30 July 2010

When Politicians Can't Understand Satire

Yesterday, I quickly wrote this blog post as to how the Second Amendment Foundation has sued the State of Maryland in an effort to do away with the discretionary gun permitting process that allows the exercise of the "bear" part of the 2A.

Today, the WaPo has picked up on the story, and so too has an anti-gun state Delegate (who shall, for this purpose will remain nameless).  My former Facebook friend and I had this little doozey back and forth prior to lunch time.

Delegate's Status:  The same gun-rights advocates who gutted Washington DC's gun-control laws are trying to do the same now in MD.  Here's wishing Attorney General Doug Ganslwer best of luck in his effort to keep guns off our streets.  I'm optimistic he will prevail in this court case:
FightinBluHen51 Reply:  And, tell me why the state should discriminate against a fundamental right?

I have to ask Delegate, several questions: Do you personally have a carry permit in this state (that you will openly admit to)? Additionally, with strained budgets, of which we have balanced through budget cuts and debt issuance, can the state afford the legal costs to fight a loosing battle?

The state already issues permits to those who can show "good reason", of which includes business owners, those who carry large amounts of cash, those connected, those who have documented threats, famous people, and rumored hypocritical politicians replete with their double standards. What makes any class of people above another? Why is the life of the average citizen in Maryland placed beneath the currency assets of others? Let me remind you, DC's loosing case meant the 2A is a fundamental and individual right and Chicago's loosing case meant that it applies to the states; looks like a pattern to me.

The fact that police are not obligated legally to protect the average citizen and that they have shown the inability to do so on a social level, means that I should not have to live in fear that a thug who has no regard for the average human being will attempt to murder me like the poor chap at Johns Hopkins. You think, Delegate, that I should just be the victim of pure random chance? I deserve, the natural right, to make the choice to defend myself against harm.

It is frustrating that the states surrounding me, literally, afford me the protections of the 2A but my privileges and immunities are abridged by the "righteous" in this state. In plain English, I can and I do carry in DE, WV, VA, and PA, legally, without the "blood" on the street that you claim happens.
 Delegates Reply: We will have to agree to disagree. I think that more guns in circulation will not make our society safer and will lead to even more deaths due to criminal abuse. I have heaerd too many stories of gruesome gun deaths in Baltimore and DC to be convinced by those who claim self defense. As far as I can tell far more people die from excessive guns than are saved by defensive gun use.

In any case, I'm happy to debate people who have honest disagreements with me and are willing to discuss. But I won't tolerate people misquoting me and simply fabricating statements as you have done (you quoted me as using the word "blood" which I didn't). I think when people have to resort to false statements to bolster their arguments, they have already lost. Goodbye.
Not shockingly, after that, he un-friended me.  I'm heart broken as I'm sure you can imagine, but let us look into this typical anti-civil right supporter's reply.  First, everyone is entitled to an opinion.  I said in my initial reply that the 2A is a choice.  It is not something to be forced on people if they don't want it, yet that's how this anti-gun Delegate acts in his forcing to disarm the country class.  Next, he makes a statement that is completely refuted by every FBI crime report in the last ten years, and in the data sets correlated and explained in both of John R. Lott's Books (More Guns Less Crime and The Bias Against Guns).  The anti even contradicts himself when he says "criminal abuse" admitting that criminals abuse the law, which includes firearms laws.

Obviously, my response was two fold.  I wanted to make a passionate statement that drew out exactly how this Delegate feels, in an election year.  Also, please note how he absolutely refused to answer whether or not he himself has a carry permit.  It is Quite ironic that he got so touchy with a hard hitting series of questions when he claims to want "honest disagreements" with me and is willing to "discuss."  I suppose the use of satirical dialect and dramatics to prove a point, and resorting to hitting the proverbial "ban" switch was how this elected representative chooses to deal with the "opposition."  It's such a shame when we're able to expose them for the sideways thinkers that they are, especially when there are online records to go back through and call them out on.

While at times my writing and line of questioning with the opposition has a flare for the dramatic, it certainly is entertaining to see the other side crack under pressure.  If one wants to call what I posted to this Delegate's page a "fabrication of statements", well then, your fabrication that the NRA is a bunch of "death peddlers" who want a "wild-west style free-for-all for every kind of gun imaginable," is equally and actually more, reprehensible.

No matter what, I'm sure it is extremely hard for them to be on the loosing side of the only issue that could really cost them their absolute power.  I'm sure they are quaking in their panties for the mere fact that an armed society who is ready for trouble when it comes to them, is a more independent society, which is precisely the thing these anti-gun, ruling elites despise.

29 July 2010

SAF SUES MARYLAND! MUSIC TO MY EARS!

Eat your words Doug Gansler!  Shall Issue in Maryland, here we come! 

Too busy to write more now, save it for later, but this deserves a W00T! 

Help Out the Armed Citizen Blog's Defense against Righhaven, LLC

As we reported last week, a new company called Righthaven, LLC, has been buying up copyrights and then suing Mom and Pop bloggers, forum owners and others for re-posting their articles without their permission.  Unfortunately, fellow blogger, Freeper, and general nice guy Dave "The Lone Ranger" over at the Armed Citizen Blog is one of the unwilling victims of low life, scum bucket Steve Gibson.

The same reject of a human who has sued a Mafia member, is about to put The Armed Citizen out of business, unless they can come up with the necessary funds to fend off this baseless lawsuit.  I have republished Dave's plea for support and funds here below (with permission) and ask that we give him the financial and moral support that we can afford. 

My friends, The Armed Citizen website is now imperiled by this lawsuit. My colleague and I are evaluating all our options, including the question of how much it costs to stand on principle.
I’m begging you to help.

Donating money on the website will help us cover and rebound from this challenge. You can do so securely on the website, TheArmedCitizen.com. Don’t neglect Free Republic, but we may need to hang together on this. (”Or most assuredly, we will all hang separately.”

Calling the Review-Journal to politely express your dismay at these lawsuits will also help.
Las Vegas Review-Journal main phone number:
702-383-0211
Newspaper office number:
702-383-0264
Las Vegas Review-Journal
1111 W. Bonanza Road
P.O. Box 70
Las Vegas, NV 89125
Contacting other news agencies, the NRA, any other legal representation or organizations that you know of that can help would be most appreciated!
I understand that they may have to shut down the Armed Citizen Blog, but I certainly hope that they don't because of some arrogant lawyer that doesn't know any other way to make money than to slice the pie into smaller pieces instead of making more pie.  I hope Dave and his fellow blog operators fight this psychopathic, legal megalomaniac for the sake of this blog and others who enjoy freedom. 

28 July 2010

In Defense of John Kerry, Kinda

Last Friday, the Boston Herald broke a story that Mass. Senator, John Kerry was using the boat haven state of Rhode Island to berth his new $7 million dollar yacht.  No matter how many jokes there are in there somewhere about a Senator being able to afford a seven figure blow-boat with the millions his heiress wife probably gave him to buy it, it seems the Senator put himself into quite a pickle.  The Bay state collects a 6.25% sales tax on all new boat sales and another 1% annual excise tax on luxury yachts.  If you work the numbers, that's roughly $437,500 on the boat for sales tax and another $70,000 recurring charge.

While, I question the motives of keeping the boat in RI knowing that there is always an eye of suspension with public servants commandants these days, let us point out that the time honored tradition of boat registration has always been, register where the boat is kept and operated the most.  According to the Herald article, the ship's designer is based out of Rhode Island, which would make some sense for why 'Isabel' is kept there for regular maintenance and upkeep.  It is not uncommon for custom boat builders to require maintenance contracts or "sole seller" agreements in the event you decide to sell later down the road.  That said, I dug into the Massachusetts Envrionmental Police website to find just what Massachusetts qualifies as "home waters" for vessels registered with the USCG. 
I live in another state but sometimes boat in Massachusetts. Do I need to register and title my boat? 
Visiting boat owners who are registered in another state are allowed to boat in Massachusetts for up to 60 consecutive days without obtaining a Massachusetts registration and title. If you plan to keep the boat in Massachusetts for more than 60 consecutive days, you must obtain a Massachusetts registration and title certificate. 
As I have always understood it, this also applies the other way, in that if you operate your vessel in waters outside of your state of residence, or you keep the vessel in those waters on a permanent or plurality basis, then that is where you should register her.  

