Gonzo's Views on the World and Second Amendment Rights

John Kafalas Spin Machine Is At It Again

2010-04-19T10:11:00.006-06:00

The John Kafalas spin machine is once again hard at work as they now have to ramp up for an unanticipated political campaign. We in the Republican 52^nd Colorado House District re-convened our assembly on Saturday, April 17, 2010 to select a candidate to run against John Kafalas. That assembly resulted in the nomination (and acceptance) of a bright and brave young candidate stepping forward to launch a campaign to kick John Kafalas out of office this November.

Kafalas, of course, had a spy from the Green Party in attendance. But unfortunately, the spy spun the information and was completely inaccurate with his claims. Based on the claims of his spy, Kafalas immediately launched an email to his loyal minions, which said the following (Kefalas message in italics, my replies to his statements are included below):

"Dear Neighbor,

'If we win back the east side of Fort Collins, then we'll win the 4^th Congressional district and we will have taken the Governor and U.S. Senate seat as well.'

That's what local Republican Party chair Larry Carillo told a group of Republicans gathered on Saturday to pick someone to run against me for House District 52."

That is correct – we WILL be doing everything in our power to take back the 52^nd House District, the 4^th Congressional District, the Governors office and the U.S. Senate from the progressive movement that has poisoned our state and our country.

"As they cheered for right-wing radio host Glenn Beck and the Tea Party, while mocking the reproductive sciences symposium being held in the next room (whose theme was fighting ovarian cancer), they nominated a first-term Fort Collins City Council member to oppose me in November."

Well – not quit, Mister Kafalas. One of the speakers made a comment that he accidentally walked into their meeting instead of the assembly meeting. There was no mocking of the group, no ridicule of that group, nothing that could possibly be construed as mean spirited, except of course by your spy with the already biased beliefs who heard only what he wanted to hear. The Tea Party, by the way, is made up of Americans who want their country back. Of course we cheered for them. You find wanting our country back wrong somehow?

"At their local Assembly, Republicans mischaracterized me as 'an extreme liberal for championing efforts towards single-payer health care, for expanding anti-discrimination laws, and even for daring to recognize the reality of global warming. They demanded "common-sense legislators who remember they report to the people in this district" and who represent "We The People" not the "special interests." With all due respect to my Republican friends, that is exactly what I have been doing for the last four years - working as hard as I can for you and your family. I happen to think expanding access to quality and affordable health care, preserving our environment for future generations, and building an economy that works for all of us IS common sense."

But Mister Kafalas – you ARE an extreme liberal, in my opinion. Single payer health care is a socialist ideal. Global warming is a myth that has been exposed, and another progressive ideal designed to destroy our economy. Even the global warming scientists were forced to admit complicity in covering up information. Every time I have heard you speak, you keep holding up Europe as the example of how we should be living. We don’t WANT to be Europe. We are America!

"It's true that my opponent has served only one year of the four-year term she was elected to serve on behalf of her Fort Collins City Council District 3 constituents."

And this is different than Barack Obama, who served only a partial term in the U.S. Senate before running for President HOW again? I know, I know… you will say “But Obama wanted to serve in a higher office…” Hmmm… our candidate (your opponent) wants to go from Fort Collins City Council to the Colorado State House… Hello? Earth to Kafalas… Are you really that stupid?

"But before you dismiss her candidacy, consider that my opponent is a rising star in the local Republican Party and that her previous campaign donors read like a Who's Who of local power brokers. Just imagine how much money will flood to my opponent from the various special interests.

Click here if you want to keep this seat in the hands of We The People, and not let monied special interests buy it back."

Yes, Mister Kafalas – she is a rising star. She is a strong conservative with American values. Would you like to produce a list for us of the **special interests** she has in her pocket? Or is this more uninformed speculation from your decidedly biased spy? I can tell you one special interest she has on her side – ME! I am just a regular guy who has a special interest in restoring America. I therefore pledge my life, my fortune, and my sacred honor to help your opponent’s campaign. I have a lot of friends in the 52^nd House District who feel the same way.

"I agree with Mr. Carillo on one thing. If Republicans can make enough gains to win back House District 52, then they probably will have enough votes to put an arch-conservative in the 4^th Congressional seat, re-take the US Senate seat and gain control of the Governor's office. I am determined not to let that happen because we've made too much progress in our state, and we can't afford to turn back the clock in Colorado."

And WE are determined to throw YOU out of office and indeed put that seat back in the hands of We The People! We are indeed determined to turn the clock back to a time before this socialist and progressive take-over of our beautiful state and our proud country.

"The deadline for contributions for my next campaign finance report is this Sunday, April 25. Let's show the other side that we are not going to roll over and let them take over our state house, our Governor's office, or our U.S. Congress. Now that this race will begin in earnest, I would appreciate your support to send a loud and clear message this week that We The People have not given up our quest for a more perfect union.

If you still believe that working together, we all do better, please click here."

Mister Kafalas – I believe that your statement of “...our quest for a more perfect union…” translates into the same philosophy and sentiment of Barack Obama: that of transforming America in a socialist nanny state. We aren’t having any part of that. You have perverted the meaning of the phrase “We The People” in my opinion. It would be in your best interest for you to believe that our side will not roll over and let you pervert it further.

"If you prefer, please send a check to, People for John Kefalas, 604 Sycamore Street, Fort Collins, CO, 80521. For those of you who have already donated to my 2010 re-election, I am most grateful for your support and trust. If you can give more, great! If you cannot give more now or even later or perhaps you are not supporting me (imagine that!), I understand and would welcome your positive thoughts and/or kind prayers that this race be positive, clean, based on the facts and focused on the issues that matter, not left-wing or right-wing ideology. Thank you and have a nice Colorado day."

It pleases me greatly that you now have to ramp up an expensive campaign to try to keep your seat,. We will certainly do our best to make your endeavor futile and costly. And here you thought you would go unopposed. That’s a shame….

And already, you have broken your side of the bargain. Your rant above already has contained inaccurate information, conjecture, and opinion. You clearly espouse left-wing and progressive ideologies, in my opinion. Please move to Europe, Mister Kafalas. You seem to have a great deal of love for their ways., and a seemingly large amount of disdain for American values. You would do well in Europe, I think.

An Open Letter to Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity

2009-12-20T13:11:00.002-07:00

Dear Mr. Beck and Mr. Hannity,

Let me start by saying “Thank You!” for being the great Americans that you are. You are getting the word out about all of the horrible and truly un-Constitutional things that this current administration and our Congress are doing to We The People. You have been instrumental in exposing the corruption in our government and the questionable character of the people our current President has surrounded himself with. I think you two have spearheaded some very profound pro-liberty initiatives that have made a difference in waking us up and getting us mobilized in the important cause of freedom.

Glenn: Your 9.12 Project is probably one of the single biggest reasons why many of us have finally woken up and have started pounding on the doors of our representation, filling up their email in-boxes by writing them letters, burning up their phone lines by calling them, and adamantly opposing these enormous and destructive health care, cap & trade, and other bills. Not that they are listening to us. Like many in the 9.12 Project and the Tea Parties, I have never done this kind of thing before – but I’m doing it now! My wife and I have both been heavily involved in our local 9.12 group – and we are so thankful, because we have met so many new and wonderful friends who feel just as we do; we are all fed-up, tired, and outraged by government shenanigans. My wife and I have your books and have embraced your common sense way of explaining what is “really” going on in our country. Arguing with idiots is no longer a challenge – we have been armed with some good information.

Sean: Your Freedom Concerts are just one example of how you are making a huge, positive difference in the lives of those who serve our country. Your great, great, great American Panel has been instrumental in illustrating the ranting of liberal, misinformed progressives who only want to destroy our country. I listen to you on our local Fox radio affiliate every day on the way home from work. You have given me many ideas for my blog articles and activities. Your logic has given me so much fuel for my arguments against those who just don’t get it.

Now for the hard part: I am a federal employee, which is primarily why I am writing this letter to you guys. It seems that recently, you have been making statements on your shows alluding to the notion that ALL of us in the federal government are over-paid tax cheats. I will not deny that there are certainly those in the federal government who are guilty of those things – and probably worse! But I have to be honest: In recent weeks, I have listened to your radio programs and watched your shows on Fox (as I always do) and I have come away feeling very hurt sometimes.

To give you a sense of why blanket statements painting ALL federal employees as over-paid tax cheats hurts me so deeply, let me tell you a little about myself and the people I work with in my particular agency:

After serving a 20-year career in the U.S. Navy, I went on to become a teacher in the State of South Dakota – the state that ranks dead last in teacher pay, then accepted a job back in my home state of Colorado in a federal agency. I did so because I saw this as another opportunity to serve my country. My entire life, I have known nothing but service to others, as evidenced by my employment choices over the past 33 years.

I believe in small government, waaaay smaller government spending, free enterprise, and the U.S. Constitution. I believe deeply in every single one the 9 principles and 12 values on which the 9.12 Project is based. My wife and I believe in God, and he is the center of our lives (sound familiar?). My spouse and I believe that America is great, that the American people are the true source of innovation in this country, and that the government does NOT create wealth, provide jobs, or has any business doing the things they are doing to us right now.

As a federal employee, I took the same oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States that I did when I served in the military. This is an oath I have never taken lightly. Even when I left the military, and before entering federal service, I continued to believe that my obligation to that oath never expired.

I carry around a copy of the U.S. Constitution in my back pocket. My worn, torn, and faded copy is a testament to how many times I have taken it out to look something up or to explain to someone why I think something this current administration is doing is unconstitutional. I have even been ridiculed for carrying it around, but I stand firm in my resolve to stand by that sacred document.

On one hand, my President refers to me as a “bitter clinger” who clings to my Bible and my guns, and a ”tea bagger” for my participation in tea parties. Our Secretary of Homeland Security calls me a terrorist because I am former military, a gun owner, and a tea party participant. Then the House Speaker calls me a “tea bagger” and “astro-turf” because of my participation in the same. But on the other hand, I am an over-paid, tax cheat in the minds of the very people whom I support simply because I am a federal employee.

There are many (many, many…) of my co-workers who come to work every day, do their best, and openly speak their mind about their feelings against an administration that is out of control. These people do everything in their power to spend tax payer money wisely, and we speak up when we see waste.

My agency employs veterinarians, biologists, and scientists of all types, all of whom could probably be earning more money in private practice. But they chose their current federal employment, in many cases, because they felt called to a higher purpose of servicing our country.

The employees in my building participate in annual charity drives, help out in our local schools, and give our time and talents to non-profit organizations that help others. Our current “boss” didn’t mandate that we do those things. We have been doing them since long before the anointed one came along, and will continue to do them long after he and his freedom-hating Congress has been booted out of office.

Sirs: I would think that rather than painting all of us who are federal employees as over-paid tax cheats, that maybe you would look for the good inside the walls of our federal government wherever you can find it, and do your best to illustrate instances of good employees who do the right thing. After all, we even have people in Congress who are true patriots, and are fighting from within to further the cause of liberty. Michele Bachman, Dr. Ron Paul, John Thune, John Boehner, and many others are on the inside, and are indeed on our side. Believe it or not, there are great numbers of federal employees who are on our side as well. The American people, I would hope, should thank the Lord that there are indeed people on the inside of our government who do the right thing, actively campaign against an out of control administration, and are active members of Tea Parties and 9.12 projects to bring about the true change that we need in 2010 and beyond.

All I am saying is that I just want, for myself, my coworkers, and my fellow patriots who are on the inside, a little consideration for the fact that many of us do the right thing, we are adamantly passionate about the values and principles that our forefathers used to found this great country, we oppose the current administration’s tactics, and we know full well that by doing so our very jobs could be in danger. And unless your listeners hear different, we will be in physical danger from the over-zealous (yes – the over-zealous are part of BOTH sides) who hang on your every word, and decide to take matters into their own hands and get revenge on more of us. I think back and tremble at a story from the not so distantly past news where a federal employee was attacked and killed. The word “FED” was written across his chest. I would hate to think that blanket statements about federal employees all being bad people was responsible for this type of brutality. Instead, I would prefer that all of our fellow Americans know the truth: That there are good patriots among the ranks of federal employees, and we are standing shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in private life in their fight for liberty and freedom.

I will continue to support you guys, listen to your radio programs, and watch your shows on Fox. I and my wife patronize your sponsors, and will continue to do so. My spouse and I will continue to be actively involved in our 9.12 Project and the tea parties. Please don’t hate all federal employees, and please even maybe make some mention of the fact that there are indeed those on the “inside” of the federal government who are good people and will continue to fight for the causes of liberty and freedom.

Thank you for listening to this regular guy who, like Glenn, just loves his country and fears for it. God bless you both for getting the word out and waking us up. I pray for you and thank God for you every day. Just as you have done, I pledge my life, my fortune, and my sacred honor to the fight for liberty and freedom.

Fort Collins Has a New Gun Free Zone!

2009-12-06T16:47:00.004-07:00

The CSU leadership has now voted to repeal the policy that allows students with valid concealed handgun licenses to carry their firearms on campus. At issue appears to be the fear by CSU faculty and so-called “security experts” that there would be another Virginia Tech type massacre on campus. But what is really at stake, in my opinion, is yet another example where unfounded fear of guns and an uninformed body of people in power, has yet again disarmed law abiding citizens. They have now created another target rich environment for predators and others who wish only to do people harm. The very violence inclined people, who will now have yet another place to commit their heinous acts where they know they will not be stopped by an armed citizens. They know full well that once they begin their attack, police or security people will not show up for several minutes – enough time for the attacker to do a great deal of destruction, harm and damage.

Prior to this decision being made, a number of students from the Association of Students responded with an eight-page resolution asking school president Tony Frank to continue to allow people with lawfully obtained concealed-weapon permits to go armed on campus. To quote an article by the Denver Post:

"Twenty-one members of the Associated Students of CSU Senate voted in favor of the eight-page resolution (in favor of allowing concealed carry); three voted against, and five members were absent or abstained. CSU is one of a few U.S. colleges that allow weapons carried by those with permits. Campus police, other safety experts and Frank's cabinet said in October that the campus should be gun-free except for security officers. The mass shooting at Virginia Tech University in 2007 prompted CSU's faculty senate to ask for a review of the gun policy last year." Source: http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_13914952

To illustrate the effects of these types of decisions, let’s look first of all, at some examples where gun free zones have had a very serious effect on the outcome of a violent attack:

1. Virginia Tech: The school is a gun free zone. The school was a gun free zone at the massacre. That didn’t seem to stop the shooter from coming on campus and shooting students. Guess he didn’t read the sign? Was it that he didn’t know about it? No! He knew but didn’t care. How effective was that gun free zone policy? The effect was that people died. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre

2. Shopping Mall in Omaha: Posted as a gun free zone. That didn’t seem to stop the shootings that took place. Did the bad guys not read the sign? Did they not know the mall was a gun free zone? No! Again it was a simple matter of those intent on doing harm to others not caring about the law. The effect was that people died. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,315342,00.html

3. Luby’s Café in Texas (aka The Luby’s Massacre): Laws prohibited armed citizens from having their guns in the restaurant. A crazed man drives his truck through the front of the café, gets out and commences shooting, killing several people. Suzanna Gratia-Hupp, a lawfully armed citizen, had to leave her gun in her car because of this law. Both of her parents were shot execution style and killed. Did this man not realize that there was a law preventing him from having a gun there? NO! He didn’t care. He was intent on killing, and all the laws in the world would not stop him. The effect was that people died. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3197/is_n6_v37/ai_12634747/

4. Fort Hood Texas: A crazed psychiatrist and army major shoots and kills thirteen people. This happened on an Army base full of trained people who are used to being in harms way and being shot at. But they were unarmed because the base policy prevents them from carrying firearms with them. Did the Major not know this policy? Did Major Hasan forget? No! He knew the policy and was intent on performing his act of blatant and premeditated terrorism, killing thirteen people. The effect was that people died. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hood_shooting

Now – let’s look at some instances where an attack occurred, and where armed citizens did make a difference on the outcome of the attack:

1. New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO: A gunman comes onto the church grounds with approximately 1,000 rounds of ammunition, an AR-15 rifle, and two pistols. This after killing several people in a church group in Arvada, CO (there were no armed citizens there). He commenced shooting and killed two people. But an armed citizen drew her pistol, walked into the line of fire and took him down before he could put his thousand rounds of ammunition to work to kill any more. Still alive but badly wounded, he realized he was done and ended his own life. The result: People lived. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/14808321/detail.html

2. Convenience Store Holdup: A 70-year-old man shoots and wounds two would-be robbers who were attempting to rob his store. The store owner’s daughter, working in a nearby store, came running to the scene immediately, also armed with a handgun. The reaction took place before police could even arrive. People lived. http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20091118/NEWS01/911180352/Melbourne-store-owner-shoots--wounds-robber

3. East St. Louis Burglar Shot to Death by Storekeeper: Two men tried to rob a store at gunpoint. The store clerk shot and killed one of the suspects. The result: The law abiding storekeeper lived, and a violent predator died. http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=190187

4. The Civilian Gun Defense blog is full of stories that happen every day where armed citizens are able to protect life and property through the responsible use of firearms. They are able to do so long before police can arrive to assist. http://www.thearmedcitizen.com/gundefenseblog/blogger.html

What is it that the people who want to disarm these students don't get about the fact that the Virginia Tech shootings didn't happen because students were able to lawfully carry their firearms? The shopping mall shooting didn’t happen because law abiding mall patrons were armed. The shootings happened because these were yet more cases of a gun free zone where the shooter(s) KNEW that victims would be unarmed, and were further enable by these laws to commit their heinous acts. The police didn’t arrive in time to prevent or help, and people died.

Furthermore - I would like to know when an incident has happened at CSU where a student legally carrying his or her firearms created an incident, perpetrated a shooting, or even had a firearms related accident. I don't seem to recall any – could someone please enlighten the rest of us as to when this has ever happened? Is a shooting at an already gun-free-zone school more than two years ago the basis for this sudden decision? Looks to me like these folks at CSU are indeed reacting to something that happened at a gun-free-zone school awhile ago, and the knee-jerk reaction is just now catching up with them.

When are these people going to finally realize that they can make all the laws they want, make all the anti-gun policies they want, and all they will be doing is appeasing their own ignorance and sense of “showing” the public that they are doing something. Albeit that the “something” that they are doing is empty and meaningless. A crazed gunman or other armed criminal is going to now be able to walk right through your laws and policies, and do what they darn well please. Your actions only hurt the law abiding! As the saying goes: "When seconds count, the police are only MINUTES away." By taking away these students' right to carry, CSU leadership is taking away their RIGHT to self defense. Making a gun-free-zone will not stop ANYONE intent on doing harm to others.

There was enormous support from students who said they wanted to keep the right to carry their firearms. These students were crying out to the CSU leadership to allow them to continue to have the ability to defend themselves. These students who lawfully carry a concealed handgun have been vetted and scrutinized, as evidenced by the fact that they have their permits to begin with. They submitted to the required finger-printing, training, and background checks to get those permits. They paid the fees to obtain these permits. They conscientiously made the decision to be responsible and use their firearms only as a last resort in an attack. They are willing to accept the stigma and other consequences they will face if they have to use their firearms to defend themselves. I personally know two students at CSU who carry concealed firearms. They practice and train constantly, and their proficiency with their handguns puts that of most police officers to shame. Their level of ability to exercise good judgment in a crisis situation far exceeds even those who made the decision to disarm them, in my opinion.

To the campus police and so-called security “experts” who say that they wanted students unarmed – now you got it! I ask you - are you planning on being with every single one of them every single second to protect them now? I didn't think so! A legally armed student is one of your greatest allies if a crazed shooter or other attacker comes onto your campus. They would have responded way before you can even think of getting away from the donut shop or your heated office to respond to those kids in need who are being attacked. But now you have lost that valuable asset. I hope you plan on beefing up your efforts to protect these students. If you are not there the very micro-second that those students need you, their blood is on your hands.

To the CSU President and faculty: Why, all of a sudden, is an incident that happened in a gun-free zone over two years ago making you now think this is the appropriate action to take? You do remember that Virginia Tech is a gun-free zone, right? If an attack happens on campus, I hope you are willing to throw yourselves in the line of fire so that your students will be spared. Are you willing to do that? I didn’t think so. So maybe ask yourselves what it is about responsible students carrying legally owned and permitted firearms scares you so much? If you are not there to save them, their blood is on your hands.

The entire notion of “…streets running red with blood…” because of citizens being able to carry lawfully obtained and permitted firearms was debunked long ago. I invite these uninformed and frightened people to read their history. The CSU leadership just made the stupid mistake of disarming these students. History has proven time after time that when law abiding citizens are disarmed a target rich environment is created for the criminals.

Four Sheets of Parchment

2009-11-14T18:52:00.009-07:00

The United States Constitution was written on just four sheets of parchment. Compare that to a single bill today submitted by Congress that exceeds 2,000 pages. And I’ll bet the Founders read every single word on every single page of that most precious of founding documents. Not only that, but they understood exactly what they wrote! Today, we can’t even get our legislators to be willing to make these huge bills available for us to try to read, much less read them themselves.

