Sieg Heil ..........

Way back when, I was a Boy Scout: not for very long because the hat may have looked good on Smokey the Bear but looked stupid on me and I hated camping.

Some things don’t change over time as I still detest camping and hats are just for keeping the Arizona sun off my face.

But the Boy Scouts I knew did not practice shooting guns in response to “Border Violence” nor did they worry too much about “Disgruntled Iraq War Veterans” as potential “Right-wing dissidents".

But things change according to the New York Times and now the Boy Scouts of America in collusion with the Department of Homeland Security have enhanced the long-time “Explorer Program to do just that and I quote:-

“United States Border Patrol! Put your hands up!” screams one in a voice cracking with adolescent determination as the suspect is subdued.

It is all quite a step up from the square knot.

The Explorers program, a coeducational affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America that began 60 years ago, is training thousands of young people in skills used to confront terrorism, illegal immigration and escalating border violence — an intense ratcheting up of one of the group’s longtime missions to prepare youths for more traditional jobs as police officers and firefighters.

“This is about being a true-blooded American guy and girl,” said A. J. Lowenthal, a sheriff’s deputy in Imperial County, California. In a simulation here of a raid on a marijuana field, several Explorers were instructed on how to quiet an obstreperous lookout.

"Put him on his face and put a knee in his back,” a Border Patrol agent explained. “I guarantee that he’ll shut up.”

Cathy Noriega, also 16, said she was attracted by the guns. The group uses compressed-air guns — known as air-soft guns, which fire tiny plastic pellets — in the training exercises, and sometimes they shoot real guns on a closed range.

“I like shooting them,” Cathy said. “I like the sound they make. It gets me excited.”

Just as there are soccer moms, there are Explorers dads, who attend the competitions, man the hamburger grill and donate their land for the simulated marijuana field raids. In their training, the would-be law-enforcement officers do not mess around, as revealed at a recent competition on the state fairgrounds here, where a Ferris wheel sat next to the police cars set up for a felony investigation.

Their hearts pounding, Explorers moved down alleys where there were hidden paper targets of people pointing guns, and made split-second decisions about when to shoot. In rescuing hostages from a bus taken over by terrorists, a baby-faced young girl screamed, “Separate your feet!” as she moved to handcuff her suspect.

In a competition in Arizona that he did not oversee, Deputy Lowenthal said, one role-player wore traditional Arab dress. “If we’re looking at 9/11 and what a Middle Eastern terrorist would be like,” he said, “then maybe your role-player would look like that. I don’t know, would you call that politically incorrect?”

Remember that the DHS has only been involved with this program since May of last year. Imagine how loud would have been the liberal scream if the previous administration had come up with this.

Personally, it makes me uncomfortable on several fronts. For a start, it seems to bear an uncanny resemblance to the “Civilian Military Force” talked about by Obama at length on the 2008 Campaign Trail and since.

Then, perhaps my background and early history causes me to recall “Hitler Jugend”. Because the Hitler Youth replaced the Boy Scouts in the Third Reich in 1933.

And they had cool uniforms too ……….

Faction!

That’s a word I made up in order to represent a meld of “Fact” and “Fiction” and that which follows is probably just that. It’s been around the Web for a while and I’ve changed very little except to eliminate a picture which purported to portray Ashley and her grandfather because of possible copyright issues.

As I said, I cannot vouch for its veracity but that doesn’t really matter as the message is valid. Let’s face it, even Aesop’s fables were not exactly eye-witness accounts either but their morals have stood the test of centuries.


"John G. Is 63 years old and owns a small business. He’s a life-long Republican and sees his dream of retiring next year has all but evaporated. With the stock market crashing and new taxes coming his way, John assumes now that he will work to his dying day.

John has a granddaughter. Ashley is a recent college grad. She drives a flashy hybrid car, wears all the latest fashions, and loves to go out to nightclubs and restaurants. Ashley campaigned hard for Barack Obama.. After the election she made sure her grandfather (and all other Republican family members) received a big I told-you-so earful on how the world is going to be a much better place now that her party is taking over.