Obviously, since the ruling class's standard for those of us in the country class is of a high level, so too are we obligated to hold them to the same standards and challenge their intentions.  Considering Kerry is practicing what he preaches on this issue, and is going to pony up to the state for his obfuscated taxes, I am willing to give him a pass.  Perhaps we could give him a pass from the Senate and sending him sailing around the world Magellan style? 



RIP: The Rule of Law

JUDGE BLOCKS AZ LAW
Police barred from determining immigration status...
Union members, activists caravan to AZ for protest...
SHERIFF: I'll jail 'em...
ILLEGALS 'FREE TO LEAVE'...


Matt Drudge might have well just said "RIP: THE RULE OF LAW."  While most of us Conservative-Libertarians know that the rule of law has been dying for a long time, it is only just becoming plainly evident to the mainstream members of the country class.  As is the case currently, an AZ judge has moved to strike out the major enforcement portions of the Arizona Immigration law that requires law enforcement officals to check the status of suspected illegal immigrants.  

With this ruling it has now just become legal, to be illegal.  So much for state and national sovereignty as well as national security.  If you must know, the activist [judge], Susan Bolton is a Clinton era appointee, using the power of her position to overrule the will of the people, the law, and the Constitution.

While the AZ law mirrored Federal code, apparently the Fed Gov didn't like the fact that AZ was challenging the federal authority and envoked "preemption" as the means with which to strike down the major fangs of the legislation.  Never mind that there is a real crisis where US citizens are dying, the liberal institution is trying to use this State vs. Fed "conflict" as a democrat voter recruiting drive.  Sorry to say this Obamabots, but AZ Gov Jan Brewer ain't buying what your boy is selling; a degradation of the Federal Criminal Code. 

Judge Bolton effectively said that the state has no authority to enforce Federal code, since it is up to the Feds to enforce it's law.  Without Federal enforcement, there is no uniformity, and therefore, no equal treatment.  Let us neglect the fact that the AZ law is almost a direct copy of the Federal Law that already requires local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to follow the procedures that AZ was going to be following.   The question that Judge Bolton just raised to the states and the American people is "Do you now want local law enforcement to stop enforcing federal drug laws, kidnapping laws, bank robbery laws, firearms laws, explosive laws, ect?"  If that's the case, I'm sure there are a few laws that some states will gladly neglect and yield to the Fed's for enforcement.

It is disgusting that such disregard for the rule of law and sovereignty exists within the Federal system, especially in the judiciary, where we expect the last line of defense in the Constitution.  If I were Gov.Jan Brewer, I'd be invoking the Tenth Amendment, and tell them to forcibly stop me.  Now THAT would be an awesome preemption showdown.  

Slice of Life: Why I Blog

Welcome to the second installment of Slice of Life, the semi-regular "column" of what's on my mind and how life surrounds the individual.

Earlier this week, we saw a blatant and coordinated attack by the old media against the new media.  Obviously, this isn't so much an attack on the messenger, but in reality, the message.  The outcry against those of us in the "new media" who have welcomed increased freedom and less government regulation in an effort to disseminate the truth, are now seen as targets for a dino-media that is loosing influence and market share.  Most of us do this for free because we enjoy it.  It is our hobby and our passion, and gives us an outlet, which may or may not have an impact upon the landscape of the country.  Most of us realize that we are relevant only to a subset of American culture, but we are relevant to those who matter most; family, friends, and the friends of friends who share the same views as us. 

While writing, politics, and history might be a hobby of mine, I am not personally seeking much gain other than another voice on the bandwidths of the internet.  I don't seek attention, except to fuel my own ego, and I certainly don't do this for the money.  Instead of keeping a lame journal, that no one else will ever read, there is a chance that the words scribed here will become immortal and invaluable for future societies.  A common "peasant's" view of the world, unaltered, unregulated, and unflushed down the memory hole of the Ministry of Truth. 

Most of the new media movement merely follows the news and reports on the "obscure" outrage of the day type stories that those in the old media refuse to follow.  The new media follows them because to us, these stories are not "obscure" but actually "slices of life" (reality).  We feel empowered to broadcast the insane stories and to question the lack of attention provided to them by those in the old media.  New media members want to show the hypocritical nature and the collisions of those in the old media with the ruling class.  The mere fact that the ever expanding technology that is now accessibly affordable to mainstream Americans has given those of us with grievances the forum for redress, drives those in the old media to the funny farm.

When our founders were frustrated and fed up with the ruling establishment, they first sought out the minds of their fellow colonists through editorials in revered and prestigious newspapers.  Most of our founders were commoners who took it upon themselves to do the work that they knew needed to be done.  Today, us commoners must trudge through the web of news paper editors, website moderators, talk show call screeners, the FCC's decency policies, and other litigious obstacles to exercise our First Amendment rights.  In the era of the "self-publishing" World Wide Web, we feel emancipated to spread the wealth of ideas, philosophy, and history and win over the hearts and minds of our fellow Americans. 

Perhaps in that quest, we may step on a few toes.  We may inaccurately report a few items.  We may use sarcasm and irony to twist the words of others to prove the righteous points and ridicule the liars and the thieves of our ruling class along with their complicit dino-media lackeys.  Most of us know that we have to use excellent Google-Fu skills to advert lawsuits and place phone calls to those who we really were on the ground and have the first hand knowledge of the situation we are reporting upon.  Unlike the old media, we are not motivated by ideology, but for a natural and relentless pursuit of the truth, which is precisely the job that the old media is supposed to be doing. 

27 July 2010

Twittering to Find America's Happieness

The BBC is running a story on a Northeastern University research project that tracks the moods of the nation via Twitter.  Pretty interesting to see that the happiest place in the country is Hawaii and the least happy are Mississippi and Alaska.  What's the worst day of the week?  Not Monday, but Thursday.

Enjoy the Tuesday fun facts. 

26 July 2010

SHTF Preparation: State funding for EMT's Drugs Victim of Budget Cuts

Not that most of us will be able to prepare for this, but ZeroHedge.com is reporting that EMT's "high priority" drugs are in short supplies.  Unfortunately, it appears that the FDA is also confirming this shortage as well.

Just further evidence of a decaying society wasting money on items it doesn't need.  It's hard to prepare for a lack of emergency services when you can't get your hands on the stuff that the professionals can't get their hands on.  Even if you were able to get a hold of trauma drugs it would not be in your best personal interest to use them without medical supervision.  Let's hope the manufacturing shortfall and/or budgetary problems play themselves out so people can get the emergency medical attention that they deserve. 

Never trust the state to do a man's work. 

Update: Bloggers are the "Worst of the Internet?"

What's the problem Bob, loosing market share?  (Sorry, CBS won't embed with their shoddy html coding). 

It seems that we are seeing yet another coordinated media attack to smear and besmirch the innocent people the ruling elites despise.  Too bad Bob, we got the memo that you distrust us and don't like the fact that the country class is better informed and sometimes more knowledgeable than yourself (source).  Of course, it should be quite obvious that someone from CBS would "trash" bloggers considering your network's history of fine, upstanding reporting that happened to manufacture documents to trash a sitting President as a liar (GWB's Dan Rather-gate and the falsified docs "proving" GWB skipped on his National Guard duties). 

So, the ridicule you throw at the blogosphere is not only not warranted, but completely unfounded and hypocritical.  Most of us know that right-wing blog world is on the watch of the dino-media and we know damned well that we better be fact checking, making phone calls and Goolging our asses off to prevent liability lawsuits and slimy news reports against us.  Like I said of the CNN report, we are only looking for the truth, and the truth is that you can't hold our journalistic jock straps for passion, reality, and relevant-ism.  So put that in your Nelson reports and smoke it. 

Bloggers are the "Worst of the Internet?" Nice Try CNN, but Not Quite



Let us correct what the true meaning of John Roberts comments are:  "The truly nasty side of the internet is the right-wing nutjob bloggers who have finally been allowed to have an outlet for their pent up frustrations.  How dare they talk out against their overlord media and call into question our integrity and 'journalistic' qualities.  We report the news, they hide behind pseudonyms.  Not like they matter much at all, because they are non-impacting upon the 'real news' that the likes of this network reports."

First off Mr. Roberts, if us bloggers don't really matter, why are you talking about us?  Talking about us only gives us the credibility that some of us desire.  I for one know that in reality, those who read my comments are mainly friends and family, and fellow bloggers and message board members who primarily share the same political philosophies as myself.

