Friday, January 20, 2012

A history lesson from Ron Paul. (Collectivists, you need to pay attention)

26th NC band played "Nearer My God To Thee" as survivors of Pettigrew's Brigade returned from Cemetery Ridge

My neck of the woods.



Eight hundred men of the 26th go into battle on July 1, and by the evening of July 3, just 64 privates and three officers are left. They have suffered the greatest loss of any of the 700 Confederate or 2,000 Federal regiments on any day of the war.

The Invisible Candidate (R*n P**l)

The Money Changer

I heard a lady from South Carolina on National Proletarian Radio (voice of Socialism Worldwide). They are voting in the meaningless Republican primary for president this weekend, you know, the one with the Invisible Candidate (R*n P**l). This lady lives in a county with 12% unemployed, and she said they needed to elect somebody who could help them. I gasped for air.

Doesn't she understand that the government is the REASON we suffer economic turmoil & instability? Rotten money?

With all due respect, when did anybody from any government ever help anybody? Of the three greatest lies in the world, the first on the list is, "Hi! I'm from the government, & I'm here to help you." All government money comes with a sock in the jaw. All government help comes with ropes, chains, and shackles.

I don't get it. Why can I see this, and somebody from South Carolina (of all places!) not see it? When are folks going to wake up grasp that the government cavalry is NOT coming, and you don't want 'em to? If anybody is going to help us, it will have to be US, & we have to start by re-building our own local economies, working to restore our neighbor's prosperity as well as our own, building on a sound foundation of clean local food grown by local people. That's just for starters.

I just don't get it. We're standing on acres of diamonds, & people still want to call in the government to screw everything up even more than they already have.

- Franklin Sanders, The Moneychanger

    FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF SMALL-UNIT GUERRILLA WARFARE (USING THE COMBATIVES MODEL)

    In 1995, the commander of 2d Ranger Battalion, then Lieutenant-Colonel Stanley McChrystal, decreed that for his Rangers, hand-to-hand combat training, “combatives,” needed to be viewed as a critical skill. Considering the transformation of mission focus the Regiment as a whole was undergoing during this period of time, there sound reasons for his decision (I served in the Regiment during from 1994 through 1997, when I left for SFQC. The transformation that occurred was mind-blowing. We went from traditional infantry patrolling through the woods to an objective to assault an objective, and airborne-assault airfield seizures, as a private, to almost exclusively performing special operations missions by the time I left. As one NCO termed it, the Ranger Regiment became a “Tier 1.5” special missions unit. –J.M.)

    A successful integration of close-quarters marksmanship training, close-quarters combat tactics, techniques, and procedures, and a refined, doctrinal combatives program that actually worked, allowed the men of the Regiment to accomplish these “new” missions in a more efficient manner, bringing greater lethality to bear on the enemy, across the spectrum. The basic fight-strategy taught as an integral part of “Ranger Combatives” (the forerunner of the now doctrinal Modern Army Combatives Program/MACP and the Special Operations Combatives Program/SOCP), serves to facilitate a greater, more in-depth understanding of the conceptual philosophical framework of effective close-quarters combat for young Rangers.

    The three aspects of the fight strategy—close the distance, gain dominant position, and finish the fight—are as critical in a gunfight as they are in a fist fight.

    Leach Family Bible Records

    Two Hundred Fifty Against Fourteen Thousand

    North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial
    www.ncwbts150.com
    "The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial Commission"

    “That Handful of Brave North Carolinians -- Two Hundred Fifty Against Fourteen Thousand”

    “Henry Grady’s Father in the Battle of the Crater:

    Garland S. Ferguson, of the Twenty-Fifth North Carolina, at a large Confederate reunion held at Waynesville, N.C., in October [1893], paid his tribute to Major [William S.] Grady, father of Henry W. Grady of [Athens] Georgia [Henry W. Grady became a well-known Atlanta newspaperman].

    “I can never forget the 30th of July, 1864, in front of the crater. My Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel were in the hospital with wounds and sickness, my Captain dead on the field, and my senior Lieutenants in the hospital, how good old Major Grady, with 250 of the Twenty-fifth North Carolina Regiment, and a remnant of the Twenty-sixth South Carolina, stood between Grant’s army and the city of Petersburg, for two long hours, until [General William] Mahone brought reinforcements; how, with that handful of brave North Carolinians, he held back fourteen regiments of Federal troops.

