a concealed weapon; and to the education of the community to the awareness that 'shall issue' laws have, in all cases, resulted in decreased rates of violent crime."

Rahm must have sent them a dead fish!

2010-02-02T13:06:00.000-05:00

This is the story by Reuters that was posted yesterday afternoon and pulled 4 hours later. I found it still posted on Yahoo Canada. I guess it had too much truth for the Statist Media.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Backdoor taxes to hit middle class

Mon Feb 1, 4:09 PM
By Terri Cullen

NEW YORK (Reuters.com) --The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families.

In the 2010 budget tabled by President Barack Obama on Monday, the White House wants to let billions of dollars in tax breaks expire by the end of the year -- effectively a tax hike by stealth.

While the administration is focusing its proposal on eliminating tax breaks for individuals who earn $250,000 a year or more, middle-class families will face a slew of these backdoor increases.

The targeted tax provisions were enacted under the Bush administration's Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Among other things, the law lowered individual tax rates, slashed taxes on capital gains and dividends, and steadily scaled back the estate tax to zero in 2010.

If the provisions are allowed to expire on December 31, the top-tier personal income tax rate will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. But lower-income families will pay more as well: the 25 percent tax bracket will revert back to 28 percent; the 28 percent bracket will increase to 31 percent; and the 33 percent bracket will increase to 36 percent. The special 10 percent bracket is eliminated.

Investors will pay more on their earnings next year as well, with the tax on dividends jumping to 39.6 percent from 15 percent and the capital-gains tax increasing to 20 percent from 15 percent. The estate tax is eliminated this year, but it will return in 2011 -- though there has been talk about reinstating the death tax sooner.

Millions of middle-class households already may be facing higher taxes in 2010 because Congress has failed to extend tax breaks that expired on January 1, most notably a "patch" that limited the impact of the alternative minimum tax. The AMT, initially designed to prevent the very rich from avoiding income taxes, was never indexed for inflation. Now the tax is affecting millions of middle-income households, but lawmakers have been reluctant to repeal it because it has become a key source of revenue.

Without annual legislation to renew the patch this year, the AMT could affect an estimated 25 million taxpayers with incomes as low as $33,750 (or $45,000 for joint filers). Even if the patch is extended to last year's levels, the tax will hit American families that can hardly be considered wealthy -- the AMT exemption for 2009 was $46,700 for singles and $70,950 for married couples filing jointly.

Middle-class families also will find fewer tax breaks available to them in 2010 if other popular tax provisions are allowed to expire. Among them:

* Taxpayers who itemize will lose the option to deduct state sales-tax payments instead of state and local income taxes;

* The $250 teacher tax credit for classroom supplies;

* The tax deduction for up to $4,000 of college tuition and expenses;

* Individuals who don't itemize will no longer be able to increase their standard deduction by up to $1,000 for property taxes paid;

* The first $2,400 of unemployment benefits are taxable, in 2009 that amount was tax-free.

What is Really Going On

2009-12-20T21:50:00.000-05:00

Great article - pay particular attention to the third paragraph from the end

From The Bulletin, Philadephia's Family Newspaper

Obama And His Appointees Dismantling US

By HERB DENENBERG, For The Bulletin

Saturday, December 19, 2009

President Barack Hussein Obama is proceeding to destroy America and has opened up a six-front war to do so:

1. He has a Democratic controlled Congress that is willing to rubber-stamp his wildest schemes, without even reading them…as we’ve already seen. The Democratic Party is now aiding and abetting the demeaning and destruction of America and has become the voice of leftist extremism. The moderates have disappeared or been transformed, issuing only occasional squeaking and whining before following the liberal party line drawn by Mr. Obama. Where have all the Democratic moderates gone?

2. Mr. Obama has immense executive authority, which he has already used to damage the country. One notable example is his decision to try terrorists in New York City, thereby giving the terrorists the premier platform to broadcast their propaganda and recruit Islamic radicals to their cause. Another example is cap and trade by fiat of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), rather than Congressional action.

3. He is filling the White House, the executive branch and the court system with an army of radicals, socialists, Communists, Marxists, Maoists, and America-haters. The most outrageous example was Van Jones, the avowed Communist and believer that 9/11 was an American plot fashioned by President George W. Bush. Van Jones wasn’t too much of an extremist for the White House; in fact, he was loved and respected as a key White House adviser, Valerie Jarrett publicly proclaimed at the time of his appointment. But, he was too extreme even for the mainstream media to cover-up and swallow. But, don’t kid yourself – extremists like that are the rule, not the exception in Mr. Obama’s world.

