tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46895959187502892352024-03-18T20:06:01.420-07:00J. Raymond WrightChristian, Conservative, PatriotJ. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-71458877555243157002009-03-12T07:43:00.000-07:002009-03-12T07:51:34.891-07:00CHICAGO MURDERS SOAR: MAYOR HAS HEAD UP ASS!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYjJMRAIdPzqJsfhnm1eJqCMGQLGII8HdHiwRBjSyomXvb0tQIWkBmstikJ6ZmEkkFxv9qRC8ClDbO509ZCtCxa1pleq7S8IBsDqg_GtPDAEf77bIrN_4VRt-hQ_BL15rIPnLKG0ligI0/s1600-h/1seal.jpg"></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPDmS2fyjDK00fBWXNb3QQUpKdiDYNzZQBZcWFZGg-wfj6jXJ8-rZS2QC9XasPxVhUBoU4E4boiBKyoOwz6jgWL4zgxHmuNRzG1a6AL3f6GDZlMXP37kSTC1bu6z93COHN1OvErV6-Ow/s1600-h/head_in_ASS_(2).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312313514704839842" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 306px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPDmS2fyjDK00fBWXNb3QQUpKdiDYNzZQBZcWFZGg-wfj6jXJ8-rZS2QC9XasPxVhUBoU4E4boiBKyoOwz6jgWL4zgxHmuNRzG1a6AL3f6GDZlMXP37kSTC1bu6z93COHN1OvErV6-Ow/s320/head_in_ASS_(2).jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><br />Hey Major Daley: Why don’t you pull your head out of your ass?</div><br /><br /><div><br />Keep in mind three things: #1) Chicago has a complete and total ban on the possession of handguns just like the D.C. law found unconstitutional last year. #2) Illinois completely prohibits concealed carry. #3) Every State that has passed concealed carry laws has experienced a drop in violent crime and a drop in the number of murders.<br /></div><br /><br /><div>508 Chicago School Students Shot In 16 Months<br /></div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://wcbstv.com/national/Chicago.School.Students.2.955165.html">http://wcbstv.com/national/Chicago.School.Students.2.955165.html</a><br /></div><br /><br /><div>Twenty-five Chicago Public School students have been murdered this year. As shocking as that number is, there is another figure that's very disturbing as well: the number of students who have been shot in a 16-month period is enough to fill an elementary school - 508 students, according to school officials. CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago's Chief Correspondent Jay Levine asks why, and what is being done to stop it. Think about it. By this time tomorrow, odds are at least one Chicago Public School student will have been shot. {{Update}} {{The writer was correct, there was one more and the number as of 3-12-09 stands at 26 for 2008-2009 school year with three months to go!}} By this time next week, there'll be seven. </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>It's a staggering, frightening, shameful statistic that judging from the reaction we got, those who could do something aren't anxious to talk about. "No one really wants to address this but we need to call for a state of emergency," said Pastor Roosevelt Watkins……<br /></div><br /><br /><div>2008: Chicago Murders Total Tops U.S. Soldier Deaths in Iraq<br /></div><br /><br /><div>by <a title="View user profile." href="http://www.nowpublic.com/bmcwrites">BMCWrites</a> January 5, 2009 at 08:18 pm<br /></div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://www.nowpublic.com/world/2008-chicago-murders-total-tops-u-s-soldier-deaths-iraq">http://www.nowpublic.com/world/2008-chicago-murders-total-tops-u-s-soldier-deaths-iraq</a><br /></div><br /><br /><div>Few Americans realize the number of people murdered in Chicago during 2008 was larger than the number of U.S. soldier deaths in Iraq during the same period.<br />In a Sept. 4 <a title="Permanent Link to Chicago’s Summer Murder Total Higher Than Iraq’s" href="http://bobmccarty.com/2009/01/03/2008/09/04/chicagos-summer-murder-total-higher-than-iraqs/" target="_blank">post</a>, I noted an effort by Chicago’s CBS television affiliate to change that fact. CBS2Chicago broadcast a <a title="cbs2chicago.com" href="http://cbs2chicago.com/" target="_blank">report</a> that included an interesting stat — that is, the city’s 125 summer murders total nearly doubled the number of soldiers killed in Iraq during the same time period (65). Unfortunately, they seemed to stand alone.<br /></div><br /><br /><div>Five days ago, Associated Press had the opportunity to share the facts for comparison. Unfortunately, they opted to publish a <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h52EpowYaBSvhNpzVmCSdclP_fjwD95DTIB80" target="_blank">story</a> containing only half of the story (i.e., that at least 314 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq during 2008, down from 904 in the previous year).<br /></div><br /><br /><div>Four days ago, the folks at the Chicago Tribune had a similar chance. Unfortunately, their <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-homicides-chicago_02jan02,0,55475.story" target="_blank">article</a> that appeared in yesterday’s edition also included only half of the story (i.e., that the Windy City closed 2008 with 509 homicides, an increase of about 15 percent over 2007).<br />Combine the two stories, and the whole 2008 picture — the picture unpainted by members of the media — is made clear:<br /></div><br /><br /><div>314 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq;<br />509 people were murdered in Chicago.<br /><br />POLITICAL LANDSCAPE</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>Mayor Richard M. Daley (son of Mayor Richard J. Daley)<br />Cook County Board President, Todd Stroger (son of former Bd. President Stroger)<br />Sens. Barack Obama & Dick Durbin,Rep. Jesse Jackson, Rahm Emmanuel and several others all Democrats.Gov. Rod Blogojevich,House leader Mike Madigan,Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan (daughter of Mike Madigan)<br /><br />.....our leadership in Illinois.....all Democrats.<br /><br />City of Chicago Alderman – all Dems<br />Cook County Board Members – all Dems<br />Illinois House of Representatives – run by Dems<br />Illinois State Senate – run by mostly all Dems<br /></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Thank you for the combat zone in Chicago.</div><br /><br /><div>Of course, they're all blaming each other.</div><br /><br /><div>Can't blame Republicans; there aren't any! </div><br /><br /><div>State pension fund $44 Billion in debt, worst in the Country.</div><br /><br /><div>Cook County (Chicago) sales tax 10.25% highest in country. Look 'em up if you want).</div><br /><br /><div>Chicago school system rated one of the worst in the country.<br /><br />Major Daley’s response to any attempt at concealed carry is to claim that it would turn our streets into the “Wild West” with shoot-outs happening all the time. Hey Dickhead: There already are shoot-outs all the frickin time on your damn streets! It’s fricken worse in Chicago than in the whole bloody country of Iraq! And it’s much worse in Chicago than in Iraq’s capital city of Baghdad. Chicago averaged 1.4 shoot-out murders each day in 2008!<br /><br />Also, studies have shown that in states that pass concealed carry laws people with concealed carry permits don’t go around shooting people and in fact, people with concealed carry permits are eight (8) times less likely to be involved in a crime than the average ordinary citizen.<br /><br />So Major Daley: When are you going to pull your Head out of your ASS?<br /><br />You, Major Daley, are directly responsible for an inflated murder rate that would be on average around 7-14% lower if concealed carry were permitted. So in 2008 numbers, around 50 people who died could have been saved if you allowed for concealed carry. 50 PEOPLE!!!<br /><br />Rant over: My $.02.</div></div>J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-43775165880388624362009-01-23T07:37:00.000-08:002009-01-24T07:52:30.616-08:00Some Issue Positions to Consider for the NCCPAISSUE POSITIONS<br /><br />These are simply some “First Thoughts” and the NCCPA will forever remain flexible<br /><br />Abortion: Abortion is wrong, it is a sin, and should be discouraged. However, we are all sinners – no one is perfect, and it should be left up to the States to determine what type of Abortion Laws they would like to have rule in their State. Federal Government money should never be used to help finance abortion and it is permissible to allow the States to put certain restrictions on abortion, such as: 1) Requiring a minor to have the permission of a parent in order to obtain an abortion. 2) Requiring a 72 hour waiting period, unless the health of the mother is at risk. 3) Limiting abortions to pregnancies that are in the first or second trimester only. 4) Prohibiting “partial-birth” abortions. 5) Requiring abortion clinics to donate a small percentage of their profits to abortion alternative groups. 6) Creating a registry of couples desiring to adopt a baby and of mothers with unwanted pregnancies in an effort to save lives in stead of aborting them. 7) Prohibiting a State from an all-out ban on abortions.<br /><br />Income Taxes: Income Taxes should be abolished. For over 100 years our Country survived quite well with no Income Tax. It wasn’t until the 1900’s that the first Income Tax was put into effect. Income taxes inhibit personal ambition and penalize people for hard work. In stead we will first, massively cut our current federal budget. Second, we will be re-instituting reasonable import taxes on all foreign goods being sold in America. This will not only help raise money to run the federal government, it will also attempt to start leveling the playing field for American manufacturers. Free trade is BS because everybody else is subsidizing or taxing in one way or another. “Free Trade” has led to the loss of millions and millions of American manufacturing jobs. Fair Trade, on the other hand, will level the playing field and help American businesses be competitive in the world market.<br /><br />National Defense: Get out of the over 100 treatise we are entangled in around the world. Send Germany and Japan a bill for all of the Defense costs to protect those countries for the past fifty years. Pull all our troops out of Europe and Japan and place them on the Mexican and Canadian borders. Leave a few small “staging” areas across the globe that we could use in the case of a real, international emergency incident, perhaps two or three per continent. Invest heavily in research and development for future weapons and space defense. Maintain and improve our Navy, Air Force, Army, Marines and Coast Guard. Consider making 1-2 years of service mandatory for all 18-20 year olds, men and women. In exchange for the service, give them money for college or trade schools.<br /><br />Welfare: Welfare shall be limited to only those willing to participate in job training programs or those with a physical or mental disability that prevents them from working. People on welfare will be given up to one year, and one year only, to participate in free job training program(s) and get a job. After the one year is up, no more welfare. Corporations, in stead of being taxed to death, will be required to contribute to job training and job creation programs.<br /><br />Promote Limited Government: Budget Cuts: The following Federal Bureaucracies will either be eliminated entirely, or in the alternative, severely diminished. 1) The Department of Education (leave education up to the States, it is a State responsibility); 2) The Environmental Protection Agency (leave it up to the States, it is a State responsibility); 3) The Department of Housing and Urban Development (A State issue); 4) The Department of Agriculture; 5) The Department of Labor; 6) Department of Commerce; 7) Department of Transportation; 8) Cut all funding to the United Nations, let them pay themselves, no more free ride on our backs; 9) Severely limit or completely abolish numerous Administrations and Agencies. Cut, cut, cut!<br /><br />Gun Control: Make it a requirement that all households in America have at least one handgun and one long gun and everyone in the house is trained on how to safely use them. Permit Concealed Carry by law-abiding citizens in every state and eliminate all “Gun Bans.” Have the federal government help low income people to purchase a handgun for their self defense and learn how to use it safely (everyone gets a 10 hour gun safety and use course free of charge)(paid for by arms manufacturers and not paid for by the federal government). Ban fully automatic machine guns and prohibit convicted felons and the mentally defective from possessing firearms. After 10 years a convicted felon can petition for possession of a firearm. Every child by age 14 shall be trained and proficient in the use of a .22 caliber pistol and rifle. Every citizen by age 18 shall be proficient in the use of at least a 9mm/38 caliber pistols, a 30 caliber rifle, and at least a 20 gauge shotgun. Felons in possession of an illegal firearm and any criminal who uses a firearm to commit a crime will receive an additional penalty, on top of whatever else they get, of an additional 20 years in prison.<br /><br />Bailouts: No more bailouts of failing companies. Let the free market run its course.<br /><br />Intelligent Design: Permit schools to teach the theory of intelligent design along with the theory of evolution in our schools.<br /><br />Immigration: Seal our borders. Build a wall or a fence or whatever is necessary to seal our borders and prohibit anyone from illegally entering our country. Take our armed forces that are currently stationed all over the world, bring them home and place them on our borders. Ease up the regulations to obtain legal entry and citizenship in our country. People here illegally can stay and have five years to apply for legal citizenship and must pay a serious fine for having entered illegally before they can obtain citizenship.<br /><br />Anti-terrorism. Maintain the world’s greatest anti-terrorist network the world has ever seen. Squash the bugs while they are small, before they grow and multiply. I.E. kill the terrorists before they can kill us. Machiavelli must be studied and his strategies and tactics must be employed. Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” will be taught to all American children in High School. Intercept and destroy arms shipments from places like Iran, North Korea, and Russia that are bound for terrorist groups or terrorist friendly nations. Be pro-active in the fight against terrorism. Defeat our enemies before they can even think to oppose us!<br /><br />Gay Marriage: Contrary to popular, liberal beliefs, the NCCPA loves gays and lesbians and transgendered individuals. We are not to judge, but rather to accept people as they are and love them and serve them as best we can. That having been said, we can still disagree with the homosexual lifestyle and try to convince gay people that heterosexual relationships are God’s plan for all people. Gays should have equal rights, and should be allowed to be legally joined to each other through a Civil Union Ceremony. Gays joined in Civil Union should have the same rights as Married people do with the same rights to divorce each other that married people do. However, we will not refer to Gay people as married; marriage has always been, in every civilization throughout all of recorded history, a union of a man and a woman. This will not change. But as far as rights to community property and to shared health-care benefits and in every other respect, gays will be allowed to join together in Civil Unions.<br /><br />Energy Resources: Immediately begin construction of at least 100 nuclear power plants throughout the United States to provide clean, affordable electrical power to our people. Europe has gone nuclear, so should we! This will create thousands and thousands of jobs too. Lift the ban on oil exploration and drilling on the continental shelf and in ANWAR and start producing our own oil in stead of being dependant upon foreign governments for our oil, many of whom are hostile towards the United States. Immediately start to build dozens and dozens of oil refineries here in the U.S. so we can refine our own oil. This will also create thousands of jobs and secure our energy needs for the future. Invest millions into the pursuit of alternate energy sources so we can wean ourselves off of our dependence on fossil fuels and oil.