Archive for the ‘Men’s Issues’ Category

More on McCain

June 15, 2008

I have to admire it when well known people come out saying pretty much the same thing that I have been posting about Senator John McCain. The man is a danger to America. Unless that is, you want a balkanization of the United States. Which, is pretty much where we are heading these days, if not toward a full blown revolution.

http://www.gunowners.org
Feb 2008

John McCain Is A Liberal Gun Grabber

by
Pastor Chuck Baldwin
As published at NewsWithViews

The last thing we need is another liberal neocon in the White House. If the Presidency of George W. Bush proved anything, it proved the hazard of electing phony Republican conservatives. At least one is able to clearly see a liberal for what he or she is when they have a “D” behind their name. But put an “R” behind the name and suddenly their liberal, Big-Government, anti-freedom agenda is barely recognized, which makes a liberal Republican much more dangerous than a liberal Democrat.

Let me say it straight out: a John McCain Presidency would be far worse than a Barack Obama Presidency. With a Democrat in the White House, conservatives and Christians suddenly find their principles and are able to offer resistance. Put a Republican in the Oval Office, however, and those same people become blind, deaf, and dumb to most any principle they profess.

Nowhere is McCain’s chicanery and duplicity more jeopardous than in the area of the right to keep and bear arms. On issues relating to the Second Amendment, John McCain is a disaster! For example, the highly respected Gun Owners of America (GOA) rates McCain with a grade of F-. McCain’s failing grade is well deserved.

John McCain sponsored an amendment to S. 1805 on March 2, 2004 that would outlaw the private sale of firearms at gun shows. According to GOA, the provision would effectively eliminate gun shows, because every member of an organization sponsoring a gun show could be imprisoned if the organization fails to notify each and every “person who attends the special firearms event of the requirements [under the Brady Law].”

John McCain also sponsored an Incumbent Protection provision to the so-called “Campaign Finance Reform” bill, which severely curtails the ability of outside groups (such as GOA) to communicate the actions of incumbent politicians to members and supporters prior to an election.

The GOA report of the 106th Congress reveals that out of 15 votes relating to the right to keep and bear arms, Senator John McCain voted favorably only 4 times. Put that into a percentage and McCain’s pro-Second Amendment voting record is a pathetic 27%.

In addition, GOA warns that John McCain supported legislation that would force federal agents to increase efforts in arresting and convicting honest gun owners who may inadvertently violate one of the many federal anti-gun laws, which punish mere technicalities, such as gun possession.

For example, if John McCain’s proposed legislation were to become law, a gun owner who travels with a gun through a school zone or who uses one of the family handguns to go target shooting with a 15-year old could be sent to prison. And a person who uses a gun for self-defense could be sent to prison for a mandatory minimum of five years.

But there is so much more to the McCain madness.

Former California State Senator H.L. “Bill” Richardson wrote this about John McCain, “He’s [McCain’s] proven his dislike for conservatives and would gut us at every opportunity.

“Why do I say that? Because of three decades of experience as a Republican California Senator and a fifty year activist in the conservative movement. I have first hand, in-their-face experience with elitist RINO’s (Republican in Name Only) office holders. They are biblically ignorant, power hungry, status seeking egotists who have no difficulty aiding their liberal Democrat colleagues whenever their arms are politely twisted. The one thing they have in common with liberal Democrats is their dislike for all conservatives, especially those who are Bible-believing. McCain, as president, would stifle the voices of elected Republican leaders and try to legislate the conservative movement out of existence.”

Senator Richardson went on to say that he would in no way vote for John McCain, if indeed McCain is the Republican nominee (which he obviously will be).

I wonder how many gun owners and other professing pro-freedom Americans have already fallen victim to McCain’s phony conservative campaign? Do they not realize that they are giving a rope to the hangman? And that they–conservatives and gun owners–are the ones who McCain will send to the gallows? What is wrong with the American people these days? Have they not been betrayed enough by these phony conservative Republicans?

For example, President George W. Bush recently nominated Michael Sullivan to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Sullivan is one of the nation’s most rabid anti-gunners. GOA’s Larry Pratt describes Sullivan as being “as anti-gun as Ted Kennedy.” Honest gun owners, lawful firearms dealers, and law-abiding gun show operators could have no worse enemy within the federal government than Michael Sullivan. We could expect no worse from Hillary Clinton. And a John McCain Presidency would doubtless give us more of the same.

Regarding the Second Amendment, the American people have no better friend than Ron Paul. He has a 20-year proven track record of fidelity to the right to keep and bear arms. The GOA rates Congressman Paul with a grade of A+. According to GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt, Ron Paul has been a leader in the fight to defend and restore the Second Amendment. He has sponsored legislation to repeal the following: the Brady law; the requirement to lock up your guns; the law permitting the U.S. to be part of the U.N (which, among other attacks on American freedoms, seeks to ban privately transferred firearms); participation in UNESCO; federal prohibitions on any pilot wishing to carry a handgun to and in his cockpit; and the so-called “assault weapons” ban (prior to its sunsetting in 2004).

