Posts in 'America'

Day 2 of CPAC: Rand Paul Brings Down the House

Day 2 of CPAC: Rand Paul Brings Down the House

The second day of CPAC was pretty much your standard fare, more red meat and all. There was a forum in the main hall entitled: “Can Libertarians and Social Conservatives Get Along”…even after sitting through the entire forum I wasn’t exactly sure if they could. After the forum though, Rand Paul took the stage to a packed house and the applause was exuberant and deafening. His speech started off with him painting a picture in the minds of the audience, imagine a time true liberty was enjoyed coast to coast.  Imagine a time when the Constitution was the law of the land.  Imagine a President who loved America and didn’t shred the Constitution in a megalomaniacal attempt to crown himself emperor.   Ok, so maybe the last part I paraphrased just a bit, but you get the sentiment. As a gun rights advocate I took to imagining a time...
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A European’s Idea of an American Breakfast

A European’s Idea of an American Breakfast

Having dinner with some friends, one of them asked me if I had seen the European’s idea of an American Breakfast.  When I said I hadn’t he pulled out his smartphone and showed it to me. I laughed pretty hard because while I’m sure some smarmy European was having, what he thought, was a dig to American’s I just thought it looked like the breakfast of Champions. Here it is: | | | | | | | | | \/   Now, if that doesn’t look DELICIOUS, you might be more European than American. And to the Europeans across the pond who want to try and make me, as an American, feel bad because I live in the land of plenty, love bacon and the freedom that the right to keep and bear arms ensures and think I should give it all up like they do, I say: From...
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Day One of CPAC in the books

Day One of CPAC in the books

Hello faithful readers.  Since I hadn’t mentioned this before I am covering CPAC which is taking place in Maryland this year.  Because of that of course, your intrepid Pennsylvanian is disarmed because apparently free people (and gun manufacturers) aren’t welcome here. Putting that aside, what did I learn on Day 1? If you like red meat, CPAC is the place for you.  Some of it came across as genuine, such as Ted Cruz’s declaration to “Abolish the IRS” while others came across as pandering, like Mitch McConnell strolling on stage waving a black powder rifle. When Cruz talks about abolishing the IRS I believe him.  When McConnell tries to channel Charlton Heston I find it wanting. And the crowd by and large seemed to agree with my sentiment.  While other speakers enjoyed overwhelming ovations McConnell was treated with a smattering of light clapping.  The only time when he received...
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Obama’s Foreign Policy: Keep drawing lines in the sand and hope

Obama’s Foreign Policy: Keep drawing lines in the sand and hope

For those of you who don’t know, Rex Ryan is the Head Coach for the New York Jets football team. Rex Ryan LOVES to talk a big game. So much so, he guaranteed a Super Bowl victory THREE TIMES in three successive seasons before said seasons even started.  Not only did he not win a Super Bowl, but his team never even MADE the game. It seems like Obama has followed Rex Ryan’s lead and has decided to just continually spout off with diarrhea of the mouth and not actually back it up with anything.  He has let Iran, Syria and Russia do whatever they want despite his ever moving “line in the sand.” What the president has failed to figure out, the lesson even a toddler knows, is that if all you do is bluff and someone finally calls you on it, they will never take you seriously...
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Winter is Coming…and the White Walkers are coming for your guns

Winter is Coming…and the White Walkers are coming for your guns

With the seemingly endless winter that most of the country has been dealing with recently, I have had occasion to reflect on a series of books that I enjoy, George RR Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire.” The more I thought about it the more I realized that the tale told in the tomes of his series are an allegory for a lot of what is going on in the US. You see, in America, which has experienced and enjoyed freedom and liberty for so long, the people forget that these things are not guaranteed.  That they were bought many years ago with the blood of both Patriot and Tyrant alike. But after such a long while in the sun you forget that winter exists.  Even when people see the signs all around, they say things like “that’ll NEVER happen here” or “that CAN’T happen here.” Notions of...
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Liberal hate aims to derail Heston Stamp

Liberal hate aims to derail Heston Stamp

It’s a small thing really.  A famed legendary actor getting a US Postal stamp. Unless of course that famed actor actively fought for the 2nd Amendment. Charlton Heston was initially scheduled to have his likeness adorn a US Postage Stamp on April 11th, 2014.  Yet after the intelligentsia of the left got wind of this they have been making all kinds of racket.  As such, the powers that be somewhere along the line forced the Postal Service to issue a statement refuting the stamp being a done deal. Roy Betts, spokesmen for the USPS said: The document (stating Heston’s stamp release) was not meant for publication, nor have final decisions been made. While the document contained recommendations from the 15 members of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, its selections are not final until other steps are taken, including legal reviews and consumer input. The BS meter on that one...
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Remembering a Hero – Medal of Honor Winner Walter D. Ehlers