    The coolness and courage with which he walked the line of his men, directed the manner of their firing, and checked every advance movement of the enemy; while he saw of his best and most beloved officers and true and tried men carried from the field either dead or badly wounded; how he led the gallant charge which, after a hand-to-hand fight, drove the enemy from our works with a loss of 6,000, and fell mortally wounded just as victory perched on our banners.

    Never Sparta had braver representatives or Thermopylae more courageous defense, yet North Carolina does not note how he died in her cause, or Virginia in her defense. The Petersburg papers gave credit for the victory to Mahone and the Virginians, which was won by the courage and blood of the North Carolinians under the command of Major Grady.”

    Major Grady’s connection with the North Carolina Regiment occurred in this way: His company [G, Highland Guards] was raised close by the North Carolina line [Clay and Macon counties, and Athens, Georgia], and at that time Georgia volunteers were only taken for six months, whereas they wanted to enlist for a year, and consequently they became part of the Twenty-fifth North Carolina [Company G enlisted at Franklin, North Carolina on 8 July 1861]”

    (Confederate Veteran, November 1893, page 326)


    Two Hundred Fifty Against Fourteen Thousand

    NeW: Nation's premier organization for culturally conservative women

    Via III Percent Patriots

    Break Apart AK47

    I was excited until he said it would be under $2K.


    Public Schools: More and More Like Concentration Camps

    Life under Communism wasn’t fun, not at all. And going to school was not exactly a joyful experience – in fact, if anything, school was specifically designed to brainwash you into not thinking about the big issues of life. The less you thought, the more useful you were for the Communist elite. Every activity, every hour of the day was supposed to pass under the watchful eye of the Party functionaries. We were managed, like machines, or like cattle, into a collectivist utopia of uniform robots.

    At least we could go to the bathroom whenever we had the need. The Party didn’t think that going to the bathroom must be managed by teachers or Party functionaries. Nor was bathroom time managed. If you have to go, you go. There were no punishments for going to the bathroom, and no prizes for keeping it in. We had heard that some institutions had done that before: the Nazi concentration camps. But we didn’t have such policy in the schools, no matter how oppressive the regime was.

    But some functionaries in the New York public schools believe it is OK to control the children’s behavior concerning going to the bathroom. So there is a new policy that gives away prizes for NOT going to the bathroom, and also gives passes that limit the number of times a child can go to the bathroom. Three passes a week, which means for a total of 40 hours.

    MORE

    Etta James RIP



    ========

    'Not My President,' Says...Etta James?

    At a concert of hers in Seattle a few nights ago, Etta unleashed her hidden anger to the crowd, saying:

    "You know, YOUR President, the one with the big ears-he ain't MY President-had that woman singing for him at his Inauguration. She's going to get her a** whooped."

    "How dare Beyonce sing MY song that I been singing forever. Now I'm going to sing it for y'all."

    MORE


    Obama Administration “Rigging” US Census By Counting Illegal Aliens

    The Barack Obama administration is quietly in the process of rigging use of the US Census of 2010, which deliberately counted millions of illegal aliens, for the purpose of restructuring the apportionment of the US House of Representatives. Accordingly, as candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of one of the negatively affected states (Montana), Mr. Bob Fanning and I have joined with several others in becoming amici curiae in a pending federal lawsuit brought by the State of Louisiana against the US Secretary of Commerce, et al., which was filed January, 13, 2012 in the United States Supreme Court.

    What has happened is, the US Census Bureau erroneously claims that it “‘is required by the U.S. Constitution count everyone living in this country, regardless of immigration or citizenship status.’” Accordingly, they have counted millions of illegal aliens in the 2010 Census and are using those figures to apportion the US House of Representatives. If this egregious misinterpretation of the US Constitution is allowed to stand, five states (Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, and Ohio) will lose representation in the US Congress to which they are lawfully entitled, while three states (California, Texas, and Florida) will be awarded additional representation in the US Congress to which they are not lawfully entitled. And, of course, this will also directly impact the makeup of the Electoral College, which ultimately elects the President of the United States.

    Of course, this manipulation of the 2010 US Census also impacts the election of the US President, as those states that are granted more seats in the US Congress are also granted more votes in the Electoral College as the Electoral College is composed of a “Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress. . . .