Here is what Gary DeMar recently wrote in an American Vision article:

“The Constitution of the United States was written on four sheets of parchment. If you count the Preamble and all 27 Amendments (remember there were originally only ten), it comes out to 20 typed pages. If you don’t count the signatures and amendments, you’ll have a document of 11 typed pages. No single Amendment is a full page. Many are only a single sentence in length. The First Amendment covers a multitude of freedoms: religion, press, assembly, speech, and the right to petition the government. It does it with only 45 words. Those original four sheets, about 4500 words, were good enough to serve as a document to govern a nation.”

They say the bills are too confusing for them to read. They wrote them! And now they don’t want to read their own writing because it’s too confusing? If that’s the case, then maybe they should take a lesson from the Founding Fathers and learn how to write things that are shorter and easier to read. Our Second Amendment which preserves our right to defend ourselves is only twenty-six words yet speaks volumes. Come on – how hard is it to write something as simple, yet as explicit as that?

So what does this mean to us as gun owners? Take the latest in gargantuan bills, the recent Affordable Health Care for America Act passed by the House of Representatives. In this monstrosity of a bill any number of amendments could spell gun control under the guise of “looking out for our health” and ensuring that we live in “safe environments” in our own homes. Some say there is the possibility of further registration of every single entry of our medical records into national databases. It takes only a little common sense for one to realize that buried in a bill that is over 2,000 pages long can be hidden any number of liberty killing amendments. How about the prospect of turning you into a felon if you don’t buy the healthcare prescribed for you by law? You do remember that felons can’t own guns, right? At the very least, this represents further control of the American people by a government that is growing out of control.

Here is what Gun Owners of America has to say about this bill:

“This bill will...most likely result in all of your gun-related health data being dumped into a government database that was created in the stimulus bill. This includes any firearms-related information your doctor has gleaned... or any determination of PTSD, or something similar, that can preclude you from owning firearms." The bill will also create special "wellness" programs in section 112 which would allow the government to offer lower premiums to employers who bribe their employees to live healthier lifestyles -- and nothing within the bill would prohibit rabidly anti-gun HHS Secretary Sebelius from decreeing that "no guns" is somehow healthier.”

The health care bill above is but one example. There have been several pieces of legislation considered in this past year alone that have been so huge as to be unreadable and un-comprehended by the average citizen.

Now, more than ever, it is crucial that gun owners (and all citizens) get involved and educate themselves on every single bill that our law makers try to push through. ANY bill can have the potential of containing anti-gun content and or amendments. The health care bill, as an example, is in the hands of the Senate. If they pass a bill of their own, it has to be reconciled with the House bill and sent to the President to sign. We must be paying attention every step of the way if we are to have a say in how these laws are passed.

I know – this represents time out from lives, families and friends. But our future as a country depends on us being willing to sacrifice a little in order to help secure our future as a nation. With the voluminous amounts of text in these bills, and the hundreds of amendments being slipped in, an innocent looking and sounding bill can turn into a gun owner’s (or everyone’s for that matter) worst nightmare in a single moment. We must take an active role in our own governance and make sure our elected officials hear our needs and demands. Please – get off the bench and get into the game.

Constitutional Quotes:

“Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.” Abraham Lincoln

“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.” Patrick Henry

“"The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors. They purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood. It will bring a mark of everlasting infamy on the present generation – enlightened as it is – if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of designing men." Samuel Adams

“Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Benjamin Franklin

“The Constitution of the United States was made not merely for the generation that then existed, but for posterity- unlimited, undefined, endless, perpetual posterity” Henry Clay

Our Lives, Our Fortunes and Our Sacred Honor

2009-11-08T12:29:00.006-07:00

Some time ago, prior to the 2008 presidential election, I wrote an article for my gun club news letter about how people “…don’t talk like that anymore…” to illustrate how the elitist mentality so prevalent with today’s politicians keeps them from remembering the spirit of patriotism that founded this country. What I was referring to in that article, was how our Founding Fathers, in the language of their day, so eloquently expressed their love of freedom and their frustration toward a monarchy (elitist) government that was oppressive and tyrannical. This is an update to that article to represent the increased sense of urgency that I feel towards restoring our country, and to once again illustrate the need to return to what our Founding Fathers created for us when they declared their independence from an oppressive government.

In one particular scene in the movie “Hidden Treasure,” the character played by Nicholas Cage is reading aloud a passage from the Declaration of Independence, specifically the passage that reads:

“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.”

He then remarks that:

“...nobody talks like that anymore…”

Not only does no one use language like that to describe their feelings toward liberty and freedom, but until recently, I didn’t run into many people who even talk about these ideals in the same way that our Founding Fathers did. In fact, in one of the online discussion forums in which I regularly participate, one person even made the statement that the language used in our founding documents is obsolete. Fortunately, in this past year of extremely troubling and trying times, a good number of people have woken up, and I now see a strong resurgence in the feelings that our Founding Fathers held so dear. The tea parties, the 9.12 projects, and various web sites such as GrassFire.Org and ResistNet.Com have brought many like-minded people together to finally speak out against what we perceive as the accelerated effort to destroy our liberty.

With our establishment as a nation being more than 230 years old now, things like liberty and freedom just don’t seem to be a major concern for our politicians anymore. Many of the elite in power have deemed those concepts obsolete and unnecessary. And the every day Joe Sixpac who is still asleep and walking around with that glazed over “sheeple” look has taken those things for granted or just plain doesn’t care – as long as the government promises to care for him. I think many folks are caught up worrying about health care, wars, crime, and the rising prices of gas and food. With all these issues, people today don’t really think that they have time to worry about the principles of declaring independence from another country, or even the basic notions of liberty and freedom that were the driving force for our Founding Fathers. After all, we have been independent from another country’s reign for over 230 years now.

The concern that I have with many of these current attitudes is that on the part of Joe Sixpac, it represents an overall sense of complacency toward the ideals upon which this county was built. And on the part of the powerful elite, is the overall attitude that they think they know what is best for us, and that we are too stupid to take care of ourselves. More appropriately, they think they can use this to fool us into willingly relinquishing our freedom so that they can be our perceived guardians, while in reality, they simply desire to become a more powerful ruling class.

I am deeply concerned because unless more people continue to wake up, our current generation of voters will be willing to trade more of our liberties and freedoms for promises of “change,” saving the planet, and universal health care instead of looking for ways for us to be energy independent and secure. I think too many people are looking at the short term gratifications, without regard to the negative effects that trading certain liberties has on our security.

What further gives me pause to be greatly concerned, is that when I read the reasons in the Declaration of Independence that our Founding Fathers gave for breaking away from the cloak of tyranny that oppressed them, and I make a list of what our current government is doing to us, the number of things in those two lists match more and more every day. In this past year, the accelerated pace at which the current administration and Congress have rammed things down the throats of the American people has been staggering. Never before have I experienced such a deterioration of our rights, and an increase in potential threats to our liberty as I see today.

I hope that as we approach the 2010 mid-term election in November, Americans everywhere can take pause to be reminded of the principles that our Founding Fathers used to build this country. I hope that we can choose the candidates who best represent those principles while preserving our liberties and freedom. And when these new people are elected, I hope that they seriously think about the obligation that all American citizens have to “…preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Our country, now more than ever, needs to be restored and “re-founded,” and not transformed or changed.

To that end, and in an effort to achieve this cause, I will commit to you, my fellow Americans, a willingness to resist the erosion of our liberty and to restore our country’s founding principles. I do so by restating the words of our Founding Fathers: And for the support of [the return to] this Declaration, with a firm reliance on divine Providence, I pledge my life, my fortune, and my sacred honor.

Who will join me in this pledge?

The Right To Self Defense and Concealed Carry (CCW)

2009-08-01T09:31:00.010-06:00

Self Defense in Washington D.C.:

This month, I felt compelled to talk in my gun club news letter about an aspect of gun ownership that many folks probably don’t think about or even want to talk about too much: Defensive gun ownership rights – specifically, the concept of being able to own or even carry a concealed handgun for self defense. So I thought I would re-print that article here as well.

Let me explain: Once again I find myself in Washington D.C. on business. When I have some down time, my mind wanders and I find myself comparing the culture in this part of the country to the culture we enjoy in Colorado. While here, I was often asked by friends and colleagues what I did for fun the evening before. My response was usually along the lines of walking the National Mall and looking at monuments – I love seeing our national monuments, and take the time to visit them every time I am here.

The response:

“You didn’t walk the National Mall at NIGHT, did you?!”

Well – no, but why, I am thinking, would they ask such a thing?
“

"Because it just isn’t safe!” was always the answer. Well – I knew that, thus my decision for not doing it.

Well – let’s talk about that for a moment. It’s not SAFE to walk the National Mall in Washington D.C.! And this sentiment in a city where the Police Chief, City Council, and Mayor have all made it clear that they do not like the idea of citizens being armed. But yet the Supreme Court has ruled (in the case of D.C. versus Warren and others) that the police do not have an obligation to protect individual citizens. My perception of how dangerous this city is can always be further perpetuated by the events of many late afternoons, when I am walking around the city, and there are police sirens whaling every so often, followed by something looking like a bomb disposal vehicle, followed by fire engines. “What the heck is going on here?” I have often thought. Why isn’t this place safe? What makes a place like this to be widely considered dangerous to walk around at night, but yet those charged with protecting it would regard armed citizens as a bad thing?

In talking with a few of the locals, I most assuredly have my impressions confirmed that Washington D.C. is just widely regarded as having a high rate of violent crime. Now this is not something new – I know that many of you have heard this all before. But what occurs to me every time I come here is that there is a very simple explanation: Citizens are not allowed to have guns for self defense, either in the open, concealed, or just locked in the trunk of their cars. Until last year, handguns where completely outlawed. But even though the Supreme Court has ruled the bearing of arms to be a right that these citizens should enjoy, the city leadership has been throwing up roadblock after roadblock towards allowing these people to arm themselves and put the violent criminals on notice that they want to defend themselves.

Washington D.C. is not unique in this. Cities like Chicago, New York, and some other large metropolitan areas also have very restrictive gun laws, and citizens are deprived of the right to carry concealed weapons or in many cases even own them. What do they also have in common? Very high rates of violent crime! The economy is certainly having an effect on the increase in violent crimes every where¸ but when criminals know that their victims cannot fight back, they are further enabled and feel emboldened to commit these crimes. And in this city in particular, it is even illegal to carry knives and pepper spray. So basically, everyone except the criminals, is rendered completely defenseless.

What does this mean to us as a gun club? We’re all voters! With some very important elections coming up in 2010 and 2012, we need to start NOW in looking for state candidates who will help protect our rights to bear arms, to ensure that Colorado will continue to enjoy the rights we have now with no further erosion of these rights, and national candidates who will take this message to Washington D.C. The current administration is moving at a furious pace to change our country – I am wondering how long it will be before our “privileges” of concealed carry disappear, and our RIGHT to keep and bear arms is taken away for good. Get involved, get the word out, and wake your fellow Americans up.

Concealed Carry Bill Fails:

National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Fails—But What Is Behind The Scenes?

The John Thune (R—South Dakota) Senate bill to allow concealed carry (CCW) reciprocity nationwide failed to overcome a procedural hurdle and get out of committee. According to the NRA Institute for Legislative Action:

“By a 58 to 39 majority, the US Senate voted last week to let concealed handgun permit holders carry handguns across state lines. Yet, it was two votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster. The legislation sponsored by Senator John Thune (R, SD) would have allowed reciprocity in permitting, as anybody would still be required to obey the laws of the states that they travel in. This is the same way driver's licenses work.”

Perhaps there was more to this bill’s failure than is evident on the surface, and there are other reasons why the bill failed despite a majority being in favor. From Dudley Brown, Executive Director for National Association for Gun Rights:

“It wasn't a "lack of unity" in the Republican party that led to the Thune amendment's 58-39 demise: The Thune amendment was never supposed to pass.The entire process was calculated to fail … but only after dozens of anti-gunners on both sides of the aisle could exploit the chance to dissemble on the record as gun rights supporters.It's Washington politics at its finest -- voting "yes" on an ostensibly pro-gun bill orchestrated to die just short of the needed number of votes, but that could still be used to dupe constituents.”

That doesn't surprise me a bit! Colorado Senators Bennet and Udall, two of the most extreme liberal Senators in office, both voted "YES" on this bill. They were dissembling, of course. NO doubt a ruse to make us think they supported our gun rights. I'm sure Reid coached them on how to vote. D'ya think?

There is no doubt that CCW privileges have come under fire from many in the gun control community. And in practically all of the cases of opposition, the fears and worries that would cause support for CCW to fail are unfounded. For example, some of the politicians had this to say about this bill:

“Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D, NJ) warned it is an "attempt by the gun lobby to put its radical agenda ahead of safety and security in our communities." Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D, NY) calls it a "harmful measure" that will put the public at risk. Senator Chuck Schumer (D, NY) said: "It could reverse the dramatic success we've had in reducing crime in most all parts of America."

As all of us who carry are well aware—the fears of the streets “running red with blood” that would surely have come about by CCW permitted citizens never came to pass. And the political wrangling that goes on to help politicians in danger of re-election in their districts, instead of addressing the real issues is something we should all be concerned with. The actions that took place behind the scenes on this bill should serve as a warning that we should be watchful of any future CCW related legislation, and ensure that our representatives are voting with reason instead of out of fear of losing voter support.

An Independence Day 2009 Message

2009-06-21T15:02:00.010-06:00

As we approach this Independence Day holiday, I wanted to share some thoughts, as well as a Declaration of Independence related story to help commemorate this important holiday.

Here is a story that has been told a variety of different ways, but I’m not sure how many people are actually aware of it. In this version that I heard recently, while some of the details can’t be verified, the spirit and the gist of the story has been consistent in the various versions.

To set the stage: In what is now Lower Manhattan in New York City, Battery Park sits at the southern tip. Just to the north of Battery Park is another small park known as the “Bowling Green.” In 1776, there stood a gilded lead statue of King George III on horseback. This statue and park is the setting for this Declaration of Independence Day story.

One July 9, 1776, the “town cryer” stood in the middle of the Bowling Green near the statue of King George III and read aloud the newly signed Declaration of Independence. The people present, in a state of patriotic “inspiration” after hearing the declaration, threw ropes around the head of the statue and tore it down. The statue broke into several pieces. It was reported that the head of the statue was sawn off, and is reported to have been taken to England, but has not been seen since.

As the pieces of the statue lay on the ground, there were a number of women present, whose names have been long forgotten by history. One of the women called to the others to fetch a wagon, and they began loading the pieces of the broken statue into the wagon. The King’s soldiers questioned this, and the women replied that they were just cleaning up the mess. The soldiers let them continue cleaning up the pieces.

The wagon was then driven down to Litchfield, Connecticut, and taken to the home of Gen. Oliver Wolcott. Gen. Wolcott erected a shed in his orchard and supervised several family members and friends, who melted the pieces of the lead statue down—to make lead balls for Continental Army muskets. 42,800 musket balls to be exact.

On one anecdotal account, it was said that:

“One wit predicted that the king’s soldiers ‘will probably have melted majesty fired at them.’ ”

Well—we certainly know from our history that they did indeed!

It is stories like this one that give me great pause. I think that the folks who were alive at the time of our country’s birth were very much in tune with what it meant to be under tyrannical rule, and have their liberties and freedoms abused and infringed. Through a patriotic sense of duty and wanting these God given liberties and freedoms protected, our Founding Fathers paid a bloody and terrible price to finally win our freedoms. And thus America was born to become the beacon of liberty and the last great hope for oppressed people throughout the world.

Through the ages, I think that many Americans have slowly but surely been replacing these patriotic feelings with apathy and a sense of “what’s in it for me?” The politicians have become more concerned with their own power, and less concerned with doing what’s right.

To quote one radio personality, who recently stated:

“I just love my country, and I fear for it.”

I share that feeling!

With all that is happening recently, the rapid spiral into out of control debt, the appointment of several new “czars” and the constant assault on our rights (especially the right to bear arms), I fear that our country is in desperate need of something to wake people up and get that patriotic spirit back.

Keep an eye on North Korea and Iran. I fear that our current administration certainly won't let these crises go to waste, and will slip in all kinds of legislative garbage to further hinder our freedom, all in the name of "keeping us safe" from these "emergencies."

I hope and pray that my fellow Americans will get active and let those in power know that we must restore America to what we once were. America needs to be restored, NOT rebuilt. Please contact your representation and let them know how you feel. Attend a Tea Party. Do SOMETHING! Get involved—I beg of you!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Notes From the Concealed Carry Front:

National Concealed Carry Reciprocity:

One popular thought is that it would be desirable for federal legislation so that all states would recognize all other state’s concealed carry permits. This type of legislation is introduced from time to time, but never seems to get any traction.

But as Dudley Brown, Executive Director of the National Association for Gun Rights states:

“This strategy could have some very real — and negative — consequences for gun owners. If the federal government sets the standard for when and where to carry a gun, then state laws governing the issuance of permits will be next on the chopping block.”

Brown goes on to warn that:

“I can see a liberal appellate court legislating from the bench and requiring that all states comply with a Federally mandated standard for issuing a permit. Such a Federal mandate would no doubt include an excessive and draconian waiting period, expensive and impractical training requirements, and exorbitant fees. Federal overreaching of this type could effectively neuter all current state CCW laws.”

Personally—I think that the states should maintain control on how CCW permits are issued in their states. Until all the states adapt a system such as Vermont or Alaska, where CCW permits are not even required to carry concealed, I feel that the states should maintain authority as to how CCW permits are issued, and which permits they will honor. I personally don’t want to become part of a national database. There are a few states where CCW permits are not even allowed—which is fine with me. If all the frightened people want to move there so that they don’t have to be around people who lawfully carry firearms for protection, I don't mind a bit. They can continue to enjoy their higher than average violent crime rate, while we bask in the knowledge that we have the ability to defend ourselves in a state that does allow CCW.

Practice “Shooting” On The Move:

In these times of high-priced and scarce ammo, I have actually found a very unusual, yet effective way to keep my shooting skills sharp, while saving drastically on ammo expenses. Shoot hoops! That’s right— practice with a basket ball. I usually go to the gym several times a week, and part of my regimen is to shoot hoops. I take all my shots from outside the 3-point ring. I can shoot on the move from random positions. I can close my eyes and move to a random position, open my eyes, then acquire the hoop and then shoot. This method helps me a great deal with things like acquiring sight picture while on the move, judging distance and proper trajectories, making quick decisions from random positions, and shooting off balance. Not the same as shooting a gun, but the improvements it has made to my mind-set in acquiring a target and shooting accurately has been amazing.

How Many Gaffes Do These Guys Get?!

2009-05-01T14:29:00.009-06:00

WARNING: This is another one of my venting sessions.

Every time we turn around, someone in this administration, Hollywood, or the main-stream media is making some totally moronic statement or flip-flopping on what they previously told us.

• Our new DHS Secretary told us we were “right-wing-extremists.” So basically, if you believe in the Constitution, God, pro-life, the right to bear arms, have served in the military, practice free speech, or think that this country is great but politicians have made it a mess…. Then you are a right-wing-extremist. OK. Then I guess I am one.

• Our President stood in front of his teleprompter and then couldn’t continue until the text was just where he needed it to be. That guy can’t function without a teleprompter. Does he need one when he talks to his kids?

• The President says he will not prosecute the previous administration for “enhanced interrogation” techniques, then mysteriously changes his mind. Hmmmm.. so who really IS the President? My guess is either George Soros or Nancy Pelosi.

• The administration releases secret memos outlining our interrogation techniques. Well – besides the fact that the terrorists are now laughing at what we consider “torture,” they now have our playbook. Good move, guys!

• The President apologizes to the world for America’s “arrogance.” Would that be the “arrogance” that saved the world in WWII, for example? I make no apology for being a strong nation. Why is he?

• Air Force One flies over New York and freaks out the citizens. The President, of course, claims not to know anything about it. It’s HIS airplane – he didn’t know where it was? No less than an entire staff of people makes the decision where and when this airplane will fly. Chief of staff?

• Our Vice President tells everyone to not use public mass-transit systems for fear of catching the flu. Fear mongering at its best, and he has the nerve to accuse the NRA of fear mongering.

• Celebrities make the statement that tea party attendees are “racist.” Really? Peaceful assembly is protected by the US Constitution. Since when is that racist?

• Reporters at the 100 day press conference are carefully selected to make sure no inappropriate questions are asked. Same blathering media that made sure to ask George Bush mean spirited questions on his way out.

• Diane Feinstein tells us she will choose the hour to reintroduce an assault weapons ban – as if she were some sort of deity who would choose when events will happen – how arrogant!

• A painter depicts Obama as the Christ with a crown of thorns, and opening (closing?) a black shroud over the Presidential seal in one of his paintings. Conveniently posed in a crucifixion type of stance. Fortunately, public outrage prevented him from unveiling it. Talk feeding the trolls. Bet that fed Obama’s narcissistic nature big time! At the very least it was blasphemous.

These are just some examples. The mainstream media, in their slobbering love affair with this President refuses to tell the truth about these people, and basically treats us, the American people, like we’re all in 4th grade or something.

Has the IQ of America dropped in the first 100 days of this administration? There seem to be quite a few gullible people out there buying this rubbish and dismissing the blunders. Rush Limbaugh correctly refers to this as the “brain dead segment of our society.”