Remembering a Hero – Medal of Honor Winner Walter D. Ehlers

When I was in basic training some 12 years ago, one of my drill sergeants advised that it would behoove us to, after we finished our training, take time and go to VFW’s and military halls and talk to old time veterans.  Those that punched Nazism in the face and saved the world from evil.  His reasoning was simple enough, they won’t always be there to talk to and year after year more and more finish the long march to their reward. While I did heed my drill sergeants advice, I sometimes regret that I didn’t give more of an effort to seek out the old dogs of war and hear their tales. So, when I hear that another of the greatest generation has shuffled off this mortal coil I like to take a moment and highlight the heroism, now seven decades past, that should still reverberate in the...
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Carrying guns and drinking booze

Carrying guns and drinking booze

I know there are a wide range of opinions on the matter. And in truth I think guns and alcohol go together as well as driving and alcohol.  Yet, with that being said, who among us hasn’t had a drink with dinner at a restaurant and then drove home?  Just because a drop of alcohol passes our lips does not immediately make us drunken blathering idiots. It comes down to personal responsibility.  I know, in today’s America that is a radical concept. In Pennsylvania it is legal to carry a loaded firearm into a bar and have a drink.  I know in other states in the union they like to micromanage through legislation every facet of a person’s life in order to control them as much as possible “for their own good”. It always baffles me when government treats its citizens like helpless children and then are surprised when...
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Can a true progressive big government liberal be FOR the 2nd Amendment?

Can a true progressive big government liberal be FOR the 2nd Amendment?

Can a true progressive big government liberal be FOR the 2nd Amendment?  Short answer: No. What’s that?  You know plenty of liberals who are gun owners?  While that very well may be the case there are 2 things to keep in mind.  There is a difference between being a gun owner and being FOR the 2nd Amendment.  One need look no further than the US Senator from California Dianne Feinstein to see what a elitist liberal big governemnt gun owner thinks of the 2nd Amendment.  Basically, so long as SHE has a gun it doesn’t matter how much she infringes on the rights of others. Also, I am talking about true, kool aid drinking, Marx quoting, dyed in the wool big government progressive liberals.  I know plenty of people who claim to be liberal and say they are for gay marriage and pro choice and ending the war on...
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King Petty is right about Danica Patrick…and he ain’t taking it back

King Petty is right about Danica Patrick…and he ain’t taking it back

If there is anyone who has earned the right to express his opinion about the state of NASCAR it is Richard Petty. Arguably the greatest racer of all time, by and far the most winningest one with 200 victories, the King has earned his place in racing royalty. He has earned the right to tell the truth. And the truth is that Danica Patrick will probably never win a NASCAR race. To quote Petty directly when asked if Patrick would ever be in the winners circle: “Only if everyone else stayed home.” Now, what impressed me is not his ability to grasp the obvious, or even his courage to state it plainly, but while watching ESPN today he had the backbone to stick by his statement and not be cowed by all those who are up in arms about it. Petty would even go on to elaborate more on...
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This Flag Dips To No Earthly King

This Flag Dips To No Earthly King

America. We were a country with some balls back in the day. With the beginning of the Winter Olympics I am reminded of a pair of Americans back in 1908. Ralph Rose was the United States Flag Bearer for the 1908 Summer Olympic Games held in London, England.  In the opening ceremonies Rose walked by the royal box and refused to dip the Stars and Stripes to King-Emperor Edward VII. US Olympic Team Captain Martin Sheridan upon being questioned about Rose’s refusal simply said: “This flag dips to no earthly king.” America. You may be surprised that it wasn’t until Flag Day, June 14th, 1923 that there was any codified government guideline to the flag.  Hence, Rose and Sheridan were ahead of their time and both symbolized the patriotic and religious natures of Americans. Imagine if you will, what would happen if such a similar act of patriotism and...
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Justice Scalia reaffirms the need for the 2nd Amendment: “In times of war, laws fall silent”

Justice Scalia reaffirms the need for the 2nd Amendment: “In times of war, laws fall silent”

Discussing cases with students at the University of Hawaii’s Law School, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia found himself questioned with the High Court’s ruling back in 1944 that upheld the convictions of Gordon Hira­ba­ya­shi and Fred Kore­ma­tsu for failing to voluntarily give up their freedom and report to an internment camp without due process. Scalia’s response to the Court’s decision was this: “Well, of course, Kore­ma­tsu (court decision) was wrong. And I think we have repudiated in a later case. But you are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again.”  He then went on to quote Cicero by saying: ” inter arma silent leges” (translation: In times of War, laws fall silent) This tyrannical oppression of Americans of Japanese decent during World War II is not the only time that Justice Scalia has spoken on the dangers of usurping peoples rights under the auspices of national...
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Drug Freedom Clearing The Road For Gun Freedom?