    SHTF First Aid: When small cuts kill

    I was invited to check guy who was badly beaten by few guys, man who invited me offered me to introduce me to some man who had connection with smugglers, so i can get stuff cheap if i help this guy.
    I was invited to check guy who was badly beaten by few guys, man who invited me offered me to introduce me to some man who had connection with smugglers, so i can get stuff cheap if i help this guy.

    When i entered house, guy was laying on bed, could not move too much, lot of bruises everywhere on body, he was conscious, in pains, pretty much drunk. On first look he did not have some serious open injuries, my biggest concern was that i was pretty sure that he had few broken ribs, strong pain while deep breathing, and while moving his body, and clear mark of boot on his chest, obviously someone was jumping on him.

    I could not do too much with broken rib, actually i only wrapped him with some layers of clothes, to improvise some kind of belt, and hope that broken rib did not induce some more serious injury to lungs, or something else.

    He was coughing and spitting blood, but again i was hoping that comes from broken teeth, not from stomach or lungs. Minor cuts and bruises we just rinsed with rakia, and that s it. Nothing more we could do.

    And guess, what? Few days later, i was called again, and everything was fine, except nothing was fine. One of the pretty much small cuts on his hand got infected, it was small cut, in normal times would not required sewing or stitching, maybe butterfly closure. But it turned bad.

    MORE

    City Of Lexington In Civil Contempt

    Old Virginia Blog
    Verbatim Post

    For those interested in the facts and the legal issues involved in the Lexington flag flap, you can
    go to this link and read the actual suit filed against the City of Lexington by the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The pleading reads, in part:

    ". . . the Defendants are in violation of, and therefore in civil contempt of, the Consent Decree entered on August 13, 1993 . . ."

    Knowing the back story, it's quite clear the SCV has a very strong case. The City of Lexington really is going to have a difficult time explaining the sequence of events on this issue. It's rather apparent what their intent was in passing the flag ordinance. That, I believe, will be the trap that snares them - and they set it themselves.

    Walking In Memphis

    Re-post

    Via Your Crazy Uncle


    DEVELOPING PERSONAL TRAINING (A PERSONAL APPROACH)

    (The original rendition of this article was intended for a former friend’s web project that never came to fruition. I have edited some details that were only relevant to his failed project, but the overall message remains the same and valid. I hope that the concepts I share can be utilized by readers to develop their own personal readiness training program. –J.M.)

    I was blessed as a young soldier, to have spectacularly good leaders. While I witnessed the negative effects of poor leaders, even in the special operations community, my immediate chain-of-command, from team leader, all the way to company-level leadership, both NCO and commissioned officer, was amazing. Among these leaders was my first team leader, SGT “Al.”

    Besides teaching me the finer points of being a Ranger, he impressed upon me the importance of goal-setting to achieve anything of value in life. At the time, of course, my primary goal was attending the Basic Ranger Course at Ft. Benning, in order to earn the coveted “black and gold.” By setting me down and guiding me in the development of performance and enabling goals to accomplish that end goal, SGT “Al” helped me to do so, regardless of the difficulties and privations inherent to accomplishing that goal (in January 1995, two classes before mine, four students died during the Florida phase at Eglin AFB, due to cold-weather exposure. The Basic Ranger Course, often referred to as “Suck School,” was not, and is not, an easy course. It is generally considered one of the most demanding courses in the U.S. military. –J.M.).

    To this day, I strive to utilize the lessons he taught me in accomplishing anything. In order to demonstrate this methodology, I will share my current “end goal,” “performance goals,” and “enabling goals,” to demonstrate the specific techniques. Further, I will describe some of the key ways I go about fulfilling those goals, in order to maintain my particular skill sets.

    End Goals

    Fire and Maneuver

    Practice the Simple Things HARD, and the hard things become simple. I can't remember which of my buddies has that as part of his signature line, but it is largely true. SF, Rangers, SEALs don't really train on anything different than a regular Soldier or Marine, they just train on the basics until they never get it wrong.