Ron Paul has also sponsored legislation requiring states to treat the concealed carry permit of one state the same as they do that state’s driver’s license. Dr. Paul also opposes a national ID card, which would be a tool of government to identify gun ownership.

Gun owners (along with conservatives and Christians of all sorts) should be ashamed of themselves for allowing an angry, gun-grabbing liberal such as John McCain to become the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee, while rejecting the candidacy of one of America’s most principled pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, pro-Constitution, and pro-freedom legislators of this generation: Congressman Ron Paul.

I say again, the last thing we need is another liberal neocon in the White House. John McCain may have an “R” behind his name, but he is just another establishment liberal: one America cannot afford.

Now, I am anything but a Christian zealot but that Pastor has hit the nail squarely on the head about Senator McCain. Shortly after the Columbine incident the good Senator came here to Colorado, and in the midst of our collective grief said one of the stupidest things that I have ever heard come from any politicians oral orifice. That we needed more gun laws … Idiot! At last count a minimum of eighteen laws were broken by any person that had any connection with the incident. Did, or does he still think that outlaws would have paid any more attention to some abstract new law than they did to the ones that were already in place?

Then we have the good Senators circle of friends and supporters. None other than the notorious George Soros leads the list.

John McCain Funded By Soros Since 2001
Candidate’s Reform Institute Also Accepted Funds From Teresa Kerry

by
Jerome R. Corsi
As published at WorldNetDaily

Subsequently, David Horowitz’s DiscoverTheNetworks.org website and Michelle Malkin’s blog gave renewed attention to the Reform Institute’s funding ties.

The Soros-Kerry funding connection with McCain was first exposed by Ed Morrissey at the Captains Quarters blog in 2005.

As Sen. John McCain assumes the GOP front-runner mantle, his long-standing, but little-noticed association with left-wing donors such as George Soros and Teresa Heinz Kerry is receiving new attention among his Republican critics.

In 2001, McCain founded the Alexandria, Va.-based Reform Institute as a vehicle to receive funding from George Soros’ Open Society Institute and Teresa Heinz Kerry’s Tides Foundation and several other prominent non-profit organizations.

McCain used the institute to promote his political agenda and provide compensation to key campaign operatives between elections.

In 2006, the Arizona senator was forced to sever his formal ties with the Reform Institute after a controversial $200,000 contribution from Cablevision came to light. McCain solicited the donation for the Reform Institute using his membership on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, he supported Cablevision’s push to introduce the more profitable al la carte pricing, rather than packages of TV programming.

Yet, the Reform Institute still employs the McCain campaign’s Hispanic outreach director, Juan Hernandez, as a senior fellow of its Comprehensive Immigration Reform Initiative.

As WND reported, Hernandez serves as a non-paid volunteer for the McCain campaign. A dual Mexican-U.S. citizen, he was a member of former President Vicente Fox’s cabinet, representing an estimate 24 million Mexicans living abroad. Hernandez, with a “Mexico first” message, has argued aggressively against building a fence on the Mexican border, insisting the frontier needed to remain wide open so illegal immigrants could easily enter the U.S.

The July 6, 2001, homepage of the Reform Institute archived on the Internet lists founder McCain as chairman of the group’s advisory committee.

Prominent senior officials on the McCain 2008 presidential campaign staff found generously paid positions at the Reform Institute following the senator’s unsuccessful run for the White House in 2000.

Rick Davis, McCain’s current campaign manager, was paid $110,000 a year by the Reform Institute for a consulting position, according to the group’s 2003 Form 990 filing with the IRS.

In 2004, Davis advanced to the position of Reform Institute president, with an annual salary of $120,000, according to the group’s 2004 Form 990.

In 2005, Davis remained president, but his salary dropped back to $45,000 a year, with a time commitment of five hours per week, according the 2005 Form 990.

Carla Eudy, a senior advisor on McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign who until recently headed fundraising, was paid $177,885 in 2005 to serve as the Reform Institute’s secretary-treasurer.

Other McCain presidential campaign staffers who have found employment at the Reform Institute include Trevor Potter, McCain’s 2000 legal counsel, and Crystal Benton, the senator’s former press secretary, who served as institute’s communications director in 2005 for an annual salary of $52,083.

The Reform Institute regularly has supported McCain in various legislative efforts, including on campaign finance reform, global warming and “comprehensive immigration reform,” all efforts widely opposed by many in the party’s conservative base.

Arianna Huffington, syndicated columnist and creator of the HuffingtonPost.com, has served on the Reform Institute’s advisory committee since the group’s inception.

According to FrontPage Magazine, Teresa Heinz Kerry has provided more than $4 million to the Tides Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by anti-war activist Drummond Pike in 1976 with a history of funding causes such as abortion, homosexual-rights activism and open borders.

