Observations on Political and Social Insanity

Gun Control Advocates Need a New Plan

2008-04-24T12:47:00.004-04:00

For many years, proponents of strict gun control have been locked in a pitched battle with those who support the Second Amendment as an individual right. Events over the last several years have created a body of facts that has now neutralized most of the gun control "what if" arguments.

It is now time to develop a new set of hypotheticals. The old game plan has wilted under the bright light of fact.

The event that have relegated most of the gun control arguments to the dust heap has been the passage of "concealed carry" laws in most of our states and the resulting body of data that factually proves the value of an armed citizenry.

In short, these laws allow law-abiding citizens who have passed background checks by the state and FBI to carry a firearm for personal defense. Many states allow open carry and each state limits places where the permit holder can carry his firearm.

Years of data from these states have shown that violent crime has been reduced, and there has been almost no evidence of permit holders using their side arms for illegal purposes. In fact, permit holders 5.7 time less likely to be arrested for a violent crime than the general public.

A recent study estimates that more than 2 million violent crimes in America each year are prevented by legally-armed citizens. The number could be much greater because most crimes that are thwarted by the permit holder just displaying his gun are never reported.

Lives have been saved, violent criminals have been deterred, and the cry of "Blood will run in the streets" has been proven to be unfounded hysteria.

As good as our law enforcement officers are, they cannot protect every individual every day. In fact, the courts has ruled that law enforcement has no obligation to personally protect individuals.

Gun control advocates need to come up with much better reasons for why honest, law abiding citizens should not have the right to protect themselves from violent criminals. The tired, old histrionics need to be replaced with cold facts.

For more facts, visit: Gun Facts

Our Militia is Dangerously Underarmed

2008-02-18T23:22:00.000-05:00

When the Founding Fathers of this great nation created the Constitution, they included a system of checks and balances to ensure that our system of government would survive.

In addition to the distribution of powers among the three branches of government, they gave protections to the citizens so the governed could ultimately maintain control over those who governed. The First Amendment gave the people a powerful tool by guaranteeing the freedom to assemble freely, speak freely and publish their thoughts.

With an understanding that free governments can be, and had been, overthrown by enemies both foreign and domestic, the Founding Fathers backed up the powers of the First Amendment with the Second Amendment.

A study of the writings of the framers of the Constitution will quickly reveal their collective mindset for including the Second Amendment. They believed that, in addition to a standing army, the security on this nation depended on it's citizens being armed - in the words of the Constitution - a "militia."

Alexander Hamilton summed it up quite well in the Federalist Papers No. 28 when he wrote: "If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no recourse left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual State."

While Hamilton felt that such an event was unlikely, he, along with others, saw how important it was to ensure that citizens were armed and prepared for self defense.

During World War II, both the German and Japanese military leaders expressed how difficult it would be to invade the United States because the ordinary citizens were so well armed. Tojo expressed the fear that Japanese invaders would encounter armed citizens "behind every blade of grass."

So, what is the state of our nation's militia today?

There is a good core group of former active military, hunters, and citizens who have spent their own money on firearms, ammunition and, in many cases, training and practice. Are their numbers large enough and their weapons adequate enough to step up to the plate as our forefathers envisioned?

As long as our enemies think so, then maybe. The problem is, there are forces at work within our own borders who want to strip our militia of all it's weapons and remove from our weaker brothers and sisters the ability to defend themselves.

Instead of having our people armed to defend themselves against everything from the violent street thug to an insurrection, these people want us to be helpless - protected only by the military on some distant shore or by law enforcement in some distant patrol car.

Why are there so many individuals and organized groups determined to deny the mandate set down by the Founding Fathers? Why are they so intent on stripping us of our individual right to self-protection?

Why is it that organizations like The Brady Campaign will not be happy until free Americans are reduced to being subjects of the Federal government?

