Who Really Wants to Disarm Gunowners?

Despite victories by pro-individual freedom groups in the United States to promote laws allowing carrying of concealed weapons for self defense, and lawsuits like D.C. v. Heller that reaffirmed the individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms, as declared by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the forces of darkness are gathering here and overseas to ban gun ownership by "mere" citizens around the world. Here's an interesting video about the international efforts to severely limit or ban private ownership of firearms. Just click here to watch it.

Throughout the world, throughout history, kings and governments that have held superior firepower over their citizenry have become less benevolent and more dictatorial, simply because they could. The Founding Fathers recognized this fact when they wrote the United States Constitution and made sure that the right of the people of the USA to own guns would always be there (along with other safeguards) to keep a balance of power between the people and the government.

If you don't think that totalitarian government is a possibility in the 21st century, consider the British parliament's decision to hand power over to the bureaucrats in the European Union. These people have done to Britain what the Nazis failed to do. Click here for the story. But of course, the government had already almost completely disarmed the population through a series of restrictive gun laws that date back to the early 1920s.

A Look Back: The Best Quote of 2009

"We should be long past applauding politicians of any hue: they got us into this mess. The best deserve a probationary opportunity to prove themselves, the worst should be in jail."
Gerald Warner, The UK Daily Telegraph, January 20th, 2009 (Inauguration Day)

Northwest Airlines terrorist attack

The Christmas day attack on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit by a passenger who ignited an incendiary device is an important reminder for all of us. If the passenger really is connected to Al Quaeda, as he claimed, it is another example of that organization's strategy to repeat it's attacks on a target until they are successful.

In 1993, Islamist terrorists lead by Ramzi Yousef detonated a bomb in the basement of the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York, killing six people and injuring 1,042. The attack was intended to bring down both towers, but failed. In 2001, however, the terrorists were back with a different method, crashing aircraft into the towers. As we know, this time they were successful.

On 22 December, 2001, Shoe Bomber Richard Reid attempted to ignite explosives aboard American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami. He was overpowered by passengers and crew and is now in jail.

In 2006, British authorities arrested three men accused of plotting to blow up at least seven trans-Atlantic airliners in one day over the Atlantic, by detonating liquid explosives.

This latest attempt on the Detroit-bound flight shows that Al Quaeda is still determined to bring down airliners. It also illustrates that they don't quite have the technology worked out yet, but as with the WTC bombing, they are persistent.

It also shows that increased security at airports is important as a first line of defense to stop terrorists and explosives getting onto airplanes, but as in this latest case, cannot be relied upon to prevent every single attack.

The most important lesson we can all learn from this is that once an aircraft takes off, the only people who can save themselves are the crew and the passengers. It doesn't matter how many F-16s are scrambled to escort the aircraft. Those fighter pilots cannot take out the terrorists on the aircraft, they can only shoot the plane down before it can be crashed into a target on the ground. It is vital that when a passenger starts to act in a threatening manner, such as trying to ignite a bomb, the passengers and crew act immediately and decisively to take him down with overwhelming physical force.

A Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,

Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times..

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many
people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate these
festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people
stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

Dear Al Gore

Dear Mr. Global warming,

It was 23f at my house this morning. That is only slightly warmer than Hillary Clinton's personality. I thought you might like to see the weather forecast for Colorado and surrounding areas. I fail to see how global warming is such a problem when we are experiencing winter storms like the one that came through here about a week ago, accompanied by about six days of sub-freezing temperatures. That storm covered 895,000 square miles from the Rocky Mountains all the way to the east coast. I don't yet know how large the current storm is, but there are already forecasts that the airlines will have more trouble keeping their flights in the mid-west on schedule than those British climatologists had keeping their fabricated-data emails from public view. As I type this, my neighborhood is getting a snow-job that's almost as good as the stories about the ice cap melting and polar bears becoming extinct.