Financial contributors while McCain was chairman of the Reform Institute also have included the Educational Foundation of America, a group that supports abortion and opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve.

This, will be a continuing story …

Fly Fishing, again :)

June 11, 2008

“Yes young man, it is an addiction.”

That was my response to Robert “Bob” Graves, a co-worker at Haley Paramedic Ambulance. He, some how, I mean, I wouldn’t know… Had become bitten by the Fly Fishing bug.

“It is an insidious thing indeed.” So said Senior Paramedic Arthur ( A. Flippin) Flippin Paramedic. An emerging Master Outdoors man.

But, I knew that this young man had promise as he watched me tying an Adams. “That’s an Adams isn’t it?” Correct I responded. I also gave him a little bit of hard earned knowledge about that Adams pattern, as it is best used along the Colorado front range.

The Adams pattern is very versatile, it imitates many Mayflies in sizes from 12 to 16. It really shines though as a Midge imitation. Especially along the South Platte river below Cheeseman. That would be in sizes 18 all the way to 24, if you can tie them, and then attach them without the fly blowing off up the canyon, that is.

It is also productive along Boulder Creek, each tributary. Although not nearly as effective as Gray Caddis patterns, or a Gold Ribbed hares Ear, as far as that goes. And so the session went on. Bob was a terrific student, and, he even provided Guinness when he chose to visit.

This is beginning to look like an expensive hobby he noted on one such occasion. Nonsense I replied, after all, that Bull Elk that you are sighted upon will provide many years worth of flies, after all. “With a 264 that is more than twenty years old he asked?” I felt much like a Jedi Warrior, instructing a young protege… Have faith young man… And “pull the damned trigger!”

And so it goes, life as an outdoors-man in Colorado. Bringing new ones into the fold.

Bob moved away, to some Shangrila called South East Alaska. He bought a Marlin rifle in 450 Marlin for holding big bears at bay, and a Winston bamboo fly rod, just because he could. Something tells me that he may be in need of some small bit of guidance … Just a little … I may have to plan a trip to see him … 😀

Rogue Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

June 8, 2008

Rogue Agency at it yet again! These people need to just go away. As presented in an earlier posting, any legitimate work that they do would better be placed in the hands of the FBI.

Rep. Bill Sali To Government Agency:
“Always Think Freedom”

Representative Bill Sali is introducing a bill to send a message to
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
(BATFE) that freedom still means something in this country.

As part of its Asset Forfeiture training program for agents, the
BATFE ordered 2,000 Leatherman tools inscribed with the words
“Always Think Forfeiture.” The program urges agents to focus
on seizing private property.

Rep Sali believes the agency should be thinking ‘Freedom,’ not
‘Forfeiture.’ The Idaho Republican complained about the program
and recieved a letter from Acting ATF Director Michael Sullivan,
who apologized for the “confusion” over the issue.

While Rep. Sali appreciated the apology, he said that, “My
constituents deserve to know the truth about this marketing program,
which has been interpreted by many Idahoans as anti-gun and
anti-private property.”

The agency halted distribution of the tools in the face of public
outcry, but “[t]he fact remains that the ATF thought it was OK to
think ‘Always Think Forfeiture’ instead of focusing on
protecting our constitutional rights,” Sali said.

In a letter to his fellow Congressmen, Sali noted that “the inscription
raises serious concerns to law-abiding citizens as to the intent of an
ATF agent who is performing investigations, particularly with
respect to law-abiding gun owners.”

Rep. Sali plans to introduce the ‘Always Think Freedom’ bill
sometime next week. The bill will prohibit the agency from
making purchases of tool kits “on which any reminder of
forfeiture appears.”

Action: Please urge your Representative to become an original
cosponsor of the “Always Think Freedom Act.”

You can visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at
http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Rep. the
pre-written e-mail message below.

—– Pre-written letter —–

Dear Representative:

I urge you to become an original co-sponsor of Rep. Bill Sali’s
“Always Think Freedom” bill, which will be introduced shortly.

As part of its Asset Forfeiture training program for agents, the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
ordered 2,000 Leatherman tools inscribed with the words
“Always Think Forfeiture.” The program urges agents to focus
on seizing private property.

The agency, which has been the frequent subject of
congressional inquiry into its heavy-handed law enforcement
tactics, should focus on protecting our Constitutional rights.

Rep. Sali’s bill will simply prohibit the agency from making
purchases of tool kits “on which any reminder of forfeiture
appears.”

Please support this bill by signing on as an original
cosponsor.

Sincerely,

Seems like the folks that brought us Ruby Ridge, and Waco will never learn.

Gun Owners of America

SEMPER FI!

June 5, 2008

Proudly stolen from Texas Fred! 😀 Semper Fi brother!

The Navy Invented Sex….

A Marine and a sailor were sitting in a bar one day arguing over which was the superior service.

After a swig of beer the Marine says, ‘Well, we had Iwo Jima.’

