Thank You....

The ‘76er will be taking a break until after the first of the year. With my work schedule as chaotic as it is going to be I don’t want to leave you all hanging until the next post. But I didn’t want to just say adios for a couple weeks without saying thank you.

Thanks to you, the readers, The ‘76er has grown to over two hundred visitors and it has some international readership as well. I only write this but with no one to read it then I may as well not write. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that has shown their support by being a regular reader. I also want to thank anyone that was just curious enough to read just once. It means a lot to me if anyone simply just checks this thing out.

I also wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. There is a lot that will be happening over the next year, I’m sure, and you can bet the’76er will be there talking about it and speaking out for liberty. I also hope to put up some history posts as well to spread some knowledge about our nation that usually gets glossed over in schools these days. Our history is a rich and exciting one and I want to share it with everyone.

The future seems uncertain at times. The election is past and as I wrote before the die has been cast. We shall have to see what will develop from here. But as always I must urge you all to remain vigilant. We are the guardians of our Freedom and Liberty. Those are things we have inherently and they are not given to us by anyone other than our Creator. The Constitution was written to show we were free but that piece of paper can’t fight for itself. Patriotism starts with you at an individual level. Without that fire our independence would never have happened and our nation would not have survived this long.

Over the coming years we do have an uphill fight for our liberty and maintaining the dream our Founding Fathers started. What began at Jamestown and Plymouth has blossomed into the most powerful, prosperous, and blessed nation on the planet. But democracy is not self-sustaining. So be vigilant.

Again, thank you all for reading and supporting this blog. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. The ‘76er will be back by January 5^th.

Thank you for reading. God bless all of you and God bless the United States of America.

Part Three: The Future of Gun Ownership in America.

Writers Note: In light of the events that transpired several days ago I feel the need to address it before continuing this series further. What happened on December 14, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut was an absolute tragedy. The slaughter of twenty innocent children and six adults is unforgivable. Personally I think it’s still too early to start going into politics about it, however due to the overwhelming outcry from the anti-gun community I think I need to at least respond.

Yes, guns were used to commit a crime. I am not trying to take away from the horror of what happened. However, we need to try and keep a level head about this. The rights of millions should not be taken away because of the madness of a few. We have gun laws and restrictions that do their job, despite what the media and Hollywood try to tell you.

While I won’t comment on any details of this event because information is still coming to light I will say this: As always, we need to do our research. Like how often do these kinds of crimes actually occur (they are less than 1% of all gun crimes). Were the proper precautions taken by the gun owner in securing the weapons? Were there signs that the shooter was mentally unstable prior to the attack? We need to look at the root of the problem and the root is not guns, it’s the criminal. It’s the why not the what. A gun can do nothing out of the hands of a criminal. So please let us not attack the Constitution because of a criminal.

Finally, I would like to say that my prayers go out to the families that have been rocked by this tragedy. I agree with President Obama, my heart is broken as well. To target a child is unspeakable and to lose a child is unfathomable. I pray God’s comfort over the families and the town. You can be sure God is with you and you can be sure that I and your country are with you. God bless you all.

The following post has not been altered from its original text to include the events of Sandy Hook Elementary.

 

If you’ve kept up with the series this far I thank you. This will be the third and final installment on gun rights and ownership. Again, thank you for your support.

Over the past two posts we covered the history of the Second Amendment and the current place of firearms in our society. We’ve shown how guns were used to sustain this country in its earliest form and win its independence. We looked at how guns are used responsibly today and how there is a social taboo associated with them. Now that we’ve looked to the past and present it’s time to look ahead into the future.

I understand that speculation and conjecture are ill-advised was of trying to figure out where one is headed. I’ve always been a believer that to see where you are going you need to look at the past. You need to know where you came from to see where you’re going to end up. With that in mind, let’s take a look at past attacks on gun rights and the future plans of the anti-gunners.

Over the past years there have been many groups formed to fight against the right to own and carry firearms. Among the most known today are The Brady Campaign, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. They all have a trend that they follow. Whenever there is a mass shooting in the country they are the first ones on camera demanding harsher restrictions on guns and asking for donations to fund their campaign. But when guns are used to stop crime and save lives they are nowhere to be found. They refuse to acknowledge that there is such a thing as a responsible law-abiding gun owner.

Despite this they are major players in the war on guns. But these groups can do nothing without the backing of the government, local and federal, to make their dreams a reality. So what can we expect from the people that swore to defend our Constitution? It gets kind of grim. We first need to take a look at the man currently in the White House and what exactly he thinks about guns. Hold on, this is a long bumpy ride.

There are many who say Obama is pro-gun. They say he is even the most pro-gun President we’ve had in years. Why, he even signed the National Park Carry Bill (Hint: that doesn’t exist). I beg to differ. Obama has a very, very long history of anti-gun statements, actions and legislation. Let’s take a look.

·         September 9, 1996 State Senator Obama supports a ban on the manufacture, sales and possession of handguns and semi-automatic weapons, erroneously calling them “assault weapons”.

·         July 2, 1998 Obama endorses a ban on all sales and transfers of semi-automatic weapons.

·         December 13, 1999 Obama proposes banning gun store within five miles of schools and parks.

·         January 1, 2000 Obama co-sponsors a bill to limit firearms purchases to one per month.

·         February 20, 2011 Quoted as saying “There is no reason anybody should need an assault weapon”.

·         March 13, 2003 Obama votes to ban hundreds of Common rifle and shotguns.

·         March 25, 2004 Obama votes against lowering Firearm Owners Identification Card age from 21 to 18.

·         April 27, 2004 Obama reaffirms his opposition to concealed carry.

·         October 24, 2004 Obama says it’s a “scandal” Bush didn’t renew the assault weapons ban.

·         July 29, 2005 Now U.S. Senator Obama votes against prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers.

