Was this Harry Reid's former job?

Have you ever wondered what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did before he became a politician?
I think he was in radio. Click here to see Harry at work. He doesn't seem to have changed much.

Lame Duck Congress

This week in Washington DC will mark the end of the Lame Duck session currently underway in the US Congress. This is the time between the conclusion of the mid-term elections for Senators and House members and the end of the current Congress. When the new congress convenes early in the new year, it will be comprised of those current members who have held on to their elected seats and also new members who won in last month's elections.

Right now, those members who did not win their re-elections are still working to pass laws in the last few frantic days of this session. They are called "Lame Ducks." The implication is that they are not in a position to achieve much. Lame ducks have the dubious honor of being able to pass legislation without being in office when it takes effect. It's like the high school kid who knocks up his school Principle's daughter and then runs off to join the French Foreign Legion.

Lame Duck is a stupid term. It implies a lack of ability to do anything. The dictionary defines "Lame" as weak, crippled or physically disabled, inadequate ... "Duck" is defined as to avoid or evade, and in the British game of Cricket it is a failure of the batsman to score. However, in the congress, these politicians are not lame ducks, they are still very dangerous and capable of inflicting massive damage--not least of which is their ability to spend this country into bankruptcy.

The term "politician" is derived from "poly" meaning many and "tic" meaning a blood sucking parasite. I had to look up "ian" in the dictionary and ... well, here's the actual quote from dictionary.com: "Suffix from the Latin - anus."

So there it is. In the last few days of Pelosi's First Reich, there is still time for them to leave a legacy of dangerous legislation that The Leader (Oops, sorry. I'm confusing him with the delusional, arrogant despot in North Korea) could sign into law.

Once again, Americans will be hamstrung by the legislation created by those whom they elected.
And they will become the real lame ducks.

Veterans day and Happy Birthday to the U.S. Marine Corps

I was just about to blog Veterans Day, November 11 (which is also known in Great Britain and Europe as Armistice Day) and the birthday of the United States Marine Corps, November 10th, when I received the following from my good friend Jerry, a true patriot and also a Vietnam Veteran. He says it so much better than I can:

While this list of VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE doesn't come close to the
extensive list in my head and heart.... all of those since my earliest
memories, from the WW 1 Veterans who, with their crude prosthetic
devices and gas seared lungs, came home and dug coal, put down endless
miles of railroad, harvested an unimaginably massive hardwood forest,
layed the foundation for the industrial revolution and in their own
best ways dealt with their many demons right here in little old Buchtel
and many, many other such places, right up to and including todays best
and brightest..... it IS a respectful attempt to bestow HONOR AND
DIGNITY TO ALL who have stood tall and still do today when their country
calls. It is a modest and heartfelt effort to simply THANK THOSE who
offered it all.... left their families far behind; risked their lives
and yes, even worse; to keep our home on track of becoming the finest,
freest, most emulated, loved and feared nation in the short history of
modern man. No other nation has ever offered such promise, realized the
coming true of so many dreams, or stood ready to defend such great
ideals as has and done the United States of America. "THANKS" TO ALL WHO
WEAR THE TITLE, "VETERAN". GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES,
AS YOU HAVE INDEED MADE AND HAVE KEPT IT ALL POSSIBLE !! AND,TO THE
FEW, THE PROUD, THE UNITED STATES MARINES, " HAPPY BIRTHDAY" .....
SEMPER FIDELIS !!! SULLY

A musical tribute to our military branches

How to Ask Questions of Political Candidates

Political candidates love to meet and greet voters face to face, and it's a great opportunity for voters to ask the candidates how they stand on a specific issue. But some candidates are very good at telling the individual voter what they want to hear, rather than what the candidates actual opinion is, and therefore how they are likely to vote on the issue.

For example, when a voter asks a candidate, "What about supporting the Second Amendment?" the candidate knows that he has to give some sort of pro-gun rights answer to that voter to increase the chance of that person voting for him .

Likewise, when another voter who asks the same candidate, "Why can't we just ban handguns?" that same candidate knows that depending on his real opinion on that issue, he can either open up to that voter and wholeheartedly agree with them, or at least soften his stance on the issue in order to appease them.

Matchsticks under the fingernails may be one way to get a truthful answer from a candidate, but there is a better way. And it's all about how the question is asked: "What about guns?" gives no indication how the person asking the question feels about the issue. Therefore, the candidate cannot fabricate an answer, he might as well say how he really feels and risk giving an answer that the voter disagrees with.