    I don't know if Squids or Zoomies get a block of "Buddy SET!" and "Buddy MOVING!" buddy team exercises during their version of basic training but I know that even paper pushers in the Army get some live fire training on covering their battle buddy during a buddy team exercise. This isn't saying that the Army/USMC is better than the Air Force or Navy, just that every Soldier and Marine should be familiar with the concepts of fire and maneuver. The "Buddy Team" is the basis for all maneuver. But this isn't rocket surgery, it's a simple concept that is scalable from a two man team all the way up to Echelons Above Reality.

    Corporals and Sergeants are expected to be able to control a FIRE TEAM (4 men in two buddy teams) to set one buddy team to cover the other while they move.
    Squad Leaders, (E-6's) are expected to control a SQUAD by maneuvering FIRE TEAMS.
    Platoon Leaders are expected to be able to control a PLATOON by maneuvering SQUADS.
    Company Commanders are expected to control a Company by maneuvering PLATOONS. Three platoons, one fire, one maneuver, one reserve.

    Battalion commanders are expected to control a Battalion by maneuvering COMPANIES. Three companies (not including any specialty companies), one fire, one maneuveuver, one reserve.
    This goes all the way up the food chain to Corps and Army level commanders that move Divisions and Brigades around the battlefield. But the only real difference between a Buck Sergeant Fire Team Leader and a 3 Star General is one of scale and experience.

    I'm not saying that an E-5 is every bit as capable a commander as an O-5, it just isn't so, but that the basics of fire and manuever are the same.

    1.4 MILLION Gang Members And More Pour Into The United States Every Single Day

    Via California Tree of Liberty

    A vast army of heavily armed criminals has embedded itself in every major city in the United States. In fact, nearly every community in America is now affected by these thugs. Drugs, theft and brutal violence are all part of the every day lifestyle of the members of this army. They aggressively recruit our young people and floods of illegal immigrants are joining their ranks. Once civil unrest erupts in America, they will go on a crime spree that will be absolutely unprecedented and they will burn large areas of some U.S. cities to the ground. So who am I talking about? I am talking about the rapidly growing gangs that are terrorizing cities all over the nation. The FBI tells us that there are now 1.4 million gang members involved in the 33,000 different gangs that are active inside the United States.

    The number of gang members in the U.S. has increased by 40 percent since 2009. Just think about that. That is absolutely astounding. Just since 2009, the number of gang members has increased by 40 percent. The FBI says that 48 percent of all violent crime in this country can be directly traced to gangs and that this is a national crisis that is progressively getting worse. Unfortunately, the federal government refuses to secure our borders and is allowing new waves of illegal immigrants to enter the United States every single day. A substantial number of those illegal immigrants end up involved in these gangs. Yet the federal government just stands by and allows it to keep happening. One day, the foolishness of this policy will be evident to all.

    Only 38 percent view Obama favorably

    Independent voters, who helped propel President Barack Obama to victory in the 2008 election, could be an obstacle in his bid for a second term in the White House, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll published on Wednesday.

    A majority of independent voters have soured on Obama's presidency, disapprove of his handling of the economy and do not have a clear idea of what he hopes to accomplish if re-elected, the Times reported.

    Only 31 percent of independent voters have a favorable opinion of the president and two-thirds say he has not made real progress in fixing the economy, the newspaper said.

    In 2008, Obama won support from 52 percent of independent voters, compared with 44 percent who supported Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

    Nearly half of independents say they have not formed an opinion of Mitt Romney, the front-runner in the Republican race for the nomination to challenge Obama in the November general election, the survey found.

    MORE

    CNN Forced To Ask Ron Paul After Crowd Boo's (Santorum False Attack)

    The .950 JDJ



    The guys from Knight Rifles "Americas Muzzleloader" head out to the range with Dave Fricke of Millennium Manufacturing to shoot the largest center fire rifle ever made. Only 12 people have ever shot the .950 JDJ as a rifle. Produced by SSK Industries, only 3 were ever made this was the first and the lightest weighing in at 50 lbs.. 2400 grain bullet and 240 grains of powder.

    Knight Rifles are 100% American made, Handcrafted, Lightweight Muzzle loaders that surpass all others in Accuracy, Smooth Operation & Deadly, Downrange Stopping Power.

    Knight is considered by many to be the finest, safest and most versatile black powder rifle ever made. From Knights early years in Centerville Iowa to their new home in East Tennessee, Knight has been a Leader & True Pioneer in the World of Modern Muzzleloading.