<br /><br />Healthy, Twelve-Step Principles. The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous can, and should be, applied by everyone to their lives. The Twelve Steps, which I believe are biblical in nature, should be taught in all of our high schools as a required course. These are only “suggestions” but they are some of the best damn “suggestions” evah. Millions and millions of people are leading healthier, happier lives thanks to their learning and employing the principles of the Twelve Steps to the everyday lives. These tools will not be forced on anyone, but they will be made available to everyone.<br /><br />Fatherless children: Promote marriage and make it economically more beneficial in an effort to promote two-parent families. Fatherless children are nine times more likely to have trouble in school, or to get involved in criminal activity or with drugs. Responsible fathers should be exalted and promoted<br /><br />Labor Unions: Abolish them as unconstitutional. While labor unions were necessary during the beggining of the 20th Century, ever since the middle of the 20th Century they have turned into corrupt organizations that look out more for themselves than for the common worker. Workers should be freed from the constraints Unions impose on them. Millions of American jobs have been shipped overseas thanks to the Unions who were supposed to be looking out for the common workers. The Unions ended up screwing the common worker out of decent jobs and screwing up the American manufacturing base. <br /><br />No more sitting around like a bunch of morons while we let others, and liberals, take over our country. The America I grew up in the 80’s is gone and gone forever. We can’t bring that back and we are not trying to bring that back. What we are trying to do is move America in a healthy direction for the future based upon Judeo-Christian culture, beliefs and principles.<br /><br />We are NOT Racist in any way shape or form. We try to love all peoples equally, as Christ would if he were here because he is here, in us. People are not to be judged and to the extent we fail in this endeavor, for we will surely fail sometimes, we will only judge the content of their character and not the color of their skin, their gender or sexual orientation.J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-47616689415586463802009-01-20T08:58:00.000-08:002009-01-20T09:00:19.160-08:00January 20, 2009: NCCPA is BornOn this day, the day America swears in the single most unqualified person evah for president, the single most radically liberal socialist president evah, the Right needs to come up with a new game plan to ensure that the damage that will surely be done by such a presidency, is limited to four years, and does not get eight years to wreck its havoc on our society, economy, industry and educational institutions.<br /><br />The “New Christian Conservative Party of America” (”NCCPA”) is born this 20th day of January, 2009.<br /><br />If we are going to dream, we will dream big! People will look back, years from now, at this day and not remember it as the day Socialist President Obama was sworn in, rather, they will remember this day as the day of rebirth of conservative christian values in America. The first day of a new era in American Politics. The day the Right stopped hiding in the corner sniveling and holding a pity-party for itself and decided to stand up and fight back against the forces of liberalism to try to win back America.<br /><br />The day christian conservatives overturned the tables of the tax collectors and money changers and drove them from the temples of power. Or, we can continue to hide in the corner, sniveling and feeling sorry for ourselves as the left takes us further and further left. We do have a choice. We still are free (at least for now). Silence and sniveling; or, ACTION!<br /><br />Oh Bluto, they’re to strong for us, they’re too powerful for us….<br /><br />Did we give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell No! Let’s Do IT!!!J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-90822191952034016602009-01-20T07:26:00.000-08:002009-01-20T08:32:39.281-08:00NCCPA: New Christian Conservative Party of AmericaMy fellow Americans: <br /><br />Politically, we, as a Nation, have been drifting left, inch by inch for the past 30 years. So much so that there has, in fact, been a huge fundamental shift to the left. What used to be the Democrat’s position back in the 70’s and 80’s is now the Republican (Dem Lite) position. What used to be radical liberal socialism has now become mainstream Liberal Democratic principles. What used to be mainstream Republican principles are now seen as extreme right wing “fringe” positions. Everything has shifted dramatically to the left. Fact, not opinion, Fact.<br /><br />Unfortunately, I believe the Republican party is in its death throws. Modern day Republicans have sold themselves out by supporting bigger government, higher spending etc. They have tried to beat the Dems at their own game, but never will be able to outspend the Dems. Modern day Republicans are wimps in that they no longer stand up for the core conservative principles they used to stand up for. Truly, our modern day Republicans have become “Dem-Lite.”<br /><br />America needs a New Conservative Party. I’ve looked at the “Conservative Party of America” which has some potential. But I think we need a new party even bolder, stronger on fundamental right wing conservative issues. Issues like Abortion, Gun Control – The Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Taxing, Spending, Smaller Government, Strong National Defense, Free Enterprise Capitalism, Freedom of Religion, Same Sex Marriages.<br /><br />Is there a “New Christian Conservative Party?” It is time for Christian Conservatives to stand up and stop cowering in the corner and letting the liberals run the bloody show. I’m bleepin angry at the way our society has gone these last 30 years. But what to do with the anger? Use it to start something new.<br /><br />Now, some may say, if you’re a Christian you can’t be angry. I call BS. The Bible says “In your anger do not sin.” It doesn’t say don’t be angry. Even Jesus got angry. Remember the tax collectors and money changers in the Temple? What did Jesus do? Did he talk to them? Try to reason with them? NO! He stormed in, turned over their tables and drove them out of the temple.<br /><br />It is time for Christian Conservatives to stand up and route the modern day tax collectors and money changers from our governmental, mass media, and educational positions of power and control. They will only drive us deeper into the pit, if we let them. And for far too long we have been letting them take us further and further left by passively sitting back and watching as they take us ever further left, inch by bloody inch until we’ve seen a complete and total shift to the left of center. Enough is enough. <br /><br />It is time for the pendulum to swing back to the Right! Let the Revolution Begin Today! What about it? How about a New Conservative Party, one that’s not afraid to call it like it is: “The New Christian Conservative Party of America!”<br /><br />NCCPAJ. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-53659523788766315722009-01-12T08:37:00.000-08:002009-01-12T08:43:28.837-08:00FROM JOHN LOTT'S BOOK: MORE GUNS, LESS CRIMEMore Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws<br />By John Lott, Jr.<br />The University of Chicago Press, 1998 <br />-- A SUMMARY of POINTS<br />p.1 Accidental Deaths: In the entire U.S. during a year, only about 30 people are killed by private citizens who mistakenly believe the victim to be an intruder. By comparison, police accidentally kill as many as 330 innocent individuals annually.<br /><br />p.3 Defensive Use of Handguns: National surveys indicate that 98% of the time that people use guns defensively, they merely have to brandish a weapon to break off an attack.<br /><br />p.4 Injury from attacks, women: the probability of serious injury from an attack is 2.5 times greater for women offering no resistance than for women resisting with a gun.<br /><br />p.4 Criminal’s Choice: Criminals choose victims whom they perceive as weak.<br /><br />p.4 For example: Criminals in one case decided against robbing a cab driver or a drug dealer because both sometimes carry guns. Instead they chose a man walking across a parking lot carrying a musical instrument.<br /><br />p.5 Criminals and Self-preservation: Criminals are motivated by self-preservation, and handguns can therefore be a deterrent.<br /><br />p.5 “Hot” Burglaries: (Burglaries where a resident is home when a criminal strikes): Note: Both Canada and England have very, very strict gun control measures: In Canada and England almost half of all burglaries are “Hot” burglaries. In contrast in the U.S. with fewer gun restrictions, the rate of “hot” burglaries is only 13%. Criminals are not behaving differently by accident. Convicted American felons reveal in surveys that they are much more worried about armed victims than about running into the police.<br /><br />p. 5 Simple economics: Just as when the price of apples increases people will buy more oranges or other fruit, criminals will switch to attacking more vulnerable prey. This is called “the substitution effect” by economists.<br /><br />p.6 Proof of the substitution effect: 56% of convicted felons surveyed, claimed that they would not attack a potential victim who was known to be armed. Indeed, the criminals in states with high civilian gun ownership were the most worried about encountering armed victims.<br /><br />p.7-8 False “gun facts”: Many commonly accepted “facts” about crime are simply not true. For example, take the claim that individuals are frequently killed by people they know. Some gun control groups claim that this figure is as high as 58%. However, this grouping includes rival gang members, a cab driver and his fare, and pimps and their prostitutes. Hardly fitting “people you know.” In fact Chicago Police Department statistics show that just 5% of all murders in the city from 1990 to 1995 were committed by nonfamily friends, neighbors or roommates. <br /><br />p. 8 Law Abiding citizens are not murderers: In the largest seventy-five counties in the U.S. in 1988, over 89% of adult murderers already had criminal records as adults. From 1990 to 1994, 76% of juvenile murder victims and 77% of juveniles who murdered other juveniles had prior criminal records. Murderers are people who already have criminal records. Law abiding citizens don’t all-of-a-sudden turn into murderers because they have a gun. Criminals are not typical citizens.<br /><br />p.9 Accidental firearm deaths: in 1995 there were a total of 1,400 accidental firearm deaths in the entire U.S. A relatively small portion of these involved children: 30 deaths involved children up to four years of age and 170 more deaths involved five- to fourteen-year-olds. In comparison, 2,900 children dies in motor-vehicle crashes, 950 children lost their lives from drowning, and over 1,000 children were killed by fire and burns. More children die in bicycle accidents each year than die from all types of firearm accidents.<br /><br />P10 Unintended consequences of “safety” precautions: We protect aspirin bottles with child safety caps to prevent accidental deaths. However, evidence indicates that child-resistant bottle caps actually have resulted in “3,500 additional poisonings of children under age five annually from aspirin related drugs.” Why? Because consumers have been lulled into a less safety-conscious mode of behavior by the existence of safety caps.<br /><br />p. 10 Query: Would stricter gun control regulations primarily reduce the number of guns held by law-abiding citizens? I.e., would “criminals” be likely to comply with gun control regulations or would they ignore them? How much would stricter gun control regulations alter the relative balance of power between criminals and law abiding citizens? (Hint: it would help the criminals!)<br /><br />p.10 Query: Will allowing citizens to carry concealed handguns mean that otherwise law-abiding people will harm each other? Or, would the threat of self-defense by citizens armed with guns primarily deter criminals?<br /><br />p.11 Defensive gun use: Some claim that each year there are “only” 80,000 to 82,000 defensive uses of guns during assaults, robberies, and household burglaries. However, other national polls imply much higher defensive use rates. Fifteen national polls, including those done by the Los Angeles Times, Gallup, and Peter Hart Research Associates imply that there are 760,000 to 3.6 million defensive uses of guns per year.<br /><br />p.12 The fear that giving people concealed carry firearms will greatly increase incidents of “road rage” shootings or turn our streets into the “wild west.” (Chicago’s Mayor Daley’s argument). Facts: There exists only one recorded incident of a permitted concealed handgun being used in a shooting following a traffic accident, and that instance involved a case of self-defense! Moreover, no concealed carry permit holder has ever shot a police officer, and there have been cases where permit holders have used their guns to save officer’s lives!<br /><br />p.14 What do police officers think about concealed carry? 76% of street officers and 59% of managerial officers agreed that all trained, responsible adults should be allowed to obtain handgun-carry permits. By similarly overwhelming percentages, these officers and police chiefs rejected claims that the Brady law would lower the crime rate.<br /><br />p. 14 What do registered voters think about concealed carry? By a margin of 69% to 28%, registered voters favor “a law allowing law-abiding citizens to be issued a carry permit to carry a firearm for personal protection outside their home.” Only 16% favored a ban on handguns.<br /><br />p.14 Who supports tighter restrictions on gun ownership? “The less educated and those who haven’t been threatened with a gun are most supportive of gun control.” Those most supportive of restrictions also tend to be those least directly threatened by crime.<br /><br />p.15 Lawmaker and celebrity hypocrites: Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Cal.), Cybill Shepherd, Bill Cosby and Arthur O. Sulzberger (chairman of the N.Y Times) all have concealed-handgun permits! In fact, according to one U.S. Senator, “You’d be surprised how many senators have guns.”<br /><br />p.18 Stiffer penalties or higher probabilities of conviction result in fewer violations of the law. The evidence consistently finds a negative association between crime rates and the risks of apprehension, conviction or imprisonment. I.e., deterrence works!<br /><br />p.19 Data from 3,054 U.S. counties from 1977 to 1992, and additional available data from 1993 and 1994 were used by Lott to arrive at his conclusions and to verify his results.<br /><br />p.19 And? National crime rates have been falling at the same time as gun ownership has been rising. Likewise, states experiencing the greatest reductions in crime are also the ones with the fastest growing percentage of gun ownership. <br /><br />p.19 Criminals, as a group, tend to behave rationally – when crime becomes more difficult, less crime is committed. Higher arrest and conviction rates dramatically reduce crime. Criminals also move out of jurisdictions in which criminal deterrence increases.<br /><br />p.19 ALLOWING CITIZENS TO CARRY CONCEALED HANDGUNS REDUCES VIOLENT CRIMES, AND THE REDUCTIONS COINCIDE VERY CLOSELY WITH THE NUMBER OF CONCEALED-HANDGUN PERMITS ISSUED.<br /><br />p.19 MASS SHOOTINGS IN PUBLIC PLACES ARE REDUCED WHEN LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS ARE ALLOWED TO CARRY CONCEALED HANDGUNS.<br /><br />p.19 THE LARGEST DROPS IN VIOLENT CRIME FROM LEGALIZED CONCEALED HANDGUNS OCCURRED IN THE MOST URBAN COUNTIES WITH THE GREATEST POPULATIONS AND THE HIGHEST CRIME RATES.<br /><br />p.20 OF ALL THE METHODS STUDIED SO FAR BY ECONOMISTS, THE CARRYING OF CONCEALED HANDGUNS APPEARS TO BE THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR REDUCING CRIME. <br /><br />P22 Lott looked at both time series data and cross-sectional data. That is, one area over time and multiple areas at the same time and multiple areas over time.<br /><br />P23 Lott used sets of measures that controlled for the average differences in crime rates across places even after demographic, income and other factors had been accounted for. NO PREVIOUS GUN-CONTROL STUDIES HAVE EVER TAKEN THIS APPROACH.