But don't take my word for it, here's the forecast from a meteorologist in Denver:
Snow will increase and spread across the state tonight. 9NEWS Meteorologist Marty Coniglio says that the southwest corner of Colorado will be hardest-hit overnight with other areas getting snow, just not quite as heavy, through the morning hours Wednesday.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for the foothills west to the Continental Divide from 5 p.m. Tuesday until 5 a.m. Thursday. Locations within the advisory include but are not limited to Breckenridge, Estes Park, Bailey, and Idaho Springs. These areas could see 5 to 12 inches of snow accumulate by early Thursday morning.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY also includes Denver, Fort Collins, Greeley, the entire Interstate 25 corridor and Eastern Plains locations out to Deer Trail from 8 p.m. Tuesday through 5 p.m. Thursday. These locations can expect 4 to 8 inches of snow to accumulate by early Christmas Eve day.

Winds will also be an issue the further east you travel with gusts up to 45 mph causing low visibility for travelers and blowing and drifting snow.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY also includes the Sangre De Cristos and Wet Mountains of southern Colorado, and the Walsenburg and Trinidad areas. Mountain locations can expect 5 to 10 inches of snow by Thursday, while lower elevations will see 4 to 8 inches of accumulation.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for most of southeast Colorado, the panhandle of Oklahoma and north Texas from late Tuesday through Thursday. Expect 4 to 8 inches of snow to accumulate in locations like Lamar, Holly and Springfield by late Thursday.

A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for part of southwest Colorado, including the southwest San Juans and Durango vicinity until 6 p.m. Wednesday. Mountain locations can expect 10 to 18 inches of snow to accumulate by late Wednesday, while lower elevations will see 4 to 8 inches of snow.

A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect for extreme eastern Colorado, western Kansas, and western and southwest Nebraska from 5 p.m. Tuesday through 11 p.m. Thursday. Locations such as Akron, Limon, Burlington and Ogallala, Nebraska can expect 5 to 10 inches of snow to accumulate by Christmas Eve. If you are planning to travel, gusts above 40 mph in the warning area could create near blizzard conditions with blowing and drifting snow.

Travel will be extremely difficult throughout Wednesday as this storm moves across the state.

Along with the snow, it will get much colder along the Front Range over the next couple of days. Highs will only be in the teens and twenties through Christmas Day, with extremely cold northerly winds. Some overnight lows could drop into the single digits.

Michael Morse, Firefighter and Author

I've added a new link to John's Favorite Links, on the right side of this page. Michael Morse is a Providence, Rhode Island firefighter. I got to know Michael while I was working for the company that published his excellent book, "Rescuing Providence". Michael also helped me when I was researching some first aid information for my book on bugging out of dangerous situations.

I think I've made it pretty clear in some of my blog postings just how much I love and respect our military people; Our civilian emergency people are cut from the same cloth. When the rest of us listen to our survival instinct and run from danger, these guys ride to the sound of the guns, so to speak. Who can forget the firefighters on September 11, 2001 who were running UP the stairs at the World Trade Center, or who rushed to the Pentagon that same morning, to pull military personnel and others from that burning building? Same mindset, just hoses instead of rifles.

It's Always Nice to be Published

One of the biggest kicks any writer gets is to see their work in print. Even if it's only an advertisement in the local paper that says, "Eat at Joe's" we all get a thrill in knowing that somebody is reading something we've written, tweaked, and sweated over.

So this month I was doubly thrilled to see my article, "Chopping and Changing: Personalizing a Fighting Handgun" in the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Concealed Carry Magazine. The article describes what are arguably the basic attributes that a self-defense pistol may need, and some of the ways to chop and change a pistol for it's owner. I had the opportunity to tour the Robar facility in Phoenix, Arizona, where they do some incredible gunsmithing and refinishing on practical, tactical firearms. (Big thank you to Robbie and the staff at Robar for their hospitality).

Also this month, I got a call from the editor of American Cop magazine to tell me that my article which compares the IRA-5, a 9mm short-barrel rifle produced by Iron Ridge Arms in Longmont, Colorado, to a short-barrel AR-15 for police work such as SWAT team building entries, appears in the January/February 2010 issue of American Cop magazine. (Another big thank you to Oliver and the guys at Iron Ridge Arms).