Having lost both roommates, Ashley recently ran short of cash and cannot pay the rent (again) on her 3 bedroom townhouse. Like she has done many times in the past, she e-mailed her grandfather asking for some financial help.".

Here is his reply:

"Sweetheart, I received your request for assistance. Ashley, you know I love you dearly and I ‘m sympathetic to your financial plight. Unfortunately, times have changed. With the election of President Obama, your grandmother and I have had to set forth a bold new economic plan of our own…'The Ashley Economic Empowerment Plan'. Let me explain.

Your grandmother and I are life-long, wage-earning tax payers. We have lived a comfortable life, as you know, but we have never had the fancier things like European vacations, luxury cars, etc.

We have worked hard and were looking forward to retiring soon. But the plan has changed.

Your president is raising our personal and business taxes significantly. He says it is so he can give our hard earned money to other people. Do you know what this means, Ashley? It means less for us, and we must cut back on many business and personal expenses. You know the wonderful receptionist who worked in my office for more than 23 years? The one who always gave you candy when you came over to visit? I had to let her go last week. I can’t afford to pay her salary and all of the government mandated taxes that go with having employees.

Your grandmother will now work 4 days a week to answer phones, take orders and handle the books. We will be closed on Fridays and will lose even more income to the Wal-Mart. I’m also very sorry to report that your cousin Frank will no longer be working summers in the warehouse. I called him at school this morning. He already knows about it and he’s upset because he will have to give up skydiving and his yearly trip to Greenland to survey the polar bears. That’s just the business side of things.

Some personal economic effects of Obama’s new taxation policies include none other than you. You know very well that over the years your grandmother and I have given you thousands of dollars in cash, tuition assistance, food, housing, clothing, gifts, etc., etc. But by your vote, you have chosen to help others – not at your expense – but at our expense. If you need money now sweetheart, I recommend you call 202-456-1111. That is the direct phone number for the White House. You can also contact the White House here: http://www/..whitehouse.gov


You yourself told me how foolish it is to vote Republican. You said Mr. Obama is going to be the People’s President, and is going to help every American live a better life. Based on everything you’ve told me, along with all the promises we heard during the campaign, I’m sure Mr. Obama will be happy to transfer some stimulus money into your bank account. Have him call me for the account number which I memorized years ago..

Perhaps you can now understand what I’ve been saying all my life: those who vote for a president should consider the impact on the nation as a whole, and not be just concerned with what they can get for themselves. What Obama supporters don’t seem to realize is all of the money he is redistributing to illegal aliens and non-taxpaying Americans (the so-called 'less fortunate') comes from tax-paying families.

Remember how you told me, 'Only the richest of the rich will be affected'? Well guess what, honey? Because we own a business, your grandmother and I are now considered to be the richest of the rich. On paper, it might look that way, but in the real world, we are far from it.

As you said while campaigning for Obama, some people will have to carry more of the burden so all of America can prosper. You understand what that means, right? It means that raising taxes on productive people results in them having less money; less money for everything, including granddaughters.

I’m sorry, Ashley, but the well has run dry.. The free lunches are over. I have no money to give you now. So, congratulations on your choice for 'change'. For future reference, I encourage you to try and add up the total value of the gifts and cash you have received from us, just since you went off to college, and compare it to what you expect to get from Mr. Obama over the next 4 (or 8) years. I have not kept track of it, Ashley. It has all truly been the gift of our hearts.

Remember, we love you dearly….but from now on you’ll need to call the number mentioned above. Your 'Savior' has the money we would have given to you. Just try and get it from him. Good luck, sweetheart.

Love, Grandpa"

Quod Erat Demonstrandum

Guns and Roses ..........

Wow! What a response. And it came from two subjects contained in the last post. So let’s get the easy one out of the way first.

The little 3-year old girl who spent a night on an Arizona mountainside is fine. As I reported, she was very cold when the law-enforcement helicopter crew found her. Not surprising really when you consider the poor little mite was not wearing shoes or socks when she wandered off with the family dog, “Blue”.

Dog lovers will applaud the pet and their applause is so well-deserved. But I also want to applaud the human species. Aren’t we an amazing beast? There was a time when the Chinese left unwanted baby girls out on a cold hillside to die. I wonder how long that took?