4. He stands ready to commit the U.S. to radical international treaties that will bleed away American sovereignty and commit the nation to destructive policies. Watch what happens in Copenhagen, and watch the directions of Mr. Obama in matters of international laws and treaties. He has made it obvious he is more interested in pleasing the international community than in protecting the citizens of America. Couple that with his penchant for bootlicking our enemies, apologizing for America, and kicking around and betraying our allies and you have a prescription for international disaster. Note the betrayal of Poland and Czechoslovakia by his withdrawal of missile defense from those two important allies. He did so to appease Russia, again bootlicking enemies while betraying allies.

5. Mr. Obama seems ready to do anything to achieve his ends, a la the formula of Saul Alinsky and his book Rules for Radicals. Alinsky believed the ends justify the means, and that means anything goes. Mr. Obama has demonstrated he is willing to lie, use fascist-style tactics to silent critics, and do what it takes to achieve his agenda. He has even expressed his disdain for the U.S. Constitution in his now infamous quote that civil rights litigation and adjudication went off track because it did not focus on redistribution. His comments, record, and policies show he believes in redistribution of wealth, and views capitalism, free markets and profit as all part of a tainted system that is unjust. One of his major priorities is “spreading the wealth around,” as he admitted to Joe the Plumber.

6. Finally, the mainstream media is sanitizing and covering up Mr. Obama’s worst excesses, as we’ve witnessed with major stories either ignored or almost totally neglected. In recent months, the dishonest, fraudulent, and biased mainstream media virtually ignored Climategate, one of the great scientific scandals of history; the Acorn undercover scandal; and the Van Jones appointment, as well as a long list of other far-out radicals. The mainstream media has become an adjunct of the Obama plan to destroy America, as we know it.

This column will focus on the wild leftist radicals that he is packing into the federal agencies and the unconstitutional czars he is filling up the White House with. I question, when America elects a president who spends over 20 years hanging around with terrorists, racists, bigots, anti-Semites, Communists, Marxists, and socialists, what kind of appointments do you think he’ll be making? And, when he packs the White House with such crazies, what kind of policies do you expect to be forthcoming?

For openers consider his latest appointment to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), the agency that adjudicates discrimination claims. Her name is Chai Feldblum, she is a professor at Georgetown University and is a most radical homosexual activist. She has advocated polygamy and has said that “sexual liberty” trumps the Constitutional right to “religious liberty.” Of course, she underwent what is called a confirmation conversation – trying unsuccessfully to lie out of previous positions. However, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League found her newfound moderation a total “farce.”

She is the primary author of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) now before both houses of Congress. The bill has been described by J. Matt Barber on the Renew America Web site as follows: “ENDA would force – under penalty of law – Christian, Jewish or Muslim business owners to hire people who unrepentantly choose to engage in homosexual or cross-dressing behaviors, despite the fact that these volitional behaviors are in direct conflict with every major world religion, thousands of years of history and uncompromising human biology. … It’s a direct assault on the inalienable rights of people of faith. It pits the government directly against the free exercise of religion and is, therefore, unconstitutional on its face.” Recall, this president has announced this is not a Christian nation, contrary to American history, a history he more often deplores than proclaims.

The Feldblum appointment is part of a larger effort to force the homosexual agenda on the American people, from the youngest school children on up. For the perfect example, take the safe-schools czar, Kevin Jennings. Here’s the way the Web site www.wordpress.com summarized his qualifications:

· A former schoolteacher

· A gay

· An advocate of promoting homosexuality in schools

· A former drug user

· Dislikes religion

· Failed to report an underage student who told him he had sex with an older man.

The views of Mr. Obama’s science and technology czar, Dr. John Holdren, are also bizarre. In the 1980s, in discussing population controls, he advocated compulsory abortion and sterilization as constitutional. No proposal is too extreme for the Obama team.

This radicalism pervades every corner of the White House and Mr. Obama’s appointments. Take Craig Becker, an Obama appointee to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). He was a union lawyer, who was associate general counsel of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The SEIU is the union with close connections to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the corrupt group of community organizers best known for voter fraud and extortion and intimidation of lenders. Mr. Becker helped lay the groundwork for the Employee Fair Choice Act (EFCA). That is the proposed law that would do away with the secret ballot in union elections and would permit federally designated bureaucrats to determine employment terms if a union and employer did not reach a prompt agreement. This act is so blatantly anti-democratic that it is even opposed by a far-left liberal, George McGovern, former U.S. Senator and Democratic Party nominee for president.