That’s why I’m so thankful for the recent birth of the 9.12 Project. We’re not the arrogant intellectuals, we’re just people of common sense who have values and principles, and just want our country back. We have finally woken up, but we must keep the momentum going. I wrote in another article that this would be hard work. Keeping up the level of effort needed to overcome the brain-dead segment of our society and these arrogant intellectuals in office is going to require untiring diligence and constant effort.

We’re not stupid. We can see through this empty rhetoric, and we can see these empty suits for what they are. How dare this President apologize to the world for America’s so called “arrogance” when he himself, and his arrogant administration have done much they should be apologizing to US for. And how dare they criticize the citizens of this country for exercising their God-given rights.

End of rant. You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

Thoughts From a "Right-Wing-Extremist"

2009-04-26T12:33:00.009-06:00

Hello, my fellow right-wing-extremists! I've been away from this blog for awhile. Much of my time lately has been dedicated to a project that I feel very strongly about, and that I also feel will help wake up my fellow Americans to what is going on in our country today.

So in this post, I wanted to share a little about what I have been working on. Much of my effort has been spent on building a new web site for the Northern Colorado contingent of the 9.12 project I am going to talk about shortly. As you can imagine, building new web sites and keeping them fresh is a full time job in itself. I still have a regular day job which, for some odd reason, requires a great deal of my attention as well. Darn jobs! I feel extremely fortunate to have one right now, to be honest. Many of my fellow Americans aren't so lucky!

So - enough rambling already - on with the show!

It looks like many Americans have gone from being every-day people to learning that they are in fact now labeled as “right-wing-extremists.” Our new leaders are on a world tour apologizing for us on our behalf, and changing the face of terrorism from being called “terrorism” to being labeled as merely “overseas contingencies.” This year has been interesting because also, in light of all this “change,” Americans are finally waking up and getting active about all the spending, apologizing, confusing statements, and are just fed up with politics in general.

So what does this all have to do with guns and gun clubs, you ask? Everything! If our basic human rights as citizens get trampled on and our beloved U.S. Constitution gets thrown under the bus, then you can believe that our rights as gun owners will soon be nothing more than a memory. I am writing to you this month, not as a News Letter Editor, but as a citizen: to tell you about some of the things that Americans are doing to show their opposition to debt and their support for the principles on which our Founding Fathers built this country. There is a huge amount of emotion being churned up and people are finally saying that enough is enough.

One such effort that is growing in popularity here in Northern Colorado is something known as the “9.12 Project.” For those of you who follow the Glenn Beck Program on Fox News, you know that the 9.12 Project came out of a desire for our leadership to follow principles and values rather than politics, promises, and empty rhetoric. There are nine principles and twelve values that we have embraced as being important to our solution to problems. But oddly enough – that is not what the “9” and the “12” are about. What this is about is remembering who we were on 9/12/2001. On 9/10/2001, we were care-free and oblivious to imminent danger. We had our heads in the sand. On 9/11/2001 we were in shock and wondering how an attack could happen on our soil. On 9/12/2001, we woke up and became determined Americans who resolved not to let these attacks happen again. The goal of the 9.12 Project is to turn us all into “9.12ers” again. Resolved and determined that we would not let our great country slip silently into the night or become a distant memory. This is not about becoming anti-government or finding ways to disrespect our President. This is not about political parties. This is about liberty, freedom, and taking responsibility for our own lives, lest the government step in and decide they can do a better job.

Let me repeat: This isn’t about political parties – honest! Too many people have become tired of all the corruption, politics as usual, and empty rhetoric—from BOTH of the major parties. People have gotten tired of their country being called arrogant and being apologized for. 9.12 Project web sites, blogs, and online discussion boards are springing up all over the place to show that regular citizens care and that what this country needs are values and principles, not power-grabs, control of every aspect of our lives, debt, and out of control spending.

Personally, I think that people are getting concerned about the thought that by ignoring principles and values, so much of what we have as Americans could possibly be turned over for others to decide for us. What I mean by that is the notion that our Constitution and founding documents have been deemed to be out-dated, dynamic, and in need of “change.”

America started as the greatest miracle on earth, and has been the last true hope for the entire world. If we let our country fade away into a sea of debt, complacency, apologies, and letting the rest of the world decide what rights our citizens should have, then that hope will be gone. There will be no great, last refuge for the oppressed people of the world to seek. If America becomes one of the oppressed, then there is nothing left.

For information about the 9.12 Project here in Northern Colorado, visit the following web site:

http://www.wewillnotfall.com/

The Week in Review; Feb 15 – 21, 2009

2009-02-22T15:51:00.004-07:00

These are all the things that got me excited this week. First the good, then the outrageous!

The Good:

State Sovereignty Movement: I wanted to report something good for once. It appears that many states are getting tired of the federal government stepping all over them and overstepping the bounds of federal control. Eight states have introduced bills to address this issue, and twelve more states (including Colorado) are considering it. Twenty states so far that are considering the fact that the federal government has overstepped its limits and exerting power and control where it has no business doing so. Hopefully our state representatives will have the courage and will be angry enough to push this legislation and send the federal government a clear message.

Contact your state representation and get them to support these bills in the states where they have been introduced, or introduce them in states which have not yet done so.

Sources:
http://pagenine.typepad.com/page_nine/2009/02/state-sovereignty-bills.html
http://www.rlc.org/2009/02/05/state-sovereignty-movement-quietly-growing/

We Surround Them: Glenn Beck has started a new program. If you agree with nine fundamentally sound principles, send him your picture. He is compiling these pictures to show the weasels in Washington DC that the good people surround them, and not the other way around.

The Nine Principles are:

1. America is good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

He has also followed up with Twelve Values:

1. Honesty
2. Reverence
3. Hope
4. Thrift
5. Humility
6. Charity
7. Sincerity
8. Moderation
9. Hard Work
10. Courage
11. Personal Responsibility
12. Friendship

On March 13, Glenn will unveil his plan to use these principles and values to solve the problems in America. Once again, it is We The People who solve the problems, and not the misguided power-mongers in Washington DC!

Source: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/21018/

Democrat Senator and Gun Rights: More good news. The New York Senator appointed to replace Hillary Clinton, although a Democrat, stands up for gun rights. New York has gone from having an extreme gun grabber to a common-sense Democrat. Kirsten Gillibrand says that she keeps rifles under her bed for self defense, and that doing so is her right. I’ll bet Carolyn McCarthy is just frothing at the mouth over this. Good!

“WASHINGTON - - New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who argues her pro-gun stance aims to protect hunters' rights and the Second Amendment, last week said she and her husband, Jonathan, keep two rifles under their bed to protect their upstate home.Gillibrand said neither she nor her husband is a hunter, and in a general discussion of gun control said, ‘If I want to protect my family, if I want to have a weapon in the home, that should be my right.’”

New York Congresswoman and extreme gun grabber Carolyn McCarthy has vowed to run against Gillibrand for the Senate seat in 2010. I hope she trounces McCarthy in the elections in 2010!

Source:http://www.newsday.com/news/local/politics/ny-usgill1612462761feb16,0,1520070.story

The Outrageous:

Outrage of the Week: A teacher was suspended because she included a picture of herself posing with a gun in her FaceBook page. This is nothing less than a case of frightened people invading the personal space of a person and making a stupid decision. This is wrong on so many levels. 1 - Ownership of firearms is a protected RIGHT. 2 – Publishing anything on a personal web site is her business, NOT the business of these frightened little prudes in the school leadership ranks.

“This week's outrage comes from Beaver Dam, Wis., where Beaver Dam school officials placed middle school teacher Betsy Ramsdale on administrative leave, following the discovery of a photograph of the teacher with a firearm on the teacher's personal "Facebook" page. A "concerned" staff member at the school where Ramsdale works brought the photo to the attention of school district officials.

WKOWTV.com reported last week that schools superintendent, Donald Childs, was "unaware of any sinister intent on the teacher's part," and said the use of the photo "appears to be poor judgment."

Poor judgment? An argument could be made that pointing a firearm directly at the camera may be considered poor judgment; certainly if a photographer—and not a tripod—was on the other side of the camera. But simply posing for a picture with a firearm and posting the picture on your personal webpage is not a crime. In and of itself, posting such a picture should certainly not be cause for alarm, let alone disciplinary action.”

Source: http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=4431

Phoenix is second most likely place to be kidnapped IN THE WORLD! That’s right - IN THE WORLD - because dangerous Mexican drug cartels are committing at least one kidnapping a day, on the record. Off the record, it is more like three or four a day. These thugs are armed with fully automatic weapons, and the police chief down there won’t even buy long guns for their officers to carry with them. Worse yet, this is in a time when politicians can think of nothing better than to disarm the American people. How long before Mexico collapses and the surge of human refugees (and kidnappings) heads north to Colorado and beyond? I have a right to protect my family from these barbarians. How dare any politician think otherwise?

You can enact all the assault weapons and other gun bans that you want. These violent thugs are still going to have guns, and they will still have them ON OUR SOIL to use to commit these atrocities. The police are ineffective. If these predators knew that there was a loaded rifle pointed at them from behind every bush, they would think twice about even coming here.

Source: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/196/21451/

There are intelligence reports that have Mexico as the second most likely country in the world to collapse right now. That should bother anyone in this country. It especially bothers me because my community is straight north on the I-25 corridor, only hours away from El Paso, Texas – sister city to Juarez, Mexico. In case anyone wasn’t aware, Juarez is one of the most violent border cities right now. Only a matter of time before the flood of refugees spills north into the United States. Not “if” but rather “when.”

The Stimulus Package Passed, Economy Still Declines: The recently passed porkulus, er uh, “stimulus” package hasn’t inspired too much confidence on Wall Street. The Dow continues to tumble, and people continue to lose jobs. Again, I am asking how $2 billion dollars or so to ACORN is going to help this problem? I am also a bit concerned about the timing of many of the spending items. Doesn’t it seem a bit funny to anyone else that they are spending the most money right before the mid-term elections? A bit suspicious, if you ask me. That makes this a re-election bill as well as a pork spending bill. A great leverage piece for the liberals to shout about how opposing candidates want to “cut” spending on “important” programs. A bit transparent there, folks. We can see right through your program. Oh – maybe that is what they meant by “we want this to be ‘transparent’ to the American people….”

And yet more examples of pork included in this monstrosity of a spending bill:

Door bells installed in elderly units in Laurel, MS: http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/view/8982

Heritage Trail, Natchez, MS ($600 Million): http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/view/12396

Las Vegas Performing Arts Center ($375 Million): http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/view/12396

Build a Disk Golf Course, Austin, TX ($886 Thousand): http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/view/1194

Those are just some of the examples of pure pork that will have no effect on stimulating our economy whatsoever. For more, see: http://www.stimuluswatch.org/

Well – until next week – Keep the faith, and God Bless America. Fight the good fight, and contact your elected servants – let them know how YOU feel. Let them know that WE THE PEOPLE are still in charge.

Wars and Rumors of Wars

2009-02-16T16:17:00.007-07:00

Didn’t mean to alarm you with that title, but you’ll see where I am going with this…. As a community of firearms owners, we represent a significant population of voters and citizens with a voice – provided we get active and show a willingness to stand up and be heard. Having said that, I think it is also important that we understand what the real issues are so that we can choose the appropriate battles to fight. We may not necessarily all agree on exactly the same things or agree on the proper solution for all of the issues. But I think that we can agree that we are all gun owners, and that firearms ownership is a right that we value and feel strongly about. Some of us are extremely passionate about defending gun ownership rights, while others are casual participants in shooting activities with other issues that they are far more passionate about. Some own guns only for hunting or sport shooting; some own guns only for self defense. Some own guns for all of the above reasons. Regardless of the reasons for owning guns, we need to be prepared to defend our heritage and our rights, or lose them for good.

There has been a lot of information flying around the Internet and elsewhere lately about various moves afoot to institute more gun control measures. Since the new administration took office, there have been all sorts of speculation about what they would do, and what they were already starting to do, with regard to gun control measures. Some of this news has been factual, and some has been outright unfounded rumor. For example, some folks had the Blair Holt Act (H.R. 45), the heavily restrictive and oppressive firearms control act, as being completely folded in to the recently passed stimulus package bill. Yet others had reported that there was a bill that would dictate that people over 60 years of age would be barred from firearm ownership. Some stated that H.R. 45 as mentioned above had already passed into law in yet other Internet discussion forum stories.

The reason for this is simple: We are human. We are living in a pretty uncertain and historical time right now. People who casually took their firearms ownership rights for granted are finally waking up and becoming aware of the issues that affect them. However, people’s imaginations tend to run wild at times like these, and speculation soon becomes reality to the person whose worst fears are playing tricks on them. This isn’t to diminish the validity or reality of people’s concerns. Sometimes these worries do in fact turn into reality. The key is to be aware and focused, do research, and take action.

There is that little voice inside me personally, for example, that is saying that those who wish to implement extreme gun control measures are reveling in the fact that we are chasing rumors and are being distracted from tackling the real issues. You know the old saying: “United we stand, divided we fall…”

Why chasing rumors is bad: It divides us – plain and simple! Since we do have the opportunity to be a strong and united voice, it is wise to use that voice to speak factually and unemotionally when we contact our representation. If we are chasing phantom stories, we are being divided and scattered, and distracted from being that united front against issues that we want to solve. It does no good whatsoever to contact our representatives to tell them to support or not to support proposed legislation that does not even exist. As I mentioned, doing research and knowing the facts are key to taking action.

What to do: Stay informed! The National Rifle Association has an excellent web site – the NRA Institute for Legislative action (http://www.nra-ila.org/), which gives daily updates on emerging gun related news. Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (http://www.rmgo.org/) and the Colorado State Shooting Association (http://www.cssa.org/), just to name a few are also keeping on top of gun related (or even remotely gun related) issues. Our challenge is to separate the wheat from the chafe, and discern what is credible reporting versus rumor and speculation. Fortunately, we have these larger, single-issue organizations that have time to look into these issues and present us with the facts. Visit these sites daily and find out what is going on. The articles posted at these places will give you a good place to start your own research.

What else to do: Get active! Once you have made up your mind how you feel about proposed legislation, tell your representation how you feel. Many times your representation has no clue what you want. Without direction, they will do whatever they feel is appropriate. Of course, many people are rightfully feeling that their representation will do whatever they want anyway. The key is to keep constant pressure on them. If enough people contact these elected servants of ours and let them know how they feel, those in office will finally get the feeling that their jobs are on the line unless they heed the people’s wishes.

Wrapping it all up: There is a saying that goes something like this: “…in order for evil to triumph, all that is required is for good men to do nothing…” Without over-emotionalizing the issues that face us as citizens and gun owners, I think that saying illustrates why we are in the situation we are in right now. The reason why we are facing such uphill battles is because too many people have said too little for too long.

Stay informed, stay aware, and get active. Our heritage and our rights as gun owners depend on it.

The Week in Review; February 8 – 14, 2009:

2009-02-14T08:33:00.004-07:00

These are all the things that made my head want to explode this week…

The “Stimulus” is Coming? Well it looks like the stimulus will most likely pass. I am simply outraged by this monstrosity! This thing is an abomination, and a sneaky way to insert incredibly bad ideas (universal health care, anyone?). When they know something may not pass on its own, they hide it in a bill like this one. I’m surprised there isn’t an “assault weapons” ban in there somewhere. This is just another example of the further hemorrhage of money that we don’t have. We are taking away our children’s future. How many of these people even READ this bill before they voted for it?!

What ever happened to common sense? Common sense, as has been said, just isn’t very common, and certainly not in Washington D.C. Someone please tell me how giving $2 billion to ACORN and I forget how much to save the poor marsh mice (Pelosi pet project) 1 - have anything to do with stimulating the economy, and 2 - are going to create any jobs whatsoever. The ACORN thing is a payoff, plain and simple. The marsh mice thing is a pork, special interest item of the type that Obama said would not be in this bill. Hmmmmmmmm… (guess he really didn’t mean it…)

The government does not create jobs. The government does not create wealth. The government does not innovate. But the government sure stands in the way of those things. So why not just get out of the way and turn those things over to the people who are capable of creating wealth, jobs and innovation?! (That would be We The People in case anyone didn’t know the answer!)

Read the Stimulus: Having said all of the above, has anyone actually READ this abomination? There is a web site set up to give late-breaking news about the stimulus’ progress, and provides links to read the bill. The thing is 1,500 pages long – good luck! And if we have a hard time reading it, how is it that our representation read it in the speck of time allotted to them to do so?

Source: http://www.readthestimulus.org/

Million Gun Owner March: Here is a new web site aimed at organizing a “Million Gun Owner March” on our Nation’s Capitol. Similar satellite marches will be organized for the state capitols. This is a new site put together by the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners. New sites that spring up all of a sudden make me a little suspicious, so I will be keeping an eye on this one. But if this turns out to be legitimate, I encourage gun owners everywhere to participate and get involved. So far Ted Nugent, the NRA, WorldNet Daily and other notable organizations have taken notice.

Source: http://www.secondamendmentmarch.com/

The Brady Campaign and Misinformation: The Brady Campaign has recently published their “gun laws” grades for the various states. The higher the grade, the more gun laws that state has. California and Illinois, for example, have some of the highest grades from the Brady Campaign.

The truth of the matter is that these same states that have the highest grades from Brady also have the highest murder and violent crime rates. Why is that, Sarah? Looks like your score card simply quantifies the number of gun laws, but does not give any qualitative measure to how effective or meaningless these gun laws really are, or how much they even deter crime.

It isn’t the gun laws that save people’s lives, Sarah. It’s responsible use of guns in self defense. And it isn’t the guns that murder and hurt. It is the criminals. How about practicing criminal control instead of law-abiding-citizen-control? We aren’t the problem. Let’s face it: The Brady campaign is comprised of nothing more than feel-good, do-nothing rhetoric that has no valid effect on crime or violence. Responsible gun owners and the ability to enjoy our right of self defense is what deter crimes.

Criminals, legislators who enact feel-good and meaningless laws and liberal judges who let criminals back on the streets are the problem. Why aren’t you crusading for criminal control, Sarah? Why is it that you only think that more and more gun laws will solve everything? You do realize that criminals will still have guns after you have ensured that the law abiding citizens of America have been disarmed, right?

Sources and Additional Information:

http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=228&issue=011
http://www.stategunlaws.org/
http://www.learnaboutguns.com/2009/01/04/brady-campaigns-gun-control-rankings/
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=4706
http://www.nraila.org/Issues/Articles/Read.aspx?ID=209

More on real self-defense stories from every-day America where guns are used by responsible people to prevent attacks and protect lives:

http://www.claytoncramer.com/gundefenseblog/blogger.html

The Census Moves to the White House: Now this is really scary! Taking the census out of the Commerce department and putting it straight in the White House. Now let me see – the census determines such things as how many Congress seats a state gets, how many electoral votes a state gets, state funding $$$, etc, right? So if the White House Chief of Staff wanted to manipulate the numbers to become favorable to the Obama Administration, could he? You bet he could!

Obama shifts Census oversight, triggering angry protest by Republicans

By Carrie Dann CongressDaily February 6, 2009

“President Obama has decided to bring the U.S. Census Bureau under White House jurisdiction, a move that incensed House Republicans, who fired off a blistering letter to him Thursday, calling it "outrageous and unprecedented" and a "blatant partisan and political maneuver.

The move would shift the chain of command with the bureau and the Commerce Department, where the bureau currently resides. It comes after the Congressional Black Caucus, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and other groups expressed displeasure with Obama's nominee for Commerce secretary, Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire.”

Source: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0209/020609cdam2.htm?rss=getoday

This is simply an outrage! The new administration has just taken the next step in controlling our country and controlling the ability of the people to have representation and have their voices count. The sneaky maneuver of appointing a Republican as Commerce Secretary and then making sure the census is taken away from Commerce based on some displeasure of a few groups is an underhanded and devious move.

Possible Scenarios:

“Illinois: We like the way you think! Let’s do some creative math on your census count and give you a few more reps and electoral votes.”

“Florida: We don’t like you so much. You have too many conservatives. Let’s do some creative math on your census count and take away some of your representation and electoral votes.”

“Colorado: We think federal funding can be spent better elsewhere. Let’s use some creative math on your census counts and take away some of your population, and therefore your need for funding. When you get some more liberal views, call us back and we’ll use that creative math to restore your population and give you more funding.”

Source: http://www.usnews.com/blogs/barone/2009/2/9/white-house-census-power-grab-may-violate-the-constitution.html?s_cid=rss:barone:white-house-census-power-grab-may-violate-the-constitution

The “Nuge” on Gun Sales Surge: Ted Nugent, in another of his straight forward and well opinioned articles, unequivocally stated that the reason for the huge surge in gun and ammunition sales since the election is that freedom lovers do not trust Obama. Further bolstering that distrust is his choice of Eric Holder for Attorney general.

“Reason: Freedom lovers do not trust Obama. His choice of Eric Holder to be attorney general bolsters that distrust.

Like Obama, Holder is a gun-control zealot —typical of the loony, anti-freedom wing of the Democratic Party.

Do not believe the president’s thinly veiled statements about supporting an individual’s right to own guns. Rather, review these men’s previous, career-long, freedom-restricting, gun-grabbing statements.