Now the other subject is going to take a little longer and this one was triggered, no pun intended, by my recital about Dr. Amy Bishop.

“Don’t you see”, they screamed, “What happens when you allow guns to get into the hands of people”?

Actually I don’t. What I see is what happens when an irresponsible, liberal gets his or her hand on a gun.

Please forgive the tautology! Because, of course, I realize that liberals are irresponsible or they wouldn’t be liberals in the first place. I offer as my exhibits Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Barney Frank. And, I’m sure you can add your own ……….

Anyway, the British tirade continued and I read it and then I slept on it. And I started to think, probably at about 2 am. Somewhere between a little trip to the bathroom and finding a nice cool spot on the other side of my pillow, I came up with this.

For decades the British sought to ban personal guns. That effort culminated in the “Firearms Amendment Act of 1997 which made it virtually impossible for a British resident, legal or illegal, to possess a legal firearm.

According to the latest British government numbers for 2009, gun crime more than doubled in the previous decade.

And Australia’s experience is little different.

Now consider the case of Kennesaw, Georgia, where in 1982, the town passed an ordinance which required “every head of household to maintain a firearm and ammunition”.

That, in ensuing years, led to a 50% decline in crime.

What else has to be said?

Now should you go and out a get a gun?

Not unless, you feel the need and feel prepared to accept the responsibility and go through the training.

Now both owning and so-called “concealed carry” has enormous responsibilities which is why the latter is not granted lightly.

I live in an urban area with a superb police department but I know that their average response time to a 911 call is 12 minutes. I also, because I asked, know that in England it’s more than 15.

Do you feel lucky today?

The Bad, The Sad and The Aaah.....

Anyone who has ever called my home number and found me gone have encountered Clint Eastwood on my voice mail. Some find the message funny. Others, especially bleeding heart liberals which includes, by default most Obama supporters, find it hateful. I have one word for those………

Tough !

Since yesterday’s tragic murder/suicide in Austin, Texas, the drive-by media have been contorting themselves into pretzels in order to prove that the poor demented soul who piloted the Cherokee was somehow driven by “radical right-wing” influence. Or better yet, a Tea Party affiliate?

Let’s look shall we?

From what we know from the on-line message he left we know these things.

He was anti-religion.
He was anti-Bush.
He was anti-IRS.

Now it seems to me that, if you had to assign a “target” based on those things you could make just as good a case, in fact probably better, for a left-wing nut. Well 2 out of 3 anyway because liberals love taxes and, by extension, those who collect them. Except, of course when the liberal is the one in the cross-hairs.

But, one is forced to ask, why doesn’t the MSNBC’s of this world try to find similar influences with a certain Dr. Amy Bishop of the University of Alabama?

Again, I feel forced to explain that the aforementioned lady is accused of pulling a handgun from her purse during a meeting of faculty and dispatching them to that eternal tenure in the sky.

Well, try this on for size.

Some 20-plus years ago, the, then, Miss Bishop shot and killed her 18 year old brother Seth. Now the Bishop family is/was very well connected in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and prevailed upon the District Attorney to drop any charges. The DA is now Congressman Bill Delahunt who is, of course, a Democrat.

Does the name Kopechne spring to mind? Or, if that doesn’t’, try Chappaquiddick?

So, we know that little Chrissy Matthews, or his even angrier big brother, Keith Olberman, doesn’t want to dig into the fact that Dr. Amy was obsessed with Obama and could not get enough of his ethos. And that fact alone is more than enough evidence to conclude that the woman is "off her trolley".


OK, we’ve done the bad. And so let’s move onto the sad.

Earlier today, I watched the Dalai Lama being hustled out of a back-door of the White House past a bunch of garbage sacks awaiting collection. Now this is so poignant and so sad for lot’s of reasons.

Clearly, my haircut declares that I’m not a Buddhist but I do believe the Dalai Lama is a thoroughly good man and, of course, Obama “dissed” him the first time around by refusing to meet with him at all. And we know now that the reason was the ChiComms.

So, the consolation prize seems to be the White House via the kitchen staff entrance. Now if only he were Moslem ……….


And now for the good and the "Aaah".