Both magazines are available by subscription only, so you won't find them on the shelf at your local store, but they are both quality publications, and both are available for download off the internet.

The solution to the Fort Hood Shootings was There All the Time

I've deliberately avoided rushing to comment on the shootings that occurred at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5th. I've been waiting for the dust to settle and for the general debate to at least consider alternatives beyond denying Muslims the opportunity to serve in the military, keeping Muslim soldiers out of war zones, increasing security, etc, etc, ad nauseum. But so far I haven't seen much else.

I don't see that racial profiling--although it makes sense when looking for middle-eastern terrorists--will help much if the next service person to shoot up an installation happens to be a crazy Methodist of Icelandic origin.

The solution to this particular type of problem has already presented itself, and it works. The perpetrator, a US Army officer was stopped by civilian police officers who shot him.

It used to be that officers and NCOs in our military routinely carried loaded sidearms. It was part of their job and their duty. Along the way, the military seems to have bought into the idea that guns are bad and that all problems can be solved by launching a B2 bomber or a guided missile. (This may be one reason why the Pentagon is constantly updating aircraft, ships and missiles, but our soldiers are still carrying virtually the same rifle their fathers did in Vietnam and Desert Storm. But that is a discussion for another time.) The truth is that on the battlefield, infantry is always required to hold a piece of ground. There is an old saying to the effect that in battle, the last one hundred yards has to be taken by men with rifles.

In the same way, soldiers carrying loaded pistols wherever they go are far more effective than those who are unarmed. Some people will say that having more guns carried by soldiers will make it more likely that another shooting may occur. But I say that guns in the hands of soldiers who are loyal to their country and their fellow soldiers does not increase the threat, it decreases it. As we have already seen, the real threat is a gun in the hands of the bad guy, when he is the only person who is armed. We've seen this at Columbine, Virginia Tech, and many other schools that purport to be "Gun Free Zones" and now we've seen it on a military base.

It's time to restore the time honored tradition that fighting men (and women) should boldly proclaim themselves to be warriors, both on and off the battlefield, and that they should act and dress accordingly. And that means carrying a loaded sidearm and being trained and confident in their capabilities to use it.

Today We Honor Our Veterans

Our veteran service people have done more for their country than any other demographic. Not only have they defended this country through it's many wars and skirmishes, but the vast majority of them have gone on to have productive careers, continued to be good, contributing citizens and pillars of the community. Many more never came home.

But it is not by chance that we celebrate Veteran's Day on November 11th. Today is also Remembrance Day and Armistice Day in other parts of the world. This refers to the signing of the Armistice in France at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 to end World War One.

If you love your freedom, thank a veteran.

Not the Beginning of the End, but the End of the Beginning

Yesterday's off-year elections revealed quite a mish mash of public opinion: gay marriage lost in Maine (the 31st state that has voted it down), Breckenridge, Colorado voted in favor of legalizing marijuana (despite the overriding state law that forbids it), the Republicans picked up two new governors in Virgina and New Jersey, and the Democrats took control of a Congressional seat in Northern New York State that hasn't been held by a Democrat since the last civil war.

Did I say, "last" civil war? Well if you think about it, our political system is a lot like a civil war. There are two clearly defined armies--red and blue--every two years they launch campaigns that result in a battle called voting at the polls, and once the votes are counted territory, huge pieces of land, comes under the control of the winner.

The Founding Fathers fought a real shooting war to gain independence from the British. It's hardly surprising that some of those facets of revolutionary war found their way into our Constitution. And it's hardly surprising that as a nation, as large and diverse as we are, that we seem to be so divided over political and social issues. But that's OK, I'll take votes over bullets and ballots over bombs any day.

Today, the day after those elections, marks the first day of the 2010 campaign season ("campaign" - there's another military term). But this one is a little different from previous campaigns. First, campaigns are starting earlier and costing more--even at local levels. Second, I think there is a lot at stake. Possibly more than we've had to deal with in decades.