Holder consistently has supported gun bans and raising the age at which someone can purchase a weapon. He’s supported registration and licensing, waiting periods, and his all-time favorite and the felon’s dream: gun-free zones.”

Source: http://www.wacotrib.com/opin/content/news/opinion/stories/2009/02/08/02082009wacnugent.html

Student Suspended Over Fake Rifles: Now this story is just amazing. A young girl in an Aurora, Colorado school is suspended, and will possibly be expelled from school for having fake rifles that are used in drill practice. This young lady is a member of the Young Marines, and uses the rifles for practice drill sessions after school.

Now just how many frightened, and moronic people are there out there that let this kind of thing happen? Are they THAT afraid of guns that even a fake one causes them to wet their pants and take irrational action like this? Students saw the fake guns in her vehicle, contacted school officials, and the school official(s) jump all over this in a knee-jerk reaction. Yes – the Colorado law prohibits guns and gun “facsimiles” from being on school property, and there is a zero tolerance policy towards breaking this law. But let’s get real – fake guns that are used in a school sanctioned activity were not intended to be the target of this law. People have to ability to reason through that, but they didn’t in this case. “Zero tolerance” is the reason? Zero tolerance for what, exactly?

“Aurora Police officer, and Cherokee Trail High School Resource Officer, Quint Cox testified, ‘right away I could tell they were ROTC rifles.’"

What happened to investigating these reports, using some common sense, and then acting accordingly? Instead, these people choose to go ballistic over this issue and humiliate this young lady. I don’t have much use for lawyers, but I hope this lawyer who is representing her has the School Superintendant for lunch!

Source: http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=109768&catid=339

The NRA picked up the story as well:

http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/InTheNews.aspx?ID=12119

The young lady is returning to school next week. But what got us to the point where this issue even had to come up? Even the Brady Campaign noticed the ridiculousness of this incident. That says something – the law needs to be changed and common sense restored.

Something To Ponder: On doctors and gun owners…. This was sent to me by a friend, but I have seen this numerous times on the Internet. It’s so true, though….

Doctors
(A) The number of physicians in the U.S. is 700,000.

(B) Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year are 120,000.

(C) Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171.

Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services.

Now think about this:

Guns
(A) The number of gun owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000.
(Yes, that's 80 million)

(B) The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is 1,500.

(C) The number of accidental deaths per gun owner ;is .000188.

Statistics courtesy of FBI

So, statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.

Remember, 'Guns don't kill people, doctors do.'

FACT: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR.

Please alert your friends to this alarming threat.

We must ban doctors before this gets completely out of hand!!!!!

Out of concern for the public at large, the statistics on lawyers were withheld for fear the shock would cause people to panic and seek medical help.

Well – until next week – Keep the faith, and God Bless America. Fight the good fight, and contact your elected servants – let them know how YOU feel. Let them know that WE THE PEOPLE are still in charge.

The Week in Review; February 1 – 7, 2009

2009-02-08T14:22:00.003-07:00

Nancy Pelosi:

I was simply amazed at Nancy Pelosi’s recent comment that “…for every month this stimulus package is not passed, 500 million people lose their jobs…”

500 million! Really, Nancy? Last I checked there were only around 300 million living in the United States. Was this a world-wide figure, or were you simply misspeaking (again)? I think this is simply more of Nancy following her liberal values and spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt by exaggerating the facts a bit.

So if we don’t spend our money on all the PORK in that bill, Americans won’t get back to work?! Trim the fat and give us something more reasonable, and maybe we’ll consider it.

Source: http://www.nypost.com/seven/02042009/news/politics/pelosis_500_million_person_slip_153530.htm

Senator Mark Udall:

When visiting a web site to find Senator Mark Udall’s contact information so that I could write him a letter, I found this statement (on one of his “Soap Box” pages urging Senators to support the stimulus package):

“Senators in favor of the Stimulus Bill need to make an effort to to put their views in the public eye (ear) by speaking to the media (any form) any and every chance they get. Because that is what the other side is doing. And unfortunately most people get their "news" from FOX radio or TV.”

The “other side” Mark? Is this how you see us? Your side and us? Last I checked, we were all Americans and were supposed to be working together to fix the problems. Albeit that I think your stimulus package is filled with pork that is going to put my children and their children in debt. You need to get a handle, Mark. If you really see us as your side and “them,” then we have a serious problem in America.

Evidently he also doesn’t like where we get our news. But I suppose CNN or MSNBC are just OK because they have a more liberal slant.

Source:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/alert/?alertid=12612086&content_dir=ua_congressorg

The “Fairness Doctrine:”

Mark Udall’s rant above brings to mind another issue: the so-called “Fairness Doctrine.” The liberals want to silence conservative talk radio because they feel they aren’t getting a fair share of the airwaves. Well – the reason they aren’t getting their fair share is because no-body is listening to their radio shows and they are being cancelled. So the liberals are mad because they aren’t being heard. This is like McDonalds saying that they want Wendy’s shut down by the government because Wendy’s is making a superior product.

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/blog/stu/

The Second American Revolution:

This was sent to me in an e-mail link by a few different people. I found this video extremely interesting and poignant. It states what we all need to hear, and what we all need to think about. The concept that WE THE PEOPLE are the ones who should be running this country, and that we have only LENT our power to those in office, has been lost on our elected servants. They instead think that they are our chosen rulers.

View the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKFKGrmsBDk

R-E-S-P-E-C-T for Those in Government:

I am amazed that our folks in the Colorado state capitol are in an uproar about not being called by their proper titles. If you want R-E-S-P-E-C-T, then how about showing some to WE THE PEOPLE and respecting our wishes when we contact you? John Kefalas and his condescending replies to my letters come to mind.

Read story here: http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=109337&catid=222

H.R.-45 Draconian Gun Control:

This one from Bobby Rush (you remember him – the former Black Panther leader?) has re-surfaced. It has been defeated in the past, but he somehow thinks that the new liberal White House and more liberal Congress will pass it this time. This piece of legislation is a draconian piece of garbage. This thing outlines several hoops for us all to jump through in order to enjoy RIGHTS that have been protected for us by the United States Constitution! Since when did RIGHTS come with so many RESTRICTIONS?! Who told these people they were allowed to impose these RESTRICTIONS?! Again, Our elected SERVANTS presuming to be our appointed RULERS!

Read the NRA-ILA summary of this bill here:

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=4329

Read the RMGO analysis of the bill here:

http://www.rmgo.org/alerts/2009-HR45.shtml

Well – until next week – Keep the faith, and God Bless America. Fight the good fight, and contact your elected servants – let them know how YOU feel. Let them know that WE THE PEOPLE are still in charge.

The Appleseed Project - Getting Back Our Heritage as a Nation of Riflemen

2009-01-18T11:31:00.003-07:00

Awhile back, I wrote an article entitled “People Don’t Talk Like That Anymore.” In that article, I discussed how in the days of our Founding Fathers, they spoke of values that they held dearly, values revolving around their belief in God, and values revolving around liberty and being truly free people. If you look at the wording that our Founding Fathers used in the Declaration of Independence, for example, you see a rich and powerfully worded dialogue about being tired of enduring “…usurpations and abuses…” at the hands of a tyrannical, oppressive government.

In this past year of elections and campaigning, I think we have further drifted away from not talking about those things any more, and talking more about “what’s in it for me?” and finding ways to “change” our country – just for the sake of change, I might add. But change it to what, exactly? I don’t think we need “change” in the context of how it is spoken about by current government leaders, but rather we need “change” in that we need to get back to thinking about the fundamental beliefs that the Founding Fathers held dear. We need to get back to the notion that “We The People” run this country, and that the powers enjoyed by those in office are simply powers that we have lent to them. They need to be reminded that they govern with the consent of the governed, and not the other way around.

One such way that we can explore our heritage and get back to those values that our Founding Fathers held to be so very important is through the Appleseed Project. One very important tenet of the Appleseed Project is to teach Americans how to once again become a “Nation of Riflemen.” Second only in the Bill of Rights to the amendment protecting our freedom of speech is the amendment protecting our ownership of firearms. Why do you think the Founding Fathers felt that this right was so important? It has nothing to do with hunting or sport shooting, but has everything to do with their experiences as farmers and civilians who had to defend themselves against a tyrannical government who had a powerful and well organized army, and the belief that their land could be overrun by invaders from far-away places.

Would it really be so terrible and dangerous if all Americans were proficient at rifle marksmanship, and knew how to handle a rifle? I unequivocally state: “No!” Contrary to popular belief (of those who love to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt), the purpose for getting back to being a Nation of Riflemen is NOT so that we can be more proficient at creating violent people. The purpose, in my opinion, is to get people to return to having their bellies on fire with the spirit of freedom, and a burning appreciation for the spirit that gave us liberty from a tyrannical government in the first place.

If you look at part of the reason that so many people want to ban guns today, those reasons are based in fear and miss-information. The idea behind creating a Nation of Riflemen is that more people would be proficient at safely handling firearms, and using them for their intended purpose – the defense of our homeland. We really need only be reminded that the reason why Japan didn’t invade the United States mainland in WWII was because of their fear that “…there is a rifle behind every tree.” We need only be reminded that the reason Adolf Hitler disarmed the German people was not to keep them safe but to ensure their compliance to his dictated will. And we especially want to be aware now that the reason so many wish to disarm the American people now is not to “get these killing machines off the streets” as the Brady group puts it, but rather to ensure that we can’t fight back against a tyrannical government, God forbid it should ever happen.

An Appleseed event is a place to get back to the nearly-forgotten-about history behind our heritage and our nation, and the solemn events of April 19, 1775. An Appleseed event is a place to learn how to handle a rifle, shoot it proficiently, and shoot safely. The rich heritage and culture brought from our Founding Fathers is responsible for the birth of our nation, but I fear that failing to remember why they did what they did will lead America down a path that we really don’t want to go. We can either get back to being a prosperous and powerful nation, or we can continue down the path of mediocrity and fade into the sunset. We need to get back to our roots, and we need to do so quick, fast, and in a hurry. The times are changing too swiftly to ignore the need to remember the events that ushered us into existence as a free nation.

Please, look into attending an Appleseed shooting event. The requirements are small. A simple .22 caliber rifle is all it takes to attend. The cost for a weekend is $70, but women and children shoot for free. If you can’t attend, then please look into supporting this worthy cause financially. Appleseed does not make a profit, and their instructors do not make a living doing this. The price for attending is small, but the rewards are immeasurable. The cost for NOT attending, or at least not looking into supporting this project are, I fear, too large to ponder. It might cost us our country as we know it, if we can’t return to that spirit of being a “Nation of Riflemen” and getting back the passion for our heritage that we once had.

My wife and I will be attending an Appleseed shooting event in Douglas, Wyoming in May. This will be our first (of many, God willing) Appleseed events. After attending, I will follow up to this article and share our experiences. But I will tell you that after already meeting some of the Appleseed folks in person, I can honestly and enthusiastically say that this will most likely be a weekend to remember.

For more information, visit: http://www.appleseedinfo.org/

Afraid of Something Because of the Way it Looks?

2009-01-06T21:36:00.003-07:00

As is typically the case in today’s society, many opinions about things are very emotional, very “knee-jerk,” and are often very much based on a lack of information. People “fear that which they do not understand,” as the saying goes. So it is true in the case of popular beliefs and (mis)understandings about firearms. Particularly, such is the case when the discussion turns to the so-called “assault” rifles.

The argument I hear from some folks is that “people have no business owning that ‘certain type’ of rifle.” Or “Those ‘types’ of rifles belong on the battle fields, not on our streets.” In fact, didn’t our President-elect say the very same thing in his quest to convince us of his “common sense” approach to guns in his upcoming administration during his campaign?

It has become common place, then, to discriminate against an inanimate object (and the people who own them) solely based on the color or appearance of that object.

Hmmmmm… Seems to me that we have spent many years convincing folks that discrimination based on color and appearance is wrong-thinking, and that we ought to be looking deeper.

Well – the same thing applies to firearms and firearm owners. A firearm is an inanimate object. It isn’t the firearm that commits a bad or irresponsible act. It is the person behind it. And the vast majority of people who legally own firearms are good and decent people who do not commit crimes or irresponsible acts. I said “legally” because it should be a given assumption on your part that criminals are not responsible people.

So now then – about those "certain types" of rifles. I am wondering - what "type" would that be? The type that "looks" a certain way? The type that is deemed "evil" because it is black and has "AR" in the model number? Does it shoot a certain caliber or composition of bullet? Is it fully automatic – capable of discharging hundreds of rounds per second, or does it discharge just one round with a single trigger pull?

Do some people fail to actually look into these questions before beginning their hysterical hand-wringing sessions? Did we as a society somehow fail them by educating them that poorly about firearms, types, and uses?

Since I think that the fearful folks have been miserably misinformed, I'll try to give my opinions and insights into this matter. Take them or leave them, but if you are going to fear and discriminate, at least do so having heard the argument from the other side of the fence.

So what exactly is the hang-up with these so-called “assault” rifles? The way they LOOK? The fact that "AR" makes up the model name? Do they make people that frightened?

Reasons for Owning Them:

Let’s look first at the reason why people own the commonly known “AR” and “AK” rifles that are in use by civilians everywhere. The popular civilian owned AR or AK, first of all, is a rifle, that just happens to have the letters “AR” or “AK” in the model name. I suppose the manufacturers did that to sell a product? Who knows? But people collect various types of rifles for various reasons. They collect them, use them for sport shooting, home defense, varmint hunting, or various other legitimate reasons. Ask a person who owns one what their reasons are. An AR makes a dandy rifle to use for competing in long range shooting competitions. Even if you hooked the law abiding and sane AR owners up to a lie detector, the reason of “using one to mow down all my neighbors” would not even surface.

The popular AR in the civilian home is not an automatic weapon (fully automatic weapons are mostly illegal) and not some horrific killing machine that can make 15 people's heads explode simultaneously. It is a rifle. It is nothing more, nothing less. That said, owning one is legal, and the reasons for owning one, quite frankly, don’t really matter. Owning rifles is protected by the Bill of Rights – 2nd Article of Amendment, to be precise. I’ll say it again: Bill of Rights. Not Bill of “needs,” not the Bill of Wants, and not the Bill of Whatever-frightened-people-want-us-to-have. It is the Bill of Rights. I don’t have to have a reason to own it (although home defense and sport shooting are pretty valid reasons in my mind).

Ammunition:

So what about the ammo? My .243 caliber hunting rifle will do more damage to a target than my .223/5.56 caliber AR, but yet the frightened, uninformed, hand-wringing people **think** that my AR, because of the way it LOOKS, is capable of disintegrating a human being in one shot! As a matter of fact, the .223 caliber AR is referred to as a “varmint” rifle. I took both my .243 caliber hunting rifle and my .223 caliber AR to the range recently and did a little test. At 100 yards, the .223 AR put a hole in a plastic jug filled with water, and the plastic jug broke apart, but it did not explode in flames or any other drastic such things. The .243 round from my hunting rifle completely blew apart the water-filled jug. But yet if I showed both rifles to the fearful and uninformed, the AR would strike fear into their hearts, while the hunting rifle probably wouldn’t cause that much concern. Again – it’s the “looks” thing. To see an example of what I am talking about, see the videos below. One video explains the actual truth about what is and is not an “assault weapon,” and the other demonstrates the same types of tests (done on watermelons) which I just described, and using various calibers of bullets.

Are They Automatic Weapons?

The AR-15 and AK-47 rifles, which are legal to own by the way, are military “look-a-likes" but are NOT fully automatic assault rifles. A fully automatic rifle is the ONLY rifle that can be truly defined as an assault rifle. "AR" is just a model number

It All Boils Down to Appearance:

So the main thing we always seem to come back to with folks having a problem with these rifles because of the way they look. The way they LOOK? Puleeze!

Are people afraid of it then because a pistol grip or a black plastic stock makes it more likely to be used in a crime? That is part of it – it’s that “looks” thing again. But do these things add to the ability of the rifle to be used in a crime? I don’t think so. And I will go further by saying that these rifles are fairly expensive. The common criminal most often goes for the cheap handgun that is easy to conceal. These “evil black rifles” (or “EBRs” as we affectionately call them) have been found to have been used in an extremely low percentage of crimes.

Wrapping It All Up:

The only conclusion I can reasonably draw from all the hand-wringing and frightened rhetoric out there is that people are afraid of these rifles because they appear a certain way. I guess I don’t know what to tell you, other than that if you are one of these people, you need to get the facts. Try hooking up with a friend who owns one and have them take you to the range to shoot one. They are not evil, they are not scary, they do not cause people’s heads to explode on contact. They are rifles. Nothing more, nothing less.

For the still frightened folks out there: View these videos and you will see the truth about these firearms.

This is from a police officer in San Jose, Ca:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjM9fcEzSJ0

This video is from the Executive Director of the Firearms Coalition:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgr3kTU68uw&feature=related

Cars with drunk drivers behind the wheel have killed more people than all American rifles combined.

A black rifle only "looks" evil. A black rifle is an inanimate object. It's the man or woman behind it that counts.

Don't be afraid of people just because they own a black rifle. Be afraid of those who would oppose freedom and who oppose what this country stands for.

Be afraid of ignorant, irrational people. Do not be afraid of law abiding, decent people who own firearms, know how to use them, and use them responsibly.

Why Do We Blame Inanimate Objects?

2009-01-02T17:39:00.010-07:00

So many frightened and misguided folks in our society today want to limit that RIGHT which is protected by the U.S. Constitution and most State Constitutions. Self defense is a God given right. The Supreme Court, ala Castle Rock versus Gonzales, and Washington D.C. versus Warren made it clear that the police have no responsibility to protect me as an individual. But yet the desire is to take away the tools that I would lawfully and responsibly use to protect myself and my family. That seems funny to me. Not funny “ha-ha” but rather funny “strange.”

That being said, then I just have to wonder:

When an accident or crime involving a gun occurs, why do I hear people say that they can “…hardly wait until we get all the guns off the streets…”?

When Ted Kennedy’s car was involved in killing a young woman (because he drove drunk) did we hear cries to get all the cars off the streets? No!

When Timothy McVeigh parked a Ryder truck full of explosives that was used to take the lives of 167 people in a building, did we hear cries to get all the Ryder trucks off the streets? No!
When two airplanes were flown into some buildings in New York, killing thousands, did we hear cries to banish all airplanes from the skies? No!

When hundreds of children per year drown in swimming pools, do we hear cries to outlaw swimming pools? No!

When hundreds of unborn babies die at the hands of the abortionist, do we hear cries to outlaw abortion? No! Not only “NO” but the cries to keep abortion legal grow louder.

So I have to wonder further:

Why in the case of incidents involving guns, and ONLY in the case of incidents involving guns do we not hear cries to hold the PEOPLE responsible, but rather choose to hold the rest of society responsible?

Why do we punish millions of law abiding citizens, who just happen to be gun owners, for the transgressions of the people who commit crimes or other stupid acts of negligence?

Why do I hear no cries to get the criminals off the streets – and KEEP them off the streets? Why do liberal judges keep slapping them on the writs and sending them back out on our streets to commit more crimes?

Why do I hear no cries to hold the PERSON responsible who let a 2-year old play with a gun and injure/kill themselves? Charge a few of these nit-wits with reckless endangerment and child abuse resulting in death and you will find a decrease in that behavior.

Taking MY guns away isn’t going to punish the negligent party. It only punishes ME! And it punishes the family that I have a duty to protect.

Funny logic that frightened and uninformed people have. I guess we can blame that on the media though. “All the news that’s ‘FIT’ to print..” right? But then again, the final question would become: Is it the criminals our law makers REALLY wish to disarm? After all, it isn’t the criminals who will oppose tyranny – the criminals are tyranny – so to our legislators, they fit right in.

To wrap up, I will end with something re-posted from the Internet, Unknown source. But this makes perfect sense to me.

This is Why I Carry a Gun:

Why I Carry A Gun (Or Two) My old grandpa said to me son,' there comes a time in every mans lifewhen he stops bustin' knuckles and starts bustin' caps and usually it's when he becomes too old to take an ass whoopin'.

I don't carry a gun to kill people.

I carry a gun to keep from being killed.

I don't carry a gun to scare people.

I carry a gun because sometimes this world can be a scary place.

I don't carry a gun because I'm paranoid.

I carry a gun because there are real threats in the world.

I don't carry a gun because I'm evil.

I carry a gun because I have lived long enough to see the evil in the world.

I don't carry a gun because I hate the government.

I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government.

I don't carry a gun because I'm angry.

I carry a gun so that I don't have to spend the rest of my life hating myself for failing to be prepared.

I don't carry a gun because I want to shoot someone.

I carry a gun because I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed, andnot on a sidewalk somewhere tomorrow afternoon.

I don't carry a gun because I'm a cowboy.

I carry a gun because, when I die and go to heaven, I want to be a cowboy.

I don't carry a gun to make me feel like a man.

I carry a gun because men know how to take care of themselves and the ones they love.

I don't carry a gun because I feel inadequate.

I carry a gun because unarmed and facing three armed thugs, I am inadequate.

I don't carry a gun because I love it.

I carry a gun because I love life and the people who make it meaningful to me.

Police Protection is an oxymoron. Free citizens must protect themselves.

Police do not protect you from crime, they usually just investigate the crime after it happens and then call someone in to clean up the mess.

Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old totake an ass whoopin'

...author unknown (but obviously brilliant)

Using Television to Spread Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (About Guns)

2008-12-20T12:39:00.004-07:00

It seems to me that since the election, many in the assuredly liberal biased media sector have become suddenly bolder in their efforts to spread their anti-gun agendas. They know that now that their “messiah” will be taking office shortly, that they can now feel free to spread their propaganda to the masses without fear of any repercussions in the way of backlash from the citizens who watch these shows. They think that “We the People” are really “We The Sheeple” and that we will lap up all their words with unfettered ignorance. The liberals want the “Fairness Doctrine” to help protect them from the conservative voice, but what will protect the conservatives from the obviously liberal tactics of spreading their inaccurate ramblings?

What this amounts to, in my opinion, is an increased effort to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) over an issue that, if people took time to research the true data, would not be an issue at all. This type of tactic does nothing more than to inflame the fears of the uninformed people who are already frightened of inanimate objects, and make them more irrationally afraid of law abiding citizens.

Below, is a sample of such efforts. Since this was posted on the Gun Owner’s of America (GOA) website, and I don’t think I can illustrate this any better, I will repost their article in its entirety. This captures a perfect example of a so called “educational” show overstepping its bounds and pushing an agenda. What happened to unbiased reporting of an issue? What happened to including the arguments from both sides in such an argument? I’ll let you be the judge. If in fact you agree with the outrageousness of this horrible example of reporting, please take the time to take action as suggested at the end of this article, and write a letter to the National Geographic Channel to let them know how you feel.

Reposted from GOA website (http://www.gunowners.org/a121708.htm):

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

National Geographic Channel ran a show yesterday entitled, "Guns In America." According to the program, there are millions of misguided gun owners across the nation. Why? Because your guns are supposedly more likely to harm you than to help you in an emergency.

"As a society, we're totally out of control with weapons," said one Philadelphia cop who was interviewed during the show. "You need to limit access that people have to these type of firearms."

That was the basic thrust of the program. National Geographic recited the usual worn-out factoids that are peddled by the Brady Campaign. It only cited anti-gun cops. And for every person who was filmed stating he or she believed in a right to own firearms for self-defense, the program would cite "facts" to prove that such a hope was misplaced.

Gun owners should let the President and CEO of National Geographic know that the channel should stick to showing pictures of kangaroos and foliage -- images that we normally attribute to National Geographic's magazine -- and keep his personal, anti-gun views to his private conversations around the Christmas dinner table.

The National Geographic Channel presents itself as an educational, unbiased alternative. But "Guns in America" was hardly unbiased, as can be seen by the following agenda items that were pushed during the program:

1. "Guns in America" would have you believe that the guns in your home are 22 times more likely to kill a family member than to protect you. This statistic can (surprise, surprise!) be found on the Brady Campaign website, but its source has been highly discredited. The factoid originates with Arthur Kellerman, who has generated multiple studies claiming that guns are a net liability.1 But Kellerman has been found guilty of fudging his data, and even the National Academy of Sciences has stated that his "conclusions do not seem to follow" from his data.2

The truth of the matter is actually quite encouraging for gun owners. Anti-gun researchers for the Clinton Justice Department found that guns are used 1.5 million times annually for self-defense, which means that each year, firearms are used more than 50 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives.3

Isn't that strange? You would think anti-gunners wouldn't mind citing a study that was commissioned by the Clinton Justice Department! Apparently, the results of the study didn't fit their agenda.

2. "Guns in America" overstates the number of children who die by unintentional gunfire. The program would have viewers believe that a child dies by accidental gunfire, once every two days. But you can only reach that figure if you count violent-prone teens as "children."

In fact, when you look at the statistics involving younger children (ages 0-14), you see that kids have a greater chance of dying from choking on things like the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that you feed them.4 Hmm, why doesn't National Geographic want to report on those killer peanuts?

3. "Guns in America" portrays twelve times as many negative uses of guns as positive uses -- even though in the real world, the truth is quite the opposite (as guns are used at least 50 times more often to save life than take life). The program does start with a dramatization of a legitimate self-defense story with an actual 911 call playing in the background. But after that, every dramatization is about drive-by-shootings or cops being shot or gang-related warfare.

The lesson for the viewer is: Guns are bad.

4. "Guns in America" only quotes anti-gun "authorities," thus leaving the impression that all law-enforcement support gun control. Never mind the fact that when one looks at polls of the police community, they overwhelmingly hold pro-gun attitudes:

* Should any law-abiding citizen be able to purchase a firearm for sport or self defense? -- 93% of law-enforcement said yes.5

* Do you believe law-abiding citizens should be limited to the purchase of no more than one firearm per month? -- 70.1% of law-enforcement said no.6

* Do you agree that a national concealed handgun permit would reduce rates of violent crime as recent studies in some states have already reflected? -- 68.2% of law-enforcement said yes.7

It's bad enough that a liberal teacher's union controls the education of our kids in the public schools, and that many of them are being brainwashed with politically correct thinking. We don't need supposedly neutral programs like National Geographic peddling the Brady Campaign's favorite factoids to an unsuspecting public.

ACTION: Please contact Tim T. Kelly, the President and CEO of National Geographic Ventures (which includes their television division), and urge him to steer the NatGeo channel away from politics. If the National Geographic Channel can't run a balanced program -- where they use real statistics -- then they just need to stick to filming those cute little animals that helped make their magazine so famous.

You can go to this link to cut-and-paste the sample letter below into their webform. Since you will need to select a Topic, please choose "I have a complaint." And for "Department," we would suggest selecting "Factual Questions" or "General."

---- Pre-written letter ----

Dear Mr. Kelly:

I will think twice before ordering the National Geographic magazine, because I don't want to help you fund any more anti-gun propaganda. Your Explorer show entitled "Guns In America" -- which has run several times this month -- was heavily slanted to the gun control position. The show used fallacious statistics without rebutting them, all in an effort to demonize firearms.

For example, "Guns in America" falsely claimed that guns in the home are 22 times more likely to kill a family member than to serve as protection. That is simply not true. The author of this study, Arthur Kellerman, has been discredited many times (by groups such as the National Academy of Sciences), so it's shameful that your channel would even cite his work.

Second, "Guns in America" overstates the number of children who die by unintentional gunfire. In fact, when you look at the statistics involving younger children (ages 0-14), you see that kids have a greater chance of dying from choking on things like the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that you feed them. Can I expect to see a show in the near future highlighting the danger of feeding children?

Third, "Guns in America" portrays twelve times as many negative uses of guns as positive uses -- even though in the real world, the truth is quite the opposite. According to statistics from the Clinton Justice Department in 1997, guns are used at least 50 times more often to save life than take life.

Finally, "Guns in America" only quotes anti-gun "authorities," thus leaving the impression that all law-enforcement support gun control. Never mind the fact that when one looks at polls of the police community, they overwhelmingly hold pro-gun attitudes. (Please see the poll results on the website for the National Association of Chiefs of Police.) Why were none of these authorities ever cited?

The National Geographic Society's purpose is "to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge while promoting the conservation of the world's cultural, historical, and natural resources." I would submit to you that pushing gun control is far afield from your stated purpose.

Sincerely,

ENDNOTES:

1 Arthur Kellerman has generated multiple studies that claim gun owners are more likely to be injured by their guns than to use those guns in self-defense. His results range from 3 to 22 to 43 times more likely to be injured by a gun in the home. His methodology has been debunked, however, many times over. (See endnote 2.)

2 See http://www.gunowners.org/sk0701.htm . Also, see Charles F. Wellford, John Pepper, Carol Petrie, Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review (National Research Council of the National Academies, 2004), p. 118.

3 See http://www.gunowners.org/sk0802.htm

4 See "Children Accidental Death Rates (Ages 0-14)," Gun Control Fact Sheet (2004) at http://www.gunowners.org/fs0404.htm

5 National Association of Chiefs of Police, 20th Annual Survey Results (Survey questions sent to Chiefs of Police and Sheriffs in the United States: 2008).

6 National Association of Chiefs of Police, 15th Annual Survey Results (Survey questions sent to Chiefs of Police and Sheriffs in the United States).

7 Ibid.

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

Guns do not hurt and kill. People hurt and kill. What I advocate is that rather than punishing the majority of gun owners, who are responsible and law abiding people, that they focus on criminal control and stop letting criminals back onto our streets. Hold careless people responsible for their accidents. In other words, instead of trying to take the easy road, which is simply to punish everyone, to take the more difficult, but more meaningful road, and do the work to hold the true culprits in these incidents responsible.

Stop trying to take away the tools I use to defend myself and my family from predatory and vicious criminals, and instead go after those criminals and keep them off the streets. Tell the liberal judges to quit slapping wrists and start banging heads, and tell the biased media to report the facts instead of spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt!

Barack Obama’s Ten Point Plan to “Change” The Second Amendment

2008-08-08T17:59:00.002-06:00

Our liberties and freedoms that we enjoy today were based on our Founding Fathers vision of fending off a tyrannical government structure. But Barack Obama wants to “change” our country. He wants to change our United States Constitution and Bill of Rights to suit his political agenda and his quest for power. Specifically, he wants to “change” our Second Amendment” to suit his own anti-citizen agenda and his ill-conceived initiatives to appease the United Nations.

Obama, like many of our misguided liberal politicians, thinks that our U.S. Constitution is a “living” and “dynamic” document that can be re-written to fit whatever perverted or corrupt agenda suits them at the time. Well, fellow Americans, there is a reason why the oath for the office of President of the United States contains the affirmation of the promise to preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Our Founding Fathers clearly had the vision that people who only lusted for power would desire to once again turn the citizens of America into their slaves. These types of people do not want to lead by principle; they want to seek power and glory for themselves. They have no intention of using the powers lent to them by the American people for the good of the country and its citizens; they want to take the power away from the people and fashion their own perverted form of elitist state.

In my opinion, Barack Obama is one such individual. He is joined in his ill-conceived plans for domination by several others, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senator Diane Feinstein, and others who are listed on the list of top ten most corrupt politicians. With the likes of Pelosi and her ilk in power, Obama will have free reign to do whatever he wants, should he become president.

Our Constitution was NOT meant to be changed! The reason for that is because it is one of the checks and balances that is supposed to be used as a yard-stick by which our laws are made. The Supreme Court is supposed to be charged with overturning laws and decisions that are not constitutional, as they did recently in the Case of D.C. versus Heller. That is also what keeps the 51% majority from enacting laws that enslave the other 49% through an unconstitutional and immoral law. We are NOT a democracy! The United States of America is a Constitutional Republic, with checks and balances to keep illogical, immoral, and tyrannical laws from being imposed, even if a misguided 51% majority votes for them.

So here it is; here is Obama’s ten-point plan for “changing” the Second Amendment of our Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment would be only the start, but once this amendment falls, there will be no means of protection for the others:

1) Ban the use of firearms for home defense.

He supported the D.C. gun ban and the outright bans in cities like Chicago, where citizens are left defenseless against criminals invading their homes.

2) Pass federal laws eliminating your right-to-carry.

Concealed carry laws that my state of Colorado, and many other states fought long and hard to obtain. It has been proven time and again, and in multiple studies that states with “shall issue” laws regarding permits to carry concealed weapons enjoy lower crime rates than states that do not.

3) Ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns.

Yep – the criminals will surely obey THIS law, right?! Wrong! Only the law abiding would obey laws like this, leaving the innocent citizens the only ones who are disarmed.

4) Close down 90% of the gun shops in America.

He doesn’t want a gun shop within 5 miles of a school, but PORN shops are OK.

5) Ban rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting.

Oh yeah – this will reduce crime – NOT! Only the law abiding will have their hands tied by such laws, because these types of laws affectively ban firearms by making it prohibitively expensive to use them, or makes the ammunition for them non-existent. But what this will do is further ensure that there is less likelihood that law abiding citizens will be armed. If we are not armed, we can’t resist – the criminals OR the politicians.

6) Increase federal taxes on guns and ammunition by 500 percent.

If he can’t outright ban guns, he will make them prohibitively expensive to use, resulting in an effective ban on them. See my article on this type of tactic here.

But this one is back-firing already. Due to the increasing prices of ammunition, police departments are reporting that they are cutting down on their officer’s practice and open range time. Some are now requiring their officers to qualify with a firearm only once every six months. My wife and I keep up our proficiency by shooting weekly. When it comes to accidentally shooting innocent citizens in a shootout with criminals, by the way, armed citizens have a 3% error rate, compared to an 11% error rate for law enforcement personnel. Hmmmmm… who is suffering here? YOU are, if you have to rely on police for your protection.

7) Restore voting rights for five million criminals including those who have been convicted of using a gun to commit a violent crime.

Gee – and just who do you think it is who is going to vote for a candidate who is anti-gun? The criminals! They don’t have any intention of obeying the laws, but people like Obama who will make sure that their victims are unarmed and unable to defend themselves enables the criminals to do whatever they want.

8) Expand the Clinton semi-auto ban to include millions more firearms.

This failed in the past. What makes him think it will work now? Assault weapons are used in a miniscule number of crimes. And in his way of thinking, just about any type of auto-loading pistol or rifle – even my little .22 caliber plinker, is considered an “assault weapon.” Banning a class of weapons has been determined as unconstitutional.

9) Mandate a government-issued license to purchase a firearm.

And the licensing procedure will make it extremely difficult and cumbersome for the law abiding citizens to buy firearms, while the criminals, having no regard for any such laws, will obtain guns at will to use against innocent citizens. Purchasing a gun already requires sufficient background checks. Making law abiding citizens fill out paperwork to get permission slips to enjoy rights that they already have is an infringement. What part of “shall not be infringed” do these people not understand?

10) Appoint judges to the U.S. Supreme Court and Federal judiciary who share his views on the Second Amendment.

We won a victory in the Supreme Court by a narrow 5 – 4 victory. If Obama appoints more liberal judges, they will scramble to overturn the Supreme Court 2nd Amendment decision faster and with more fervent effort than any effort so far to try to overturn the Roe –v- Wade decision. It’s very strange to me how overturning the ability to kill an innocent human life does not receive the same level of effort that they will surely give to overturning the rights of individuals to protect their lives.

He doesn’t want a gun shop within 5 miles of a school – as if a school child would be able to walk in and purchase a gun anyway - but is just OK with having porn shops within reach of our schools.

So let’s see here – in his way of thinking, he doesn’t want the type of shop within 5 miles of a school where only a law abiding citizen of legal age, and who has to pass a criminal background check, can purchase the products contained in that store, but is OK with stores being within reach of our schools where only the mentally deranged and sexually perverted would even consider patronizing. No stores that are only frequented by decent, law abiding folks allowed (how many criminals do you think go into a gun store to try to buy a gun legally?), but a store that caters to a large population of sexual deviants is just dandy. Wow! That really isn’t looking out for the interests of our children at all if you ask me!

Wake up America! A man who obviously has no experience leading wants to lead a nation. He has twisted and illogical ideals, in my opinion, and evidently doesn’t espouse the same sense of freedom and liberty for the American people that our Founding Fathers envisioned. It just seems to me that Obama is as far to the radical left as can be possible for one individual to be, and he espouses a purely socialist and elitist agenda. America was not built on socialism or elitism. It was built on freedom - freedom from oppression and tyranny, and freedom to enjoy the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. A “nanny state” Obama nation will be completely void of those ideals that our Founding Fathers were willing to give their lives for.

Barack Obama is the wrong person to lead this country, in my opinion. With his desire to bow down to and give $845 Billion dollars (that’s Billion with a “B” folks…) of our tax money to the United Nations in a bill which is labeled as fighting global poverty, but is meant to disarm America, tax our fuel even higher, and keep us dependant on foreign oil. With his views that Americans should not be able to defend themselves in their own homes from invading criminals, plus his views on subordinating America to the United Nations, one has to wonder: Who’s side is he on!?

How to Lose Your Rights - Catching Wild Pigs

2008-06-28T11:38:00.007-06:00

Taking away the rights of the people in a society isn’t new. It has been done before, and done successfully. But understanding how it’s done is the key to understanding the need to be constantly vigilant of our surroundings, and involved in who we are choosing to be our leaders. The process can happen so slowly that people aren’t even aware it is happening until it’s too late. In this article, I would like to use a couple of fables I found on the Internet to describe just how this horrible chain of events happening before our very eyes, and how electing someone like Obama as President, can lead to an enslaved America.

In one of the online discussion forums where I frequently participate, one of the people in the group posted this story. After “Googling” it, I found it out there on many sites, but no reference as to who wrote it. I really and truly wish I could cite the source and give them credit because it is as clearly stated as can be.

A Chemistry professor in a large college had exchange students in the class.

One day in class, the Professor noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back, and stretching as if his back hurt.

The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked, 'Do you know how to catch wild pigs?' The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke:

'You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.

Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.'

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to people in the United States.

The government keeps pushing us toward socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops , welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms - just a little at a time.

One should always remember: There is no such thing as a free Lunch! Also, a politician will never provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.

Then there is this one which tells a story along the same lines. It is a story about how Stalin, on his death bead, was choosing a successor. He illustrates how to take away people’s freedoms, while making them grateful for the “warmth” that the government lets them have in return for being captive in their own country:

When Josef Stalin was on his deathbed he called in two likely successors, to test which one of the two had a better knack for ruling the country.

He ordered two birds to be brought in and presented one bird to each of the two candidates.

The first one grabbed the bird, but was so afraid that the bird could free himself from his grip and fly away that he squeezed his hand very hard, and when he opened his palm, the bird was dead.

Seeing the disapproving look on Stalin's face and being afraid to repeat his rival's mistake, the second candidate loosened his grip so much that the bird freed himself and flew away.

Stalin looked at both of them scornfully. "Bring me a bird!" he ordered. They did.

Stalin took the bird by its legs and slowly, one by one, he plucked all the feathers from the bird's little body.

Then he opened his palm. The bird was laying there naked, shivering, helpless.

Stalin looked at him, smiled gently and said, "You see... and he is even thankful for the human warmth coming out of my palm."

Our rights don’t get taken from us all in one fell swoop. Those who would take them know that if they tried to take away all of our rights at once, the people would surely see it, and would revolt instantly. So instead, our rights get taken away slowly and steadily. So slowly, that those who aren’t aware of their surroundings (the “sheeple” as I refer to them) don’t even notice it, and in fact welcome it because it is disguised as something done for their own good.

Those who aren’t aware, don’t want to be aware, or just feel that they need nannies to watch over them are the ones who are letting this happen. Those of us who are constantly vigilant and constantly fighting to spread the word are labeled as “radicals” and “extremists” by those who are too timid or afraid to act for themselves.

I just don’t know how some people don’t get this…

'A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.'

.... Thomas Jefferson

World "Welcomes" Obama Win?!

2008-06-08T16:45:00.006-06:00

The following is my opinion. I’m entitled to it. If you’re a liberal, and this article offends you – GOOD! If, however, you are a conservative and an American patriot, get out and defeat Barack Obama with your vote. Because if you don’t – man, I will hunt you down!

The headline reads: “World Welcomes Obama Win….”

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-06-04-obama-world_N.htm

One thing in the story that particularly caught my eye was the following:

Michael Cox, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, said Obama's win "has sent out a lot of positive signals around the world."

"He has a very appealing persona — elegant, fluent, strings lots of sentences together into paragraphs," Cox said. "But in terms of (his) actual policies towards the Middle East, Iraq, Iran, China, Europe — actually, we don't know."

Well, isn’t that interesting? We just don’t know, do we? And that’s because Obama lacks any kind of real experience in foreign policy. Yep – he does string those sentences together to make paragraphs (duh?). Of that there can be no argument. He is extremely glib, and talks a good story. Obama is convincing to those who are gullible and easily fooled. Obama has made himself look “hip” and “cool” to those for whom “hip” and “cool” are the only things that matter. He has painted himself to be as dramatic an orator as Martin Luther King, and the biased media has made him their new darling, portraying him in their accompanying story artwork with halos, auras, and beams of light shooting out of his head.

With all of his ability to “talk,” we know he’ll be a great appeaser, though. But the way he flip-flops on the issues, one can never tell just which way he’ll go. He can’t even make up his mind about the threat posed by Iran. One minute he says they “…do not pose a serious threat to us…” and then the next day he says “I’ve made it clear for years that the threat from Iran is grave.” Well, Mr. Obama - which is it? Can you maybe decide which of those lies about your position you are willing to stick with? And he wants to sit down and talk with them without any pre-conditions?

Obama is glib and gives very dramatic speeches. The gullible sheeple lap his words up like milk. Come on, America – wake up!!