We also know that you hate the fact that someone on some blog happened to provide Mr. Breitbart with the "inconveniently edited" tape of Ms. Sherrod's NAACP comments so your contempt for the exposure of a hypocritical liberal organization is so great, that it is impossible for you to hide your true meaning. CNN and Mr. Roberts dislikes the fact that despite Ms. Sherrod's come to Jesus moment, her actions as a public official were still rooted in racism.  As soon as she decided to not do her duties to the fullest extent possible, based on skin color alone, she had perpetuated the prejudice that the NAACP claims to fight against.  While I personally applaud Ms. Sherrod for admitting the failures of her human kind, as a public employee, she is held to a high standard of personal integrity.  Did that standard warrant a firing?  Probably not, but, the fact remains that she openly admitted that some people will discriminate within their government positions based on race and race alone.  Dr. King, Jesus, and God, don't see color, last I checked, but some of their decedents certainly do.  

Does the expose of Ms. Sherrod and the subsequent exposure of shoddy editing and portrayal in the "pajama-media" deserve a full on excoriation of the First Amendment?  Absolutely not!  If we need an FCC sheriff of the internet, then so too does the alphabet media.  Most of the "right-wing blogosphere" is motivated by nothing more than a relentless search for the truth with an underlying moral background to seek the truth and the justice that follows.  Most of us merely opine and direct people to "real" new sources, that actually report the facts that we seek.  We also know that the right-wing side of the blogosphere is under strict scruitiny from the likes of CNN and Mr. Roberts.   Unlike the dino-media cohorts who have to redact and edit past articles for their false statements, untruthfulness, and then subsequent flushing of these correct items down the memory hole all, we follow our hearts for the truth not for their hidden agendas.  I'd think that we [bloggers] are the gatekeepers that Mr. Roberts would actually like to see monitoring the "monitors" of the free society and it's internet.

In summation, Mr. Roberts, we'll keep our free internet, blogs, and the inconvenient truth, you can keep the change. 

UN = UNAmerican: Renewed Push for Global Small Arms Treaty

Hey Rebecca Peters, ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!  Or, in more American terms, PISS OFF!  That goes for the rest of the UNAmerican, ruling elites from the United Nations as well. 

The Washington Times has an editorial piece that states the UN is moving forward on a small arms limitation treaty that would impact private ownership of arms.  Today's story comes on the heals of an article by Chris Cox, NRA-ILA director, in the NRA monthly publications reporting that there is a new push by Senators such as Diane Feinstein and John Kerry to ratify the American Arms Treaty.  That 1997 treaty was signed by Bill Clinton and encompasses both North and South American countries.  It goes to show that gun grabbers are sneaky, sly, and subscribe to the "death by one thousand paper cuts" method in an effort to undermine the will of the "country class" whom they attempt to control. 

In the historical sense of the UN and it's predecessor the League of Nations, the intentions of these organizations is a full on frontal assault of the individual freedoms enjoyed by the citizens of these United States.  Furthering the disgust of the UN is the fact that almost every US President since Woodrow Wilson has attempted to use the UN to attack the freedoms enjoyed by our "country class" in one way or another.  To achieve these ends, the historically corrupt and immoral characters of the UN must undermine the full contractual obligation of the Constitution and it's protections adopted and enjoyed by the citizens of the United States.  That means, our country only.  Not the world, not Canada, not international waters, the US of frickin' A.  Yes, that is arrogant, but we are not world police.  We do not need the world's police thinking they know better than us, and protecting us from ourselves. 

As is pointed out in the Times' Editorial, this new treaty meeting is not only looking to target arms, but such 1st Amendment things like "violence in video games."  I know that the President and the Senate are supposed to understand the Constitution, but considering congress's 11% approval ratings these days, it's safe to say that the batnuts of the Halls of Liberty haven't a clue to understand that the US Constitution is the supreme law of the land.  Chris Cox pointed out in this month's NRA publications, that despite Constitutional supremacy, courts will look to the US State Department for guidance on how to implement foreign treaties.  So much for separation of powers as the Founders Intended. 

The good news is that this treaty is still in it's effective infancy.  While it's been in the works for several years, there has never been a proposed draft (at least as of Friday June 11th).  Last week, proposal outlines were released for public consumption for the first time (see here).  The proposed treaty isn't supposed to be complete or available for signing until the year 2012, at the earliest.  That means there is still plenty of time to replace every gun grabbing Senator and the radical President who would love nothing more than to see this effort come to fruition.  Further more, as Mr. Obama proved, there is no better sales person for arms than a radical in the White House, especially when he has friends in "low" places at the UN. 

So, UN gun grabbers, ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!

25 July 2010

Hazard Co. Prosecutor Seeks 16 years for Illegal Wire Taping?

A few months ago, a Maryland Air National Guardsmen was driving his motorcycle on I95 above the posted speed limit and in a manner not necessarily legal.  That was just the beginning for staff sergeant Anthony Graber, who also happened to be filming the incident with a video camera mounted on top of his helmet.

As seen on the link provided and explained in detail by ABC News, Graber never did anything seriously wrong, until he became the unwilling victim of Maryland's egregious wiretapping law.  In this non-free state, it is perfectly acceptable for the police to film your actions from within their police cruiser, but if you so happen to record their spoken speech, you are guilty for not having two party consent.  Never mind that any police officer is a public official, doing a job on the citizens dime, in a public area where there is no expectation of privacy that would be a conversation carried over a "wire" or "wave." 

I used to have some respect for the Harford County States Attorney Joseph I. Cassilly, but this is just a ridiculous abuse of the law and the power of the prosecutor's office.  So much for the 4th Amendment in Maryland!  Just make sure that if you get pulled over, before the officer speaks to you and you are recording, notify him/her that you know you're on their camera, make them aware that they are on yours.

24 July 2010

TSA's Full Body Scanners

Local sports talker 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore happens to have one of the best radio personalities on in the morning, former Baltimore City Police Commissioner and State Police Chief Ed Norris.  Norris always seems to use his common sense, and subscribes to the "shovel of wisdom" which attempts to whack people for their stupidity on his show.

Earlier this week, he spent a few segments covering the TSA's new full body scanners (audio from the segment here).  Some of the info being provided is seriously scary as is evidenced by this article from World Culture Picotrial's blog.

The biggest standout is the fact that these new screening machines would have failed to stop the underwear bomber from Christmas of 2009.  Further, several countries have deemed these machines as "pedophile, child porn producing" devices.  If the concept of Airport Security is to stop people from doing things that wish to cause others harm, don't you think innocent children are on the low priority list?  Further, when are we going to start training the TSA agents to act upon terrorist profiling (which is not racial) and pulling out the people who are the trouble makers.  Asking every individual wearing a sundress to submit to extra screening doesn't work when you don't additionally screen someone who's wearing a burka. 

Typical knee jerk reaction to a non-existent problem by the bloated Fed Gov.  Last I checked, it was the free market that stopped the fruit of a loom bomber (thanks Mark Steyn for that label), not the bureaucrats.

23 July 2010

Florida Gov Seeks Constitutional Referendum on Oil Drilling

While I have a personal disdain for Charlie Christ and his flip flopping ways, I do agree with him for attempting to let the people of Florida make the choice regarding their own economy.

The irony in the situation however is, despite Florida's sixty-one billion dollar a year tourist industry, and no off shore oil exploration policy, they are now at risk to losing the tourist industry through no fault of their own.  Had the state allowed oil drilling, it would have had it's tourist industry and an oil industry in place to fall back on.  Instead, the state of Florida is now scrambling to put a ballot Constitutional referendum to see if the people want to continue the ban on offshore oil exploration, or increase their economic capacity and allow for drilling.

Unfortunately, accidents happen and we have a long way to go to be able to ascertain the impact of the BP disaster.  It will be interesting to see what the people of Florida choose for themselves in the coming weeks. 

UNPOSSIBLE DEPT: Darth Vader has a Gun Permit?

To steal a line from falnfenix, UNPOSSIBLE!  Considering you have to go through a stringent, non-Constitutional litmus test to get a gun permit in NYC, there is no way that Darth Vader would have been able to obtain a gun permit.  The police surely would have denied him on the spot knowing that his "non-moral" character and propensity for Jedi death grips from across the universe screams "murdering, empirical scum."  

So, considering that, the UK Dailymail is reporting that Vader not only obtained his permit, but used it in a non-state sanctioned way when he robbed a bank on Long Island, it's safe to say that any moral upstanding citizen can now legally carry in NYC (or state), even ahead of the Second Amendment Foundation's lawsuit.  What's next, Mayor Bloomberg allowing permits to be issued to some Tusken Raiders ahead of the local Star Trek convention?  Perhaps we'll see them sniping the Trekkies from the top of the Empire State Building instead of swamp rats or pod racers from the top of Beggars Canyon. 