This approach can work with any candidate on just about any issue. Try it and watch them squirm as they try to figure out an appropriate answer. It's fun, and often very interesting.

Terrorism Against the West - A Chain of Events

August 7, 1998 I was sitting at work, checking the news online when the news broke that two US embassies in Africa had been bombed by terrorists; one in Kenya and the other in Tanzania.
In January 1999, a US Government accountability review board report stated concerns over the "Inadequacy of resources to provide security against terrorist attacks ... and the relative low priority accorded security concerns throughout the US government ..."

The embassy bombings reminded me of the bombing of the US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut in 1983 when 241 Americans were killed by a suicide bomber who drove a truck carrying six tons of TNT into the barracks.

In October 1985, the cruise ship Achile Lauro was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists in the Mediterranean Sea. The hijackers demanded that 50 Palestinians be released from jail in Israel. They murdered an American tourist in his wheelchair and threw his body overboard.

On Dec 21 1988, a terrorist bomb exploded aboard Pan Am flight 103 above Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 243 passengers, 16 crew members and 11 people on the ground. One of the terrorists responsible for the bombing was later tried and imprisoned in Scotland, but later released on humanitarian grounds because his doctor thought he only had three months to live. He's still alive and living in Libya.

At the World Trade Center in New York City in 1993, terrorists exploded a truck bomb in the basement of the North Tower, killing six people and injuring 1,042.

On October 12, 2000, the US Navy warship, USS Cole was attacked while it was refueling in the port of Aden in Yemen. A small boat carrying suicide bombers and an estimated 1,000 pounds of high explosive approached the side of the ship and blew up, causing a huge gash in the hull, killing seventeen sailors and injuring 39 others.


On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four US airliners and flew two of them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and the fourth aircraft--thanks to the bravery of the passengers and crew, who fought back against the hijackers--into a field in Pennsylvania.

Madrid, Spain, March 11, 2004, in the worst terrorist attack in Spain's history, terrorists bombed four commuter rail lines into Madrid, killing 190 people and wounding 1800.

London, England, July 7, 2005, four terrorists blew up three London Underground trains and one bus, killing 52 civilians and wounding approximately 700 more.


On November 5, 2009, Nidal Malik Hasan, a US Army officer stationed at FT. Hood, Texas shot and killed 13 people and wounded 30 others. He survived being shot by a civilian police officer, who then arrested him. Today, a military court will determine whether to put the accused officer on trial.

Today, the civilian trial begins in New York City of a man accused of being involved in the bombings of the two American embassies in Africa. The judge has thrown out the prosecution's star witness.

I'm sure that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the West's support for the Pakistan government in it's efforts to neutralize the threat of terrorism from within its borders have all helped to reduce the threat of more terrorist attacks in the west. But it isn't enough. It seems to me that the average person in the street has not really woken up to the fact that there are no front lines and that this is not a conventional war. The only time the average person really thinks about terrorism is when they have to take their shoes off at the security checkpoint at the airport. That is not enough.

There are two important things to remember:
1. Everyone is a combatant.
2. Whatever methods and tactics prove successful overseas, sooner or later they will show up here in America.

Are we ready? Are we in Condition Yellow?

Johny Winter On Tour

We got a chance to see legendary rock and blues guitarist Johnny Winter in a little bar called the Belly Up in Aspen, Colorado the other night. It makes such a nice change to sit and have a beer twenty feet from the stage instead of sitting in a huge, impersonal auditoreum surrounded by thousands of people. Johnny and his three-piece band (rythm guitar, bass, and drums) played for a solid ninety minutes with only one slight pause while he changed guitars. He kicked of the session with a rockin' rendition of Freddie King's "Hideaway" and just blew the audience away through the rest of the set with 50s rock 'n roll numbers like "Bony Moronie" and blues standards like Freddie King's "Tore Down."

























And what would a Winter gig be without his version of Bob Dylan's "Highway 61"--which Johnny and the band played at double time, without missing a beat! Not bad for an old guy who has to sit on a chair for the entire gig; but his fingers are still lightning fast and his playing looks so effortless. Not surprising though, from an artist who regularly makes it into Rolling Stones Top 100 Guitarists list.

Keep on rockin', Johnny!