In my opinion, Obama and his lies can be summed up in the following (not all inclusive) points:

Obama is clearly against the individual liberties guaranteed by our Bill of Rights.
He is clearly all for raising our taxes to fund the United Nation’s efforts to disarm America. He is all for raising our taxes period!
He is clearly an elitist who wishes not to lead our country with principles, but seek more power with which to rule as a true fascist dictator.
He is on the top ten list of most corrupt politicians:
o (http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2007/12/pelosi_reid_huckabee_obama_amo_1.asp)
o http://wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspot.com/2007/12/judicial-watchs-top-ten-most-corrupt.html
Obama is anti self –defense and believes that no American citizen should have the means to defend themselves against criminal predators using the same degree of force (that the criminals use), which is the firearm (while he enjoys his entourage of armed body guards). This makes him a criminal enabler.
He is against the ideas of individual self sufficiency upon which this country was built, and believes that the “nanny state” should provide for a person’s every need. Problem with that is that HE wants to be the one to decide what those needs are and how to meet them.
Obama thinks that Americans have “broken souls,” http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/04/obama_the_savior.html), rural Americans are bitter, and that we cling to guns and religion. (So being couragous enough to defend ourselves with firearms, and believing in God makes us bitter?)
He is married to a woman who has only recently been proud of her country “…for the first time…” I, as others, can’t even count the number of times I have been proud of my country. Michelle Obama, in my opinion, is a bitter, pretentious and racist hag.
Do I really need to mention the “… 57 states” comment of his? Did we get a few more while I was sleeping? Or is he bringing Iran and some other muslim countries in as new states?
He has no clue what the 2nd Amendment is all about, except that he doesn’t want individual Americans owning guns.
Obama, in my opinion, LIES when he says that he supports the 2nd Amendment. His affiliations, voting record, and past activities (Joyce Foundation) all support the fact that he hates the 2nd Amendment and hates individual rights. He has been a huge proponent of gun control and in fact opposes citizens carrying concealed weapons. Does he oppose drunks who drive? Because Ted Kennedy’s car and drunken behavior have killed more people than all of my guns put together? Why isn’t he doing something about that?
Obama wants to eliminate any gun shop from being within five miles of any school, but yet is perfectly fine with pornography shops being within five miles of a school.
On Obama’s white grandmother’s comments about black people, he refers to her as a “…typical white person…” which says to me that he believes that ALL white people harbor racist attitudes. This to me classifies HIM as a racist and an ignorant bigot. This item will most likely not get much press, but if a white candidate referred to a “typical black person,” the liberal media would be all over it. http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0308/That_typical_white_person_line.html
Obama wants guns off limits, and he wants selected topics of discussion during his candidacy placed off limits. Sounds like he wants to get rid of the 1st and 2nd Amendments to me.
We live in the greatest country on the planet, and he wants to “change” that. Change it to what? A nation of subjects instead of citizens?

Here’s the way I see it: The world DOES welcome an Obama win, because an Obama win will be good for the (rest of the) world. Unfortunately an Obama win won’t be good for Americans, in my opinion. If elected to the Presidency of the United States, he will appease our enemies, particularly our radical muslim enemies, and sell the citizens of the United States into further slavery and dependence on foreign resources. He will appease the special interests and fail to help us reach energy independence, but continue to line his own pockets. He will further hand over the liberties of Americans to the United Nations and make us unable to defend ourselves as individuals and as a nation against attacks, both foreign and domestic. He will abandon Israel, something that the United States does only at its greatest peril. We will have an inexperienced, bigoted, corrupt, anti-American commander in chief if he gets elected.

If elected, he will tell his first lie in office, (he’s told many others already – but he’s not in the office of President yet – and hopefully never will be!) in my opinion, the day of inauguration when he takes the oath to “preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States of America” because he has no intention of preserving the individual liberties that served as the ideals that founded this great nation, and he has no intention of defending what our Constitution stands for.

Obama’s ideas and desires stand for nothing short of being anti-American, fascist, racist, anti-Semitist, and anti-freedom in my opinion. But OK, now I get it – I guess that would make the world extremely happy – to see America turned into a fascist, powerless state that caters to their every whim.

As an aside: In gathering material for this article, I did a Google search on “obama bad for america” and got 806,000 hits. I think that it’s no fluke that Obama inspires such sentiment in Americans:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=obama+is+bad+for+america

Here are just a few links about what Americans, and even one Israeli, have to say about Barack Obama:

http://www.obamamustgo.com/
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/724781/barack_obama_is_bad_for_america.html
http://www.nysun.com/comments/60639
http://douglasvgibbs.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/why-obama-is-bad-for-america/
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0508/glick052008.php3

"My friends, we live in the greatest country in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it."

- Barack Obama

Security Tips To Keep You (and Your Data) Safe While Traveling

2008-06-05T21:30:00.005-06:00

I mainly write about self defense in this blog, and most people may think of self defense as having to do with firearms, physical fighting to fend off a predator, or some other physical means of defending one’s self. But to me, self defense is an all-encompassing state of mind. I often speak of a term known as “defense-in-depth” which is all about having a wide variety of tools available for protection. Self defense is as much about protecting those intangible aspects of your life, such as your identity, and sensitive data. So in this article, I am going to bring out my computer geek, computer security personality and discuss some ways to keep your data safe while travelling.

As we approach summer, more and more people are once again thinking of traveling, both for business and for pleasure. TechEd is in June, and a variety of other techie conferences are not far behind. School is out, making way for family vacations – although with the ridiculous price of fuel, I’m not sure how many people will be traveling. Even when only traveling for pleasure, many business professionals, as do I, take their laptops and PDA devices with them to be able to do work during a few “down” moments on their trip, or at the very least to have a way to keep tabs on their email and events at work. We geeks are such workaholics, aren’t we?

On a recent business trip to the east coast, I had the opportunity to once again enjoy my hobby of just sitting back and observing people. I was again reminded of just how complacent folks are about their security when it comes to using computers and other information technology enabled devices when on travel. This seemed to be especially true when using computers in public places – either their own laptops, or computers in hotel business centers. I am not sure if people are just in a hurry, or if they just really are not aware of the potentials for exposing themselves (in a “data” sort of sense, that is) while out and about.

There are a number of things I will talk about in this article having to do with ways to keep yourself (and your data) more secure when away on travels. Some of these things are as simple as using fundamental physical measures to shield your computer screen from curious eyes. Others involve the act of just taking the time to clean up after yourself when using a public computer, and yet other measures I will discuss simply involve the use of technology that is already built in to the devices that you are using. There really is very little to no cost involved in protecting yourself with these measures, but the cost of giving away your data can be huge and devastating. So let’s take a look at a few of the vulnerabilities we face everyday when on travel and some solutions for protection.

Shoulder Surfing:

If you are flying, your potential for vulnerability begins the very minute you get to the airport. Many people find that they have to arrive at the airport a few hours early just to make it through check-in and security, in order to make their flight on time. There is often a lot of “down time” here, so many people, as do I, pull out the laptop and the Blackberry, and do some work. In this setting, we are often in very close proximity to other people. Once we board the airplane, it is even worse. Unless you are lucky enough to be in First Class, you are sitting with your elbows right up against someone else’s, and their wandering eyes are just a foot or two north. Even if you aren’t flying, or have arrived at your destination, the local restaurant and the corner coffee shop are no different. When you sit down in that comfortable chair to enjoy your latte and do some work, there are countless wandering eyes trying to figure out what you are doing.

There are two main problems here. First of all, your neighbor (who is usually NOT minding their own business) is looking at your computer as you type in your username and password. If they can see your log-in box, they can see your username, and if your computer is joined to a corporate domain, they can see the domain name. As you type in your password, unless you are lightning fast, they can see you type the characters. I’m one of those “two-finger wonders” (I don’t touch type) so this is a particularly big problem for me. A devious person with intent on harvesting such information (and they are everywhere, trust me) will be very good at following your keystrokes and will be able to obtain all the credentials needed to log in to your corporate network. They now have your username, the name of your corporate domain, and your password. All they have to do is get access into that domain, and they are in. Your username and password exist on the domain, and are only cached on your computer, which means that they can access your account from any computer that can get access to your corporate domain, such as a VPN or other remote connection. Another danger is that if they are able to steal your laptop (more on this later), they will have access to the data on it. Remember – these people are everywhere. And if they are shoulder surfing to get your log-in credentials, they are also following closely to look for an opportunity to grab your laptop as well.

The second (and more common) problem with being in close proximity to others is that they are often able to view what is on your screen. Are you working on a document with sensitive personal or company information? Composing an offline email that you really don’t want others (especially strangers) to know about? How about that PowerPoint presentation chock full of corporate proprietary sales or engineering data? Whatever it is, you have to either make sure you are only working on things that are completely dull and unworthy of your nosey neighbor’s interest, or make the screen un-viewable. In other words, either pick non-sensitive stuff to work on during these times, or find a way to hide the screen. For example, I usually pick some low-level instructional or procedure guide to work on while I’m flying, or just do some professional reading. For example, I keep a lot of pdf white papers and “eBooks” from various online sources on my computer for reading while on the plane. My job is such that professional reading and just keeping are large parts of my work anyway – so it’s not like I’m goofing off.

Solutions: For the password problem, if you are on a computer that is joined to a corporate domain, use a local account on the computer (that does not have administrative privileges), and set a temporary password that will only be good for the duration of your trip. Of course, if you do this, you will have to make sure you know where to browse to on the computer to get to your documents in your “real” account, because the profile you log in with will have a “My Documents” folder in a different location. I get around this by accessing only documents that I have placed on a flash drive. If you are not joined to a domain, then just set a temporary password, and set it back to your actual password when you get home. One of the best solutions for this is to simply get a small finger print scanner to use to log into the machine. Many are small, portable, and just plug into the USB port. The newer laptops and tablet PCs even come with these built in. See my article on biometric devices for more information.

For the “prying eyes on the screen” problem, there are a variety of filters you can buy that will obscure the screen when someone tries to view it from other than looking at it straight on. This particular solution will also help to obscure your username and other login credential information as you log in. If they can’t see your username, the password will do no good. But again, don’t give them any pieces of the puzzle if at all possible. As I always tell people: “If they have even just your username, they then have 50% of the information they need to access your computer.”
Of course, being the wisenheimer that I am, if I notice someone trying to “catch a wave” on “shoulder beach”, I simply open a document, set the font to a larger size (to make sure they can easily read it), and then start typing in some juicy “official looking” verbiage. After a paragraph or two, I start a brand new paragraph, and type in “I think the nosey person sitting next to me is looking at what I am writing. I hope they enjoyed my previous two paragraphs. Now GO AWAY!” I have seen a red face or two resulting from that prank.

Using Flash Drives:

Flash drives are portable and can store a lot of data. Many people have resorted to using them because if they know they will have access to a computer at their destination, all they have to do is put their documents on the flash drive and leave the computer at home. Many cell phones and even iPods can be used for this purpose as well. The problem with these small flash drives is that they are easily lost or forgotten. It isn’t uncommon for someone to use them in a public or borrowed computer and then forget to take them when they are finished. A lost flash drive means lost data. Lost data can mean something as frustrating as losing work and having to do it all over again (if you didn’t have a backup copy somewhere else), or as devastating as putting sensitive information into a stranger’s hands.

Flash drives are cheap these days. If you lose the flash drive, you can just go get another one. But what about the data on the flash drive? Is it replaceable? Will it cost you if someone else has it? Another issue surrounding the ubiquitous nature of these things is that some people seem to have a whole lanyard full of them around their necks. Do you have a good inventory of how many you have? If one came up missing, how long would it take for you to notice? Kind of like the movie “Home Alone” where the family had so many kids that they didn’t notice little Kevin missing until they were in France!

Solution: The manufacturers of many of these drives have solved part of this problem for you. Flash drives have the ability to be encrypted, and the software to do that is often included with the flash drive itself. Typically, this encryption works by having you set up a password in order to access the data. You can encrypt all or only part of the flash drive’s contents. If someone gets a hold of your flash drive, they can access anything that is not encrypted, but will need to know your password to access the encrypted data. In some cases (depends on the drive and the encryption software), you can set your encryption such that if a number of unsuccessful password attempts occur the data on the drive will be erased. Know how many you have and keep track of them. If traveling, take only what you need – leave the other ones at home and in a safe place. I promise – they won’t miss you.

Using Common Area (Business Center) Computers:

Many hotels have business centers with computers to allow their guests to access the Internet and their web based email. In fact on my recent trip, I had full Internet access at the office I was visiting, but had to pay for Internet access if I wanted to use my laptop at the hotel. The only thing I needed after hours Internet access for was to check my personal email, and I wasn’t about to pay $10 just for 5 minutes of use. My remaining option then was to use the business center, since using those computers was free of charge.

A few problems present themselves in this scenario, however. One is that people use these public computers and often leave their surfing tracks for all to see. The other is that some people forget to just close out of their applications, and yet another is leaving those little flash drives plugged in for someone to come along and retrieve later. In fact, while in the hotel elevator on my most recent trip, I heard a woman telling her colleague that when he finished using the computer in the business center, he had left his email open, and she could have gone through all his email. Worse, she could have launched a few questionable emails in his name. This is truly a dangerous situation. What if it had been a stranger, and not a trusted colleague? That person could have read email, sent a few of their own (under the email account owner’s name), looked at the address book to get a list of names of people at the company, and just in general could do some serious damage. All this done under the name of the person who owns the account. How do you prove that it wasn’t you who did those things?

When I used one of the business center computers, I got curious and opened the browser history. I saw a plethora of email sites and surfing history. Wouldn’t be too hard to put together a few patterns and find out where some of these email servers existed. Depending on the cookies still on the machine, going to one of those sites may not even require me to log back in to access the account. The cookie would remember that I (or more accurately the email account owner) was just there and just let me right back in. This is especially true if the previous user had left the web browser open.

On a really malicious (and hopefully rare) side of things, a devious person could sneak into the hotel business center and put a keystroke logging dongle on the back of the computer between the keyboard and the computer, or in a USB port. Such a device is used to capture everything typed into the keyboard. Which means that they can get the URL to your banking site, the username and password for your banking site, and the contents of an email or anything else that you type into the computer. These key loggers have legitimate investigative purposes, but are inexpensive and can be obtained by anyone – including thieves. I say that this is (hopefully) rare, because most hotel business centers require a room key card to access – a person would (theoretically) have to be a paying guest in order to do this. But many public computers often do not offer such access protection as that provided by hotel business centers.

Solutions: For the reasons mentioned above, it is very important to pre-inspect the computer before and clean up after yourself after using a public computer. It takes a few extra minutes to do this, but you can’t put a price on the time it would take to straighten out the mess after you have been exposed because you didn’t have time to prevent these vulnerabilities. Here are some important steps to take when using public computers:

Do a quick inspection of the back of the computer and any USB ports to look for key logging devices. If you find something, and are not sure, contact the management immediately and have them investigate.
Never select the option to have “Windows remember me on this computer.” Do not allow the computer to store your username and password on the machine. Some web based email applications such as MSN will give you an option to tell it that you are on a public computer and not remember anything about your session.
Delete browser history, all temporary Internet files, and all cookies when you are finished using the computer.
Make sure you are logged out of any sites that you visited. Just closing the browser is not good enough. You must click the “Log out” link on the web site before closing the browser.
Close all instances of the web browser and all applications.
Make sure you take your flash drive when you leave.

Being the cheapskate that I am, however, my solution is that I try my best to only patronize hotels and coffee shops that provide complimentary Internet access to their guests. That way, I can avoid public computers altogether. But sometimes that just doesn’t work out, and I end up staying somewhere that makes me pay additional fees for access. In which case, the above solutions are a must.

PDAs/Blackberrys/Cell Phones:

Many of the same problems that exist with flash drives exist with these devices as well. They are small, easily lost, and can really store a lot of information. A Blackberry, for example is a phone, email client, and PDA all rolled into one. Emails, contact lists, to-do lists, documents, and personal journals are just a few of the things that can be kept on these devices. A lost phone device can not only give away sensitive data, but can give someone access to a free phone. And watch what you are discussing. What you say can be as revealing as anything else – especially if you are one of those people who puts everything on speaker phone, even when in public.

Solutions: Just as you can do with your flash drives, you can password protect and encrypt the data on your PDA as well. On my Blackberry, for example, I can password protect access and encrypt the contents. Not only that, but my Blackberry is set so that if someone types in an incorrect password ten times, the Blackberry erases all of the contents. Then, for added security, the data is encrypted, so that even if someone takes apart the Blackberry, and somehow gets the data off of the chip, the data is encrypted and unusable. Don’t discuss anything on your phone that you don’t want others in close proximity to hear. If you are sitting next to me on the plane, just don’t use your phone – period! I have no interest in what you have to say ;)

Laptops:

Saving the best and biggest for last: Laptops (and the data on them) need a lot of protection. They can carry a lot of data, and are very attractive to thieves. Keeping the laptop from being stolen is a job in and of itself, but if it does get stolen, there is more to worry about than just losing an expensive piece of hardware. Keeping the data on it from being compromised is the really important issue at hand, and if someone can access the data, they can potentially do a great deal of damage.

A big part of this problem is that even if they can’t log into the computer itself, and if they have the computer (physically), then they can remove the hard drive and put it into a computer that they can access. In fact, many data recovery techniques rely on taking the hard drive out of the failed (or in this case inaccessible) computer and “slave” it into a working computer. The working computer’s primary hard drive allows it to be booted up, and the slaved in hard drive contains data that can then be accessed. More clever people have freely available tools such as Knoppix (Linux on a CD) that they can use to boot up the computer, bypass the security on that computer, and access the data on the hard drive. In fact Knoppix can even be used to change the administrative password on a computer so that access can be gained through the more conventional method of booting up and logging in.

Solutions: There are some basic measures that will protect against access to a computer, but only if the computer is not stolen. In other words, these measures will work if you can keep the computer from being stolen. But once the computer is in unauthorized hands, these measures can be quickly bypassed. You can set a BIOS password that will prevent the computer from being booted into the operating system. But this is bypassed by simply taking the hard drive out of the computer and putting it into a different computer. Strong passwords for the operating system itself should also be used. As mentioned above, consider using temporary or “disposable” passwords. Small biometric devices, such as fingerprint readers, are fairly inexpensive, and many laptop and tablet computers have a fingerprint reader built in. Unfortunately, this can still be bypassed by putting the hard drive in another computer, or using a tool such as Knoppix to access the hard drive’s contents.

Encrypting the hard drive contents will help a great deal, even if the computer is stolen. Windows XP has the ability to do this using a built in feature. Windows Vista has a built in tool called BitLocker. Technologies such as that which is built into the BitLocker feature, for example, have the ability to protect data even if the hard drive is transferred to another computer. The downside of that is that you need to make sure you remember your password for logging into the computer, or set up what is known as a “recovery agent,” or you will lose your encrypted data.

Wrapping It All Up:

There are many other dangers that I haven’t mentioned here, such as accessing wireless networks while on the road, but that is a topic in and of itself. Wireless encryption, making sure you are not accessing an “evil twin” wireless access point, and a few other issues will be discussed in an upcoming article.

But for the purposes of this article, I wanted to focus mainly on the more ”physical” aspects of being secure on the road, as well as using built-in technologies to protect your data. Shielding your laptop screen from roaming eyes and preventing laptop theft are important ideas. If your laptop is stolen, knowing that you took measures to prevent the data from being usable by unauthorized people is also a very important idea. Other technologies, such as flash drives, cell phones, and PDAs represent things that are small, easily forgotten, or easily stolen. Those items contain sensitive data as well, and must have data security measures proactively applied. Once the data is in unauthorized hands, it must be assumed that it will be used for malicious or illegal purposes. Even if you retrieve your items, it must also be assumed that the information was copied and will be used – unless you took measures to make it useless in the event that a loss occurs.

It is easy to be complacent when traveling. And, unfortunately, there are plenty of people out there willing to take advantage of this fact. By taking a few extra moments to think about what needs to be protected, take inventory of your technology rich possessions, and take the extra time to protect your data, you will ensure a more worry-free travel experience. If I ever go into a hotel business center and see that you left your email open – man – I will hunt you down! (After I email a few jokes to your whole company, that is)

Additional Resources:

Article: Web Surfing in Public Places is a Way to Court Trouble
Article: Mobile Computing: Traveling Without a Notebook
Theft tracking tools
· http://www.absolute.com/
· http://www.stolenlaptop.com/
· http://www.lojackforlaptops.com/default.asp
Product: The 3M Notebook Screen Privacy Filter
Article: Laptop Security Part 1
Article: Laptop Security Part 2

Sneaky Gun Control Tactics

2008-05-26T12:28:00.010-06:00

If you knew you couldn’t outright take something away from people, then how do you go about using other measures to effectively “ban” that thing by making it useless? Well… you would simply pretend to support people’s rights by telling them that you wouldn’t ban something, and instead use sneaky tactics behind the scenes to effectively do the same thing that your intended ban would do by so heavily regulating it that it is a useless right. Those who seek to take control of the White House aren't stupid. They know exactly how to sneak their agendas through because they know that the sheeple are gullible and will be willing recipients of their tactics. So – let’s take a look at how this is done...