22 July 2010

Origins of Gun Control Rooted in Racisim

The Times Dispatch of Richmond, VA has an excellent piece from Sunday detailing the roots of most gun control schemes.  As expected, we can see a recurring theme with how the elites of even the early civil rights days, were trying to exercise their complete and total control on one class of people; in this case it was newly freed African Americans. 

As time progressed, it was much easier to extend those laws to all citizens in an effort to control even more of the populace.  Today, it can still be noted by various studies that minorities are still the most impacted citizen class of infringing gun laws, and it will be interesting to see how the plight of those citizens changes over the next few years in a post-incorporation USA. 

Update on Fair Use Suits

Media Post Publications is reporting that a new group is not just attacking conservative online groups, but also others who are allegedly violating the essecence of fair use doctrine by reposting news articles from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The Media Post (linked here and at top of the post) is also reporting that Stephens Media, owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal transferred it's Copyrights to Righthaven, LLC, which near as can be googled, is a law firm that is seeking to further divide the pie of capitalism.  Good old lawyers, when you're out of ways to make money, sue someone to steal it while hiding behind the law. 

The Media Post Publication also has a good explanation of The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which is apparently the law behind these nearly baseless lawsuits.  The irony is though, it appears from further googling that Righthaven, LLC is also suing the DNC of Nevada.  Go get 'em boys, can't wait to see how that one plays out. 

Remember Your Fair Use Laws

The Las Vegas Sun is reporting that Conservative News "linking" websites are being sued over copyright infringement.

Just a MAJOR reminder to all bloggers and people out there, make sure that you ONLY excerpt, link, and give credit where it is truly due.

Full Story Here.

21 July 2010

Congressman Gerrymander: Reply to the Unbudget Letter

I'm shocked I even got a response.  I feel sorry for the staffer that has me marked on the "have to respond, so don't do a good job" list.  See the edits below.

Dear Mr. FightinBluHen51


Thank you for contacting me about deficits and the national debt.  The national debt is a serious problem that requires our attention; I agree that we must act decisively to right our present fiscal course [that I voted for 99% of the time]

The irresponsible fiscal policies of the last decade [80 years and more specifically the last eighteen months] left our nation on precarious fiscal footing as we slid into the worst recession in a generation.  The impact of these policies cannot be reversed immediately and, without sustained economic growth, draconian spending cuts and tax increases will be required [which I will work to prevent, make sure we spend more, and HA, give me 100% of your paycheck since you work].  That is why there has been general consensus among economists and policy experts that in the near term, as a response to the recession, targeted tax cuts and government spending are a desirable form of economic stimulus [even though I will oppose them].  Although balanced budgets must be an essential piece of any long-term economic strategy, the responsible use of short-term stimulus provides a much-needed "shot in the arm" for our struggling economy [more Kenyan Keynesian garbage that I will help to give America in an effort to maintain my personal power.]

As the economy returns to sustainable growth [after OUR lost decade], and once we have pushed closer to full employment, we must take a serious look at all elements of spending and tax revenue in order to return to fiscal responsibility.  Last year, we made progress by enacting a statutory Pay-As-You-Go law to ensure that non-emergency spending or tax cuts are fully paid for elsewhere in budget [spend as you please bill in an effort to create more market chaos then the Country Class can deal with at one time].  Pay-Go was applied during the 1990s [by a more conservative Republican Congress and a pragmatic Bill Clinton] and, along with strong economic growth [which we now know was just another bubble created by the shameless Federal Reserve], helped us achieve the budget surpluses of that decade [that were raided social security funds that continue to perpetuate unfunded liabilities in the trillions of dollars].  But the law was allowed to expire in 2002.  I am also encouraged by the President's decision to create a national commission that will make independent recommendations to the Congress about policies to get our fiscal house in order [who's report is being withheld until after the November Elections].  The Commission's recommendations are likely to include tough choices about entitlements, tax revenue, and discretionary spending.  Make no mistake, enacting measures that will truly improve our fiscal condition will require shared sacrifice and real tradeoffs between government services and tax policy.  I will come to this debate [assuming that the gerrymandered district reelects me with overwhelming cemetery support] with the perspective that our budget policies should reflect our nation's values— ensuring opportunity and strengthening communities, promoting private enterprise and innovation [for later confiscation], and sharing the costs of government equitably [while redistributing to buy votes].  I look forward to your continued input on this issue and I will keep your views in mind when the [your letters of fantasy so I can have a good laugh over them with the good ole boys of both parties when] Congress considers relevant measures.

Again, I appreciate [am disgusted that I am] hearing from you. Please do not hesitate to contact me about other issues of concern to you in the future.

Sincerely,
John Sarbanes
Member of Congress

Officers Admit Concealed Carry Makes Their Job Better

I'm sure that there is a collective "well DUH!" response from the concealed carry advocacy community.  Now, it appears that this is also finally sinking in to the thick skulls of two states that do not allow any form of concealed carry.

From the Peoria PJ Star:
During a recent 10-week stint at the FBI's National Academy, which brought 250 worldwide law-enforcement executives to Quantico, Va., Peoria Police Chief Steven Settingsgaard said, "Everyone I spoke to was in favor of concealed carry."
Just going to show, that cops on the street, understand that citizens who are armed, make their jobs safer and easier! 

Voting With Your Dollars

Over the last week, we've seen several articles that have cropped up detailing the intertwining of the Washington Game.  Henceforth, no longer will we consider anything in Washington political, but merely a game by which the Ruling Class plays to continually hold it's absconded power.

Prior to my article and the American Spectator's article last Friday detailing the Country Class's plight and struggle in dealing with one party rule, I considered how in reality it is not just Washington that is against "we the people."  We must also consider that crony capitalism has become another tool with which the Ruling Class uses to assume more power and confiscate our dollars.  This was further reinforced by blogger Laurel over at Politics Guns and Beer, who has been following a story (updated here) about HS Precession using advertisements with the glowing endorsement of FBI, Ruby Ridge trigger man, Lon Horiuchi.

Considering it is election season, there are a plethora of local businesses who have been proudly displaying signs for candidates of either or both parties.  Often, local businesses are forced to support the political campaigns of either or both candidates in one form or another (advertisement signs or campaign contributions) as a "pay for play" to prevent the further denigration of their business opportunities.  That said, today's political athlete might as well just be another member of the Mafia; at least then we can readily identify them as a criminal.  Instead, small businesses are forced into making a harsh decision of galvanizing their customer base and potentially loosing sales or, drawing the eye of their political capo who strong arms them through regulatory or inexpeidant approval processes.

The question it raises to me is "How should I approach these businesses who proudly display candidate signs?"   It is not only limited to the party with which I disagree, but more and more, I have become suspect of those within my own "party" (loosely based).  As Laurel pointed out, she is refusing to do any business with companies who promote policies or pay people with whom she disagrees.  Unfortunately, I have to ask is this even a reality considering the entire supply chain in modern commerce?   Somewhere along the lines, we are going to support a company, even if by proxy, that disagrees with and/or outright attacks American tradition and principles.

Is it even feasible to research every single company or business we patronize?  If you figure that in the normal course of your life, you probably shop at primarily the same grocery store, the same soft-goods box store (or a handful of them), the same online retailers, the same auto repair shop, ect, it's pretty easy to identify what businesses are for or against your ideals.  Will I go out of my way to alter every aspect of my life to avoid doing business with a company that disagrees with my political philosophies? 

As a capitalist, when it is economically convenient to do so, I will try to avoid doing business with those who undermine my positions.  Unfortunately, I can't compile a complete list of "do business with and don't do business with" such and such companies.  If Trucker Dan's Beer, Bait, and Guns gives me the best price on .45, even though Trucker Dan is a former union shill and votes for every Democrat that walks down the road, chances are, I will probably patronage his store.  If Uncle Ted's Tackle & Ammo across the street advertises a Republican for Governor of Maryland sign, I might choose to spend an extra penny per round and keep some of my personal pride knowing that I have done the moral thing. 

As capitalism goes though, the larger the company, the larger the tenticales in the market place.  Trucker Dan and Uncle Teds reach is limited in their customer base, as well as the clout they have with the politcal atheletes.  Being a member of a local bank might not be great for accessibility of your money, but at least you have the chance to shape the institution, where as Bank of Amigo [America] is nothing more than one of the stores being afforded Mob protection.  With the stories linked previously, we can bicker back and forth all day as to whether one should do business with Remington and Savage (who use HS Precision products) as apposed to say Winchester.  Sure, they potentially give to Demicans and Remocrats alike but in reality, all are firearms manufactures have to support the 2A in a majority position because their business models depends on it. 