In 2010 all the House members and one third of the Senate will be up for re-election. The current government has made it clear that it wants to remake America as a socialist nation. I grew up in a socialist country. At the end of World War Two, Great Britain was one of the three great superpowers that included the USA and the USSR. In the space of a half-century, it has been reduced by socialism to a third-rate banana republic. The implied message from the British government that I grew up with was simple: Pay your taxes and keep your mouth shut, and the government will take care of you from cradle to grave.

I didn't want to live that way, so I came here. Now I see the same sentiments growing among some politicians in this country. Pass a sweeping health care bill without reading it; Pass another gun ban bill that punishes law-abiding citizens, not criminals; avoid the issue of porous borders that allow illegal aliens, drug dealers, other criminals and terrorists to cross with impunity. None of these issues are about the issues, they are simply tools to completely remake this country as an entity where the government controls the individual, where the concept of a sovereign nation has no importance or relevence, and where the People can no longer point to traditions, and cultural traits and say, "this is what makes me an American."

But the tide may be turning. We no longer have to rely on three network TV channels and a bunch of (failing) leftist newspapers for our information. The internet and cable TV news has had a huge positive effect on First Amendment freedom in this country. And I think that will become even more evident between now and election day, 2010.

The Republic may be in peril, but I think the tide is turning. As Winston Churchill once said, "...[T]his is not the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning."

The Problem with Leftists

I don't know where the following originated or I'd give the author credit, but it is simply too true to pass up. Notice that almost all of the liberal's reactions would have to involve a lawyer. Also, in fairness to some old-school, traditional liberals, I think the word "liberal" should really be replaced with the word "leftist". "liberal" in the dictionary refers to people who are broad minded. I don't think that can be said of leftists.

If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy.
A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.

If a black man or Hispanic are conservative, they see themselves as independently successful.
Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. (Unless it’s a foreign religion, of course!)

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a conservative slips and falls in a store, he gets up, laughs and is embarrassed.
If a liberal slips and falls, he grabs his neck, moans like he's in labor and then sues.

If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he's "offended".

A Very Special Guest Blogger with an Important Message

I've never turned this blog over to a guest blogger before, but this one is very special. Please take a moment to read this important message from my friend, Shelby.


Team: Shelby’s Saints!!!! City: Atlanta, GA
Venue: Centennial Olympic Park
Date of Walk: 10/17/2009
Registration Start Time: 8:00 AM
Walk Start Time: 9:30 AM
Length of Walk: 3 Miles

My name is Shelby Dowdy. I am 12 yrs old and I was diagnosed on August 13, 2009 with Type 1 diabetes. My life now consists of finger checks, insulin shots, and counting carbs. Join me and my family as we walk for a cure!!!!! If you aren’t interested in walking you can make a donation in my honor to help find a cure at the website below or I would be glad to turn it in the morning of the walk. If interested in walking or pledging please email my mom, Jessica Dowdy at jessicadowdy@bellsouth.net. If you would like to join our team, go to this link, http://walk.jdrf.org/ , click on register for walk, find our team in the list Shelby’s Saints, and register!!!

John's Been a Little Busy Lately...

Phew! September is just zipping by. I've been preoccupied with a couple of big projects lately and haven't had much time to blog. First, my book, "The Street Smart Guide to Bugging Out and Staying Alive" is available from Delta Media as part of a book and CD survival package they put together.

That was followed by an invitation from radio talk show host Mark Walters to appear a couple of weeks ago on his Sunday evening radio show, Armed American Radio. This is a syndicated show, that is quickly being picked up by radio stations across the country. It's also available at the Armed American Radio website as a podcast. Just click here to go to Armed American Radio.

Finally, I'm a collaborating editor on a rewrite and update of "The World's Assault Rifles" by Thomas B. Nelson and Gary Paul Johnston, a massive volume of weapons from around the world, with plenty of photos and technical and historical information. It's being published by Ironside Publications, and it should be available around the end of this year, maybe very early next year.

I haven't had much time to comment on all the big things that are happening in the world: Iran's nuclear program, G20, the government's plan to have us plunge headlong into socialism via healthcare, the way our President avoided the Libyan and Iranian leaders at the U.N. this week (Teddy Roosevelt would have punched their lights out).