Arching his eyebrows, the sailor replies, ‘We had the Battle of Midway.’

‘Not entirely true’, responded the Marine. ‘Some of those pilots were Marines, in fact, Henderson Field on Guadalcanal was named after a Marine pilot killed at the Battle of Midway.’

The sailor responds, ‘Point taken.’

The Marine then says, ‘We Marines were born at Tunn Tavern!’

The sailor, nodding agreement, says, ‘But we had John Paul Jones.’

The argument continued until the sailor comes up with what he thinks will end the discussion. With a flourish of finality he says…… ‘The Navy invented sex!’

The Marine replies, ‘That is true, but it was the Marines who introduced it to women.’


http://TexasFred.net/

This is the end, my only friend, the end …

June 4, 2008

Well, I guess the party is over. It’s been rather fun watching Hillary and Obama rip each other seemingly on a daily basis. Just how much can be attributed to “Operation Chaos?” I personally believe that Rush Limbaugh had little to do with it. All the internal strife within the Democrat party that is.

This was, I believe, more about the Clinton Machine being defeated than anything else. The Clinton’s are, and were appeasers. The Democrat Party, after all has been taken over by those that are on the extreme far left of the political spectrum, and they are not the types that are willing to compromise.

Big government authoritarianism is raising it’s ugly head here in America. It matters not whether it is from the right or the left of the political spectrum. If you are an individual then you had better watch out. You are about to become one with the “Borg,” to borrow some Star Trek terminology. Atlas Shrugged indeed! But, it took a few years past 1984, in order for George Orwell’s prescience to become a very real possibility.

I call it metastatic communism, because, like a virulent cancer it spreads, and destroys that which feeds it. First it was social welfare issues that were meant to be last ditch attempts at saving people from themselves, that is, from failure. The best example that I can think of here in America would be the Social Security program. Soon, it will be basic private property rights, after all, the benefit of the many far outweighs your own needs. Just because you earned that gadget means nothing. Be sure that you never question any of this, for, after all, should you do so you will be deemed mentally incompetent, if not a dangerous subversive as well. yes, then there is that little “dangerous” clause to all this righteous indignation that the elitist’s with authoritarian ideology worry about. Any danger to them ( The elitist’s.) is a danger to all, after all is said and done. What to do about that..? Simple! Disarm any that hold different beliefs. That will pave the way to the utopia that is to be our future!

That, will be the methodology of the Neo-Communist. That, is democracy, and why a Constitutional republic, is so superior.

ARMY SPEC. ROSS MCGINNIS, Medal of Honor

June 3, 2008

http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/McGinnis/

Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to

Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis
United States Army

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an M2 .50-caliber Machine Gunner, 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in Adhamiyah, Northeast Baghdad, Iraq, on 4 December 2006.

That afternoon his platoon was conducting combat control operations in an effort to reduce and control sectarian violence in the area. While Private McGinnis was manning the M2 .50-caliber Machine Gun, a fragmentation grenade thrown by an insurgent fell through the gunner’s hatch into the vehicle. Reacting quickly, he yelled “grenade,” allowing all four members of his crew to prepare for the grenade’s blast. Then, rather than leaping from the gunner’s hatch to safety, Private McGinnis made the courageous decision to protect his crew. In a selfless act of bravery, in which he was mortally wounded, Private McGinnis covered the live grenade, pinning it between his body and the vehicle and absorbing most of the explosion.

Private McGinnis’ gallant action directly saved four men from certain serious injury or death. Private First Class McGinnis’ extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest medal for valor in combat that can be awarded to members of the armed forces. It sometimes is referred to as the “Congressional Medal of Honor” because the president awards it on behalf of the Congress.

The medal was first authorized in 1861 for Sailors and Marines, and the following year for Soldiers as well. Since then, more than 3,400 Medals of Honor have been awarded to members of all DOD services and the Coast Guard, as well as to a few civilians who distinguished themselves with valor.

Medals of Honor are awarded sparingly and are bestowed only to the bravest of the brave; and that courage must be well documented. So few Medals of Honor are awarded, in fact, that there have only been five bestowed posthumously for service in Iraq and Afghanistan. The most recent recipients are Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, Navy SEAL Master-at-Arms Michael A. Monsoor for valor in Iraq, and Army Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis, and Navy Lt. Michael P. Murphy for valor in Afghanistan.

However, since 1998, 15 other Medals of Honor have been awarded to correct past administrative errors, oversights and follow-up on lost recommendations or as a result of new evidence.

Here are just a few examples of Soldiers who were awarded the Medal of Honor from three wars. Their actions, like the other recipients of the medal, were far and above the call of duty.

During the Civil War, the job of color bearer was one of the most hazardous as well as important duties in the Army. Soldiers looked to the flag for direction and inspiration in battle and the bearer was usually out in front, drawing heavy enemy fire while holding the flag high. On Nov. 16, 1863, regimental color bearer Pvt. Joseph E. Brandle, from the 17th Michigan Infantry, participated in a battle near Lenoire, Tenn. “…[H]aving been twice wounded and the sight of one eye destroyed, [he] still held to the colors until ordered to the rear by his regimental commander.”