<br /><br />P23 Kellerman study: Guns more likely to kill friend or relative than a bad guy. Serious problems with methodology and facts. Only 8 out of 444 homicides established that the gun involved had been kept in the home. (See also, Chicago Police Dept. study from 1990 to 1995 only 5% of murders were by non-relative friends or roommates.)<br /><br />Chapter 3:<br /><br />P36 From 1988 to 1996 there was a large increase in the percentage of people who own guns. Registered voters who were gun owners in 1988 were 27.4%, And in 1996 the number was 37%! In overall general population gun ownership rose from 26% in 1988 to 39% in 1996! (Note: the violent crime rates during this time were dropping!)<br /><br />P39 Rural areas have the highest gun ownership rates and the lowest crime rates. Cities with more than 500,000 people have the lowest gun ownership rates and the highest crime rates.<br /><br />P43 Violent crime rates were 46% higher in 1995 than in 1976 and 240% higher than in 1965.<br /><br />P43 Violent crime rates were the highest in states with the most restrictive gun control rules, Next highest was states with discretionary concealed carry permits and the violent crime rates were the lowest in the states with the nondiscretionary “shall issue” concealed carry permit rules.<br /><br />P47 The difference is quite striking: violent crimes are 81% higher in states without nondiscretionary concealed carry laws. For murder, states that ban the concealed carrying of handguns the murder rates are 127% higher than the states with the most liberal concealed carry laws. For property crimes, the difference is much smaller: 24%. States with nondiscretionary concealed carry laws have less crime, but the primary difference appears in terms of less violent crimes.<br /><br />Chapter 4<br /><br />P50 While the initial comparison of crime rates in states with and without concealed handgun laws was suggestive, obviously many other factors need to be accounted for. The next three chapters use common statistical techniques known as regression analysis to control for these factors.<br /><br />P51 The results clearly imply that nondiscretionary concealed carry laws coincide with fewer murder, aggravated assaults and rapes. On the other hand, property crimes like auto theft and larceny rates rise. THE RESULTS ARE ALSO LARGE, INDICATING HOW IMPORTANT THE CONCEALED CARRY LAWS CAN BE.<br /><br />P51 WHEN STATE CONCEALED HANDGUN LAWS WENT INTO EFFECT IN A COUNTY MURDER FELL BY ABOUT 8%, RAPES FELL BY 5% AND AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS FELL BY 7%. IN 1992 18,469 MURDERS, 79,272 RAPES, 538,368 ROBBERIES AND 861,103 AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS occurred in COUNTIES WITHOUT THE NONDISCRETIONARY CONCEALED HANDGUN LAWS. If those states without the nondiscretionary concealed handgun laws had been forced to issue concealed carry handgun permits, murders in the U.S. would have declined by 1,400! (That’s one year, 1,400 lives!)<br /><br />P54 Gun control proponents always stress the increase in accidental deaths from increased concealed carry permits. In 1988 there were 200 accidental handgun deaths. Of these 200, 22 were in states with concealed handgun laws while 178 occurred in states without concealed handgun laws! The reduction in murders alone is as much as 8 times greater than the total number of accidental deaths in concealed handgun states (assuming however unlikely, that all the accidental handgun deaths were caused because of concealed carry handguns.) The numbers indicate that rapes in states without concealed carry handgun laws would decline by 4,200, aggravated assaults would decline by 60,000 and robberies would decline by 12,000. <br /><br />P58 When individual state time trends were included in the analysis, all results indicated that the concealed handgun laws lowered crime. Under this specification, the passage of nondiscretionary concealed handgun laws in states that did not have them in 1992 would have reduced murders in that year by 1,839; rapes by 3,727; aggravated assaults by 10,990; robberies by 61,064; burglaries by 112,665; larcenies by 93,274; and auto thefts by 41,512. The total value of this reduction in crime in 1992 dollars would have been $7.6 billion.<br /><br />P60 concealed handgun laws have statistically significant effects only in the relatively high crime counties. For most violent crimes—such as murder, rape, and aggravated assault—concealed weapons laws have much greater deterrent effects in high-crime counties.<br /><br />P63 The concealed-handgun laws have varying effects depending upon the size of the county. When counties with almost 600,000 people (two standard deviations above the mean population) pass a concealed-handgun law, the murder rate falls by 12 percent. That is 7.4 times more than it was reduced for the average county (75,773 people).<br /> The most densely populated areas are the ones most helped by concealed-handgun laws.<br />Higher-income areas and counties with relatively more blacks both have particularly large drops in crime associated with concealed-handgun laws.<br /><br />P64-67 See Bar graph figures, very dramatic!<br /><br />P68 While many blacks want to make guns harder to get, the irony is that blacks benefit more than any other groups from concealed-handgun laws. Allowing potential victims a means for self-defense is more important in crime-prone neighborhoods.<br /> Even more strikingly, the history of gun control in the United States has often been a series of attempts to disarm blacks.<br /><br />P69 Lott testified before the Illinois House of Representatives and afterwards, he was approached by a black representative from Chicago who supported the bill. He told Lott that he was not surprised by Lott’s finding that areas with large minority populations gained the most from these concealed-handgun laws. <br /> Noting the inability of the police to protect people in heavily black areas when “bad guys” already had illegal guns, the representative said he believed that the current power imbalance between law-abiding people and criminals was greatest in black areas.<br /> NOTE: Chicago has a complete and total ban on handguns and even after the Heller decision striking down D.C.’s similar law, Mayor Richard Daley, Jr. is still fighting to maintain the total ban. He claims that the Second Amendment only applies to the federal government, not the states. While all other Bill of Rights provisions have been held to be incorporated as against the states by the 14th Amendment, he still wants to fight it and waste thousands and thousands of taxpayer dollars in stupid legal fees. What’s far, far worse is the Fact that in 2008 Chicago recorded 509 murders, more than that of U.S. Soldiers killed in Iraq. Imagine that, you’d be safer on the streets of Iraq than you’d be on the streets of Chicago! Moreover, if Illinois passed a concealed-carry law and murders dropped by 8%, as they have in other areas that passed concealed-carry laws, the number of murders in Chicago would have dropped by over 40! And since Chicago is definitely a densely populated area where the concealed-handgun laws would have three times the impact over standard population counties, passing concealed handgun laws for Chicago would have reduced the number of murders in 2008 by over 120!<br /><br />P69 Perhaps it is not too surprising that blacks and those living in urban areas gain the most from being able to defend themselves with concealed handguns, since the absence of police appears most acute in black, central-city neighborhoods.<br /><br />P70 Law-abiding minorities in the most crime prone areas produced the greatest crime reduction from being able to defend themselves (by concealed-handgun laws).<br /><br />P73 Lott’s results consistently indicated that the concealed-handgun law lowered the rates of violent crime, rape, and aggravated assault and murder. … the nondiscretionary laws affected crime immediately, with an additional change spread out over time. <br /> Re-estimating progressions to account for time trends in crime rates before and after the passage of the concealed-handgun laws provides consistent strong evidence that the deterrent impact of concealed-handgun increases with time. <br /><br />P75 The drops [in crime rates] not only begin right when the laws pass but also take crime rates well below what they had been before the passage of the laws.<br /> Moreover, deterrence increases with the number of concealed-handgun permits that are issued.<br /><br />P79 Nine of the ten states [which passed nondiscretionary concealed-handgun laws] experienced declines in violent-crime rates as a result of these laws, and eight of the ten states experienced declines in murder rates; in the states where violent crimes, murders, or robberies rose, the increases were very small. In fact, the largest increases were smaller than the smallest declines in the states where the crime rates fell.<br /><br />P81 …larger declines in crime were recorded in the most densely populated states. The differences are quite large: the most densely populated states experienced decreases in violent crimes that were about three times greater than the decreases in states with the average density.<br /><br />P83 What about other gun laws? Lott looked at mandatory waiting periods to determine their impact on crime rates. Taken together, the results make it very difficult to argue that waiting periods (particularly long ones) have an overall beneficial effect on crime rates.<br /><br />P90 Even using updated information, Lott found that all the results indicate that concealed-handgun laws reduce crime, and all the findings are statistically significant.J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-17895356832465406132008-12-11T08:05:00.000-08:002008-12-11T08:07:48.563-08:00A BRIEF HISTORY: THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMSHISTORICAL FACTS:<br /><br />335 B.C.<br />The Greek philosopher Aristotle thought that bearing arms was necessary for true citizenship and participation in the political system (in Politics).<br /><br />124 B.C.<br />Imperial Chancellor Kung-Sun petitioned the Emperor Han to take the people’s arms from them. The Emperor replied:<br /><br />“Your subject has heard that when the ancients made the five kinds of weapons, it was not for the purpose of killing each other, but to prevent tyranny and to punish evil. When people lived in peace, these weapons were to be prepared against emergencies and to kill fierce animals. If there were military affairs, then the weapons were used to set up defenses and form battle arrays…”<br /><br />The petition to disarm the people was turned down, stressing the right of the individual to bear arms for the common protection of society and the individual.<br /><br />46 B.C.<br />The Roman politician Cicero supported bearing arms for self-defense of the individual and for public defense against tyranny (in De Officiis).<br /><br />871 A.D.<br />King Alfred of Saxon England’s laws give every man the right to keep and bear arms, but prohibits murder and other crimes.<br /><br />1020<br />England’s King Cnut’s laws recognize the right to keep and bear arms, the right to self-defense, and the right to hunt on one’s own land.<br /><br />1181<br />In his Assize of Arms, King Henry II gives “every knight and freeman” the right to have weapons and armor.<br /><br />1215<br />King John tries to disarm both nobles and commoners, but the barons force him to recognize the right to bear arms as part of the Magna Carta, which later becomes the model for the American colonists in their struggle against the English monarchy.<br /><br />1252<br />Under Henry II, the arming of the citizens is extended to serfs. An “arming of the whole people” rather than a large standing army gradually becomes the basis for England’s defense.<br /><br />1300’s<br />Gunpowder, already in use in China, is introduced into Europe. At first it is used primarily in crude siege cannons that can blow holes in castle walls, enforcing the power of the monarch over the nobles.<br /><br />1328<br />In response to rowdiness by knights and others, Edward III issues the Statute of Northampton which prohibits “persons great or small” from carrying weapons in public, although it allows for defense of the home. The law is widely disobeyed, and, in practice, the courts applied it only to those who used arms to “terrify the good people of the land.” In other words, they only applied it against criminals – law abiding citizens maintained the right to keep and bear arms.<br /><br />1500’s<br />Portable firearms such as the arquebus become more common on the battlefield. At first the unwieldy guns are fired from tripod-like supporters, but versions that can be fired from the shoulder soon appear.<br /><br />1511<br />King Henry VIII orders that all fathers should provide each son, at the age of seven, with a bow and two shafts and to see to it that the child knew how to use them. Failure to do this resulted in a stiff fine which underlined the Crown’s seriousness in this matter.<br /><br />1600’s<br />Permanent British settlement in America begins. The colonists use firearms daily for hunting as well as in ongoing conflicts with Native Americans and French colonists.<br /><br />Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England listed in the first chapter his list of rights. After listing the Rights, he stated: “In vain would these rights be declared, ascertained, and protected by the dead letter of the laws, if the constitution had provided no other method to secure their actual enjoyment.” As an added protection, he explained, there were “auxiliary rights.” The fifth and last auxiliary right, meant to protect all the others “is that of having arms for their defense. . . . It is, indeed, a publick allowance under due restrictions, of the natural rights of resistance and self preservation, when the sanctions of society and laws are found insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression.”<br /><br />A seventeenth-century guidebook for justices of the peace explained: “If Thieves shall come to a Man’s House, to rob or murder him, he may lawfully assemble company to defend his House by force; and if he or any of his company shall kill any of them in defence of Himself, his Family, his Goods or House, This is no Felony, neither shall they forfeit anything therefore.”<br /><br />1670<br />King Charles II restricts guns and bows to large landowners (who make up the nobility), thus disarming the emerging middle class and the poor. At its time, this was the most restrictive English weapons control law ever passed.<br /><br /> 1686<br />In his work Two Treatises on Government, philosopher John Locke maintains the “natural” right of citizens to have arms for their individual and collective defense.<br /><br />1688<br />In the bloodless “Glorious Revolution,” William and Mary defeat King James II, abolish the standing army, and restore – to Protestants only – the right to keep and bear arms.<br /><br />1689<br />The word Bill of Rights (or Declaration of Rights) is an act of the <a title="Parliament of England" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_England">Parliament of England</a>, whose formal name is An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown. The Bill of Rights of the United Kingdom is largely a statement of certain <a title="Right" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right">rights</a> to which <a title="Citizen" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen">citizens</a> and <a title="Permanent residency" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_residency">permanent residents</a> of a <a title="Constitutional monarchy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_monarchy">constitutional monarchy</a> were thought to be entitled in the late 17th century, asserting subjects' <a title="Right to petition" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_petition">right to petition</a> the monarch, as well as to bear arms in defence. The British Bill of Rights includes a condemnation of previous kings for disarming the people and specifies that henceforth “The subjects which are Protestant may have arms for their defense suitable to their conditions and allowed by law.”<br /><br />1698<br />Philosopher Algernon Sidney in his book Discourses Concerning Government states that “the body of the People is the Public defense, and every man is armed and disciplines.” American colonists soon put the idea in practice in the form of local militias.