The point is, if you know someone is doing something against your ideals, then you should take all precautions to avoid doing business with them.  Unfortunately, sometimes you are forced to contradict yourself for the sake of a better product or a good price or both.  In the end, you have to sleep at night knowing you've made a good purchase.  Realistically the primary focus of the conservative / libertarian's efforts should be on those who have made the rules of the game unfair for the Country Class.  Attacking the policies that allow the Ruling Elites to advance to the position of political mafia boss is key.  Sure, using commerce as a weapon can achieve some wanted changes, but in the end, we only really hurt fellow Country Class Americans, but shifting away the market share from their employers.  

Only when the unwinding of arbitrary regulation is complete and crony capitalism's love affair with the political Mob killed, can the consumer actually vote with their dollars for the best product at the market price. Until then, everyone plays within the same rules of the game, no matter what the individual company's polices.

20 July 2010

Carry Concealed? Head of the Line Please!

AHHHHHH, TEXAS!  I've visited there a few times.  If it weren't so hot and muggy, buggy and hurricane prone, perhaps I'd move there.  No income tax, thriving economy, and now, concealed carriers get a breezeway straight to the Capital Building. 

Some states still believe that their "serfs" are on par with their "ruling class," and where that happens, freedom occurs. 

Be More Like Germany?

While, admittedly, I despise most of Europe for their historical nonsense and disdain for individual freedom, it's a sad state of affairs when the New York Slimes economists are saying we need to be more like Germany. 

Excerpted:

IN many countries, including the United States, there are calls for the government to spend more to jump-start the economy, and to avoid the temptation to cut back as debts mount.
Germany, however, has decided to cast its lot with fiscal prudence. It has managed rising growth and falling unemployment, while putting together a plan for a nearly balanced budget within six years. On fiscal policy and economic recovery, Americans could learn something from the German example.

Yikes.  The NY Times saying we need to follow fiscal solvency plans?  Enter Seinfeld Bizzaro World.  

Run Fat Boy!

First, they record our body mass index, then they give us a mandate.  Oh yes, here come the first waves of needless health care regulation of the Country Class.  Or, if you're the power hungry Washington bureaucrat, just another justification for more power over the "stupid serfs."

I suppose that I should take up running again, only so I stay off one more government watch list. 

Go Forth and Educate: Our Ruling Elites

  Codevilla does a better job at explain in more detail, the thoughts and substance I was trying to convey in my Cojones in Politics post from the same day. 

While I hate to keep referencing 1984 over and over again, the truth is that the plot line is ever present in today's Washington.  Instead of dividing the nation into three different classes of people, the high, middle, and low, Codevilla's piece divides them into just two; The Ruling Elite Class and the Country Class.

The distinction is quite simple between the two.  The Elites want nothing but power, and look down upon those who don't have it.  Like I discussed on Friday, the two parties are really one in the same, using their opposition of one another for mutual beneficial distraction of the masses.  Those who belong to the Country Class, have a severe lack of connection to the Ruling Elites, and for the most part, despise everything associated with their hellbent power grab.  A distinction between Codevilla's article and Orwell's book however is that those who follow the ruling elites are members of the party themselves; i.e. if you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

Find yourself a good 30 minutes to dig into the meat of this article, as it is well worth the read. 

19 July 2010

Shameless Plug: Lucky Gunner Ammo Engine / Sales

In the voice of Billy Mays:  Need Ammo?  Who doesn't these days.  Deer season is coming, paper is always in season, and you never know when a good crop of zombies will attack.  Unfortunately, Lucky Gunner Ammo Sales doesn't sell the latest and greatest in silver bullets for vampires and werewolves, but they do have in stock ammo that's ready to ship.  

Need it fast?  They've got great shipping.  You can grab your share of their in stock ammo by click HERE to order.  Of course, check your local laws for restrictions.

Run your own blog?  I'll double your lucky gunner offer today by clicking HERE to go to the Firearms Blog and doing a similar write up in a chance to win 1000 rounds of the elusive .380 cal.  But wait there's more!  If you feel so inclined, you can also broadcast your affections for www.luckygunner.com and www.thefirearmblog.com on your facebook, providing links, for a second chance to win.

Odds of winning depend upon number of entries, certain restrictions do apply, void where prohibited.

Slice of Life: Adjusting to your Surroundings

Some areas of Maryland are still rural, enough so that you can shoot in your own back yard.  I used to live in one of those places, and didn't realize how good I had it until I got married and moved to a more urban area.  I regret not having a higher degree of interest in perfecting my shooting at that time in my life.  Ammo was cheaper, range time plentiful and now it's a struggle to complete house projects, entertain guests, run to see friends, and make sure I fit in enough family time that everyone is happy and shinny and new. 

I still have not adjusted to the fact that the fire house a block away gets a medic call about once every hour and worse still, the drone of 695 is heard when my windows are open.  Factor in police helicopter fly-byes every now and then, or the dog barking it's head off, and it's no wonder I sometimes awaken in the middle of the night to assume something is afoot.

As the saying goes, train as you fight, fight as you train, and I know my ability (location) and time to train is severely lacking.  What's worse is the cost to train those skills has also increased.  I recall when I purchased my first handgun some 7 years ago, .45 ammo was a lowly 9 bucks a box of 50 when it was on sale.  Last time I made a .45 purchase, it was  forty cents a round.  That's a huge contrast in ability to put rounds down range.  Even .40 cal ammo is pretty pricey, which has me thinking it's time to trade the .40 down to a 9mm at 3/4 the cost for 500 rounds.  Thankfully, I have an AK that eats all of the cheap mil-surp ammo all day long and still keeps on going.  My heart goes out to those of you who chose to shoot .223 or .308, outch!

Fortunately, I still have access to that free area to shoot, but many people I know, don't.  They are either forced into paying for memberships at gun clubs and ranges that don't afford them enough opportunities to exercise their Second Amendment Rights.   If you consider some clubs can run you as much as $200 a year in membership dues, or public ranges that are not feasibly accessible due to distance or lack of hours, shooting has started to become a rich man's sport.  Somewhat...

It is nice to see leading manufactures offer their popular models in .22 LR chamberings, simply due to the cost effectiveness.   Don't get me wrong, you won't learn how to control the recoil on a .22 handgun like you will on a center-fire, but trigger time is trigger time.  As I start to enter the world of long range shooting later this year, the research has shown me .22 LR round has similar windage correction at 200 yards as your standard 308 at 1000 yards.  Cost difference?  One thousand rounds of .22 LR match ammo will probably run you 20 buck compared to $1.50 a round for 308 match. 

I have also seen some nifty products out there from manufactures like Laser Lyte that allow you to actually get trigger time on your gun in your home.  From time to time, it's good to just practice draws, sight downs, and other basic, non-firing techniques to be able to perfect the motor skills while we dream of our trips to the range (or zombies to kill). 

So, for you urban readers (or central Marylanders), how do you adapt to finding places to put rounds down range?  Do you belong to a club / range?  What kind of costs do you see?  Do you use any of the available training provided by the range or club?  Do any of you spend a significant amount of time dry firing or using products like the Laser Lyte system?  

Happy shooting! 

16 July 2010

Cojones in Politics: The Lack Thereof

I am an unapologetic listener of the Rush Limbaugh show, whom had Mark Davis from Dallas, TX filling in today.  Mark had this to say in his opening monologue:

"Any solution that doesn't make people nevrious or scared, isn't a solution to the problem.  Paul Ryan's (R-Wisconsin) his road map makes many Republicans nervous."

The intriguing item is that I had this post title worked up a few days ago, and it seemed that Mr. Davis was reading my mind today.  There truly is no real political will to do anything in Washington any more.  Why?  Simply put, the rewards to neglect the country and make for real progress are far too great for the individuals in positions of power.  We the People are the keepers of the Republic but systematically we have become a part of the political corruption as well.  Our dereliction of duty to be well informed voters has gotten us into this mess and the Tea Party movements still have not reached enough of a fever pitch to actually undo the damage that has been done to our Constitutionally protected system.

AK Fan and I had a lengthy discussion in a futile attempt to understand the premise behind the lack of political will to make for a real return to our Constitutional Republic.  I have no idea how such a young mind (we're the same age, few months apart) can teach me so much, or perhaps I just ask the right questions to inspire his wit and wisdom.