Even if Congress won’t pass the EFCA, Mr. Becker believes he can get the wildly leftist Obama agenda established by rule making by the NLRB, thus eliminating the need for Congressional action. This is characteristic of the Obama administration – willing to implement the most radical measures without Congressional approval and rule by administrative diktat.

And Mr. Becker will have plenty of support from other top Obama appointees in the federal bureaucracy. There is Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, who was first elected to Congress in 2000, as the union candidate. For about 10 years in Congress, she had a perfect record of support for union proposals. And, she is likely to coddle unions and persecute employers as Secretary of Labor.

Secretary Solis has already announced her plan to give unions more power over employers and the economy. And, she has already started taking all controls off of union abuses. For example, her predecessor, Elaine Chao, took the responsibility of policing unions seriously. During her tenure, Ms. Chao obtained 929 convictions for corrupt union practices and recovered more than $93 million on behalf of union members (as reported in The American Spectator. The U.S. Labor Department unit that polices unions is the Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS). Shortly after the union lapdog, Ms. Solis, took office, the Obama administration reported it was cutting OLMS’s budget by more than 9 percent. The American Spectator writes, “As a result, corrupt union bosses will have a much freer hand with which to bilk their members.”

That’s just a taste of what Mr. Obama is doing to the Department of Labor to make it an instrument of unionization and the union agenda. Two other appointments to The Department of Labor are Patricia Smith and Lorelei Boylan. Both have close ties to unions and while working for the New York State Department of Labor, they were in charge of a program in which New York state partners with unions and other liberal groups to police workplaces. The American Spectator writes, “But in practice empowering ‘regular people’ actually means that the government is deputizing unions to help police workplaces.” This is just another example of how the Obama administration seeks to control every aspect of the American economy and do so to favor their political supporters, in this case the unions. Given their way, American business will be run by union bosses and union thugs.

Another area where Mr. Obama seeks to impose government control is talk radio. There is Mark Lloyd, who was appointed to be associate general counsel and chief diversity officer of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He is on record of favoring all kinds of regulation of talk radio, which would be designed to muzzle conservative talk radio. To show how extreme these Obama appointees are, consider Mr. Lloyd’s comments about the tyrant of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. Mr. Lloyd went on record in support of Mr. Chavez who, among other things, is a sworn enemy of America: “In Venezuela, with Chavez, is really an incredible revolution – a democratic revolution.” There is a deadly Orwellian flavor to Mr. Obama and his appointees – a vicious tyrant is transformed into an instrument of “democratic revolution.”

The “Czars” are even more radical and even more out of control than members of the cabinet, who are subject to Senate confirmation. They can escape any Senate confirmation and, consequently, are viewed by some legal authorities as end-runs around the U.S. Constitution. Carol Browner, global warming (energy) czar, is typical. She is one of the leaders of the Socialist International and, as such, advocates “global governance” and maintains that developed nations must shrink their economy to help alleviate global warming. The czars and their threat to U.S. constitutional government are covered in detail in an article in Newsmax entitled “Czars: Never Elected. Never Confirmed. Too Powerful?”

Thomas Sowell, the brilliant conservative pundit, makes an important point for those who think these radical extremists somehow got into the White House because of a failure to properly vet them. Mr. Sowell writes, “Why should we assume Obama didn’t know what such people were like; he’s been associating with these kinds of people for decades. Nothing is more consistent with his pattern than putting such people in government – people who reject American values, and resent Americans and America’s influence in the world.”

Wake up America. We elected one of the most dangerous enemies of America and he now sits in the White House, filled with other enemies of America, relentlessly going about his task of destroying the country as we know it and as the Founding Fathers intended it. You better join the forces in opposition to Mr. Obama’s vision for America because if he continues unobstructed for three more years, it may then be too late to save it.

It’s later than you think. Mr. Obama can kill the economy and America with his version of ObamaCare standing by itself (See The Bulletin, “ObamaCare Spells Doom for America,” Dec. 6-12, and “Wake Up Before Obama Destroys America,” Dec. 13-19). And, he seems to be firing shots with machine-gun rapidity that have the potential to destroy our economy and our country. There’s some element of truth in talk show host Michael Savage’s assertion that we now have a dictatorship. With supermajorities in both houses of Congress and with seemingly inept Republican leadership, with free use of extra-Constitutional methods, i.e. czars, there seems to be no real checks and balances that should keep an out-of-control radical runaway president in check.