<br /><br />1700’s<br />Two new kinds of long guns come into use: The smoothbore musket has a short range and can be fired about four times a minute by well-trained soldiers. The rifle with its grooved barrel takes longer to load but has greater range and accuracy.<br /><br />1739<br />In the British court case of Rex v. Gardner, the judge holds that the game laws did not forbid a person from mere possession of a gun for purposes of self-defense. Several later cases have similar verdicts.<br /><br />1754-63<br />A combination of British and colonial volunteer forces defeat the French in the French and Indian War. Actually the colonists took primary responsibility for their own defense.<br /><br />1770<br />British soldiers fire on unarmed Americans in Boston, leading to an up-surge of revolutionary sentiment. The British respond by beginning to raid colonial homes and gatherings to seize guns and ammunition.<br /><br />1775<br />The American War of Independence is ignited when British troops under General Gage attempt to seize guns and ammunition from colonists at Lexington and Concord. Although faced down initially by the trained British troops, the American Minutemen militia begins a relentless fire, aided by accurate long-range rifles. <br /><br />1776<br />In addition to declaring independence, the various states write constitutions that include bills of rights. In general, they refer to the danger of standing armies, the reliance on a well-regulated militia, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms.<br /><br />1777<br />British colonial undersecretary William Knox presents a proposal concerning what to do with the colonies when they were subjugated and returned to British control. His proposals include the repeal of the militia laws, the confiscation of all arms held by the people, and the prohibition of the manufacture or importation of guns or powder in America.<br /><br />1789<br />The Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution is approved. It includes the Second Amendment, which guarantees “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” In the Bill of Rights, the individual retained his basic natural rights; rights deemed unalienable, coming not from Society (or the State as the political manifestation of Society); but bestowed by the Almighty as inherent to the very nature of man.<br /><br />1822<br />In the Kentucky case of Bliss v. Commonwealth, the court holds that the state constitution prohibits any interference with the right to keep and bear arms, even concealed weapons.<br /><br />1836<br />Samuel Colt’s revolver is patented. Because it can fire six shots without reloading, it represents a formidable increase in firepower for close combat and helps the settlers repel Indian raids.<br /><br />1837<br />Georgia passes the first ban on handguns. It is later overturned in 1846 in Nunn v. State as a violation of the Second Amendment.<br /><br />1866<br />The Winchester repeating rifle lets its user fire up to 15 shots by working a lever every few seconds. It will become known as the gun that won the West.<br /><br />The Fourteenth Amendment, the Freedman’s Bureau Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1866 all include the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms among the rights that the states are prohibited from taking from any citizen.J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-67743474250165093012008-11-26T08:44:00.000-08:002008-11-26T08:46:02.346-08:00Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of 1789Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of 1789<br /><br />by President George Washington<br /><br />Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor, and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanks giving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many single favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.<br /><br />Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the Service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks, for His kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the single and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of His providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, of the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have to acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge and in general for all the great and various favors which He hath been pleased to confer upon us.<br /><br />And also that we may then unite in most humble offering our prayers and supplications to the Great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all people, by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone know to be best.J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-78280707588313667142008-09-26T09:40:00.000-07:002008-09-26T09:45:05.213-07:00OBAMA'S RECORD ON GUNS: ROTTEN TO THE CORE!From <a href="http://www.isra.org/">www.isra.org</a><br /><br />'Nobody Knows Obama's Record on Guns Better Than I Do,' Says ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson<br /><br />SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):<br /><br />"One of the most blatant lies ever to come from a politician's mouth," is how the ISRA is characterizing a recent statement by U.S. Senator Barack Obama. Speaking in the latest issue of "Field & Stream," Obama claims that Illinois sportsmen know him as an advocate for their rights.<br /><br />On the contrary, Obama's voting record while a state senator clearly indicates that he has nothing but contempt for the law-abiding firearm owner. "Any sportsman who counts Barack Obama as one of his friends is seriously confused," said ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson.<br /><br />"Throughout his tenure in the Illinois Senate, Obama served as one of the most loyal foot soldiers in Mayor Daley's campaign to abolish civilian firearm ownership. While a state senator, Obama voted for legislation that would ban and forcibly confiscate nearly every shotgun, target rifle and hunting rifle in the state.<br /><br />Obama also voted for bills that would ration the number of firearms a law-abiding citizen could own, yet give a pass to the violent thugs who roam our streets. And, inexplicably, Obama voted four times against legislation that would allow citizens to use firearms to defend their homes and families."<br /><br />"Let us also not forget that Obama served as a director of the Joyce Foundation," continued Pearson. "While on the Joyce Foundation board, Obama funneled tens of millions of dollars to radical gun control organizations such as the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence and the Violence Policy Center."<br /><br />"If Senator Obama considers his legislative record and his philanthropic endeavors to be acts of advocacy on behalf of sportsmen's rights, then I submit that the Senator is seriously confused as well," asserted Pearson.<br /><br />"Nobody knows Obama's record on guns better than I do, and it's <strong>rotten to the core</strong>," said Pearson. "I've been involved in Illinois politics nearly as long as Obama has been alive. In that time, I have never encountered a legislator who was more hostile towards or more disinterested in sportsmen's rights than Barack Obama."<br /><br />The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearms ownership. Founded in 1903, the ISRA represents the interests of over 1.5 million law-abiding Illinois firearm owners.<br /><br />This press release is posted @ <a style="FONT-STYLE: italic" href="http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=ind_focus.story&STORY=/www/story/09-24-2008/0004891533&EDATE=WED+Sep+24+2008,+09:24+AM" target="_blank">PRnewswire. </a><br /><br />Posted Wed Sep 24 10:07:10 CDT 2008J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-74074478303283332062008-09-26T09:30:00.000-07:002008-09-26T09:38:27.708-07:00OBAMA vs. PALIN (From a leftie!)September 01, 2008<br />Sarah Palin vs. Barack Obama<br />By Gerard Baker, US Editor and Assistant Editor of The Times of London<br /><br />Democrats, between sniggers of derision and snorts of disgust, contend that Sarah Palin, John McCain's vice-presidential pick is ridiculously unqualified to be president.<br /><br />It's a reasonable objection on its face except for this small objection: it surely needs to be weighed against the Democrats' claim that their own candidate for president is self-evidently ready to assume the role of most powerful person on the planet.<br /><br />At first blush, here's what we know about the relative experience of the two candidates. Both are in their mid-forties and have held statewide elective office for less than four years. Both have admitted to taking illegal drugs in their youth. So much for the similarities.<br /><br />How about the differences?<br /><br />Political experience<br /><br />Obama: Worked his way to the top by cultivating, pandering to and stroking the most powerful interest groups in the all-pervasive Chicago political machine, ensuring his views were aligned with the power brokers there.<br /><br />Palin: Worked her way to the top by challenging, attacking and actively undermining the Republican party establishment in her native Alaska. She ran against incumbent Republicans as a candidate willing and able to clean the Augean Stables of her state's government.<br /><br />Political Biography<br /><br />Obama: A classic, if unusually talented, greasy-pole climber. Held a succession of jobs that constitute the standard route to the top in his party's internal politics: "community organizer", law professor, state senator.<br /><br />Palin:A woman with a wide range of interests in a well-variegated life. Held a succession of jobs - sports journalist, commercial fisherwoman, state oil and gas commissioner, before entering local politics. A resume that suggests something other than burning political ambition from the cradle but rather the sort of experience that enables her to understand the concerns of most Americans.<br /><br />Political history<br /><br />Obama: Elected to statewide office only after a disastrous first run for a congressional seat and after his Republican opponent was exposed in a sexual scandal. Won seat eventually in contest against a candidate who didn't even live in the state.<br /><br />Palin: Elected to statewide office by challenging a long-serving Republican incumbent governor despite intense opposition from the party. (And won the General Election against a popular former Democratic Governor of Alaska!)<br /><br />Appeal<br /><br />Obama: A very attractive speaker whose celebrity has been compared to that of Britney Spears and who sends thrills up Chris Matthews' leg<br /><br />Palin: A very attractive woman, much better-looking than Britney Spears who speaks rather well too. She sends thrills up the leg of Rush Limbaugh (and me).<br /><br />Executive experience<br /><br />Obama: Makes executive decisions every day that affect the lives of his campaign staff and a vast crowd of traveling journalists<br /><br />Palin:Makes executive decisions every day that affect the lives of 500,000 people in her state, and that impact crucial issues of national economic interest such as the supply and cost of energy to the United States.<br /><br />Religious influences<br /><br />Obama: Regards people who "cling" to religion and guns as "bitter" . Spent 20 years being mentored and led spiritually by a man who proclaimed "God damn America" from his pulpit. Mysteriously, this mentor completely disappeared from public sight about four months ago.<br /><br />Palin: Head of her high school Fellowship of Christian Athletes and for many years a member of the Assemblies of God congregation whose preachers have never been known to accuse the United States of deliberately spreading the AIDS virus. They remain in full public sight and can be seen every Sunday in churches across Alaska. A proud gun owner who has been known to cling only to the carcasses of dead caribou felled by her own aim.<br /><br />Record of bipartisan achievement<br /><br />Obama: Speaks movingly of the bipartisanship needed to end the destructive politics of "Red America" and "Blue America", but votes in the Senate as a down-the-line Democrat, with one of the most liberal voting records in congress. (Actually, <strong>the</strong> most liberal voting record).<br /><br />Palin: Ridiculed by liberals such as John Kerry as a crazed, barely human, Dick Cheney-type conservative but worked with Democrats in the state legislature to secure landmark anti-corruption legislation.<br /><br />Former state Rep. Ethan Berkowitz - a Democrat - said. "Gov. Palin has made her name fighting corruption within her own party, and I was honored when she stepped across party lines and asked me to co-author her ethics white paper."<br /><br />On Human Life<br /><br />Obama: Devoutly pro-choice. Voted against a bill in the Illinois state senate that would have required doctors to save the lives of babies who survived abortion procedures. The implication of this position is that babies born prematurely during abortions would be left alone, unnourished and unmedicated, until they died.<br /><br />Palin: Devoutly pro-life. Exercised the choice proclaimed by liberals to bring to full term a baby that had been diagnosed in utero with Down Syndrome.<br /><br />Now it's true there are other crucial differences. Sen Obama has appeared on Meet The Press every other week for the last four years. He has been the subject of hundreds of adoring articles in papers and newsweeklies and TV shows and has written two Emmy-award winning books. (About himself!)<br /><br />Gov Palin has never appeared on Meet the Press, never been on the cover of Newsweek. She presumably feels that, as a mother of five children married to a snowmobile champion, who also happens to be the first woman and the youngest person ever to be elected governor of her state, she has not really done enough yet to merit an autobiography.<br /><br />Then again, I'm willing to bet that if she had authored The Grapes of Wrath, sung like Edith Piaf and composed La Traviata , she still wouldn't have won an Emmy.<br /><br />Fortunately, it will be up to the American people and not their self-appointed leaders in Hollywood and New York to determine who really has the better experience to be president.<br /><br />Gerard Baker is US Editor and Assistant Editor of The Times of London.<br /><br />Thank you Gerard for that enlightening analysis!J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-71158187377154956332008-09-13T10:17:00.000-07:002008-09-13T10:23:37.176-07:00The Two Charlie GibsonsCharlie Gibson interviewing the Obamessiah:<br /><br />How does it feel to break a glass ceiling?<br />How does it feel to “win”?<br />How does your family feel about your “winning” breaking a glass ceiling?<br />Who will be your VP?<br />Should you choose Hillary Clinton as VP?<br />Will you accept public finance?<br />What issues is your campaign about?<br />Will you visit Iraq?<br />Will you debate McCain at a town hall?<br />What did you think of your competitor’s [Clinton] speech?<br /><br />These questions are soooo hard, how could he answer them???<br /><br /><br />Now, here are the questions he asked Sarah Palin:<br /><br />Do you have enough qualifications for the job you’re seeking?<br />Specifically have you visited foreign countries and met foreign leaders?<br />Aren’t you conceited to be seeking this high level job?<br />Questions about:<br />-foreign policy<br />-territorial integrity of Georgia<br />-allowing Georgia and Ukraine to be members of NATO<br />-NATO treaty<br />-Iranian nuclear threat<br />-what to do if Israel attacks Iran<br />-Al Qaeda motivations<br />-the Bush Doctrine<br />-attacking terrorists harbored by Pakistan<br />Is America fighting a holy war? [misquoted Palin]<br /><br />Sure Charlie, continue to lie to yourself, sure, you are an "objective" reporter. Hah!!!<br /><br />Liberal Fascist Journalistic Nazi Stormtrooper!J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-22705371411597327462008-09-12T08:05:00.000-07:002008-09-12T08:07:28.581-07:00LIBERAL FASCIST JOURNALISTIC NAZI STORMTROOPERSA new term for the rabid Anti-Palin Press Corps:<br /><br /><strong>Liberal Fascist Journalistic Nazi Stormtroopers!!!</strong><br /><br /><strong>Liberal:</strong> They are definately liberal, just look at two things: 1) their voting record, and 2) their political donations. Both of which favor Democrats by about 90% to 10%.