First, one must define progress for our country.  Progress to most people is more.  More widgets, more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, more trucks, more Play Stations, more napkins, more, more, more.  More of everything in the world as we the people of the world are always increasing.  For the government, more government is progress.  More bureaucracies, more greed, more control, more power.  It's a never ending cycle merely so someone high enough up the command structure can justify their positions.

AK Fan offered this question:

"If someone went to a McDonald's CEO and said, I have a business model that says you would earn more profit, on a higher margin provided you closed X number of restaurants, in X number of areas by selling off the assets, the properties and the shipping / supply channels, would they do it?"
His answer of course was no, they would not.  Every manager, store owner, and employee works to increase sales and market share, not decrease it.   Obviously, this too is exactly how Washington works.

The progress that us Conservative- Libertarians seek in Washington is a policy of less.  While trying to define political progress, I asked the question of "At what time in our history have our political parties been drastically different?"  My point being that along the ever swinging political pendulum, have the Republicans and the Democrats ever been so drastically different that they were effective enough in pushing the country into a perfect model of justice and liberty?  Or, as we learn from 1984, is the primary objective of the political party (or two party system) nothing but power and perpetuation of the party itself; a worldly immortality if you will.  

Within the political parties, we can surly find Congressman and Senators that know exactly how to live within their own means, use common sense in their personal lives, and live as all normal Americans live.  Send them to Washington to do the people's work, and suddenly they change into a self fulfilling prophecy that they simply can't resist the personal gain that exists with the position.  They enter the "Matrix" of DC, and they completely forget that the reward of their job is to truly do "good."

The main problem we see is that our government officials don't define progress and good from the same philosophical spectrum that most of us do.  Good to them becomes a game of justifying the needs of the legislature, the government positions and jobs they create, the programs and handouts they are able to deal, and the subsequent votes that keep them in their comfy positions of nobility.  It truly is the age old adage of "absolute power corrupts absolutely."

So is there any will inside Washington to do the will of the "people?"  Yes, it does exist, but it is in all honesty, something extremely rare.  It is only seen by the likes of Paul Ryan and Ron Paul (and others) who actually use the limiting power of the Constitution to put all of Washington's workings into a context of liberty and personal freedom.  The framers understood that ANY party system was merely an extension of the monarchy system that they were oppressed with.  Instead of having a single person head, the modern day political system uses the party to assume, focus, and retain power and control.  Of course it is hard to understand why someone (almost anyone in DC) of good moral standing claiming to believe in equality for all, would treat other people in such serfdom ways. 

Are there solutions?  Sure.  Term limits are one solution.  Limiting the amount of time to gain personal reward for public service would be a huge factor.  Being able to prevent the insider network from remaining in tact for too long is exactly how we've come to create these problems.  Limiting the number of staff for each Congressional member to one or two would be another.  This would prevent the political hacks from being too recycled and having an impact on the freshman Congressman and junior Senators.  The network of unelected staffers is a major problem as they are more self-serving than a 5 term senator.   

Education of the populate electorate would be another huge step.  Making sure that those pulling the voting lever understand that somewhere along the line, the Government steals from everyone, not just the created classes within which the immoral parties have placed them.  Additionally, a check and balance via the states on the Federal Government would help to quash some of the none-sense that has been occurring in DC.  Tenth Amendment resurrection as well as state legislature election of the Senators would make sure that everyone with an honest interest in the governing of the nation, has a stake and a say. 

America was built on a bottom up foundation.  I know a return to pure local politics and party control is nearly impossible at this point, but there is always hope.  If the people, not the parties, retake the leadership positions of this country, only then will we see real progress.  Unfortunately, there is a lot of corruption to overcome. 

Why Win Legitimately , When You Can Steal It?

If you are the Democrat party, why win an election legitimately when you can steal it?  If you're power hungry and the rule of law is simply an inconvenience as a means to your end, then you can't be bothered with the details.  Obama's crew (since he's basically nothing more than a Chicago mobster) have decided to create a widget to allow blogs to register new voters.  Apparently, the user of the widget will consent to indemnify and hold harmless the DNC, and the onus is on the registering voter to provide "truthful" information.  I suppose the "Organizing for America" group figures it is "unpossible" that people lie on the internet.  Or is that what they are hoping for? 

In reality, our laws are so screwed up with regards to voting, we should honestly take a page out of the Iraq "ink your finger model."  Why is it that the US DoJ has sued states that mandate display of your photo ID prior to voting, yet a young republic is intelligent enough to "brand" voters to keep them from voting the Chicago way of early and often.  

I wonder how many people from this retirement community will be registering to vote this fall? 

15 July 2010

Climb to Glory: Happy Birthday Xth Mountain Division

 Life is quite funny as to how things come full circle.  In trying to come up with post material, and get outside the realm of only talking about politics, I am trying to connect with a personal past that runs through my family. Like many people my age, there is a significant chance that a family member fought in World War II, and for me, that was both of my grandfathers. 

My paternal grandfather was attached to the X Mountain Division and saw action in Italy.  Unfortunately, my pop-pop passed away when I was a mere age of five and I never really got much education from him.  I've been told by many that he was a gentle man with much patience and a extreme hunger for political knowledge.  My mother has often said that he would love today's media with its online blend and flair, its flexibility to dig, the competition that is created by talk radio, and of course the personalities.  I can vividly remember Saturday nights spent at my grandparents house when he would lay six inches away, in front of the mammoth Zenith television set.  He usually had the mono volume spiked up so the speaker rattled while he watched the McLaughlin Group.  I guess you can say that politics is hereditary, and it's a disease worse than cancer since it persists for generations.  (He unfortunately lost his battle with lung cancer). 

Yesterday when I threw "10th Mountain Division History" into Google, it returned the fact that today just so happens to be the divisions birthday (give or take).  Not only does the Xth have personal meaning to me through my families past, but as a skier, it also holds some modern day context as well considering National Ski Patrol and the Army's historical relationship.

From the link in the post heading:
"The history of the 10th Mountain Division is rooted in developments prior to the United States' entry into World War II. Influenced by the 1939 success of Finnish troops in warfare against invading Soviet units and by concern over escalating hostilities across Europe, individuals in the War Department and the military turned their attention to the status of military preparedness for winter warfare. Troops stationed at Fort Snelling, Minnesota had engaged in specialized training, yet no large-scale maneuvers had taken place. In May of 1940, the American Alpine club urged the Department of War to begin mountain warfare training and subsequently began advising the military on equipment necessary for mountain and winter warfare.
"Additional pressure for the development of elite mountain troops came from Charles Minot Dole (Minnie Dole), Chair of the National Ski Patrol Association of the National Ski Association. Dole believed the need for trained alpine soldiers existed and he emphasized the presence of skilled skiers in the US able to meet these special needs of the military. When the War Department created ski patrol unites within several existing divisions, the National Ski Association reviewed equipment and training and by the end of the winter the advisory relationship had become formalized.
"With the groundwork set, in November 1941, the government created the Mountain Winter Warfare Board to design and test winter equipment and transportation and the War Department established the 1st Battalion of 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment as a mountain battalion, Fort Lewis, Washington became the first home for the regiment and simultaneous with the US entry in WWII, recruits arrived for training at Mount Rainier. The National Ski Patrol continued its unique relationship with the military by recruiting experts in skiing and mountaineering for the US Army."
We say happy birthday to all of the Xth's vets this day and may you continue your "Climb to Glory."

14 July 2010

Google Trends and the Sad State of Our Country

You know it's a sad state of American affairs when you see more people Googling Lindsay Lohan's rumored death than they actually Google the news and economics. This information is what greeted me this morning on my iGoogle home page's "Trends" widget box. 

Trends is a nifty thing to follow in your spare time and usually returns some interesting insights.  Perhaps, us news hounds know how to better retrieve what we're looking for than following the rumors of celebrity gossip?  Either way, I am often mortified that my fellow Americans still haven't woken up like us informed citizens and I hope they find the light sooner rather than later.

Boomers, China, & Rosevelt Theory

Honestly, there is nothing more powerful and stealthy in the US Military's arsenal than that of a ballistic missile sub. Turn one of those boats into a space for 154 cruise missiles and 60 special forces commandos, capable of disappearing for months on end, and then reappearing anywhere in the world without announcement, and that is what SOCOM refers to as "the tip of the spear."