Drug Freedom Clearing The Road For Gun Freedom?

It’s funny how things work out. A lot of puns and humor were tossed at the two Super Bowl teams this year as both come from states that have legalized marijuana. As a gun rights advocate I am rather curious as to how the whole drug thing will shake out because the federal government is pretty clear that drugs that they deem illegal cannot be allowed by states.  The states of Washington and Colorado disagree. If the Federal Government blinks it will be the blink heard round the world because it will set a precedent in where a state can willfully and overtly ignore Federal Laws in order to conduct state business as an autonomous sovereignty. As a Libertarian I love this.  Please do not take that as me condoning or endorsing the use of heretofore illicit drugs, but if a state wants to pass a law saying that...
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Gabby Giffords Wages War on the Constitution…Gets Warship Named After Her…huh?

Gabby Giffords Wages War on the Constitution…Gets Warship Named After Her…huh?

Somehow this little tidbit had passed under my radar when it was first released but Gabrielle Giffords, controller and limiter of American Liberty is having an Independence Class littoral combat ship named after her. Previously it was just a hypothetical name as the Navy had only planned to build 2 ships of that class, the lead ship Independence and the second ship Coronado.  But with the near completion of the Coronado the Navy has announced plans to build an additional 10 Independence class ships with the 5th being named the USS Gabrielle Giffords. The irony that a ship in a class called Independence would be named after a woman who is making it her life’s work to deny the ability of regular American citizens to be independent of government control is laughable. Do I have a problem with politicians having ships named after them?  No.  But let’s not fool...
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Racist Gun Control Laws Denied Martin Luther King Jr the Right to Defend Himself

Racist Gun Control Laws Denied Martin Luther King Jr the Right to Defend Himself

The basis for gun control has always been racist in nature.  It started in the South to ensure that freed slaves wouldn’t be allowed to defend themselves. It has expanded over the years to encompass a larger range of goals such as controlling the populace at large and centralizing power within the government; can’t have those uppity peons thinking they are citizens after all. So it should come as no surprise that in 1956 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr applied for a concealed weapons permit in Alabama, due to his receiving constant death threats and having his house BOMBED, he was denied. If a man like Dr. King wasn’t “worthy” to be given a concealed weapons permit then I submit that as proof that any notion of needing to ask the government for permission before exercising a right is flawed.  If a civil rights leader who promotes non-violence...
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The Cheapening of Achievement

The Cheapening of Achievement

In the world where everyone gets a trophy and “you are special just because” comes another story that cheapens achievement.  It’s a story that actually mocks the central figure. It’s the story of Alex Wolfe. Alex is an 8th grader at Saint Albans City School in Vermont and he is blind. When I first got wind of this story it was translated something like this; “Blind 8th Grader makes big shot in Basketball Game”. I was very interested because I thought that was great, someone overcame a disability to achieve greatness.  I had no idea how he could, maybe some crazy echo location ability or he might have been a free throw specialist and some freak foul injured another player and he had to go in and win the game on a foul/technical shot. Then I read the story and saw the tape.  It was a mockery of achievement and...
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Holder’s Hypocrisy Dance on Gay Marriage and Guns

Holder’s Hypocrisy Dance on Gay Marriage and Guns

Utah’s voters passed a resolution to not recognize gay marriages within their state.  Much like when California also overwhelmingly passed a similar resolution those on the losing side of the issue sued to have the will of the people overturned. Unlike California, the governor of Utah is not complicit the undermining of his own constituency’s voice and decided to fight the suit. Initially an activist judge, Roberty Shelby, ruled that gay marriages must be performed in Utah.  Roughly 1300 such marriages were allowed to go forward until the Supreme Court finally stepped in to place a stay on the ruling until the appeal of Utah was heard. This is where corrupt Attorney General Eric Holder and the Obama Administration decide to get involved. Eric Holder has released a statement saying that the Federal Government will recognize these marriages even if their state does not. Here is the video, take...
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Don’t Resolve, Revolt! What Are Your New Year’s REVOLUTIONS?

Don’t Resolve, Revolt! What Are Your New Year’s REVOLUTIONS?

A couple of days ago I heard a child misspeak about New Year’s Resolutions by calling them New Year’s Revolutions. After a quick chuckle I got to thinking.  Resolutions are cliche and pointless.  They breed crowds at fitness centers and health food stores for the month of January before they are abandoned completely come February. New Year’s Resolutions are dependent on a people’s resolve and that is too often all but lacking when people are squared off against themselves. But with New Year’s Revolutions you are actively and consciously saying that in the upcoming year, “NO, I will not stand for it”; the “it” being whatever you are revolting against.  Want a real world example of how long calling something a “revolution” can go on for? Look to Cuba, the Castro’s have maintained power for over 5 decades by promoting the idea that the Cuban revolution is STILL going...
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