The Farnam Method of Defensive Shotgun and Rifle Shooting

If I had to choose only one book as a reference for self defense using a rifle or shotgun it would be this second edition of the Farnam Method of Defensive Shotgun and Rifle Shooting[ISBN 978-0-9659422-7-0]. While principles remain the same, over time tactics and weapons can change to meet new demands. John Farnam is on the cutting edge of those changes. John has a practical way through his classes and by interacting with other professionals in this field to determine not only what tactics and equipment work, but also the circumstances in which they should be employed.
The book covers among other things: Operating systems, sighting systems, ammunition selection (and why), stoppage reduction (It is my opinion that if you’ve never had a stoppage in your weapon you aren’t training realistically enough for a self-defense encounter), fighting positions, weapon retention and a whole lot more. While the book is certainly a great addendum to formal police and military training, it shines as a textbook for the ordinary person who wants to protect themselves from violent career criminals and who recognizes that while having to defend oneself with a firearm is a remote possibility, when it does happen it is vital to have not only the best equipment one can afford, but also the best understanding of how to effectively and decisively use that equipment. This book (as much as any book can substitute for formal training on the range with a professional instructor) will show the reader how. The book is available from DTI Publications and also at Amazon.com

What Have We Learned About the Times Square Bombing Attempt?

Do we really know what the true goal of alleged terrorist bomber Faisal Jahzad was when he built his car bomb and placed it in New York's Times Square?

Here is a man who appears to have connections to radical terrorist groups, and who is educated and intelligent. But according to statements made in New York, he built a bomb that was "amateurish".

We cannot rule out the possibility that the main purpose of planting the device was not to create an explosion, but to learn how security forces would respond to such a threat. It is not inconceivable that, as in other parts of the world such as the middle east, the larger plan would be to attract police into the area by planting a small device and then trigger a much larger bomb.

The most important lesson we can learn from this incident is that if we really want to know what our enemies have in store for us, we must look at what they are already doing successfully in other parts of the world. Terrorists swap ideas and training amongst different groups. Whatever works in Iraq or Afghanistan, Beirut or Israel will eventually be tried in the USA and the UK.

Congressman is Concerned that Guam may Tip Over

Here's a You Tube clip of a congressional hearing in which congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA) is questioning a US Navy Admiral about the congressman's concerns that the Island of Guam may capsize due to the number of people on it. Click here to see the video

No, I'm not kidding. No, this isn't an April Fools joke. You can't make up stuff like this.

I feel sorry for the Navy warrior who is required to answer questions that a five-year old might ask.

Back in the USSR

A fundamental change occurred on Sunday with the passage of the healthcare bill. It's hard to understand why it seems to be so necessary to try to fix every aspect of healthcare in this country all at once. There is an old saying that the way to eat an elephant is to do it one bite at a time. But in the case of fixing the problems with the existing system, it seems that trying to do the whole thing in one gigantic bite is the preferred method.

Watching the voting on Sunday night, it reminded me of another time in another country when a fundamental change, years in the planning stage, that affected the citizens of an entire country was effected in the space of a few hours. The country was Germany, the year was 1938, and the event--when thousands of Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps, was dubbed Kristallnacht.

On Sunday, legislation masquerading as a bill to improve the health of the people of this country, was passed by the House of Representatives and in doing so, ushered in a socialist society.

Welcome to the new America, The United Socialist States of the Republic (USSR).

Wyoming Concealed Carry Law Straightened Out

Last year, a legislative glitch occurred in Wyoming when the state's chief legal eagle, Attorney General Bruce Salzburg, was conducting a review of the reciprocity conditions between Wyoming and the other 49 states. The AG discovered language in the state's reciprocity law for carrying a concealed handgun which reduces Wyoming's reciprocity with many states. The fix was to create legislation to change the existing wording.

I was notified today by one of Wyoming's legal experts that the changes to clarify the legislation have been made and the governor has signed them into law. This is good news. Kudos to Wyoming state authorities for fixing the glitch.

Health Care Summit in D.C.

I'm watching the President's Health Care Summit currently running live on Fox News from Blair House in D.C.

The country's top politicians are all assembled in a big room discussing and debating how to reinvent health care. I think our politiciens should be commended for holding a meeting that is broadcast live to the world. This is the way that politics should be conducted in a free and open society.

And now that we have them all right where Americans want them, let's give them all swords and lock the doors from the outside.

Gun Rights Restored to U.S. National Parks

On February 22, a new federal credit card bill became law. The law included a rider that restores the right to carry concealed firearms in most of the nation's national parks by people who have a permit to Carry a Concealed Weapon (CCW) for the state in which the park is located. This is good news for law-abiding citizens who have had to risk attacks by violent criminals or aggressive animals while visiting the nation's parks. The gist of the law is that if the state in which the national park is located allows for citizens to carry firearms, then that same right is extended into the park.