Needless to say, when three boomers surface at roughly the same time, in roughly the same area, for no real reason whatsoever, someone is going to take notice. China happened to take notice of someone in the Navy playing a bit of Roosevelt Doctrine (walk softly and carrying a big stick.) For those that are mistaken that the cold war is over, it's merely shifted focus from the Red Russians to the Red Chinese, and unfortunately for the US, the Chicoms are better organized, better populated, and are on the correct side of potential economic warfare.

Unfortunately for the brain that is locked away in the Naval Warfare College that thought it a good idea to turn ballistic missile subs into cruise missile subs, his face will never be donned upon the Wheaties box, though it really should be.

(Full credit goes to Yahoo News and AK Fan for the link, it's a good read).

Holy Taxman, AK FAN!

A nameless buddy of mine (who we shall call AK Fan since he didn't want me to sarcastically disguise him as ObamaFan) runs a family business. We had the following conversation pertaining to unemployment insurance earlier this week:

AK Fan: Just got a letter from the state. They are upping the taxable wage base on
unemployment and workers comp. I believe it was $8000 last year now its
10k.
Me: unbelievable
AK Fan: But effective 1/1/11 it's 13k
Me: All these taxes and fees. HOLYSHIT!
AK Fan: And effective 1/1/12 it's 16k
Me: That's a 30% increase! Honestly, we're bankrupting ourselves!
AK Fan: And a new penalty for the mis-classification of workers is $5000 per
unreported worker per report and reports are quarterly. So, it's up to $20k
per year for an unreported employee. Crazy.
Me: Holyshit, that's crazy!
AK Fan: Social handouts sucking $$$$ from productive business
AM me: Yep. Nothing more.


The sad thing is, it's not just unemployment tax and workers comp. Most people don't realize that employers have to match your Social Security Tax as well. So, what is 7.65% of your gross taxable wage, your employer kicks in 7.65% as well. That's for every employee! What's worse is, that starting this year, with the new tax/health care, you will see a new line item called "medical benefits paid by employer" on your W-2 form. This is the portion of your health insurance that is funded by your employer that you don't really see. Now, no one is currently taxed on that, but we know how the government operates on the boiling frog method (for those who don't know what that is, you boil a frog by putting it in a pot of cold water and slowly turning up the heat).

From working in accounting, we see taxes for all sorts of stuff, on top of your normal income taxes. In all honesty, the associated fees with business make business almost not worth while.

If we took a normal LLC, run out of one's home or perhaps a small owned or leased office, here's a short list of taxes and assesments one would see. We'll also assume that there are a few employees and there aren't any private contractors.

1) Fed Tax
2) State Tax
3) Local Tax
4) Sales / Use Tax
5) Personal Property Tax
6) Real Estate Tax
7) Registration Fees
8) Regulation authority Fees
9) Worker's Comp Insurance
10) Unemployment Insurance
11) Compliance examination fees
12) Incorporation Fees
13) Employer's portion of FICA

To think, like we discussed above, in one way or another, these taxes and fees find their way into paying for every worth while program (roads, schools, military) and every worthless program (social security, medicare, medicaid, and food stamps). That sucking sound we hear, is the continued economic "recovery."

13 July 2010

RIP George Steinbrenner: Enjoy your Tax Free Death

Lucky Steinbrenner! I wish I could pick such a timely and fast paced death. While that statement is pretty distasteful, it is unfortunately the truth for the majority of the people on earth. No one really wants to die, but we all hope and pray that our return to the dusts of the earth is always quick and fairly painless. Certainly, if you happen to kick the bucket in 2010 it has the added bonus of being tax free!

Before I continue, I do want to offer my thoughts and prayers, apologetically to the Steinbrenner family. As a humbled Oriole's fan, the Steinbrenner family has my support and condolences in mending their broken hearts.

Mr. Steinbrenner was able to live out two completely American dreams through hard work and determination. He was a self made millionaire and accomplished the prestige associated with owning the most prominent franchise in all of America's Pastime. Having bought the Yankees for a measly ten million dollars in 1973, it's estimated that the team is worth over one billion dollars, a one hundred fold increase. During that time, Steinbrenner won seven World Championships, countless pennants, and saw a massive change of baseball.

Of course, George gave players breaks, broke their careers, and was the quintessential capitalist of baseball. He opposed salary caps, probably despised the "luxury tax," and all the while "hired minorities and fired white managers." (Limbaugh from today's program) It shows, that when the free market is allowed to invest in itself, it can achieve nothing but greatness, even if it is dubbed the "evil empire" for doing nothing but win over the last 40 years.

Unfortunately, in today's world, we see the free enterprise attacked at every angle, in an effort to create a class division and pit us against one another. Perhaps the economic recovery would get this nation moving again if it were allowed to follow the Steinbrenner business model: Pay your employees who perform, well enough to motivate them to achieve great things, sanctions and regulation be damned.

So Mr. Steinbrenner, enjoy your peace, your baseball, and may your heirs enjoy the continued winning tradition of firing / hiring Billy Martin.

12 July 2010

George Soros is Orwell's Big Brother

Over the weekend I completed reading George Orwell's best known work, the modern classic 1984. This complimented my completion of reading Animal Farm earlier this year, and is only a fraction of my "mandatory" reading list to actually become a fully educated American.

Over the last few years I have been attempting to rectify the failure of the public education for which I was never provided in college and high school. The fact that every major school in the country fails to train it's students in classical history and philosophy means that today's workforce has an extremely limited skill set to determine right and wrong, and then correlate that to the values over American history, commerce, and personal freedom. As I study the modern philosophical classics, as well as the authors of the founding era, I hope to instill personal intelligence and context to today's decaying society. (Sidebar: if you have a book that is worth reading that fits into the context of the above paragraph, please post it or email it to me).

Obviously, from a metaphysical level of thinking, morals and values are purely subjective and impossible to argue. Arguing what is right and wrong with someone is like an irresistible force against an immovable object; pure calamity. My limited study of philosophy though, has taught me to follow Immanuel Kant's primary rule of metaphysics; "See people as ends in themselves, not a means to an end."

Unfortunately for the world, George Soros and his army of minions is playing a 1984 game, with Soros staring as "Big Brother" and his minions as the "the party."

In Orwell's book, Winston Smith is confined to his own mind, which ultimately betrays him and every moral thing in which he believes. Of course, in the struggle of his re-education, Winston is forced to accept that there is nothing more to "why the party" treats it's subjects the way it does, except for the fact that pure power is their only objective. Nothing more, nothing less. It is this disgusting perversion that drives the motives of the overlords, whom have become so brainwashed that they themselves believe in one mind, one party and an immortality on earth through the perpetuation of the party. What exists in the eyes of the party is the only reality of the world and arguments otherwise are pure insanity.

Mr. Soros has already made billions upon billions on this planet, and has often done so through the the "capitalistic, immoral greed" with which he now claims to be fighting. The pledged fifty million dollars to form the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), which appears to be yet another fascist, Keynesian push group, is merely a front to be able to force the world into a direction that begets more power for our "Big Brother." Comments from the article linked in the title show that ultimately, they want the masses to decrease their standard of living, have less, and suffer from a condition of less happiness as "the party perpetrates wealth spreading to developing nations." Now, I'm not sure why, any person on this earth should feel the need to tell others how their money should be forfeited and then subsequently spent by others, but if that is not power for an end's sake, I can't imagine what is.

One thing that Orwell's book fails to take into account though is the human spirit. Winston is but one mind in a collective mass of moderately educated people whom had the wool pulled over their eyes for too long to question anything other than what Big Brother said. To be able to see the manipulation of their interpersonal connections, and take a stand, the freedom afford our country is a prime target for people like Soros. Without an uneducated, over taxed and over worked mass population behind him, he will never achieve what he hopes or his party hopes to achieve; world financial power.

09 July 2010

Where's the Next "Internet?"

As Reagan used to say, "The worst thing you can hear in the English language is, 'I'm from the government, and I'm hear to help.'" I've always found that when you hear those words, you should turn 180 and RUN, as fast as you can.

Now that the NSA, partnered with DoD Contractor Raytheon, are monitoring the internet through their program called "Perfect Citizen," I have to ask where I can find the next internet to facilitate the free flow of ideas, communication, and commerce. Is it time to take the Amateur Radio License test and become a HAM operator for point to point communications? Or should I fear the thought police from the Ministry of Truth jumping off the pages of my copy of 1984 and taking me to a vaporization chamber?