Even our Founders, political geniuses, still could not foresee and plan for the election to the White House of an America-hating radical, backed by supermajorities of the Democratic Party willing to follow him over the cliff to the destruction of America.

Herb Denenberg can be reached at advocate@thebulletin.us

A Sensible School District

2009-09-09T13:14:00.000-04:00

The following email message was sent out by the Medina (Ohio) City Schools on the subject of the President's address to the Nation's school children. It reinforces the concept that decisions regarding schools are local issues, and should remain as such. This is a school system that certainly seems to take a common sense approach to educating their students. Pay special attention to the next to last paragraph - how refreshing that they teach the Constitution and basic civics. There are many school systems across our great Nation, and especially the children in their charge, that could benefit from the same common sense approach to education.

Dear Parents of Medina City Schools,

In case you haven't heard, President Obama intends to address the children of our great nation on Tuesday, September 8th at noon. As a district we will not be airing President Obama's speech or utilizing the supporting documents for the speech. While we believe his intentions are good, we will leave it to you, the parents, to determine if you wish to have your children view President Obama's speech.

While we sincerely respect the position of President of the United States, as an educational institution we must also respect the rights of a parent to make decisions for their children when it comes to politics. Many parents have called the District both in favor and against the speech being broadcast live to students. In order to minimize any controversy and the potential disruption of the educational process, we decided to leave it to parents to discuss or watch the speech with their children on their own time. Should you make the decision to view the speech with your child you can access it via an archived webcast at http://www.whitehouse.gov/ or http://www.ed.gov/.

The Medina City School District will teach your children to think critically and think for themselves. We will also teach children how to sift through all of the information that is available to them (political or not), decide between fact and fiction, and then understand the process for making an educated decision based on quality information. We will also continue to make sure that our students know and understand the branches of government and the Constitution of the United States. We believe that once they truly understand the Constitution they will then be able to make good political decisions on their own.

Thanks for your understanding on this matter and thank you for your ongoing support of the Medina City School District!

Sincerely,

Randy Stepp

Superintendent

Medina City Schools

Just as a footnote, the White House parsed their words well. While they may have been truthful in stating that the speech wouldn't be political, the President just couldn't resist his radical urges and, just like a good leftist, he couldn't help himself in a meeting with 40 high school freshmen before the speech ~ you know it, he pitched healthcare reform http://cnsnews.com/news/article/53712

What a pitiful excuse for a statesman.

At the White House the other evening....

2009-09-02T16:40:00.000-04:00

Tuesday evening at The White House, the President hosted the Ramadan shindig, or iftar, which was attended by many of the usual suspects and other Islamo-Facists. I checked out the guest list and couldn't figure out which folks were the representatives of the moderate Taliban factions. I did notice, however, the attendance of Imam Yahya Hendi, chaplain, Georgetown University. Isn't Georgetown Univeristy one of the premier Roman Catholic universities in America? Why the Imam? Oh, that's right.... also Jesuit. That might explain it.

As is so common in political speeches today, from both sides of the aisle, the speaker trots out human props, usually in person, as many were at the dinner, but in this case that would not be possible. He spoke of Army Spc. Kareem Khan, a soldier of the Muslim faith, killed in action in Iraq in August, 2007. He said, in part:

"Tonight, he's buried alongside thousands of heroes in Arlington National Cemetery. A crescent is carved into his grave, just as others bear the Christian cross or the Jewish star. These brave Americans are joined in death as they were in life -- by a common commitment to their country and the values that we hold dear."

Mr. President, don't pretend to share the committment to country and values this brave young American gave his life to defend. Your actions, speeches abroad, policies, and proposed policies are the antithesis of his committment and values, as well as those who have made the ultimate sacrifice before him. You and those with whom you choose to associate (and keep as your closest advisers) don't like his America, never have, and you're trying to fundamentally change it - and the Mob has noticed.

The Lies The Opposition Is Telling

2009-08-19T15:08:00.000-04:00

I maintain a dummy email account to receive mail from the opposition - the Democrats, Statists, Socialists and their ilk - so I can read what they say to their supporters. I go to their websites, sign up and the putrid debris arrives like clockwork. Here's a mailing I received about "The Mobs" from Jen O'Malley Dillon, Executive Director, Democratic National Committe:

5 facts about the anti-reform mobs

1. These disruptions are being funded and organized by out-of-district special-interest groups and insurance companies who fear that health insurance reform could help Americans, but hurt their bottom line. A group run by the same folks who made the "Swiftboat" ads against John Kerry is compiling a list of congressional events in August to disrupt. An insurance company coalition has stationed employees in 30 states to track where local lawmakers hold town-hall meetings.