So instead, I'll just leave you with a question from another president...

9-11-01 Never Forget Those Who Died, Never Forget Those Who Killed Them

Photo: Firefighters work to put out the fire at the Pentagon the morning of September 11th, 2001.

"Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward and freedom will be defended... make no mistake, we will show the world that we will pass this test." President George W. Bush

Today, we remember the attacks on our country that happened eight years ago and heralded a war that continues today around the world. More than three thousand people lost on the East Coast, countless tens of thousands of people--military and
civilians--dead or wounded around the world in the past eight years. This is a war that will last for decades. We fight an enemy that is driven by an ideological fervor to eradicate any civilization, any religion, any nation, and any person that disagrees with their beliefs.

We have witnessed attacks on other countries like Britain and Spain, we have witnessed horrible acts against individuals, like the beheading of journalist Daniel Pearl. We have seen countries like Afghanistan hijacked from its people by groups like the Taliban.

...and in this country, we waste time debating the morality of waterboarding suspected terrorists?

During another war, British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill said it best, "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." - Winston Churchill, Speech in November 1942 British politician (1874 - 1965)

Writing my Elected Officials About Obama's Healthcare

I just finished emailing my congressmen about my opposition to heath care. I sent emails to:
House Rep. Jared Polis, 2nd congressional district (D-CO), and Senators Mark Udall (D-CO) and Michael Bennet (D-CO). Here is the text of my letter, I'll post any replies that I receive.

"Dear ...,

I was born in England and later came to the United States as a Legal immigrant. I'm proud to say that I am now a United States Citizen (and a registered Democrat). One of the big reasons I left the UK is that I did not want to live in a socialist country. Now, with this new administration, I see the same red flags (no pun intended) being raised that I saw in the country of my birth. Socialized medicine is a failure.
It is a one-size-fits-all policy that treats the individual as simply another number. Here's a personal case in point:
A couple of years after my dad retired--after working his whole life and never being sick, or using National Health resources--he was told he needed to have cataract surgery, and the doctor put him on the list for the operation. A few weeks later, he was notified that because he's retired and does not need to see to drive to work, he was being bumped DOWN the list for a few months so that people who needed to see to drive to work could take priority.
I ask you, what kind of treatment is that that for someone who has worked and paid their taxes their whole adult life?

Any government program that is directly linked to the economy does well in good times and poorly when the economy tanks. In Britain, it isn't unusual for a hospital to close a wing for a year or two until there is government money available again.
In this country, We The People don't want government involvement in our lives, particularly in our healthcare system.
I say: Yes to tort reform. No to the Public Option. And especially, NO to further government intrusion in our lives in the name of advancing a socialist agenda.
Thank you for your time.

The People Who Got Us into this Mess

The following article written by veteran journalist Charlie Reese has been around for a while, but as I sit here this Labor Day morning watching Fox News cover the ongoing healthcare debate, congresspeople's shenannigans, the President's picnic today with the union leaders who helped him get elected, the appointment of a manufacturing czar by the Whitehouse (with no oversight by the Congress)--not to mention the worst recession since 1983 and the growing mountain of public debt that this country has stacked up, I don't think I'm the only person in this country who is thinking, what is going on? What would Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin and the rest of the Founding Fathers think? And how did we really get to this point?

Well here's the answer from Charlie Reese:

545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high

taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred Senators, 435 Congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices -- 545 human beings out of the 300

million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress

delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability

to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician

$1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it

is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in

this common con regardless of party. What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall.

No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.

The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for

originating and approving appropriations and taxes.

Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not

the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree

to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present

facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to

those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then

it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red ..

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ .

If they do not receive Social Security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they

want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists,

whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take

this power..

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy,"

"inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

Ted's Still Dead, Guess Who's Back

With Ted Kennedy's passing, the family must be looking around for a new patriarch. But who is the logical choice for male head of the family?

Ideally wouldn't it be another forceful political personality with a solid political record and good name recognition?