    Awards
    National Muzzleloading Manufacturers accuracy competition - Six Time consecutive winner.

    www.knightrifles.com

    Link

    Hollywood Moguls Stopping Obama Donations Because Of President’s Piracy Stand: “Not Give A Dime Anymore”

    Internet sites on their SOPA-Strike may be conducting a blackout but Hollywood studios are conducting a boycott. I’ve learned that Hollywood studio chiefs individually and as a group are drawing a line in the sand on the piracy issue with the Obama re-election campaign and refusing to give any more donations.

    GOA Alert: Federal Court Supports Illegal Obama Multiple Sales Regs

    Federal Court Supports Illegal Obama Multiple Sales Regs

    First, the good news: Fox News is reporting that due to an amazing outpouring of opposition, the vote on the so-called anti-piracy legislation -- which could muzzle websites like GOA’s -- has been postponed. Thank you all for your activism … and please stay tuned to further updates on this issue.

    Now for the bad news: You know what they say about Friday the 13th.

    Well, this past Friday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a setback to gun owners. The issue involved a lawsuit challenging Barack Obama’s illegal multiple sales regulations. [NSSF v. Jones, Acting Director, BATFE.]

    Through those regulations, Obama has demanded, by regulatory fiat, that firearms licensees in four southwestern states report multiple sales of certain long guns to the federal government.

    In upholding this action, Judge Rosemary Collyer -– a Bush appointee! –- ignored the Constitution, the Supreme Court’s decision in the Heller case, and the clear language of federal law.

    Of course, this once again underscores the danger of putting all our eggs in the “court basket.” It’s not a bad idea to challenge unconstitutional measures in the courts, but it’s problematic if we look to them as being the ultimate defenders of our gun rights. Clearly, they are not.

    Among other things, Judge Collyer ignored the obvious language of the 1986 McClure-Volkmer Act, which prohibits the ATF from demanding any information on gun owners other than information explicitly allowed by statute.

    Specifically, the section states: “Such [licensees] shall not be required to submit to the Attorney General reports and information with respect to such records and the contents thereof, except as expressly required by this section.” (18 U.S.C. 923(g)(1))

    Paragraph (g)(5) allows the Attorney General to demand information by issuing a “demand letter,” but participants in the drafting of McClure-Volkmer affirm that this was not intended to trump the paragraph (1) limitation, in order to statutorily mandate reporting requirements.

    To interpret paragraph (g)(5), as Obama and Attorney General Holder have interpreted it, is to say that there are NO limits on the information the Attorney General can demand -– up to and including every 4473 in the country.

    In opening this door, Collyer cited much narrower decisions in the Fourth and the liberal Ninth Circuit, but expanded them beyond any judicial precedent. Citing a test that looked at whether the ATF’s action constituted a “clear error of judgment” or was “arbitrary or capricious,” Collyer gave all of the benefit of the doubt to Obama -– and none to the Second Amendment, which wasn’t even considered in her 21-page opinion.

    The decision will presumably be appealed to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals -– a supposedly “conservative” circuit that nevertheless upheld ObamaCare.

    But the larger issue is this: Congress can block these regulations by simply cutting off the money to implement them. Last fall, we demanded that the House include such a prohibition in its giant money bill. But congressional leaders ignored the Second Amendment community on this and a variety of other pro-gun issues, including defunding ObamaCare.

    It is late in the game. But there is still an opportunity to prohibit funding for the multiple sales regulations on the annual Department of Justice Appropriations bill and the “continuing resolution” which will inevitably follow around September 30.

    True, a lot of damage will have been done by that point. But we cannot allow to stand the precedent that the Attorney General can seize any and all gun-related information, simply by saying he wants it.

    ACTION: Click here to contact your representative. Tell him Congress must act to block funding for the unlawful, anti-gun Obama multiple sales regulations.

    Shootout in Jerusalem old city in 2007

    Some Thoughts on Ron Paul

    I first of all want to make clear that back in 2008 I was one of those people who stood firm on the belief that although Ron Paul had some good ideas that he was a member of the lunatic fringe when it came to foreign policy. Today I must admit that I was 100% wrong in that belief. What has Ron Paul done to change my mind or how has his message changed to bring him closer to my point of view? Neither for his message as always has remained pretty consistent. I have evolved, woke up or simply begun to see things differently. Do not get me wrong I still believe that today Ron Paul is still not likely to get elected based on his foreign policy stand but that does not make him wrong.