Not all parks are included in the list; The Statue of Liberty, for example is exempted by the law, although it would have been exempted anyway for all regular people, because although New York City allows for concealed carry with a permit, only a few wealthy or politically connected people actually have them.

Is the law important? Yes, in 2006, there were 11 murders, 35 rapes, 61 aggravated assaults in national parks. it may seem a low number compared to some cities, but if you are one of the victims, then your statistic is 100 percent.

Its Still Snowing in Washington D.C.

The people in Washington D.C. are used to snowjobs, but usually they take the form of speeches from lying politicians. But this week, the 2 - 3 feet of snow that's been dumped on the mid-Atlantic states and the nation's capital is real testimony to the climate crisis that scientists (who receive grant money for research) and famous people (who want to save the polar bears) would have us believe is caused directly by those of us who drive cars and trucks.

If that is the case, then why aren't these people jumping up and down in their winter coats in front of the TV and newspaper cameras, waving their snowshoes above their heads and yelling, "I told you so"?

And why are people asking:














(Cartoon: garyvarvel.com)

Criticism from the British press

The following is an excerpt from an editorial that appeared in the British newspaper, the Daily Express:

" ... spread welfare dependency and attempted to dismantle our national identity through multi-culturalism .... He has run up debts that will take generations to clear and created a prohibitively expensive public sector. ... based around expanding the state, downgrading personal responsibility, destroying nationhood and rewarding victimhood."

The Express is complaining about the dismal job that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (Labour Party) has done, and how Britain couldn't be any worse off under a new Conservative government.

Why? Who did you think they were talking about?

Wounded Warriors

In the years since this shooting war began shortly after 9/11 we've lost a lot of good people in combat, and a lot of our military personnel have been terribly wounded. They need the support of the people they volunteered to defend "from all enemies, both foreign and domestic."

Homes for Our Troops is one organization that is supporting these heroes by adapting homes for severely injured veterans.

Please take a few moments to watch this video of Trace Adkins and the West Point Cadet Glee Club. Just click here. and then please take a look at the Homes for Our Troops website by clicking here.

"What a Horrible Woman"

Here's an interesting clip from CNN's Jack Cafferty reporting on the congressional delegation's trip to Copenhagen last month for the world climate change conference. It seems that aside from the actual delegates, there was a whole bunch family members and hangers-on who also got a free ride at tax payers expense, courtesy of the Speaker of the House, who, according to this CNN report, refused to answer questions about how much the trip cost US taxpayers.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, it seems that the state of Denmark isn't the only place where there is something rotten.

With the exception of Lou Dobbs' reporting, I've always considered CNN to lean a little bit towards the left in it's coverage, but perhaps those days are drawing to a close. Cafferty's monologue gets more worked up and scathing as he describes Pelosi. Just like the emperor's new clothes, even some news networks are waking up to a regime that is not what they expected. Here's the link to the video.

More Special Elections Before November

In case we thought the special elections ended with Scott Brown's outstanding win in Massachusetts, there are more to come:

In Broward County, Florida ( Ground Zero for ballot recounts in the 2000 presidential election) The surprise mid-term resignation of Congressman Robert Wexler (D) puts the 19th Congressional District up for grabs. Traditionally, 19th District has been heavily Democrat, but this year, three potential Republican candidates are vying for the red seat at the special election on April 13th. According to the Florida Sun Sentinel, "state Sen. Ted Deutch, D- Boca Raton, is the odds-on favorite to become South Florida's newest member of Congress." the Sentinel goes on to say,"Three candidates are seeking the Republican nomination: Joe Budd, a financial planner; Ed Lynch, a contractor who ran against Wexler in 2008; and Curt Price, a retired Fort Lauderdale police officer who owns a business that sells safes. None has held elected office before."

Hawaii's First Congressional District is also up for a special election after Congressman Neil Abercrombie (D) resigned in order to run for Governor. Historically, Republicans in Hawaii have had about as much chance of getting elected as Rosie O'Donnel has of being hired as a pole dancer, but this year, may be different (the election, I mean ... ). House Rep. Charles Djou is running as the Republican candidate, while the Dems are fielding more than one candidate. The blog, Jumping in Pools explains that, "There will be just one election, where all candidates from both sides will be competing for a plurality, leaving the top vote getter as the victor who takes the seat, and resulting in a united GOP in excellent condition to sneak an Aloha victory."