The article “We're All Gun Nuts Now: The Democrats sidle up to the Second Amendment.” By John McCormack, which appears in the May 19, 2008 edition of The Weekly Standard, discusses how the presidential candidates answered (or more to the point sidestepped) questions about their support for gun control. They pleaded ignorance to briefs presented in the Washington D.C. versus Heller case, which is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court, and even outright denied participation in previous gun control polls and discussions. Then later they began to emerge with statements about how they:

“will not take away a law abiding citizen’s right to hunt target shoot (and later adding) defend their families…”

Basically, what this article points out is the obvious and well known notion that politicians will sidestep the issues while they are campaigning, then turn the tables and do whatever they darn well please once they are elected. They make statements about their support for the 2nd Amendment by saying things like:

“I support the 2nd Amendment, BUT…” or “I believe in ‘common sense’ and ‘reasonable’ gun laws…”

What they really mean is that they have a gun control agenda that they want to push through. They know that they can’t do it overtly, so they disguise it so as to be palatable or even a different thing altogether to try to fool even the reasonable gun owner. The rest of the brainwashed sheeple won’t care what it is that the politicians are trying to do – they are too lazy or stupid to do research, or they just plain don’t care about their rights being taken away one by one. Many of the people who fall into that category anyway (sheeple, I mean) prefer to live in a “nanny state” where the government takes care of all their needs. These types of laws, to them, are just additional assurance that the government is “looking out for them and doing what’s best for them.”This whole situation is nothing more than what is commonly referred to as the FUD tactic: Spreading Fear Uncertainty, and Doubt in order to sway people’s decisions through misinformation or deliberately omitting important information. If people are made to be oblivious or even fearful of things, even though the fears are completely unfounded, then they can be duped into being swept along in the tide of other unreasonable and fearful people to institute something that makes no sense whatsoever. But since they didn’t take the time to get all the facts, they have just ignorantly been convinced to make an unsound decision. And if some politician can promise to solve these fears and uncertainties, then the masses will blindly vote them into power.

As an aside: Yes – I just said “vote them into power” not “…office.” Politicians crave power – they have no intention of being voted into “office.” To be voted into “office” would mean that they are acknowledging that they are the servants to the people, as they were meant to be. They seem to forget the principles on which this country was founded. I seem to remember something about the “…consent of the governed…” being mentioned in our country’s founding documents, but I don’t see too many of these politicians caring about that anymore.But I think the FUD tactics of the ambitious politician are even more devious than that. Now that they know that an outright ban on firearms will not be supported, even by some of their own people (other politicians), they will resort instead to pushing forward with their version of "reasonable" controls and "common sense" gun laws. If they can’t ban something outright, they can surely regulate it to the extent that having it is useless. As an example, they will push forward with mandates for such things as requirements for expensive training, licensing, registration, ammunition stamping, ballistic fingerprinting and the like. Their outward message is:

"These are 'common sense' and 'reasonable' controls that will protect you and keep you safe."

The underlying, and actual theme of these controls are that they want to make firearm ownership and use so exorbitantly expensive that people will either lose interest altogether, or simply not be able to afford to maintain what they have (“I have a gun but now can't afford bullets”).

And what good is that right to bear firearms without bullets? That is like telling us that we can enjoy our 1st amendment rights, as long as we don’t use keyboards or Internet blogs to do so. What good is a right to bear firearms if I have to jump through so many hoops to register one that it takes a long time and a lot of money before I can have one? Last I checked, basic human rights were not supposed to have these types of conditions. And that is exactly what the liberal politicians are counting on to slip their horrid agendas through. They can then honestly make the claim:

“We did NOT infringe on your right to keep and bear arms.”

They just made it impossible for us to use them.In my opinion, what this does is effectively takes away firearm ownership from the lower income populations - the folks who probably need self defense measures the most, and makes it more difficult for even middle-class Americans to keep up with the costs of firearm ownership and use. The majority of people in these classes are easy to target because these same politicians come off with high emotions and promises of government benefits and programs to help them live better lives. The folks in lower or even moderate income families then have little to no other choice but to vote for these people because these are the politicians who give them the greatest chance of economic survival.

These promises greatly overshadow the politician’s lack of support and even downright hatred of even basic human rights. It is, after all, easier to control your citizens when they are unarmed. Basic human rights are supposed to be enjoyed by everyone, not just those who can afford them. Basic human rights are supposed to know no discrimination. But the elitist liberals want to be able to control who can do what, and they rely on a large population of dependant subjects in order to be able to exert power.

Sneaky tactics, FUD, and lying to the public are the tools of the politician to make people afraid of guns and to fool them into believing that more gun laws will keep them safe. Instead of focusing on ways to get the criminals off the streets, they are seeking to take away a basic human right from the law abiding of this country by taking away their tools of defense. What’s next – heavily regulate or ban pepper spray? Well, they’re trying to regulate that too, but that is the topic of another article.

It is obvious who is going to probably end up with the Democratic nomination. In my opinion, Barack Obama is one such politician who favors and employs these types of sneaky tactics and FUD to put gun ownership out of the reach of most Americans, while making the statement:

“I support your 2nd amendment right to bear arms."

and crossing his fingers behind his back. He can say that all day long, while pushing and backing laws that will make our rights essentially worthless.

The 2nd Amendment of our Bill of Rights guarantees that our right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Even the clause in the 2nd Amendment that talks about the “…well regulated militia…” infers that this is an individual right. Who makes up the militia, anyway? We the people make up any potential militia! We the people are the last line of defense in the event of another attack on American soil. We the people also have the right (and responsibility) to defend our families, but these liberal power-mongers don’t feel that we have that right.

The Decision to Be an Armed Citizen – Part 3

2008-05-12T21:57:00.005-06:00

The Mental Side of Being an Armed Citizen:

And NO – I am not referring to anything even hinting of those of us who carry having mental illness, being a mental defective, or any such nonsense. In fact, all of the gun owners and CCW permit holders I know are at the top of the list of the most mentally and emotionally stable people I know. Having acute awareness and mental abilities is a key factor in the persona who carries a concealed weapon. Mindset is an important ingredient in self defense, and being mentally prepared for the worst is a part of my strategy. Thinking about the various scenarios and knowing what actions I will take is one of my most valuable weapons.

In this segment, I would like to focus one of the most valuable self defense weapons available – the human mind. And while I am by no means a psychologist or expert of emotional well being in any way (I am a computer geek, after all), I do know that being aware, mentally prepared, and decisive in action is a key ingredient to survival.

Situational and Environmental Awareness:

In all honesty, I feel that a significant part of our society is made up of unaware, self consumed individuals. For example, I ride a motorcycle – and I can’t begin to tell you the number of times I have been cutoff and almost hit by people on their cell phones or engaging in other activities while driving which distracts them to the point that they can’t even pay attention to what is going on around them. These people can’t stop for simple stop-signs, and even by one woman I observed was eating a bowl of cereal (I’m not kidding) while driving her minivan. Some people seem to always be on their phones, and the funny thing is, they don’t really seem to be talking about anything earth shattering.

Then there are just those who seem to be looking at their shoes all the time, or are obviously in another place while they are out and about. I have a name for these people: they are simply the “unaware” of our society. Unfortunately, the criminal element is aware of these people as well, and they have their own name for them: “Victim!”

In my refusal to be a victim or to allow myself to be caught unaware by some piece of street scum who is looking for his next victim, I am chosen instead to be aware of what’s going on around me. I wish I could offer some advice on how to train yourself to do this, because for me it just comes naturally. I was in the Navy, and spent a great deal of my time on the flight deck, and working around aircraft. Our saying was: “Keep your head on a swivel.” To this day, I find myself being aware of everything around me. I was fortunate; this is part of the incidental training that I received due to my profession. For those of you who need some training in this arena, I suggest you read “How to Win a Gunfight: Gaining the Half-Second Advantage” by Tony Walker (ISBN 0-7414-4341-4. This wonderful book is full of insights on how to become more aware, and how to practice some of the other elements of self defense.

Stress Relief and Physical Fitness:

I read somewhere that anger has no place in the life of someone who carries a concealed weapon. That really struck me as profound. One of the wildest stereotypes that the anti-gun people have of us is that we will get angry and go on a wild shooting rampage. Well for one thing, multitudes of studies have shown that the “wild west” and “road rage” aspects of regular citizens carrying concealed weapons has never come to pass. In fact, the more articles I read, the more I am convinced of something I already believed; law abiding citizens who carry weapons tend to be more polite and avoiding of situations that would illicit an armed response. If someone is unhappy with me, I simply nod and walk away. They may call me names, and they may insult me. But that is just something that I have learned to live with over the years. Getting into any type of altercation, armed or not, has just never been worth the outcomes.

So what does one do to get rid of the stress and anger? We all get angry, we all get stressed. And in the case of having to walk away from a situation, it is likely that pride and dignity will suffer to some extent. For me, physical fitness plays an important part of that stress relief. I’m not a spring chicken any more, so going to the gym regularly helps to relieve stress, but it also helps to add longevity and quality to life. In fact, one of the other aspects of self defense is agility, stamina, and the ability to gain (as Tony Walker puts it) that “half-second advantage.” An hour in the gym and I feel totally different and recharged.

But since I’m mentioning stress relief, there is another technique that my wife and I use for stress relief: going to the range! And no, I’m not talking about taking along effigies of our most hated co-worker or anything like that. We participate in a weekly shooting league at our favorite indoor pistol range. Each week, the targets are varied, the distances of the targets are varied, and the scoring is varied. For about an hour a week, we go to the range, the shooting scenario unknown to us until we arrive, and we spend that time concentrating on those targets and getting the best score that we can. During that time, we are thinking of nothing else! All thoughts of our hectic work day have literally vanished, and we are all consumed in having fun at the range. We share ideas on shooting techniques, we meet new people, and we enjoy talking with the proprietors on the gun shop. This relates to physical fitness also because we are practicing new and varied ways to shoot, different types of targets, and shooting at different ranges. In other words, we are getting a frequently changing look at the dynamic of shooting and practicing with our weapons. We go home and talk about the evening at the range and just enjoy the fact that we have yet another activity that we enjoy doing together. Having that aspect of my life in solidly good shape allows me personally to put everything else into place as well.

Thoughts While Out and About:

So what am I thinking about while out there running my daily errands? Mostly on my minds is how to be as completely invisible as possible. I want to be the person that no one notices. So to that end, I don’t go out of my way to attract attention, and I certainly don’t go out of my way to give any clue that I am carrying a weapon. What this means is that I am careful about how I get out of my car, lest my firearm be exposed, and I am aware of what other types of people are in the area. For example, if a mother and her young children are in the area, I especially don’t want the youngsters seeing my gun. I know that some people are afraid of guns, no matter how much we have proven that there is nothing to be afraid of, and I don’t want anyone needlessly feeling afraid or uneasy around me. So for those reasons alone, I am very cognizant of making sure that my concealed weapon is just that: concealed!

A very important part of my thought process is in knowing where I can or cannot go if I am carrying a firearm. I know that some establishments don’t care either way, while still others adamantly refuse entrance to holders of valid CCW permits if they have weapons. So essentially, I do the best I can to know who has what policy, and to respect their wishes. But I will say this about the establishments who refuse to allow law abiding citizens to carry their concealed weapons into their businesses: I won’t give them my business period. But it’s not because I think they possess some liberal, anti-gun mind-set. It is specifically because they have made the statement that I am not welcome to use my chosen method of self defense while on their premises. If I or my family were to be in one of these types of places, and an armed gunman appears, they are disallowing me the means to defend myself. They have no intention of providing for my protection while I am there, however, as seen by the lack of armed guards in any of these places. Additionally, my state law makers have made it clear to me that I cannot hold them legally liable for damages, death, or injury if I or my family is harmed in their “gun free” zone.

Constantly on my mind when I am out and about is an awareness of other people, particularly who are the “good guys” and who are the “bad guys.” I try not to be judgmental, but let’s face it: you can just tell sometimes, who are the average citizens walking around, and who the lower forms of human existence are. Going to the mall, for example, it is painfully obvious who the vultures are because you can see them sizing up everyone, following people around, and in general looking like they have no purpose in life other than to find their next victim. This is the same behavior seen on nature channels when the jackals are sizing up their next meal. The baggy pants, the hat cocked sideways, the less than understandable grammar. It is obvious they aren’t there to do their shopping and leave – they just seem to be there perpetually as if that is their place of employment. Well, perhaps it is. I’m suspicious of everyone, and I spend a lot of time observing people. Unless you are completely unaware of your surroundings, you kind of have an idea who you can (mostly) ignore, and who you need to keep your eye on. Being aware is to be prepared, and being prepared means you are watching them more closely than the rest. The best thing I try to do is just avoid the places where these maggots seem to congregate the most, but sometimes what you need is at the place where the vultures hang out: The shopping mall and Wal-Mart seem to be the two most likely places where the dregs of society can be found here in my small town.

Wrapping it all up:

As you can see throughout this article series, I have tried to illustrate that I do indeed consider being an armed citizen to be a serious and awesome responsibility. These aren’t the ravings of some “gun nut” who just wants to be able to carry his “toys” everywhere. This is the mindset of a free man who values his and his family’s safety above all else. Self defense is a basic human right. I owe it to my family to live a long life and provide for their well being and safety. This is my responsibility, not that of the government. I don’t want to rely on anyone else to carry out those responsibilities which are mine alone, but at the same time I don’t want anyone thinking that they have the right to take my abilities to perform my responsibilities away from me. The founders of our country made it clear that we were endowed these rights by our Creator, and that idea is still valid today. Technologies have changed, and the population of criminals has increased from their day, but what was spoken then is still valid now. My right to defend myself and my family is absolutely and unequivocally non-negotiable!

Back to Part 2

Back to Part 1

The Decision to Be an Armed Citizen – Part 2

2008-04-27T09:42:00.006-06:00

In Part 1 of this article series, I discussed the “why” with regards to the decision to become an armed citizen. It’s really very straight forward: I want to protect my family because the government and law enforcement are under no obligation to do so. I have accepted this, and will gladly take on this responsibility. My family means that much to me. It’s a no brainer as far as I’m concerned. Self defense is a basic human right, and a responsibility that I have fully accepted.

I would like to continue this article series by using this segment to explain some of the things with which I equip myself when I carry. I will discuss such things as what I wear, what I carry, how I carry, and a term that I refer to as “defense in depth.” This isn’t by any means meant to be a recipe for others to follow. My strategies won’t work for everyone. And there are far greater numbers of experts out there who can tell you more about tactics, training, and self defense than I could ever hope to. Rather, I hope to give some examples of some things that have helped me, and to help you decide for yourself what will work best for you.

So now that I have made this decision, how does it affect my daily life? Surely, one doesn’t just strap on a gun and go walking around. There are certain places an armed citizen can and cannot go, and certain things an armed citizen has to do a bit differently than before. As I mentioned before, the decision to be an armed citizen affects not only the person who is armed, but practically everyone around them. There is still a lot of fear and apprehension about guns out in the community. Some people believe in the right to be armed, but simply choose not to be. Then there are others who don’t believe that citizens should have guns at all, as well as those who are morbidly afraid of firearms. The latter is a result of lack of education (about firearms) and misinformation from a biased media in my opinion, and I will speak more to that in a later segment in this series.

Oh, What to Wear:

A recent cartoon I saw on the Internet depicted a person who was carrying a concealed weapon making the statement: “Having a concealed weapon is like wearing Power Rangers underwear; both are very cool, but you don’t dare show anybody.” There is a lot of truth to that. Having a concealed weapon, in my opinion, means that it stays concealed – period! There are a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that we keep our handguns concealed primarily because it keeps the bad guys guessing and gives us the element of surprise. Secondly, quite a few states have “shall issue laws for concealed carry permits, but not all of those states have “open carry” laws. This means that if you have a concealed firearm, it must stay concealed, lest you be arrested for public menacing. And finally, firearms just make some people frightened. I submit that those fears are irrational, but those fears are very real to those people; why put them through needless worry and stress? They have every right to feel as comfortable in their surroundings as we do. And their worry and stress tends to lead to unwanted attention drawn to yourself, and perhaps the requirement to explain yourself to law enforcement when those more frightened people freak out and call the police.

Wardrobe decisions are just something that has never plagued me before. I was in the Navy for twenty years – my daily attire was chosen for me. After leaving the service, I have been mostly a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy. Even when I am at work, jeans and a decent sport shirt or polo shirt are considered appropriate for my office. But carrying a concealed weapon means that your attire has to support concealment. Flaunting a weapon for the reasons that I have already discussed is just not something that I want to do. Colorado is an open carry state, and I have a permit, so either way I am covered. But the fewer people who know I am carrying the better. In fact, when I took my daughter to the mall recently, she had no clue I was carrying my handgun. Concealed means concealed – it’s as simple as that for me.

The particular handgun that I carry at the moment seems to be most conducive to being holstered. It is fairly small (compact, but not sub-compact), but I feel I can retrieve it from a paddle holster on my hip better than some of the other types of holsters I have tried. And I tried several holsters before making this decision. I have a few other holsters that I try from time to time. As moods change and clothing changes, so too can the holster if needed.

My carry gun is large enough, however, that an in-waist-band holster scheme doesn’t seem to feel very comfortable at all. The paddle holster keeps it fairly high on my hip, but I still need to wear a long shirt or sweat-shirt to keep it concealed. I just bought some long shirts and leave them un-tucked – voila! Seems to work well now (early spring – and it even snowed this morning), but in the summer I may have to change that strategy a bit. Concealment vests are a good idea, but the looks of some of them on a person seems to scream out “Hey! I’m carrying a gun!” Same with fanny packs. Around here, I can spot a person carrying a gun in a fanny pack from a mile away – they all have the same haircut, and they always have the big bulging fanny pack in front. You can just tell.

What About Other Gear:

The type of holster and how to conceal were really the biggest decisions I had to make. Once I chose the best way to conceal my firearm so I could comfortably carry it around, the big issues were over. Beyond that, however, there are other things that I feel are necessary. Being in the information security biz, the term “defense in depth” is a large part of my daily vocabulary. Securing information takes a variety of tools to keep networks, computers and data safe. Self defense is really no different. A firearm is not always going to be the best or only method for defense from an attack.

There are many types of attacks, and there are many types of defenses. Criminal attacks are not the only attacks. And certainly there are people who feel bold enough to get in your personal space because they are angry for whatever reason, but they aren’t really intent on committing a violent crime. I live in an area with lots of wildlife. We have foxes in the neighborhood regularly. Bears and mountain lions have been known to come down out of the mountains, as have coyotes. There are stray dogs as well. For example, at least twice in recent weeks while walking my dog, some stray dogs have attacked me and one other person near me while I was out. My dog is small, so I picked him up, and kicking the attacking dogs was enough to send them off. On a walk the other day, a gentleman and his dog were attacked by a large dog, and the dog drew blood. If I had not turned around to retrieve a forgotten item from the house before the walk that would have been my dog and me getting attacked. But had that happened to us, would drawing my weapon and shooting the dog been a viable solution? Certainly not! It was simply a case of a large, strong dog getting away from its owner. A good shot of pepper spray would have likely turned the dog away, and the dog would have lived. The owner would have been upset, but that would have been their problem. When animal control showed up, I think they had enough to worry about explaining how their big dog got away and attacked someone.

The point is that a firearm is not always the best or even most responsible defense. Shooting a dog or their owner, or even just shooting an obnoxious jerk that is getting in your face, for example, will probably land you in jail. But using the amount of defensive force commensurate with the attack is usually considered reasonable and prudent. If someone refuses to get out of your face and is getting close enough to be a threat, a shot in the face with pepper spray may do the trick. A potential attacker approaching in a dark parking lot may be scared away when a tactical grade flashlight is shined in their eyes, temporarily blinding them. I don’t care how “bad” you think you are – someone flashing a tactical grade flashlight in your eyes gives you pause to think about what else that person might also be carrying. So carrying other defensive tools might also serve as a deterrent in that it says that you are prepared and willing to act – and escalate your actions if warranted.

Having multiple tools at your disposal is a wise decision. So for that reason, besides the firearm, I carry other items such as a cell phone, pepper spray, a knife, and a flashlight. I consider these items the absolute minimum. And the beauty is that these additional items are relatively small, and I don’t have to feel like I am carrying a hardware store around in my pockets. Even if I am in a place where I cannot carry a gun for legal or other reasons, the other items are usually acceptable and legal.

By choosing the right types of self defense items, you will also have useful tools to deploy in multiple ways. For example, a good defensive flashlight and certain types of pepper spray come in the same shape and size of a kubotan stick. These can then be easily used to jab into bony or fleshy parts and inflict a great deal of pain in a close-in encounter. Surefire, for example makes a flashlight known as the E2D Executive Defender, which has a crenellated strike bezel which can also be used as a close-in striking tool to inflict injury and pain. A good tactical flashlight will help you look inside and underneath your car in a poorly lit parking lot, and will also temporarily blind someone who is approaching you.

Having defense in depth provides a greater deal of security than simply replying on one single tool – just as you have many tools to do all your household chores, so should you have many tools to provide for your safety.

Wrapping It All Up:

To me, carrying concealed means just what it implies. I don’t want anyone to know I am carrying a firearm, or any other weapons for that matter. It is important to me that the bad guys don’t know who is carrying – it keeps them guessing. And I know that there are a lot of frightened people out there who freak out at even the mention of firearms. Why put them through undue stress? In fact, as I am sitting here typing this from a public coffee shop, none of the people here have a clue that there is an armed citizen in their midst – and I intend to keep it that way. I’m not going to change their minds about the benefit of being armed in the time of our brief encounter – so why try? Why go through having to explain to them that their fears are irrational and that they are safe as kittens around me? It just isn’t worth it, but it is worth avoiding the situation altogether.

Beyond the act of concealment, I consider self defense to be a matter of employing the right tools for the job. That is why I carry a variety of self defense items such as cell phones, a knife, tactical flashlight, and pepper spray, and of course - my wits.