Sometime late yesterday, a little 3-year old was playing outside her home in Prescott, Arizona with the family dog and somehow the two wandered away. Down here in Scottsdale, it probably got down to the mid-50’s after the sun went down but up there it must have been low-30s at the most. Clearly, the parents were distraught and law enforcement threw everything they had it.

Early this morning, as the sun came up, a police helicopter crew spotted a little bundle on a hillside. Sure enough, there was the little girl and the dog.

Both are alive as I write even though we do know that she suffered some frost bite but, were it not for the dog who kept her warm enough ………..

Now You See It And Now You Don't .............

Maybe it’s because I’m not a fan of big American cities. Frankly, they intimidate me. Especially really big ones like Chicago or New York City and it’s not just the people. Most of them do not even acknowledge the presence of another human being among the throng of their own species.

So, in a way, I know where Obama is coming from. He comes from Chicago and, therefore, he understands street thugs because he is one.

But now, it seems, he’s decided to adopt some New York City street tactics as well. Perhaps it’s his version of crossing the aisle?

Do you remember back to the campaign trail? There, he was the master of oratory. Well he was until the teleprompter broke.

In the last 13 months, it seems he took some lessons from some brother in New York City and has learned the art of “Three Card Monte”.

For those from elsewhere across the oceans or for those from Lake Havasu, this lose-lose proposition is designed to separate you and I from our money. Put briefly, one is tempted to place a bet on a wager which cannot be won.

In Obama’s case, of course, it would come down to words. What else does a politician or a lawyer have?

During the State of the Union message a few weeks ago, Obama uttered the N word. No not that N word because that’s only used in the hood. No this N word was “Nuclear”. There have been those more cynical than I who have attested that his main reason was to prove that he could pronounce it and his predecessor could not.

Anyway, out came that N word and the greenies of the Left came unglued which only got worse when, this week, he decided to announce a federally guaranteed loan of $ 8.3 Billion to the “Southern Company”, This is the parent company of Duke Power and others who have wanted to build 2 reactors for years. In fact, for about 30 years because it’s been that long and more since the environmental whackos decided to force this glorious nation back by about 2 generations.

Luddites, thy name is Democratic!

So, was this weeks declaration good news? Not hardly.

See, one of Obama’s first moves was to abandon and close Yucca Mountain.

This has to be the middle of just about the most desolate area in Nevada but it had a couple of things going for it. It is, as I said both remote and desolate and its geology is stable which makes it as ideal as possible to store fuel rods as they bleed away their toxicity.

But Obama closed it and so now what?

Yet another Obama ruse. A new Sleight of Hand.

You put your money down and Obama will take it …………

Great Oaks from Little Acorns

It really doesn’t matter who said it first but millions of people around the world are now saying the same thing …….

Obama is a Slow Learner!

Sometime last year, a Democrat-dominated Congress were shamed into cutting off all funding to ACORN because of the corruption and illegalities which swirled about this organization. Now remember, Obama worked for and/or on behalf of ACORN way back when in the “hood”. Perhaps ACORN even helped him to get elected first locally, then statewide and to position he now holds.

And so it was not surprising, when one digs into the Obama budget for next year, to find loopholes. Now is it lawyers who love loopholes or is it politicians who do or is it just Chicago a lawyer-politician thing? Anyway, buried in the minutiae of the budget is a provision to restore the funding to that highly-dubious organization. But, this time, it’s via the back door in the time-honored tradition of the Chicago thug.

The mechanism this time is to allocate $4 Billion as “Community Development Block Grants”. And included in the list of recipients is ACORN.

I’m sure they thought that would slip under the radar because the “bag men” would be the States. And it might have remained that way were it not for this writer and many others who watch these guys like hawks.

So what else is next?

Sometime, about a week ago. Obama assumed his professorial voice and pose and pronounced that. “No American Citizen, (Or anyone else for that matter) has a reasonable expectation of privacy as they use their cell phone”.

Last week, this view was endorsed by the 3rd Circuit of the Federal Appeals Court in Philadelphia who determined that our privacy rights as protected by the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment do not apply.