    Like he said in the debate last evening if we simply closed our bases overseas, brought our troops home and curtailed most of our foreign aid at least then we would be able to fund those on social security and Medicaid moving forward while we argue over how to fix the system and move future generations off government subsidized entitlements. Does that mean we would decrease our national defense? No it means we would decrease our military spending. While he was booed at the earlier debate for attempting to articulate his message If the people had stopped booing and just listened then they might have begun to understand his message. He was booed for God’s sake attempting to articulate his belief in the Golden Rule. Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:12). He was not talking about closing bases in the US indeed he said we might have to open more bases to house the troops we brought home.

    Nation building does not work and it never has. There are many places around the world that continue to exist as tribal communities and many of those communities do not get along with each other and never will. They have only coexisted in the past when the heavy boot heel of some empire forced them to do so be that the Roman, British or Russian empire. Are we now to continue to persist in an attempt to spread an American empire in the name of freedom and spreading liberty? How paradoxical is that? Can you force people to accept Liberty? No and the idea that once given the opportunity they will gladly embrace it is absurd. Look how quickly things degenerated in Iraq when we pulled our troops out. Just as quickly there were those who called for us to go back in because we just pulled out too soon. Absurd because the only way to keep the tribal factions of Iraq from fighting is to never pull out. This has been repeated over and over throughout history be it in Africa, the Middle East or even in Eastern Europe.

    Perhaps the best way to spread the light of Liberty around the world is to come home and see that we set the best example possible by fixing our problems and getting back on the path of Liberty using the guidelines that the founders gave us, the Constitution. Limit the government and expand the liberty of the states but most importantly of the individual. Dr. Paul’s message has been a consistent one and at least he tries to base his decisions and view points on the Constitution. He does not say as Commander and Chief he will not fight a war. He says as Commander and Chief he does not have the authority to commit our troops to war because the Constitution reserves that right for Congress.

    Ron Paul is not the perfect candidate because that person does not exist. But if I am to support anyone and vote for anyone as imperfect as we all are then I guess I will throw my support behind someone who will err in judgment doing his best to follow the Constitution and not lead us away from it. Perhaps once again the Light of Liberty can shine as an example for the world to see if we only are willing to return the path as set forth by the Founders. As I heard discussed on the Mike Church show today the Constitution is not meant to define or grant the rights and liberties that belong to every individual being for those rights and liberties as stated in the Declaration always existed as rights given to us by the Creator long before the Constitution and the Declaration. The Constitution was simply an attempt to lay out a frame work of how to restrain the central government that our Founders created to protect the individual states and the existing confederation of states. The Constitution is meant to provide us protection from our own government. The founders knew that our very Liberties and therefore our lives were at stake depending upon how well the centralized beast brought into being for our protection could be restrained and itself controlled. Of all those who I see running for President of the United States I believe Ron Paul is the only one who truly understands that and so I guess I will vote for the old coot or gnarly old gnome as the so called pundits say when they want to demean his candidacy. Who knows as his message continues to resonate just perhaps 2012 may just be the year Ron Paul proves all those pundits wrong…

    Michael
    L&P

    “Every Brave People….Would Have Done As We Did.”

    Via Bernhard

    Remembering Robert E. Lee: A Week-Long Observance
    North Carolina’s Legal Holiday Observes Lee’s Birthday January 19th


    “…General Robert E. Lee, now president of Washington College…was writing a letter to R.S. McCulloch which showed that Lee too was in the same unrepentant state.

    ”Every brave people who considered their rights attacked and their constitutional liberties invaded,” it ran, “would have done as we did. Our conduct was not caused by any insurrectional spirit, nor can it be termed a rebellion; for our construction of the Constitution under which we lived and acted was the same from its adoption, and for eighty years we had been taught and educated by the founders of the Republic, and their written declarations, which controlled our consciences and actions. The epithets that have been heaped upon us of “rebels” and “traitors” have no just meaning, nor are they believed in by those who understand the subject, even at the North…”

    Something to Hide? Official To Plead Fifth on ‘Furious’

    This should get interesting

    Conservative Byte

    Verbatim Post

    The chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona is refusing to testify before Congress regarding Operation Fast and Furious, the federal gun-running scandal that sent U.S. weapons to Mexico.