In Part 3 of this series, I will sum up this series by discussing what mental preparations and decisions I make when I am out and about, and by trying to impart a few thoughts about why I feel that carrying a firearm is right for me. Some of this preparation may seem burdensome or inconvenient – but to me it is not. As I stated last time: I look at this as a necessary part of life as an armed citizen.

Back to Part 1

On to Part 3

The Decision to Be an Armed Citizen – Part 1

2008-04-13T11:38:00.009-06:00

What is it that makes a normal, every day computer geek who lives in a small town decide to carry a concealed weapon? After all, the town I live in is not an extraordinarily high crime area. I live in a good neighborhood and work in a fairly secure building. I have a family, two dogs, a bunch of mundane hobbies, and I don’t purposely hang out in dangerous areas. I have never personally witnessed a crime, and have never been the victim of an armed criminal. Although I have noticed that the local mall, even in this small town, seems to attract the dregs of society that hang out there with nothing to do except size up other people and decide who to harass – but that’s another part of the story.

A decision to carry a concealed weapon, after all, carries with it an awesome responsibility – why would I decide to be responsible for the myriad of issues that comes with it? By deciding to carry a concealed weapon I have decided that I am willing to take a human life if necessary. I have decided that I am willing to be put in the position to quickly decide in an emergency situation whether or not to run, shoot, or even if my decision will be the correct (and legally defensible) one. Finally, this decision carries with it a notable change in lifestyle.

But despite all that, I made a conscious decision to carry a concealed weapon. In the next few articles (not sure how many parts yet), I would like to document and share my decision making process with you to help you understand what makes a normal citizen make such a potentially life changing decision. This series of articles will chronicle the decision making process, the social responsibilities of carrying a concealed weapon (as I understand them to be), and the significant lifestyle changes that one goes through once getting the permit and carrying a firearm.

Making the Initial Leap:

First, I’ll tell you a little bit about the “how” of my decision making processes. This is not, or certainly SHOULD not be an easy decision. In my case, it took a great deal of thought, prayer, research, and certainly training. Thought and prayer in this decision were the easy part. I felt that if I placed my trust in the Lord’s hands, that He would guide me toward the answers – and I believe He did. Faith that God designed us to be responsible for certain aspects of our lives, self defense being one of them, led me to what I believe is the right conclusion about carrying a weapon during my daily life.

For the research, I consulted many sources, among which being the National Rifle Association, the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, and various other Internet discussion forums. Then, there are numerous blogs, discussion forums, and news sources documenting the many instances where an armed citizen was able to save themselves and others around them by carrying and calling upon their weapon.

For the training, I relied partly on my prior experiences handling firearms, which told me that constant training is always needed. It started out as a venture to take my spouse to a basic pistol course, to get her familiar with firearms, and to pick up new insights on concealed carry for myself. From there, training evolved into regular visits to the range, getting involved in competitive shooting events, and constantly reading articles and books from noted authors on concealed carry and self defense. Training and gaining new knowledge about firearms and self defense is a daily part of my routine these days.

Now for the seemingly more philosophical yet most important part - the “why” part - of this whole decision process: It has become painfully clear to me that even in a small town like the one in which my family and I live, there are still bad people who wish to do others harm. We still hear about home invasions, store robberies, people getting robbed in their own driveways, and various other violent crimes, right here in our part of the state! A major city with noted gang activity is not far away – it is only a matter of time before the criminals get bored and decide to take their show on the road. And because I have a spouse, children, and two dogs, all of whom I love very much, I am willing to protect them. My willingness to protect them includes using deadly force if necessary.

The Philosophy and the Reasoning:

My willingness to protect my family goes beyond a mere philosophical need to prove that I am a good person and provider, however. I believe that I have a personal responsibility to protect them and provide for their safety. This responsibility is found in Biblical teaching, and further rooted in my own beliefs. The Supreme Court has made it perfectly clear that the government and police have no obligation to protect us as individuals (a noteworthy example being the 2005 case of Castle Rock versus Gonzales). I accept this. I am perfectly willing and able to take on this obligation and do my part.

But I feel this obligation even transcends my obligation to just my family. Research has shown that areas that have more armed citizens experience fewer violent crimes. The more armed citizens there are the more uncertainty the criminals have. Who is carrying a weapon and who is not? This dramatically increases the criminal’s risks of being stopped, injured, or even killed during the commission of their crime. Studies by people such as Dr. John Lott have shown that an entire community is safer because of the population of people who carries concealed weapons. In fact, even noted anti-gun advocate and University of Pennsylvania professor David Mustard has had to admit that citizens who carry do not add to gun violence and do in fact make their communities safer:

"When I started my research on guns in 1995, I disliked firearms... My views on this subject were formed primarily by media accounts of firearms, which unknowingly to me systematically emphasized the cost of firearms while virtually ignoring their benefits. I thought it obvious that passing laws that permitted law abiding citizens to carry concealed firearms would create many problems. But research has convinced me that laws that require right-to-carry permits to be granted unless the applicant has a criminal record or a history of significant mental illness reduce violent crime and have no impact on accidental deaths."

Source: "Culture Affects Our Beliefs About Firearms, But Data Are Also Important," 151 U. Penn. Law Review, 1387, 2003

I want my family to be safe, but beyond that, I want my entire community to be a good and safe place to live.

Wrapping It All Up:

So for these reasons, and more, I have decided to become an armed citizen. As you can see, such a decision requires a lot of thought, and for many people like me, is not an easy decision. But now that I have made the leap and obtained my permit, I have now stepped into a new life. In the next article, I will talk about how some of my daily wardrobe habits have changed to accommodate my carrying a concealed weapon, and the types of other things that I have to think about carrying. But as you will see, I don’t look on any of this as a burden or an inconvenience. I look at this as a necessary part of life as an armed citizen.

On to Part 2

On to Part 3

Responsible For Our Own Defense

2008-02-16T11:16:00.002-07:00

Here is yet more evidence that we are responsible for our own self defense and protection, and simply cannot rely on police services alone. First, I will say that I have ALREADY accepted responsibility for protecting myself and my family through the disciplined and responsible use of firearms and other measures. But since I can’t be everywhere at once, I use a defense in depth strategy to protect my home through other means and technologies while I am not able to be there.

I recently received a letter from ADT – my home security provider – stating that my city administration is doing a 6-month trial whereby the police will no longer automatically respond to a burglar alarm from any home or business burglar alarm system unless the alarm has been:

Visually verified…
Enhanced call verification has taken place…
Witness reports corroborate the alarm… or
Signals from multiple points are received.

The letter goes on to say that if none of the above requirements are met (1 – 4 above) then the police will simply

“…broadcast the alarm activation to its officers at the lowest priority, who may or may not respond depending on their availability and/or knowledge of crime patterns in your vicinity.”

My concern is that this police response policy will increase my risks of loss due to a home burglary, and thus increasing the risk that my insurance company will have to pay out higher claims on any home owners living in this city. This will in turn have the potential of increasing insurance rates, thus having an economic impact as well. The stipulations listed above means that there is a far less likelihood that a burglar alarm going off in my unattended home will be acted upon. This completely nullifies one of the largest reasons for even having the alarm system to begin with.

My much deeper concern, however, is that my city administration is opening its citizens up to increased risks to home burglaries by decreasing the deterrent value of these systems. Many of us purchased these home alarm systems to serve as a deterrent to crimes of burglary and break-in against our homes. The criminals, now knowing the new policy, will be more willing to break into a home, even when an alarm system sign is posted. They know that their risk of being caught and prosecuted while committing the crime has now been reduced because of flawed city policy. This causes greater risk for all of our city’s residents by making crime in here more attractive. By implementing such a policy they are putting my family at greater risk as well.

If this city policy is permanently implemented, the residents of this city will be open to increased crime in the long term due to a decreased level of expected response by the police to burglar alarms. This policy will, in effect, let the criminal element know that they will have more time to break into a house and take what they want, even if, and possibly especially if an alarm is sounding. More time to steal more household goods, (possibly including firearms?) means that citizens will stand to lose more, and that there is even a greater chance that they may stumble onto a burglary in progress. This will of course cause higher risk of personal injury. I already secure my firearms without having to be told to do so by law, but this is obviously giving criminals more time to break my steel gun safe to steal them.

I strongly urged them (in writing) to reverse this flawed policy. Since my home is presently ensured with a standard homeowner’s policy, and one of my stated policy discounts is due to the fact that I have an electronic alarm system to help reduce my risk to losses caused by fire and theft, I have also written to my insurance company to inform them of this policy, and to urge them to contact city council members with their concerns as well.

Yes – I am responsible for my family’s safety. But when I implement defense in depth measures to ensure maximum security, and a city administration reduces the effect of these measures, they are putting the safety of my family and the whole community at risk.

Yet Another Mall Shooting

2008-02-03T13:09:00.000-07:00

It appears that there was yet another graphic example this weekend in a Chicago mall of why the disarming of law abiding citizens is wrong. Our malls, churches, and anywhere else where large numbers of people gather is a prime target for some lunatic with a gun to come in and open fire. The lawmakers would have us believe that this shouldn’t have happened because they made a law prohibiting this from happening. Really? I guess the gunmen didn’t get the memo on that law. And what is really so painfully obvious, is that even if the gunmen know and comprehend the anti-gun laws – do you really think they care? It’s not as if they sit up watching CNN, CSPAN, or the local news to see what laws are in effect. How many times do we have to state that the only people these “feel good” laws really have an effect on are the law abiding citizens? And the effect is not a positive one – it is getting our citizens KILLED!

One obvious argument that the antigun crowd will give is: “Well what are the chances that someone (law abiding, concealed carry permit holder) would have even been in that mall and could have done any good?” We know for sure that because of the current laws there, the chances are absolutely ZERO! We have only to ask that same question: “What are the chances that an armed citizen will be in church when a gunman comes in and opens fire?” We know from the events in a Colorado Springs church in December 2007 that the answer is that only two people died. The rest were saved because of a brave (and armed) woman with a gun.

Or how about the argument that: “Allowing citizens to carry guns will only add to the potential for gun violence.” My reply to that is that several million law abiding citizens with guns killed no one today. Most people who carry firearms only do so because they have studied and pondered the profound responsibility that they now have by being willing to carry. It has been discussed and emphasized on numerous occasions that people who carry firearms will go out of their way to avoid confrontation. The stereotype that CCW holders go around waving their guns in the air and showing off their weapons is unfounded – and is just that: a stereotype. People who carry concealed weapons do just that – carry them concealed. It keeps the criminals guessing, and prevents those who do not wish to be around guns from being overly anxious. We seem to never hear in the news how a law abiding citizen with a CCW permit walked into a mall or church and started shooting. But we do hear of numerous accounts of a law abiding armed citizen who has thwarted an attack: Incidents of Self Defense

Chicago has some of the strictest anti-gun laws on the books, aside from Washington D.C. and New York. But yet those areas have violent crime rates that are still high. Obviously, taking handguns away from law abiding citizens didn’t help. And why is that? The answer can be found in at least one prison interview, in which convicted felons specifically stated that they are not afraid of the police. What they ARE afraid of, however, is the armed citizen. It doesn’t take an expert in human behavior to guess why that is. The criminals can see the police; they know for the most part where they are (and where they aren’t) and can plan their strategies accordingly. What makes the criminal’s job more difficult is that in areas where citizens with concealed weapons permits are common, they have no idea who is carrying or who is not? The risks of their carrying out a criminal attack and getting shot are greatly increased. With even the seemingly diminished mental ability of today’s common predator, their risk analysis skills are at least adequate. They are going to go after the low hanging fruit and commit their crimes in areas where they are least likely to be stopped. And right now, the areas of their perceived increased success in committing violent crimes are cities that prohibit citizens from being armed, and so-called “gun free zones.”

If I can hope for anything that comes out of a situation like this, it is that the people who make those stupid laws that disallow their law abiding citizens from protecting themselves are now in pure anguish over their stupidity and will move forward with reversing these ridiculous laws. A person living in the United States is supposed to be guaranteed that their right to self defense shall not be infringed, but yet the anti-gun crowd continues to infringe away. They do this all in the name of “feel good” laws that do nothing to protect people.

My right to protect myself and my family is non-negotiable.

Australian Gun Control: An Example of Why Gun Control Won't Work in the U.S.

2007-11-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

On one of the gun discussion forums that I regularly visit (where I post under the handle of “Trin Tragula”), there is a group of Australians posting various messages about their ideas on gun control, and how these same ludicrous measures should be used in the United States. I have said over and over that gun control is wrong for the United States, but for some reason these Australian folks seem to think that the gun control they practice on their continent will work here. They claim to own guns, but absolutely do not feel that concealed carry is necessary. Their analogies and assertions of their gun control methods on Americans are wrong, not only because gun control in general is wrong, but particularly for the following reasons I list here. This is a similar entry to a message that I recently posted in one of the gun discussion forums.

Australia Part of the Worldwide Gun Grabbing Movement?

For one thing, I just have to ask - what do they care that we carry firearms? Are we hurting them? They are constantly ranting about how well their gun control laws work them there. Well, here's the deal with that - they may work well for the Australians, but gun control does NOT work well for us here in the United States. Just take one look at the rampant crime in the Washington D.C. area, where handgun ownership has been completely banned. That ban has been in place for decades, yet D.C. citizens continue to be the victims of high crime and high murder rates. Looks like the handgun ban is only helping the criminals and doing nothing for the law abiding citizens.

Since the Aussies who post in this forum are so bent on using numbers and statistics to illustrate their points, the following information should help to clarify some statistical data that they seem to be ignoring.

Two Different Population Sets and Cultures:

A Look At Population:

For one thing, our population in the U.S. is much, much larger than theirs (roughly 273 million to Australia’s roughly 19 million). With larger populations comes more crime. It's only natural that more people living in one place are bound to have issues. Our Aussie friends are making these ludicrous comparisons and spouting statistics about things when the sheer numbers of people they are trying to compare is astronomically different.

A Look at Ethnic Groups:

The United States has the following ethnicity mix:

White 77.1%
Black 12.9%
Asian 4.2%
Amerindian and Alaska native 1.5%
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.3%
Other 4%(2000)

Note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.)

Australia has the following ethnicity mix:

Caucasian 92%
Asian 7%,
Aboriginal and other 1%

Conclusions:

As you can see, Australia is a relatively "one ethnicity country" while the US is a vast mixture of ethnicity. Again, more cultural and other issues to be sure.Our government is different than theirs. Our culture is different than theirs. So when they spout off their ridiculous statistical numbers, remember - they are comparing numbers against two completely different population sets. Australia and the United States are clearly two different countries with different needs when it comes to discussing gun rights and gun control.

So again I ask: If we are allowed to own handguns and carry firearms here to protect ourselves, what the hell do they care? We have a population of responsible gun owners who FAR outnumber the population of criminals and irresponsible nit-wits. They care because they seem to be part of the world-wide gun grabbing effort. They don't like our liberties. And if they can't have them, they don't want anyone else to have them either. Gun control may work in Australia, but it does NOT serve the law abiding citizens of the United States who need to protect themselves.

Information Sources:

http://www.photius.com/rankings/population.html

http://www.bartleby.com/151/fields/35.html

Gonzo Politics Resurrected

2007-11-23T17:04:00.000-07:00

With 2007 winding down and 2008 about to get underway, I guess it’s time to resurrect this political side of my personality and start getting a few thoughts out in the open. As the Presidential primaries begin to ramp up, it is important to discuss the possible outcomes of this election.

America, for the first time in history, has the strongest possibility ever of having our first African American or female President. In the case of at least one of the candidates, it may be discovered that if elected, they will be BOTH our first African American and first woman (like) president. If the liberal candidates didn’t present us with such dubious choices, this would be a monumental event. I will come right out with it. Both of the candidates from the liberal side of the political arena who offer America these firsts also, in my opinion, offer America the greatest chance for the further degradation of our liberties and personal rights.

It has long been held that the liberal ideal is to create a welfare state and make all citizens dependent on the federal government for everything in their lives. The liberals want the government to be the ones to police children’s toys, not parents. The liberals want to make sure that all of our firearms are taken away and that we depend on the police to save us form the criminals, and not have us able to defend ourselves. From their activities, it seems that they want to save our murderers from death sentences, and also save the world from babies. They commend the liberal minded ACLU for standing up for certain of the amendments, but are critical of the NRA for standing up for certain of the amendments.

At stake in the coming election is the selection of a President and members of Congress who will steer our country in the new direction. The question is, however, will that direction be one of continued freedom, or one of moving the American citizens towards slavery and dependence? Gun ownership rights, securing our borders, right to life, and a myriad of other issues are at risk of being compromised by the liberal machine. If the most basic of rights given to us by the second amendment falls, you can expect that the destruction of the rest of the personal rights in the other amendments of the Bill of Rights is soon to follow.

These are just a few of the things you can expect to see me write about in the coming weeks and months. Most on my mind, as these candidates make their pleas for our votes, are the rights given under the second amendment, and securing our borders. With the upcoming Supreme Court deliberation on the second amendment, you can expect the greatest amount of my efforts to focus on gun ownership rights.

Vote Republican – because not EVERYONE can be on welfare!

Illegal Immigration

2006-09-05T17:00:00.000-06:00

I received this in my email today - you know the usual SPAM rubbish that shows up from time to time because your Friends figure you need this stuff. Anyway - this one was really meaningful because it pretty much reflects the views that many of us have about illegal immigration. I am sick and tired of paying tax dollars to support people that are here illegally:

A lady wrote the best letter in the Editorials in ages!!
It explains things better than all the baloney you hear on TV.

Recently large demonstrations have taken place across the country protesting the fact that Congress is finally addressing the issue of illegal immigration.

Certain people are angry that the US might protect its own borders, might make it harder to sneak into this country and, once here, to stay indefinitely. Let me see if I correctly understand the thinking behind these protests.

Let's say I break into your house. Let's say that when you discover me in your house, you insist that I leave. But I say, "I've made all the beds and washed the dishes and did the laundry and swept the floors; I've done all the things you don't like to do. I'm hard-working and honest (except for when I broke into your house).

According to the protesters, not only must you let me stay, you must add me to your family's insurance plan, educate my kids, and provide other benefits to me and to my family (my husband will do your yard work because he too is hard-working and honest, except for that breaking in part). If you try to call the police or force me out, I will call my friends who will picket your house carrying signs that proclaim my right to be there.

It's only fair, after all, because you have a nicer house than I do, and I'm just trying to better myself. I'm a hard-working and honest, person, except for well, you know.

And what a deal it is for me!! I live in your house, contributing only a fraction of the cost of my keep, and there is nothing you can do about it without being accused of selfishness, prejudice and being an anti-housebreaker. Oh yeah, I want you to learn my language so you can communicate with me.

Why can't people see how ridiculous this is?! Only in America....if you agree, pass it on (in English). Share it if you see the value of it as a good smile. If not, blow it off along with your future Social Security funds, and a lot of other things.

Why is it that these people figure that we owe them their lives. If they want the American dream, we will welcome you - if you do it legally, and follow the rules like you are supposed to. It's not my fault and not my problem that you weren't born here, and I will not pay my tax money to take care of you while you suck us dry so that you can be comfortable.

You're Violating My Constitutional Rights!

2006-08-03T21:14:00.000-06:00

I had to laugh. Today I was in the break room at work, and I couldn’t help but over hear two guys arguing about what constitutes “profiling” or not, and furthermore the constitutionality of it. Anyway – the argument evolved into whether or not it was okay to screen people in an airport on their way to their flights.

Okay – here’s where I find people to be the dumbest species on this planet: After 9/11, people were running around bitching about why these people were not properly screened at airports. Now that we are being screened, people are bitching about their constitutional rights. That will last until the next time someone hijacks a plane and rams it into Sears Tower – then they will go back to bitching about why people aren’t being screened.

Make up your minds, folks! Just my $.02 here, but I am an American with nothing to hide – if someone makes me take off my shoes and x-rays my bags before I get on a flight, then that is fine with me. I have nothing to hide. And any American with nothing to hide should feel the same way. And if they take some extra time to inspect the person of a suspicious acting middle-eastern, so be it. If they have nothing to hide, they will be on their way to their flight.

Today people will bitch about this, and then tomorrow jump on a new bandwagon to bitch about that. My dog has more intelligence than most people!

Israel versus Hezbollah

2006-07-27T22:15:00.000-06:00

The U.S. is pretty much giving the green light to Israel to attack Hezbollah. Well, I say go for it. Why should we be placating terrorist organizations at the expense of our relationship with Israel? The United States needs to clearly understand that a good relationship with Israel is vital to our own survival as a country. We turn our backs on Israel only at risk of our own destruction.

It's all these damn liberals that are calling for the placating of these terrorist organizations. Appease them and they will be our friends. Yeah right - they will come to or country, get educated, maybe spy on us a little, and ram another airplane into a skyscraper. All in the name of God. Well, the God I believe in doesn't call for the beheading of innocents or demand that we blow ourselves up in a crowded market. Yeah - let's appease those terrorist bastards and while we're at it just invite them to our homes so they can kill us.

I firmly believe that God will deal with nations in part based on their treatment of Israel. We can turn around this nonsense of placating terrorists and we can reaffirm our loyalty with Israel. To do otherwise will assure our own future destruction.