2. People are scared because they are being fed frightening lies. These crowds are being riled up by anti-reform lies being spread by industry front groups that invent smears to tarnish the President's plan and scare voters. But as the President has repeatedly said, health insurance reform will create more health care choices for the American people, not reduce them. If you like your insurance or your doctor, you can keep them, and there is no "government takeover" in any part of any plan supported by the President or Congress.

3. Their actions are getting more extreme. Texas protesters brought signs displaying a tombstone for Rep. Lloyd Doggett and using the "SS" symbol to compare President Obama's policies to Nazism. Maryland Rep. Frank Kratovil was hanged in effigy outside his district office. Rep. Tim Bishop of New York had to be escorted to his car by police after an angry few disrupted his town hall meeting -- and more examples like this come in every day. And they have gone beyond just trying to derail the President's health insurance reform plans, they are trying to "break" the President himself and ruin his Presidency.

4. Their goal is to disrupt and shut down legitimate conversation. Protesters have routinely shouted down representatives trying to engage in constructive dialogue with voters, and done everything they can to intimidate and silence regular people who just want more information. One attack group has even published a manual instructing protesters to "stand up and shout" and try to "rattle" lawmakers to prevent them from talking peacefully with their constituents.

5. Republican leadership is irresponsibly cheering on the thuggish crowds. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner issued a statement applauding and promoting a video of the disruptions and looking forward to "a long, hot August for Democrats in Congress."

It's time to expose this charade, before it gets more dangerous. Please send these facts to everyone you know. You can also post them on your website, blog, or Facebook page.

Now, more than ever, we need to stand strong together and defend the truth.

Well Jen, I'm posting it on my blog, but not for the reasons you want. "Defend the truth"?? As Jack once said "You can't handle the TRUTH"!!

Are all Presidents treated equal?

2009-07-30T14:01:00.000-04:00

Received this in an email today and thought I would share......

If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics,
would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of Great Britian, a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos
of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and
tacky?

If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have
approved?

If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent
"Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?

If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people
who cannot seem to keep current on their income taxes, would you have
approved?

If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to “Cinco de
Cuatro” in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the fourth of May
(Cuatro de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you
have winced in embarrassment?

If George W. Bush had misspelled the word advice would you have hammered
him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as “proof” of what a dunce
he is?

If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single
tree on “Earth Day”, would you have concluded he’s a hypocrite?

If George W. Bush's administration had ok'd Air Force One flying low over
millions of people following by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing
widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually “got”
what happened on 9-11?

If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter
installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have
laughed and said this is more proof of how he inept he is on his own and is
really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?

If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout
the Midwest with more people killed than in New Orleans, would you want it
made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and
incompetence?

If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation,
even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have
approved?

If George W. Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken
more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10
years, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan’s holdings of GM stock by
90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura
Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?

So, tell me again, please, what is it about Obama that makes him so
brilliant, so impressive?

Can't think of anything?

Don't worry. He's done all this in 5 months. You'l l have three years and
seven months to come up with an answer.

And, oh, by the way...
When will we ever get to see Obama's birth certificate?!

What would have happened if George W. Bush had denied access to his birth records to the American people????

The State Run Media (thank you, Rush!) has been in the tank for this President since early in the election process. It's a clear abrogation of the responsibility that comes with their First Amendment rights.

Gun Slogans

2009-05-27T17:29:00.001-04:00

About a week ago, a posting on Twitter posted asked everybody to post their favorite gun slogans. The following is a compilation of the resulting posts, but not necessarily all of them. Thanks to all the Tweeters who contributed, and if you have any additions, please let me know.