Cpl. Alvin C. York, from the 82nd Division, fearlessly engaged the numerically superior German force at Chatel-Chehery, France, on Oct. 8, 1918–just a month before the armistice was signed. His citation reads: “…After his platoon had suffered heavy casualties and three other noncommissioned officers had become casualties, Cpl. York assumed command. Fearlessly leading seven men, he charged with great daring toward a machine gun nest, which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. In this heroic feat the machine gun nest was taken, together with four officers and 128 men and several guns.”

Valor is found across the times as well as across the ranks, as World War II 2nd Lt. Robert Craig, from the 3rd Infantry Division, demonstrated. According to his citation, 2nd Lt. Robert Craig volunteered to defeat an enemy machine gun that three other officers before him could not. He quickly located the gun outside of Favoratta, Sicily, but without cover, he and his men found themselves vulnerable to approximately100 enemies. “Electing to sacrifice himself so that his platoon might carry on the battle, he ordered his men to withdraw … while he drew the enemy fire to himself. With no hope of survival, he charged toward the enemy until he was within 25 yards of them. Assuming a kneeling position, he killed five and wounded three enemy soldiers. While the hostile force concentrated fire on him, his platoon reached the cover of the crest. 2nd Lt. Craig was killed by enemy fire, but his intrepid action so inspired his men that they drove the enemy from the area, inflicting heavy casualties on the hostile force.”

The right of the people …

June 1, 2008

“The Constitution shall never be construed… to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.” —Samuel Adams

PATRIOT PERSPECTIVE

The right of the People… shall not be infringed

By Mark Alexander

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” —Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

There is no more important constitutional issue than that of defending the plain language and original intent of the Second Amendment.

Justice Joseph Story, appointed to the Supreme Court by our Constitution’s principal author, James Madison, wrote in his Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States (1833), “The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of the republic; since it offers a strong moral check against usurpation and arbitrary power of the rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them.”

It is no small irony that the latest assault on the Second Amendment is taking place in our nation’s capital. The Supreme Court will announce its decision in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller in June, and that decision will likely have far-reaching implications for the “interpretation” of our Constitution’s most important provision.

And make no mistake, the newly-emboldened Left, with Barack Hussein Obama leading the charge, is gunning for those rights. Obama supports the D.C. regulations because he, “…wanted to make sure that local communities were recognized as having a right to regulate firearms… The notion that somehow local jurisdictions can’t initiate gun laws isn’t born out by our Constitution.”

Does he suggest, by extension then, that our national Constitution can be amended by judicial dictates and local ordinances?

Of course, in addition to serving on the Woods Fund board with Weather Underground terrorists William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, Obama also served on the board of the Joyce Foundation, which since 2000, has given more than $15 Million to radical gun control organizations and is closely linked to the Soros Open Society Institute, which advocates a worldwide ban on civilian firearm ownership.

Indeed, the Second Amendment is “the palladium of the liberties of the republic,” and those who fail to support it as such, and reject detractors like Obama, do so at great peril to themselves and the liberty of future generations of Americans.

The subject of this dispute is the Washington, DC, “Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975,” which banned handguns and mandated that all other firearms, including shotguns and rifles, be kept “unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock,” ostensibly to deter so-called “gun violence.” D.C.’s FCRA actually prohibits a person who owns a legal handgun (pre-1976 grandfathered one) from transporting the handgun from one room to another in his or her own home.

Of course, suggesting that violence is a “gun problem” ignores the real problem—that of socio-pathology and the Leftists who nurture it. (See the Congressional Testimony of Darrell Scott, father of Rachel Scott, one of the children murdered at Columbine High School in 1999.)

Will that decision comport with the Constructionist view (original intent) of our Constitution, or will it be another adulterated interpretation of the so-called “Living Constitution”, the ACLU’s perverted distortion of our Constitution by its cadre of judicial activists?

It is our hope that the Court will affirm the ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that the District’s ordinance banning possession of handguns is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.

Though every constitutional constructionist knows that the Second Amendment assures an individual right to keep and bear arms, militias being the people, the ACLU’s “Living Constitution” mob argues that “the people” means “the state militia,” as outlined on the ACLU’s website under “Gun Control”: “We believe that the constitutional right to bear arms is primarily a collective one, intended mainly to protect the right of the states to maintain militias. … The ACLU therefore believes that the Second Amendment does not confer an unlimited right upon individuals to own guns.”

Well, they may believe that, but in the inimitable words of Founder John Adams, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

It seems the lawyers at the ACLU are always viewing the First Amendment through a wide-angle lens, while they view the Second through a pinhole. Alas, they have it backwards.

In the 1788 Massachusetts Convention debates to ratify the U.S. Constitution, Founder Samuel Adams stated: “And that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms.”