    Patrick J. Cunningham informed the House Oversight Committee late Thursday through his attorney that he will use the Fifth Amendment protection.

    Cunningham was ordered Wednesday to appear before Chairman Darrell Issa and the House Oversight Committee regarding his role in the operation that sent more than 2,000 guns to the Sinaloa Cartel. Guns from the failed operation were found at the murder scene of Border Agent Brian Terry.

    “Why Two North Carolina Sesquicentennial Websites?” III

    Brock,

    How on earth can the North Carolina Department of Archives & History claim to be inclusive when they have included no one on their Sesquicentennial committee but their own employees, and an academic board composed of state employees receiving checks from state universities? Do they think we are all hicks out here? And why didn’t they include anyone representing the North Carolina Sons of Confederate Veterans? Isn’t this a group of stakeholders that were intentionally left out of the inclusion? Or private historical societies or institutes? Archives & History may call what they do inclusion, but it looks like exclusion to this old country boy.

    I am finding it more and more difficult to trust an academic from a state-supported university, you and I know that those schools maintain strict thought and speech codes. Certainly if they spoke or taught anything but the acceptable mantras, they would be fired.

    And there are those who hide behind the veil of “professional” historians as if this is the only standard of measuring historical truth. I am wary of historians who are on someone’s payroll, especially a government agency that establishes expectations and outcomes of research. Seems that they decide upfront what they want people to believe, then selectively find facts and documents that narrowly support what was already preordained. This is what that state agency did with that 1898 reparations nonsense a few years ago, and this destroyed NC Archives & History’s credibility as far as I am concerned.

    The “amateur” historian is under no influence but his or her own biases and prejudices – which the reader can ascertain pretty quickly. I think I would put more trust in well-documented and written historical works of the latter. That’s another two-cents worth.

    Walthazy


    “Why Two North Carolina Sesquicentennial Websites?” III

    What Is It About Ron Paul?

    Via Billy


    Who wants war with Iran?

    Via Peter

    On Sept. 21, 1976, as his car rounded Sheridan Circle on Embassy Row, former Chilean ambassador Orlando Letelier was assassinated by car bomb. Ronni Moffitt, a 25-year-old American women who worked with Letelier at the leftist Institute for Policy Studies, died with him.

    Michael Townley, an ex-CIA asset in the hire of Chile's intelligence agency, confessed to using anti-Castro Cubans to murder Letelier, in what was regarded as an act of terrorism on U.S. soil.

    Which raises a question: Are not the murders of four Iranian scientists associated with that nation's nuclear program, by the attachment of bombs to their cars in Tehran, also acts of terrorism?

    Had the Stalin- or Khrushchev-era Soviets done this to four U.S. scientists in Washington, would we not have regarded it as acts of terrorism and war?

    Iran has accused the United States and Israel of murder. But Hillary Clinton emphatically denied any U.S. complicity: "I want to categorically deny any United States involvement in any kind of act of violence inside Iran."

    "The United States had absolutely nothing to do with this," added National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor, "We strongly condemn all acts of violence, including acts of violence like this."

    Victoria Nuland, Clinton's spokeswoman at State, denounced "any assassination or attack on an innocent person, and we express our sympathies to the family."

    The assassinated scientist was a supervisor at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility that hosts regular inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. If Iran is building a bomb, it is not at Natanz.

    U.S. denial of involvement leaves Mossad as the prime suspect. Israel has not denied it, and this comes at a sensitive time in U.S.-Israeli relations.

    PD's choose pistols as primary handgun, but revolver remains top choice as backup

    ........tells us of a test he ran simulating an officer making a traffic stop, standing near the driver’s side door.

    He started the test by establishing his grip on the revolver in his front pants pocket. When the PACT timer went off, Ayoob drew and fired a single shot on the target, which stopped the timer. The average time for him to react to the timer, draw and fire was 0.65 of one second.

    ........ U.S. police officers have voted with their wallets and are buying the small .38 /.357 five-shot revolver as the backup gun of choice.

    They tend to prefer the S&W 340 M&P, the Taurus CIA model and lately the new Ruger LCR, because these models have no exposed hammer to snag when drawing from concealment.

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