·         September 22, 2005 Obama votes against pro-second amendment John Roberts for Supreme Court Justice.

·         January 31, 2006 Obama votes against pro-second amendment Samuel Alito for Supreme Court Justice.

·         April 22, 2007 Obama favors a ban on standard-capacity ammunition magazines.

·         April 2, 2008 Obama again reaffirms his opposition to concealed carry.

·         November 13, 2008 President-elect Obama weeds out gun-owning applicants from his staff.

·         December 1, 2008 Obama nominates staunch anti-gunner Eric Holder for Attorney General.

·         February 25 2009 Obama and Eric holder seek to re-instate the assault weapons ban.

·         May 26, 2009 Obama nominates anti-gun Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court Justice.

·         October 14, 2009 Obama reverses stance on a treaty to regulate arms trade.

·         May 10, 2010 Obama nominates anti-gun Elena Kagan for Supreme Court Justice.

·         November 15, 2010 Obama nominates anti-gun Andrew Traver to head the ATF.

·         July 7, 2011 An Obama aide says gun legislation is in the “near future”.

·         February 13, 2012 Obama cuts the budget in half for armed pilot counter-terrorism program.

·         June 20, 2012 Obama uses his position to withhold document tied to gun smuggling probe.

·         August 6, 2012 Obama confirms renewing support for semi-automatic rifle and magazine ban.

·         October 16, 2012 Obama calls for reintroduction of semi-auto firearms ban.

So Obama is pro gun, really? And this isn’t even a complete list folks. Check out this site for this list and more info.

It’s evident, if you bother to look at the facts, that Obama does not have your Second Amendment rights in mind. Unless, that is, to limit them any way he can. Now I’m not saying it’s time to bury your AR’s in the backyard because they’ll come knocking tomorrow. Nothing moves that fast and he probably couldn’t get that far….constitutionally. But what I am saying is that we need to be vigilant. We need to see where we are on the slippery slope before we take a plunge and end up in a pit we can’t get out of.

Now what about the U.S. Supreme Court? Currently there is a dangerous 5-4 split on the gun issues. With one to two and possibly three Justices retire during Obama’s second term you can bet he’ll fill those in with more anti-gun friends. But let’s take a look at the current Supreme Court and where they stand.

Chief Justice John Roberts: Pro-gun (nominated By George W. Bush)

Justice Antonin Scalia: Pro-gun (nominated by Ronald Reagan)

Justice Anthony Kennedy: Pro-gun (nominated by Ronald Reagan)

Justice Clarence Thomas: Pro-gun (nominated by George H. W. Bush)

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Anti-gun (nominated by Bill Clinton)

Justice Stephen Breyer: Anti-gun (nominated by Bill Clinton)

Justice Samuel Alito: Pro-gun (nominated by George W. Bush)

Justice Sonya Sotomayor: Anti-gun (nominated by Barack Obama)

Justice Elena Kagan: Anti-gun (nominated by Barack Obama)

Two things seem pretty evident here. One) its obvious which party is the party of gun control. Two) if any Justices retire this term we can guess how the new ones would rule on any gun related cases.

So the President is obviously anti-gun. One look at his past and you can figure out his desires for the future. This is especially true when you consider his remarks to the Brady Campaign. He assured Sarah Brady that gun control was on his agenda but it has to remain “under the radar”. That’s a little sneaky, don’t you think? And the Supreme Court is practically split with the very real chance of it falling completely to one side. Is there anyone in Washington on our side?

Congress, for once. Currently there is no strong desire to push gun control either in the Democrat-held Senate or the Republican-held House of representatives. This is a good thing considering Obama’s support for the UN Arms Treaty. Should he even sign the treaty, it would have to be ratified by the Senate for it to take effect in our country. Luckily, even with a Democrat majority, there is a strong pro-gun majority in the Senate that would not approve of the treaty. At least not as the treay stands.

Ultimately the thing we have the most to fear is the use of the Executive Order by Obama. As we have seen in his first term, Obama has a tendency to wield the pen quite a bit (yes, I know Bush signed a lot as well, and while anyone who knows me knows I can’t stand Bush either, he was a war-time President during the peak of two wars. So it’s kind of expected).

Many people feel validated in their fears of what the second Obama term could bring. Gun sales have skyrocketed since the election. So I guess Obama is helping at least one corner of the economy, just not the one he wants to.

So to sum up this series I’ll leave it at this. We don’t know for sure what the future will bring in terms of the Second Amendment and your right to own and carry a firearm. But looking into the past we know how important guns were to the founding of our nation. We know our Founding Fathers saw our ability to keep arms as essential to maintaining liberty and democracy. We know how often firearms are used to prevent crime, defend our home and businesses, and to be vigilant in the face of evil. And now that we know what we may face ahead, we must remain constantly at the ready.

The rights the Constitution confirms for us are always on a slippery slope. Put too much regulation and restriction on them and soon the lines between “unalienable rights” and granted privileges starts to blur. We can’t destroy the liberty of many because of the crimes of a few. A madman walks into a theater with an assault weapon and kills multiple people. The gun didn’t do it, the crazy murderer did. Personal responsibility for crimes should start with the criminal not an inanimate piece of plastic and metal. The Second Amendment holds the others up. An armed man is a citizen; an unarmed man is a subject. I urge all of you readers, as always, to do your research and check the facts. The most dangerous words an American can say are “that could never happen here”.

I’d like to take this time to give my personal thank to some people and organizations that have made it their task to fight for our Second Amendment freedoms as well as advance the all-American culture of gun ownership. They have inspired me and encourage me through their actions. My thanks go out to:

The National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, The Second Amendment Foundation, The Virginia Citizens Defense League, The United States Concealed Carry Association, Mark Walters, Sean “Seanto” Young, Rob Pincus, David Codrea, Mike Vanderboegh, George “The Mad Ogre” Hill, the late Mark Craighead, Ted Nugent, and so many more I think I could actually run out of internet trying to list them all.