That same year, James Madison wrote in the Federalist Papers (No. 46), “The ultimate authority… resides in the people alone. … The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation … forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition.”

Similarly, Federalist Noah Webster wrote: “Tyranny is the exercise of some power over a man, which is not warranted by law, or necessary for the public safety. A people can never be deprived of their liberties, while they retain in their own hands, a power sufficient to any other power in the state.”

To understand how the right to bear arms was understood in proper context as an individual right, consider some of the earliest state constitutional provisions both before and after the ratification of the Bill of Rights: Pennsylvania—That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the state (1776); Vermont—[T]he people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the State (1777); Kentucky—[T]he right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned (1792). Tennessee—[T]he freemen of this State have a right to keep and bear arms for their common defence (1796) and, Connecticut—Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state (1818).

These are not references to state guard units as the ACLU insists.

Though the Supreme Court rarely referenced the Second Amendment in the first hundred years of our nation’s existence, because its meaning was understood, in one early reference, Dred Scott v. Sandford (1856), the Court noted, “It would give to persons of the negro race, who were recognized as citizens in any one State of the Union…the full liberty…to keep and carry arms wherever they went.” The implication is that the right to carry arms was considered to be universal right for U.S. citizens.

Of course, Washington, D.C. is not the only major city violating the Second Amendment. New York City has restrictive gun regulations, but consider this comment from Timothy Dwight, President of Yale College, from an 1821 commentary on American life: “In both New-England, and New-York, every man is permitted, and in some, if not all the States, is required to possess fire arms.”

Times have indeed changed, and not in the interest of liberty.

If you know some of those Chardonnay-sipping elitists who insist that guns should be banned, get them a few of these “Gun Free Household” stickers for their front and back doors.

Speaking of Chardonnay, here’s an interesting fact: Alcohol-related traffic deaths outnumber homicides with guns by a wide margin. In the latest year of record, there were 12,253 homicides with firearms (many of which involved alcohol) but 16,885 alcohol related highway fatalities. (Perhaps the ACLU should be fighting for a five-day waiting period to purchase alcohol?)

Here’s another inconvenient truth for the Leftist gun-grabbers: The U.S. ranks 41st in the world in homicides but first in the world in private gun ownership (39 percent of households). The firearm homicide rate in the United States was 4.17 per 100,000 in 2005. But Israel, which is awash in so-called “assault weapons,” has a total homicide rate of 2.62 per 100,000.

The National Institute of Justice estimates that Americans use firearms in self-defense approximately 2.73 million times per year. While firearms are used in 67 percent of illegal homicides in the United States, they are used in 99 percent of justifiable homicides. In other words, bad guys use guns sometimes, but good guys use guns almost all the time.

Put another way, smart guys protect their families with “Second Amendment Security”.

On this point, I would argue that gun ownership is not only a right, but a duty and obligation of all Patriots. After all, we are the Militia.

(For good reference pages on the Second Amendment, see Sources on the Second Amendment and Brief Amicus Curiae in DC v Heller, both by my colleague Eugene Volokh, Professor, UCLA Law School. Read Charlton Heston’s comments on the Second Amendment, 1997.)

source : The Patriot Post

Kennedy hospitalized

May 17, 2008

So, has the Chappaquiddick swimmer going to meet his maker perhaps? The Kennedy family has had a lot to bear in life for sure. But don’t delude yourselves one little bit. From manipulating the liquor industry, to disarming Americans, that family has called all the bad Karma onto itself as far as I am concerned. Jack was a charismatic President, and I cried just like everyone else when he was killed. I was twelve years old, and in sixth grade though. later, I think his greatest accomplishments were in the realm of womanizing. At least outside the World War Two arena. Bobby was not much better really. I hear things about Republican Constitutional abuses every day from the left, but never about the things Bobby Kennedy did. Probably why I don’t belong to either party since I look at them both as different sides of the same double edged sword. What about Edward..? He has done more damage to America than any other sitting Senator with the possible exceptions of Schumer and Lautenberg. Together, they formed an evil triumvirate that needs to go away. I just hope that Ed’s stroke is a vascular blow out, and not occlusion based. They have a lower survival rate. No, I am not the least bit remorseful for feeling like that toward anyone that has done so much to harm this nation that my father died on a hillside near Chosin for.

source:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jQ0qyV1Z9XPXS6FFO5p2k9rV6HmwD90NH0180

Sen. Kennedy hospitalized with symptoms of stroke

BOSTON (AP) — Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was hospitalized Saturday after becoming ill at his home, his office said. There was no immediate word on his condition.

A knowledgeable official said the Massachusetts Democrat was in the hospital after suffering stroke-like symptoms. The official declined to be identified by name, citing the sensitivity of the events.

Kennedy spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter confirmed in a statement that Kennedy went to Cape Cod Hospital on Saturday morning “after feeling ill at his home.” After discussion with his doctors in Boston, Kennedy was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for further examination.