The Economic Stimulus Package Is a Bad Idea

2008-01-29T13:54:00.000-05:00

So Bush and the Congress are considering putting this nation another $150 billion in debt to "stimulate" the economy. Maybe China's economy as people spend their $600 at Wal-Mart.

That's assuming the taxpayers don't use the money to pay rent or their credit card bills.

This is little more than political maneuvering designed to get votes in the upcoming election. An increase in the national debt will do more harm than a few hundred dollars in each taxpayer's pocket will do good.

Our government needs to stop the political insanity and do something really meaningful like making the tax cuts permanent and eliminating the capital gains tax.

ESPN Has Ruined Monday Night Football

2007-12-24T13:32:00.000-05:00

Looking back on this season's coverage of Monday Night Football, I am saddened to report that ESPN did a terrible job.

While the quality of MNF has deteriorated since the days of Dandy Don and Howard Cosell, the latest crew of announcers has made it impossible to follow the game. Instead of a play-by-play announcer and a color man, ESPN has hired a crew intent on discussing everything but the game at hand.

Running a current events topic into the ground, conducting long-winded interviews in the booth and doing sideline interviews while the game is in progress demonstrate ESPN's philosophy that MNF is is little more than background noise for their latest variation of Sports Center.

The NFL powers should either force ESPN to cover the game like it was the main event, of find another network.

Dominguez Family Rescued At Taxpayers' Expense

2007-12-21T13:16:00.000-05:00

The Dominguez family, father and three children, were finally found after spending three days lost in the snowy mountains of northern California. Thank God that all of them were alive and relatively unharmed.

So, what terrible event placed those children in harm's way? Daddy had decided to drag them into the unknown to look for a Christmas tree.

In addition to dozens of volunteers, the search and rescue effort included the Butte County Sheriff's Department and a California Highway Patrol Helicopter. Bottom line is, not only did Fred Dominguez place his children at risk with his poor judgement, he cost the Butte County and California taxpayers a lot of money.

The news routinely reports stories of people who have committed stupid acts and have had to be rescued by some tax-funded agency. I think Dominguez and other people who deliberately get themselves in trouble should reimburse the taxpayers for saving their hides.

The Ethics of Bobby Petrino

2007-12-16T13:47:00.000-05:00

When Bobby Petrino suddenly quit as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, he revealed his lack of character and a complete absence of personnel and professional ethics.

Petrino showed he did not care about anyone but himself. His actions affected the Falcons organization, the families of the players and coaches, the fans, and the city of Atlanta. In a time when American society sorely needs role models for ethical behavior, Petrino has become the poster child for self-serving, inconsiderate cowards everywhere.

Ranking right down there with Petrino is the Arkansas football program. Apparently, that organization saw nothing wrong with covertly hiring a coach out from under the noses of his employeer and getting him to abandon his responsibilities in the middle of the season.

Someone associated with this tawdry, dirty little episode should have had enough character to stand up and cry foul.

Petrino and Arkansas football represent everything I have tried to teach my child NOT to be.

If you are a parent with a high school son who is being recruited by college football teams, I would suggest you look at programs other than Arkansas. Of all the life's lessons our children learn in college, underhanded dealings with others should not be one of them.

Another Victim of the War on Drugs

2007-11-21T00:33:00.000-05:00

On November 21, 2006, 92 year old Kathryn Johnston was shot dead in her home while trying to defend herself from Atlanta police who were executing a no-knock warrant.

Ms. Johnston managed to fire one round from her old gun before she died in a hail of police gunfire that also wounded several officers. The public and her family were rightfully outraged over the killing.

While much has been said this past year about correcting police procedures for drug raids, little attention has been given to the issues of drug enforcement and no-knock warrants.

Untold billions of dollars and many innocent lives have been lost in our national obsession with the "War on Drugs." We are no better off today than we were in the 1960s.

Out jails are packed with non-violent drug offenders, scarce law enforcement resources are being diverted to enforce drug laws, yet both violent crime and drug use are on the rise. Like Prohibition, the War on Drugs is not working.