Thank you for reading. God bless all of you and God bless the United States of America.

Part Two: Gun Laws and Restrictions and Modern Ownership

In the last post we covered the history and origins of the Second Amendment. With the Constitution as our foundation, let’s build the picture of modern day gun ownership and the role firearms play in current society.

Guns are irreversibly woven into the fabric of America. They’ve been used to protect our lives and liberty. They’ve been used to defend the freedom of countries other than our own. And that seems to be okay with everyone. However, when it comes to civilians owning or using firearms today things seem to get a little fuzzy.

As was demonstrated in the last post, gun ownership was common and not thought of as weird in any stretch of the word, unlike today. I myself am a gun owner and a proud member of the National Rifle Association. I have been asked the question “why would you want to own guns?”. I answered, “Because it’s my right to own a firearm and my right to defend myself, my home, and my family”. They replied, “Guns should just be outlawed”. I won’t go into the rest of the lengthy discussion I had with this individual but what it basically boiled down to is this: Take away guns from law abiding citizens and the crime rate will explode.

I’ve been scoffed at for making that statement. I can understand the watered down idea that if we made guns illegal then we could stop gun crime and crime in general. That sounds great in a world free of lawbreakers. But what makes a criminal a criminal? Their refusal to follow the law. If we outlaw guns, will those who commit crime suddenly see the error of their ways and turn in their weapons? I think not. In my home state of Virginia on the Lower Peninsula, there has been a wave of crime committed by a man dubbed “the bearded bandit”. He’s held up over two dozen businesses in the last year. I’m pretty sure it’s been stated sometime in the last year that robbery is a crime however that doesn’t seem to deter this man.

Interestingly, the last time this man attempted robbing a business, a local Auotzone, he was stopped. Devin McLean, the retired Airman working at the Autozone, took an opportunity to bolt out to his car and retrieve his Glock 40. He re-entered the store and demanded the crook drop his weapon. The robber took off running and is still at large. The local Sheriff proclaimed McLean a hero and that he saved not only his life but the life of his manager. Two days later he was fired. It was cited that he brought a firearm into the store which is against company policy. Don’t get me wrong, I get company policy, but the man saved his and the managers life. Do the right thing for a change and let that one go.

But this happens all the time in America. Law abiding citizens will use firearms to stop crime and save lives but are than punished or demonized for it. A 71-year old man in Florida stopped a robbery by two armed suspects in an internet café by opening fire with his lawfully concealed .380 handgun. The two criminals fled and were eventually caught. However, there was at least one major new agency (CNN) who refused to do more than make a passing mention of it. Their reason? They didn’t want to encourage copy cats. You mean you don’t want to encourage a citizen to stop a crime and defend his life and the lives of those around him? Then I guess you didn’t air even one hour of the never ending coverage about the shooting in Aurora, Colorado. You wouldn’t want to encourage someone to copy cat that, right?

You’ll see figures of how many people are killed every day by guns. But do you ever hear how many times guns are used to stop crime? Well, it’s been estimated by some, including Gary Kleck of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University, to be between 500,000 and 2,000,000,000 times a year. That’s also taking into account the times it may not be reported to police.

So what about the relationship between firearms and crime? Is it true that if we limited the amount of guns and ammo on the street, banned assault weapons and normal capacity magazines and increase the size and number of gun free zones that crime will diminish. Well, let’s take a look by starting with gun free zones.

A gun free zone is exactly what it sounds like; an area on a map where you cannot carry a firearm at all. These range from schools and federal building to movie theaters restaurants. Even if you have a permit you cannot carry a firearm. Once again, that sounds great on paper but falls apart in reality. Can you guess how well it works? Nearly every single major shooting massacre in the United States has happened in gun free zones. They aren’t gun free zones, they’re victim disarmament zones.

Let’s move onto assault weapons or “the bad black guns” as some call them. I’m not exactly sure why these things get a bad rap. I assume because they are a military style weapon then non-gun owners don’t see the point in owning one and therefore they are bad. Let’s be clear, they are not any more deadly than any other firearm. You can kill a person with a .22 or an assault rifle. And the argument that the use of assault rifles in crimes is rampant is not factual. In 2011 there were a total of 12,664 murders in the U.S. Of those 8, 853 were with firearms and 6,220 of those were with handguns. So how many rifles were used? Just 323. That’s less than 4% of all fire arm related murders. (Here’s the crime report straight from the FBI).

Now what about ammo and magazines? That’s just common sense thinking. Even if you limit the capacity of magazines that are legal, every single magazine that was sold before such a law could take effect would still exist. Which means they would still be available to anyone who was looking enough for one. That and if a criminal needed the extra ammo he would just carry more magazines. Can’t carry a 30-round magazine then just carry three 10-round magazines. Ammo is a non issue. There are already some restrictions on the types of ammo available to people. Attacking ammo across the board would really only hurt law-abiding citizens, as per the usual.

Lastly, let’s take a look a gun laws and crime prevention. Do gun sale restrictions, limitations, and the non-issue of concealed carry permits lower crime? The short answer is no. It’s been shown that the parts of the country with fewer restrictions on gun ownership and restrictions have lower crime rates. There has also been an interesting trend over the past five or so years. Gun sales and concealed carry applications have sky-rocketed. On Black Friday of just this year the FBIs website went down for several hours due to an overload of background checks for the purchase of firearms.

If we are to believe the anti-gunners out there then it should make sense that as the amount of guns in public hands rises so should the crime rate. Well, not really as it turns out. Due to the overwhelming amount of data provided here by the FBI I’ll just cover murder rates. They are down 3%-4% across the board. So it would seem with more guns that crime goes down. That goes against everything we are told by the main-stream media and anti-gun groups.