“He is currently under evaluation that information will be released as it becomes available,” she said.

Hyannis Fire Lt. Bill Rex told The Associated Press that a 911 call came in from the Kennedy family compound at 8:19 a.m. A man was transported to Cape Cod Hospital and transferred by air at 10:10 a.m. from Barnstable Municipal Airport to Massachusetts General.

David Reilly, a spokesman for Cape Cod Hospital, said that Kennedy was brought to the hospital at about 9 a.m. and stayed for about an hour before being flown by helicopter to the Boston hospital. He said he could not comment on Kennedy’s condition or treatment because of medical privacy laws.

Kennedy, 76, has been in the Senate since election in 1962, filling out the term won by his brother, John F. Kennedy.

In October, Kennedy had surgery to repair a nearly complete blockage in a major neck artery. The discovery was made during a routine examination of a decades-old back injury.

The hourlong procedure on his left carotid artery — a main supplier of blood to the face and brain — was performed at Massachusetts General. This type of operation is performed on more than 180,000 people a year to prevent a stroke.

The doctor who operated on Kennedy said at the time that surgery is reserved for those with more than 70 percent blockage, and Kennedy had “a very high-grade blockage.”

Weeks after the surgery, he returned to work in the Senate and told the AP, “I’m feeling fine. I think it’s just about getting the energy level back. … The strength has been coming back daily.”

One of Kennedy’s doctors said after the surgery that the senator’s overall health was excellent. Kennedy is on blood-pressure and cholesterol medication. Kennedy has been bothered by an aching back since a 1964 plane crash, which killed a pilot and one of Kennedy’s aides.

Kennedy is the lone surviving son in a famed political family. His eldest brother, Joseph, was killed in a World War II airplane crash. President John Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and his brother Robert was assassinated in 1968.

Considered a liberal lion in the Senate, Edward Kennedy was re-elected in 2006. His current term ends in 2013. The senator made a failed run for the presidency in 1980.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, beginning a tour of hospitals in Eugene, Ore., told reporters that he had been in touch with the senator’s family. “Ted Kennedy is a giant in American political history. He’s done more for health care than just about anybody in history. We are going to be rooting for him. I insist on being optimistic about how it’s going to turn out.”

Kennedy gave Obama’s presidential campaign a big boost this year with his endorsement and has campaigned actively for the Illinois senator.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the likely GOP presidential nominee, said he awaited word on Kennedy’s condition. “Senator Kennedy’s role in the U.S. Senate cannot be overstated. He is a legendary lawmaker, and I have the highest respect for him. When we have worked together, he has been a skillful, fair and generous partner.”

John McCain, the best man that the Democrats can field…

The cost of being humanitarian?

May 17, 2008

Interesting how one of the top issues that confront the people of America has been swept under the table by all three presidential candidates. National sovereignty just is not on the table. Not a one of them thinks that there is anything wrong at all with being over run by people that take advantage of our generosity while breaking our laws. That innate kindness toward the downtrodden could very well be the catalyst that leads to an actual civil war here in these United States. Not all that surprisingly, Americans of Mexican decent that I grew up with are among the most outspoken of our brethren on the subject. One, a green eyed red haired Latina has been quite specific: “My father was a Marine, my brothers have all been Marines, Camp Pendleton is built on what was our family ranch since before California was a state. Now these people are coming here and destroying our way of life. They commit crimes against us, and then run back across the border where nothing is done to them. Tell you what? Out here in Fallbrook, we are gunning up, and pretty soon, we are just going to start shooting. Enough is enough.” *note; Her families land was the part of Camp Pendleton near Temecula, and what is the Navel Weapons Station.

Illegal immigration is still a serious problem whether the major candidates recognize it or not. Racist separatist groups such as La Raza are intent on overthrowing the United States, at least the western portion, and even into the southern regions of Canada in some places. How will they do it? As much as many would love for them to try a direct assault, which would doom them to oblivion, they will, and are using fifth column methodology’s, including using our strength (kindness) against ourselves. One method? Read below…

Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas is a fairly
famous institution and for a variety of reasons:

1. John F. Kennedy died there in
1963.
2. Lee Harvey Oswald died there shortly
after.
3. Jack Ruby-who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, died there a few
years later..by coincidence.

‘On the flip side, Parkland is also home to the second
busiest maternity ward in the country with almost 16,000 new babies arriving
each year. (That’s almost 44 per day—every day)

A recent patient survey indicated that 70 percent of the women who gave
birth at Parkland in the first three months of 2006 were illegal
immigrants. That’s 11,200 anchor babies
born every year just in Dallas .

According to the article, the hospital spent $70.7
million delivering 15,938 babies in 2004 but managed to end up with almost $8
million dollars in surplus funding. Medicaid kicked in $34.5 million, Dallas
County taxpayers kicked in $31.3 million and the feds tossed in another $9.5
million.