No-knock warrants have no place in our free society. When a mistake is made, the outcome is usually bad.

Law enforcement will tell you that they need no-knock warrants so they can get in before the drugs get flushed down the toilet. What insanity is it that our precious law enforcement resources are being wasted on busting such small amounts of drugs?

If the government must go after street drugs, go after the big dealers and shippers. That would free up resources and jail beds.

Outlaw no-knock warrants so we can all sleep at night without worrying that some SWAT team with the wrong address will bust down our doors, forcing us to die while trying to defend ourselves from some unknown assailant.

The Hijacking of Christmas is Complete

2007-11-20T13:54:00.000-05:00

The American retail industry has finally completed its takeover of Christmas.

The first sign was when the Christmas advertisements started showing up before Thanksgiving. Now it starts before Halloween.

The next indication was when it became politically incorrect to use the word "Christmas" in public. The term "holidays" came into vogue to ensure that the shopping orgy was all-inclusive.

Depending on where you live, you may have witnessed the last nail in the Christmas coffin - the black Santa. Surely this bit of insanity sprung fully formed from the brain of some mall manager or corporate marketing minion.

I can't believe the black Santa is the brain child of intelligent, free-thinking African-Americans. I don't understand why the Black community would tolerate such racist pandering.

A touch of history: Santa Clause has his origins in Saint Nicholas, a White European of the third century. After becoming the patron saint of Russia, Nicholas lore spread throughout Europe.

The red suit has its origins in bishop's robes and the current depiction of Santa comes from Haddon Sundblom's paintings that were commissioned by Coca-Cola in 1931.

The history and tradition of Santa Clause is much more than can be covered in a blog. The point is, up until the last few years, Santa has always been an old, White man. He is not Black, he is not Hispanic, he is not Asian, and he is not Jewish.

Why confuse the little children with conflicting images of the Jolly Old Elf? Leave the old guy alone, he is doing the best he can as a front man to peddle your cheap Chinese crap.

Belated Christmas Wishes

2007-11-02T15:14:00.000-04:00

Before we get too late into the season, I would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas.

Too soon, you say? Well, at least one national chain started its Christmas advertising before Halloween. If you get the feeling that the Christmas season is getting longer and longer, you are right.

Many years ago, the season began when Santa made his appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Now it starts as soon as merchants get shelf space from their last big holiday extravaganza - which is now Halloween.

What used to be a Christian holiday has now morphed into the largest retail sales blitz of the year. Religion is lost in the materialistic orgy that consumes so many Americans in November and December.

Instead of Christians worshiping their God, Christmas is now a frenzy of people buying gifts they can't afford, with money they don't have, for people who don't need it.

Spare me the insanity, at least until I have had my fill of turkey. And, this year, instead of trying to play one-up with your gift buying, give a little more to charity.

English in America

2007-10-31T09:26:00.000-04:00

It is time we made English the official language of the United States.

With an ever-increasing population of foreigners, both legal and illegal, we are rapidly losing our identity as a nation. Ethnic groups are forming communities that replicate their homelands, complete with radio and TV stations, and newspapers in their native language. Unlike immigrants in the last century, these new residents on our soil are refusing to assimilate into American society.

From Hispanic illegals who keep to themselves for fear of getting caught, to radical Islamics who are actively working to overthrow our culture, these immigrants are contributing to the fragmenting of our nation.

Some state an local governments are contributing to the problem by printing official forms in several languages and offering alternate-language phone service. Private industry is going right along by providing non-English services.

As a nation of immigrants, we have always struggled with maintaining our identity as Americans. We are in danger of losing that identity and the strength in unity that made this country great.

Maybe we should take a cue from Germany where an immigrant must have a knowledge of the language and have a job waiting before being allowed into the country. It is time for our governments to stop the insanity and require that English be our official language.