So as we’ve see, despite facts that are readily available, apparently easily ignored as well, people still seem to think that the problem lies with pieces of plastic and metal, not the person behind the trigger. Crimes are committed by people not things. It’s a social and moral issue, not a material issue. Maybe we should look at why these people are holding up business and joining gangs. I bet the kid forgotten by his parents didn’t join a gang because they had guns.

But people like me will continue to fight and educate for gun rights. I’ll keep supporting groups like the NRA, USCCA and GOA to lobby for your right to bear. Guns stop and prevent crime, despite what some may make up in order to sway your opinion. The left gun-hating media and their supporters will continue to present opinion and feeling instead of facts. Just read their headlines next time a shooting occurs, or even when a citizen defends themselves. I implore you, as always, do your own research. Don’t take my or the anti-gunners word for it. Dig into it yourself and do your homework.

We’ve taken a look into the past of gun right and we’ve covered what’s been going on in the present. So now we need to take a look into the future. With a known anti-gun President in office there’s thing we need to look for. And we’ll go through that in the next post.

Thank you for reading. God bless all of you and God bless the United States of America.

Next Post: The Future of Gun Ownership in America.

Part One: The Right to Bear Arms...

On December 15, 1791 the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution was ratified. This list of unalienable rights was not a new concept but none the less extraordinary in a government. Of the rights presented one in particular stands out, the Second Amendment. It states….

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

As far as I am concerned this is the most important Amendment of the entire Constitution and I’ll explain why later. But for now let’s delve into the history and background of the Second Amendment.

To the early American settlers and eventual colonists under the Crown, the ownership of firearms was considered a natural right. One not given but one that had always existed. They were used to provide food, defend their homes and country, suppress insurrection, and most importantly to defend their own individual liberty.

In that time there really were no gun laws or regulations. Firearms were so commonplace that there were racks in taverns so as to hold the arms of their patrons. The modern idea presented by some that early America really didn’t have widespread ownership of firearms is both ignorant and ill-informed. Were those statements true there would be no United States of America. If you want to go back to the first restrictions of arms in America then you need to look to the beginnings of the American Revolution.

When the Colonists began creating militias that excluded Loyalists, (Colonists that were still loyal to the Crown), British Parliament set an embargo on firearms, parts, and ammunition to the Colonies. This was done in an effort to limit the effectiveness of militias that were viewed as potentially “rebellious”.  But, thanks to the common ownership of guns and the patriotism of the Colonists, the Revolution was won and America was free of British rule.

The Early government was formed under the Articles of Confederation which did not have a bill of rights but granted a greater amount of power to the states. Because of this, the Federal Government really couldn’t get a lot done, especially in the area of national defense. This was a cause of great concern and so a Constitutional Convention was called to originally fix but ultimately replace the Articles with a Constitution.

Since this new document would put far more power into the hands of a Federal Government it was demanded by some that a Bill of Rights would be needed in order to limit its ability to undermine the freedom of the citizens.

This is where the Second Amendment becomes so important. Important enough, I believe, to be the most significant part of our Constitution. Our Founding Fathers understood the fragility of liberty in the presence of a strong centralized government. They lived under the rule of the crown. I grant that at that time they had no representation and we now have a democracy, but ours has a powerful federal government. The Founders knew that in order to achieve and maintain freedom it would have to be fought for.

As I’ve stated before, the decision to fight came after years of failed diplomacy and was not an act taken lightly. They said as much in the Declaration of Independence. And so the American Revolution was fought and won their independence. This was kept in mind when drafting the Constitution. The Founders were no fools and knew that democracy was not self-sustaining and that in the future corruption and tyranny could befall Americans again. Heck, the first attacks came on the Constitution came under our second President. Because of this they knew the people needed to be ready to defend not just themselves, but their freedom. This was also stated in the Declaration.

So, with the idea of possibly having to fight to maintain liberty and freedom, our Founders made sure to declare on paper what they already knew to be a universal and undeniable right: That the right of an individual to keep and bear arms could not be taken away. Period. Some would contest this, but as far as I see it the Bill of Rights, and therefore the right to own firearms is not up for debate. The right to defend oneself has never been challenged in history until “modern” times. But our Founders knew we may one day need to put tyranny in its place and took steps to help future generations of Patriots. That is why the Second Amendment is the most important. It helps us defend all the others.

It is now being argued that the right to own firearms is the reason for crime in America and the world at large. There are organizations lobbying as we speak for the outlawing of firearms and to strike the Second Amendment from the Constitution. They say that if we just outlaw guns and take them away crime and murder will disappear. Well, since we’ve already gone through the beginnings of the right to keep and bear arms, let’s take a modern look at firearm owner ship….

Next Post: Gun Laws and Restrictions and Modern Ownership.

Thank you for reading. God bless all of you and God bless the United States of America.

Trouble in Egypt

Egypt is once again suffering under a single man who would hold an exceeding amount of power in his hands. Last week Muslim Brotherhood President of Egypt Mohammed Morsi took some serious steps towards authoritarianism which, personally, should not come as a shock to anyone that is actually paying attention.

Morsi issued constitutional amendments that put him above judicial oversight, making his actions somewhat untouchable. He also granted immunity from court decrees to the Islamist-dominated group that is creating a new constitution. He also made it so any of his decisions since taking office cannot be appealed in court. And he ordered a retrial of former President Mubarak for the killing of protesters. Incidentally, this is the guy getting compliments from Obama and Clinton on his handling of the current crisis between Gaza and Israel.

So he’s solidifying his position as ruler of Egypt. In an interesting twist, his decision for a retrial won’t affect any law enforcement personnel involved in the murders of protesters. What affect will this have? It could gain Morsi the loyalty of the police, who is currently not in the good graces of the people. This too will strengthen his power base.