<br /><br /><strong>Fascist:</strong> Everything from the State, nothing outside the state: They are for State Health Care, State Unemployment, State Retirement, State Racial, Gender and Sexual Preferences Quotas, State Regulation of Industry, State Control over Schools, State control of Guns, .....<br /><br /><strong>Journalistic:</strong> Not journalist. Journalist implies some type of objectivity. The Press Corps has lost any semblance of objectivity so they are like journalists in that they try to do things journalists do and try to look like journalists, but at the end of the day they are only journalistic, not journalists.<br /><br /><strong>Nazi: </strong>Rabid, unrelenting, smearing, slandering twisters of words and mis-quotes and partial quotes all in support of the Socialist goal of getting their Leader, Der Fuhrer, Herr Obama, the top spot of Chancellor and King of the World.<br /><br /><strong>Stormtroopers:</strong> Just look at the way they shove microphones into peoples faces and "hunt down" their stories. They will stop at nothing to find the prize "slam" of Sarah Palin. Viciously pursuing a "gotcha" moment just like Stormtroopers blitzkrieging across Europe.J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-8880991187520005622008-09-12T06:14:00.000-07:002008-09-12T06:16:55.747-07:00THE "BUSH" DOCTRINEFrom: Richard Starr at:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/09/what_exactly_is_the_bush_doctr.asp#more">http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/09/what_exactly_is_the_bush_doctr.asp#more</a><br /><br />What Exactly Is the 'Bush Doctrine'?<br /><br />It's being taken in some quarters as revelatory of inexperience that Sarah Palin sought clarification when ABC's Charlie Gibson asked her about the Bush Doctrine. To review, here is the passage from the transcript.<br /><br />GIBSON: Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?<br /><br />PALIN: In what respect, Charlie?<br /><br />GIBSON: The Bush -- well, what do you -- what do you interpret it to be?<br /><br />PALIN: His world view.<br /><br />GIBSON: No, the Bush doctrine, enunciated September 2002, before the Iraq war.<br /><br />PALIN: I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hell bent on destroying our nation. There have been blunders along the way, though. There have been mistakes made. And with new leadership, and that's the beauty of American elections, of course, and democracy, is with new leadership comes opportunity to do things better.<br /><br />GIBSON: The Bush doctrine, as I understand it, is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a preemptive strike against any other country that we think is going to attack us. Do you agree with that?<br /><br />Gibson should of course have said in the first place what he understood the Bush Doctrine to be--and specified that he was asking a question about preemption. Palin was well within bounds to have asked him to be more specific. Because, as it happens, the doctrine has no universally acknowledged single meaning. Gibson himself in the past has defined the Bush Doctrine to mean "a promise that all terrorist organizations with global reach will be found, stopped and defeated"--which is remarkably close to Palin's own answer.<br />Consider what a diversity of views on the meaning of the Bush Doctrine can be found simply within the archives of ABC News itself:<br /><br />September 20, 2001 PETER JENNINGS: . . . Claire, the president said at one point, 'From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.' Should we be taking that as the Bush doctrine? CLAIRE SHIPMAN reporting: I think so, Peter,<br /><br />September 21, 2001 CHARLIE GIBSON: The president in his speech last night, very forceful. Four out of five Americans watched it. Everybody gathered around the television set last night. The president issued a series of demands to the Taliban, already rejected. We'll get to that in a moment. He also outlined what is being called the Bush Doctrine, a promise that all terrorists organizations with global reach will be found, stopped and defeated.<br /><br />September 21, 2001 CHARLIE GIBSON: Senator Daschle, let me start with you. People were looking for a Bush Doctrine. They may have found it when he said the war on terror will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped or defeated. That's pretty broad. Broader than you expected?<br /><br />December 9, 2001 GEORGE WILL: The Bush doctrine holds that anyone who governs a territory is complicit in any terrorism that issues from that territory. That covers the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Second, the war on terrorism is indivisible, it's part of the Bush doctrine.<br /><br />December 11, 2001 GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Two years ago, September 1999, Bush gave his first speech when he was running about terrorism. And his first--had the first explanation of the Bush doctrine, that if you harbor a terrorist, you're going to be attacked. The Bush White House is putting this out, saying it shows that Bush was very prescient, but that was only one speech given in the campaign.<br /><br />January 28, 2002 BOB WOODWARD: This is now the Bush Doctrine . . . , namely that if we're attacked by terrorists, we will not just go after those terrorists but the countries or the people who harbor them.<br /><br />January 29, 2002 GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: It was striking and significant that the president really expanded the Bush doctrine. If a nation builds a weapon of mass destruction--Iraq, Iran or North Korea--we will reserve the right to take out those weapons even if we're not attacked or even if there's not a threat.<br /><br />March 19, 2004 TERRY MORAN: That was the Bush doctrine we just heard. On this one-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, President Bush offered a very broad justification of American leadership in the world under him since 9/11. Not just since one year in Iraq. For American voters as an argument that the country is safer, but more as you point out, for the world, which has been divided by his leadership, that Iraq is knit, in his mind, very firmly into that war on terrorism. One omission which I believe will be noted around the world, he made no mention of the role of multilateral institutions, the UN and others, in this fight against terrorism. In his mind, it's clear it's American leadership with others following along.<br /><br />May 7, 2006GEORGE WILL: Now the argument from the right is the CIA is a rogue agent because it has not subscribed to the Bush doctrine. The Bush doctrine being that American security depends on the spread of democracy and we know how to do that. The trouble is, Negroponte, who is considered by some of these conservatives the villain here and an enemy of the Bush doctrine is the choice of Bush, which makes Bush an insufficient subscriber to the Bush doctrine.<br /><br />I'll stop there, although anyone with a Nexis account can find far more where that came from. Preemptive war; American unilateralism; the overthrow of regimes that harbor and abet terrorists--all of these things and more have been described as the "Bush Doctrine." It was a bit of a sham on Gibson's part to have pretended that there's such a thing as 'the' Bush Doctrine, much less that it was enunciated in September 2002.J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-45077552898589843662008-09-11T08:42:00.000-07:002008-09-11T08:48:06.282-07:00September 11, 2001Watch these videos: <a href="http://www.history.com/genericContent.do?id=60326#/home/">http://www.history.com/genericContent.do?id=60326#/home/</a><br /><br />UPDATE: I can't get the link to work. Go to the History Channel: 102 Minutes that Changed America.<br /><br />God Bless those Firefighters, God Bless those Cops, God Bless those Victims and their Families and God Bless George W. Bush for keeping us safe for the last seven years.J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-12288441729381604892008-09-10T08:41:00.000-07:002008-09-11T08:57:18.426-07:00OBLIGATORY PIG LIPSTICK POST"Plausible deniability," but for most people, it is what it is. A backhanded attempt to demean Sarah Palin as evidenced by the audiences' reaction of hooting, hollaring and applauding. Watch the tape, he even pauses after the first sentence to let it sink in with the crowd: "You can put lipstick on a pig. (Laughter and some clapping while he pauses). But it is still a Pig." Rowdy laughter and applause and that smirky little grin on the Great One's face that says it all --Ha gotcha Hockey Mom! Take that!!! Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah nyah! How desperate is this guy? In the last 11 days he's lost 20 points! How pathetic is this guy? He's squeelling like a stuck pig!!!<br /><br />Sarah Palin injected lipstick into the race when she said that the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull was: lipstick. This was one of the most, if not the most memorable line from her speech last Wednesday. (I can't believe it has only been a week! It seems like she has endured months of Liberal MSM crap). In any event, Sarah injected "lipstick" into the debate.<br /><br />I know that the phrase of "Putting lipstick on a Pig" has been around for a while and John McCain even used it last year referring to Hillary Clinton's Health Care Plan. (Not Hillary herself mind you). But with Sarah making lipstick part of the definition she gives herself as a hockey mom, the Great One tried to throw it back in her face. Like this is an 8th Grade election!<br /><br />Are we in the 8th Grade? Or maybe it is like High School electioneering. Barry O surely was sophmoric in his choice of words. And remember, he is the Great Communicator! What's he going to do with Putin? Poke him in the eyes and go "Knuck, Knuck Knuck" like Curly of the Three Stooges fame? Woobaba Woobaba Woobaba, Knuck, Knuck Knuck, why certainly!"<br /><br />It is hysterical to see all the lefties contorting themselves into all kinds of outrageous positions to defend Barry on this one. All I have to say is, Keep it up Barry, please keep it up!!!<br /><br />BTW did you hear about the airdrop of liberal lawyers, investigators and journalists that have descended on Wasilla, Alaska? Evidently there is at least thirty (30) of them trying to dig up dirt on Sarah. Where were they investigating Mr. Obama?? Oh, that's right, they have not investigated Mr. Obama, not even one! And, because they like him so much, they never will.<br /><br />What a joke. Journalists in this country have pretty much turned into a complete joke. No wonder their ratings are dropping like rockes (except FOX) and their stocks are crashing and burning. The American people are fed up with the liberal crap the MSM keeps dishing out day after day, week after week. At least they provide me with lots and lots of opportunities to laugh my ass off.<br /><br />When I fist heard what Barry O said about Palin, and the lib media trying to cover for him and say that he didn't mean what everyone in the audience understood he meant, I was ROTFLMAO!!!!!<br /><br />UPDATE: I have come up with a new name for the press and how they are attacking Palin:<br /><br />Liberal Fascist Journalistic Nazi Stormtroopers! (LFJNS)J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-39637959643775091512008-09-05T10:11:00.000-07:002008-09-05T10:13:40.199-07:00MEDIA BASHES PALIN: THE PROOFLiberal bias in the Media, what liberal bias…. Says Olberdork and Matthews.<br />Try this on for size gentlemen:<br /><br />1) John Roberts CNN August 29, 2008 Newsroom:<br />“There’s also this issue that on April 18th, she gave birth to a baby with Down’s Syndrome…. Children with Down’s syndrome require an awful lot of attention. The role of Vice President, it seems to me, would take up an awful lot of her time, and it raises the issue of how much time will she have to dedicate to her newborn child?”<br /><br />2) Liz Trotta, Media Prof at New School:<br /> “How can a woman run a state and bring up five children at the same time?… I think they have every right to ask that…”<br /><br />3) Sally Quinn, August 29, 2008 Washington Post:<br />“Is she prepared for the all-consuming nature of the job? She is the mother of five children, one of them a four-month-old with Down Syndrome. Her first priority has to be her children. When the phone rings at three in the morning and one of her children is really sick what choice will she make?”<br /><br />4) Bill Weir, ABC August 30, 2008, Good Morning America:<br />“Adding to the brutality of a national campaign, the Palin family also has an infant with special needs. What leads you, the Senator, and the Governor to believe that one won’t affect the other in the next couple of months?”<br /><br />5) Mark Shields, PBS:<br />” There is another question though which essentially I’ve heard expressed here many times today and from calls elsewhere, and that is the decision made by Sarah Palin herself, when knowing her daughter’s condition, by accepting John McCain’s offer she guaranteed that her daughter would be known globally as the best known 17-year-old unwed teenager in the world, and that decision many people question… The question of how it affected her daughter is not open to question. It has made her daughter a front-page item for the country.”<br /><br />6) Meredith Viera, NBC Today Show:<br />“But there’s also, I think the part of it is the particular dynamic of her family, Megan. Her youngest child, down’s syndrome and now her oldest daughter is pregnant. And there are some moms out there that are angry, that are saying she has put her family unfairly into the spotlight.”<br /><br />7) Norah O’Donnell, MSNBC:<br />“Congresswoman, what about the argument that, you know, vice president is a tough job, and that having a four month old baby, who has Down’s Syndrome, that will have special needs, requires extra time, that, that she should be focusing on her four month old, that some people have said that, fairly or unfairly. What do you think of that?’J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-86526664549700297552008-09-04T10:16:00.000-07:002008-09-04T10:20:25.124-07:00PALIN SPEECH: HIGHLIGHTSNote: The teleprompter didn’t slow down enough for the extended applauses so by about ½ way through the speech, she was on her own, with no teleprompter support! What poise under pressure!<br /><br />My favorite line:<br /><br />“There are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change."<br /><br />Another zinger:<br /><br />Our opponents say again and again that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems, as if we didn't know that already. But the fact -- the fact that drilling, though, won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.<br />"In a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines, build more nuclear plants, create jobs with clean coal and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative sources."<br /><br />On experience:<br /><br />Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska -- I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess -- I guess a small-town mayor if sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.<br /><br />On two-faced politicians:<br /><br />I might add -- I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they're listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening. No, we tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.<br /><br />On the liberal media elites:<br /><br />Well, I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment. And I've learned quickly these last few days that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.<br />But -- but -- now here's a little news flash -- now here's a little news flash for those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this great country.<br /><br />View on Service:<br /><br />No one expects us all to agree on everything, but we are expected to govern with integrity and good will and clear convictions and a servant's heart. And I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as vice president of the United States.<br /><br />On actual governing accomplishments:<br /><br />When oil and gas prices went up dramatically and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged: directly to the people of Alaska.<br />And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists who kind of liked things the way that they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources. As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people.