California Fires and Katrina

2007-10-24T21:33:00.000-04:00

I marvel at the differences between what happened in Louisiana after Katrina and what is going on in the wake of the California fires. Just compare what went on in the Super Dome with what is transpiring in Qualcomm Stadium.

Both venues were packed with evacuees but the difference is like night and day. No reports of looting, rapes or murder. In fact, the evacuated residents of San Diego seem to be having a rather pleasant time, considering the circumstances.

To quote a post on an Internet message board, "...it sure does sound like San Diego really has its act together; I've been really impressed. From what I understand, they're even making room for pets in the shelters, and have clowns at Qualcomm Stadium to amuse the children who are stuck there. What a welcome contrast to the pathetic aftermath of Katrina."

Another wrote,"I just spoke to a friend who had been evacuated to Qualcomm for 2 days.
She's just returned to her home in Scripps Ranch. She told me that at Qualcomm, there were vet techs there, giving eye drops to animals and making sure all animals had plenty of food and water. Also, they put up temporary awnings to make shade. There are church organizations with people helping to watch kids and walk dogs. There are arts and crafts and little splashy pools set up for kids and seniors. Also, someone was leading a yoga class!

"This morning there were men from a service organization that came in and set
up big griddles and cooked pancakes for all who wanted them."

Admitted, there is a big logistical difference between the two events, but that alone doesn't explain the differences in civility. Is California better prepared to handle natural disasters? Are Californians more cooperative?

Southern California Fires and Hurricanes

2007-10-23T09:25:00.000-04:00

A great tragedy is unfolding in Southern California as thousands of people are being evacuated in advance of the raging fires that are destroying their homes.

Just as most of the country experiences the four seasons, SoCal has its own unique set of seasons that includes a fire season followed by the rainy season. First, the hills are burned out, then the rains produce mud slides in areas where there is no longer any vegetation to hold back the earth.

Some of the areas that are on fire now were also burned out in 2003. What is insane here is that people continue to build and rebuild in the fire and mud slide prone areas, just like those people who build and rebuild their homes on the beach.

I feel for the victims of the fires just as I feel for those whose homes get washed into the sea every time there is a major storm. What bothers me is our tax money subsides the insurance for beach-front homeowners and pays for disaster assistance for those caught up in the fires.

Natural disasters happen and we need to help those who suffer. While few of us live in areas immune from fire, hurricanes, or tornadoes, why tempt fate by building our homes in known brush fire areas or on the beach front then expect the government to bail us out when the inevitable happens?

Al Gore is scaring our children

2007-10-21T01:02:00.000-04:00

ABC did a report on 20/20 last night that took a look at the global warming debate.

For me, the biggest problem about global warming is that all the insanity is scaring children into thinking they will drown.

Al Gore has won an Oscar AND a Nobel prize promoting his hysteria.

According to the scientists interviewed by John Stossel, global warming is mostly a natural occurrence and any rise in ocean levels would be measured in inches.

The debate is definitely not over and Al Gore needs to quit frightening our children.

Southern Traditions and BBQ Sauce

2007-10-20T09:17:00.000-04:00

I was born and raised in a sleepy little north Georgia town in the Atlanta suburbs. Considering the hustle and bustle of the area today, it is hard to imagine my hometown as little, much less sleepy.

If you are not a long-time native of metro Atlanta, you will just have to trust me on this one.

Growing up, I walked to grade school and I walked to high school. My mother had taught me to look both ways before crossing the street, so she never worried about my daily excursions to and from classes until I turned 16 and bought a motorcycle.

We knew all our neighbors and all my schoolmates lived within walking distance. Our church pastor lived on our street and his children – slightly older than myself – took great pleasure in aggravating me.

When I got sick, I went to see the same doctor my grandparents, parents and eventually, my daughter went to see. If one of us required a hospital, we went to a small, caring community hospital across town that somehow managed to pull us through our medical difficulties.