The reason I bring up this one current event out of all that is going on is this: we as a country and the Western World need to recognize the threat of the Muslim Brotherhood. I assure you, readers, they are a threat. While there are people in Egypt that are not ready to stand for another dictator, he is strengthening his position against such movements. That means the Muslim Brotherhood has the control of a powerful nation in the Middle East.

The ultimate goal of the Brotherhood is the reestablishment of the Caliphate. For those of you who may not know what that is, the Caliphate is a unified empire under the rule of a Mulsim leader that is under strict Sharia Law. The Caliphate ended in 1924 when the Ottoman Empire was defeated during World War I. Since that time there have been multiple movements and attempts to reestablish it. They have, evidently, failed so far. But the Muslim Brotherhood is far larger and more powerful than most people realize. 

The Brotherhood has offices or front groups in over eighteen countries including the U.S. and the U.K. They have people positioned in multiple levels of these countries socially, politically and economically. They won a huge advantage in Egypt with the election of Mohammed Morsi. We even sent Marines to Jordan due to the Brotherhood stirring up dissent against the king there.

Now while our government’s current administration and the main-stream media would have you think that they are in no way a threat let alone a powerful organization, I would caution you otherwise. I encourage you to watch this movie. It outlines “The Project”. That is, a world-wide effort to reinstate the Caliphate and unite the Middle East under one Islamic government (this is, admittedly, bigger than the Brotherhood alone). Yes, ithe movie is an hour and a half long, but check it out. Watch it in bits if you have to. I know this has kind of a tinfoil hat feel to it, but I urge you to look into it yourselves. This power grab by Morsi, I feel, really shows the game plan of the Brotherhood and what they intend for the future of not only Egypt but the entire Middle East if they have their way. I know he just helped arrange a cease-fire between Gaza and Israel, but I haven’t yet heard a good explanation about why rockets were fired from Egypt into Israel. Keep that one in mind too folks.

To sum everything up, the Muslim Brotherhood is huge. They have an agenda and have been implementing it for years all over the globe. They have a man at the helm of a major player in the Middle East and he just pulled a ton of chips into his corner of the table. I put some links below to help to research what I’m talking about. As always, don’t take my word for it. I want everyone out there to take the time to look into this stuff for yourselves. It’s up to us to dig for the facts and make our voices heard.

Thank you for reading. God bless all of you and God bless the United States of America.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_Brotherhood

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharia

Secession

There has been a lot of hype about the citizens of more than thirty states petitioning the government for secession from the Union. I think we need to talk about this.

First things first I’ll give my personal opinion about secession. I do think the States of the Union have the right to secede. I know that the Courts have had previous cases disputing that, (see Texas v White). In spite of this the Declaration of Independence outlines the formula for liberty for men. That when a government instituted among men becomes destructive towards those it is intended to serve it is the right and duty of the people to dissolve that government or, as displayed in the first paragraph of the Declaration, to dissolve the political bands which have connected them. The States came together and I see no reason why they cannot leave in like fashion.

Now, also drawing upon the Declaration, the reasons for secession should not be due to “light and transient causes”. King George was a tyrant and the constant rebuffs by his government as well as the institution of laws on a people without a voice for decades eventually led to one course: independence. In the end there was no other way. Fast forward a few years. Obama was re-elected. While I am disappointed to say the least about it, this is not reason for secession. Now, should he cut out the Second Amendment and make it rain with Constitution-destroying Executive Orders then by all means we need to do something along those lines.

But in the wake of the election there will be many ways in which people will try to make their voices heard. And that is a good thing. We as Americans have the right to speak our minds and we should. But there are intelligent and less so ways of going about it. Petition for secession probably falls towards the latter of the two.

I, like millions of Americans, am totally dissatisfied with the way Barack Obama has handled just about everything. I have spoken out about this verbally as well as starting this blog. I will continue to inform and educate in this manner as well as defend our liberty. Others have joined activist groups and posted signs. Some donate money to organizations and others make phone calls. But what is the one thing in common with all of these? Those people expressed no desire to leave the U.S.

I would not leave my country for anything. I love America and would defend her to the last if need be. I also understand that a good many of the people who signed the petitions for secession really have no desire to actually secede but are doing so to make a bold statement and that’s fine. But much like the hippies protesting war in the 60’s and 70’s, no one in the government is really going to take them seriously. I think a true petition of the Government for a redress of grievances, (see 1^st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution), would be a far bolder statement.

Imagine if as many people that signed those petitions, heck let’s go bigger, what if millions signed a petition of the Government over Obamacare, over-regulation, executive orders or any other number of things Obama has done. That would pick up a few people’s heads. Now would that make everything better? Of course not. Laws aren’t changed and governments made responsible over night. But, it is a start.

Imagine if we could even organize another Continental Congress. That would wake up a lot of people. To have representatives from all the States convene to discuss the role of our government. Truly that would be a show of patriotism and solidarity we haven’t seen since the formation of our country. Now don’t take that the wrong way. I’m not calling for revolution. Keep in mind, “light and transient causes”. Obamacare is no reason to march on Washington. I’m a pissed American but I’m not short-sighted.

The fact of the matter is this: We need to make our voices heard. We’ve let the government do whatever it’s wanted for the last seventy or so years. We let them pass the Patriot Act without some much as reading it. We let them sign the National Defense Authorization Act without protest. We let the TSA turn our airports into police states. Why? For security? I have to invoke the words of one of our Founders on this one. “They, who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” That was Benjamin Franklin. Despite what a lot of people try to say their words are still applicable to this very day.

I know I got a little off topic from where I started this. But let’s sum it all up. We need to be heard and let the Government know we are not happy. A petition of secession is one way, but not the best. Get that many and more signatures on a petition sent straight to the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court and you’ll turn a few heads. The First Amendment is one of the most important and also one of our greatest weapons as citizens. We should use it more often.