For real feminine protection, try a firearm
Blessed be the pessimist for he carries extra ammo
Armed women = polite men
Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6
I carry a gun because an empty holster just doesn't look as bad-ass
Because Paul Revere would have sounded real stupid yelling, "Hide in your cellar."
Because nobody ever tore a terrorist in half from two clicks out with a .50 caliber pepper spray.
I carry a gun because Cops are too heavy!
Guns, because what else am I supposed to do with all this ammunition?
Why Guns? Because the Founding Fathers said so, that's why!!
If God didn't want us to shoot stuff, he wouldn't have put things that need holes in them so far away.
Gun control has never been about guns. It's really about control.
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away
Guns don't kill people, OJ kills people
Guns, because I can
Guns, because your online stalker just found out where you live.
Guns, because a trebuchet just won't fit in an ankle holster.
ALL THE GUN CONTROL WE NEED WAS ENACTED IN 1791!
Guns, b/c by the time the cops arrive, all they can really do is investigate another statistic
"I like guns. If you own a gun, you don't have to work-out.." Chris Rock
Because an armed society is a polite society
Its the 2nd amendment because the first one is how you warn them
A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone
Free men do not ask permission to bear arms
I use a gun, because grenades are too expensive
Guns. For when those straggling houseguests can't take any other hint
Because I may not be happy to see you
Guns, because a Restraining Order is really just a piece of paper.
Because I need something else to cling to besides my Bible
Guns, because I refuse to become a Redneck Martyr.
Because I was the victim of Home invasion. I know.
Guns, because some people refuse accept the word "No" as an appropriate answer
I'm no expert, but if you want to hurt someone, it's a great place to start
Guns, the ultimate antidote for tyranny.
Guns. Because without the 2nd Amendment, the other 9 are meaningless.
Ready, aim... litigate? I don't think so
Guns, the Veto Of, By & For We The People
Guns, opening the minds of home intruders everywhere.
Guns, because Liberty is a terrible thing to waste
Democracy is 2 Wolves & a Sheep debating dinner. Liberty is the well-armed Lamb contesting the final vote.
Guns, because a liberal voting his conscience is a direct threat to your family's safety
Guns, because Battered Wive's Syndrome is no way to live your life
Because sometimes you're just not your brother's keeper
Guns, because MS13 sells drugs in your neighborhood.
Guns, because the Federal Government refuses to close the border.
Because sometimes people don't understand and I don't feel like explaining
Guns, because the lock was only designed to keep the honest man out
Guns, because stalkers prefer to drop by for a visit at 3 AM
Guns: John Wayne didn't carry no pepper spray.
Guns: Because Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison & company thought YOU should have a VETO too
When you really want to reach out and touch someone
Guns, because Mace loses effectiveness downwind
Guns...because Hitler would have disapproved.
Guns, when you prefer to say "No" from a safe distance.
Guns, because sometimes, that bumper-tap is no accident.
Guns, the original point and click interface
If you know a better way to turn brain into mist, we're all ears.
Clinical studies have shown a diet high in lead can decrease bad crime levels by up to 20%
Guns, because sometimes, DHS labels Constitutionalists as Extremists.
Four out of five voices in your head agree
Shotguns, making cross eyed people deadlier than ever before
Because some people just can't run fast enough to chase the bad guys down.
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of a tighter grouping
Because John Wayne never carried a restraining order, pardner
Guns, because when it's them or Me. Me wins everytime.
If you're angry, calm down and take a deep breath. It helps your aim.
The most convenient place to store your bullets.
Guns, because this stuff is mine
I shoot, therefore I am . . . able to save my life and yours.
You've seen Deliverance, right? We're just sayin.
A Canadian is sort of like an American, but without the gun
Guns, cuz they make hot conservative babes even HOTTER!
Guns, because pitchforks & torches is sooo 18th century
Gun Control: Sight Alignment, Breath Control, Trigger Squeeze
Guns, when waterboarding just doesn't finish the job!
Guns, when simple words lack the required emphasis
A bullet to the head makes rapists dead
Sometimes, even Indiana Jones gets tired of using his bullwhip
Guns..Winning hearts and minds since the middle ages.
Because "Go ahead, make my day" doesn't sound nearly as cool if you're holding a crossbow
How else are you supposed to make grown men dance?
Guns, the real voice of the Silent Majority
Guns, because I have two attractive pre-teen daughters.
Cause Momma didn't raise no victims.
Guns. Just Guns. That's it.
Guns: because strangulation takes too much effort and time!
Guns: It's better to have and not need than to need and not have.
Guns, because some of us have short legs and just can't run as fast.
Because life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness hang in the balance.
Don't Run, You'll Just Die Tired: Sniper slogan
Four out of five politicians surveyed prefer unarmed, ignorant peasants
Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap, life is expensive
Double Tap, when you absolutely, positively have to ensure situational resolution
Charlton Heston says they would have saved Moses forty pairs of sandals
Give a criminal a tattoo that will never wear off.
How The West Was Won" wasn't about a bad poker hand