Most of our meals were taken at home, lovingly cooked by my mother. My father, an accomplished cook in his own right, having been trained by the army, reserved his culinary skills for the grill.

The secret to his outdoor cooking success was a home-grown BBQ sauce that could turn the most pedestrian cut of meat into a gastronomical delight. In the old southern tradition, his secret BBQ sauce recipe remained just that - his secret.

Years of begging and cajoling on my part failed to convince my father to divulge his secret recipe. I shamefully admit to having stooped so low as to enlist my mother as a spy to watch him cook his magical concoction in a vain attempt to steal the potion. Sadly, most of my adult life as a grill master was relegated to the dirty little backwaters of commercial sauces that came sealed in colorful glass bottles that offered much promise but delivered only disappointment by the quart.

A few years back I celebrated yet another in a long string of birthdays that God in his infinite wisdom has seen fit to bestow on me. Tucked inside a birthday card from my parents was a piece of paper, upon which my father had written out in his own handwriting, the sacred and heretofore elusive BBQ sauce recipe.

My heart leapt in my throat and my eyes welled with tears. After regaining my composure, my father proceeded to give me a hands-on demonstration of the proper way to apply the family sauce to the family chicken and the handing down of a family tradition was complete.

We, as a culture in the South, have many valued traditions. Some, like my father’s BBQ sauce will continue on. Others will become lost to the ages because they do not represent the current American culture.

We have lost the flag that linked us to our ancestors who gave their lives for a cause they believed in. We let hate groups make it their banner and now it is stained, not with our forefather’s blood but with the poison of a group that insists on preserving their own ugly tradition.

We have lost the small hospitals where the candy-stripers were our neighbors and the doctors were leaders in our churches. We now have giant medical corporations that have to teach customer service to their employees. We need “patient bill of rights” laws to protect us from HMOs whose chief executives glean millions in salaries.

We have lost our streets to the drug dealers and pedophiles. Our southern hospitality has been replaced by materialism and multi-culturalism. I used to see bumper stickers that said, “The south shall rise again.” My fellow native Georgians, the south may have risen from many of its shortcomings but many of its qualities are on the dusty road to the landfill of history.

Resting in an envelope and sealed in a safe deposit box is a hand-written note, waiting to be passed to the next generation. If my daughter continues to display the southern-rooted family values she was taught, then maybe on some distant day, she will proudly present to her child, the old family BBQ sauce recipe that once belonged to her grandfather.

I hope, on that day, that child will feel some small sense of his heritage.

Can we survive the assault on our Bill of Rights?

2007-10-19T07:50:00.000-04:00

There is an old adage that if you want to boil a frog, you can't just drop him into a pot of boiling water else he will just hop out as soon as he feels the heat. However, if you place him in a pot of tepid water and slowly raise the temperature, he will never notice the change and happily sit there until he is cooked.

Our rights under the Constitution are slowly being undermined and we are sitting there like the frog, allowing special interests and the courts to slowly take them away.

Political correctness has become the destroyer of the First Amendment. Don Imus lost his job because he used a derogatory term to describe the Rutgers women's basketball team. We, as individuals, are now censoring ourselves least we say something "insensitive."

The Second Amendment has been under attack for decades. While "the people" clause in the other amendments in the Bill of Rights are viewed as individuals, hoplophobics insist that the Second Amendment is a collective right.

The facts are clear that the thousands of restrictive gun laws on the books have failed to reduce violent crime, yet there are cries for even more laws.

The Fourth Amendment has been eroding away as law enforcement and Homeland Security have been given ever-increasing powers to search our homes, cars and person and to seize our property. "No knock" warrants have become the tool of drug agencies, sometimes with tragic results.

The Sixth Amendment has been watered down by legal systems unable to keep up with the work load. "Speedy trial" no longer has a meaning.

The Ninth and Tenth Amendments seem to have lost their meaning as the federal government has taken control of more and more of our lives. What rights are still "Retained by the people" and what powers are "Reserved to the states?"