Can the States secede?  Yes I think they can. Should the States secede? It better be for a really, really good reason. It took our Founders years before they made the final decision to leave. It was not an easy choice so we today should not make light of such an act.

Thank you for reading. God bless all of you and God bless the United States of America.

Thank You to Our Vets.

Happy Veterans Day to all.

Today we honor all those who have served this country. And from the bottom of my heart I sincerely thank every single man and woman who has served in our nation’s Armed Forces. I was brought up to honor our flag and respect those who defend it.

All my life I have always felt a deep connection to those who serve because I know that without them I wouldn’t be free. Without them America would not exist. Without them others around the world would have suffered or continued their bondage under tyranny. Our men and women of the United States Military are the best.

I have to agree with the sentiment of a proud American, Ted Nugent, when he said that the men and women who serve our nation are better than us. They are a whole different class of American citizen and deserve every bit of our respect. That is a fact.

So today tip your hat and lift your glass. Shake their hands and thank them. Buy them lunch or do whatever. Just let them know that you know and that you care. Let them know that Veterans Day isn’t just another day on the calendar. Give thanks to those who fight so the rest can live in peace. God bless the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.

Thank you for reading. God bless all of you and God bless the United States of America.

The Die Has Been Cast

I once heard that actions speak louder than words. Apparently that does not apply to our past/current President Barack Obama. Despite what he has done and not done over the past four years, he was re-elected to the highest office in the land. Don’t get me wrong. Just because I disagree with those that voted doesn’t mean I didn’t want them to vote. If you read the last post you know how I feel about voting. Whether I agree or not in your choice of candidate thank you for voting. It is our duty to do so.

Now let’s talk about the next four years. I’ll be honest, I’m not optimistic. Now believe me when I say I do pray for Obama and hope he will lead this country well. But I have to look at history to figure where our future may be going. And based on the past the future doesn’t look good.

We, as a country, have decided to take a step down a path of bigger government and government intrusion. We have taken a step towards a more socialist government like those of European countries. You need only look at the news to see how well Europe is these days.

We have taken steps towards a country where the energy we have depended on for years is slowly being phased out, along with massive job loss in those areas, in favor of a renewable energy industry that can’t support us. Coal and oil suffer under Obama and his EPA despite his claims of helping them grow.

I have seen over the course of this campaign a classic tactic. If you say a lie loud enough and long enough people believe it as truth. Now I know Romney lied and fudged the truth too. They’re politicians and that’s what they do. I never said Romney was the perfect candidate because that person doesn’t exist. However, I was disappointed to see a President of the United States support ads and campaign tactics that were shameful at best and disgraceful of the office of President.

I am particularly upset with the media, who I believe has done more to help Obama win the election than any candidate in history. They have done so by refusing to properly vet him and dig into his past during the 2008 election. And then by praising him and continually omitting his blatant misuse of power and lies. Fox, of whom I’m not a fan, tried to but every other media outlet has painted them so badly no one left of center would consider tuning in.

Am I disappointed in the outcome of the election? Yes. But I consider this an opportunity for me and those who love the Constitution and this country to make our voices heard. I will never cease in defending liberty and teaching about the origins of this country. I encourage you to do the same.

Over the coming months I will be presenting a continuing series on Barack Obama. Since the main-stream won’t delve into Obama’s past associations and doings I will and bring the info straight to you. Now don’t worry. This blog isn’t going to turn into a non-stop Obama attack fest. I know that’s not what you want and I know that’s bad reporting and journalism. I will be posting plenty of stuff in between. But there will be an ongoing series about that.

So, if you voted, even for Obama, thank you. You did your country proud by making your voice heard. But the fight for the Constitution is really going to heat up over the next four years and we need to be there to defend it. I pray for the people of this country, its leaders and its future.

Thank you for reading. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.

Do Your Homework

With one day left before Election Day, I figured I needed to write something. On Tuesday millions of Americans will enter the polls and change the course of this country. Will you be one of them? I hope so.

I implore all of you as Americans to go vote. It is your duty as a citizen to do so. Remember that people died to give you that right. Don’t dishonor them with apathy. However, there is one question I have to ask: Do you know why you’re voting for who you’re voting for?

I have run across countless examples of people over the recent Presidential campaigns that, in the end, really have no clear reason why they support their candidate. I hear some say how great Obama is and then can’t tell me one thing he’s done for the country other than they think he’s cool. I hear people say Romney is the guy to elect and then tell me it’s just because Obama is bad. Why? What have you heard or learned to bring you to this vote?

Look, no matter how much I disagree with your choice, I promise you that I will never tell you who to vote for. Ever. I won’t insult the people who died for that right by telling you what to do with their sacrifice. I will, however, demand that you take the time to learn about the candidates and where they stand. Otherwise you’re just wasting your vote and I find it an insult to those who died for it. It is our responsibility as citizens to put honest and trustworthy people in office to lead and defend our country. So do your homework.

If you decide that Obama can lead this country to prosperity. That he can fix unemployment and defend our people and the Constitution, then vote for him. If you believe Romney will defend us from foreign attack, fix the economy and get us on the right heading, then vote for him. You should vote for whoever best represents your political stance, regardless of what others try to tell you to do. But, do your homework.

Now, on to the election itself.

I really don’t have the time between now and the election to get out as much info as I would like. The outcome will determine what course future posts will take. However, I believe this election will decide the path our nation will take in the coming years. It will show which direction the people of this country choose to go. We can either plunge forward without regard for our heritage and where we came from and put our hope in the caretaking ability and authority of the state. Or we can take a step back, see where we came from and use our history to build a better future.

I say this in earnest. Be careful how you vote Tuesday. It will decide the fate of our nation. Know why you are voting. Know who you are voting for. Don’t rely on the main-stream media, they have an agenda. Get the facts and dig. Do your duty and do your homework. May we turn to God in the days ahead and ask his guidance to do what is right.