Clearly this issue is going to the United States Supreme Court but there is more as they say on the late-night shopping channels …………

Two years ago and even before that, Obama excoriated the Bush presidency for their determination to track terrorists by whatever means worked. And he was cheered on by the ACLU and by every commentator on every liberal-dominated TV news network. And that included ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC and NBC.

Where is the outrage now?


And there is more even yet …….

Not just your calls can be tracked but also where you are where you make them. Note, I did not say when because that’s part of the normal data collection which is necessary for billing.

And again, the Obama administration does not need a warrant to demand those records. They do not even have to show “Probable Cause”.

Again, I plead where is the outrage from liberals?

Well I doubt you’re going to hear it any time soon.

As Obama takes the plunge in the polls, well it’s not all bad news for all liberals.

Just take a look at the picture at the top.


Well, it'll play in Plains, Georgia .............

Myth or Mythtake?

For a long time, conservatives wrestled with two issues. On the other hand, liberals rejoiced in both of them.

The first was the indisputable fact that Obama was and is Black, well partly anyway, and conservatives were reluctant to challenge the man because they knew that any criticism would immediately be labeled as racist. And that has indeed proved to be the case.

At the same time, liberals bathed in the man’s skin color. At long last, they could assuage centuries of inherited guilt and wash away the stain. Of course, liberals did what they always do with facts. First of all, they deny them and then they ignore them. How else could you rationalize that the politicians who fought the civil rights movement were largely Democrats? How else could you explain away the fact that the President who led the fight, both figuratively and literally, was a Republican in the person of Abraham Lincoln.

Surely one of the most reviled people in American politics in the context of civil rights was Governor George Wallace of the great state of Alabama. He was a Democrat.

Yet, the myth persists that the Democrats are the liberators and that the Republicans are the oppressors. Go figure?

Now before we tackle the second myth, let’s not forget Harry Reid with his now-denied assertion that Obama doesn’t have or use a “Negro Dialect unless he needs it”. Or, Clinton’s assertion that, “a few years ago this guy would be bringing us coffee”.

And now at last, we come to the second myth which is that conservatives are dumb and liberals are smart. Well, let’s see shall we, especially as Obama fanatics and the cheer leaders in the liberal media have been telling us for more than 2 years that we now have the smartest President ever. Really?

We know that Obama is teleprompter-dependent and I’m wondering just when that deficiency will be recognized by the American Disabilities Act as a legitimate disability. But, in anticipation of that, and because I’m a compassionate conservative we’ll skate quickly by some of the more obvious flubs such as:

Obama’s assertion that the US has 57 states. Clearly he confused that number with the number of Heinz varieties.

Obama’s assertion that “Corpse Man” is really pronounced “Core Man”. Who knows what reading method they taught in Hawaii or wherever?

And, every asthma sufferer knows the difference between “Inhalers” and Breathalyzers but not Obama it seems.

Now if the “smartest man ever to occupy the White House” can screw these up while he’s reading, when he is weaned away from his intellectual prop then anything can happen.

On Bloomberg last week, Obama began to boast about his next “Job Stimulus Package” and his determination that his plan to grant a few tax credits for new hires will do wonders for the employment numbers. Then he also insisted that he was encouraging banks to grant loans in order that they could increase their workforce.

There speaks the true academic who is telling business how to run their business. But he’s never done it. He’s never had to make payroll.

So Mr. Obama let me explain it to you because you clearly don’t get it even though your adherents still hail you as “Messiah”.

Any business, small, medium, large or a guy in his garage, does not seek tax credits or help from a bank in order to hire people. He or she goes that route because they see more business on the horizon. And now they don’t.

In the meantime, Obama declared that he “was now ‘agnostic about middle-class tax hikes”. Now I can’t claim that he won his election on his promise of “not one dime of increased taxes for those families earning less than a quarter of a million dollars per year, but I’m sure it helped.

So, yet another campaign promise gets thrown under the bus doesn’t it?

And, finally, if this White House is to retain any semblance of credibility, they’re going to have to rein in Joe Biden.

Because, according to Uncle Joe, our presence will not leave Iraq until we achieve success. When pressed on what defines “Success”, Joe declared that. “Success is what we say it is”.

Now that’s a winning strategy if ever I heard one!!