<br /><br />On energy policy:<br /><br />To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of the world's energy supplies, or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia, or that Venezuela might shut off its oil discoveries and its deliveries of that source, Americans -- need to produce more of our own oil and gas. And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska; we've got lots of both.<br /><br />Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines and build more nuclear plants and create jobs with clean coal and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative sources.<br /><br />We need -- we need American sources of resources. We, we need American energy brought to you by American ingenuity and produced by American workers.<br /><br />On Obama’s Vision for America:<br /><br />What does he actually seek to accomplish after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer -- the answer is to make government bigger and take more of your money and give you more orders from Washington and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world.<br /><br />On McCain:<br /><br />Senator McCain's record of actual achievements and reform helps explain why so many special interests and lobbyists and comfortable committee chairmen in Congress have fought the prospect of a McCain presidency from the primary election of 2000 to this very day. Our nominee doesn't run with the Washington herd. He's a man who is there to serve his country, and not just his party; a leader who's not looking for a fight, but sure isn't afraid of one either.<br /><br />Conclusion:<br /><br />For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words. But for a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds. If character is the measure in this election, and hope the theme, and change the goal we share, then I ask you to join our cause. Join our cause and help America elect a great man as the next president of the United States.<br />Thank you, and God bless America. Thank you.<br /><br />Libs can bellyache all day long, but to Republicans, and to many independents, she not only hit a home-run, she hit a Grand-Slam Walk-Off Homer!J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-22727732158637523692008-09-03T08:59:00.000-07:002008-09-03T09:19:44.158-07:00COMPARE THE TWO: PALIN & OBAMATuesday evening at the RNC MSNBC reporter Ron Allen said to the former Speaker Newt Gingrich of Sarah Palin, "But to be fair, her resume is not something we're familiar seeing with presidential candidates." This question goes along with the Old-Fashioned Media Meme of Sarah Palin is not qualified to be Vice President. The question didn't sit well with Gingrich who strongly replied:<br /><br />“It's stronger than Barack Obama's. I don't know why you guys walk around saying this baloney. She has a stronger resume than Obama. She's been a real mayor, he hasn't. She has been a real governor, he hasn't. She's been in charge of the Alaskan National Guard, he hasn't. She was a whistleblower who defeated an incumbent mayor. He has never once shown that kind of courage. She's a whistleblower who turned in the chairman of her own party and got him fined $12,000. I've never seen Obama do one thing like that. She took on the incumbent governor of her own party and beat him, and then she beat a former Democratic governor in the general election. I don't know of a single thing Obama's done except talk and write. Newt then challenged Allen: “I'd like you to tell me one thing Sen. Obama's done.” Silence. Change the subject, move along, nothing to see here, move along.<br /><br />But let’s look at this a little deeper, shall we. The Presidency is the office of the Chief Executive of the United States. Note: That is not the Office of the Chief Speechmaker, nor Chief Legislator, nor Chief Community Organizer, nor Chief Campaign figure head. The Chief Executive is charged with the responsibility of actually running things. The Chief Executive is in charge of not only National Defense, but also has to deal with personnel issues, hiring and firing of employees. The Chief Executive more importantly has to deal with a Budget and taxes and balancing a budget.<br /><br />When asked about Palin’s experience, Obama smiled and said Palin's town of Wasilia, Alaska had 50 employees. His campaign has 2500. The town's budget is about $12 million a year. His budget is 3 times that per month. He cited the legislation he's passed on emergency management post-Katrina and that many recommendations he made were adopted and are being put in place as we speak. (Note: He signed on to Bills drafted by other Senators never once authoring his own.)<br /><br />It's true that Obama's biggest accomplishment is his success (thus far) in running a Presidential campaign. But isn't this a bit absurd? One qualifies to run for President by the very activity of running for President? I'm glad to hear that he smiled when he said that, because I don't think it's an argument you can make with a straight face.<br /><br />Why is Obama comparing her experience in running a small town to his of running for president, when what she's been doing for the last two years is running the state of Alaska, which has a lot more employees and a much larger budget than his presidential campaign.<br /><br />Obama is making a false comparison. His 2500 staff against her 8 years as mayor.Compare his 2500 staff against her 25,000 state employees!Then factor in that he doesn’t run the campaign. He's the talking head. Axlerod runs the campaign. David Axlerod is pulling the strings over at Team Obama. Why is Obama even taking credit for running his campaign? Obama is just the titular head of a machine. Then note that getting 2500 fanatics to move in the same direction is different than applying leadership skills to get 25,000 civil servants, many of whom didn’t vote for you, to work productively. Lastly of course, he's not running for VP is he?<br /><br />So lets do some Staff, Budget, and Executive Decision-making comparisons.<br /><br />1994-1996 Palin: Mayor, staff of 50 Budget of $12 million. Executive decisions concerning personnel, budgeting, taxes, public utilities, public relations, managing a city council and working with the Police Force and Fire Department.<br /><br />1994-1996 Obama: Part time law professor and community organizer. No staff no budget. No executive decision-making. (Strike that: he had to decide what to wear every day). (Strike that: Michelle probably did that for him).<br /><br />1996-2002 Palin: Mayor - staff of 50, budget of $12 million. Executive decisions concerning personnel, budgeting, taxes, public utilities, public relations, managing a city council and working with the Police Force and Fire Department.<br /><br />1996-2002 Obama: State Senate - staff of ? less than 5, budget of what, maybe a few thousand dollars. Executive decision-making minimal to nil.<br /><br />2003-2004 Palin: Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission, staff of 25, budget of $5 million. Executive decision-making responsibilities all day long. Took on Big-Oil and won!<br /><br />2003-2004 Obama: State Senate - staff of ? less than 5, budget of what, maybe a few thousand dollars. Executive decision-making minimal to nil.<br /><br />2005-2006 Obama: U.S. Senate office, staff of maybe 50. Budget minimal – maybe a few hundred thousand at most, executive decision-making minimal to nil. Major goal: positioning to run for President.<br /><br />2005-2006 Palin: running for governor, assume very little staff. Taking on the Chairman of her own party and getting him fined $12,000. Taking on the sitting Governor from her own party and beating him in the primary. Taking on a former Governor from the other party and beating him in the general election.<br /><br />2007-2008 Palin: Governor of Alaska, America’s Number 1 energy producing State with borders with Russia and Canada. Staff of 25,000, budget of $12 billion. Executive decision-making all day long. Negotiated natural gas pipeline deal with Canada. Squashed the Bridge to Nowhere project. Cut taxes and refunded taxes to citizens. Has the highest approval rating of any sitting Governor in all fifty (50) United States.<br /><br />2007-2008 Obama: Running for President, staff of 2,500 (many unpaid). Budget of what, say 350 million – 400 million tops? Executive decision-making – do what Axlerod tells him to do. Review and edit speeches prepared by others. Deliver speeches. Avoid debates. Throw people under the bus. Change positions on almost every major issue.<br /><br />Let’s see, 25,000 employees, including the National Guard v.s. 2,500 fanatically loyal campaign workers. Hmmmm. Budget of 12 Billion v.s. budget of 350-400 million. Hmmmm. Total and complete Executive decision-making experience v.s. making speeches. Hmmmm. Taking on entrenched politicos from your own party no less and defeating them v.s. pandering to your own party’s left-wing extreme elements. Hmmm. Oh yeah and I almost forgot, Obama didn’t think the surge was a good idea, nor that it would work. In fact, he said it would make things worse. Yet, despite its overwhelming success, he would still oppose it rather than admit that he was wrong.<br /><br />What a putz.<br /><br />As shown above, since 1992 in every moment of time by direct comparison, Palin's responsibilities and executive experience are far, far greater than Obama's. It is not even close.<br /><br />That is a fact. So come on Old-fashioned Media, keep harping on the Meme of Experience. Our V.P. candidate has more executive experience that your Presidential candidate.<br /><br />One last thing: Palin was asked: What’s the difference between a Hockey Mom and a Pit-bull? Her response: Hockey Moms wear lipstick. I lover her! She is a real salt-of-the-earth woman who loves America, Jesus, Babies, Guns and Energy Independence.<br /><br />As I’ve said before, McCain-Palin in a landslide, a landslide. And the Old-Fashioned Media will be the most depressed people on the face of the earth come the evening of November 4th. Their bias will become even more clear (if that’s possible after the last 5 days) and they will blame it all on racism. When clearly, as evidenced above, the outcome will be based upon experience, (and Obama’s lack thereof) plain and simple.J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-62421284915269295742008-08-29T06:38:00.000-07:002008-08-29T13:38:18.381-07:00MCCAIN-PALIN CRUSH OBAMA-BIDENOne can dream. Mr. Empty suit gave his typical “moving” yet completely void of any substance speech last night. Truly, it was a Historic event, but not because of anything he said, but rather because he is the first African-American to be nominated for President. He said he’s open to debates, yeah right. Actions speak louder than words. So far he has done everything possible to avoid a debate. He sucks at debate, but he’s great at giving empty, yet “inspiring” pre-written speeches. Hitler was a great orator too, so was Mussolini.<br /><br />After having taken a look at Jonah Goldberg’s “Liberal Fascism” I have come to the conclusion that the Obamessiah is just that: a liberal fascist. Everything for the State and nothing outside of the State. Health care – the State. Retirement -- the State. Unemployment – The State. The economy – the State. Education – the State. The environment – the State. Quotas – the State. Charity – the State. Media control – the State. Gun control – the State. Nationalism – Americanism. Check, check, check, check, check, check and check. Liberal Fascism.<br /><br />Just look at what he’s done to try to stifle free speech that he disagrees with: Letters, emails, complaints to the Attorney General and the Justice Department to try to silence any critic. Attempts to shut down a radio show, even though they were offered to appear and rebut any claims. Sounds like Stalin doesn’t it? God forbid he should win, then we would have press along the lines of Pravda. Anything that is “anti-State” will be treason.<br /><br />But not to worry, McCain and Palin are going to crush Obama-Biden, just wait and see. Why? Because Americans are not the stupid dolts the Dems and the Old Fashioned Media think they are. Americans know a player when they see a player. Obama talks of new politics in a new time. Yeah right, then he picks Mr. old-time Washington D.C. Joe (plagiarizing) Biden as his running mate. Same-old same-old democratic fluff with no substance. No grit. He has basically no experience. Duh!<br /><br />November 4th will be a sad, sad day for the Dems and the old fashioned media. We’ll see announcers on all the “News” (did I mean to say propaganda) shows, all mournful, sad and depressed. Their great one will be crushed. They will, of course, blame it all on racism, when the fact of the matter has nothing to do with race and has everything to do with experience, qualifications and judgment.<br />(See: http://jraymondwright.blogspot.com/2008/07/obamasiah-gaffe-master.html<br /><br />It is really kind of funny to watch our supposed “objective” media fawn all over the Obamessiah. I think that some of them still think they are objective, middle of the road reporters. Hah! What a joke! The old fashioned media are basically publicists for “The One.” You’ll be able to clearly see their partisanship on election night. You will have never seen such a sad, sour and mournful press as you will see on election night 2008. Happy Day!J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-70396768978408999102008-08-26T09:18:00.000-07:002008-08-26T09:20:02.920-07:00WISE WORDSDuring this political season, it is good to be reminded of these wise words. <br /><br /> You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.<br /><br /> You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.<br /><br /> You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.<br /><br /> You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.<br /><br /> You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.<br /><br /> You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.<br /><br /> You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.<br /><br /> --Abraham LincolnJ. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-9888839635935329842008-08-22T07:09:00.000-07:002008-08-22T07:13:45.000-07:00Cpl TONY MIHALO: PATRIOT WARRIOR, R.I.P.Megan Allen is a friend of our family. Here is a short story from our local paper.<br /><br />Megan Allen plummeted from joy to sorrow within about 60 minutes Thursday afternoon. Just one hour after learning she had earned her first job as a third-grade teacher, the 22-year-old found out that the man she planned to marry had been killed by an improvised explosive device while serving with a Marine battalion in Afghanistan.<br /><br />Marine Cpl. Tony Mihalo, 23, was one of two servicemen from Naperville killed this week in combat. Army Cpl. Jim Hale, 23, who attended Naperville Central High School but moved to Ohio before graduating, died Wednesday when his vehicle also encountered an IED in Baghdad.<br /><br />Mihalo enrolled in the Marines while still a student at Naperville North High School, where he played as a defensive lineman on the football team. He also played basketball and wrestled. In October 2004 he headed off to train in San Diego and was deployed for a seven-month stint in Iraq 10 months later, serving with the 2nd battalion of the 7th regiment. After spending a year at the Marine Corps Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif., he was deployed for the second time in March 2007.<br /><br />Allen threw a big party for Mihalo when he finished the tour last January, expecting that he was back to stay. But that wasn’t the case. He was called to Afghanistan one month later, this time to serve in the 3rd battalion because the unit was short on combat veterans.<br /><br />Allen said the last time she spoke with him 20 days ago, he talked about completing the last two credits of his associate degree and studying criminal justice when he returned home in October. “He was talking about what he was going to do when he got back,” said Allen, adding that he loved wrestling, history and politics. “He was always dreaming about the future.”<br /><br />Just before that last phone call, Mihalo had been hospitalized for three days after being hit by a grenade. When Allen – tipped off by a phone call from the Marines – asked him about the shrapnel, he at first denied that he had been injured.