Thank you for reading. God bless all of you. And God bless the United States of America.

What Happened in Benghazi?

On September 11, 2012 a terrorist attack was launched against the United States Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Four Americans, (U.S Ambassador Christopher Stevens, U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith, and retired Navy SEALS Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty) were killed. Four Americans were killed. On American territory and nothing happened.

A lot of stuff has been thrown around since the attack. But you have to sift through it all to get as close to the facts as possible. So let’s try.

The attacks began at around 9:40 pm local time and lasted about seven hours, including a second attack on the CIA compound. Seven hours and no help came for these people except what was locally available (Libyan security and some CIA). Seven hours and no help?

Moving on, what sparked the attacks? For nearly two weeks our administration pushed the idea that it, and the protests occurring around the globe, was the result of an anti-Muslim video that had surfaced on YouTube. The facts surrounding that video: It had been out for months before the attacks, so it was not a spontaneous reaction to an inflammatory video. It’s the internet, new travels fast so there’s no way it took months to cross an ocean. Also, I think it should be evident by now that these so-called radicals don’t need a reason to kill us and hate us. They’ve been doing fine coming up with their own reasons.

Is it possible the attacks were planned? Well, Libyan President Mohammed Magarief seemed to think so. "It's a preplanned act of terrorism directed at American citizens. Reaction should have been, if it was genuine, should have been six months earlier. So it was postponed until the 11th of September. They chose this date, 11th of September, to carry a certain message." Those are his words five days after the attack. Our president took nearly two weeks to come out and say it was a terrorist attack, (in the Rose Garden speech everyone references he does not directly link the Benghazi attack with acts of terrorism).

Earlier this year, in May, Obama said Al Qaeda’s defeat was “within reach”. Well, it turns out that inside hours of the attack evidence surfaced that implicated Al Qaeda in the attacks. Two days after the attack officials from the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center gave briefings on Capitol Hill confirming evidence pointed towards Al Qaeda’s involvement. With those in his own government and the leader of the country in which the attack took place saying it was preplanned why did it take so long for Obama to jump on board?

Let us also take a look at why practically no help came to those under attack. The attack began at 9:40 pm local time and ended shortly after a secondary attack on the CIA complex at around 2:00 am. That’s more than four hours and we pretty much sent no one to help them. Why? Did the President not know about it in time? According to the sources of retired Army Lt. Colonel Tony Shaffer, the entire White House knew it was happening and that they saw a live feed from a drone hat had been already over that area. It was 3:40 pm in the US when the attack started, the middle of the administrations work day, so they were awake for it. And the CIA made three, three, requests for assistance after the attack began. They were all denied and were ordered to “stand down”. Well, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty courageously defied those orders in order to help those trapped in the consulate and they paid with their lives.

Also, radical Islamic group Ansar al-Sharia used twitter to claim responsibility for the attack two hours after it began. That would place their Tweet in the middle of the attacks. In addition, 300 to 400 national security officials received emails about the attack as it was happening. And, there had been repeated requests in the weeks prior to the attack for increased security, all were denied. So yes, the White House knew and Americans are dead.

Maybe they couldn’t get help there in time? I will grant that it is possible that sending reinforcements may not have arrived in time to save those who were killed. But, not sending any help at all? Not really. The United States has the most powerful and technologically advanced military on the planet, hands down. It has also been revealed that due to our assets in the area we could have had fighters in the air in twenty minutes and troops on the ground in two hours. Where were they? I can’t really buy the excuse that we weren’t sure what was happening or that we couldn’t violate a nation’s sovereignty by sending in our military. If memory serves me, we did just that on May 6, 2011 when we flew into “allied” Pakistan and killed the most wanted man on the planet, Osama bin Laden. So there’s that.

But I think one of the worst things to come out of this entire mess is the reaction of our government’s administration. Instead of truly condemning the attackers, Obama and Clinton repeatedly apologized to the world. For what? A video? Look, I agree the video was out of taste and morally wrong to produce, but here’s the deal: that guy had every right to make that movie. This is America and we have the right to say whatever we want. Whatever we want. That being said, it doesn’t mean we have to like everything someone says. This being America we can also tell that person exactly what we think of him/her. But ALL speech must be protected otherwise any speech can be restricted or outlawed.

I once heard that the problem with freedom is freedom. You have to deal with the results. And you know what? I can. The soldiers of my country didn’t die to give certain citizens rights. They died to protect the rights of every American. So, whether you like that or not, there it is.

But let’s get back to our governments response to this act of terror. Our administration repeatedly blamed the attacks on a YouTube video and religious intolerance and basically apologized to murderers. Even if the video was to blame, there should be no apologies coming from our end when they were the ones murdering people. Jesus Christ and Yahweh are slandered every single day. I don’t see Jews strapping bombs to their chests or Christians attacking embassies. You need to be able to deal with slander. It can, does, and will happen.

Or we can look at the civilian end of the spectrum. There were people that actually claimed that the attacks could be blamed on the Republicans. I have heard people say they actually believed the video was made by Republicans to touch off this world-wide protest to destabilize Obama’s administration. Really? These same people accuse conservatives and Republicans of making this whole thing a political issue. My issue is that that is an insult to four dead Americans. Heck there were even people in this country who had never even heard of the attack. Want to guess who they’re voting for? (http://www.theblaze.com/stories/the-number-of-obama-supporters-who-have-never-heard-of-911-benghazi-attack-will-terrify-you/)

Let’s wrap this up. There’s a ton more info I could include here, like possible US Government gunrunning, but I want to keep this short.

To summarize: Four Americans are dead and that is inexcusable. Deadly force should have been authorized when an armed violent mob jumped the fence at the US Consulate. It is US territory and the attack should have been treated as an act of war. Unlike the our Cairo Embassy where our ambassador ordered the Marines not to carry live ammo. I still don’t get that one.