Read more: http://jumpinginpools.blogspot.com/2009/12/upcoming-elections-of-importance.html#ixzz0dpjZSX73

Time to stock up on beer and chips. It's going to be an interesting election season.

Hitler Reacts to Scott Brown's Senate Win

It's Friday. Time for a little fun.

Here's a very funny YouTube clip that probably mirrors the sentiments of some people in Washington and San Francisco.

Click here for the link.

Enjoy!

Never Let an Election Go to Waste

Republican candidate for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, Scott Brown's win yesterday in Massachusetts may be a taste of things to come in the November mid-term elections when the entire U.S. House of Representatives and one-third of the U.S. Senate is up for re-election.

The electorate is fed up with Chicago-style politics in Washington D.C., and this morning I suspect that many incumbent Democrats and maybe quite a few Republicans are considering their options and wondering if they should run again in November.

I wish Scott Brown luck in his new position. I hope he works to restore fundamental conservative values to a party and a government that has tried for too long to be a big tent and encompass all people and all opinions. The correct word to describe this is not "Diversity", but "Fragmentation",

Personally, I'm almost as tired of the Republicans as I am of the Democrats. In some cases, it's hard to tell the difference. Having lived through several elections in a country that had first a three-party, and later a four-party system of government, I can only say that while our two-party system invites the frustrating procedure of voting for the lesser of two evils, a multiple-party system often splits the vote between the two most capable parties, thus allowing the worst party to actually be elected!

So, while I support the unofficial Tea Party and it's attempts to rein in the abuses of Democrats and Republicans alike, I don't see the Tea Party ever becoming a viable third party option. I would, however like to see the Tea Party replace either the Democratic or the Republican party. Neither one has earned the trust and respect of the American people for a long time.

Good News for Wyoming Concealed Carry Permit Holders

I just received this from a reliable source. Currently, 48 of the 50 states allow some version of concealed or open carry of a handgun for personal protection. Wyoming is one of those enlightened states. They just need to tweak the wording to their legislation a little bit.

The right to self-defense is surely the most basic of all rights. Nobody would blame a dog for biting the person who kicks it; nobody would blame an animal for attacking the hunter who is trying to shoot it (I'm a hunter, by the way); so why would anybody question a person's right to defend themselves with a firearm when the alternative is injury or death?

But I digress. Here's the good news from the State of Wyoming:

OFFICE OF GOVERNOR DAVE FREUDENTHAL
State Capitol
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Ph. (307) 777-7434

January 15, 2010

******FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE******

Contact: Jonathan Green, Press Secretary
Phone: 307.777.7437
E-mail: jgreen3@state.wy.us

Gov. Freudenthal Backs Legislation to Restore Concealed Carry Reciprocity

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Gov. Dave Freudenthal has announced his support for proposed legislation to restore Wyoming concealed carry reciprocity after the current statutes were found to be ambiguous. Senate File 26 is sponsored by Sen. Cale Case of Lander.

Gov. Freudenthal said, “This is important legislation that ensures that lawful permit holders in and out of Wyoming can carry firearms as originally intended. I am very pleased that Senator Case has proposed legislation which remedies this problem and will take us back to a place where we have reciprocity with a significant number of other states.”

Last year, Wyoming Attorney General Bruce Salzburg discovered language in the existing law that would have significantly reduced the number of states to which Wyoming could grant reciprocity. Reciprocity is where two states agree to accept one another’s permits. Freudenthal and Salzburg agreed to postpone implementing a decision reducing the number of states who could legally carry concealed firearms in Wyoming, in order to give lawmakers an opportunity to craft a legislative fix. Salzburg believes the proposed legislation will clarify the statute and remove the problems with determining which states should be granted reciprocity.

“The existing statute requires the Attorney General to determine whether other states' concealed carry laws have requirements that are 'similar' to Wyoming's. The problem is that other states' laws are similar to Wyoming's requirements, in some respects, and markedly dissimilar in others. Because reciprocity is an important issue, I wanted more certainty regarding the scope of my statutory review of other states’ laws,” Salzburg said.

Sen. Cale Case is the primary sponsor of the legislation, with co-sponsors Sen. Eli Bebout, Rep. Edward Buchanan, Rep. Pat Childers, Rep. David Miller and Rep. Owen Petersen. The Governor sent a letter expressing his support for the legislation to the bill’s sponsors, Thursday.

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.