<br /><br />His injury last month was his third Purple heart and could have been his ticket home via a hospital in Germany. But Tony didn’t want to abandon his unit and chose to stay in Afghanistan.<br /><br />Gob Bless Tony Mihalo. God Bless his family and friends. God Bless all our brave men and women who stand in harms way to defend all of us. We are the luckiest people on the face of the earth.J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-79487196070750019002008-08-20T07:34:00.000-07:002008-08-20T07:44:50.126-07:00OUR HEROSI am proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me. And I'd gladly stand up, and defend her still today. There ain't no doubt, I love this land, God Bless the USA!<br /><br />Going home....EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, WE GET IT RIGHT.<br /><br />The people of the United States really do honor our service personnel. God bless this Captain.<br /><br />Subject: Commercial Pilot's blog on the internet....good story<br /><br />We have H.R. on this flight', she said. H.R. stands for human remains. 'Are they military', I asked. 'Yes', she said. 'Is there an escort', I asked. 'Yes, I already assigned him a seat', 'Would you please tell him to come to the flight deck, you can board him early', I said. A short while later, a young army sergeant entered the flight deck. He was the image of the perfectly dressed soldier. He introduced himself and I asked him about his soldier. The escorts of these fallen soldiers talk about them as if they are still alive and with us. 'My soldier is on his way back to Virginia ', he said. He proceeded to answer my questions, but offered no words on his own. I asked him if there was anything I could do for him and he said no. I told him that he has the toughest job in the military and that I appreciated the work that he does for the families of our fallen soldiers. The first officer and I got up out of our seats to shake his hand. He left the flight deck to find his seat.<br /><br />We completed our preflight checks, pushed back and performed an uneventful departure. About 30 minutes into our flight I received a call from the lead flight attendant in the cabin. 'I just found out the family of the soldier we are carrying, is onboard', he said. He then proceeded to tell me that the father, mother, wife and 2-year-old daughter were escorting their son, husband, and father home. The family was upset because they were unable to see the container that the soldier was in before we left. We were on our way to a major hub at wh i ch the family was going to wait 4 hours for the connecting flight home to Virginia . The father of the soldier told the flight attendant that knowing his son was below him in the cargo compartment and being unable to see him was too much for him and the family to bear. He had asked the flight attendant if there was anything that could be done to allow them to see him upon our arrival. The family wanted to be outside by the cargo door to watch the soldier being taken off the airplane. I could hear the desperation in the flight attendants voice when he asked me if there was anything I could do. 'I'm on it', I said. I told him that I would get back to him.<br /><br />Airborne communication with my company normally occurs in the form of email like messages. I decided to bypass this system and contact my flight dispatcher directly on a secondary radio. There is a radio operator in the operations control center who connects you to the teleph one of the dispatcher. I was in direct contact with the dispatcher. I explained the situation I had onboard with the family and what it was the family wanted. He said he understood and that he would get back to me.<br /><br />Two hours went by and I had not heard from the dispatcher. We were going to get busy soon and I needed to know what to tell the family. I sent a text message asking for an update. I saved the return message from the dispatcher and this following is the text.<br /><br />0D<br /><br />'Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. There is policy on this now and I had to check on a few things. Upon your arrival a dedicated escort team will meet the aircraft. The team will escort the family to the ramp and plane side. A van will be used to load the remains with a secondary van for the family. The family will be taken to their departure area and escorted into the terminal where the remains can be seen on the ramp. It is a private area for the family only. When the connecting aircraft arrives, the family will be escorted onto the ramp and plane side to watch the remains being loaded for the final leg home. Captain, most of here in flight control are veterans. Please pass our condolences on to the family, thanks.'<br /><br />I sent a message back telling flight control thanks for a good job. I printed out the message and gave it to the lead flight attendant to pass on to the father. The lead flight attendant was very thankful and told me, 'You have no idea how much this will mean to them.' Things started getting busy for the descent, approach and landing. After landing, we cleared the runway and taxied to the ramp area. The ramp is huge with 15 gates on either side of the alleyway. It is always a busy area with aircraft maneuvering every which way to enter and exit. When we entered the ramp and checked in with the ramp controller , we were told that all traffic was being held for us.<br /><br />'There is a team in place to meet the aircraft', we were told. It looked like it was all coming together, then I realized that once we turned the seat belt sign off, everyone would stand up at once and delay the family from getting off the airplane. As we approached our gate, I asked the copilot to tell the ramp controller we were going to stop short of the gate to make an announcement to the passengers. He did that and the ramp controller said, 'Take your time.'<br /><br />I stopped the aircraft and set the parking brake. I pushed the public address button and said, 'Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking. I have stopped short of our gate to make a special announcement. We have a passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect. His name is private XXXXXX, a soldier who recently lost his life. Private XXXXXX is under your feet in the cargo hold. Escorting him today is army sergeant XXXXXXX. Also onboard are his father, mother, wife, and daughter. Your entire flight crew is asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to allow the family to exit the aircraft first. Thank you.'<br /><br />We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and started our shutdown procedures. A couple of minutes later I opened the cockpit door. I found the two forward flight attendants crying, something you just do not see. I was told that after we came to a stop, every passenger on the aircraft stayed in their seats, waiting for the family to exit the aircraft. When the family got up and gathered their things, a passenger slowly started to clap their hands. Moments later more passengers joined in and soon the entire aircraft was clapping. Words of 'God Bless You, I'm sorry, Thank you, Be proud, and other kind words were uttered to the family as they made their way down the aisle and out of the airplane. They were escorted down to the ramp to finally be with the loved one lost.<br /><br />I never did see the family. Another soldier died, another family grieved and we did what we could. That is the way it works sometimes. I get a call from the cabin; we work as a team to do what we can. That day everybody from the flight crew, to the operations center, to the 184 passengers onboard, we did what we could. Many of the passengers disembarking thanked me for the announcement I made. They were just words, I could say them over and over again, but nothing I say will bring that soldier back. I respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this day and the sacrifices that millions of men and women have made to ensure our freedom, safety, and the right to live a good life.<br /><br />God bless this Captain.<br /><br />God Bless our Men and Women who fight, and die, for us.<br /><br />I am proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me. And I'd gladly stand up, and defend her still today. There ain't no doubt, I love this land, God Bless the USA!J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-81378359308951229302008-08-15T07:04:00.000-07:002008-08-15T07:09:05.031-07:00BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA: WE HARDLY KNEW YA!Jack Wheeler was the author of Regan's strategy to break the back of the Soviet Union with the star wars race and expose their inner weakness. For years he wrote a weekly intelligence update that was extremely interesting and well structured and informed. He consults(ed) with several mega corporations on global trends and the future, etc. He is in semi-retirement now. He is a true patriot with a no-nonsense approach to everything. <br /><br />Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler<br /><br />The O-man, Barack Hussein Obama, is an eloquently tailored empty suit. No resume, no accomplishments, no experience, no original ideas, no understanding of how the economy works, no understanding of how the world works, no balls, nothing but abstract empty rhetoric devoid of real substance.<br /><br />He has no real identity. He is half-white, which he rejects. The rest of him is mostly Arab, which he hides but is disclosed by his non-AfricanArabic surname and his Arabic first and middle names as a way to triply proclaim his Arabic parentage to people in Kenya. Only a small part of him is African Black from his Luo grandmother, which he pretends he is exclusively.<br /><br />What he isn't, not a genetic drop of, is 'African-American,' the descendant of enslaved Africans brought to America chained in slave ships. He hasn't a single ancestor who was a slave. Instead, his Arab ancestors were slave owners. Slave-trading was the main Arab business in East Africa for centuries until the British ended it.<br /><br />Let that sink in: Obama is not the descendant of slaves, he is the descendant of slave owners. Thus he makes the perfect Liberal Messiah.<br /><br />It's something Hillary doesn't understand - how some complete neophyte came out of the blue and stole the Dem nomination from her. Obamamania is beyond politics and reason. It is a true religious cult, whose adherents reject Christianity yet still believe in Original Sin, transferring it from the evil of being human to the evil of being white.<br /><br />Thus Obama has become the white liberals' Christ, offering absolution from the Sin of Being White. There is no reason or logic behind it, no faults or flaws of his can diminish it, no arguments Hillary could make of any kind can be effective against it. The absurdity of Hypocrisy Clothed In Human Flesh being their Savior is all the more cause for liberals to worship him: Credo quia absurdum, I believeit because it is absurd.<br /><br />Thank heavens that the voting majority of Americans remain Christian and are in no desperate need of a phony savior. His candidacy is ridiculous and should not be taken seriously by any thinking American.<br /><br />Pass this on to every thinking American you know!J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-77388683801429913162008-08-11T08:52:00.000-07:002008-08-11T09:00:00.493-07:00HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD -- OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GODI was standing in church yesterday singing along in Worship to the song, “How great is our God,” and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Just how long will we be able to sing such a song? I also thought of the song ‘Our God is an awesome God, he reigns from heaven above, with wisdom power and love, our God is an awesome God.” My fear is that pretty soon, such songs will be banned. You see, in this secular humanitarian multiculturist world we live in, these songs are bigoted. They discriminate on the basis of religion. They claim that one particular God is somehow better than other gods. Moreover, they claim the mere existence of a God. And soon, the Politically Correct Police (“PCP”) will ban their use as a “hate crime.” <br /><br />You see, it won’t be too long before some Muslim, atheist, or secular humanist claims that these songs are discriminatory, violate their rights to believe in a different god, or no god at all, and are in fact, “hate speech.” Remember, these songs claim that one God is somehow “better than” all the other gods. To the PCP this is blatant discrimination and they won’t stand for it until it is completely eradicated from society. The PCP have already eradicated this type of speech from all of our public schools, from all of our public squares, from all of our graduation ceremonies and before sporting events, and from all of our courthouses. What’s next? Will the members of an Evangelical Free Church be forbidden from claiming how great is their God? Don’t laugh. For the secular humanists are on the march and we Christians have been asleep at the wheel for far, far too long. <br /><br />But churches are private entities, right? Therefore, the government can’t regulate their speech or their form of worship, right? Maybe, maybe not. I could see some aggressive secular humanist claim that because the Church uses public utilities and public roads, and receives tax breaks from the government (preferential treatment) they can be regulated. Remember, the Supreme Court recently ruled that taking private land from one landowner and giving it to another private land owner was for a “public purpose” because it would increase the tax revenue for the municipality. If the S.Ct. can make that giant leap, why not control worship that some find to be offensive and discriminatory? They will argue that it is not a violation of the free exercise of religion clause, but rather is striking a balance between the free exercise clause and the right to be free from discriminatory language. (A giant, giant leap, I know, but what if?)<br /><br />So what can we do? Keep singing, of course. But also, we need to make sure that the next president appoints conservative Judges and Justices who will look to the framer’s of the Constitution’s original intent. Rather than judges who seek to make new law by judicial dictate from the bench. Therefore, as much as I find John McCain to be far too liberal for my tastes, he is by far the better option than anything the democrats have to offer. So as they say in Chicago, “Vote early and vote often.” Our children’s and their children’s future ability to freely worship may depend upon it. We are in a war, a cultural war, and we are losing. Onward Christian Soldier, marching off to War! (That would be banned too -- way too violent and clearly hate speech, etc. etc.)J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-60752941638126607032008-07-30T07:15:00.000-07:002008-07-30T07:43:02.878-07:00DID YOU KNOW: IRAQ?Did you know that 47 countries' have reestablished their embassies in Iraq?<br /><br />Did you know that the Iraqi government currently employs 1.2 million Iraqi people ?<br /><br />Did you know that 3100 schools have been renovated, 364 schools are under rehabilitation, 263 new schools are now under construction and 38 new schools have been completed in Iraq?<br /><br />Did you know that Iraq 's higher educational structure consists of 20 Universities, 46 Institutes or colleges and 4 research centers, all currently operating?<br /><br />Did you know that 25 Iraq students departed for the United States in January 2005 for the re-established Fulbright program ?<br /><br />Did you know that the Iraqi Navy is operational ? They have 5 - 100-foot patrol craft, 34 smaller vessels and a naval infantry regiment.<br /><br />Did you know that Iraq's Air Force consists of three operational squadrons, which includes 9 reconnaissance and 3 US C-130 transport aircraft (under Iraqi operational control) which operate day and night, and will soon add 16 UH-1 helicopters and 4 Bell Jet Rangers ?<br /><br />Did you know that Iraq has a counter-terrorist unit and a Commando Battalion?<br /><br />Did you know that the Iraqi Police Service has over 55,000 fully trained and equipped police officers?<br /><br />Did you know that there are 5 Police Academies in Iraq that produce over 3500 new officers each 8 weeks?