At the very moment the embassy made it known they were under attack, US reinforcements should have been dispatched immediately. Instead two retired Navy SEALS responded, against orders, and gave their lives in the process. Local Libyan forces also tried to help, and it was Libyan civilians that pulled Ambassador Stevens from the building and took him to a local hospital. For that I thank them for putting themselves in harm’s way.

And, our government apologized for an invented offense and did nothing to bring justice to those that murdered four Americans. They purposely misled the American people about the attack. That is unacceptable. The President should be held responsible for purposefully letting our guard down over politics. He should be held responsible for the deaths of Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods. He should not be leading a country that he feels the need to apologize for. But that decision is for us to make on November 6.

Thank you for reading. God bless you.

Be Prepared

Believe it or not, the first real post on this blog won’t have anything to do with politics. It is, however, a subject that I believe affects every American.

My place of work today was overrun by customers trying to prepare for the coming hurricane that will be traveling up the East Coast. There were several types of people there today; the calm, cool and collected individual who bought their items and left; the moderately paniced person who seemed to think the end of the world was near and therefore purchased a cart-load of perishable product; and there was the picky self important “you’re out of stock? I guess I’ll go elsewhere” people that really should get a grip on things.

That being said, what if “elsewhere” didn’t have what they were looking for? Or even worse, what if my business, “elsewhere” or the place up the road didn’t have anything? What if every place within driving distance had nothing on their shelves? Scary? It should be. That’s why I’m bringing it up. No one seems to be prepared in any way for even a relatively small disaster like a power outage.

In the prepper community we have a saying: “The country is nine meals from anarchy.” That’s because the average household has about three days worth of food in it. Even the grocery store follows this rule. Most stores carry about three days worth of stock. In a real disaster, (major hurricane, earthquake (since they happen here now), terrorist attack, etc), the shelves could be empty in hours. Hours. Are you going to be able to get there before the mob and stock up? If you get there in time will you be able to get anything through the mass of people scrambling to find food?

Nine meals from anarchy. Almost nothing brings mortality to the forefront of peoples minds faster than someone saying “there’s no more food.” When the food disappears people lose their minds. That has been seen in the slew of natural disasters this country has seen. So what can you do to be ready? Just do it.

I think every American should be self dependent, at least to some small degree. Being able to fend for yourself is not a bad thing. Waiting around to be saved only makes you vulnerable and dependent. And I personally don’t feel like hanging in a FEMA camp. I would suggest having at the very least a week’s worth of food and water for you and your family. If you can do more, then do it. I’m not saying dig a bunker in your bag yard and stock it with 50+ year shelf-life food. A little here and there adds up. Grab a few extra canned goods and some water whenever you shop, that’s what I do.

I say this because we, as Americans, are spoiled. I’ve read over the past few weeks how people were exploding because they couldn’t get a Pumpkin Latte at Starbucks. Are you serious? That’s what will destroy your life, lack of latte? I’d hate to be near that person when the cupboard finally empties. But seriously, I implore all of you to take some steps to make it through a disaster. You don’t only wear a seatbelt when you think you’re going to get in an accident. Don’t always assume that what you need is always going to be there. Get some food. Get some water. And yes, a gun and some ammo wouldn’t hurt either. Because, if you prepare, and others find out, they’ll come knocking. Then who will you feed, your children or everyone who didn’t have the forethought to be prepared?

Here are some useful links for getting ready for anything.

http://beprepared.com/

http://americanpreppersnetwork.com/

http://www.survivalblog.com/

http://www.mypatriotsupply.com/Default.asp

Welcome

Hello everyone. Welcome to the ‘76er. This blog is about America’s past, present and possible future. About politics and its effects on our nation. About the people of this country, and their place in it. I’ll hopefully be updating this blog regularly (once or twice a week). This site will cover current events as well as singular topics, such as: Does the Two Party System really work, Separation of Church and State and America’s role in the world community. I’m excited to jump right in and hope that you, as readers, will take an active role in giving feedback as well as your opinion on the various subjects that’ll be covered.

I would like to point out, if you didn’t read the “About” section of this blog. I, the writer, am not hiding the fact that I am a conservative. I am very conservative, far right, and Christian. I say this out loud so I can’t be accused of putting a slant on a “fair and balanced” message and then acting like I don’t know what you’re talking about. This blog will be from my viewpoint; however I am one of those individuals that is “addicted to truth”. I’m not in the business of trying to sell my opinions. I will gladly give my opinion on any given matter. However, I do my utmost to present verifiable facts to you and those around me and then allow the listeners to draw their own conclusions. I by no means and through no stretch of the imagination think or claim to know everything about what I discuss or that I am always right. But I am passionate enough to learn as much as I can about the subject I talk about.

This blog will not be a site of debate. I’m not trying to avoid discussion or dialogue with you. I very much enjoy debating and a range of subjects and am not afraid to stand up for my position. However, I am a father with a full-time job, and this blog isn’t my life. It would take a huge amount of time I don’t have to dissect and discuss with all of you about every subject. I do value your opinion and ask that you leave feedback about the subjects and comment as much as you can.

Also, I am not a politically correct person. I believe the politically correct vibe in this time is destroying this country. I will not be rude, and nothing I say is done so out of hatred or with the intent of being insulting. However, I will probably say things that can and will upset people and possibly hurt, but they are not said TO hurt people. There’s a big difference there.

Most importantly, don’t take my word for it. Whatever I say or report, don’t take my word for it. Fact check it. If I’m wrong I want to know. I’m also a big believer in doing your own research. So get up and read and watch and learn for yourselves. I feel so many people these days either eat up what the main stream media shovels out or just think that their opinion with suffice as facts. I beg you, dig for the facts.

So, with all this being said I welcome you and thank you for your interest in this blog. I hope you all enjoy and please spread the word if you like it. Thank you all, and God bless you.

Mike