The average patient in Parkland in maternity wards is
25 years old, married and giving birth to her second
child.

She is also an illegal
immigrant.

By law, pregnant women cannot be denied medical care
based on their immigration status or ability to pay. OK, fine. That
doesn’t mean they should receive better care than everyday, middle-class
American citizens. But at Parkland Hospital , they do. ‘ Parkland Memorial
Hospital has nine prenatal clinics’.

That’s right !!!!
NINE.

The Dallas Morning News article followed a Hispanic woman who was a
patient at one of the clinics and pregnant with her third child—her previous
two were also born at Parkland . Her first two deliveries were free and the
Mexican native was grateful because it would have cost
$200 to have them in Mexico
This time, the hospital wants her to pay $10 per visit and $100 for the
delivery but she was unsure if she could come up with the money. Not that it
matters, the hospital won’t turn her away. (I wonder why they even bother asking
at this point.)

‘How long has this been going on? What are the long-term
affects?
Well, another subject of the article was born at
Parkland in 1986 shortly after her mother entered the US illegally – now she is
having her own child there as well. (That’s right, she’s technically a US
citizen.)

These women receive free prenatal care including
medication, nutrition, birthing classes and child care classes. They also get
freebies such as car seats, bottles, diapers and
formula.

Most of these things are available to American
citizens as well but only for low-income applicants and even then, the red tape
involved is almost insurmountable.

Because these women are illegal immigrants, they do
not have to provide any sort of legitimate identification – no proof of income.
An American citizen would have to provide a social security number which would
reveal their annual income – an illegal immigrant need only claim to be poor and
the hospital must take them at their word.

Parkland Hospital offers indigent care to Dallas County residents who earn less
than $40,000 per year. (They also have to prove that they did not refuse health
coverage at their current job. Yeah, the ‘free’ care is not so easy for
Americans.)

There are about 140 patients who received roughly $4 million dollars for
un-reimbursed medical care. As it turns out, they did not qualify for free
treatment because they resided outside of Dallas County so the hospital
is going to sue them! Illegals get it all free! But U. S citizens who live outside of Dallas County get sued! How
stupid
is this?

As if that isn’t annoying enough,
the illegal immigrant patients are actually complaining about hospital staff
not speaking Spanish . In this AP story, the author speaks with a
woman who is upset that she had to translate comments from the hospital staff
into Spanish for her husband. The doctor was trying to explain the situation to
the family and the mother was forced to translate for her husband who only spoke
Spanish. This was apparently a great injustice to
her.

In an attempt to create a Spanish-speaking staff,
Parkland Hospital is now providing incentives in the form of extra pay for
applicants who speak Spanish. Additionally, medical students at the University
of Texas Southwestern for which Parkland Hospital is the training facility will
now have a Spanish language requirement added to their already jammed-packed
curriculum. No other school in the country boasts such a ridiculous
multi-semester (multicultural) requirement.

( Sorry for the length, but this needs wide circulation
particularly to our’employees’ in Congress.)

Remember that this is only ONE
hospital in Dallas , Texas There are many more hospitals across our
country that also have to deal with this.

If
you want to verify accuracy:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/parkland.asp

Renewed Attack on Privacy of Gun Buyers

May 4, 2008

Lautenberg is back at it again with yet another assault on the American people. When will he ever be sated? I doubt that will ever happen. He is such an egotistical authoritarian maniac that he will probably be bossing around the people that embalm him. Now he is attempting to link firearms buyers to terrorism.  Well Senator, you are the terrorist, and enemy of the American people.

 

 

Renewed Attack on Privacy of Gun Buyers

 
Friday, May 02, 2008
 
This week, anti-gun U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) registration legislation that would invade the privacy rights of law-abiding gun owners.

Cosponsored by like-minded Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Carl Levin (D-MI), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Charles Schumer (D-NY), S. 2935 would, among other things, require the FBI to retain records of cleared firearm transactions for at least 180 days.  Current law requires federally-licensed firearm dealers to conduct a background check on a prospective buyer using NICS prior to selling a firearm.  NICS creates an audit log of the purchase during the course of the search.  Under current Justice Department regulations, those records must be destroyed within 24 hours to preserve the lawful purchaser’s privacy.  The Clinton Administration originally proposed keeping these records for as long as 180 days.  NRA successfully fought to reduce this time period to 24 hours.  Lautenberg’s legislation would undo this regulation. 

Once again trying to create a link where none exists, Lautenberg opined, “We must overturn the ill-conceived law mandating destruction of this data so we can successfully combat gun violence and terrorism in America.” 

This latest anti-gun scheme should further remind gun owners of the importance of this year’s elections.  S. 2935 demonstrates that threats to our Second Amendment rights remain very much alive.  Sen. Lautenberg has a long and well-documented anti-gun record, and in sponsoring legislation that is a gross invasion of law-abiding gun owners’ privacy, his intentions are clearly aimed at further restriction of those rights. 

 

source: http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=3897