SOCOM of the intarwebs is now live and active, but I doubt there is a Rainbow 6 running the operations. I'm from the government and I'm hear to help you (control the internet). Scary stuff.

08 July 2010

Time of the Year: NRA Memebership Renewal

Gun owners are a strange lot. We are a cross section of American life, and American politics. We are, by nature, freedom loving, conservative, liberal, libertarian, pro-choice, pro-life, red-blooded, God Fear, God Loathing, Americans. Then, there is the National Rifle Association and it's five million plus members, it's rich history and storied tradition over it's 139 year existence.

Over the last few weeks, there have been some vary prominent differences between the NRA's management and what most mainstream media would classify as it's core, conservative membership. Conservative members and NRA policies have come under fire on three particular and important issues. First was the Disclose Act that was being legislated before congress (note I say, was). Second, are the Kagan nomination hearings in the Senate. Third, is the looming, potential [emphasis added] endorsement of Senate Majority leader, Harry Reid.

As I've stated before, yours truly is a Reagan Conservative-Libertarian, but not necessarily in that order. Personally, I believe in engaging the radical left statists at every turn, and fighting them off with unrelenting passion to restore our country to it's founding roots. Obviously, at the core of that fight is the Second Amendment, which leads us to the NRA.

In each one of those three major differences over the last few weeks, I've personally questioned whether or not I should continue to support the organization's efforts and their stated position of "one issue." I have never understood the point of "one issue" when the entire Constitution is under attack every single day. It was the NRA that single handily derailed the Disclose Act as it was able to carve out it's own exemption which was the poison pill that killed the bill. Kagan's nomination was peculiar in that at first there was a gag-order on board members to submit testimony against her, then there wasn't. Harry Reid, actually is a semi-friend of America's Second freedom, and has helped to secure major funding for his home state's newest shooting park, which can partially explain the potential for the NRA to endorse him. (Thanks Harry, couldn't bring that to Maryland could you?) Now, after membership pressure, the NRA has released a statement that it hasn't yet endorsed Reid, or any member for US House or Senate.

The point here is, with all of those things, the conservative push back against some of the NRA's position has shown me, just how important the Second Amendment is, even now that we have post McDonald/Heller world on our side. The tyrannical, elitist establishment will try at every turn to be able to neuter our Right to Keep and Bear [emphasis added] Arms, at all costs, including the loss of their political base. While I might not agree with the NRA taking a "one issue" stand, I have seen that the threat of members fleeing them, and taking their money with them, does get what we want.

The whole of the last few weeks has also shown how important it is to support all of our gun rights advocacy groups like The Second Amendment foundation, GOA, or my local Maryland Shall Issue. Each group has a voice and it's being heard, and it's being heard loud and clear in Washington and the whole of the country.

All of these things incorporated, I renewed my membership, a bit reluctantly while remembering this; "The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend." The NRA might not be the best "friend" in the business, but it is the biggest, and it has the most dollars. It does know how to use these resources to protect it's one issue, even though we might not see eye to eye on the end game.

07 July 2010

"Our Southern View, Ain't So Good"

The Globe and Mail columnist Jeffrey Simpson seems to think that the view to his south, ain't so good any more. Of course, if I were a misguided Canuck, I'd probably have a similar view inside the same context of the Canadian world.

From his article over the weekend:
It is disturbing these days for the country’s friends to watch the Great Republic’s politics, to wonder about its economy, to tremble at its deficits, and to shake their heads at its Supreme Court that has struck down corporate contribution limits in politics and reaffirmed the right to bear arms, to the intense joy of the gun lobby.

The United States gave itself the most gifted President in several generations, handed his party a majority in both houses of Congress, only to watch his presidency be swamped by the doleful legacy of the Bush years, a worldwide recession and its parlous aftermath, and a ferocious Republican opposition bent on a search-and-destroy mission of his presidency.


Our politics do completely suck, I'll give him that, however, doesn't Ottawa perpetually have Quebec as the thorn in it's side? Perhaps we can just annex Washington to Mr. Simpson and let him have all the stuff he loves, like limits on speech, gun registration / confiscation, and the biggest boob since Jimmy Carter, errr what he refers to as the "most gifted President in several generations." Perhaps he can take Helicopter Ben while we're at it and give us the Canadian Central Bank's board back in exchange.

If you want to bitch about our debt problems, while you praise the largest spendthrift in the history of our country, isn't that a bit hypocritical? I understand Simpson's grievances that as the USA goes, the majority of Canada goes, but, come on, Canada is really just America's largest national park. Perhaps we should make it's 12 Providences part of Barack's 57 states. (Of course, that would make it 62, and the Pres would have to count higher than his misguided brain can handle).

Last I checked, the great state of Canada has horrible state run health care that is on the brink of it's own insolvency, cold weather (unless it's skiing you're after), a gun registry (that is trying to be gotten ride of) and is one of the biggest producers of potash, coal, and oil in the world. So, if you don't want people to travel or do business with your country Mr. Simpson, I suppose the best thing for the USA is to regulate green house gas emissions and continue to ban guns?

People won't be able to travel to Canada to ski, fish, and hunt as airline fees will sky rocket. No one in the USA will be buying your oil because it's carbon tax is far to complex and expensive. Food prices will continue to sky rocket because the production of potash which is a major component of fertilizer will become hard to obtain, and electricity prices will sky rocket once the ban of coal from Canada is complete. Though the convenience of your economy will still go strong as far away China will continue to emit "global warming pollutants" in amounts far greater than your southern neighbor. Simply brilliant!

We are loosing the war in Ashcanistan, but no one is telling the Canadian PM to leave Canadian troops there. It is appreciated that your fine service men and women are doing a part to fight off evil. I fully admit that war isn't winnable beyond turning the whole region to glass and lowering the mountains a few hundred feet. The Russians couldn't do it, why did the free world think we could? Yet, the main contributing factor to our budget deficits is defense spending? The defense budget isn't the problem stupid! It's the social spending, the bank and auto bailouts, and every little pet project like paying $45 dollars to each Floridian to figure out their drinking habits or some other stupid crap.(See here).

Yes, we could trim the DoD fat too, but having a 20~50 trillion dollars in unfunded liability isn't helping matters. It wouldn't matter if that brilliant mind of your's couldn't read the balance sheet of the USA, as it's assets are extremely overstated, it's revenue understated, it's expenses under reported and the liabilities understated, which equals a whole fine mess. Where's Billy Clinton when I need him, "It's the economy stupid!" Watch the final half of this year continue to worsen as we see manufacturing and production falter. Jobs do matter!

Sure, we have our problems and it's nice that some nitwit from a Canadian newspaper pointed them out, but we already know about them. If you want to help, go tell us what Mr. Obama is doing to destroy our Federal Charter that is supposed to be binding upon tyrants and the safeguard against corruption. Perhaps Quebec can continue to hijack the rest of your country for the next 20 years while your remain a columnist boring the rest of the world.

Some of us Americans enjoyed our Fourth of July as a reminder to fight for the principles upon which this nation was made, and we don't care if that ticks off our Northern Neighbor, as everyone loves to piss on the USA.

06 July 2010

Independence Day Passes, Tyranny Abounds

Fellow blogger and friend falnfenix sent this link to me today. It is a list of 50, not so, absurd items that are news stories I've followed through various channels over the past 6 months. Some were new to me. Of course, you won't see them on the Six O'Clock "news."

Each fact has the original news story linked in the item and probably deserves a post unto itself. What are the highlights from Michael Snyder's column?

#50) A new report released by the United Nations is publicly calling for the establishment of a world currency and none of the major news networks are even covering it. (Happened just last week, and went completely unnoticed).

#27) Federal border officials recently said that Mexican drug cartels have not only set up shop on American soil, they are actually maintaining lookout bases in strategic locations in the hills of southern Arizona.

#26) The U.S. government has declared some parts of Arizona off limits to U.S. citizens because of the threat of violence from Mexican drug smugglers.

#22) Four of the biggest U.S. banks (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup) had a "perfect quarter" with zero days of trading losses during the first quarter of 2010.

#14) 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement.

#6) The total of all government, corporate and consumer debt in the United States is now about 360 percent of GDP.


Take a look and see how smart, or informed you are. I'd say, without scientific reporting, I recognized just over half of the related news stories in the link, and I consider myself well read. GO FORTH AND EDUCATE young champions of liberty!

04 July 2010

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

I've seen several newspapers do this over the course of my life, and I think it most important at our country's current precipice. I give you the Declaration of Independence in it's unaltered glory, straight from the national archives.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.