<br /><br />Did you know there are more than 1100 building projects going on in Iraq? They include<br /><br />364 schools,<br />67 public clinics,<br />15 hospitals,<br />83 railroad stations,<br />22 oil facilities,<br />93 water facilities, and<br />69 electrical facilities.<br /><br />Did you know that 96% of Iraqi children under the age of 5 have received the first 2 series of polio vaccinations?<br /><br />Did you know that 4.3 million Iraqi children were enrolled in primary school by mid October?<br /><br />Did you know that there are 1,192,000 cell phone subscribers in Iraq and phone use has gone up 158% ?<br /><br />Did you know that Iraq has an independent media that consists of 75 radio stations, 180 newspapers and 10 television stations?<br /><br />Did you know that the Baghdad Stock Exchange opened in June of 2004?<br /><br />Did you know that 2 candidates in the Iraqi presidential election had a televised debate recently?<br /><br />OF COURSE WE DIDN'T KNOW! WHY DIDN'T WE KNOW? YOUR NEWS MEDIA REFUSES TO TELL US!<br /><br />Instead of reflecting our love for our country, we get photos of flag burning incidents at Abu Ghraib and people throwing snowballs at the presidential motorcades.<br /><br />Tragically, the lack of accentuating the positive in Iraq serves two major purposes of the liberal news media:<br /><br />1. It is intended to undermine the world's perception of the United States thus minimizing consequent support, and:<br /><br />2. It is intended to discourage American citizens and erode their support for the war.<br /><br />---- All the above facts are verifiable on the Department of Defense web site.<br /><br />(<a href="http://www.defenselink.mil/" target="_blank">http://www.defenselink.mil/</a>)<br /><br />I first got this as an email about two years ago, so I'm sure that there has been a lot more progress in Iraq than what's listed here. I just thought it was interesting and worthy of sharing.J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689595918750289235.post-70267653332630539592008-07-24T11:09:00.000-07:002008-07-25T07:44:49.350-07:00OBAMASIAH: THE GAFFE MASTERThe Antique Media (“AM”) has been going after John McCain lately for his verbal mistakes, commonly referred to as “gaffes.” Gaffes are often blown up or downplayed based on whether or not they further a story line the media has attached to a politician. Lately, the AM has been trying to cover for the Obamasiah by playing up McCain’s gaffes and completely not mentioning Obamasiah’s gaffes, or at least minimizing them. Remember that this AM donates $$ to Obamasiah 100 to 1 as compared to McCain. Now, don’t confuse gaffes with flip-flops. Flip-flops are a whole different animal than gaffes, although a couple of gaffe’s I’ve listed are also flip-flops. I understand that Patterico is compiling a list of the Obamasiah’s flip-flops – I can’t wait for that to come out!<br /><br />There are three main kinds of gaffes. The first kind of gaffe is when someone mis-speaks and utters a word that they clearly did not intend to utter when taken in context. An example of this was when the Obamasiah recently said, "Well let me be absolutely clear. Israel is a strong friend of Israel's." Clearly, he meant to say that the United States is a strong friend of Israel.<br /><br />The second type of gaffe is when someone says something that is factually in error and it is an innocent mistake of fact or an exaggeration of a fact. An example of an innocent mistake of facts was when the Obamasiah stated that his “Uncle helped to liberate Auschwitz.” This is clearly a false statement because anyone who knows anything about the History of WWII knows that Auschwitz was in Poland, on the Red Army side of the War and that it was the Russians who liberated Auschwitz, not the Americans. The statement is also factually false because Obama’s mother was an only child. What he meant to say was that his “great uncle” was a member of the 89th Infantry Division that liberated the Ohrduf camp, part of Buchenwald and, according to the Holocaust Museum, the first concentration camp liberated by U.S. troops. (What’s funny about this one is it wasn’t an off-the-cuff remark, but rather was actually written into a speech he gave on Memorial Day.)<br /><br />The third type of gaffe is when someone says something that is factually in error and it was not an innocent mistake of fact, but rather an intentional distortion or falsehood. An example of this type of gaffe was when the Obamasiah recently said: “Now, in terms of knowing my commitments, you don’t have to just look at my words, you can look at my deeds. Just this past week, we passed out of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, <strong>which is my committee</strong>, a bill to call for divestment from Iran, as a way of ratcheting up the pressure to ensure that they don’t obtain a nuclear weapon.” The problem is, Obamasiah is not on that committee. The Democrat members of Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee are: Dodd (Ch), Johnson, Reed Schumer, Bayh, Carper, Menendez, Akaka, Brown, Casey, and Tester. So here we have a knowing falsehood as surely Obamasiah knows what Committees he is on, right? To be fair, he was one of the co-authors of the bill in question, along with 34 other co-authors.<br /><br />Anyhow, like I said, the AM has been coming down rather hard on John McCain for his alleged gaffes. So I thought I would try to catalogue some of the Obamasiah’s gaffes and place them into one of the three categories of gaffes: 1) Word or words mis-spoken; 2) Innocent factual errors and exaggerations; and, 3) Intentional factual errors.<br /><br />Type One Obamasiah mis-spoken errors:<br /><br />- claiming to be in Sioux City instead of Sioux Falls, an easy mistake.<br /><br />- claiming to be in Sunshine FL instead of Sunrise FL, an easy mistake.<br /><br />- stating that he had “already visited 57 states and had one more to go” (making the U.S. a country of 58 total states) Clearly, he meant to say 47 states with one more to go which would have been the 48 mainland States.)<br /><br />- stating that Israel is a strong friend of Israel’s<br /><br />- stating “I think that DOMA, the Defense Against Marriage Act, was, was a (sic) unnecessary imposition on what had been the traditional rules governing marriage and how states interact on the issues of marriage.” – Barack Obama, referring to the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA), 7/1/08<br /><br />- stating “So if you’ve got a wall that’s cutting the campus of the University of Texas in Brownville in half…” – Barack Obama, discussing the University of Texas in Brownsville.<br /><br />- Stating “My father served in World War II, and when he came home, he got the services that he needed.” – Barack Obama, on how his grandfather served in WWII.<br /><br /><br />Type Two Obamasiah innocent factual errors or exaggerations:<br /><br />- claiming that his “uncle” helped liberate “Auschwitz.” This was wrong on two counts, first it was his “great uncle,” not his “uncle” and second it was “Ohrduf” camp, part of Buchenwald, not “Auschwitz.”<br /><br />- in another, earlier gaffe back in 2002, Mr. Obama claimed his grandfather knew U.S. troops who liberated Auschwitz and Treblinka – even though only Russian troops entered those concentration camps.<br /><br />- JFK helping to bring his father to the US. Clearly an exaggeration.<br /><br />- Claiming that Arkansas was a <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/37388.html">"nearby"</a> state to Kentucky. (When his own state, Illinois actually shares a border with Kentucky and Arkansas is three states away from Kentucky.<br /><br />- BARACK OBAMA: The objective of this trip was to have substantive discussions with people like President Karzai or Prime Minister Maliki or President Sarkozy or others who I expect to be dealing with over the next eight to ten years. …<br />LARA LOGAN: Do you have any doubts?<br />OBAMA: Never.<br /><br />- Memorial Day speech in New Mexico where he said that America's "fallen heroes" were present and listening to him in the audience.<br /><br />- At The Obamasiah’s Berlin speech he said: “Not only have walls come down in Berlin, but they have come down in Belfast, where Protestant and Catholic found a way to live together;” Wrong! In fact, more walls are going up in Belfast. http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2008-05-03-1826820552_x.htm <br /><br />Type Three Obamasiah intentional factual errors:<br /><br />- Obama's claim that the 1965 Selma march brought his parents together when Obama had been born four years before the march! This one is hysterical. He was born in 1961, Selma was in 1965. This was either intentionally wrong or he is the stupidest candidate ever.<br /><br />- His boast that he helped pass legislation regulating the nuclear industry when that legislation didn't pass the full Senate.<br /><br />- Obamasiah’s claim that <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270852,00.html">"10,000 people died"</a> in the Kansas tornadoes when the death toll was really only 12. Had he said 10 people, or even 1200 people, we could maybe put this in category two above, but come on, 10,000! He was clearly trying to make the disaster appear much worse than it really was in order to score points.<br /><br />- his denial last April that it was his handwriting on a questionnaire in which, as a state senate candidate, he favored a ban on handguns. (His campaign later admitted that it was his handwriting, but that that did not mean he had read the whole thing.)<br /><br />- told a Portland, Ore., crowd that Iran doesn't "pose a serious threat to us," saying that "tiny countries" with small defense budgets aren't much to worry about.” But Iran has almost one-fourth the population of the U.S. and is well on its way to developing nuclear weapons. The next day Mr. Obama had to reverse himself and declare he had "made it clear for years that the threat from Iran is grave." This gaffe is also a complete flip-flop.<br /><br />- he said he would meet with Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez to discuss, among other issues, Chavez's support of the Marxist FARC guerrillas in Colombia. The next day, in Miami, he insisted any country supporting the FARC should suffer "regional isolation." This is another flip-flop too.<br /><br />- But At A July 2007 Debate, Obama Announced He Would Personally Meet With Leaders Of Iran, North Korea, Syria And Other Hostile Nations "Without Precondition." Question: "[W]ould you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea, in order to bridge the gap that divides our countries?" ... Obama: "I would. And the reason is this, that the notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them -- which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration - is ridiculous." (CNN/YouTube Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Charleston, SC, 7/23/07)<br /><br />However, he later said "I Didn't Say That I Would Meet Unconditionally With Hostile Leaders.” Obama: "I didn't say that I would meet unconditionally as John McCain maintained, because that would suggest whether it was useful or not, whether it was advancing our interests or not, I would just do it for the sake of doing it ... That's not a change in position, that's simply responding to distortions of my position." (Jim Rutenberg and Jeff Zeleny, "Obama Seeks To Clarify His Disputed Comments On Diplomacy," The New York Times, 5/29/08)<br /><br />- He's claimed, in defense of his “without preconditions” position, that John F. Kennedy's 1961 summit with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna was a crucial meeting that led to the end of the Cold War. Hah! Not quite. Kennedy himself admitted he was unprepared for Khrushchev's bullying. "He beat the hell out of me," Kennedy confided to advisers. The Soviet leader reported to his Politburo that the American president was weak. Two months later, the Berlin Wall was erected and stood for 28 years. Yet Obamasiah calls this a crucial meeting that led to the end of the cold war. Lie.<br /><br />- An Obama ad team will be on hand for the Berlin rally, which figures to become part of the campaign… as a TV commercial. Evidently the campaign thinks the giving of an overseas speech by a US senator with three years experience and no major legislative accomplishments under his belt constitutes campaign ad magic. Fair enough. It’s just that today’s report undercuts somewhat Obama campaign senior advisor Robert Gibbs’ claim this “<a title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/18/AR2008071803344.html?nav=" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/18/AR2008071803344.html?nav=rss_politics/congress">is not a campaign trip</a>.” Now, while this lie falls at the hands of his campaign staff, it is whopper and deserves mentioning.<br /><br />- The presumed Democratic nominee replaced his Iraq issue Web page, which had described the surge as a "problem" that had barely reduced violence. "The surge is not working," Obama's old plan stated, citing a lack of Iraqi political cooperation but crediting Sunni sheiks - not U.S. military muscle - for quelling violence in Anbar Province. Obama's campaign posted a new Iraq plan Sunday night, which cites an "improved security situation" paid for with the blood of U.S. troops since the surge began in February 2007. It praises G.I.s' "hard work, improved counterinsurgency tactics and enormous sacrifice." So was he lying then, or is he lying now?<br /><br />- Obama was embarrassed after an aide told the Canadian government that Obama wasn't really serious about renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement. When his campaigning at that time was calling for a renegotiation of NAFTA! Outright lies.<br /><br />- Another great gaffe by one of his major advisors was when Obama advisor Richard Danzig claimed that Winnie the Pooh would be a good model for U.S. Foreign Policy and national Security. “Richard Danzig, who served as Navy Secretary under President Clinton and is tipped to become National Security Adviser in an Obama White House, told a major foreign policy conference in Washington that the future of US strategy in the war on terrorism should follow a lesson from the pages of Winnie the Pooh, which can be shortened to: if it is causing you too much pain, try something else. Mr Danzig told the Centre for New American Security: “Winnie the Pooh seems to me to be a fundamental text on national security.”<br /><br />It was covered in the U.K Press, but nowhere to be seen in the AM. I wonder why? Could it be that it is so ridiculous that it would make the Obamasiah’s Foreign Policy look like a complete and utter joke? Check out the article and decide for yourself if you think having Winnie the Pooh foreign policy is, or isn’t a monumental gaffe. Check this out: “Winnie the Pooh, Luke Skywalker and British football hooligans could shape the foreign policy of Barack Obama if he becomes US President, according to a key adviser.” <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/barackobama/2139573/Barack-Obama-aide-Why-Winnie-the-Pooh-should-shape-US-foreign-policy.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/barackobama/2139573/Barack-Obama-aide-Why-Winnie-the-Pooh-should-shape-US-foreign-policy.html</a>. Or, just Google “winnie the pooh foreign policy obama. ROTFLMAO<br /><br />While this list is as thorough as I can make in the hour or so spent researching it, I do not believe that it is exhaustive and I’m sure that there are even more Obamasiah gaffes out there. I simply wanted to come up with a representative showing of some of the GaffeMaster’s errors and outright lies. Don't hold your breath waiting for the AM to get these out though, they don't fit with their game plan to get the Obamasiah elected. Rather, you'll probably continue to see the AM harp on any little mistake McCain happens to make and then question his age.<br /><br />I can’t wait to see Patterico’s list of flip-flops when that comes out.<br /><br />In the end, what does all this show? I think it clearly and convincingly demonstrates, using his own words, that the Obamasiah is simply not experienced enough to be the President of the United States. It also shows, beyond a doubt, that far from being a “new breed” of politician, he’s just the same old same old tired liberal politico hack who will say anything to get elected.J. Raymond Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09882284410359083076noreply@blogger.com2