I know...It's well-known Republican Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger! Oh, the irony!

Hasta la vista, Baby!

Ted's Dead

U.S. Senator Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (February 22nd 1932 - August 25 2009) has died from a malignant brain tumor at the age of 77.

This certainly marks the passing of an era. Ted Kennedy was the last of the four Kennedy boys born to Joseph Kennedy Sr. and Joan Fitzgerald Kennedy. Joseph Jr. died serving his country during World War Two when the airplane he was piloting blew up, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963, Robert Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 during the presidential campaign. Senator Kennedy is survived by his son, Patrick, who is a member of the House of Representatives. But I think the political tour de force that was the huge influence the Kennedy family had on politics in America for more than five decades is pretty much over.

I cannot say that I agreed with much of Senator Kennedy's liberal political views. He supported many anti-Second Amendment bills that threatened the right of a free people, as individuals, to keep and bear arms.

In 1969 at Chappaquiddick, Kennedy's car ended up in the river, and Mary Jo Kopechne died. It seems to be generally agreed that the incident, with all the questions that surrounded Kennedy's actions at the time, nixed any real chance he may have had to follow in his brother John's footsteps to become President. But Kennedy did go on to a long career as a U.S. Senator, where he championed many worthy causes to benefit the individual rights of Americans (except for the right to own a gun, of course, and despite the fact that at least some of the time he was protected by people with guns).

Personally, I believe that Chappaquiddick prompted Kennedy to champion many worthy causes, such as civil rights and universal healthcare as some sort of atonement. Nobody can accuse him of being a slouch in the Senate.

But whether we agree or disagree with Senator Kennedy's politics, he was undoubtedly an icon.

Socialists get a Taste of Their Own Medicine

In a recent Fox News poll, 52% say that "...the noisy protesters at town hall meeting are expressing authentic outrage. Some 52% think it is real outrage by concerned citizens--significantly more than the 29% who think the protestors are fake mobs planned by lobbyists and other opposition groups."

I've been saying for a couple of decades that the way to beat socialism is to use the same tactics against socialists that they use against us. Conventional wisdom says that conservatives don't protest in public. Generally speaking when you see a noisy rally on TV it's a group of people with left-leaning political views.

But now we are seeing huge numbers of middle-aged and senior people protesting publicly, and noisily by going to these town hall meetings to protest socialist healthcare. We saw a similar thing on Income Tax Day (April 15) when thousands of people, old, young, Republican and Democrat, organized the Tea Party rallies to protest big government.

Conservatives are behaving like socialists. They are protesting noisily, they are shouting down elected officials when they feel those officials are lying to them. In short, they are applying the tactics of the Left against the Left.

Is it any wonder that some socialists accuse these people of being part of fake mobs? After all, fake mobs, rent-a-mob, has been a tool of socialism for decades. So when socialists see the same tactics used against them, they automatically assume that those people are faking their anger and frustration.

The truth is that the genie is out of the bottle. Once people understand that the things they have worked for all their lives are about to be taken from them, they get angry.

Fake? I don't think so. More like the tip of the iceberg.

This Guy is One Tough Parachutist!

One of the most exhilarating things I've ever done is a parachute jump with the U.S Army Golden Knights parachute display team (click here to read my blog story). These soldiers are true professionals, and excellent ambassadors for the Army.

Today, a former member of the Golden Knights, SFC Dana Bowman made a special parachute jump onto the grounds of Walter Reed Hospital. This is one of the Veterans Administration hospitals for our service people and veterans.

What makes Dana Bowman's jump even more significant than usual is that he lost both legs and his partner in a skydiving accident in 1994, when the two Golden Knights teammates collided in freefall at a combined speed of about 300mph. But within five months of his accident, Bowman went back up and made another jump. After the accident, he created a new career for himself as a motivational speaker, and he jumps regularly to demonstrate that the right mindset and attitude can overcome just about anything.

In case you're wondering about how SFC Bowman lands on two prosthetic legs, it seemed to me, watching the live coverage on Fox News this morning, that he lands on his butt!