If this insanity continues and the Bill of Rights becomes more narrowly defined, we will find ourselves living in a nation with no individual liberties and a government of "Big Brother."

Atlanta Water Worries and the Mussel

2007-10-18T12:44:00.000-04:00

The Atlanta region is running out of water and the federal government's biggest worry is protecting an endangered species of mussel downstream.

With an estimated 100 days of water left in the area lakes, the Corps of Engineers are releasing water at an alarming rate to keep downstream water levels high enough to save some mussel most of us never knew existed. I'm glad the government has its priorities in order. I would hate to think I couldn't flush my toilet for no good reason.

What we have here is the result of government insanity at two levels: A federal government that puts "endangered" species ahead of people and local governments that put the profits of developers ahead of the needs of the people. It doesn't matter that development around metro Atlanta has far outpaced the infrastructure, all that matters is if developers make their dollar while scraping the landscape bare.

It is said that we get the government we deserve. As long as Americans keep reelecting these self-serving, professional politicians, we don't deserve much.

Illegal Immigrants and Our Tax Money

2007-10-17T14:33:00.000-04:00

Neal Boortz, a syndicated talk show host based in Atlanta, noted today that 1/3 of the dialysis patients at the Grady Hospital clinic were illegal immigrants. It makes me wonder just how much of our tax dollars are being consumed by the illegals.

My personal observations at emergency rooms around metro Atlanta tell me that a large number of Hispanics are using those partly-taxpayer funded facilities for their primary health care. It is not difficult to draw the conclusion that our already overburdened health care system is being abused by people who should not even be in this country.

Much has been reported about the influx of Mexican gangs into this country, which places pressure on our tax-supported law enforcement system.

How many illegal immigrant children are in our schools and being fed with out food stamps?

The examples could go on and on. The point is, never mind the jobs that are being taken from Americans. The drain in tax revenue is more than we can afford.

Confederate Flag, Southern Heritage, Racism

2007-10-15T01:59:00.000-04:00

For many Americans of Southern descent, the Confederate flag is a symbol of their heritage and a source of pride for their ancestors who fought and died in the Civil War.

For many Americans of African descent, the Confederate flag is a symbol of racial hatred, bigotry, and slavery.

Thanks to the KKK, the Confederate flag has been tarnished beyond repair and anyone who displays it is looked upon as racist. That gives me just another reason to despise those sorry, inbreed Klan bastards.

In this time of unchecked political correctness, the general consensus is to view the Confederate flag as a negative symbol, ignoring all the Civil War descendants who view it with pride.

To my African-American friends, neighbors and coworkers: please do not judge me when I fly the Confederate flag on Confederate Memorial Day, I am just honoring my forefathers who died in the war. It will come down the next day so I don't hurt your feelings.

Self Defense, Concealed Carry, Second Amendment

2007-10-14T00:13:00.000-04:00

A recent Gallup poll indicates that Americans are becoming more comfortable with the idea of responsible gun ownership. This is good news because there has been a trend over the last few decades to blame violent crime on firearms while turning a blind eye to the real problems facing society.

One reason for the shift in public opinion about guns could be the trend over the past ten years of states allowing licensed citizens to carry guns for personal protection. Beginning with Florida and spreading to 48 states, these carry laws have resulted in measurable decreases in the violent crime rate.

Those who predicted that allowing citizens to arm themselves in public would result in "Blood in the streets" have been proven wrong. In fact, an estimated annual 2.5 million violent crimes have been prevented because the victim merely had a gun.

There was no bloodshed, no shooting. Just the presence of a firearm in the hands of a person who refused to be attacked stopped 2.5 million violent crimes.

The facts are clear - guns in the hands of responsible Americans works to prevent rapes, murders, robberies and home invasions.

Now it is time for those responsible adults to have the same protection in Illinois, Wisconson, and on college campuses across the nation.